Condenser apparatus and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11041664-B2
Application number	US-201916261990-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2019
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Jun 22, 2021
Grant date	Jun 22, 2021

Abstract

A condenser having passages of varying geometry for cooling of fluid. The condenser apparatus includes substantially parallel tubes each defining a channel and having an inlet at a first end and an outlet at a second end, the first end having a greater hydraulic diameter than the second end. Inlet and outlet manifolds are provided. The tubes may be oriented substantially vertically with the inlets above the respective outlets. A heat exchanger core comprises the tubes and substantially horizontally oriented fin material connecting the tubes. The tubes may receive a relatively higher temperature vapor or vapor and liquid mixture into the inlets of the tubes, around the tubes coolant flows substantially horizontally to remove heat from the tubes, and relatively cooler saturated liquid is discharged from the outlets. In one embodiment, the tube's channel splits into multiple channels to reduce the hydraulic diameter and increase the surface area ratio.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A condenser apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of substantially parallel tubes, each tube having an inlet at a first end and an outlet at a second end, the first end defining a first channel and the second end defining a plurality of channels, with the first channel splitting into the plurality of channels between the first end and the second end, the first end having a greater hydraulic diameter than the second end;
an inlet manifold at the inlets of the tubes for distributing flow to the inlets; and
an outlet manifold at the outlets of the tubes for receiving flow from the outlets.

2. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tubes each have a longitudinal axis, and the longitudinal axes are oriented substantially vertically.

3. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a heat exchanger core, and the heat exchanger core comprises the tubes and fins connected to the tubes.

4. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tubes each have a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axes are oriented substantially vertically with the inlets above the respective outlets, and further comprising a heat exchanger core, wherein the heat exchanger core comprises the tubes and substantially horizontally oriented fin material connecting the tubes.

5. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a heat exchanger core configured such that the tubes receive a relatively higher temperature vapor or vapor and liquid mixture into the inlets of the tubes, the condenser apparatus further comprising a coolant that flows around the tubes to remove heat from the tubes, and a relatively cooler saturated liquid is discharged from the outlets.

6. The condenser apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the heat exchanger core is configured at a lowest section of the tubes to cool the liquid to a subcooled state.

7. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a cross-section of each tube is elliptical.

8. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a cross-section of each tube is a shape other than circular.

9. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a cross-section of each tube is circular.

10. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising fins connected to the tubes.

11. The condenser apparatus of claim 10 , wherein each of the fins comprise a plurality of notches.

12. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a coolant flowing around the tubes to remove heat from the tubes.

13. The condenser apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the coolant comprises a liquid or air.

14. The condenser apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a pump located in the outlet manifold.

15. A condenser apparatus, comprising:
a heat exchanger comprising a heat exchanger core, the heat exchanger core comprising a plurality of substantially parallel tubes, each tube having an inlet at a first end and an outlet at a second end, the first end defining a first channel and the second end defining a plurality of channels, with the first channel splitting into the plurality of channels between the first end and the second end, the first end having a greater hydraulic diameter than the second end;
an inlet manifold, the inlet of each of the tubes connected to the inlet manifold, the inlet manifold configured to receive a fluid into the condenser apparatus and then distribute the fluid to each of the tubes at the inlets; and
an outlet manifold, the outlet of each of the tubes connected to the outlet manifold, the outlet manifold configured to receive the fluid from each of the tubes at the outlets and then discharged the fluid from the condenser apparatus.

16. The condenser apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the heat exchanger core is configured such that the tubes receive a vapor or vapor and liquid mixture into the inlets of the tubes and a saturated liquid is discharged from the outlets of the tubes.

17. The condenser apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the saturated liquid is subcooled prior to discharge through the outlet manifold to prevent cavitation of a pump.

18. A method of condensing a hot vapor or vapor and liquid mixture to a liquid, the method comprising:
discharging a relatively higher temperature vapor or vapor and liquid mixture flow from an inlet manifold and into a plurality of substantially parallel tubes, each tube having an inlet at a first end and an outlet at a second end, wherein the inlet manifold is at the inlets of the tubes for distributing flow to the inlets and the first end of each tube defining a first channel and the second end of each tube defining a plurality of channels, with the first channel splitting into the plurality of channels between the first end and the second end, the first end having a greater hydraulic diameter than the second end;
causing the relatively higher temperature vapor or vapor and liquid mixture to flow through the tubes and to condense to be saturated liquid; and
receiving the saturated liquid in an outlet manifold at the outlets of the tubes.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising subcooling the saturated liquid prior to discharge through the outlet manifold.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein causing the relatively higher temperature vapor or vapor and liquid mixture to flow through the tubes and to condense to be saturated liquid comprises causing flow through periodically or continuously decreasing hydraulic diameters of each tube as the flow advances from the inlet to the outlet with associated relative increases in surface area of the tube and heat transfer rates.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Kusuda Charles Edward
• Muley Arun

Classifications

• F25B2339/04

  Details of condensers · CPC title

• F28D1/05316

  Assemblies of conduits connected to common headers, e.g. core type radiators (F28D1/05366 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F28B1/06

  using air or other gas as the cooling medium · CPC title

• F28F13/08

  by varying the cross-section of the flow channels · CPC title

• F28F1/006

  with variable shape, e.g. with modified tube ends, with different geometrical features (F28F1/025, F28F1/06, F28F1/08, F28F9/16, F28F9/18 take precedence) · CPC title