Micro-channel heat exchanger and welding tool

Abstract

The application discloses a micro-channel heat exchanger, which comprises channel plates, a plurality of channels are arranged on the channel plates, a first through groove and a second through groove are arranged on the upper surface edges of the channel plates respectively corresponding to the outlets and inlets of the channels, the first through groove and the second through groove both penetrate the upper surface of the channel plates upwards, and a plurality of channel plates are connected in a stacked mode. The micro-channel heat exchanger increases the channel flow area, effectively reduces the local flow resistance, improves the heat exchange performance, and effectively reduces the weight. The application discloses a welding tool, which comprises a body and a supporting plate. The supporting plate can provide effective support for the channel plates or side plates during welding, greatly increases the welding rate of the micro-channel heat exchanger, and improves the welding yield. The comb-shaped structure of the multiple supporting plates integrated on the body is beneficial to the precision control and the later disassembly of the welding tool.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of heat exchangers, in particular to a micro-channel heat exchanger and a welding tool. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, various types of micro-channel heat exchangers are mainly formed by stacking single-layer channel plates alternately, and then welded into a whole by brazing or diffusion welding. However, due to the large size of the inlet and outlet channels of the single-layer channel plates and the small size of the ribs, effective support cannot be provided during welding, resulting in a generally low welding rate, reduced service life of the heat exchanger, and even direct scrap. Figure 1 and 2 In order to improve the welding rate, the prior art uses the channel plate structure shown in the drawings, in which a large-size channel is provided in the middle of the channel plate. In order to ensure the welding rate, a relatively dense metal strip is processed at the outlet and inlet of the channel. The metal strip acts as a reinforcing rib, reducing the size of the channel. However, due to the reduced size of the channel, this structure greatly increases the local flow resistance of the heat exchanger, seriously affecting the overall flow resistance performance of the heat exchanger and increasing the weight of the micro-channel heat exchanger. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to provide a micro-channel heat exchanger and a welding tool to solve the problems raised in the background art.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] The micro-channel heat exchanger of the present application comprises:

[0006] The channel plate is provided with a plurality of channels. The upper edge of the channel plate is provided with a side strip. The upper edge of the channel plate is provided with a first through groove and a second through groove corresponding to the outlet and inlet of the channel, respectively. The first through groove is used to connect the outlets of all the channels, and the second through groove is used to connect the inlets of all the channels. The first through groove and the second through groove both penetrate the upper surface of the channel plate upward. A plurality of channel plates are connected in a stacked manner.

[0007] Further, the two adjacent channel plates are welded, and the welding position of the channel plate avoids the first through groove and the second through groove.

[0008] Further, the cross section of the channel is semicircular or rectangular.

[0009] Further, the height of the channel, the first through groove and / or the second through groove is less than or equal to 1mm.

[0010] Further, the channel plate, the channel, the side strip, the first through groove and the second through groove are integrally formed.

[0011] Further, the upper side of the uppermost channel plate and / or the lower side of the lowermost channel plate is provided with a side plate.

[0012] The welding tool for the micro-channel heat exchanger as described above comprises:

[0013] a body;

[0014] a plurality of support plates, one end of each of the support plates being connected to the side surface of the body, the other end of each of the support plates extending into the first through slot or the second through slot, the upper surface of each of the support plates being attached to the lower surface of the channel plate or the side plate above it, and the lower surface of each of the support plates being attached to the bottom surface of the corresponding first through slot or second through slot.

[0015] Further, the distance between the upper surfaces of two adjacent support plates is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the two channel plates between the two support plates.

[0016] Further, the upper surface of the body is higher than the upper surface of the uppermost channel plate, and the lower surface of the body is lower than the lower surface of the lowermost channel plate.

[0017] Further, the end surface of the other end of each of the support plates is attached to the end surface of the channel, and the side surface of each of the support plates is attached to the inner wall of the first through slot or the second through slot.

