Nested Duct Heat Exchanger for Compact Aircraft Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchangers used in aircraft and other transport vehicles are large and heavy, limiting their size and weight while aiming for high cooling performance, and they do not efficiently optimize heat exchange surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger with a fluid circulation chamber and nested heat exchange tubes, featuring inner and outer ducts that allow for a double heat exchange surface, reducing the size of the exchanger while maintaining equivalent performance through a configuration that includes a transverse spacer for improved turbulence and heat exchange efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional heat exchangers are used to provide high cooling performance, then cooling capacity is improved, but size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested duct configuration where inner ducts are placed within outer ducts, creating multiple concentric heat exchange surfaces within a compact structure. This nesting approach allows the hot and cold fluids to exchange heat through multiple surfaces simultaneously, achieving high cooling capacity while maintaining a compact size and reduced weight compared to conventional single-layer heat exchangers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional two-dimensional plate or fin heat exchanger surfaces to a three-dimensional nested duct configuration. By arranging ducts in multiple concentric layers and directions, the heat exchange surface area is dramatically increased within a compact volume, effectively utilizing spatial dimensions to achieve high cooling performance without proportionally increasing weight.
2Power
If conventional heat exchangers are used to provide high cooling performance, then cooling capacity is improved, but size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nested duct arrangement allows multiple heat exchange surfaces to be packed within a compact outer envelope. The inner ducts are positioned within the outer ducts, creating a space-efficient configuration where the hot and cold fluids exchange heat through multiple concentric surfaces without requiring proportional increases in overall exchanger volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs three-dimensional nested duct structures that utilize radial and axial dimensions simultaneously. This multi-dimensional arrangement creates numerous heat exchange surfaces within a compact volume, achieving high cooling capacity without increasing the overall exchanger size, thereby resolving the contradiction between cooling performance and compactness.
3Productivity
If nested duct configuration is used to increase heat exchange surface, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the heat exchanger into modular duct sections, with each duct containing inner and outer ducts that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing of individual components while achieving complex heat exchange functionality when assembled, reducing the overall complexity burden despite the multi-layer nested structure.
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 nested duct configuration increases heat exchange efficiency, reduces the size of the exchanger, and minimizes pressure drops, enabling a more compact and efficient cooling system for transport vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchange matrix housed in said circulation chamber and formed by a plurality of heat exchange tubes each comprising at least one pair of ducts nested one inside the other... defining: a channel for the circulation of a fluid, referred to as inner channel, delimited by said inner duct... and a channel for the circulation of a fluid, referred to as intermediate channel, delimited by the inter-duct space between said inner duct and said outer duct
Implementation Method 2
a transverse spacer for improved turbulence and heat exchange efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A tubular heat exchanger (10) comprising: a fluid circulation chamber (20) intended to be supplied with a first fluid, referred to as outer fluid, brought to a first temperature, a heat exchange matrix (30) housed in said circulation chamber and formed by a plurality of heat exchange tubes (31) each comprising at least one pair of ducts (32; 33) nested one inside the other, extending along a direction, referred to as longitudinal direction, and defining: a channel for circulating a fluid, referred to as inner channel (32c; 33c), suitable for being able to be supplied with a second fluid, referred to as inner fluid, brought to a second temperature, and a channel for the circulation of a fluid, referred to as intermediate channel (32d; 33d), and suitable for being able to be supplied with a third fluid, referred to as intermediate fluid, brought to a third temperature, different from said first temperature.