Cooling module and method for rejecting heat from a coupled engine system and rankine cycle waste heat recovery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10801372-B2
Application number	US-201515522792-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2015
Priority date	Oct 31, 2014
Publication date	Oct 13, 2020
Grant date	Oct 13, 2020

Abstract

A cooling module is coupled to an engine system and a Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system. The cooling module includes a heat exchanger for cooling a fluid of the engine system and a condenser for cooling a working fluid of the Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system, both of which extend in a width direction of the cooling module and are porous to a flow of cooling air in a depth direction of the cooling module. The condenser includes a first tubular header that extends in a height direction of the cooling module. A working fluid transfer tube fluidly couples the first tubular header to the Rankine waste heat recovery cycle system. The working fluid transfer tube has a first portion extending in the depth direction and a second portion extending in the height direction, the second portion being adjacent to the first tubular header in the width direction.

First claim

I claim:

1. A cooling module for rejecting heat from a coupled engine system and Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system, comprising:
a condenser for cooling and condensing a working fluid of the Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system, comprising:
a condenser core including a first plurality of fluid conduits extending along a width direction of the cooling module, the condenser core being porous to a flow of cooling air in a depth direction of the cooling module;
a first tubular header extending in a height direction of the cooling module, arranged at a first end of the condenser core and fluidly coupled to the first plurality of fluid conduits; and
a second tubular header extending in the height direction of the cooling module, arranged at a second end of the condenser core opposite the first end of the condenser core and fluidly coupled to the first plurality of fluid conduits;
a heat exchanger for cooling a fluid of the engine system, comprising:
a heat exchanger core including a second plurality of fluid conduits extending along the width direction of the cooling module, the heat exchanger core being porous to a flow of cooling air in the depth direction of the cooling module;
a first fluid tank arranged at a first end of the heat exchanger core and fluidly coupled to the second plurality of working fluid conduits, the first fluid tank having an inlet port to fluidly couple the first fluid tank to the engine system; and
a second fluid tank arranged at a second end of the heat exchanger core opposite the first end of the heat exchanger core and fluidly coupled to the second plurality of working fluid conduits, the second fluid tank having an outlet port to fluidly couple the second fluid tank to the engine system; and
a working fluid transfer tube to fluidly couple the first tubular header to the Rankine waste heat recovery cycle system, the transfer tube having a first portion extending in the cooling module depth direction and a second portion extending in the cooling module height direction, the first portion being adjacent to the heat exchanger core in the cooling module width direction, the second portion being adjacent to the first tubular header in the cooling module width direction and at least partially overlapping the first tubular header in the cooling module height direction, wherein the condenser core and the heat exchanger core are arranged to be in parallel with respect to a flow of cooling air through the cooling module.

2. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the condenser core has a first core width, the heat exchanger core has a second core width approximately equal to the first core width, and the condenser core and heat exchanger core are generally aligned with one another in the cooling module width direction.

3. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is located directly above the condenser.

4. The cooling module of claim 3 , wherein the first portion of the working fluid transfer tube is arranged directly above one of the inlet port and the outlet port.

5. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is a charge air cooler.

6. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the working fluid transfer tube is joined to the first tubular header by a third plurality of fluid conduits.

7. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the first tubular header has an upper terminating end and a lower terminating end, and wherein the working fluid transfer tube is entirely located above a position midway between the upper and lower terminating ends.

8. The cooling module of claim 1 wherein the heat exchanger is a first heat exchanger and the heat exchanger core is a first heat exchanger core, further comprising a second heat exchanger for cooling a fluid of the engine system, the second heat exchanger having a second heat exchanger core arranged directly adjacent to the condenser core in the depth direction of the cooling module.

9. The cooling module of claim 8 , wherein the condenser is structurally mounted to the second heat exchanger.

10. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the working fluid transfer tube is fluidly connected to the first tubular header along a portion of the cooling module height direction bounded at a lower end by a terminating end of the second portion of the working fluid transfer tube and at an upper end by a terminating end of the first tubular header.

11. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the working fluid transfer tube extends above a portion of one of the first and second fluid tanks in the cooling module height direction and wherein the second portion of the working fluid transfer tube extends in front of a portion of said one of the first and second fluid tanks in the cooling module depth direction.

12. The cooling module of claim 1 , wherein the working fluid transfer tube includes a first part and a second part joined to the first part by a coupling flange.

13. The cooling module of claim 12 , wherein the first part includes some of the second portion of the working fluid transfer tube and wherein the second part includes the remainder of the second portion of the working fluid transfer tube.

Assignees

• Modine Mfg Co

Inventors

• Rousseau Tony

Classifications

• F01K9/003 Primary

  condenser cooling circuits · CPC title

• F02B29/0462

  Liquid cooled heat exchangers · CPC title

• F28D2021/0084

  Condensers · CPC title

• F28D2021/0094

  for recooling the engine coolant · CPC title

• F28F9/262

  for radiators (F28D1/0408 takes precedence) · CPC title