Heat Exchanger Plate Surface Patterns for Flatness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers face challenges in maintaining adequate flatness of heat transfer plates, leading to suboptimal performance and high failure rates due to difficulties in achieving consistent thermal contact and bonding.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of surface patterns on both sides of the heat transfer plates, comprising a plurality of grooves with bases, to enhance flatness and thermal contact, including forming a first surface pattern on the internal surface for thermal contact with a heat transfer fluid and a second surface pattern on the external surface for contact with an object to be heated or cooled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a surface pattern is provided on the second surface of the heat transfer plate to enhance contact with the object to be heated or cooled, then thermal contact with the object is improved, but flatness of the plate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surface pattern divides the second surface into multiple grooved regions, segmenting the contact area to enhance thermal contact with the object while maintaining overall plate flatness through controlled deformation
Solution Approach 2:
The surface pattern creates localized regions with different properties - the grooved areas provide enhanced thermal contact locally, while the overall plate structure maintains adequate flatness for bonding purposes
2Manufacturing precision
If the heat transfer plate is made flat to ensure bonding with adjacent plates, then bonding quality is improved, but thermal contact with the object to be heated or cooled deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surface pattern segments the second surface into grooved contact regions that can deform to match the object surface, providing reliable thermal contact while the overall plate structure remains sufficiently flat for bonding
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the plate serve different functions: the grooved second surface provides localized thermal contact enhancement, while the overall plate geometry maintains the flatness needed for bonding with adjacent plates
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger has a thermally conductive first plate with a flat first surface for thermal contact with a heat transfer fluid, and a flat second surface for thermal contact with an object to be heated or cooled, such as an electronic component. The first surface is provided with a first surface pattern having a plurality of first grooves, and the second surface is provided with a second surface pattern with a plurality of second grooves. The surface patterns may be configured and applied such that the amount of elongation along the first surface produced by application of the first surface pattern substantially corresponds to or offsets the amount of elongation along the second surface produced by application of the second surface pattern, such that the degree of flatness of the first plate prior to formation of the first and second surface patterns will be preserved, maintained or improved.