Integrated Evaporative Cooler Structure for Leak-Safe Dry and Wet Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air guide-integrated evaporation coolers face manufacturing cost increases and reduced cooling efficiency due to separate component assembly and difficulty in sealing, particularly with wave-shaped fins, leading to water and air leaks.
Innovation Solution
An air guide-integrated evaporation cooler design that integrates barrier plates, gap units with bars, and guides to form dry and wet channels, allowing for a simpler manufacturing process and increased surface area without complex fins, using aluminum clad components that bond through brazing to prevent leaks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate components (unit module and air guide) are manufactured individually and assembled, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and cooling efficiency decreases due to water leaks and air mixing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the air guide and unit module into a single monolithic structure manufactured as one piece. The air guide forms an integral part of the unit module, eliminating separate assembly operations. This merging resolves the technical contradiction by maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving perfect sealing and preventing water leaks and air mixing between channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, guides air flow through separate channels, prevents water leakage, and maintains thermal efficiency. The monolithic design combines what were previously separate components into a multi-functional unit, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and sealing performance.
2Area of stationary object
If wave-shaped fins are used to increase heat exchange area, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but manufacturing difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs wave-shaped fins with controlled curvature to increase heat exchange surface area. The fins are formed with smooth curved profiles rather than sharp angles, making them manufacturable using standard forming processes. This application of controlled curvature resolves the contradiction by achieving increased surface area while maintaining ease of manufacture through appropriate geometric design.
3Area of stationary object
If complex fin structures are implemented to maximize contact area, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but manufacturing cost and difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the heat exchange surface into multiple fin segments arranged in a systematic pattern. Rather than creating a single complex continuous structure, the fins are segmented into repeating units that can be manufactured and assembled more easily. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by achieving large contact area through modular repetition rather than monolithic complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the heat exchange surface area by adding fins in the third dimension perpendicular to the main channel flow. This dimensional extension provides increased contact area between dry and wet channels without complicating the planar layout. The fins project outward to create additional heat transfer surfaces, resolving the contradiction between contact area and structural complexity.
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 design enhances heat exchange efficiency, reduces manufacturing costs, and improves productivity by eliminating the need for complex fins and mechanical coupling, while maintaining sufficient rigidity and preventing water and air leaks.
Implementation Method 1
the water is induced to be evaporated. When the water evaporates from a surface of the wet channel, the surface of the wet channel is cooled and absorbs heat of the air which passed through the dry channel
Implementation Method 2
the surface of the wet channel is cooled and absorbs heat of the air which passed through the dry channel, and thus the air which has passed through the dry channel is cooled
Implementation Method 3
using aluminum clad components that bond through brazing to prevent leaks
Data Source
AI summary
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an air guide-integrated evaporation cooler which allows a plurality of barrier plates, heat exchangers, and air guides for forming a dry channel and a wet channel to be integrally manufactured by a simple process, and a method of manufacturing the same. The air guide-integrated evaporation cooler for implementing the purpose includes a plurality of barrier plates; and gap units including a plurality of bars positioned between the plurality of barrier plates, disposed to be spaced apart from each other at a center portion thereof, and configured to form heat exchangers, and guides disposed at edges of the plurality of barrier plates and configured to determine a direction of a fluid flow.