[0018] In summary, the technical effects and advantages of the present application are:

[0019] 1. In the present application, the inlet and outlet of the channel of the micro-channel heat exchanger are the first through slot and the second through slot, and the channel plates between adjacent channels form a rib, and the first through slot and the second through slot are empty slots, which increases the flow area of the inlet and outlet channels, effectively reduces the local flow resistance of the micro-channel heat exchanger, improves the performance of the micro-channel heat exchanger, and effectively reduces the weight of the micro-channel heat exchanger.

[0020] 2. In the present application, the welding position of the two adjacent channel plates avoids the first through slot or the second through slot, which can avoid the influence of welding on the operation of the micro-channel heat exchanger.

[0021] 3. In the present application, the welding tool can connect multiple support plates through the setting of the body, and the upper surface of each of the support plates is attached to the lower surface of the channel plate or the side plate above it, and the lower surface of each of the support plates is attached to the bottom surface of the corresponding first through slot or second through slot. The support plates can provide effective support for the channel plates or side plates during welding, greatly increasing the welding rate of the micro-channel heat exchanger, and thus improving the yield of the welded products.

[0022] 4、the welding tool reduces the welding process difficulty, greatly improves the micro-channel heat exchanger welding quality, reliability, pressure capacity and yield; since the welding tool is used for assisting welding, the proportion relationship between the rib and the channel of the inlet and outlet of the micro-channel heat exchanger does not need to be considered, the size of the inlet and outlet channels is increased, the sectional area of the inlet and outlet is increased, the flow resistance and weight of the micro-channel heat exchanger are effectively reduced;

[0023] 5、the channel plate of the micro-channel heat exchanger is relatively thin, the use of the support plate for each layer is not conducive to the machining and later disassembly of the support plate, the comb-shaped structure of the multiple support plates integrated on the body is integrally machined, which is conducive to the precision control of the welding tool and the disassembly of the welding tool later. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the micro-channel heat exchanger in the prior art;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the channel plate in the prior art;

[0027] Figure 3 It is an exploded view of the micro-channel heat exchanger in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a half-sectional view of the micro-channel heat exchanger in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the channel plate in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the welding tool in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 It is a use schematic diagram of the channel plate and the support plate in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 8 It is a use half-sectional view of the micro-channel heat exchanger and the welding tool in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] In the figure: 1, micro-channel heat exchanger; 2, welding tool; 11, channel plate; 12, side plate; 111, first through groove; 112, second through groove; 113, channel; 114, rib; 115, first outer edge; 116, second outer edge; 117, side edge strip; 10, channel plate A; 20, channel plate B; 30, channel plate C; 40, channel plate D; 50, channel plate E; 60, channel plate F; 70, channel plate G; 21, body; 22, support plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0035] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0037] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0038] In order to solve the problems in the prior art, an embodiment of the present application provides a micro-channel heat exchanger 1, as shown in the figure, Figures 3-8As shown, the micro-channel heat exchanger comprises a plurality of channel plates 11. The channel plates 11 are provided with a plurality of channels 113. The upper surface edges of the channel plates 11 are provided with side strips 117. The upper surface edges of the channel plates 11 are respectively provided with first through-slots 111 and second through-slots 112 corresponding to the outlets and inlets of the channels 113. The first through-slots 111 are used to connect the outlets of all the channels 113. The second through-slots 112 are used to connect the inlets of all the channels 113. The first through-slots 111 and the second through-slots 112 both penetrate the upper surface of the channel plates 11 upward. The plurality of channel plates 11 are connected in a stacked manner. The channel plates 11 between adjacent channels 113 form ribs 114. The number of the channels 113 is not specifically limited in the application.

[0039] In the embodiment, the inlet and outlet of the channels of the micro-channel heat exchanger are the first through-slots and the second through-slots. The channel plates between adjacent channels form ribs. The first through-slots and the second through-slots are empty slots. The cross-sectional area of the inlet and outlet channels is increased. The local flow resistance of the micro-channel heat exchanger is effectively reduced. The performance of the micro-channel heat exchanger is improved. The weight of the micro-channel heat exchanger is effectively reduced. The upper surface of the ribs 114 can be flush with the upper surface of the channel plates 11.

