Curved Heat Exchanger Header Reduces Pressure Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heat exchangers face challenges with high pressure and thermal stresses at connections between flat tubes and collection tanks, leading to deformation and material damage, and gaskets struggle to maintain hydraulic or pneumatic sealing under these conditions.
Innovation Solution
A curved plastic header design for heat exchangers that reduces thermal and pressure stresses at tube-to-header joints, using a convex shape towards tubes and a concave shape towards the internal chamber, which enhances strength and reduces deformation, allowing for thinner materials and cost savings while maintaining reliable sealing with reinforced gaskets and baffle structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If collection tanks are constructed from thinner and lighter materials, then weight and cost are reduced, but strength and resistance to pressure stresses deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The header is designed with a curved, convex shape instead of a flat configuration. This curvature distributes thermal and pressure stresses more evenly across the structure, allowing thinner materials to maintain adequate strength. The curved geometry inherently resists deformation under pressure while reducing overall material usage and weight.
2Ease of manufacture
If header thickness is reduced for weight savings, then manufacturing cost decreases, but resistance to thermal and pressure stresses worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The curved header design distributes stress across a larger surface area, reducing peak stress concentrations that would require thicker material to withstand. This allows thinner, more cost-effective materials to be used while maintaining adequate resistance to thermal and pressure stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the header from flat to curved, fundamentally altering how stresses are distributed. This parameter change allows the use of thinner materials that are both cheaper to manufacture and sufficiently resistant to operational stresses.
3Reliability
If gaskets are used for sealing between header and collection tank, then sealing function is provided, but reliability under high pressure and temperature deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical gasket sealing system with a direct metal-to-metal contact sealing interface. The curved header design creates inherent mechanical interference and compression that maintains sealing without requiring separate gasket components, thereby improving reliability under high pressure and temperature conditions where gaskets typically fail.
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger includes a plurality of tubes, a collection tank having an inlet port and an internal chamber in fluid communication with the plurality of tubes, a header coupled to the collection tank and having a plurality of apertures each dimensioned to receive a corresponding tube, a gasket separating the header from the collection tank and sealing a gap between the header and the collection tank, and a reinforcement retaining the gasket in position between the header and the collection tank. The reinforcement includes a first web extending across the internal chamber and a second web spaced apart from the first web and extending across the internal chamber. The heat exchanger also includes a baffle coupled to and extending between the first web and the second web. The baffle extends across at least a portion of the internal chamber between the inlet port and the plurality of tubes.