Method for heat exchange and conditioning of a heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11067342-B2
Application number	US-201716308201-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2017
Priority date	Jun 10, 2016
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for heat exchange. At a first point in time, in a thermal energy storing device, at least part of the previously accumulated thermal energy is discharged to a first fluid by heat exchange, and subsequently, at a second later point in time, when the first fluid has been heated to a temperature higher than the temperature of a second fluid, the second fluid receives heat energy by heat exchange with said first fluid which then circulates on the other side of a first wall that prevents the first and second fluids from mixing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for thermal exchange, wherein:
a) at a first moment in time, in a thermal energy storing device, at least part of a thermal energy previously accumulated in a form of calories is discharged to an oil, to heat said oil by thermal exchange,
b) subsequently, at a second later moment in time, when said oil has, during step a), been heated to a temperature higher than a temperature of a water, said water receiving thermal energy by thermal exchange, through a first wall of the thermal energy storing device, said oil which then circulates on an other side of a first wall that prevents said oil and said water from mixing,
the thermal energy storing device comprising at least one phase-change material, which, at said first point in time, stores at least part of a thermal energy previously accumulated in the form of calories which is discharged to said oil, said thermal energy previously accumulated having been stored during a previous operation of an engine, during a previous thermal exchange with said oil which was, when the previous thermal exchange took place, at a temperature higher than the change-of-state temperature of said at least one phase-change materials, said method being implemented, on a vehicle equipped with a crankshaft and cylinders, and/or a gearbox, arranged in said engine, at an intersection a first oil circuit of the vehicle in which said oil is allowed to circulate and a second water circuit of the vehicle in which said water is allowed to circulate, the first oil circuit passing in the gearbox and/or in contact with the crankshaft and the cylinders.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at said second point in time, the temperature to which said oil has been heated being higher than the change-of-state temperature of the at least one phase-change materials:
said at least one phase-change material is loaded with calories by thermal-exchange with said oil in the thermal energy store,
and step b) of claim 1 is performed.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the thermal energy storing device, said at least one phase-change material is provided to a second wall that separates, away from the first wall, an inlet flow of said oil into several sub-flows, said sub-flows are circulated along this second wall, said sub-flows:
during step a), at a temperature below the change-of-state temperature of said at least one phase-change material,
and during step b), at a temperature above the temperature of said at least one phase-change material.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, through the first wall, said oil and water are placed in direct thermal exchange there between, without interposition of phase-change material.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, at the first point in time:
c) during step a), oil adapted to lubricate said engine and circulating in said first oil circuit of the vehicle arrives in the thermal energy store device at a temperature lower than the change-of-state temperature of said at least one phase-change material, and
d) there is subsequently no thermal exchange between said oil and water, the circulation of said water in the second water circuit towards said intersection being subsequently interrupted whereas said water circulates elsewhere in the engine where it increases in temperature, in thermal exchange with other elements arranged in said engine.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein, following step c), step b) is performed, by establishing circulation of said water from the second water circuit towards thermal exchange with said oil when the temperature of said water in the second water circuit is higher than the temperature of said oil arriving for said thermal exchange.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said first wall is provided with said at least one phase-change material, said oil is circulated along the first side and the second fluid along the second side of said first wall, simultaneously, from said second point in time.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle comprises a cooling circuit for cooling the engine, said cooling circuit including the second water circuit.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a succession of steps a) and b) is carried out in respective thermal exchange stages of the thermal energy storing device, the thermal exchange stages being different from each other and stacked in succession in one direction.

10. A method for conditioning a thermal exchanger having a thermal energy storage capacity and for carrying out thermal energy exchanges therein, wherein:
the thermal exchange stages according to claim 9 are arranged in a thermally insulating jacket comprising walls surrounding the thermal energy storing device and provided with a thermally insulating material, and
in said thermal exchange stages, the method according to claim 1 is performed.

Assignees

• Hutchinson

Inventors

• Chopard Fabrice
• Chauvet Boris

Classifications

• F28D9/0093

  Multi-circuit heat-exchangers, e.g. integrating different heat exchange sections in the same unit or heat-exchangers for more than two fluids · CPC title

• F28D2020/0008

  the heat storage material being enclosed in plate-like or laminated elements, e.g. in plates having internal compartments · CPC title

• F28D9/0037

  the conduits for the other heat-exchange medium also being formed by paired plates touching each other (F28D9/0043 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02E60/14

  Thermal energy storage · CPC title

• F28D20/021 Primary

  the latent heat storage material and the heat-exchanging means being enclosed in one container (F28D20/023 - F28D20/028 take precedence) · CPC title