METHOD FOR MAKING BRAZED ALUMINUM HEAT EXCHANGER AND APPARATUS
First Claim
1. A heat exchanger comprising:
- a plurality of metal walls, each metal wall comprising two sides, a boiling side with a porous, enhanced boiling layer comprising brazed, thermally conductive particles comprising a highly proportioned aluminum alloy powder mixed with a eutectic alloy of aluminum and silicon integrally bonded together and metallurgically bonded to the boiling side and a cooling side, said boiling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a boiling passage and said cooling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a cooling passage and each of said plurality of metal walls further including a bonding surface and wherein each of said plurality of metal walls comprise an alloy of aluminum having mechanical properties consistent with a hardness value of at least 35 Rockwell E;
a spacer member for spacing metal walls from each other;
a layer of metal between said bonding surfaces of said metal walls and said spacer member in said heat exchanger, said layer of metal having a melting temperature that is less than a melting temperature of said enhanced boiling layer;
a boiling inlet for delivering liquid to said boiling passage;
a cooling inlet for delivering fluid to said cooling passage;
a boiling outlet for recovering vapor from said boiling passage; and
a cooling outlet for recovering fluid from said cooling passage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a heat exchanger comprising a boiling passage and cooling passage defined by opposite sides of metal walls. The heat exchanger is made with high strength alloys of aluminum that have improved creep resistance that maintain tensile strength and yield strength after use in this invention. Layers of brazing material between the metal walls and a spacer member bond components of the heat exchanger together. An enhanced boiling layer (EBL) comprising metal particles bonded to each other and to a boiling side of the metal wall provides nucleate boiling pores to improve heat transfer. The EBL has a melting temperature that is higher than the melting temperature of the brazing material. Also disclosed is a process for assembling the heat exchanger.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A heat exchanger comprising:
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a plurality of metal walls, each metal wall comprising two sides, a boiling side with a porous, enhanced boiling layer comprising brazed, thermally conductive particles comprising a highly proportioned aluminum alloy powder mixed with a eutectic alloy of aluminum and silicon integrally bonded together and metallurgically bonded to the boiling side and a cooling side, said boiling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a boiling passage and said cooling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a cooling passage and each of said plurality of metal walls further including a bonding surface and wherein each of said plurality of metal walls comprise an alloy of aluminum having mechanical properties consistent with a hardness value of at least 35 Rockwell E; a spacer member for spacing metal walls from each other; a layer of metal between said bonding surfaces of said metal walls and said spacer member in said heat exchanger, said layer of metal having a melting temperature that is less than a melting temperature of said enhanced boiling layer; a boiling inlet for delivering liquid to said boiling passage; a cooling inlet for delivering fluid to said cooling passage; a boiling outlet for recovering vapor from said boiling passage; and a cooling outlet for recovering fluid from said cooling passage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A heat exchanger comprising:
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a plurality of metal walls comprising an aluminum alloy having mechanical properties consistent with a hardness value of at least 35 Rockwell E, each metal wall comprising two sides, a boiling side with an enhanced boiling layer comprising thermally conductive particles comprising a highly proportioned aluminum alloy powder mixed with a eutectic alloy of aluminum and silicon integrally bonded together and metallurgically bonded to the boiling side and a cooling side, said thermally conductive particles comprising brazed alloy of a first metal and a second metal, said second metal alloying with said first metal to provide an alloy with a melting temperature that is lower than the melting temperature of said first metal, said boiling sides of said plurality of metal walls defining boiling passages and said cooling sides of said plurality of metal walls defining cooling passages and each of said plurality of metal walls further including a bonding surface; a plurality of spacer bars each between pairs of said metal walls, each of said spacer bars having a bonding surface; a layer of metal between each of said bonding surfaces of said metal walls and a bonding surface of an adjacent one of said plurality of spacer bars, said layer of metal comprising an alloy including said first metal and an elevated brazing temperature of said layer of metal is less than a melting temperature of said enhanced boiling layer; a boiling inlet for delivering liquid to said boiling passage; a cooling inlet for delivering fluid to said cooling passages; a boiling outlet for recovering vapor from said boiling passages; and a cooling outlet for recovering fluid from said cooling passages. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A heat exchanger comprising:
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a plurality of metal walls comprising aluminum having mechanical properties consistent with a hardness value of at least 35 Rockwell E, each metal wall comprising two sides, a cooling side and a boiling side with an enhanced boiling layer comprising thermally conductive particles, said thermally conductive particles including a highly proportioned aluminum alloy powder mixed with a eutectic alloy of aluminum and silicon, said thermally conductive particles being integrally bonded together and metallurgically bonded to the boiling side, said boiling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a boiling passage and said cooling side of said plurality of metal walls defining a cooling passage and each of said plurality of metal walls further including a bonding surface; a spacer member for spacing metal walls from each other; a layer of metal between said bonding surfaces of said metal walls and said spacer member in said heat exchanger, said layer of metal having a melting temperature that is less than a melting temperature of said enhanced boiling layer; a boiling inlet for delivering liquid to said boiling passage; a cooling inlet for delivering fluid to said cooling passage; a boiling outlet for recovering vapor from said boiling passage; and a cooling outlet for recovering fluid from said cooling passage. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification