3D Monolithic Heat Exchanger for Flexible Installation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plate-fin heat exchangers have limitations due to their two-dimensional channel geometry, which restricts flow distribution, heat transfer, and pressure drop, and imposes design constraints that increase size, weight, and structural reliability issues, while also limiting material selection and installation flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a body with non-planar, twisting shapes and varying cross-sectional areas, allowing for fluid flow channels to change direction and integrate with system elements, reducing weight and stress through optimized material distribution and additively manufactured construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional plate fin heat exchanger construction is used with flat sheet metal parting sheets and two-dimensional thin corrugated fins, then manufacturing simplicity is achieved, but flow distribution, heat transfer, and pressure drop performance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional flat plate fin construction to three-dimensional monolithic structures with complex curved surfaces and varying cross-sections. The body includes non-planar twisting shapes and varying cross-sectional areas that enable streamwise geometry variation, allowing superior flow distribution and heat transfer performance while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through additive manufacturing processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional plate fin heat exchanger construction is used with flat sheet metal parting sheets, then manufacturing simplicity is achieved, but installation flexibility and system integration options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs variable cross-sectional geometry along the flow direction, with the body cross-section changing from inlet to outlet. This includes varying height, width, and curvature parameters that allow the heat exchanger to adapt to different installation configurations and system integration requirements while being manufactured as a monolithic structure.
3Strength
If conventional plate fin heat exchanger construction is used with braze joints, then structural assembly is achieved, but structural reliability is reduced due to stress concentration at corner fillets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (parting sheets, fins, spacing bars) into a single monolithic body manufactured through additive manufacturing. This eliminates all braze joints and welded connections, removing stress concentration points and potential failure locations, thereby significantly improving structural reliability while maintaining assembly integrity.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional plate fin heat exchanger construction is used with flat geometry parting sheets, then manufacturing simplicity is achieved, but weight increases due to thicker plates required to reduce stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies varying wall thickness and material distribution throughout the heat exchanger body, with thicker sections positioned only where structurally necessary to handle pressure loads and thinner sections where weight reduction is prioritized. The monolithic additive manufacturing process enables this localized material optimization, reducing overall weight while maintaining structural integrity.
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 flow control, reduces pressure drop, and facilitates easier system integration with reduced volume and weight, while allowing for improved thermal efficiency and flexible installation options.
Implementation Method 1
A heat exchanger according to the invention comprises the features defined in claim 1
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2
AI summary
A heat exchanger (100A) includes a body (101A) shaped to integrate with one or more system structural elements and a plurality of first flow channels (103A) defined in the body (101A). The heat exchanger (100A) also includes a plurality of second flow channels (105A) defined in the body (101A). The second flow channels (105A) are fluidly isolated from the first flow channels (103A). The first flow channels (103A) and the second flow channels (105A) have a changing flow direction characteristic along a direction of flow within the first flow channels (103A) and the second flow channels (105A).