Offset Corrugated Heat Exchanger Plate Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchanger plates in cooling towers, such as those used in power plants, face inefficiencies in heat transfer due to their design, particularly at low water/high air loading conditions, leading to suboptimal performance and material usage.
Innovation Solution
The development of heat exchanger plates with a unique corrugated design featuring offset corrugation segments and recessed surfaces, which enhance airflow and water flow passage configurations, allowing for improved heat transfer efficiency and reduced material requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional heat exchanger plates with vertically-extending corrugations are used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but heat transfer efficiency is insufficient particularly at low water/high air loading conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugations are divided into multiple segments (first, second, and third corrugation segments) rather than being continuous. This segmentation creates distinct functional zones: the first and second segments provide structural support while the third segment creates enhanced flow passages. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturability through simple geometric shapes while improving heat transfer through optimized flow patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the heat exchanger plate are given different corrugation characteristics. The first and second corrugation segments have specific geometries for structural integrity, while the third segment is designed to create specific flow patterns. This local differentiation allows the plate to simultaneously maintain structural simplicity for easy manufacture and create localized zones of enhanced heat transfer efficiency.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional heat exchanger plates are used, then material usage is straightforward, but the number of plates required per unit volume is high leading to increased material consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugation segments are arranged to create three-dimensional flow passages that utilize the vertical dimension more effectively. The offset arrangement of segments in the widthwise direction creates staggered flow paths that increase the effective heat transfer volume within the same plate thickness, reducing the number of plates needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple corrugation segments are nested within each other in a staggered arrangement, with each segment contributing to the overall heat transfer function. This nested structure maximizes the heat transfer surface area and volume utilization within a single plate, reducing the total number of plates required.
3Device complexity
If vertically-extending corrugations are used, then the plate structure is simple, but airflow and water flow passage configurations are suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous vertical corrugations are segmented into distinct sections with different geometries and orientations. This segmentation creates differentiated flow passages for air and water while maintaining the overall simplicity of the corrugated plate structure. Each segment can be optimized for its specific flow function without complicating the entire plate design.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugation segments are designed with asymmetric geometries where the first, second, and third segments have different characteristics. This asymmetry creates optimized flow patterns that differ from conventional symmetric designs, improving heat transfer efficiency while the overall corrugated structure remains relatively simple to manufacture.
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 new design improves heat transfer characteristics, particularly at low water/high air loading conditions, while reducing the number of plates needed per unit volume, resulting in enhanced performance and cost savings.
Implementation Method 1
heat exchanger plate fabricated from sheet material... efficiently transfer heat from one medium to another
Implementation Method 2
ambient air AA enters at the bottom of hyperboloid cooling tower 10, flows upwardly through the fill pack assembly 14... heated water 12h flows, i.e. drips or rains, downwardly through the fill pack assembly 14
Implementation Method 3
use the evaporation of water to remove waste heat and cool water to near the wet-bulb air temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger plate includes a corrugated sheet of stiff material configured in a repetitive series of elongated corrugations. Each corrugation has a first corrugation segment, a second corrugation segment disposed offset from and extending parallel to the first corrugation segment and an intermediate corrugation segment. The first and second corrugation segments extend vertically. The intermediate corrugation segment is disposed between and interconnects the first corrugation segment and the second corrugation segment and extends obliquely relative to the first corrugation segment and the second corrugation segment to form a continuous, uninterrupted offset corrugation. A plurality of the heat exchanger plates are connected together to form a fill pack.