Membrane-Wrapped Energy Exchange Assembly Without Transfer-Blocking Seams
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of energy recovery cores faces challenges in heat and moisture transfer due to issues like air leakage, pressure drop, and increased costs caused by improper membrane adhesion to spacers, and traditional methods often reduce the effective area for energy transfer by using excessive adhesives or creating seams that block transfer areas.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a membrane sheet with creases and slits is used, where spacers are positioned and the membrane is folded over them, sealing only at the lateral walls to form an energy exchange assembly without seams on the energy transfer surface, allowing continuous wrapping and minimizing adhesive use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If excessive adhesive is used to secure the membrane to the spacer, then the membrane adhesion is improved, but the area available for heat and moisture transfer is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is pre-formed with creases and slits before assembly. The creases create predetermined folding locations that allow the membrane to conform to the spacer geometry without requiring excessive adhesive. The slits enable the membrane to wrap around spacer edges while maintaining open areas for energy transfer, thus preparing the membrane in advance to reduce adhesive needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is divided into multiple forming areas separated by creases and slits. This segmentation allows different portions of the membrane to be folded and sealed independently around spacer edges, concentrating adhesive application only at necessary locations rather than across the entire membrane surface, thereby preserving energy transfer area.
2Reliability
If the membrane is wrapped around spacer edges and glued into place, then the membrane adhesion is improved, but the area of membrane available for energy transfer is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
Adhesive application is localized to specific areas rather than being applied uniformly. The membrane is sealed only at the lateral walls of spacers where structural support is needed, while the central and upper portions of the membrane that contact air streams remain unsealed and open for energy transfer. This localizes the adhesive function to where it is most needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is pre-formed with creases that create predetermined folding locations. These creases allow the membrane to naturally fold around spacer edges without requiring adhesive on the wrapping surfaces, reserving adhesive application only for sealing at the lateral walls where adhesion is critical.
3Reliability
If traditional assembly methods with seams and tape are used, then the membrane can be secured to spacers, but the seams block areas for heat and moisture transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for seams and tape by using a continuous membrane sheet that wraps around spacers. The membrane is secured through folding and sealing at lateral walls only, removing the harmful seams that would otherwise be created by joining separate membrane pieces, thereby preserving continuous energy transfer areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is pre-formed with creases and slits that enable it to wrap around spacers and secure itself without requiring additional joining elements like seams or tape. The creases create natural folding lines that allow the membrane to conform to the spacer geometry and secure through sealing at lateral walls only.
4Manufacturing precision
If manual assembly with multiple steps is used, then precise membrane positioning is achieved, but assembly time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is pre-formed with creases and slits in a continuous sheet before assembly. These pre-formed features guide the folding and positioning processes, enabling automated equipment to accurately position and seal the membrane at lateral walls without requiring complex manual positioning steps, thus maintaining precision while reducing assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
The assembly process uses a continuous membrane sheet that can be wrapped and sealed in a continuous automated operation. The pre-formed creases and slits enable the membrane to be processed continuously through folding and sealing operations at lateral walls of multiple spacers without interruption, maintaining precision through consistent automated action.
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 approach enhances the performance and reduces costs by maintaining open areas for heat and moisture transfer, reducing pressure drop, and allowing for quicker, automated assembly with a single roll of membrane material.
Implementation Method 1
Energy exchange assemblies are used to transfer energy, such as sensible and/or latent energy, between fluid streams
Implementation Method 2
The amount of moisture transferred in the core is generally governed by a humidity difference and convective mass transfer coefficients of the two air streams
Implementation Method 3
The membrane may be separated from adjacent membranes using a spacer
Data Source
AI summary
A method of forming an energy exchange assembly may include forming a plurality of creases and a plurality of slits in a membrane sheet according to a predefined pattern, positioning a first spacer on top of a first forming area of the membrane sheet, folding the membrane sheet over a top of the first spacer so that a second forming area is positioned over the top of the first spacer, sealing a first portion of the first forming area to a first outer lateral wall of the first spacer, and positioning a second spacer on top of the second forming area, thereby stacking the second spacer over the first spacer.