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Heat exchanger core tube for increased core thickness

Heat exchanger core tube for increased core thickness description/claims

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1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates generally to precision cooling systems for high-density heat loads, and, more particularly, to a heat exchanger having increased core thickness.

2. Description of the Related Art

Electronic equipment is oftentimes housed in a critical or controlled space, such as a computer room or telecommunications room, and usually requires precise, reliable control of temperature, humidity and airflow. Excessive heat or humidity can damage or impair the operation of computer systems and other electronic or electrical components. Components may often be positioned in close proximity to one another in a high density arrangement for a number of reasons, such as increased performance or reduced cable costs and routing complexity. However, increases in the power and density of computer and electronic equipment usually results in an increase in heat generation, thereby requiring more cooling or heat transfer to avoid damaging the equipment or reducing performance.

For reasons such as these, precision cooling systems are designed and employed in high heat density applications. Often, such cooling systems employ air-to-fluid heat exchangers to remove heat from the air near heat-producing components. It is known that the heat transfer capabilities of air-to-fluid heat exchanger may be increased by, for example, increasing the heat transfer surface area, increasing the fluid flow rate, or increasing the air flow rate. Increasing the heat transfer surface area may be restricted by the space available for the heat exchanger system. This may be particularly true in high density racks or enclosures where space is at a premium.

This disclosure teaches an improved heat exchanger having increased heat transfer surface area for a given occupied space, and cooling systems using such heat exchanger.

A heat exchanger core tube is disclosed for transferring heat from an environment to a fluid, for example. The core tube may have a body and at least one internal fluid passage such that a working fluid may pass through the core tube. Further, the core tube may have first and second ends, wherein at least one end may be adapted, such as by twisting or reducing, to couple to a heat exchanger manifold. A twisted end may be coupled to a manifold such that the longitudinal axis of a core tube remains substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the manifold and wherein the end of the core tube is angled less than 90 degrees with respect to the tube body. The core tube may also have a second twisted end and either twisted end may comprise, for example, a twisted portion of the body of the core tube or an adapter coupled to the end of the body. In various embodiments of the disclosed core tube, the tube may, for example, have a height greater than the inside diameter of a manifold to which the tube may be coupled. The tube may be hollow or may comprise one or more micro-channels. A core tube may comprise all of these features, parts or any combination thereof, or none at all.

Further disclosed is a heat exchanger, for example, for transferring heat from an environment to a fluid. The heat exchanger may include a manifold and may have one or more core tubes, such as those mentioned above, coupled to the manifold. Each of the one or more core tubes coupled to the manifold may be of the same embodiment, of separate embodiments or any combination thereof A method is also disclosed, such as for increasing the heat transfer capability of a heat exchanger. The method may include providing a heat exchanger manifold and a core tube, such as for example a core tube described above, and coupling one end of the core tube to the manifold such that the longitudinal axis of a core tube remains substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the manifold and wherein the end of the core tube is angled less than 90 degrees with respect to the tube body. The method may further include providing more than one core tube, providing more than one manifold, coupling a manifold to one or both ends of a core tube, or any combination thereof The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.

The foregoing summary, a preferred embodiment, and other aspects of the subject matter of the present disclosure will be best understood with reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a heat exchanger core tube utilizing aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a heat exchanger core tube in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

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• Utility Patent

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