HEAT EXCHANGER

• US 20130048259A1
• Filed: 05/23/2011
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Stieger, Rory Douglas
• Granted Patent: US 9,733,026 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/168
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 9/0037 the conduits for the other heat-exchange medium also being formed by paired plates touching each other F28D9/0043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 9/0265 by using guiding means or impingement means inside the header box
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4935 Heat exchanger or boiler making

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes: a heat exchanger core, a fluid path through the heat exchanger core, the fluid path having an inlet and an outlet and a fluid guiding member adjacent to the inlet and/or outlet of the fluid path; the fluid guiding member being operable to change the direction of fluid flow.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger comprising:

a heat exchanger core;

a fluid path through the heat exchanger core, the fluid path having an inlet and an outlet; and

a fluid guiding member adjacent to the inlet and/or outlet of the fluid path, the fluid guiding member being operable to change the direction of fluid flow.

2. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid guiding member changes the direction of fluid flow by approximately 30 degrees at the inlet of the fluid path and/or approximately 75 degrees at the outlet of the fluid path.

3. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger core comprises a plurality of heat exchanger plates;

the fluid path running between adjacent heat exchanger plates and having an inlet at one side of the heat exchanger plates and an outlet at an opposing side of the heat exchanger plates.

4. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the heat exchanger plates comprise corrugations.

5. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fluid guiding member comprises an angled portion of each heat exchanger plate which is angled with respect to the remainder of the heat exchanger plate, the angled portion being adjacent to the inlet and/or outlet side of the heat exchanger plate.

6. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 5, wherein the geometry of the heat exchanger plates is sheared such that the corrugations are not distorted by the angled portion.

7. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fluid guiding member comprises a curved plate adjacent to the inlet and/or outlet side of one or more of the heat exchanger plates.

8. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fluid guiding member comprises an aerofoil portion which is located between the fluid paths of neighbouring pairs of heat exchanger plates.

9. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 8, wherein aerofoil portions are located between alternate neighbouring pairs of heat exchanger plates.

10. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 8, wherein aerofoil portions are located between neighbouring pairs of hear exchanger plates, and wherein the aerofoil portions of adjacent neighbouring pairs of heat exchanger plates are dissimilar.

11. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fluid guiding member is integral with the heat exchanger plates.

13. A gas turbine engine comprising a heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1.

12. (canceled)

14. A method of manufacturing a cross-corrugated heat exchanger plate with an angled portion, the method comprising:

providing two sheets of material;

forming corrugations at an oblique angle across a surface of each sheet;

shearing the geometry of a portion of the sheets at the location of the angled portion; and

joining the two sheets together.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein shearing the geometry comprises extruding the portion at an angle.

16. (canceled)