Heat exchanger system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger systems are not optimized for efficient heat transfer and compact structure, particularly in heat sources or sinks with fluid media, as they lack a configuration that maximizes the efficiency of heat exchange while minimizing space requirements.
Innovation Solution
The heat exchanger system incorporates line layers with spiral lines that alternate in flow direction, allowing for efficient heat transfer by having pairs of line layers with opposite flow circulation directions, and is designed to float within the fluid medium, using a housing with buoyancy bodies and optimized flow channels for convection-based operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pipe layers are arranged at a significant distance from each other, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a planar arrangement to a three-dimensional stacked configuration with multiple pipe layers arranged vertically. Pipe layers are positioned at different heights (e.g., first pipe layer at a first height, second pipe layer at a second height), enabling heat transfer optimization without excessive volume increase by utilizing the vertical dimension for spacing while maintaining compact horizontal footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple pipe layers are nested within a single heat exchanger device, with each layer containing spiral pipes that are radially arranged around a central axis. The pipes in different layers are offset radially (e.g., first spiral pipe at a first radial distance, second spiral pipe at a second radial distance), creating a nested concentric structure that maximizes heat transfer surface area within a compact volume.
2Productivity
If multiple spiral pipes run side by side in each pipe layer, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is segmented into multiple pipe layers, with each layer containing one or more spiral pipes. This segmentation allows the complex heat transfer function to be distributed across multiple simpler modular units (individual spiral pipes in different layers), making the overall system more manageable while achieving high heat transfer efficiency through the combined surface area of all segments.
Solution Approach 2:
Each spiral pipe layer serves the universal function of heat transfer between the process fluid and the surrounding medium. The repeated modular structure of spiral pipes across multiple layers provides a universal, scalable design where the same basic heat transfer unit (spiral pipe) is replicated and stacked to achieve the required total heat transfer capacity without increasing structural complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the heat exchanger unit is designed to float within the fluid medium, then ease of installation is improved, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger device incorporates buoyancy elements that provide an upward buoyant force to counteract the downward gravitational force on the device. This anti-weight mechanism enables the heat exchanger to float at a desired depth within the fluid medium, facilitating easy installation and removal while maintaining structural stability through force equilibrium between buoyancy and gravity.
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 configuration enhances heat transfer efficiency and compactness by ensuring uniform flow distribution and minimizing space requirements, allowing for effective heat exchange without additional flow generation measures, while maintaining operational simplicity and environmental protection.
Implementation Method 1
the pipes of which are traversed on the inside by a heat transfer medium and are in contact on the outside with the heat source, in particular the fluid medium of the heat source
Implementation Method 2
optimized flow channels for convection-based operation
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a heat exchanger system, in particular for arranging in heat sources (14) or heat sinks comprising fluid media, for example in surface waters, comprising a heat exchanger unit (74), which is arranged between at least one feed line (34) and at least one discharge line (36) and which has line layers (82), which are arranged one over the other in a stacking direction (76) and extend perpendicularly to the stacking direction (76) and through the inside of the lines (96) of which a heat exchange medium flows, which lines are in contact on the outside with the heat source (14), in particular the fluid medium of the heat source (14), at least one of the lines (96) in each line layer (82) extending in the form of a spiral line (96) around a center axis (88) of the heat exchanger unit (74). The aim of the invention is to improve the heat exchanger system in such a way that the heat exchanger system enables the most efficient heat exchange possible. This aim is achieved, according to the invention, in that the spiral line (96) in one line layer (82a) is connected at a first end (102a) to the feed line (34) and at a second end (104a) to a corresponding second end (104b) of a further spiral line (96) in a further line layer (82) and that the further line layer (82b) is connected by means of the first end (102b) thereof to the discharge line (36).