Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer

The invention relates to heat exchangers, and in particular, to turbulizers used in plate type heat exchangers to increase the heat transfer performance of the heat exchanger.

In heat exchangers, particularly of the type used to cool or heat liquids such as oil, it is common to use flow augmentation devices to increase mixing or flow turbulence or impede the formation of boundary layers and thus improve the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchangers. In the past, various types of metal fins or turbulizers have been used. One common type of turbulizer is a corrugated fin where the corrugations are formed with a pattern of slits and the material of the corrugations is displaced laterally to produce offset openings. This produces a tortuous flow path through the turbulizer increasing turbulence and breaking up boundary layers.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,981 (Joshi) discloses a fin comprising a plurality of corrugations, the side walls of which are provided with vertical louvers. Louvered fins are commonly used on the air side of an air to liquid heat exchanger; however, in this Joshi patent, the louvered fin is located inside the heat exchanger tubes or channels that normally contain liquids, such as oils. As well, the Joshi patent shows the louvered fin as being positioned within the heat exchanger tubes with the corrugations oriented either parallel or transverse to the flow of the fluid through the channel.

Japanese application JP-62255792 discloses a heat exchanger having porous thin laminar metallic fins located between adjacent tubes in the heat exchanger. The fins are formed in a waveform shape along a first axis, and in a waveform shape along a second axis where the second axis is perpendicular to the first axis. However, the fins are located external to and in between the tubes of the heat exchanger.

Some difficulties with expanded metal or louvered type turbulizers is that they produce undesirably high pressure drops or flow losses in the heat exchanger resulting in an irregular or non-uniform flow pattern in the fluid passageways of the heat exchanger. This can produce stagnation in some areas of the heat exchanger, but even if this does not occur, a non-uniform flow profile generally indicates less than ideal heat transfer efficiency through the heat exchanger.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a heat exchanger comprising a tubular member having first and second spaced-apart walls defining a flow passage therebetween, the tubular member having respective end portions defining a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet for the flow of a first fluid through the flow passage. A corrugated heat transfer surface is located in the tubular member, the heat transfer surface including parallel spaced apart ridges with planar portions extending therebetween, alternating ridges being in contact with the first and second spaced-apart walls, the corrugated heat transfer surface having a plurality of micro-openings formed therein defining a uniform porosity over the surface thereof. The tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the ridges of the heat transfer surface being oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a plate type heat exchanger containing a corrugated heat transfer surface according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heat transfer surface shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the heat transfer surface shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a single heat exchanger tubular member containing a heat transfer surface according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a single corrugation of a heat transfer surface according to one embodiment of the invention taken along section line 5-5 shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 6 is a left side view of the corrugation shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the corrugation shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a right side view of the corrugation shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a top view of a section of material used to form the corrugation shown in FIGS. 5-8;

Continue reading about Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer...
Full patent description for Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims

Click on the above for other options relating to this Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer patent application.
###


How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents
1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored.
3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords.  
Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer or other areas of interest.
###


Previous Patent Application:
Tube for a heat exchanger
Next Patent Application:
Metal tubes for heat pipes and method of manufacturing the same
Industry Class:
Heat exchange

###

Design/code © 2009 FreshContext LLC/Freshpatents.com. Website Terms and Conditions - Also read: About this Page
Patent data source: patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Information published here is for research/educational purposes only (and in conjunction with our Keyword Monitor) and is not meant to be used in place of the full USPTO patent document/images or a comprehensive patent archive search. Complete official applications are on file at the USPTO and often contain additional data/images (Freshpatents is currently text-only). FreshPatents.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO or firms/individuals or products/designs/ideas related to listed patents.

FreshPatents.com Support
Thank you for viewing the Heat exchanger with expanded metal turbulizer patent info.
IP-related news and info


Results in 2.02257 seconds


Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories:
Accenture , Agouron Pharmaceuticals , Amgen , AT&T , Bausch & Lomb , Callaway Golf paws