Hybrid Heat Exchanger Manifolds for 3D Printing Angle Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, impose geometrical constraints on heat exchanger configurations, limiting the maximum horizontal angle to about 45 degrees, which reduces the effectiveness of heat exchangers and requires additional supports that can be difficult to access and remove.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid construction method for heat exchangers is employed, where the heat exchanger body is formed via additive manufacturing, and the inlet and outlet manifolds are formed via subtractive manufacturing processes like machining or milling, allowing for more complex geometries and reduced flow lengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If additive manufacturing is used to form the heat exchanger body, then manufacturing flexibility and complex geometries are improved, but geometrical constraints limit the maximum horizontal angle to about 45 degrees, worsening the heat exchanger effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into two distinct parts: the heat exchanger body formed by additive manufacturing and the manifolds formed by subtractive manufacturing. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its respective manufacturing process, with the body achieving complex geometries and the manifolds achieving precise angular configurations exceeding 45 degrees, thereby resolving the geometric constraints while maintaining manufacturing flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines two different manufacturing approaches (additive and subtractive) to create a hybrid heat exchanger structure. The additively manufactured body is integrated with subtractively manufactured manifolds, merging the advantages of both processes to overcome the limitations of using either process alone.
2Device complexity
If additive manufacturing is used with limited horizontal angles, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but longer transition from header to high surface area sections is required, worsening the overall effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the heat exchanger into body and manifold components manufactured by different processes, the patent eliminates the need for long transition sections. The subtractively manufactured manifolds can directly connect to the additively manufactured body at optimal angles, reducing transition length while maintaining manufacturing simplicity for each component.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional supports are incorporated during additive manufacturing, then structural stability is improved, but the supports become difficult to access and remove, worsening the ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the manufacturing processes so that supports are only required for the additively manufactured body, not for the manifolds. The manifolds are manufactured separately by subtractive processes that do not require internal supports, eliminating the difficulty of accessing and removing supports from the final assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger includes a heat exchanger body having a plurality of heat exchanger tubes, an inlet manifold connected to the heat exchanger body and configured to distribute a flow of fluid from a fluid inlet of the inlet manifold to the plurality of heat exchanger tubes, and an outlet manifold connected to the heat exchanger body and configured to collect the flow of fluid from the plurality of heat exchanger tubes and direct the flow of fluid through a fluid outlet. The heat exchanger body is formed via one or more additive manufacturing processes, and at least one of the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold is formed via one or more subtractive manufacturing processes.