Titanium Plate Heat Exchanger Forming With Welded Expansion Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermal exchangers made from stainless steel or graphite are heavy and inefficient, making them unsuitable for applications where weight and efficiency are critical, such as in fuel cell systems.
Innovation Solution
A manufacturing process for a thermal exchanger using titanium strips, involving overlapping, welding, sealing, and pressurizing steps to create channels, allowing for the production of a lightweight yet efficient thermal exchanger with equivalent performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional heat exchangers are made from stainless steel or graphite, then structural strength and durability are ensured, but weight increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from heavy materials (stainless steel, graphite) to lightweight titanium, while maintaining structural integrity through specific welding and sealing parameters that ensure durability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction with multiple titanium strips welded together to form channels, creating a lightweight yet strong structure that combines the benefits of material lightness with structural strength
2Productivity
If conventional heat exchangers are made from stainless steel or graphite, then manufacturing simplicity is achieved, but manufacturing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is segmented into multiple titanium strips that are welded together to form channels, allowing for standardized production of individual strips that can be quickly assembled
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional slow manufacturing methods with automated welding processes (resistance welding, friction stir welding, or laser welding) and automated sealing, significantly increasing production speed
3Reliability
If titanium strips are welded together to form channels, then heat exchange efficiency improves, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The welding process serves multiple functions: it joins titanium strips together to form channels, creates sealed structures for fluid containment, and establishes the structural framework for heat exchange, reducing the need for separate manufacturing steps
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sealing elements (sealing strips, sealing profiles, or elastomeric seals) as intermediaries between welded titanium strips to ensure fluid-tight channels, simplifying the welding process while maintaining channel integrity
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 process results in a lighter, efficient thermal exchanger that is simple and fast to manufacture, suitable for use in fuel cell cooling systems, maintaining performance while reducing weight.
Implementation Method 1
a welding step in which the two strips are welded together along the weld lines, and where the welding step consists of introducing needles into the holes of the mold and counter-needles into the holes of the counter-mold and supplying the needles and counter-needles with a voltage generator to weld the two strips together along the weld lines
Implementation Method 2
a pressurization step during which a compressed fluid is injected at another edge of the first and second strips, where the areas between the weld lines open between the first and second strips so as to achieve the expansion of the strips
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a plate having channels (150), wherein the method comprises a step of overlapping the two strips (102, 104), a step of welding the two strips (102, 104) along the weld lines, a step of sealing the areas between the weld lines on one side of the strips (102, 104), a step of pressurizing with a compressed fluid where the areas between the weld lines open along another side to achieve expansion of the strips (102, 104), and a step of unsealing the areas sealed during the sealing step. This manufacturing method makes it possible to weld the titanium strips together and to shape them by pressurizing them.