Heat exchanger for cooling a flow of compressed air using a liquid coolant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10619946-B2
Application number	US-201615042806-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2016
Priority date	Feb 23, 2015
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

A heat exchanger for cooling a flow of compressed air using a liquid coolant includes a stack of coolant flow plates extending in a stacking direction. An enclosure surrounds the stack of coolant flow plates to at least partially define the flow path for the compressed air, and includes a first wall generally arranged in a plane parallel to the stacking direction, a second wall joined to the first wall and generally arranged in a second plane perpendicular to the stacking direction, a coolant port provided on an external surface of the first wall, an aperture provided on an internal surface of the second walls, and a coolant flow path extending through the interior of both the first wall and the second wall between the coolant port and the aperture.

First claim

We claim:

1. A heat exchanger for cooling a flow of compressed air using a liquid coolant, comprising:
a heat exchanger core comprising a plurality of coolant flow plates arranged into a stack extending in a stacking direction, air fins arranged between adjacent ones of the plurality of coolant flow plates to provide flow paths through the heat exchanger for the flow of compressed air, a coolant inlet manifold and a coolant outlet manifold defined by the stack of coolant flow plates, wherein the core is further defined by a plurality of planar core sides including core stack sides extending in the stacking direction and core terminal sides extending in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction;
an enclosure surrounding the stack of coolant flow plates and at least partially defining the flow path for the compressed air, the stack of the plurality of coolant flow plates is configured to be inserted into the enclosure, the enclosure comprising:
one or more externally facing surfaces, each being arranged at one of the plurality of planar core sides;
one or more internally facing surfaces, each being arranged at one of the plurality of planar core sides;
a coolant port provided on a first externally facing surface of the one or more externally facing surfaces, the first externally facing surface located at one of the core stack sides;
an aperture provided on a first internally facing surface of the one or more internally facing surfaces, the first internally facing surface located at one of the core terminal sides; and

a coolant flow path extending between the coolant port and the aperture, the coolant flow path being at least partially located between the one or more internally facing surfaces and the one or more externally facing surfaces; and
a seal arranged between the aperture and the stack of coolant flow plates, the seal providing leak-free fluid communication between the coolant port and one of the coolant inlet manifold and the coolant outlet manifold.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the coolant flow path includes a first portion extending in a direction that is generally parallel to the stacking direction, and a second portion extending in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the stacking direction.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the coolant flow path includes at least one right angle turn between the coolant port and the aperture.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 3 , wherein the coolant flow path includes at least two right angle turns between the coolant port and the aperture.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the coolant port is a first coolant port, the aperture is a first aperture, the coolant flow path between the first coolant port and the first aperture is a first coolant flow path, and the seal is a first seal, further comprising:
a second coolant port provided on one of the one or more external surfaces;
a second aperture provided on one of the one or more internal surfaces;
a second coolant flow path extending between the second coolant port and the second aperture, the second coolant flow path being at least partially located between the one or more internally facing surfaces and the one or more externally facing surfaces, the second coolant flow path being separated from the first coolant flow path; and
a second seal arranged between the second aperture and the stack of coolant flow plates, the second seal providing leak-free communication between the second coolant port and the other of the coolant inlet manifold and the coolant outlet manifold.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 5 , wherein the enclosure comprises:
a first formed sheet metal part having a first port receiving opening to receive the first coolant port and a second port receiving opening to receive the second coolant port; and
a second formed sheet metal part having the first and second apertures arranged thereon, wherein the first and second formed sheet metal parts together define the first and second coolant flow paths.

7. The heat exchanger of claim 6 , wherein the first and second formed sheet metal parts are joined together in a common brazing operation with the plurality of coolant flow plates.

8. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the first externally facing surface extends in the stacking direction from the coolant port to a location beyond the first internally facing surface.

9. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the first externally facing surface intersects with a second externally facing surface that extends in the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction, wherein the second externally facing surface surrounds the aperture to cover the aperture, and wherein the first externally facing surface and the second externally facing surface are at least partially flat.

10. A heat exchanger for cooling a flow of compressed air using a liquid coolant, comprising:
a heat exchanger core comprising a plurality of coolant flow plates arranged into a stack extending in a stacking direction, air fins arranged between adjacent ones of the plurality of coolant flow plates to provide flow paths through the heat exchanger for the flow of compressed air, a coolant inlet manifold and a coolant outlet manifold defined by the stack of coolant flow plates, wherein the core is further defined by a plurality of planar core sides including core stack sides extending in the stacking direction and core terminal sides extending in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction;
an enclosure at least partially surrounding the heat exchanger core and at least partially defining the flow path for the compressed air, the stack of the plurality of coolant flow plates is configured to be inserted into the enclosure, the enclosure comprising:
a plurality of internal wall surfaces bounding the flow of compressed air through the heat exchanger;
a plurality of external wall surfaces spaced away from the plurality of internal wall surfaces;
a coolant port provided on a first external wall surface of the plurality of external wall surfaces, the first external wall surface extending along a first core stack side of the core stack;
an aperture provided on a first internal wall surface of the plurality of internal wall surfaces, the first internal wall surface extending along one of the core terminal sides; and

a non-linear coolant flow path arranged between at least some of the external wall surfaces and at least some of the internal wall surfaces, the coolant flow path extending from the coolant port to the aperture; and
a seal arranged between the aperture and the stack of coolant flow plates, the seal providing leak-free fluid communication between the coolant port and one of the coolant inlet manifold and coolant outlet manifold,
wherein the coolant port is tubular with round sides and a round opening,
wherein the first external wall is at least partially planar and covers a planar wall of the enclosure that extends along the first core stack side, and
wherein the sides and the opening of the coolant port are arranged in-line with the planar wall of the enclosure.

11. The heat exchanger of claim 10 , wherein the coolant flow path includes a first portion extending in a direction that is generally parallel to the stacking direction, and a second portion extending in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the stacking direction.

12. The heat exchanger of claim 10 , wherein the coolant flow path comprises a first ninety degree bend and a second ninety degree bend.

13. The heat exchanger of claim 10 , further comprising:
a second coolant port provided on one of the plurality of external wall surfaces;

Assignees

• Modine Mfg Co

Inventors

• Meshenky Steven
• Moore Christopher Michael

Classifications

• F28F9/0248 Primary

  Arrangements for sealing connectors to header boxes · CPC title

• F28F9/001

  Casings in the form of plate-like arrangements; Frames enclosing a heat exchange core · CPC title

• F02B29/0462 Primary

  Liquid cooled heat exchangers · CPC title

• F28F9/0253

  with multiple channels, e.g. with combined inflow and outflow channels · CPC title

• F02B29/045

  Constructional details of the heat exchangers, e.g. pipes, plates, ribs, insulation, materials, or manufacturing and assembly · CPC title