Heat Exchanger Separator Element for Internal Leak Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers face challenges in detecting small internal leaks between internal spaces due to insufficient sensitivity of detection systems, leading to performance loss.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a separator element with a pair of plates joined at their central portions to form an annular gap, flanked by laterally protruding portions, allowing leak detection through a pressure-tightness test by directing seepage to the exterior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separator partition is installed to divide the passages inside the heat exchanger, then the internal spaces are separated, but small internal leaks between the internal spaces cannot be detected due to insufficient sensitivity of detection systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary detection system comprising a detection tube connected to the first and second inner spaces through detection holes in the separator element. This intermediary structure channels any potential leaks through a designated path to a detection chamber, amplifying the detectability of small leaks that would otherwise remain undetected by conventional pressure-tightness tests.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical pressure-tightness testing with an optical detection system. The detection chamber is equipped with a light source and a sensor that detects changes in light transmission when fluid leaks into the detection chamber, providing significantly higher sensitivity for detecting small internal leaks compared to traditional mechanical methods.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the separator element is inserted into a through-hole of the tubular body distributor, then the separator can be installed in heat exchangers with tubular body distributors, but the installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The separator element is segmented into multiple functional components: the main separator body with partitioning walls, detection holes integrated into the separator, and a detection chamber formed by the interaction of separator elements. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while simplifying the overall installation process into standardized steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection chamber is nested within the structure formed by the separator elements and tubular body distributor. The detection holes in the separator elements lead into the detection chamber, creating a nested configuration where the detection system is integrated within the separator structure itself, reducing the need for external detection components.
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger has a first distributor and a second distributor, and a plurality of parallel, coplanar tubes interconnecting the first distributor and the second distributor. One of the first and second distributors has a separator element inserted into a through-hole formed on a side wall of the distributor. The separator element has a pair of plates, each of which has a central portion and a peripheral edge raised with respect to the central portion, the plates being joined to each other at their central portions to define an annular gap around the central portions, interposed between the peripheral edges of the plates. The peripheral edge of each plate has a pair of laterally protruding portions arranged on opposite sides of the plate, and interposed between opposite edges of the through-hole.