Heat Exchanger Construction

Abstract

An improved heat exchanger having a pair of headers and at least one tube extending between and fluidly connecting the headers. A tubular structure for and defining in part each of the headers. The tubular structure being defined by a pair of body elements and having opposed longitudinal joints defined by overlapping portions of the body elements. One of the body elements overlaps the other of the body elements to define one of the joints and is overlapped by the other of the body elements to define the other of the joints.

Claims

1. An improved heat exchanger, said heat exchanger being of the type including a pair of headers and a plurality of tubes extending between and fluidly connecting the headers, the improvement comprising: a tubular structure for and defining in part each of said headers, the tubular structure being defined by a pair of body elements and having opposed longitudinal joints defined by overlapping portions of the body elements, wherein one of the body elements overlaps the other of the body elements to define one of the joints and is overlapped by the other of the body elements to define the other of the joints.

2. An improved heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: the one of the body elements has an aperture for each tube; and each tube interfaces with the other of the body elements in a single butt joint.

3. An improved heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the body elements are channels of arcuate profile with longitudinal edge portions that define the overlapping portions; and measured in the direction by which the longitudinal edge portions of the other of the body elements are spaced-apart from one another, an outer width of each tube is substantially equal to the distance by which said longitudinal edge portions are spaced-apart.

4. An improved heat exchanger according to claim 1, further comprising: for each header, a pair of caps, each cap having a tab; wherein each header is defined in part by a tubular structure defined by the body elements, the tubular structure having, for each tab, a notch; and in the heat exchanger, the caps occlude the ends of the tubular structure, each tab being received by the notch provided therefor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially conceptual view of a heat exchanger according to the prior art;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a top view of the structure of FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a heat exchanger according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cap portion of the structure of FIG. 3;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 3;

[0028] FIG. 5A is a simplified view of a portion of FIG. 5;

[0029] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 of the structure of FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 6A is a simplified view of a portion of FIG. 6;

[0031] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a tube of the structure of FIG. 3;

[0032] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another portion of a tube of the structure of FIG. 3;

[0033] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a tube of the structure of FIG. 3;

[0034] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of encircled area 10 of FIG. 9; and

[0035] FIG. 11 is a view, similar to FIG. 2, of a pair of heat exchangers according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention disposed in stacked relation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] An improved heat exchanger 20 forms one aspect of the invention and is illustrated in partial perspective in FIG. 3. For greater certainty, it should be understood that the illustrated heat exchanger 20 is an exemplary embodiment, only, and is not to be construed as limiting in any way to the scope of the invention.

[0037] Exchanger 20 will be seen to be of the general type including a pair of headers 22 (only one shown); a plurality of tubes 24 extending between and fluidly connecting the headers 22; and a plurality of fins 26 interleaved between the tubes 24. The exchanger 20 shown will further be seen to be of the two pass type, with inlet 28 and outlet 30 spigots disposed at opposite ends of the same manifold or header 22, which header 22 is segmented by an intermediate plate (shown in phantom and designated with reference numeral 32) to avoid direct flow between the inlet 28 and outlet 30. The improvement resides in various features of construction of the headers 22 and tubes 24, and the interconnection therebetween, all as described hereinafter in detail.

[0038] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the headers 22 each comprise a pair of body elements 34,36 and a pair of caps 38. The body elements 34,36 are roll-formed or stamped channels or troughs of arcuate profile with longitudinal edge portions 40 and are formed out of braze clad aluminum of 1.0 mm thickness. One of the elements 34 has a plurality of apertures 136 punched or otherwise formed therein for receiving the tubes 24, as discussed fully hereinafter. The other of the elements 36 has the spigots 28,30 extending therefrom, and is provided with notches 42 at its ends and an intermediate slot 44. The caps 38 are planar elements formed out of 3.0 mm unclad aluminum sheet material. When assembled, the pair of body elements 34,36 define a tubular structure 46, the ends 48 of which are occluded by respective caps 38. Tabs 50 on the caps 38 register with the notches 42. A further cap has its tab 50 in register within the intermediate slot 44 and defines the intermediate plate 32 in this condenser 20. To form header 22, the body elements 34,36 and caps 38 are assembled together and exposed to brazing conditions in a brazing furnace (not shown). The caps 38 master the joint, such that dimensional issues are controlled by the cap, which is advantageous from the standpoint of manufacturability.

