Combustion system

Abstract

A combustion system includes: a furnace housing; a heat exchanger including a heat exchanger housing and a tube-bundled structure that has a plurality of exhaust tubes, upper and lower plates, and an end cap, top ends of the exhaust tubes being fixed to the upper plate, bottom ends of the exhaust tubes being fixed to the lower plate, the upper plate being fixed to a top end of the heat exchanger housing, the exhaust tubes being thermally expandable in a downward direction; and a manifold interconnecting a gas outlet of the furnace housing and a gas inlet of the heat exchanger housing.

1 . A combustion system comprising:
 a furnace housing defining a combustion chamber therein and having a gas outlet in fluid communication with said combustion chamber;   a heat exchanger disposed outwardly of said furnace housing and including
 a heat exchanger housing that defines a heat exchanger chamber therein and that has a top end, said heat exchanger housing further defining a gas inlet and a gas outlet which are in fluid communication with said heat exchanger chamber and which are formed at said top end of said heat exchanger housing, and 
 a tube-bundled structure that is disposed in said heat exchanger chamber and that has a plurality of exhaust tubes which define a plurality of passageways in fluid communication with said gas inlet and said gas outlet of said heat exchanger housing, each of said exhaust tubes having top and bottom ends, said tube-bundled structure further having upper and lower plates and an end cap, said top ends of said exhaust tubes being fixed to said upper plate, said bottom ends of said exhaust tubes being fixed to said lower plate, said end cap being connected to and cooperating with said lower plate to define a connecting channel that is in fluid communication with said passageways, said upper plate being fixed to said top end of said heat exchanger housing, said exhaust tubes being thermally expandable in a downward direction; and 
   a manifold interconnecting said gas outlet of said furnace housing and said gas inlet of said heat exchanger housing.   
   
   
       2 . The combustion system of  claim 1 , wherein said lower plate is suspended in said heat exchanger chamber. 
   
   
       3 . The combustion system of  claim 1 , further comprising a confining frame including a plurality of posts and a plurality of stretchers, each of which interconnects two adjacent ones of said posts and each of which has an inner surface, said heat exchanger housing further having a bottom end, each of said posts having top and bottom ends that are secured to said upper plate and said bottom end of said heat exchanger housing, respectively, said lower plate having a peripheral end that is in sliding contact with said inner surfaces of said stretchers.