Slotted Profile for Heat Exchanger Tube Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heat exchangers in the aeronautical and space fields face challenges in industrial-scale production due to difficulties in assembling parts with different materials, such as stainless steel and aluminum, which experience differential thermal expansions during welding or soldering, leading to cohesion failures and mechanical stress.
Innovation Solution
A profiled part with a hollow cylinder and a slit extending along its length allows for adjustable inner diameter to accommodate and clamp a tube, enabling easy assembly and minimizing thermal stress through mechanical force application, and optional metallization for improved soldering without high heat application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If welding or soldering is used to assemble the heat exchanger, then the tube can be joined to the enclosure, but differential thermal expansions cause cohesion failure and mechanical stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal joining process (welding/soldering) with a mechanical interference fit system. The profiled part includes a hollow cylinder with an inner diameter that can be temporarily enlarged via a slit to allow tube insertion, then the slit is closed and the cylinder contracts to clamp the tube mechanically. This eliminates thermal stress by avoiding heating entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the inner diameter of the hollow cylinder. The cylinder's inner diameter is changed from a smaller initial state to a larger expanded state during assembly to facilitate tube insertion, then returns to the smaller state to create clamping force. This dynamic parameter change enables easy assembly without thermal processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If welding is used to assemble the heat exchanger, then the parts can be joined, but industrial-scale production becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex thermal joining processes with a simple mechanical interference fit system that can be rapidly assembled. The profiled part with its adjustable inner diameter allows for quick tube insertion and clamping without requiring welding equipment or thermal process control, enabling industrial-scale production.
3Adaptability or versatility
If soldering is used to join different materials, then the heat exchanger can be assembled, but cohesion failure occurs due to differential expansions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for soldering by using a mechanical interference fit system. The profiled part's hollow cylinder is designed with an inner diameter that can be adjusted to match the tube's outer diameter, creating a secure mechanical connection that works for different material combinations without relying on thermal bonding.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow cylinder with adjustable inner diameter acts as an intermediary component between the tube and the enclosure. It provides a mechanical interface that accommodates different material combinations and thermal expansion characteristics, eliminating the need for direct thermal bonding between dissimilar materials.
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
Facilitates the assembly of heat exchangers on an industrial scale, particularly for long tubes, while preventing cohesion failures and enhancing heat exchange efficiency by allowing for precise diameter adjustment and clamping without high thermal stress, resulting in a stronger and simpler manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
a slit extending over the whole length of the cylinder and configured to permit, by application of at least one mechanical force to the profiled part, an increase or decrease in the inner diameter of the cylinder
Implementation Method 2
the inner diameter of the cylinder can be increased in order to permit the tube to be threaded in, or decreased in order to clamp the tube
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a profiled part (12) for a heat exchanger, configured to have at least one fluid flow tube (14) passing through it, comprising, for each flow tube (14), a hollow cylinder (18) comprising an inner surface configured to receive said flow tube (14), the cylinder (18) having an inner diameter which is substantially equal to the outer diameter of said flow tube (14). The profiled part (12) is characterized in that the profiled part comprises a slit (16) extending over the whole length of the cylinder (18) and configured to permit, by application of at least one mechanical force to the profiled part, a modification in the inner diameter of the cylinder (18) in order respectively to permit the insertion of the tube into the cylinder (18) or the clamping of the tube (14) by the inner surface of the cylinder (18). The invention also relates to a heat exchanger (10) comprising such a profiled part (12) and a flow tube (14).