Spiral Partition Heat Exchanger for Additive Manufacturing Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing of heat exchangers with inclined surfaces at angles less than 45 degrees to the horizontal plane is prone to shape failures due to gravity, limiting the production of efficient heat exchange systems.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a core with twisted, spiral-shaped partition walls that rotate about a central axis, allowing fluids to flow in helical paths within unit structures, enhancing heat exchange efficiency while being producible by additive manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If additive manufacturing is used to produce heat exchangers with inclined surfaces at angles less than 45 degrees to the horizontal plane, then manufacturing flexibility and design freedom are improved, but shape failures occur due to gravity during production
Solution Approach 1:
The partition wall is designed with a twisted shape that rotates about a rotation center axis extending in the predetermined direction, forming a spiral shape in cross-section. This curved, spiral configuration allows the structure to be produced by additive manufacturing without shape failures while maintaining design freedom and heat exchange efficiency.
2Loss of energy
If the partition wall is designed with complex twisted spiral shape to improve heat exchange efficiency, then heat transfer performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The partition wall's twisted shape is defined by specific geometric parameters: it rotates about a rotation center axis extending in the predetermined direction, with spiral-shaped cross-sections. By controlling these parameters (rotation axis, spiral geometry), the patent achieves improved heat exchange efficiency through enhanced fluid mixing while maintaining manufacturability via additive manufacturing processes.
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 design improves heat exchange efficiency by minimizing temperature variation between fluids and enabling high heat transfer performance through additive manufacturing, overcoming shape failure issues.
Implementation Method 1
a first fluid 3 and a second fluid 4 separately flow through separate flow paths of the core 1 so that heat can be exchanged between the first fluid 3 and the second fluid 4
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger includes a core capable of exchanging heat between a plurality of fluids. The core includes a core outer peripheral wall forming an outer surface and one unit structure or a plurality of unit structures arranged inside the outer peripheral wall.The unit structure includes a plurality of flow paths formed to extend in a predetermined direction as a whole, and a partition wall separating the plurality of flow paths from each other. The plurality of flow paths include a first flow path(s) in which a first fluid flows, and a second flow path(s) in which a second fluid flows to exchange heat to/from the first fluid through the partition wall. The partition wall includes a division wall part(s). The division wall part(s) has/have a twisted shape that rotates about a rotation center axis extending in the predetermined direction in accordance with a position in the predetermined direction, and is/are formed to extend in a spiral shape from the rotation center axis in a cross section perpendicular to the predetermined direction.