Foul-resistant heat exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger is disclosed for use with an air handling system. The heat exchanger may have an inlet, an outlet, and at least one passage fluidly connecting the inlet and the outlet. The at least one passage may include a wall configured to transfer heat between a first fluid inside the at least one passage and a second fluid outside the at least one passage. The heat exchanger may also have a plurality of heat conducting feature components disposed along a length of the at least one passage, and a foul-resistant coating applied to only a subset of the plurality of heat conducting feature components.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to a heat exchanger, and more particularly to a heat exchanger having anti-fouling features. Background technique [0002] Heat exchangers come in many different configurations (eg, corrugated plate, shell and tube, tube and fin, etc.) and are used to transfer thermal energy between two fluids without direct contact between the fluids. Specifically, primary fluids (such as air or exhaust gas) are usually conducted through the fluid channels of the heat exchanger, while secondary fluids (such as air, water, glycol, etc.) are in external contact with the walls of the channels. In this way heat can be transferred between the two fluids through the wall. [0003] In some applications, one or both of the fluids circulating through the heat exchanger may have particles (eg, unburned hydrocarbons such as fuel or oil) entrained in the fluids. When channel walls come into contact with a particle, the walls can become c...

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