Thin-Foil Heat Exchanger Element to Reduce Weight and Material Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger systems for building temperature control face challenges in achieving uniform surface temperature distribution with minimal material usage while maintaining high heat transfer efficiency, often resulting in high material consumption, weight, and uneven temperature profiles.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger element featuring a flexible heat-conducting body with a heat transfer fluid line embedded in Ω-shaped channels, allowing for efficient heat transfer through the entire inner surface and a meandering arrangement for optimal space usage, combined with a production method involving a template with grooves for easy assembly and reduced material thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If metal sheets with thickness of 1-3 mm are used as heat conducting plates, then high heat transfer performance is achieved, but material consumption and weight increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by replacing traditional rigid metal sheets (1-3 mm thick) with flexible aluminum foil (0.05-0.5 mm thick) as the heat conducting body. The thin foil maintains adequate thermal conductivity while dramatically reducing material consumption and weight. The foil is formed into channels that guide heat transfer fluid, creating an efficient heat exchange surface without the mass penalty of conventional thick plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the heat conducting body into multiple parallel channels (Ω-shaped cross-section) that distribute heat transfer fluid across the surface. This segmentation allows heat to be transferred through multiple parallel paths simultaneously, maintaining high overall heat transfer performance while using thinner material for each individual channel wall.
2Power
If metal sheets of 1-3 mm thickness are used, then sufficient heat conduction is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and material cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible aluminum foil can be easily formed into the required channel shapes using simple bending and forming operations. The thin material is more compliant and easier to manipulate during manufacturing compared to rigid thick metal sheets, reducing fabrication complexity and tooling requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The channels are designed to be formed by pressing the aluminum foil against a mold or template, using hydraulic or pneumatic pressure to create the desired Ω-shaped cross-section with grooves. This forming method is simpler than machining or welding thick metal plates together.
3Temperature
If parallel channels with Ω-shaped cross-section are used, then uniform surface temperature distribution is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat conducting body is segmented into multiple parallel channels that distribute heat transfer fluid across the surface in an organized pattern. This segmentation ensures that heat is delivered to multiple locations simultaneously, creating a more uniform temperature distribution across the entire heat exchange surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The channels are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration with Ω-shaped cross-sections that combine vertical and horizontal heat transfer paths. This multi-dimensional arrangement allows heat to reach the surface from multiple directions, improving temperature uniformity without requiring an overly complex surface geometry.
4Loss of substance
If thin aluminum foil (0.05-0.5 mm) is used as heat conducting body, then material consumption and weight are reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aluminum foil's flexibility allows it to conform to mold surfaces during forming, making the manufacturing process more tolerant of minor variations. The thin material can be easily adjusted and repositioned during fabrication, reducing the impact of precision errors compared to rigid thick sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The forming process combines multiple operations (bending, shaping, channel creation) into a single stamping or pressing operation. The aluminum foil is formed into the final channel configuration in one step, reducing the accumulation of errors that would occur with multiple sequential machining operations.
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 achieves a more uniform surface temperature with reduced material and weight, enhancing heat transfer efficiency and scalability, while simplifying the production process and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
the heat transfer fluid line is embedded in sections in preferably parallel channels made of heat-conducting material in heat-conducting contact
Implementation Method 2
a heat-conducting body (2) and with a heat-transfer fluid line (8) which is heat-conductively connected to the heat-conducting body (2)
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
Figure 2C~2D
Figure 2E~2G
AI summary
A heat-exchanger element (1) has a heat-conductive body (2) and a heat-transfer fluid conduit (8) that is heat-conductively connected thereto, said body and conduit being embedded, in part, in ducts (5) consisting of heat-conductive material, in heat-conductive contact, the ducts (5) having a channel-type receiving section (7) and two lugs (6) connected thereto, such that the ducts (5) have an approximately Ω-shaped cross-section, said lugs (6) being in surface contact with the heat-conductive body (2) in order to establish the heat-conductive connection between the heat-transfer fluid conduit (8) and the heat-conductive body (2). To produce the heat-exchanger element (1): foil strips are pressed into grooves so that each strip forms a channel-type section (7) pressed into a groove (23), with laterally projecting lugs (6); sections of a heat-transfer fluid conduit (8) are introduced into the channel-type sections (7) of the foil strips; and the lugs (6) are secured in surface contact with a heat-conductive body (2). A building panel having a surface area of at least 1 m² has a heat-exchanger element (1) with a heat-exchange surface (14), a cooling device and a collector device, the cooling device being designed to cool the heat-exchange surface (14) that is in contact with the ambient air to a temperature below the dew point of the water vapour in the surrounding air, the contact surface being inclined relative to the horizontal so that condensed water can drain away, and the collector device being designed to control the collection of condensed water and to drain off said water. A method for dehumidifying air uses a building panel that lowers the temperature of the surrounding air to below the dew point, so that the air humidity condenses on the building panel, said building panel being inclined so that the condensed water drains away into a collector device.