Heat Exchange Module With Slit Casing For Thermal Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers face challenges in manufacturing with different pressures and tightness requirements for both sides, assembling components correctly for automated welding or soldering, managing thermal expansion without introducing tension that may lead to cracks, and achieving compact, sturdy, and adaptable designs suitable for high-temperature steam reforming and automotive applications.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchange module comprising corrugated top and bottom substrates with ridges and channels, and tubes extending transversely between them, which are clamped between the substrates to allow thermal expansion while maintaining fluid tightness and good heat transfer contact. The module includes a casing with slits for the tubes, allowing for automated assembly and sealing, and an undulating tube trajectory for improved heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional heat exchanger manufacturing methods are used, then manufacturing precision and tightness can be achieved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase due to different pressure requirements for both sides
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into two separate pressure zones using a partition wall with selective permeability. The partition wall segments the internal space into a first space for high-pressure refrigerant and a second space for low-pressure refrigerant, allowing each side to be manufactured and assembled independently with their respective tightness requirements, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the heat exchanger structure are assigned different functional properties. The partition wall is designed with selective permeability characteristics - impermeable to liquid refrigerant but permeable to refrigerant vapor. This local differentiation allows the structure to simultaneously satisfy different pressure and tightness requirements in different regions without requiring entirely separate manufacturing processes for each pressure zone.
2Strength
If thermal expansion is restrained to maintain structural integrity, then strength is maintained, but reliability decreases due to tension that may lead to cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The partition wall is designed as a thin-walled structure with selective permeability that can flexibly accommodate thermal expansion. The thin-walled design allows the partition wall to expand and contract with temperature changes without generating excessive internal stresses that would lead to cracks, while still maintaining its structural integrity and selective permeability function.
Solution Approach 2:
The design explicitly accounts for and accommodates thermal expansion of the heat exchanger components. The partition wall and connecting structures are designed with sufficient flexibility and clearance to allow for thermal expansion movements during refrigerant phase changes and temperature variations, preventing the buildup of damaging tensile stresses while maintaining overall structural strength.
3Volume of moving object
If compact design is implemented to reduce volume, then space efficiency improves, but device complexity increases due to stacking and assembly requirements for automated production
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional components are merged into an integrated assembly. The partition wall, heat exchange channels, and support structures are combined into a unified structure where the partition wall serves both as a pressure separation barrier and as part of the heat exchange pathway. This merging reduces the number of separate parts that need to be stacked and assembled, simplifying automated production while maintaining compact dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition wall is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it separates the high-pressure and low-pressure zones, provides a pathway for refrigerant vapor permeation, serves as a heat exchange surface, and structurally connects the different pressure zones. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby simplifying the stacking and assembly process for automated production while achieving compact overall size.
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 module achieves secure fluid tightness at high and varying temperatures and pressures, accommodates thermal expansion, and provides improved heat transfer, making it suitable for high-temperature steam reforming and automotive applications, while enabling cost-effective, high-volume automatic production.
Implementation Method 1
tubes extending in a width direction between the top and bottom substrates, in heat exchanging contact with the ridges
Implementation Method 2
the side walls of the top and bottom casing members overlapping and being mutually connected by soldering or brazing
Implementation Method 3
the side walls of the top and bottom casing members overlapping and being mutually connected by soldering or brazing
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A heat exchange module (2, 3, 4) comprises a corrugated top heat exchange substrate (6) and a corrugated bottom heat exchange substrate (8), and tubes (8; 23, 24, 25) that extending in a width direction (W) between the top and bottom substrates (6,8) in heat exchanging contact with ridges (19,20) of the substrates. A top and a bottom casing member (35, 36) contacts the substrates (6,8) and each has a transverse side wall (32, 33, 34) with slits (28, 29, 30) oriented in the transverse direction (T) and accommodating the tubes (8; 23, 24, 25). The side walls (32, 33) of the top and bottom casing members (35, 36) overlap and are mutually connected by soldering or brazing.