Heat exchanger module of the type having plates comprising channels incorporating at least one fluid supply and distribution zone formed by studs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12152840-B2
Application number	US-202217661574-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2022
Priority date	May 6, 2021
Publication date	Nov 26, 2024
Grant date	Nov 26, 2024

Abstract

A heat exchanger module having at least two fluid circuits, of longitudinal axis including a stack of plates, defining at least two fluid circuits, at least a part of the plates each including fluid circulation channels, the channels of at least one of the two circuits, referred to as first circuit, having at least one fluid supply and distribution zone for supplying and distributing fluid from outside the stack, forming a fluid pre-header, in which zone the channels are delimited by studs distributed over the surface of the plate; an exchange zone continuous with the pre-header and wherein the channels are each delimited by a groove separated from one another by a rib and extending along the longitudinal axis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger module having a longitudinal axis, the heat exchanger module comprising:
a stack of plates, defining at least two fluid circuits, at least a part of each of the plates comprising fluid circulation channels,
wherein a first circuit of the at least two circuits includes
a first fluid supply and distribution zone for supplying and distributing a first fluid from outside the stack, forming a first fluid pre-header, in which first pre-header channels are delimited by first studs distributed over a surface of each plate of the first circuit; and
a first exchange zone continuous with the first pre-header and in which first exchange channels are each delimited by a groove, separated from one another by a rib, and extending along the longitudinal axis,

wherein a second circuit of the at least two circuits includes
a second fluid supply and distribution zone for supplying and distributing a second fluid from outside the stack, forming a second fluid pre-header, in which second pre-header channels are delimited by second studs distributed over a surface of each plate of the second circuit; and
a second exchange zone continuous with the second pre-header and in which second exchange channels are each delimited by a groove, separated from one another by a rib, and extending along the longitudinal axis, and

wherein the first studs of the first circuit and/or the second studs of the second circuit are holed and open-ended so as to allow communication between the first pre-header channels of the plates of the first circuit or the second pre-header circuit of the second circuit, but not with those of the plates of the second circuit or respectively of the first circuit.

2. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , further comprising two first-circuit pre-headers each arranged at one end of longitudinal ends of the stack, one of the two pre-headers forming a fluid inlet pre-header, the other forming a fluid outlet pre-header.

3. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , further comprising two second-circuit pre-headers each arranged at one end of longitudinal ends of the stack, one of the two pre-headers forming a fluid inlet pre-header, the other forming a fluid outlet pre-header.

4. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , further comprising, at least at one end of longitudinal ends of the stack, a fluid header opening onto a lateral base plate of the stack onto which base plate the first pre-header channels of the first circuit pre-header open, but not those of the second circuit pre-header.

5. The heat exchanger module according to claim 4 , further comprising, at one end of the longitudinal ends, a first fluid header forming the first circuit inlet header and, at the other end of the longitudinal ends, a second fluid header forming the first circuit outlet header.

6. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , further comprising, at least on one lateral side of the stack, a fluid header passing through the stack transversely to the longitudinal axis and opening onto the second pre-header channels of the second fluid pre-header of the second circuit but not onto those of the first circuit.

7. The heat exchanger module according to claim 6 , further comprising, at least on one same lateral side of the stack, a first fluid header forming a second circuit inlet header and a second fluid header forming a second circuit outlet header.

8. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , wherein the first studs are uniformly distributed in a staggered configuration over the surface of the plate of the first fluid pre-header in a triangular pattern.

9. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , wherein the first studs are uniformly distributed over the surface of the plate of the first fluid pre-header in a rectangular or square pattern.

10. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second studs are of cylindrical overall shape.

11. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , wherein the first exchange channels of the first exchange zone of the first circuit and the second exchange channels of the second exchange zone of the second circuit are straight, mutually parallel, and extend parallel to the longitudinal axis.

12. The heat exchanger module according to claim, 1 , wherein the stack is made up of metal plates assembled with one another either by hot isostatic pressing or by uniaxial hot pressing so as to obtain diffusion welding between the metal plates, or by brazing, or produced using additive manufacturing.

13. The heat exchanger module according to claim 1 , wherein a plate of the first circuit is interposed between two plates of the second circuit at least in a central part of the stack.

14. A heat exchanger comprising a plurality of heat exchanger modules according to claim 1 .

15. The heat exchanger according to claim 14 , wherein the plurality of heat exchanger modules are arranged side by side with second circuit inlet and outlet headers passing through and laterally connecting the plurality of heat exchanger modules.

16. A method of using the heat exchanger according to claim 14 , wherein the first fluid of the first circuit is a liquid metal and the second fluid of the second circuit is a gas or a gas mixture.

17. The method of using the exchanger according to claim 16 , wherein the second fluid of the second circuit contains nitrogen and the first fluid of the first circuit is liquid sodium.

18. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the first fluid of the first or of the second fluid comes from a nuclear reactor.

19. A nuclear facility, comprising:
a liquid metal fast neutron reactor, and
a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of the exchanger modules according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Jeanningros Xavier
• Grosse Julien
• Serre Julien
• Vincent Sébastien
• Cachon Lionel

Classifications

• F28F2275/062

  by impact pressure or friction welding · CPC title

• F28F2275/061

  by diffusion bonding · CPC title

• F28F2275/04

  by brazing · CPC title

• F28F9/0217

  the partitions being separate elements attached to header boxes · CPC title

• F28D9/005

  the plates having openings therein for both heat-exchange media · CPC title