Abstract
A heat exchanger system for transferring heat between two fluids that includes at least two heat exchangers each having a top and bottom. The heat exchangers include a fluid collector, multiphase distributor, and a plurality of multi-duct tubes coupled therewith. One fluid flows around the multi-duct tubes, while the other fluid flows within the multi-duct tubes, with heat transfer occurring via a fluidically separate coupling of the fluids. One heat exchanger is configured with an upward flow design, for heating, in which the two fluids flow opposite to gravity and parallel to each other through the heat exchanger (bottom to top). The other heat exchanger is configured with a downward flow design, for cooling, in which one fluid flows opposite to gravity through the heat exchanger (bottom to top) and the other fluid flows anti-parallel to the one fluid with gravity through the heat exchanger (top to bottom).
Claims
1. A heat exchanger system for transferring heat between a first fluid and a second fluid during a heating operation and a cooling operation; the heat exchanger system comprising at least a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger each having a top and a bottom; wherein each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger includes a fluid collector for collecting fluid, a multiphase distributor for distributing fluid, and a plurality of multi-duct tubes coupled to the fluid collector and the multiphase distributor; wherein the first fluid flows in a first flow path around the multi-duct tubes and the second fluid flows in a second flow path within the multi-duct tubes, such that the transfer of heat occurs through a fluidically separate coupling of the first fluid and the second fluid; wherein the first heat exchanger is configured to have an upward flow design, for use during the heating operation, in which the first fluid and the second fluid flow opposite to the direction of gravity and virtually parallel to one another through the first heat exchanger from the bottom to the top; wherein the second heat exchanger is configured to have a downward flow design, for use during the cooling operation, in which the first fluid flows opposite to the direction of gravity through the second heat exchanger from the bottom to the top and the second fluid flows virtually anti-parallel to the first fluid in the direction of gravity through the second heat exchanger from the top to the bottom.
2. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein during the heating operation heat is transferred from the second fluid to the first fluid, with the fluid collector being arranged in the second flow path downstream of the multiphase distributor, such that the second fluid first flows through the multiphase distributor, then through the multi-duct tubes, and then through the fluid collector; wherein during the cooling operation heat is transferred from the first fluid to the second fluid, with the fluid collector being arranged in the second flow path upstream of the multiphase distributor, such that the second fluid first flows through the fluid collector, then through the multi-duct tubes, and then through the multiphase distributor.
3. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein the fluid collector of one or more of the first and second heat exchangers has a cylindrical tubular body with a longitudinal axis and a cross-section that is constant along the longitudinal axis; the cylindrical tubular body having a hollow interior for guiding the second fluid.
4. The heat exchanger system according to claim 3, wherein the fluid collector of one or more of the first and second heat exchangers comprises at least two opening arrangements having a plurality of individual openings that penetrate the cylindrical tubular body transversely to the tubular-body longitudinal axis and are spaced apart from one another along the longitudinal axis.
5. The heat exchanger system according to claim 4, wherein the individual openings present in one of the opening arrangements are different from the individual openings present in another one of the opening arrangements in that the individual openings in one of the opening arrangements are 1) spaced apart from one another at a distance (D.sub.1) measured from centers of adjacent individual openings that is less than a distance (D.sub.2) used to space apart the individual openings in another one of the opening arrangements and/or 2) have an opening cross-sectional area (A.sub.1) that is less than an opening cross-sectional area (A.sub.2) of at least a portion of the individual openings in another one of the opening arrangements.
6. The heat exchanger system according to claim 5, wherein the distance (D.sub.1) is 54 mm (±5 mm) and distance (D.sub.2) is 108 mm (±10 mm).
7. The heat exchanger system according to claim 5, wherein the distance (D.sub.1) is one-half (½) of the distance (D.sub.2).
8. The heat exchanger system according to claim 5, wherein the opening cross-sectional area (A.sub.1) is one-half (½) or one-quarter (¼) of the opening cross-sectional area (A.sub.2).
9. The heat exchanger system according to claim 5, wherein the individual openings in one of the opening arrangements has an opening diameter of 4.76 mm (±0.5 mm) and another one of the opening arrangements has individual openings with opening diameters alternating between a first diameter of 4.76 mm (±0.5 mm) and 6.35 mm (±0.6 mm).