[0040] Further, two adjacent channel plates 11 are welded, and the welding position of the channel plates 11 avoids the first and second through grooves 111 and 112. Optionally, the first outer edge 115 of the upper surface of the lower channel plate 11 is welded with the second outer edge 116 of the lower surface of the upper adjacent channel plate 11, and the first outer edge 115 is parallel to the length direction of the upper channel 113 of the channel plate 11. For example, the micro-channel heat exchanger 1 of the embodiment comprises a channel plate A 10, a channel plate B 20, a channel plate C 30, a channel plate D 40, and the like, and the channel plates A 10, B 20, C 30 and D 40 are all rectangular plates. The front and rear ends of the channel plate A 10 are provided with symmetrical first and second through grooves 111 and 112; the left and right ends of the channel plate B 20 are provided with symmetrical first and second through grooves 111 and 112; the front and rear ends of the channel plate C 30 are provided with symmetrical first and second through grooves 111 and 112; and the left and right ends of the channel plate D 40 are provided with symmetrical first and second through grooves 111 and 112. The channel plates A 10, B 20, C 30 and D 40 are stacked in layers. When welding, the first outer edge 115 of the channel plate A 10 is welded with the second outer edge 116 of the channel plate B 20; the first outer edge 115 of the channel plate B 20 is welded with the second outer edge 116 of the channel plate C 30; and the first outer edge 115 of the channel plate C 30 is welded with the second outer edge 116 of the channel plate D 40. In the embodiment, the first outer edge 115 of the upper surface of the lower channel plate 11 is welded with the second outer edge 116 of the lower surface of the upper adjacent channel plate 11, the first outer edge 115 is parallel to the length direction of the channel 113, the welding position can avoid the first and second through grooves 111 and 112, and the welding can avoid affecting the working of the micro-channel heat exchanger 1.

[0041] Optionally, the cross section of the channel 113 is semicircular or rectangular. The shape of the cross section of the channel 113 is not limited in the application, which can be trapezoidal, triangular, wavy or any other shape.

[0042] Further, the height of the channel 113, the first and second through grooves 111 and 112 is less than or equal to 1 mm. Preferably, the height of the channel 113, the first and second through grooves 111 and 112 is 0.25 mm. Further, the thickness of the channel plate 11 is 0.4-1 mm. Preferably, the thickness of the channel plate 11 is 0.5 mm. The channel plate, the channel, the side strip, the first and second through grooves are integrally formed.

[0043] Furthermore, side plates 12 are provided above the uppermost channel plate 11 and / or below the lowermost channel plate 11. The side plates 12 are welded to adjacent channel plates 11. Similarly, the first outer edge 115 of the upper surface of the uppermost channel plate 11 is welded to the corresponding second outer edge 116 of the lower surface of the upper side plate 12, with the first outer edge 115 parallel to the length direction of the channel 113 of the channel plate 11 it belongs to; thereby avoiding any impact of the welding on the first through groove 111 or the second through groove 112. The welding of the four sides of the lower surface of the lowermost channel plate 11 to the four sides of the upper surface of the lower side plate 12 will not affect the first through groove 111 or the second through groove 112.

[0044] To ensure the welding rate and welding strength of the aforementioned microchannel heat exchanger 1, one embodiment of the present invention also provides a welding fixture 2 for the microchannel heat exchanger 1 as described above, such as... Figures 3-8 As shown, the system includes a body 21 and support plates 22. The body 21 is used to connect multiple support plates 22. One end of each support plate 22 is connected to the side of the body 21, forming a comb-like structure. The other end of each support plate 22 extends into a first through groove 111 or a second through groove 112. The upper surface of the support plate 22 is in contact with the lower surface of the channel plate 11 or side plate 12 above it, and the lower surface of the support plate 22 is in contact with the bottom surface of the corresponding first through groove 111 or second through groove 112. The number of support plates 22 on the body 21 can be set to various specifications to accommodate welding different numbers of channel plates 11. Optionally, one end of the support plate 22 can be detachably or fixedly connected to the side of the body 21, such as by snap-fit, welding, screw connection, or integral molding.

