FLEXIBLE MICROCHANNEL HEAT EXCHANGER
First Claim
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1. A flexible microchannel heat exchanger, comprising:
- a device interface layer including inlet and outlet holes and being formed from a first heat-sealable polyimide material;
a header layer formed from a second heat-sealable polyimide material and heat-sealed to said device interface layer, said header layer including ports aligned with said inlet and outlet holes and fluid distribution microchannels in fluid communication with said ports;
a channel layer formed from said second heat-sealable polyimide material and heat-sealed to said header layer, said channel layer including fluid flow microchannels in fluid communication with said fluid distribution channels and oriented differently than said fluid distribution channels; and
a cap layer formed from said first heat-sealable polyimide material and heat sealed to said channel layer.
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Abstract
A flexible mesoscopic heat exchanger is provided by the invention. The heat exchanger of the invention includes uniform microchannels for fluid flow. Separate header and channel layers include microchannels for fluid flow and heat exchange. A layered structure with channels aligned in multiple orientations in the layers permits the use of a flexible material without channel sagging and provides uniform flows. In a preferred embodiment, layers are heat sealed, e.g., by a preferred lamination fabrication process.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A flexible microchannel heat exchanger, comprising:
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a device interface layer including inlet and outlet holes and being formed from a first heat-sealable polyimide material;
a header layer formed from a second heat-sealable polyimide material and heat-sealed to said device interface layer, said header layer including ports aligned with said inlet and outlet holes and fluid distribution microchannels in fluid communication with said ports;
a channel layer formed from said second heat-sealable polyimide material and heat-sealed to said header layer, said channel layer including fluid flow microchannels in fluid communication with said fluid distribution channels and oriented differently than said fluid distribution channels; and
a cap layer formed from said first heat-sealable polyimide material and heat sealed to said channel layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A flexible microchannel heat exchanger, comprising:
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a laminated polyimide structure including a device interface layer, a header layer, a channel layer and a cap layer; and
a three-dimensional microchannel fluid circuit formed by microchannels in said header layer and said channel layer and holes in said device interface layer, wherein intersections of microchannels between said header layer and said channel layer define flow paths between said header layer and said channel layer. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method for forming a flexible microchannel heat exchanger, the method comprising steps of:
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mechanically patterning heat-sealable polyimide sheets to define separate device interface, header, channel layers;
preparing the patterned sheets for lamination bonding; and
laminating the patterned sheets together with a cap layer. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification