HEAT EXCHANGER DESIGNS USING VARIABLE GEOMETRIES AND CONFIGURATIONS

• US 20150361922A1
• Filed: 06/13/2014
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Fleer, Karl, Morris, Mark C., Godfrey, Donald G., Alvarez, Jorge D., Czaplicki, Douglas Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/304,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20150361922A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 25/02 De-icing means for engines having icing phenomena
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/047 Heating to prevent icing
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/185 Cooling means for reducing the temperature of the cooling air or gas
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/009 by bleeding, by passing or recycling fluid
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/582 specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/213 by the provision of a heat exchanger within the cooling circuit
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/2214 by increasing the heat transfer surface
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2021/0021 for aircrafts or cosmonautics air-treatment for aircraft B64D13/00, temperature control of cosmonautic vehicles B64G1/50
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 9/0081 the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by a single plate-like element F28D9/0012 takes precedence; the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being integrated in one single plate-like element F28D9/0012 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 9/02 the heat-exchange media travelling at an angle to one another F28D9/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2215/04 Assemblies of fins having different features, e.g. with different fin densities
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 9/0268 in the form of multiple deflectors for channeling the heat exchange medium
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A heat exchanger may include at least one fluid passageway adjacent a heat transfer plate and a plurality of heat transfer elements positioned in the at least one fluid passageway and joined with the heat transfer plate. The heat transfer elements may be positioned with first spacings therebetween at an inlet end of the at least one fluid passageway. The heat transfer elements may be positioned with second spacings therebetween at an outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway. The first spacings may be smaller than the second spacings.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger comprising:

at least one fluid passageway adjacent a heat transfer plate; and

a plurality of heat transfer elements positioned in the at least one fluid passageway and joined with the heat transfer plate,

the heat transfer elements being positioned with first spacings therebetween at an inlet end of the at least one fluid passageway,

the heat transfer elements being positioned with second spacings therebetween at an outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway, and

the first spacings being smaller than the second spacings.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein intermediate heat transfer elements are interposed between the inlet end and the outlet end and are positioned with varying spacings therebetween, said varying spacings progressively increasing in the direction of inlet end to outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein all of the heat transfer elements are fins oriented orthogonally to the heat transfer plate.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 3:

wherein the fins have a first thickness at the inlet end of the at least one fluid passageway;

wherein the fins have a second thickness at the outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway; and

wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 3:

wherein the heat transfer plate varies in thickness between the inlet end and the outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway; and

wherein the at least one fluid passageway varies in height between the inlet end and the outlet end of the fluid passageway.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 3 wherein fillets are present at joining locations of the fins and the at least one heat transfer plate.

7. The heat exchanger of claim 6:

wherein the fillets have a first radius at the joining locations of the fins at the inlet end of the heat transfer plate;

wherein the fillets have a second radius at the joining locations of the fins at the outlet end of the heat transfer plate; and

wherein the first radius is greater than the second radius.

8. The heat exchanger of claim 1:

wherein the at least one transfer plate has a first thickness at the inlet end of the fluid passageway and has a second thickness at the outlet end of the fluid passageway; and

wherein the first thickness of the heat transfer plate is greater than the second thickness of the heat transfer plate.

9. Apparatus for cooling bleed air extracted from an aircraft engine comprising:

at least one fluid passageway adjacent a heat transfer plate;

a plurality of fins positioned in the at least one fluid passageway and joined with the heat transfer plate; and

at least one de-icing channel formed in the at least one fluid passageway,

wherein none of the fins are present in the at least one de-icing passageway,

wherein the at least one de-icing channel extends from an inlet end to an outlet end of the at least one fluid passageway, and

wherein a length of the at least one de-icing channel is greater than a length of the at least one fluid passageway.

10. The apparatus of claim 9:

wherein fillets are present at joining locations of the fins and the at least one heat transfer plate;

wherein the fillets have a first radius at the joining locations of the fins at an inlet end of the heat transfer plate;

wherein the fillets have a second radius at the joining locations of the fins at an outlet end of the heat transfer plate; and

wherein the first radius is greater than the second radius.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the at least one de-icing passageway has a serpentine configuration

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the heat transfer plate comprises a flow channeling segment and a main heat transfer segment.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein curved fins are joined to the flow channeling segment.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

a plurality of the fluid passageways each fluidly isolated from one another by a one of the heat transfer plates so that first fluid passageways are interposed between second fluid passageways and so that adjacent ones of the first and second fluid passageways are thermally coupled to one another ;

wherein the fins are oriented parallel to fluid flow in a first direction within the first fluid passageways;

wherein the fins are oriented parallel to fluid flow in a second direction within the second fluid passageways; and

wherein the fluid flow in the first direction is orthogonal to the fluid flow in the second direction.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of the first fluid passageways contains at least one of the de-icing passageways.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein fillets are present at joining locations of the fins and the heat transfer plates.

17. A method for cooling bleed air comprising the steps:

passing bleed air through first fluid passageways of a heat exchanger, the second fluid passageways being thermally coupled with the first fluid passageways; and

passing ambient air through second fluid passageways of the heat exchanger;

wherein the step of passing bleed air through the first fluid passageways comprises,

a) passing bleed air around first fins having a first thickness at an inlet end of the first fluid passageways so the first fins absorb heat at a maximum temperature differential of the heat exchanger, and

b) passing bleed air around second fins having a second thickness, less than the first thickness, at an outlet end of the first fluid passageways so that the second fins produce less bleed air pressure drop than the first fins.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of passing the bleed air around curved fins at the inlet end of the first fluid passageways to channel bleed air flow through the heat exchanger.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising passing bleed air through de-icing channels within the first fluid passageways along paths that are longer than the first fluid passageways.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of passing bleed air through de-icing channels comprises passing the bleed air along serpentine paths.