Heat Exchanger Interleaved Channels Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchangers face challenges in optimizing heat transfer efficiency while minimizing pressure drop, particularly when using baffles, which can increase pressure drop and reduce efficiency in fluid flow and heat transfer.
Innovation Solution
The heat exchanger design features an interleaved arrangement of channels with unequal numbers in a multi-layer stack, combined with inclined conduits that interconnect channels without fully occluding them, promoting fluid mixing and thermal energy transfer between hot and cold fluids, and is manufactured using additive layer manufacturing techniques for structural integrity and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If baffles are introduced into channels to improve heat transfer efficiency, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but pressure drop increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes traditional baffle structures from the heat exchanger channels and replaces them with an interleaved multi-layer channel arrangement. This extraction of the baffle element eliminates the source of high pressure drop while maintaining heat transfer functionality through the alternative channel configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional planar baffle arrangement to a three-dimensional interleaved multi-layer stack configuration. By stacking multiple layers with alternating hot and cold fluid channels in different spatial dimensions, the design achieves enhanced heat transfer without the pressure drop penalties of conventional baffles.
2Loss of energy
If channels are interconnected to promote fluid mixing, then thermal energy transfer is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple discrete layers, each containing a specific arrangement of hot and cold fluid channels. These segmented layers are then stacked and interconnected through conduits, allowing fluid mixing between layers while maintaining the structural modularity that simplifies manufacturing and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where conduits are integrated within the multi-layer stack, passing through alternating layers to connect channels. This nesting approach allows inter-layer fluid communication without adding external complexity, as the conduits are embedded within the existing structural framework.
3Loss of energy
If an interleaved arrangement with unequal numbers of channels is used, then heat transfer efficiency is enhanced, but manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs additive layer manufacturing technology, which allows for the direct fabrication of complex geometries with varying channel counts in different layers. This manufacturing parameter change enables the production of interleaved arrangements with unequal channel numbers without the tooling constraints of traditional manufacturing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger utilizes composite construction techniques where multiple materials with different thermal and mechanical properties are combined in the multi-layer stack. This composite approach optimizes both heat transfer performance and structural integrity while accommodating the asymmetric channel configuration required for enhanced efficiency.
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
This design enhances heat transfer efficiency by allowing fluid to flow between interconnected channels, reducing pressure drop and improving thermal energy transfer, while maintaining structural integrity and manufacturing feasibility.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of conduits extending between the channels, each of the conduits interconnecting two channels and passing through a further channel
Implementation Method 2
an interleaved arrangement is provided, with channels separated by base plates... The first group of channels, corresponding with the odd-numbered channels pass fluid in a first direction. The second group of channels, corresponding with the even-numbered channels, pass the fluid in a second direction
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5~6
AI summary
A heat exchanger comprising: a core comprising first fluid channels, for guiding a first fluid, wherein each of the first fluid channels comprises a plurality of spur conduits interconnecting with at least one of another of the first fluid channels;a manifold for first fluid input comprising an input port which communicates with an input chamber for a first fluid, the chamber branching to form a plurality of first-fluid core-input channels; and a manifold for first fluid output comprising a plurality of first-fluid core-output channels which lead into an output chamber communicating with an output port, wherein each first fluid channel in the core communicates between a respective first-fluid core-input channel and a respective first-fluid core-output channel.