Optimized plate fin heat exchanger for improved compliance to improve thermal life

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016377350-A1
Application number	US-201514754235-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 29, 2015
Priority date	Jun 29, 2015
Publication date	Dec 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes a hot passage; a cold passage adjacent the hot passage; a pair of tube sheets, with one tube sheet on each opposing side of one of the hot passage and the cold passage; a fin in one of the hot passage and the cold passage; wherein the fin includes a first distal portion, a second distal portion, and an intermediate portion between the first and second distal portions; wherein the fin is configured to provide, at only the first distal portion and the second distal portion, improved flexibility in three degrees of freedom of movement within one of the hot passage and the cold passage.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A heat exchanger, comprising
a hot passage; a cold passage adjacent the hot passage; a pair of tube sheets, with one tube sheet on each opposing side of one of the hot passage and the cold passage; a fin in one of the hot passage and the cold passage; wherein the fin includes a first distal portion, a second distal portion, and an intermediate portion between the first and second distal portions; wherein the fin is configured to provide, at only the first distal portion and the second distal portion, three degrees of freedom of movement within one of the hot passage and the cold passage.

2 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of tube sheets, whereby any one tube sheet has two immediately adjacent tube sheets, whereby one tube sheet of the two immediately adjacent tube sheets is on each side of the any one tube sheet.

3 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the pair of tube sheets are on opposing sides of the cold passage, and the pair of tube sheets are not affixed to one another at certain locations.

4 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the fin has a sinusoidal configuration.

5 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein one of the first distal portion and the second distal portion has a divided sinusoidal configuration.

6 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein one of the first distal portion and the second distal portion is separated laterally through its cross section.

7 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the fin is laterally separated at its cross-sectional mid-point.

8 . A plate fin heat exchanger, comprising a hot passage;
a cold passage adjacent the hot passage; a pair of tube sheets on opposing sides of the cold passage; a fin in the cold passage; wherein the fin includes a first distal portion, a second distal portion, and an intermediate portion between the first and second distal portions; wherein the fin, at only the first distal portion and the second distal portion, is separated laterally into a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion.

9 . The heat exchanger of claim 8 , further comprising:
a plurality of cold passages, wherein the plurality of cold passages include outer cold passages, and wherein the cold passage with the fin therein is one of the outer cold passages.

10 . The heat exchanger of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of outer cold passages includes a distal area defined by an area having a length and height.

11 . The heat exchanger of claim 10 , wherein a ratio of the length to the height is from about 0.5 to about 1.0.

12 . The heat exchanger of claim 10 , further comprising a cold inlet face, and
wherein a ratio of the height of the distal area to an overall height of the cold inlet face is from about 3% to about 11%.

13 . The heat exchanger of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of outer cold passages includes from about 4 to about 8 cold passages.

14 . The heat exchanger of claim 8 , wherein:
the cold passage includes a cold passage distal portion located at a corner where the cold passage meets the hot passage, and one of the first and second distal portions of the fin is located at the cold passage distal portion.

15 . A plate fin heat exchanger, comprising
a plurality of cold passages; a plurality of fins in the cold passages; a plurality of hot passages; a plurality of tube sheets; wherein the cold passages, hot passages and tube sheets are positioned in an recurring pattern of cold passage, tube sheet, hot passage, and tube sheet; wherein one of the plurality of fins has a distal portion with a divided configuration to provide three degrees of freedom of movement of the fin at the distal portion.

16 . The heat exchanger of claim 15 , wherein the divided configuration is a lateral separation through a cross section of the distal portion.

17 . The heat exchanger of claim 16 , wherein the lateral separation is at a mid-point of the cross section.

18 . The heat exchanger of claim 16 , wherein the lateral separation is less than an entire distance between a cold inlet face and a cold outlet face.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Jensen Joseph
• Berukhim David Asher
• Oey Yung

Classifications

• F28D9/0093 Primary

  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

• F28D2021/0021

  for aircrafts or cosmonautics · CPC title

• F28F2265/26

  for allowing differential expansion between elements · CPC title

• F28F2215/04

  Assemblies of fins having different features, e.g. with different fin densities · CPC title

• F28D9/0031 Primary

  the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by paired plates touching each other (F28D9/0012, F28D9/0025, F28D9/0081, F28D9/04 take precedence) · CPC title