[0039] The completed header 22 illustrated is characterized in the presence of opposed longitudinal joints 52,54 defined by overlapping portions 40 of the body elements 34,36. More specifically, one of the body elements 34,36 overlaps the other of the body elements 34,36 to define one of the joints 52 and is overlapped by the other of the body elements to define the other 54 of the joints, as shown in FIG. 5. In the illustrated embodiment, the portions 40 overlap one another over a distance of about 3.0 mm, to provide for a good seal in the joints 52,54. This overlap and underlap arrangement of the body elements 34,36 is advantageous as compared to the conventional overlap and overlap arrangement (i.e of FIG. 2) in that, by so modifying the geometry, with a substantially similar amount of material, a tube having a greater cross-sectional area is obtained.

[0040] This is evident from a comparison of the structure of FIG. 5, which shows a cross section of the header of FIG. 3 and a portion of a tube, and the structure of FIG. 6, which shows the analogous structure of a heat exchanger of similar size constructed according to the conventional overlap and overlap arrangement, which has a cross-sectional area only 84% as large as that of FIG. 5, as indicated by FIGS. 5A,6A. The greater area of the FIG. 5 structure, of course, advantageously reduces pressure drop.

[0041] A yet further advantage of the overlap and underlap arrangement is associated with the elegant and efficient manner in which multiple heat exchangers 20 can be stacked together, as shown in FIG. 11, with only three material thicknesses separating the manifold interiors, in contrast to the four material thicknesses associated with the conventional overlap and overlap. This has advantages in terms of the overall width of a stacked heat exchanger, which can be advantageous in automotive applications, as the space available in the engine compartment or air box of a vehicle is limited.

[0042] With regard to the tubes 24, the tubes 24 of the disclosed embodiment are defined by a cover 56 and a pan 58, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. The cover 56 is formed of braze clad aluminum of 0.4 mm thickness and includes a body plate 60 and a pair of peripheral flanges 62 extending from the body plate 60. The pan 58 is also formed of braze clad aluminum of 0.4 mm thickness and includes a body plate 64 and pair of peripheral flanges 66.

[0043] The pan 58 is dimensioned to fit within the cover 56. The assembled, but not brazed, pan 58 and cover 56 together define a tubular assembly. Once exposed to brazing conditions, the pan 58 and the cover 56 braze to one another to define a tube 24.

[0044] This tube construction is advantageous, in that it permits a fluxless braze joint to be created between the tubes 24 and the headers 22, even in association with manifolds constructed out of relatively thin gauge material, such as 0.020-0.070 inch material, as the brazing material on the tubes accommodates the relatively lesser amounts of brazing material provided on the headers in thin-wall construction.

[0045] In assembly of the condenser 20, the tubular assembly for each tube 24 is fitted into the apertures 136 formed for said each tube 24 in the body elements 34, as shown in FIG. 5, and the entire assembly is subjected to brazing conditions in a brazing furnace, to braze the pans 58 to the covers 56, the body elements 34,36 to one another, the caps 38 to the body elements 34,36 and the tubes 24 to the headers 22. Flared material 70, resultant from the punching operation by which the apertures 136 in the body elements 34 were formed, can be maintained, to provide a relatively large lap joint for tube 24-header 22 braze joint. This can also facilitate tube entry.

[0046] Recalling that one 34 of the body elements has an aperture 136 for each tube 24, the illustrated tube-header joint is characterized in that each tubular assembly interfaces with the other 36 of the body elements in a single butt joint, and is further characterized in that, measured in the direction by which the longitudinal edge 40 portions of the other 36 of the body elements are spaced-apart from one another, an outer width y of each tube 24 is substantially equal to the distance by which said longitudinal edge portions 40 are spaced-apart. Importantly, all things remaining equal, this manner of tube-header joinder provides for a greater inlet size than that obtained via the conventional overlap and overlap arrangement, as evidenced by FIGS. 5,6, wherein, from a common 10 mm tube size, inlet diameter z is shown to increase from 8.4 mm to 9.4 mm, that is, the thickness of the material forming the body elements, through the use of the under and overlap configuration.

