Additive Manufactured Heat Exchanger Header for Leak-Free Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing methods for heat exchanger headers are labor intensive and prone to leaks, limiting the use of materials to metals with similar melting points and restricting the ability to produce leak-free joints.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing to build headers layer-by-layer around stacked tubes, allowing for the use of various materials and creating a composite header and tube bundle that is strong and leak-proof, with the option to add fins and use different materials for tubes and headers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional welding or brazing methods are used to join header and tubes, then joints can be formed, but the process is labor intensive and leak prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical joining methods (welding, brazing) with additive manufacturing technology. The header is built layer-by-layer around the tubes using a depositor that deposits material in precise patterns, mechanically encapsulating tube ends and creating sealed joints without thermal processes or manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The additive manufacturing process performs multiple functions simultaneously: the header structure is built while automatically sealing tube ends and creating leak-free joints. The system serves itself by integrating the joining function into the header fabrication process, eliminating the need for separate welding or brazing operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional welding or brazing methods are used, then joints can be formed, but material selection is limited to metals with similar melting points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the material deposition parameters by using additive manufacturing instead of thermal joining processes. This allows the header to be made from materials with vastly different properties than the tubes (including plastics, ceramics, and metals), as the joining is achieved through mechanical encapsulation and layer-by-layer deposition rather than melting or brazing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables composite construction where the header and tubes can be made from different material classes. The additive manufacturing process deposits header material in layers that encapsulate tube ends, creating a composite structure that combines materials with dissimilar properties while maintaining leak-free joints through the layered deposition process.
3Productivity
If headers are manufactured using traditional methods, then production can proceed, but the process is slow and labor intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual welding and assembly operations with an automated additive manufacturing depositor. The system uses computer-controlled deposition of material layers to build the header around stacked tubes, eliminating the need for skilled welders and manual joining operations, thereby increasing productivity and reducing labor intensity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly reduces labor and ensures leak-free joints, enabling the use of multiple materials and facilitating the production of efficient and reliable heat exchanger coil headers.
Implementation Method 1
headers, usually in the shape of a large round tube or an elongated box, serve to support and separate the tubes from one-another (for the passage of air there-between) and to deliver or receive fluid, for example steam or refrigerant, to the tubes. The tube bundle may have fins fitted between and attached to the tubes, or the tubes may be finless. According to the prior art, the tubes and the header were made of the same material, usually steel, and slots were cut into the header to receive the tubes which were then welded into the slots. The present invention allows the header to be built onto the coil using a myriad of different materials and with the speed of additive manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A stacked tube heat exchanger consisting of tubes that are affixed to a header or headers that are additively manufactured.