Segmented Heat Exchanger Plates for Fluid Safety and Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers lack flexibility and adaptability to varying fluid properties and safety requirements, as they are typically designed with uniform materials and structures, which limits their efficiency and safety in different applications.
Innovation Solution
The heat exchanger design incorporates alternating stacks of single and double wall heat exchanger plates, with a separating plate connecting fluid channels, allowing for adaptable heat transfer efficiency and enhanced safety features such as fluid separation in case of leakage, using different materials and structures for each stack and employing specific assembly methods for efficient assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If uniform heat exchanger plates are used throughout the stack, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability to different fluid properties and safety requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger stack is divided into multiple individual plates that can be selected and arranged in different sequences. Each plate can be made from different materials (metal, plastic, ceramic) and have different wall thicknesses, allowing the stack to be segmented into zones with different thermal and safety properties tailored to specific fluid requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the heat exchanger stack are assigned different plate characteristics. For example, plates handling aggressive or hot fluids can be made from metal with higher wall thickness for safety, while plates handling benign fluids can be made from plastic with lower thermal conductivity. The separating plate between stacks further enables local quality differentiation by providing thermal isolation between adjacent fluid channels.
2Use of energy by moving object
If single wall heat exchanger plates are used, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but safety and fluid separation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects between single wall and double wall plate configurations based on the specific fluid handling requirements of each channel. Single wall plates are used where high heat transfer efficiency is prioritized and safety risks are low, while double wall plates are deployed in zones requiring enhanced safety or fluid separation, allowing the overall system to optimize the trade-off locally rather than globally.
Solution Approach 2:
The separating plate acts as an intermediary element between the first and second stacks. It provides thermal isolation and fluid separation between adjacent channels, enabling the use of single wall plates within each stack for efficient heat transfer while maintaining safety through the intermediate separating structure that prevents fluid mixing and heat cross-contamination.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different materials are used for different heat exchanger plates, then adaptability to specific fluid properties is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is designed as a universal platform that can handle multiple fluid types and applications by simply reconfiguring the plate sequence and material selection. The same basic plate geometry and stacking methodology accommodates metal, plastic, and ceramic materials, allowing a single design framework to serve multiple functions and fluid compatibility requirements without requiring entirely different structural designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls complexity by changing material parameters (metal, plastic, ceramic) and geometric parameters (wall thickness, plate dimensions) rather than fundamentally changing the structural design. This allows adaptation to different fluid properties through parameter selection within an established modular framework, maintaining relatively simple assembly procedures while achieving diverse performance characteristics.
4Reliability
If double wall heat exchanger plates are used, then safety and fluid separation are improved, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stack is segmented into regions with double wall plates for safety-critical applications and regions with single wall plates for efficiency-critical applications. This segmentation allows the system to achieve adequate overall safety through strategic placement of double wall plates at key locations while maintaining high heat transfer efficiency in other regions using thinner single wall plates.
Solution Approach 2:
Double wall construction is applied locally only where safety and fluid separation are paramount concerns, such as when handling hazardous, hot, or valuable fluids. In regions where fluids are benign and heat transfer efficiency is the priority, single wall plates are used. The separating plate between stacks further enhances local quality by providing additional thermal isolation where needed.
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
This design enhances flexibility and safety by optimizing heat transfer efficiency and preventing fluid mixing, allowing the heat exchanger to be tailored to specific fluid properties and safety needs, while ensuring quick assembly and efficient operation.
Implementation Method 1
Within the first stack, heat is transferred from the second fluid channel to the first fluid channel, while in the second stack heat is transferred from the third fluid channel to the fourth fluid channel
Implementation Method 2
heat can be transferred from fluid which is provided in the second and third fluid channel to the first and fourth fluid channel
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger (1) includes a top plate (2) and a bottom plate (3), wherein between the top plate (2) and the bottom plate (3) two heat exchanger stacks (4,7) are provided, wherein the heat exchanger stacks (4,7) are separated by a separating plate (6). The underlying problem of the present disclosure is to provide a heat exchanger (1) which can be adapted easily. This problem is solved by a heat exchanger (1), wherein first heat exchanger plates (5) forming the first heat exchanger stack (4) differ from second heat exchanger plates (8) forming the second heat exchanger stack (7).