Heat Exchanger Plate With Interchangeable Insert
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger plates require adaptation to specific support bars based on their geometry, limiting their versatility and necessitating changes when different support bars are used.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger plate design featuring a recess with a plastic insert that guides the support bar, allowing for easy adaptation to various support bar shapes without altering the plate's geometry, using a click-on mechanism for secure positioning and a plastic material to avoid fluid contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the heat exchanger plate geometry is directly adapted to specific support bars, then the alignment and mounting precision is improved, but the versatility and adaptability to different support bar shapes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger plate is segmented into two functional parts: a standard heat transfer plate and a separate support bar guiding insert. The insert can be removed and replaced depending on the support bar shape being used, while the main plate geometry remains unchanged. This segmentation allows the system to maintain both precision alignment (through the guided insert) and versatility (through interchangeable inserts).
Solution Approach 2:
A supporting insert acts as an intermediary element between the heat transfer plate and the support bar. The insert has a support bar guiding section that directly contacts and guides the support bar, while the rest of the plate maintains its standard geometry. This intermediary allows different support bar shapes to be accommodated without modifying the plate itself, resolving the contradiction between precision alignment and versatility.
2Reliability
If the heat exchanger plate includes integrated support bar guiding features, then the mounting stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting function is segmented from the heat transfer plate and placed in a separate insert. This reduces the complexity of the main plate design while maintaining mounting stability through the specialized insert that is optimized for guiding the support bar.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat transfer plate is designed with universal geometry that can work with multiple types of support bars. The specialized mounting function is transferred to interchangeable inserts, allowing the plate itself to remain simple and universal while still achieving reliable mounting through the purpose-designed inserts.
3Ease of operation
If the recess is designed with sections pointing away from the edge, then the ease of inserting the support bar is improved, but the structural strength may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The recess structure is segmented into sections that point away from the edge, creating guiding surfaces that facilitate easy insertion of the support bar. The insert design incorporates these geometric features while maintaining overall structural integrity through its material composition and attachment method to the heat transfer plate.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
A heat exchanger plate (3) is described comprising a heat exchange area in a heat transfer plate (11) and a support bar guiding area at an edge(14) of the heat transfer plate (11), a recess (13) in the edge (14), and an insert (12) mounted in the recess (13). It should be possible to use the same heat transfer plate independent of a support bar or support bars used during assembling of the heat exchanger plates (3). To this end, the largest width of the recess (13) in a direction parallel to the edge (14) is located at the edge (14) and a support bar guiding section (15) is provided in the insert (12).