Heat exchanger assembly

Abstract

An apparatus providing high efficiency heat exchange between two fluids is disclosed. The apparatus most commonly comprises multiple thin panels with fluid channels directing the flow of the two fluids, specifically: one or more flat panels aligned at some angle to the flow of the fluid traveling through the shortest channel of the thin panels. The panels are arranged in series and parallel, so that the hot fluid travels through multiple thin panels. The coolant is delivered to the thin panels through tubes or manifolds while the hot fluid is delivered through a duct or other piping.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This Application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application identified as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 041,767, filed Jan. 24, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to heat exchangers, particularly very high efficiency heat exchangers and heat exchanger systems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0003] Heat exchangers are used in a great many mechanical and electrical systems. Some of the most commonly known applications include the condenser of a refrigerator or the radiator of an automobile. Increasingly, customers have demanded high efficiency heat exchangers for cooling computer chips and other electronic components. This demand, among others, produces a continuing need for increased efficiency in a smaller volume. [0004] Compact heat exchangers are used in applications which demand low overall mass or weight. Until recently, such a heat exchang...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] The rate of heat transfer for a given heat exchanger is related to the surface area-to-volume ratio of the fluid channels. Advances in microfabrication allow the design of a heat exchanger to increase the amount of surface area in relation to the overall volume. As is well understood in the field, the overall heat transfer of a given fluid channel increases when the hydraulic diameter of that channel decreases. So-called microchannels provide the reduction in hydraulic diameter necessary to produce the required heat transfer performance.

[0010] The current invention extends the utility of these thin panel designs by providing multiple orientations and other options which serve to increase the effective surface area without necessarily increasing the frontal area of the heat exchanger system.

[0011] For instance, a typical thin panel heat exchanger is oriented so that its shortest flow channels are parallel to the approaching external fluid flow (the impinging flow). This is intended to minimize the pressure drop for that external fluid. The current invention, however, contemplates a thin panel heat exchanger inclined so that the approaching external fluid flow is no longer parallel to the fluid channels in the panel. With an inclined panel, the ratio of surface area to frontal area increases dramatically.

[0013] Experimentation has also proven that inclination of such a panel does not adversely affect the heat transfer properties of the panel, assuming the eventual configuration of headers, manifolds or other components assures proper distribution of fluid through both the internal and external channels.

[0016] The current invention also addresses this concern. Internal fluid flow may be plumbed through tubes which feed one or more panels. In addition, a manifold may feed internal fluid flow to all of the panels at one time. The manifold can be made integrally with structural members of the total heat exchanger system, providing for a savings in total weight by removing mass which does not facilitate heat transfer.

Problems solved by technology

Until recently, such a heat exchanger was incapable of transferring the amounts of heat necessary for certain applications, such as an automobile.

Unfortunately, the small features which allow for high heat transfer create correspondingly high pressure drops in the working fluids.

Microchannels necessarily impose a significant increase in pressure drop over more conventional flow channels.

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