Coaxial Coiled Heat Exchanger Layout for Flexible Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers are inflexible in production and installation, require significant thermal insulators, and can only be tested after assembly, making them costly and difficult to produce and install, especially for different thermal power levels.
Innovation Solution
A compact heat exchanger design with a casing that includes a single body formed from mouldable synthetic material and metal end walls, featuring coaxial coiled tubes with a constant pitch, allowing for flexible tube arrangement and simplified assembly without welds, with inlet and outlet connections on one end wall for easy testing and installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If coiled tubes are packed between two opposite end walls of the casing, then the heat exchanger achieves compact structure, but significant masses of thermal insulators are required and production flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into modular sections with standardized end walls and interchangeable coiled tube assemblies. This segmentation allows different tube configurations to be produced separately and assembled into the same casing, maintaining compact structure while enabling production flexibility for different thermal power levels
Solution Approach 2:
The end walls are designed with universal mounting features and connection points that can accommodate various coiled tube arrangements. The standardized casing structure serves multiple models of heat exchangers with different thermal powers, eliminating the need for custom-designed casings for each model
2Volume of moving object
If coiled tubes are packed between two opposite end walls, then the heat exchanger achieves compact structure, but the axial dimensions are determined by the coiled tubes making customization difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The design allows dynamic adjustment of the heat exchanger configuration by selecting different numbers and types of coiled tubes that can be assembled into the standardized casing. This enables customization for different thermal power levels and application requirements while maintaining the same compact external dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The internal configuration parameters (number of tubes, tube diameter, coil density) can be changed without altering the external casing dimensions. This allows the same compact structure to be adapted for different thermal powers by simply changing the tube assembly parameters
3Reliability
If the heat exchanger is completely assembled before testing, then the structure is complete, but defects require dismantling and reassembly increasing time and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The coiled tube assemblies are manufactured and tested separately before being installed in the casing. This preliminary testing allows defects to be detected and corrected before final assembly, eliminating the need for dismantling and reassembly if problems are found after complete assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger is divided into separable modules (end walls, coiled tube assemblies, insulation layers) that can be assembled and disassembled independently. This modular structure enables efficient testing at different stages of assembly without requiring complete disassembly for defect correction
4Power
If multiple coiled tubes are used to increase heat exchange surface, then thermal efficiency improves, but the axial dimensions and casing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing axial length by adding more tubes in series, the design arranges multiple coiled tubes in parallel between the same two end walls. This utilizes the radial and circumferential dimensions within the compact casing, maintaining short axial dimensions while providing extensive heat exchange surface area through multiple simultaneous heat transfer paths
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
The design enables efficient, cost-effective, and flexible production and installation of heat exchangers with high thermal efficiency and reduced material usage, allowing for various thermal power levels using the same casing and minimizing the need for insulators, while enabling pre-testing for defect correction.
Implementation Method 1
The function of a heat exchanger is to transfer thermal energy between two fluids
Implementation Method 2
heat that develops following upon combustion and the latent condensation heat, contained in the combustion fumes
Implementation Method 3
the latent condensation heat, contained in the combustion fumes
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger has a heat-exchanger unit includes one or more substantially coaxial coiled tubes and a casing for housing the heat-exchanger unit. The casing has a first end wall, a second end wall, and a peripheral part between the two end walls. Each tube has a first end and a second end. The heat-exchanger unit is supported by the first end wall of the casing, with the first end and the second end of each tube that is located substantially at the first end wall of the casing.