Corrugated Header Sheet Assembly for Fin-Tube Heat Exchangers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers suffer from increased gaps between fin tubes and headers due to manufacturing tolerances, leading to high brazing defect rates and poor structural stability during assembly.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a header with a sheet having corrugated portions and slits, where fin tubes are inserted and compressed to reduce gaps, enhancing adhesion and assembly ease.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If slotting processing or wire cutting is used to form insertion holes in the header, then the header structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but manufacturing tolerances cause increased gaps between the header and fin tubes, leading to high brazing defect rates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the header by adding corrugated portions that can deform elastically. This allows the header to adapt its shape during assembly to match the fin tube dimensions, compensating for manufacturing tolerances and reducing gaps without requiring ultra-precise machining of the insertion holes.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugated portions are designed to be elastically deformable, transforming the static header structure into a dynamic one that can adjust during assembly. The corrugated portions deform to reduce gaps with the fin tubes during brazing, then recover to provide structural support, enabling tolerance compensation through mechanical motion.
2Volume of moving object
If multiple fin tubes pass through insertion holes with narrow intervals, then the heat exchanger compactness is improved, but the assembly process becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the header structure by adding separate corrugated portions for each fin tube insertion location. This segmentation allows each corrugated portion to independently deform and accommodate its corresponding fin tube, enabling parallel assembly operations and reducing assembly difficulty despite narrow intervals between tubes.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugated portions are pre-formed on the header before assembly, creating preliminary deformation structures that facilitate easy fin tube insertion. The corrugated portions are designed in advance to deform during assembly, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures and reducing assembly time.
3Ease of manufacture
If the header uses a simple structure without corrugated portions, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the structural stability and coupling strength between components is low
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugated portions are designed to deform during assembly to reduce gaps and improve coupling, then recover to provide continuous elastic force that maintains tight contact between the header and fin tubes. This dynamic behavior enhances coupling stability without requiring complex rigid structures or additional fastening components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the mechanical parameters of the header by introducing corrugated portions with specific elasticity characteristics. These portions can deform to accommodate assembly variations and then maintain stable coupling through elastic recovery, improving structural stability while keeping the manufacturing process relatively simple.
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 design improves brazing quality, prevents refrigerant leakage, and ensures structural stability by reducing gaps and facilitating easy assembly.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of corrugated portions of the sheet are compressed in a longitudinal direction of the sheet into the header body
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of fin tubes which have heat transfer fins integrally formed with tubes in which a refrigerant flows; and a header which is coupled to the respective one end portions of the plurality of fin tubes. The header may comprise: a header main body which has one side opened; and a sheet which is disposed on the open one side of the header main body, has formed therein a plurality of slits having the respective one end portions of the plurality of fin tubes respectively inserted therein, and forms a plurality of corrugated portions by being bent into a corrugated shape. Accordingly, the respective one ends of the fin tubes are inserted into the sheet having the corrugated portions formed, and then the corrugated portions of the sheet are compressed, thereby enabling the narrowing of gaps between the fin tubes and the header, and thus, by increasing tight adhesion between the fin tubes and the sheet, tolerance may be reduced, and a leakage of the refrigerant may be reduced. In addition, when inserting the fin tubes, intervals between the corrugated portions formed on the sheet are widened so as to enable the fin tubes to be easily inserted, and thus an advantage is also achieved of enabling easy product assembly.