[0047] A further advantage of the pan 58 and cover 56 tube construction over extruded tubes is that it permits the ready introduction of a turbulizer 80 into the tube, as shown in FIG. 9. To do so, the turbulizer 80 merely needs to be fitted into one of the pan 58 and the cover 56 before assembly of the pan and cover.

[0048] The turbulizer 80 illustrated in FIG. 9 is notable in the presence of a pair of coplanar flanges 82 which extend outwardly from the base of the turbulizer 80. With the exception of the flanges 82, the turbulizer 80 can be of any conventional construction and, for example, can be of the expanded metal or offset fin variety.

[0049] In assembly of the illustrated heat exchanger, prior to assembly of the pan 58 and the cover 56, the illustrated turbulizer 80 is inserted into the cover 56, with the coplanar flanges 82 seated against the cover body plate 60 to form a tube subassembly (not shown). Once the turbulizer 80 is so inserted, the pan 58 is fitted into the cover 56. Coplanar flanges 82 are dimensioned to centre or locate the turbulizer 80 in the passage defined by the assembled pan and cover 56,58, i.e. to space the outermost corrugations of the turbulizer 80 from the inner tube wall surfaces a distance equivalent to the spacing between the corrugations, so as to avoid undesirable bypass flow and dead zones and maximize heat transfer.

[0050] Advantageously, the height of the turbulizer, i.e. the amplitude of the corrugations in the case of an offset fin turbulizer, is such that the pan 58 and cover 56 are both brazed thereto during the brazing of the tubes. The pan 58 may bear against the coplanar flanges 82 in the assembled tube, but relatively shorter flanges 66 on pan 58 will maximize the likelihood of good braze joints between the turbulizer 80, pan 58 and cover 56, with a commensurate effect on the resultant burst strength of tube 24.

[0051] A yet further advantage of the pan and cover tube construction is that it permits fins 26 to be readily constructed out of unclad aluminum sheet, with the cladding on the pans and the covers providing brazing material for the joinder of the fins 26 to the tubes 24 during the brazing of the various components to one another.

[0052] While but two embodiments of the present invention have been herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes in size and shape of parts may be made.

[0053] For example, whereas in the illustrations, manifolds and tubes are constructed out of sheet material of a common thickness, the manifolds and tubes can be constructed out of materials of varying thicknesses. Tubes of varying widths can be utilized, and in the automotive field will typically range between 10 mm (as illustrated) and 50 mm. Manifolds of different cross-sections can also be utilized, as is clearly evident from FIG. 11, wherein two manifolds of differing size are shown, and it should be understood that the shape and size of the particular body elements employed impact on the cross-sectional area advantage associated with the shift from overlap/overlap to overlap/underlap configuration.

[0054] Additionally, whereas the illustrated heat exchanger is of the two-pass type, it will be readily appreciated that single or multiple-pass exchangers could similarly be constructed.

[0055] As well, whereas the illustrated turbulizer is shown in use in a pan and cover tube, it would also have usefulness elsewhere, such as in tubes formed of mating plate pairs, or in stacked dish structures.

[0056] Similarly, whereas only a single tab is shown on each cap, multiple tabs could be utilized, if desired.

[0057] Moreover, although fins are shown in FIG. 3, they could be omitted.

[0058] As well, whereas in the heat exchanger of FIG. 9, the tube is shown interfacing with the other body element (i.e. the body element that is not the body element in which the apertures are provided) in a single butt joint, as is evident from

[0059] FIG. 11, heat exchangers according to aspects of the invention can be manufactured with each tube interfacing only with the body element through which the apertures are provided.

[0060] Further, it should be understood that manifolds for any heat exchanger or indeed any fluid core structure could be produced with the overlap and underlap structure shown. As well, turbulizers as described herein could be provided in any flat tube. Further, the illustrated tube to header joint is contemplated to have broad applicability in the context of heat exchangers and similar core structures using clad tubes other than pan and cover tubes, such as seam-welded clad tubes. Further, the pan and cover tube construction is contemplated to have applicability in the context of heat exchangers of various types including radiators, oil coolers and condensers and evporators for air conditioners.

[0061] Finally, but without limitation, it should be appreciated that the maintenance of the flared material at the header apertures is not necessary, and might advantageously be removed in certain applications.

[0062] Accordingly, the invention should be understood as being limited only by the claims appended hereto, purposively construed.