10. The heat exchanger system according to claim 5, wherein when the individual openings in one of the opening arrangements are spaced apart at a distance (D.sub.1) that is less than a distance (D.sub.2) used to space apart the individual openings in another one of the opening arrangements, the individual openings in each of the opening arrangements may have the same opening diameter.
11. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein the multi-duct tubes have a duct tube longitudinal axis that is aligned transversely or orthogonally to the fluid collector and to the multiphase distributor.
12. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein the first fluid is air and the second fluid is a coolant fluid.
13. The heat exchanger system according to claim 3, wherein the cylindrical tubular body has a cross-section that is c-shaped or v-shaped.
14. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, further comprises one or more fans arranged in the first flow path for driving the first fluid along the first flow path and at least one fluid pump arranged in the second flow path for driving the second fluid along the second flow path.
15. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, further comprises one or more support tubes that surround and encases the fluid collector and/or the multiphase distributor, the support tubes having radial passages through which the multi-duct tubes are inserted.
16. The heat exchanger system according to claim 15, wherein the one or more support tubes comprise at least one fluid connection that forms a fluid inlet or a fluid outlet configured for attachment to an external hose.
17. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are arranged in a housing.
18. The heat exchanger system according to claim 17, wherein the housing is wedge-shaped or v-shaped.
19. The heat exchanger system according to claim 1, wherein the multiphase distributor of one or more of the first and second heat exchangers has a cylindrical tubular body with a longitudinal axis and a cross-section that is constant along the longitudinal axis; the cylindrical tubular body having a hollow interior for guiding the second fluid.
20. The heat exchanger system according to claim 19, wherein the fluid multiphase distributor of one or more of the first and second heat exchangers comprises at least one opening arrangement having a plurality of individual openings that penetrate the cylindrical tubular body transversely to the tubular-body longitudinal axis and are spaced apart from one another along the longitudinal axis.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] In the drawings,
[0033] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger system,
[0034] FIG. 2 shows a preferred exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger arranged in the heat exchanger system according to FIG. 1, in a top view,
[0035] FIG. 3 shows a fluid collector of the heat exchanger from FIG. 2 in a side view, with a support tube, a multiphase distributor, and multi-duct tubes omitted for simplicity,
[0036] FIG. 4 shows the fluid collector of the heat exchanger from FIG. 3 in a top view according to an arrow IV incorporated therein, and
[0037] FIG. 5 shows a multiphase distributor of the heat exchanger from FIG. 2 in a side view, with a support tube, a fluid collector, and multi-duct tubes omitted for simplicity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0038] As a whole, the figures show a preferred exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger, which is labeled with reference numeral 1, of which two pieces are integrated in an exemplary manner in a preferred exemplary embodiment of a v-shaped heat exchanger system 25, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. As does the heat exchanger system 25, a heat exchanger 1 serves to transfer thermal energy from the first fluid to the second fluid or vice versa via the heat-transferring, fluidically separate coupling of a first fluid to a second fluid. Depending on whether thermal energy is transferred from the first fluid to the second fluid or from the second fluid to the first fluid, one refers to a cooling operation 23 of the heat exchanger 1 or to a heating operation 22 of the heat exchanger 1. The heat exchanger system 25 can analogously also be operated for heating as part of a heating mode or for cooling as part of a cooling mode. Heat exchangers 1 or heat exchanger systems 25 are usually used in air conditioning systems. As part of the heating mode for heating the heat exchanger system 25, the heat exchangers 1 are switched into the heating operation 22, wherein they are operated in an “upward flow design”. This means that the first fluid and the second fluid basically flow through the respective heat exchanger 1 from the bottom to the top, thus in the opposite direction of or at an angle to the direction of gravity. In any event, thermal energy is transferred from the second fluid to the first fluid as part of the heating operation 22 of the heat exchanger 1, so that a building, for example, can be air-conditioned/heated. As part of the cooling mode for cooling the heat exchanger system 25, the heat exchangers 1 are switched into the cooling operation 23, wherein they are operated in a “downward flow design”. This means that the second fluid basically flows through the heat exchanger 1 from the top to the bottom, thus in the direction of or at an angle to the direction of gravity, thus in reverse to the “upward flow design”.
