Integral Heat Exchanger Core Mounts for Lower Stress Concentration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchanger cores face issues with stress concentration and weight inefficiency due to traditional brazing and welding methods, which lead to uneven load distribution and increased material usage, affecting both assembly weight and thermal conductivity.
Innovation Solution
Integrally forming mounts with the core using additive manufacturing or casting, allowing for optimized load distribution and reduced material usage by varying the topology of load-bearing and non-load-bearing regions, eliminating the need for brazing and welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If mounts are brazed or welded to the core, then the connection strength is improved, but stress concentration and uneven load distribution occur
Solution Approach 1:
The mount is integrally formed with the core as a single monolithic structure, eliminating the separate joint between mount and core. This merging of components removes the interface that causes stress concentration while maintaining connection strength through the continuous load path throughout the integral structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The core topology is varied locally to create load-bearing regions with enhanced structural properties. By modifying the topology specifically in load-bearing regions rather than uniformly throughout, the structure achieves optimized stress distribution and load transfer while maintaining connection integrity without conventional joints.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional brazing and welding methods are used, then assembly is simplified, but material usage increases and weight efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The mount and core are combined into a single integral component manufactured as one piece using additive manufacturing. This eliminates the need for separate mounting operations (brazing/welding) and reduces total material usage by removing redundant joint materials and optimizing the load path through the integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing method changes from conventional subtractive or assembly-based approaches to additive manufacturing. This parameter change enables the creation of complex integral geometries that optimize material distribution, reducing overall weight while maintaining structural integrity and eliminating separate assembly steps.
3Strength
If the core structure is optimized for load bearing, then strength is improved, but thermal conductivity may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The core topology is selectively modified in load-bearing regions to enhance structural strength, while non-load-bearing regions maintain their original configuration optimized for thermal performance. This localized differentiation allows the structure to achieve both high load-bearing capacity and effective heat transfer by applying structural reinforcement only where mechanically necessary.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
An embodiment of a heat exchanger core includes a plurality of walls defining a plurality of layers (130,132) in at least one heat exchange relationship. At least one of the layers of the core having a first load-bearing portion (144) aligned with and adjacent to a first mount location on a perimeter of the core, and a first non-load-bearing portion (146) distal from the non-load-bearing portion. A topology of the first load-bearing portion has a load bearing capacity greater than a load bearing capacity of the non-load-bearing portion.