Multi-Disk Heat Exchanger Rotor for Boundary Layer Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current heat exchange devices, such as air-cooled heat exchangers in residential air conditioners, face a thermal bottleneck due to a boundary layer of motionless air that adheres to surfaces, limiting their coefficient of performance (COP) and heat transfer efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design combining a fan with a multi-disk rotor, where disks are fixedly mounted on a shaft and rotate between heat transferring fins, creating a suction and discharge side, allowing for enhanced heat transfer by using the disks as intermediate heat carriers and promoting laminar fluid flow, which reduces noise and increases thermal efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional heat exchanger design is used, then device structure is simple, but heat transfer efficiency is limited due to boundary layer thermal resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs rotating disks instead of static structures. The disks rotate to actively disrupt the boundary layer of motionless air that adheres to heat exchanger surfaces, transforming the heat exchanger from a static to a dynamic system. This rotation enables continuous renewal of the fluid contact, preventing thermal bottleneck and significantly enhancing heat transfer efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple segments including rotating disks, stationary fins, and fluid channels. The rotating disks are segmented into multiple elements that can independently rotate, while the heat exchanger surface is segmented into fins and channels. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while working together to overcome boundary layer limitations.
2Productivity
If multi-disk rotating design is implemented, then heat transfer efficiency increases, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested configuration where rotating disks are positioned within the finned heat exchanger structure. The disks are nested between the fins, and the entire rotating assembly is nested within the housing. This nesting allows the rotating components to occupy space that would otherwise be empty or underutilized, maximizing heat transfer surface area within a compact volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional two-dimensional heat transfer surfaces to a three-dimensional rotating system. The rotating disks introduce a temporal dimension to the heat transfer process, creating a dynamic volumetric heat exchange environment. This dimensional transformation allows heat transfer to occur throughout the volume occupied by the rotating disks rather than just at fixed surfaces.
3Productivity
If fluid circulation is enhanced, then heat exchange performance improves, but noise level increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating disks create periodic action as they continuously move through the fluid, creating alternating zones of fluid intake, heating/cooling, and discharge. This periodic motion is smooth and rhythmic, avoiding the turbulent, chaotic flow patterns that generate noise. The regular rotation at controlled speeds maintains efficient heat exchange while minimizing acoustic disturbances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional high-speed fans or blowers that force fluid through the heat exchanger with a gentle rotation-based fluid circulation system. The rotating disks naturally induce fluid flow through their motion and temperature differences, substituting aggressive mechanical forcing with a more subdued thermal-mechanical interaction that achieves similar or better heat exchange performance with significantly reduced noise.
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 significantly enhances heat transfer efficiency, reduces thermal resistance, and achieves a greater temperature difference between incoming and outgoing fluid, while maintaining a compact size and low noise levels, outperforming conventional devices by 2-4 times in terms of size and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The disks are positioned partially overlapping in the space between heat transferring fins with which the thermal element is equipped... heat exchange occurs between said fins and said revolving disks
Implementation Method 2
Within this boundary layer region, diffusive transport is the dominant mechanism for heat transfer. The resulting thermal bottleneck largely determines the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger.
Implementation Method 3
The present invention is designed to provide a laminar (i.e. streamlined) flow of fluid discharged from the apparatus. Such laminar flow significantly reduces the level of noise generated
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are devices, methods, and systems for heat exchange, comprising one or more multi-disk rotors, one or more finned thermal elements, and a cover, which, even without an external fan, are combined in one apparatus to form a directed movement of fluid and heat exchange. Additional embodiments comprise an additional circulation chamber, integrated with/within said apparatus and/or external fans and/or at least one baffle in a circulation chamber for further directing and intensifying a changing of temperature of fluid passing through the apparatus. A highly efficient heat exchange is achieved by a high temperature gradient near the heat transferring surface and by a high-volume pumping capability of the multi-disk fan. The devices, methods, and systems are particularly applicable in fields that require compactness and low noise levels during operation, such as air conditioning and CPU cooling.