Additive Heat Exchanger Plates for Complex Inspectable Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchanger manufacturing methods, such as etching and stamping, limit the shape and aspect ratio of fluid flow passages, result in heavy and difficult-to-inspect components with thick walls, making them unsuitable for lightweight and high-pressure applications.
Innovation Solution
The method involves additive manufacturing to create substrates with integrally formed partial and whole fluid flow channels and fins, allowing for layer-wise assembly and inspection before final assembly, enabling lighter weight, improved thermal performance, and easier defect detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional etching or milling processes are used to create fluid flow passages, then the manufacturing process is simple and well-established, but the flow passage shape is limited to semicircular with limited aspect ratios and the walls between passages become relatively thick
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple discrete plates, each containing incomplete fluid flow passages. These plates are stacked and sealed together to form the complete heat exchanger assembly. This segmentation allows each plate to be manufactured separately with optimized geometries using additive manufacturing, while the final assembly creates the complete flow passages through the interaction of adjacent plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional 2D etching/milling processes to 3D additive manufacturing. This enables the creation of complex three-dimensional flow passage geometries with varying cross-sections, optimized heat transfer surfaces, and high aspect ratios that cannot be achieved with traditional planar processing methods.
2Weight of moving object
If etching and milling processes are used to manufacture heat exchangers, then the manufacturing process is conventional and straightforward, but the resulting components have thick walls and heavy weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters from conventional subtractive processes to additive manufacturing processes. This enables precise control over wall thickness, material distribution, and geometric complexity, allowing for optimized lightweight designs with thin walls and high surface-area-to-volume ratios that reduce overall weight while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger utilizes composite construction with multiple plate layers, sealing materials, and potentially different metal alloys or coatings. This composite approach allows optimization of each component for its specific function while reducing overall weight through selective material placement and elimination of unnecessary material in non-critical areas.
3Reliability
If conventional manufacturing methods are used, then the assembly can be produced using standard processes, but the final assembly is difficult to inspect for leaks or defects prior to service
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary inspection of individual plates before final assembly. Each plate can be manufactured, inspected for defects, and tested independently while still in a semi-finished state with open flow passages. This preliminary action allows detection and correction of manufacturing defects before the plates are sealed together, significantly improving overall assembly reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the heat exchanger into separate manufacturable plates with incomplete passages, the patent enables intermediate inspection points in the manufacturing process. Each plate can be individually examined for defects, and the sealed assembly can be pressure-tested as a complete unit, providing multiple opportunities for defect detection that are not available in monolithic conventional manufacturing.
4Shape
If additive manufacturing is used to create substrates with integrally formed flow channels and fins, then complex geometries and lighter weight are achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes more advanced and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The complex geometry is segmented across multiple plates rather than attempting to manufacture a single complex monolithic component. Each plate contains simplified features (incomplete passages, fin structures) that are manufactured using additive manufacturing, but the overall geometric complexity is achieved through the assembly of multiple such plates, distributing the manufacturing complexity across several simpler components.
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 approach results in heat exchangers with reduced weight, enhanced thermal efficiency, and improved inspection capabilities, overcoming the limitations of traditional manufacturing methods by allowing for more complex geometries and surface treatments.
Implementation Method 1
heat exchangers with reduced weight, enhanced thermal efficiency
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A method (200) of manufacturing a heat exchanger (1) is provided. The method (200) includes forming a first substrate (10a) by additively manufacturing a body (11) defining a first outer surface (12) and a second outer surface (14) opposite the first outer surface (12), a first partial fluid flow channel (32) formed within the first outer surface (12), a second partial fluid flow channel (42) formed within the second outer surface (14), and at least one internal fluid flow channel (20) completely formed within the body (11), and coupling the first substrate (10) to a second substrate (10b) including a partial fluid flow channel (40) formed within a surface of the second substrate (10b) such that the first partial fluid flow channel 30) of the first substrate (10a) and the partial fluid flow channel (40) of the second substrate (10b) combine to form a combined fluid flow channel (46).