Heat Exchanger With Thin-Walled Elementary Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers for vehicle air conditioning systems face limitations in cooling capacity, temperature homogenization, and mass reduction, particularly in the efficiency of heat exchange between refrigerant fluids and air.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring U-shaped elementary paths with thin walls and internal spacers, arranged in layers with transition passages, enhancing thermal contact and fluid circulation to improve heat transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional heat exchanger design is used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but cooling capacity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple elementary paths arranged in layers, with each path containing multiple tubes. This segmentation allows the refrigerant to flow through multiple passes, increasing the heat exchange surface area and cooling capacity while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a layered structure with elementary paths arranged in multiple layers, adding a vertical dimension to the heat exchange process. This multi-layer arrangement increases the effective heat exchange area without significantly increasing the horizontal footprint, thereby improving cooling capacity while controlling overall device complexity.
2Strength
If thicker tube walls are used, then structural strength is improved, but heat exchange efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise tube wall thickness parameters (between 0.24-0.28 mm) that optimize the balance between mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. This parameter optimization ensures sufficient structural strength while minimizing thermal resistance, thereby maintaining high heat exchange efficiency.
3Temperature
If uniform cooling is achieved, then temperature homogenization is improved, but additional structural elements are required
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple elementary paths with multiple tubes in each path, creating numerous small flow channels that distribute refrigerant uniformly across the heat exchange surface. This segmentation promotes uniform heat distribution and temperature homogenization of the cooled air.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces transition passages with specific surface area ratios (60-80% of elementary path surface) at strategic locations between layers. These localized structural modifications ensure uniform refrigerant distribution and heat exchange across different regions, achieving temperature homogenization without requiring complete redesign of the entire structure.
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
The design increases cooling capacity, homogenizes air temperature, and reduces the exchanger's mass while maintaining effective heat exchange between fluids, achieving a 6% increase in cooling capacity and a 1-degree drop in air temperature at specific conditions.
Implementation Method 1
each elementary path for one of the fluids is in thermal contact with at least one adjacent elementary path for the other fluid
Implementation Method 2
the first fluid is a refrigerant fluid or a coolant fluid and the second fluid is air
Data Source
AI summary
The exchanger (1) has tubes coupled to heat exchanging separators. The tubes form elementary paths, where each tube has a wall with thickness comprised between 0.24-0.28 millimeter. The paths form a combined path for a fluid e.g. coolant. The paths are alternately arranged with elementary paths forming another combined path for another fluid i.e. air, in a direction such that each elementary path for one of the fluid is in thermal contact with the adjacent elementary path for other fluid. The former elementary paths have a configuration extended in another direction.