[0045] In this embodiment, the welding fixture 2 can connect multiple support plates 22 by setting the body 21. By setting the support plates 22, the upper surface of the support plates 22 is in contact with the lower surface of the channel plate 11 or side plate 12 above it, and the lower surface of the support plates 22 is in contact with the bottom surface of the corresponding first through groove 111 or second through groove 112. During welding, the support plates 22 can provide effective support for the channel plate 11 or side plate 12, which greatly increases the welding rate of the microchannel heat exchanger 1 and thus improves the welding yield.

[0046] Further, the distance between the upper surfaces of two adjacent support plates 22 is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of two channel plates 11 between the two support plates 22. Since the channels 113 on adjacent channel plates 11 are staggered, that is, the channels 113 of the first layer of channel plates 11 and the channels 113 of the third layer of channel plates 11 have the same distribution direction, the lowermost two adjacent support plates 22 are respectively inserted into the first or second through slot 111 of the first layer and the third layer of channel plates 11. One welding tool 2 can correspond to the welding of multiple channel plates 11 of the micro-channel heat exchanger 1. In this embodiment, the channel plates 11 of the micro-channel heat exchanger 1 are relatively thin, and using a separate support plate 22 for each layer is not conducive to the machining and later disassembly of the support plate 22. The comb-shaped structure of multiple support plates 22 integrated into the body 21 is machined as a whole, which is conducive to the precision control of the welding tool 2 and the later disassembly of the welding tool 2.

[0047] Further, the upper surface of the body 21 is higher than the upper surface of the uppermost channel plate 11, and the lower surface of the body 21 is lower than the lower surface of the lowermost channel plate 11; which is conducive to the positioning of the support plate 22 in the direction of the channel 113.

[0048] Further, the end face of the other end of the support plate 22 is flush with the end face of the channel 113, and the side face of the support plate 22 is flush with the inner wall of the first or second through slot 111. That is, the support plate 22 is completely located in the corresponding first or second through slot 111, which can provide effective support for the welding of adjacent channel plates 11 and further improve the welding strength and welding rate.

[0049] Due to the guarantee of welding strength by the welding tool 2, the design of the micro-channel heat exchanger 1 can tend to have a higher heat dissipation area and efficiency, and can withstand higher pressure; the size of the heat exchanger is reduced, and the performance of the heat exchanger is improved.

[0050] Optionally, the channels 113, the first through slot 111 and the second through slot 112 of the present embodiment are formed by machining or etching, the height precision control of each layer of channel plates 11 is higher, and the support force of the ribs 114 between the channels 113 formed by machining or etching is better, the deformation during assembly and welding is smaller, the precision is high, and the welding precision and disassembly efficiency can be improved by using such a multi-layer integrated welding tool 2.

[0051] The welding process of the embodiment: the side plate 12, the passage plate piece A10, the passage plate piece B20, the passage plate piece C30, the passage plate piece D40, the passage plate piece E50, the passage plate piece F60, the passage plate piece G70 and the side plate 12 are stacked, two welding fixtures 2 with appropriate numbers of support plates 22 are selected, the support plates 22 are inserted into the first through slot 111 or the second through slot 112 of the passage plate piece A10, the passage plate piece C30, the passage plate piece E50 and the passage plate piece G70 respectively; the corresponding first outer edge 115 and the second outer edge 116, i.e. the corresponding side edge without the inserted support plate 22, are welded; after welding, the welding fixture 2 is extracted, two welding fixtures 2 with appropriate numbers of support plates 22 are selected, the support plates 22 are inserted into the first through slot 111 or the second through slot 112 of the passage plate piece B20, the passage plate piece D40 and the passage plate piece F60 respectively, the corresponding first outer edge 115 and the second outer edge 116, i.e. the corresponding side edge without the inserted support plate 22, are welded, and the welding fixture 2 is extracted after welding.

