3D Lattice Heat Exchanger Baffle Cells for Smooth Flow Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heat exchangers with three-dimensional lattice structures face challenges in complex baffle fabrication, leading to manufacturing difficulties, fluid flow issues, and increased pressure drops due to abrupt transitions, which affect performance and structural integrity.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring integrally formed contiguous unit cells that define a three-dimensional lattice structure with customizable baffle cells and pathway cells, allowing for varied flow orientations and reduced pressure loss through rounded unit cell entrances, enabling improved manufacturability and heat transfer properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional baffles are fabricated from panels with holes fitted over tubes and welded in place, then baffles can support tube bundles and direct fluid flow, but the fabrication process becomes complicated and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle and tube bundle are merged into a single integrated structure where the baffle is formed as one piece with the tube bundle, eliminating the need for separate fabrication and welding operations. The baffle panels are directly connected to the tube bundle during formation, creating a unified component that provides both support and flow direction functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle is pre-formed with the tube bundle in an integrated structure before installation. The baffle panels are shaped and positioned in advance as part of the tube bundle assembly, allowing the entire unit to be installed as a single component rather than assembling multiple separate parts on-site.
2Strength
If traditional baffles are welded to tubes, then structural support is provided, but tube damage and leaks may arise from fabrication errors
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle and tube bundle are merged into a single integrated structure where the baffle is formed as one piece with the tube bundle, eliminating the need for separate fabrication and welding operations. The baffle panels are directly connected to the tube bundle during formation, creating a unified component that provides both support and flow direction functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The welding process is replaced with an integral forming process where the baffle and tube bundle are created as a single piece. This substitution eliminates the mechanical stress and potential defects associated with welding, such as faulty welds and stress concentrations, while maintaining structural integrity through the integrated design.
3Ease of operation
If abrupt transitions are used from inlet plenum to tube bundle, then fluid flow is directed efficiently, but significant shear stress and pressure drop occur
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet regions of the baffle panels are formed with curved or rounded surfaces instead of abrupt sharp edges. This curvature creates a gradual transition for the fluid flow from the inlet plenum into the tube bundle, reducing shear stress and pressure drop while maintaining effective flow direction. The rounded surfaces guide fluid smoothly around the tube bundle inlet areas.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2E
AI summary
Provided are heat exchangers (100) that have a plurality of integrally formed contiguous unit cells defining a three-dimensional lattice (104) of repeating unit cells, and methods of forming a baffle in a three-dimensional lattice (104) structure of a heat exchanger (100). The plurality of integrally formed contiguous unit cells include a plurality of pathway cells (200) and a plurality of baffle cells (250) integrally formed among the plurality of pathway cells (200). The plurality of pathway cells (200) have a solid domain (202) that includes interior and exterior pathway-cell surface (210) that respectively contiguously define first and second furcated fluid domain (204), (206) for a first fluid (138) and a second fluid (144) to respectively flow across the plurality of pathway cells (200). The plurality of baffle cells (250) have a solid domain (202) that includes one or more furcated-pathway blinds (254) that together provide one or more furcated-pathway baffles (300), (302) that contiguously define a boundary to a furcated fluid domain.