Rectangular helical core geometry for heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11359864-B2
Application number	US-201916711113-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2019
Priority date	Mar 8, 2019
Publication date	Jun 14, 2022
Grant date	Jun 14, 2022

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes a first fluid manifold extending along a first fluid axis from a first fluid inlet to a first fluid outlet. The first fluid manifold comprises a inlet header, a outlet header, and a multi-helical core section. The inlet header is disposed to fork the first fluid inlet into a plurality of first fluid branches distributed laterally across a plane normal to the first fluid axis. The outlet header is disposed to combine the plurality of first fluid branches into the first fluid outlet. The multi-helical core section fluidly connects the inlet header to the outlet header via a plurality of laterally distributed helical tubes, each helical tube corresponding to one of the plurality of first fluid branches and oriented parallel to all others of the plurality of helical tubes at each axial location along the first fluid axis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger comprising:
a fluid manifold extending along a first fluid axis from a first fluid inlet to a first fluid outlet, the first fluid manifold comprising:
a fractally branching inlet header disposed to fork the first fluid inlet into a plurality of intermediate branches extending along the first fluid axis, and to further fork each of the plurality of intermediate branches into a plurality of first fluid branches distributed laterally across a plane orthogonal to the first fluid axis and extending along the first fluid axis;
a fractally recombining outlet header with multiple stages of recombination disposed to combine the plurality of first fluid branches into the first fluid outlet; and
a multi-helical core section fluidly connecting the inlet header to the outlet header via a plurality of laterally distributed helical tubes, wherein:
each helical tube corresponds to one of the plurality of first fluid branches;
each helical tube is oriented parallel along its entire extent to all others of the plurality of helical tubes
each of the laterally distributed helical tubes extends along a helical axis;
the laterally distributed helical tubes have helical shapes defined by a helical diameter about each respective helical axis; and
the helical axis of each helical tube is spaced from the helical axis of an adjacent helical tube by less than the helical diameter.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of helical tubes is structurally independent from all others of the plurality of helical tubes, such that the plurality of helical tubes are mechanically connected to each other only at the inlet header and the outlet header.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of helical tubes meet with inlet header at a common inlet angle, and meet with the outlet header at a common outlet angle.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the inlet header distributes the first fluid branches in laterally separated rows.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 4 , wherein the inlet header distributes the first fluid branches in laterally separated columns, such that the laterally separated rows and columns define a grid.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of helical tubes is mechanically separated from adjacent of the plurality of helical tubes by a lateral gap.

7. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein a structural rigidity of the first fluid manifold along the first fluid axis is less than along the plane normal to the first fluid axis.

8. The heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein the first fluid manifold is situated in an environment with a known range of operating frequencies, and wherein the first fluid manifold has at least a highest amplitude natural resonance frequency of oscillation transverse to the first fluid axis that is greater than the known range of operating frequencies.

9. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein each of plurality of helical tubes has a total passage length at least double its extent along the first fluid axis.

10. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the multi-helical core forms a rectangular block shape extending between the inlet header and the outlet header, wherein the rectangular block shape is principally compliant along the first fluid axis.

11. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the multi-helical core is capable of compliantly deforming to accommodate axial growth of the inlet header and outlet header.

12. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , further comprising a second fluid flow structure disposed to direct a second fluid to impinge on the first fluid manifold, wherein the second fluid flow structure comprises a baffle surrounding a least the multi-helical core section of the first fluid manifold.

13. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the helical tubes of the core section are evenly distributed across the plane normal to the first fluid axis.

14. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the entirety of the first fluid manifold is formed monolithically as a single structure.

15. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of helical tubes have identical flow area.

16. The heat exchanger of claim 15 , wherein all of the plurality of helical tubes have a circular cross-section with a common internal flow diameter.

17. The heat exchanger of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of helical tubes is separated from adjacent of the plurality of helical tubes by at least the common internal flow diameter.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Becene Ahmet T
• Ruiz Gabriel
• Feng Feng
• Maynard Michael
• Doe Michael
• Hu Michele
• Joseph Ephraim

Classifications

• F28F7/02

  Blocks traversed by passages for heat-exchange media {(F28D7/0008 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• F28D2021/0021

  for aircrafts or cosmonautics · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• F28D2001/0273

  having special shape, e.g. curved, annular · CPC title