Heat exchanger, cooling system and method for operating a heat exchanger and a cooling system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9561856-B2
Application number	US-201213666347-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2012
Priority date	Nov 4, 2011
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A heat exchanger with at least one cooling segment having a first, a second, and a third portion. A first heat carrier flow path, through which a first heat carrier medium flows, extends through the first portion. A second heat carrier flow path, through which a second heat carrier medium flows, extends through the second portion. A first coolant flow path, through which a first coolant medium flows, extends through the third portion. The heat exchanger comprises at least one cooling body, a second coolant medium flowing through a second coolant flow path extending through the cooling body. The first and the second heat carrier flow paths are thermally coupled, respectively, to the first and the second coolant flow path, to discharge heat energy of at least one of the first and the second heat carrier medium to at least one of the first and the second coolant medium.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger, comprising:
at least one cooling segment having a first portion, a second portion and a third portion,
a first heat carrier flow path, which extends through the first portion of the cooling segment and through which a first heat carrier medium can flow,
a second heat carrier flow path, which extends through the second portion of the cooling segment and through which a second heat carrier medium can flow,
a first coolant flow path, which extends through the third portion of the cooling segment and through which a first coolant medium can flow,
at least one cooling body, and
at least one second coolant flow path, which extends through the cooling body and through which a second coolant medium can flow,
the first heat carrier flow path and the second heat carrier flow path being thermally coupled, respectively, to the first coolant flow path and the second coolant flow path, in order to discharge heat energy of at least one of the first heat carrier medium or the second heat carrier medium to at least one of the first coolant medium or the second coolant medium,
wherein the first portion and the second portion of the cooling segment extend, respectively, in a first plane and in a second plane that is at a distance from the first plane and that extends substantially parallel to the first plane, and wherein the third portion extends in a third plane that is disposed between the first and the second plane and that extends substantially parallel to at least one of the first plane or the second plane, and
wherein the first heat carrier flow path is split upstream of the first portion into two flow path portions leading respectively into the first plane and second plane and recombined downstream of the first portion, and the second heat carrier flow path is split upstream of the second portion into two flow path portions leading respectively into the first plane and second plane and recombined downstream of the second portion.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion and the second portion of the cooling segment are designed in such a way that a ratio between a parameter that is characteristic of the heat transfer properties of the first portion and a parameter that is characteristic of the heat transfer properties of the second portion corresponds to a ratio between the heat energy of the first heat carrier medium to be discharged through the first portion, when the heat exchanger is in normal operation, and the heat energy of the second heat carrier medium to be discharged through the second portion, when the heat exchanger is in normal operation.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one second coolant flow path extends along a flute of a corrugated sheet-type louver fin component of the cooling body.

4. A method for operating a heat exchanger, comprising the steps:
routing a first heat carrier medium through a first heat carrier flow path, which is split into two flow paths extending through a first portion of a cooling segment of the heat exchanger,
routing a second heat carrier medium through a second heat carrier flow path, which is split into two flow paths extending through a second portion of the cooling segment of the heat exchanger,
routing a first coolant medium through a first coolant flow path, which extends through a third portion of the cooling segment of the heat exchanger, and
routing a second coolant medium through a second coolant flow path, which extends through a cooling body of the heat exchanger,
recombining the first heat carrier flow path downstream of the first portion,
recombining the second heat carrier flow path downstream of the second portion,
the first heat carrier flow path and the second heat carrier flow path being thermally coupled, respectively, to the first coolant flow path and the second coolant flow path, in order to discharge heat energy of at least one of the first heat carrier medium or the second heat carrier medium to at least one of the first coolant medium or the second coolant medium,
wherein the first portion and the second portion of the cooling segment extend, respectively, in a first plane and in a second plane that is at a distance from the first plane and that extends substantially parallel to the first plane, and wherein the third portion extends in a third plane that is disposed between the first and the second plane and that extends substantially parallel to at least one of the first plane or the second plane, and
wherein the two flow paths of the first heat carrier flow path lead respectively into the first plane and the second plane, and the two flow paths of the second carrier flow path lead respectively into the first plane and the second plane.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein, when the heat exchanger is in normal operation, heat energy of the first heat carrier medium is discharged through the first portion of the cooling segment, and heat energy of the second heat carrier medium is discharged through the second portion of the cooling segment, a ratio between the discharged heat energy of the first heat carrier medium and the discharged heat energy of the second heat carrier medium corresponding to the ratio between a parameter that is characteristic of the heat transfer properties of the first portion and a parameter that is characteristic of the heat transfer properties of the second portion.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Mevenkamp Christoph
• Muehlthaler Georg
• Capistran Zambrano Sebastian

Classifications

• B64D13/06 Primary

  the air being conditioned (pressurising B64D13/02) · CPC title

• F28D9/0062

  the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by spaced plates with inserted elements (F28D9/0012, F28D9/0025, F28D9/0081, F28D9/04 take precedence) · CPC title

• Y02T50/56

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02T50/44

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B64D2013/0614

  with subsystems for cooling avionics · CPC title