Tube-Bundle Air Heat Exchanger With Sealed Counterflow Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air-to-air heat exchangers for ventilation systems are complex and costly to produce, and there is a need to enhance their efficiency while simplifying their construction to reduce manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
The heat exchanger features a bundle of straight tubes with polygonal end pieces that fit tightly together, surrounded by a cylindrical insulating insert to enhance heat transfer and reduce flow cross-section, allowing counterflow air to penetrate and flow around the tubes, with structured surfaces on the tubes and housing to improve turbulence and heat exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If cross-flow heat exchangers or rotary heat exchangers are used, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple tube bundles arranged in parallel, each bundle handling a portion of the air flow. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high heat exchange efficiency through increased surface area while maintaining simplicity in the construction of each individual bundle, avoiding the need for complex rotary or cross-flow mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple tube bundles are combined in parallel within a single housing, with each bundle independently handling heat exchange. This merging approach consolidates the heat exchange function into a compact, simple structure that achieves the efficiency of complex systems through parallel simpler units, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high performance.
2Loss of energy
If tube bundles with gaps between tubes are used, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but air leakage between end pieces increases
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing element is introduced as an intermediary component between the end pieces of adjacent tubes. This sealing element fills the gaps at the tube ends, preventing air leakage while allowing the tube bundles to maintain their parallel arrangement with gaps between tube bodies for effective heat exchange. The mediator resolves the conflict between sealing requirements and heat exchange efficiency.
3Loss of energy
If conical tube arrangements are used, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
All tubes in the bundle are made uniform with identical parallel arrangements rather than conical configurations. This homogeneity in tube geometry, spacing, and orientation dramatically simplifies manufacturing processes, as standardized tubes can be produced using conventional techniques and assembled in a regular pattern, while still achieving effective heat exchange through the increased surface area of multiple parallel tubes.
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 simplifies construction, reduces production costs, and maintains or exceeds the efficiency of prior art heat exchangers by ensuring a tight seal and efficient heat transfer through counterflow, while also providing thermal and sound insulation.
Implementation Method 1
The insulating insert reduces the inner diameter of the housing and thus constricts the flow cross section. The second air flow, which is guided in the outer ring, is guided inwards through this constriction, so that it must flow around the pipes
Implementation Method 2
part of the energy content of the heated exhaust air is transferred to the fresh air supplied. This is usually done using cross-flow heat exchangers or rotary heat exchangers
Implementation Method 3
with structured surfaces on the tubes and housing to improve turbulence and heat exchange
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The exchanger (10) has an airflow promoting ventilator (14) arranged at an end of a cylindrical case and comprising an inner ring and an outer ring (20) arranged around the inner ring. Spaces of the outer and inner rings are disconnected from each other by a cylindrical wall (22). End parts (34) of parallel-arranged pipes (32) are closely arranged together in the cylindrical wall and at an end (44) of a cylindrical pipe socket (46). A plastic case or cup-shaped insulation sleeve (50) covers an inside wall of the case in a region of center sections (36) and constricts case inner diameter.