Deformable Fin Heat Exchanger for Uniform Cooling Under Variable Heat Flux
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers struggle to maintain uniform temperature distribution under non-steady state conditions due to changes in heat flux distribution, leading to reduced performance and potential temperature non-uniformities.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger with deformable fins that adjust their shape and orientation in response to local temperature increases, allowing for adaptive heat transfer and improved temperature uniformity. The fins are designed with bimetal or bimorph constructions and can buckle or change shape to enhance heat exchange with a coolant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a custom-tailored cooling scheme is designed for uniform heat flux distribution, then temperature uniformity is improved under steady-state conditions, but temperature non-uniformity increases when heat flux distribution changes over time
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger employs deformable fins that can dynamically change their shape and orientation in response to varying heat flux conditions. The fins are made of elastomeric material allowing them to bend and adapt their configuration, transforming the static cooling structure into a dynamic system that automatically adjusts to maintain optimal heat transfer performance under changing thermal loads
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and geometric parameters of the fins by using temperature-responsive elastomeric materials. As the base temperature changes, the fins undergo dimensional and shape changes, altering their heat transfer surface area and orientation to adapt to varying heat flux conditions, thereby maintaining temperature uniformity across different operating states
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid fins are used in a heat exchanger, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability to varying heat flux distribution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces rigid fins with flexible deformable fins made of elastomeric material. These flexible fins can bend and change shape in response to thermal variations, allowing the heat exchanger to adapt its surface geometry to varying heat flux conditions while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through molding and fabrication of elastomeric components
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable fins are constructed from elastomeric materials that combine structural integrity with thermal responsiveness. These composite materials provide both the mechanical properties needed for fin structure and the thermal expansion/contraction characteristics that enable adaptive shape changing in response to base temperature variations
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 adaptive heat exchanger effectively maintains uniform temperature distribution even under non-uniform and changing heat flux conditions, enhancing cooling performance and reliability without the need for external sensors or actuators.
Implementation Method 1
at least some of the deformable fins having a free end configured to move away from the surface of the base as a function of a local temperature increase of the base
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger comprising a base, and a plurality of deformable fins connected to a surface of the base
Implementation Method 3
the deformable fins distributed on the surface of the base to be exposed to a coolant flowing over the surface of the base
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger comprises a base, and a plurality of deformable fins connected to a surface of the base. Some deformable fins have a free end configured to move away from the surface of the base as a function of a local temperature increase of the base. The deformable fins are distributed on the surface of the base to be exposed to a coolant flowing over the surface of the base, wherein a distribution of the deformable fins on the surface of the base is non-uniform.