Stacked Panel Heat Exchanger for Aircraft Engines
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current high temperature/high pressure heat exchangers for aircraft engines face design constraints due to the use of discrete drawn tubes, limiting material choices and secondary heat transfer features, and are prone to structural degradation from thermal gradients.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger constructed from stacked panels with internal and external manifolds connected by ribs, using transient liquid phase bonding to allow for tortuous passages and augmentation elements, enabling thermal growth without external manifold expansion and enhancing heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If discrete drawn tubes are used to create passages, then the heat exchanger can handle high temperature and high pressure, but the material choices are limited and secondary heat transfer features cannot be incorporated
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple discrete panels that are stacked and bonded together. Each panel can be independently manufactured with optimized features, allowing diverse material choices and integrated heat transfer features while maintaining overall structural integrity for high temperature and pressure applications
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple panels are nested together in a stacked configuration, with each panel containing internal structures and channels. This nesting approach allows complex heat transfer features to be embedded within each panel while the stacked arrangement provides the necessary structural strength for high temperature and pressure environments
2Adaptability or versatility
If drawn tubing is used, then passages can be formed for coolant flow, but thermal growth cannot be accommodated without external manifold expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The panels are designed with flexible bonding connections that allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the passages without requiring the external manifold to expand. The bonding structure accommodates dynamic thermal growth through controlled flexibility in the panel connections
Solution Approach 2:
The passage structures within the panels are designed to accommodate thermal expansion independently. The panels can expand and contract within their own structures without transmitting these thermal growth movements to the external manifold, eliminating the need for manifold expansion features
3Productivity
If stacked panels with tortuous passages are used, then heat transfer efficiency is enhanced and thermal growth is accommodated, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The passages are designed as tortuous paths within each panel before assembly, allowing heat transfer enhancement to be achieved at the panel manufacturing stage rather than requiring complex post-assembly operations. The preliminary configuration of passages maximizes heat transfer efficiency while simplifying the overall manufacturing process
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple manufacturing functions are merged into the panel fabrication process, including passage formation, heat transfer feature integration, and thermal growth accommodation. By combining these functions into a single panel manufacturing step, the overall manufacturing complexity is reduced despite the sophisticated features required
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 solution allows for the use of a wide range of materials, optimizes structural capability under thermal and pressure stresses, and enhances heat transfer efficiency while accommodating thermal growth, reducing the risk of structural degradation.
Implementation Method 1
Convective cooling transfers heat from the fluid in the passage to the cross flow, and the cross flow draws the heat away from the coolant in the passage
Implementation Method 2
each of the stacked panels being bonded to at least one adjacent stacked panel
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger includes a heat exchanger body having a plurality of stacked panels defining an internal manifold and an external manifold. Each of the stacked panels includes an internal structure partially defining an internal manifold, an external structure partially defining the external manifold, and a plurality of ribs connecting the internal structure to the external structure. Each of the ribs further comprises a channel protruding into the rib and being paired with a corresponding rib of an adjacent panel, such that each of the ribs and the corresponding rib defining a cooling passage fluidly connecting the internal manifold to the external manifold. Each of the stacked panels is bonded to at least one adjacent stacked panel.