[0052] The present application is used for welding the structure of a micro-channel heat exchanger (the height of the channel is generally less than or equal to 1 mm). The channel plate piece, the side edge strip and the channel are an integral structure directly processed on a metal plate through etching or fine machining. In the prior art, in order to ensure that welding can seal two adjacent channel plate pieces, a relatively dense metal strip needs to be processed at the inlet and outlet of the channel. Since the metal strip and the channel plate piece are an integral structure, the metal strip cannot be removed in the later stage, which affects the overall volume and weight of the micro-channel heat exchanger. Moreover, the relatively dense channel and metal strip lead to relatively large fluid resistance at the position of the channel inlet and outlet, and this resistance has no benefit to the performance of the micro-channel heat exchanger. Therefore, the comb-shaped welding fixture 2 of the embodiment can cancel the dense area of the metal strip in the prior art and replace it with the overall solid comb-shaped welding fixture structure, so that the dense area of the metal strip becomes the empty first through slot and the second through slot after welding, thereby reducing the weight and the fluid resistance.

[0053] Finally, it should be noted that: the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not used to limit the present application, although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, for those skilled in the art, the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some technical features can be replaced equivalently, and any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of welding a microchannel heat exchanger, comprising: The application relates to a micro-channel heat exchanger, which comprises the following parts: a channel plate (11) provided with a plurality of channels (113), the upper edge of the channel plate (11) is provided with a side edge strip (117), the upper edge of the channel plate (11) is respectively provided with a first through groove (111) and a second through groove (112) corresponding to the outlet and the inlet of the channels (113), the first through groove (111) and the second through groove (112) are empty grooves, the first through groove (111) is used for connecting the outlets of all the channels (113), the second through groove (112) is used for connecting the inlets of all the channels (113), the first through groove (111) and the second through groove (112) both penetrate the upper surface of the channel plate (11) upwards, a plurality of the channel plates (11) are connected in a stack, the height of the channels (113), the first through groove (111) and / or the second through groove (112) is less than or equal to 1 mm; the upper side of the uppermost channel plate (11) and / or the lower side of the lowermost channel plate (11) is provided with a side plate (12); a welding tool comprises a body (21); a plurality of support plates (22) are connected to the side of the body (21) at one end, the other end of the support plates (22) extends into the first through groove (111) or the second through groove (112), the upper surface of the support plates (22) is attached to the lower surface of the channel plate (11) or the side plate (12) above, and the lower surface of the support plates (22) is attached to the bottom surface of the corresponding first through groove (111) or second through groove (112); the end surface of the other end of the support plates (22) is attached to the end surface of the channel (113), and the side surface of the support plates (22) is attached to the inner wall of the first through groove (111) or the second through groove (112); the spacing between the upper surfaces of two adjacent support plates (22) is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the two channel plates (11) between the two support plates (22); the side plate (12) and the plurality of channel plates are stacked, two welding tools (2) with appropriate numbers of support plates (22) are selected, the support plates (22) are respectively inserted into the first through groove (111) or the second through groove (112) of the channel plates, the corresponding side edges without the support plates (22) are welded, the welding tools (2) are extracted after welding, two welding tools (2) with appropriate numbers of support plates (22) are selected, the support plates (22) of the two welding tools (2) are respectively inserted into the first through groove (111) or the second through groove (112) on the other side, the corresponding side edges without the support plates (22) are welded, and the welding tools (2) are extracted after welding.

2. The method of welding a microchannel heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein, the upper surface of the body (21) is higher than the upper surface of the uppermost channel plate (11), and the lower surface of the body (21) is lower than the lower surface of the lowermost channel plate (11).

3. The method of welding a microchannel heat exchanger of claim 1 or 2, wherein Two adjacent channel plates (11) are welded, and the welding position of the channel plates (11) avoids the first through groove (111) and the second through groove (112).

4. The method of welding a microchannel heat exchanger of claim 1 or 2, wherein The cross section of the channel (113) is semicircular or rectangular.

5. The method of welding a microchannel heat exchanger of claim 1 or 2, wherein The channel plate (11), the channel (113), the side edge strip (117), the first through groove (111) and the second through groove (112) are integrally formed.

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