Nested-Block Heat Exchanger Design to Reduce Brazing Zones and Leakage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchangers with brazed configurations face issues of increased brazing zones, leakage risks, and inefficient heat exchange due to unnecessary material usage in connecting elements, leading to higher costs and complex tightness testing.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring nested blocks with blades that avoid crossing each other's components, reducing brazing zones and leakage risks, and optimizing blade areas for improved efficiency, using collectors and disruptors to facilitate fluid circulation without passing through the other block's components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If connecting elements are used to link circulation blades in conventional brazed exchangers, then fluid circulation between blades is enabled, but the number of brazing zones increases and leakage risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the connecting elements from the conventional brazed exchanger structure. Instead of using separate connecting elements to link circulation blades, the patent uses a continuous plate structure where circulation blades are formed directly by the plate geometry, removing the need for additional connecting components and their associated brazing joints.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of circulation blades and connecting elements into a single integrated plate structure. The plate simultaneously forms the circulation blades for fluid flow and provides the structural connection between different blade sections, eliminating the need for separate connecting elements and reducing the number of brazing zones.
2Ease of manufacture
If connecting elements are used in conventional brazed exchangers, then fluid circulation is achieved, but the areas of plates with connecting elements contribute little to heat exchange while increasing material cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by ensuring that every area of the plate contributes to heat exchange. The plate geometry is designed so that circulation blades are formed in regions that maintain thermal contact with both fluid circuits, while connecting regions are minimized and strategically positioned to preserve heat exchange functionality throughout the plate structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If connecting elements pass through circulation blades of the other fluid, then fluid circulation between blades is enabled, but the zones to be brazed are multiplied and tightness testing becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the connecting elements from the design, eliminating the need for them to pass through circulation blades of the other fluid. The continuous plate structure provides fluid circulation paths without requiring penetrating connections, thereby reducing the number of brazing zones and simplifying tightness testing procedures.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional brazed configurations are used, then fluid circulation between blades is achieved, but leakage risks increase and tightness testing procedures become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the circulation blade structure into a continuous plate design that eliminates the need for multiple connecting elements penetrating through blades. This integration reduces the number of potential leakage points and simplifies the fluid circulation configuration while maintaining reliability.
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
Simplifies tightness testing, reduces material costs, and enhances heat exchange efficiency by minimizing unused blade areas and brazing zones, while maintaining effective fluid circulation and heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
said blades being superimposed along a stacking direction of said blades so as to allow heat exchange between said first and second fluids
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 2~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a heat exchanger, in particular for a refrigerant circulating in a motor vehicle, said heat exchanger comprising a first unit (1) for circulating a first fluid, defining first blades (3) for circulating said first fluid, and a second unit (2) for circulating a second fluid, defining second blades (4) for circulating said second fluid, wherein said blades (3, 4) are stacked in a stacking direction such that heat exchange can take place between the first and second fluids and said units (1, 2) allow the first fluid to circulate while avoiding the second unit (2), and the second fluid to circulate while avoiding the first unit (1).