Enthalpy exchanger including stacked networks and selectively permeable membranes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10281162-B2
Application number	US-201515328544-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2015
Priority date	Jul 31, 2014
Publication date	May 7, 2019
Grant date	May 7, 2019

Abstract

A dual air flow exchanger, allowing a heat transfer and humidity transfer between two air flows, and including a plurality of first and second air circulation networks separated by membranes permeable to water vapor and impermeable to air and to liquid water, each of the first and second networks including cells each defined by a wall including openings for passage of air, the cell wall including two opposing edges at which same is open in a direction of stacking. For at least one of the first networks, at least one of the two opposing edges of each cell wall defines a hollow open in a direction of the second directly consecutive air circulation network, the hollows receiving a part of the second network.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A dual air flow exchanger, allowing for a heat transfer and a humidity transfer between two air flows, comprising:
a plurality of first and second air circulation networks stacked alternately according to a direction of stacking and separated two-by-two by membranes permeable to water vapor and impermeable to air and to liquid water,
each one of the first and second air circulation networks comprising cells each defined by a wall comprising openings for passage of air, the cell wall comprising two opposing edges on which the cell is open in the direction of stacking,
wherein for at least one of the first air circulation networks, at least one of the two opposing edges of each cell wall defines a hollow open in a direction of the second directly consecutive air circulation network, the hollow receiving a part of the second network.

2. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein for at least one of the second air circulation networks, at least one of the two opposing edges of each cell wall defines a hollow open in a direction of the first directly consecutive air circulation network, the hollow receiving a part of the first network.

3. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the two opposing edges, of each cell wall of at least one of the circulation networks, each defining a hollow open in a direction of the directly consecutive network, and receiving a part of the directly consecutive network.

4. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first and second air circulation networks each have identical structures, and for at least one first and one second directly consecutive networks in the stacking, the structure of the first network is shifted from the structure of the second network in the plane orthogonal to the direction of stacking, to allow the hollow of the first network to receive a part of the second network, and reciprocally.

5. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each first and second air circulation network is carried out using a mesh which is repeated, the mesh comprising the cell wall.

6. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 5 , wherein the mesh further comprises a connecting rod of the cells.

7. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 5 , wherein the mesh is identical for the first and second air circulation networks.

8. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each first and second air circulation network has a plane of symmetry orthogonal to the direction of stacking.

9. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cells are cylindrical with a non-circular section and axes parallel to the direction of stacking.

10. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cell wall has a global hexagon shape when viewed according to the direction of stacking.

11. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 10 , wherein the cell wall has six faces, of which two opposite faces arranged substantially parallel to a main direction of circulation of air through the network concerned, and two pairs of two faces passes through the air, with the two pairs being connected by the two opposite faces.

12. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 11 , wherein the two opposite faces of the cell wall are solid or perforated.

13. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 11 , wherein each pair comprises two faces of a globally triangular shape, with the two faces being connected to one another by one of their vertices.

14. The dual air flow exchanger according to claim 13 ,
wherein each first and second air circulation network is carried out using a mesh which is repeated, the mesh comprising the cell wall,
wherein the mesh further comprises a connecting rod of the cells, and
wherein the connecting rod is connected to the vertex, from which the connecting rod protrudes in a plane orthogonal to the direction of stacking.

15. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising, associated with each air circulation network, an air distributor and an air collector, with the distributors and collectors being stacked according to the direction of stacking.

16. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , configured so that circulation of air inside the dual air flow exchanger is carried out at counter-current, or at co-current.

17. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the membranes are made from a polymer material or from paper.

18. The dual air flow exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the networks are metal or of a polymer material.

19. A system for treating and conditioning air comprising a dual air flow exchanger, allowing for a heat transfer and a humidity transfer between two air flows, the dual air flow exchanger comprising:
a plurality of first and second air circulation networks stacked alternately according to a direction of stacking and separated two-by-two by membranes permeable to water vapor and impermeable to air and to liquid water,
each one of the first and second air circulation networks comprising cells each defined by a wall comprising openings for passage of air, the cell wall comprising two opposing edges on which the cell is open in the direction of stacking,
wherein for at least one of the first air circulation networks, at least one of the two opposing edges of each cell wall defines a hollow open in a direction of the second directly consecutive air circulation network, the hollow receiving a part of the second network.

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Mariotto Mathieu

Classifications

• F24F3/147 Primary

  with both heat and humidity transfer between supplied and exhausted air · CPC title

• F28D2021/0035

  for domestic or space heating, e.g. heating radiators · CPC title

• F24F2003/1435

  comprising semi-permeable membrane · CPC title

• F24F12/006

  using an air-to-air heat exchanger (F24F12/002 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F28D21/0015

  Heat and mass exchangers, e.g. with permeable walls · CPC title