Recuperator burner including recuperator

Abstract

A recuperator burner comprising a recuperator is disclosed, comprising a tube section serving as a heat exchange surface with flowing fluids, the tube section having a plurality of pleats wound spirally about the longitudinal axis of the recuperator. The recuperator allows an intensive heat exchange between fluids streaming on the inner side and the outer side and can be manufactured using slip casting, due to its simple geometric shape.

1 . A recuperator burner comprising: 
 a burner head;    a burner tube having a first and a second end, said first end being supported by said burner head;    a burner chamber provided at said second end of said burner tube;    an exhaust gas guide tube coaxially enclosing said burner tube from the outside and being supported by said burner head; and    a ceramic recuperator supported at one end thereof by said burner head and being located between said burner tube and said exhaust gas guide tube;    an outer gap defined between said exhaust gas guide tube and said recuperator;    an inner gap defined between said recuperator and said inner tube; and    a plurality of undulated pleats extending along a tube section of said recuperator along an outer surface thereof and along an inner surface thereof and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said undulated pleats serving as a heat exchanger between said outer and said inner surfaces of said recuperator;    wherein at least one of said outer and inner gaps has a radial extension which corresponds to at least a wall thickness of said recuperator multiplied by 0.3.    
   
   
       2 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said outer and inner gaps has a radial extension which substantially corresponds to half of a wall thickness of said recuperator.  
   
   
       3 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 5° and 85°.  
   
   
       4 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 30° and 80°.  
   
   
       5 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to at least twice the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       6 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to about for times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       7 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is larger than a thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       8 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is about 2.5 times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       9 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 2 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       10 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 5 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       11 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1 , wherein said recuperator is made of a SiC ceramic.  
   
   
       12 . The recuperator burner of  claim 1;  wherein said recuperator is configured as a slip cast part.  
   
   
       13 . A recuperator burner comprising: 
 a burner head;    a burner tube having a first and a second end, said first end being supported by said burner head;    a burner chamber provided at said second end of said burner tube;    an exhaust gas guide tube coaxially enclosing said burner tube from the outside and being supported by said burner head;    a ceramic recuperator supported at one end thereof by said burner head and being located between said burner tube and said exhaust gas guide tube;    an outer gap defined between said exhaust gas guide tube and said recuperator;    an inner gap defined between said recuperator and said inner tube; and    a plurality of undulated pleats extending along a tube section of said recuperator along an outer surface thereof and along an inner surface thereof and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said undulated pleats serving as a heat exchanger between said outer and said inner surfaces of said recuperator.    
   
   
       14 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of said outer and inner gaps has a radial extension which substantially corresponds to half of a wall thickness of said recuperator.  
   
   
       15 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 5° and 85°.  
   
   
       16 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 30° and 80°.  
   
   
       17 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to at least twice the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       18 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to about for times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       19 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is larger than a thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       20 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is about 2.5 times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       21 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein a ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 2 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       22 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein a ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 5 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       23 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein said recuperator is made of a SiC ceramic.  
   
   
       24 . The recuperator burner of  claim 13 , wherein said recuperator is configured as a slip cast part.  
   
   
       25 . A recuperator burner comprising: 
 a burner head;    a burner tube having a first and a second end, said first end being supported by said burner head;    a burner chamber provided at said second end of said burner tube;    an exhaust gas guide tube coaxially enclosing said burner tube from the outside and being supported by said burner head;    a ceramic recuperator supported at one end thereof by said burner head and being located between said burner tube and said exhaust gas guide tube; and    a plurality of undulated pleats extending along a tube section of said recuperator along an outer surface thereof and along an inner surface thereof and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said undulated pleats serving as a heat exchanger between said outer and said inner surfaces of said recuperator.    
   
   
       26 . A recuperator arrangement for a recuperator burner, said recuperator arrangement comprising; 
 a ceramic recuperator, said ceramic recuperator comprising: 
 a first tubular end section and a second tubular end section, one of said first and second tubular end sections being configured for attachment to a burner head of said recuperator burner;  
 a tube section being arranged between said first and second end sections and serving as a heat exchanging surface between an outer surface and an inner surface of said recuperator; and  
 a plurality of pleats arranged along said tube section and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said pleats being undulated at said outer and said inner surfaces, said inner and said outer surfaces replicating a contour of each other;  
   an outer tube enclosing said recuperator and being arranged at a distance to said recuperator defining an outer gap between said recuperator and said outer tube; and    an inner tube arranged within said recuperator at a distance there from and defining an inner gap between said recuperator and said inner tube.    
   
   
       27 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein at least one of said outer and inner gaps has a radial extension which corresponds to at least a wall thickness of said recuperator multiplied by 0.3.  
   
   
       28 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein said at least one of said outer and inner gaps have a radial extension which substantially corresponds to half of a wall thickness of said recuperator.  
   
   
       29 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 5° and 85°.  
   
   
       30 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 30° and 80°.  
   
   
       31 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to at least twice the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       32 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to about for times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       33 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is larger than a thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       34 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is about 2.5 times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       35 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein the ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 2 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       36 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein a ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 5 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       37 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein said recuperator is made of a SiC ceramic.  
   
   
       38 . The recuperator arrangement of  claim 26 , wherein said recuperator is configured as a slip cast part.  
   
   
       39 . A ceramic recuperator for a recuperator burner, said ceramic recuperator comprising; 
 a first tubular end section and a second tubular end section, one of said first and second tubular end sections being configured for attachment to a burner head of said recuperator burner;    a tube section being arranged between said first and second end sections and serving as a heat exchanging surface between an outer surface and an inner surface of said recuperator; and    a plurality of pleats arranged along said tube section and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said pleats being undulated at said outer and said inner surfaces, said inner and said outer surfaces replicating a contour of each other.    
   
   
       40 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 5° and 85°.  
   
   
       41 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein said pleats of said recuperator define a helix angle with a longitudinal axis of said recuperator that is between 30° and 80°.  
   
   
       42 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to at least twice the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       43 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein adjacent wave crests of said undulated pleats define a distance that corresponds to about for times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       44 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is larger than a thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       45 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein an amplitude defined by a difference between a radius of a circle touching an outer surface of the pleats and between a circle touching an inner surface of the pleats is about 2.5 times the thickness of a wall of said tube section.  
   
   
       46 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein the ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 2 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       47 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein the ratio between the number of pleats provided along a circumference of said tube section and between an average circumference of said tube section is at least 5 per 100 millimeters.  
   
   
       48 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein said recuperator is made of a SiC ceramic.  
   
   
       49 . The recuperator of  claim 39 , wherein said recuperator is configured as a slip cast part.  
   
   
       50 . A ceramic recuperator for a recuperator burner, said ceramic recuperator comprising; 
 a first tubular end section and a second tubular end section, one of said first and second tubular end sections being configured for attachment to a burner head of said recuperator burner;    a tube section being arranged between said first and second end sections and serving as a heat exchanging surface between an outer surface and an inner surface of said recuperator; and    a plurality of pleats arranged along said tube section and being spirally wound about a longitudinal axis of said recuperator, said pleats being bent gradually.