[0039] It is thus important to note that the second fluid can flow through the heat exchanger 1 in different directions along a second flow path 5 as a function of the selected operating state 22, 23 of the heat exchanger 1. To illustrate this, arrows, which are directed from the top to the bottom, and arrows, which are directed from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top, respectively labeled with reference numeral 5, are incorporated in FIG. 1. They each specify the flow direction of the second fluid along the flow path 5.
[0040] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the preferred exemplary embodiment of the heat exchanger system 25, illustrating that the heat exchanger system 25 has a wedge-shaped housing 26, in which two heat exchangers 1 are arranged on the housing 26 in a stationary manner and tilted at an angle to one another in a v-shaped manner. The heat exchanger system 25 furthermore has a fan 27, which is arranged at the top end of the housing 26, for driving the first fluid along a first flow path 4, which is indicated by double arrows in FIG. 1 and which extends through the housing 26 in the opposite direction of the direction of gravity in an exemplary manner. The fan 27 may be electrically operated in an exemplary manner, for the purpose of which an electrical plug-in contact 31 is provided in an exemplary manner. The first fluid is, for example, air or ambient air.
[0041] The heat exchanger system 25 furthermore has a fluid pump 28, which is indicated by a dashed box in FIG. 1, for driving the second fluid along the described flow path 5. The fluid pump 28 may be fluidically coupled to the heat exchanger 1 via supply hoses 29 and support tube fluid connections 30, which are indicated by a dot-dash line. As a function of the selected operating mode of the heat exchanger system 25 or as a function of whether the heat exchanger 1 operates in the cooling operation 23 or in the heating operation 22, the second fluid can flow through each heat exchanger 1 via the fluid pump 28 in the direction of the direction of gravity along the flow path 5, basically from the top to the bottom or vice versa, in the opposite direction of the direction of gravity basically from the bottom to the top through the heat exchanger 1. Depending on the present flow direction of the second fluid, the support tube fluid connections 30 can selectively either form a fluid inlet or a fluid outlet. The fluid pump 28 can supply a fluid inlet as well as a fluid outlet in an exemplary manner.
[0042] In a top view, FIG. 2 shows a preferred exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger 1, which is arranged in the heat exchanger system 25 according to FIG. 1. The heat exchanger 1 has a fluid collector 2, which is arranged completely inside the support tube 24, for collecting the second fluid, and a multiphase distributor 3, which is also arranged completely inside a support tube 24, for distributing the second fluid. The heat exchanger 1 furthermore has a plurality of multi-duct tubes 6, which each have a duct tube longitudinal axis 7 and which are reach inserted through a radial passage of the support tubes 24, and which, by forming a distributor orifice 8 lead into the multiphase distributor 3 on the one hand, and, by forming a collector orifice 9, lead into the fluid collector 2 on the other hand. Only some multi-duct tubes 6 are indicated in FIG. 2, so that the second flow path 5 of the second fluid can be seen, illustrated here by a plurality of dotted lines. The multi-duct tubes 6 may expediently be fixed via a material bond to the support tubes 24 by soldering or welding. The support tubes 24 completely encloses the multiphase distributor 3 and the fluid collector 2 all around, so that each support tube 24 has one of the above-mentioned support tube fluid connections 30, so as to be able to guide second fluid through the heat exchanger 1.
[0043] It can also be seen in FIG. 2 that the duct tube longitudinal axes 7 of the multi-duct tubes 6 are respectively aligned orthogonally with respect to a distributor tubular-body longitudinal axis 19 of the multiphase distributor 3 and orthogonally with respect to a tubular-body longitudinal axis 11 of the fluid collector 2. It is further illustrated in FIG. 2 that the second flow path 5 leads through the multi-duct tubes 6, the fluid collector 2, and the multiphase distributor 3. A first flow path 4 for the first fluid is only illustrated at one point by an arrow, which is designed in a curved manner, but it can nonetheless be seen that the multi-duct tubes 6 basically extend through the first flow path 4 for the first fluid. As a result, the first fluid can thus flow around and the second fluid can flow through the multi-duct tubes 6, respectively.
[0044] It can furthermore be seen in FIG. 2 that, when the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the heating operation 22, the fluid collector 2 is arranged in the second flow path 5 in such a way that it is located downstream from the multiphase distributor 3, and that the second fluid flows through the multiphase distributor 3, then through the multi-duct tubes 6, and then through the fluid collector 2, as indicated by corresponding full arrows of the second flow path 5.
