Vehicle Heat Exchanger with Segmented Flow Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat exchangers for vehicles, such as those described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-113578, often fail to sufficiently raise or lower the temperature of transmission oil or engine oil due to imbalanced flow rates among engine coolant, engine oil, and transmission oil, leading to inefficient heat exchange.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design with compartmentalized flow passages, where the engine coolant, engine oil, and transmission oil flow through distinct passages that are strategically arranged to facilitate heat exchange between adjacent passages, with specific regions optimized for low-flow rate fluids to interact directly with the engine coolant or engine oil without interference from other fluids, and flow directions of adjacent fluids are opposed to enhance heat transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the heat exchanger uses a conventional configuration where engine coolant exchanges heat with both engine oil and transmission oil simultaneously, then the structure is simple, but the amount of heat exchange between low-flow rate fluids (transmission oil or engine oil) and engine coolant is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into a first region where engine coolant exchanges heat with transmission oil, and a second region where engine coolant exchanges heat with engine oil. This segmentation allows each region to be optimized for specific fluid pairs, increasing the overall heat exchange quantity while maintaining structural simplicity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the heat exchanger are designed with different flow passage arrangements tailored to the specific heat exchange needs of each fluid pair. The first region optimizes for transmission oil heat exchange while the second region optimizes for engine oil heat exchange, allowing each local area to have the quality needed for its specific function.
2Device complexity
If the heat exchanger uses a single region where all three fluids exchange heat simultaneously, then the device complexity is low, but the heat exchange efficiency for low-flow rate fluids is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into two functional regions rather than using a single region design. This segmentation increases heat exchange efficiency for low-flow rate fluids by providing dedicated space for their heat exchange processes, while the overall device complexity remains relatively low through the use of a straightforward two-region configuration.
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 increases the amount of heat exchange between low-flow rate fluids and the engine coolant or engine oil, allowing for effective temperature regulation of transmission oil and engine oil, even when their flow rates differ, thereby improving thermal management in vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
heat exchange is carried out between the respective flow passages that are adjacent to each other in a lamination direction of the plurality of the plates
Implementation Method 2
heat exchange is carried out between the respective flow passages that are adjacent to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger for a vehicle is mounted in a vehicle having a power train through which an engine coolant, an engine oil and a transmission oil flow and in which a flow rate of the engine oil and a flow rate of the transmission oil are different from each other. A first flow passage for causing the engine coolant to flow, a second flow passage for causing the engine oil to flow, and a third flow passage for causing the transmission oil to flow are formed through lamination of a plurality of plates. The heat exchanger includes a region where the first flow passage is adjacent only to that one of the second flow passage and the third flow passage through which a fluid flows at lower flow rate.