[0045] It is additionally incorporated in FIG. 2 that, when the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the cooling operation 23, the fluid collector 2 may be arranged in the second flow path 5 in such a way that it is located upstream of the multiphase distributor 3 and that the second fluid then initially flows through the fluid collector 2, then through the multi-duct tubes 6, and then through the multiphase distributor 3, which is indicated in FIG. 2 by half-full arrows of the flow path 5.
[0046] In FIG. 3, the fluid collector 2 of the heat exchanger 1 from FIG. 2 can be seen in a side view, but the encasing support tube 24, the multiphase distributor 3, and the multi-duct tubes 6 are hidden in favor of better visibility of the fluid collector 2. It can be seen well that the fluid collector 2 has a cylindrical tubular body 10 for guiding the second fluid. The tubular body 10 defines a tubular-body longitudinal axis 11, which is indicated by dashes in FIG. 3, and at least two opening arrangements 12, which each penetrate the tubular body 10 transversely to the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11. The opening arrangements 12 each have a plurality of individual openings 13, which are arranged spaced apart from one another along the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11 and which each completely penetrate the tubular body 10. The tubular body 10 may expediently have a tubular-body cross-section, which is constant throughout, with respect to the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11. In addition, the second flow path 5 is indicated in a dotted manner in FIG. 3.
[0047] To be able to better see and describe the individual openings 13 of the two opening arrangements 12, FIG. 4 shows a top view of the fluid collector 2 in the viewing direction of an arrow IV, which is incorporated in FIG. 3. It can be seen that the tubular body 10 has exactly two opening arrangements 12, 14, 16. The individual openings 13 of a first opening arrangement 12, 14 are spaced apart from one another along the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11 by a first distance 15, which is measured, for example, in millimeters, between center of the opening and center of the opening. The individual openings 13 of a second opening arrangement 12, 16 are spaced apart from one another along the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11 by a second distance 17, which is measured, for example, in millimeters, between center of the opening and center of the opening. The first distances 15 are thereby smaller than the second distances 17, the first distances 15 are respectively preferably 54 mm (+/−5 mm), and the second distances 17 are respectively 108 mm (+/−10 mm). The opening diameters of the first individual openings 13 of the first opening arrangement 12, 14 may be designed to be smaller than the opening diameters of the second individual openings 13 of the second opening arrangement 12, 16. In an exemplary embodiment, which is not illustrated here, the individual openings 13 of the first opening arrangement 12, 14 may also each have an opening diameter of 4.76 mm (+/−0.5 mm), while the individual openings 13 of the second opening arrangement 12, 16 have opening diameters, which alternate along the tubular-body longitudinal axis 11, namely 4.76 mm (+/−0.5 mm) and 6.35 mm (+/−0.6 mm).
[0048] It can also be seen in FIG. 4 that the individual openings 13 of the first opening arrangement 12, 14 each have a first opening cross-section 32, and that the individual openings 13 of the second opening arrangement 12, 16 each have a second opening cross-section 33. It is provided in an exemplary manner that at least one of the or a plurality of or all first opening cross-sections 32 are smaller than the second opening cross-sections 33 in terms of surface area. It is also conceivable that all first opening cross-sections 32 are designed to be half or a quarter as large as the second opening cross-sections 33 in terms of surface area.
[0049] Lastly, FIG. 5 shows the multiphase distributor 3 of the heat exchanger 1 from FIG. 2 in a side view. The support tube 24, the fluid collector 2, and multi-duct tubes 6 are again hidden in factor of better visibility. It can be seen in FIG. 5 that the multiphase distributor 3 has a cylindrical distributor tubular body 18 for guiding the second fluid. The distributor tubular body 18 has a distributor tubular-body longitudinal axis 19 and at least one distributor opening arrangement 20, which penetrates the distributor tubular body 18 transversely to the distributor tubular-body longitudinal axis 19 and which consists of a plurality of distributor individual openings 21, which are arranged spaced apart from one another in the direction of the distributor tubular-body longitudinal axis 19. The distributor individual openings 21 each have an opening diameter, for example 4.76 mm. In addition, the second flow path 5 is indicated in a dotted manner in FIG. 5.
[0050] While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
