System and method for energy-saving inductive heating of evaporators and other heat-exchangers

• US 8,931,296 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2010
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Trustees of Dartmounth College (Dartmouth College), John Y. Chen, Receiver For Icecode, LLC
• Original Assignee: John Y. Chen
• Inventors: Petrenko, Victor F., Chen, Cheng, Petrenko, Fedor V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jules, Frantz
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUKE, EMMANUEL E
• Application Number:
  US12/953,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20110132588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: 622/07, 622/76, 165/81, 165/150, 165/151, 291/573
• US Class Current: 62/276
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 19/0095 Devices for preventing damage by freezing
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 1/105 formed by the tube through which the fluid flows
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 39/02 Evaporators
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/08 by electric heating
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 1/0477 the conduits being bent in a serpentine or zig-zag
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2021/0071 Evaporators for vehicles F28D2021/0085, for compression systems F25B39/02
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 1/32 the means having portions engaging further tubular elements
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 17/00 Removing ice or water from heat-exchange apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F28G 13/005 cleaning by increasing the temperature of heat exchange surfaces F28G7/005, F28G11/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/0009 the material to be heated being in motion
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/42 non-flexible

Abstract

A novel fins-on-tubes type evaporator/heat exchanger system that is optimized for energy-saving inductive heating thereof by configuring it to increasing its resistance to a value at which the system'"'"'s reactance at its working frequency is comparable to its electrical resistance. The system includes a set of tubes configured for flow of cooling material therethrough, and also includes a set of fins positioned and disposed perpendicular to, and along, the tubes, in such a way that at least a portion of the fins comprises longitudinal excisions therein.

Claims

1. A fins-on-tubes evaporator/heat exchanger system, having a predetermined electrical resistance, configured for inductive energy-saving heating thereof comprising:

a plurality of tubes configured for flow of cooling material therethrough, comprising a plurality of separate cooling material flow circuits connected in parallel to one another;

a plurality of fins disposed perpendicular to, and along, said plural tubes, wherein the plurality of fins comprise at least one longitudinal gap therein and wherein the at least one longitudinal gap has a predetermined length and is orientated in a direction parallel to the plural tubes, and wherein the at least one longitudinal gap is positioned and configured to form at least two sequential electrically conductive system sections interconnected by the plural tubes such that the plural tubes form an electrical series connection between the at least two electrically conductive system sections, thus causing an increase in the predetermined electrical resistance of the system to at least the target electrical resistance value, and wherein at least a portion of the plural tubes are interconnected with at least one U-turn section, thus forming a desirable first predetermined quantity of the plural parallel cooling material flow circuits in the system;

a linking member configured to cross-link at least a portion of the plural tubes to one another, such that the system comprises a first predetermined quantity of the plural parallel cooling material flow circuits and a cross-linked second predetermined quantity of the plural series electrically conductive system sections, wherein the linking member comprises a plurality of electrically conductive elements; and

a transformer configured to induce an electric current therein.

2. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein the transformer is configured to induce an alternating electric current, and when the transformer induces an alternating electric current said target electrical resistance comprises a value having a magnitude that is at least as high as a magnitude of an inductive reactance value of the system.

3. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein the at least one longitudinal gap comprises an N number of longitudinal gaps therein, wherein N is a number greater than 1, and wherein the N number of longitudinal gaps are positioned and configured to form at least (N+1) sequential electrically conductive system sections interconnected by the plural tubes such that the plural tubes form an electrical series connection between the (N+1) electrically conductive system sections, and such that the N number of gaps cause an increase in the predetermined electrical resistance of the evaporator system by a factor of about (N+1)², thereby facilitating utilization of energy-saving inductive heating means with the evaporator system.

4. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein said plural electrically conductive elements comprise one of:

a plurality of electrically conductive bus bars, and

a plurality of electrically conductive manifolds operable to collect a single cooling material flow circuit to a plurality of cooling material flow circuits.

5. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 4 comprising a system cooling material flow inlet and a system cooling material flow outlet, wherein said plural parallel cooling material flow circuits comprise a plurality of flow circuit inlets and a plurality of flow circuit outlets, wherein:

at least one first said plural electrically conductive manifold is connected between said system cooling material flow inlet and at least a portion of said plural flow circuit inlets; and

at least one second said plural electrically conductive manifold is connected between said system cooling material flow outlet and least a portion of said plural flow circuit outlets;

said system further comprising at least one dielectric union connected between at least one of;

said at least one first plural electrically conductive manifold and said system cooling material flow inlet; and

said at least one second plural electrically conductive manifold and said system cooling material flow outlet.

6. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein the transformer is configured to induce an electric current of a magnitude that is sufficient to heat the system to a predetermined desired temperature over a predetermined desired time interval, the system further comprising at least one electrical switch.

7. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises a plurality of sequential electrically conductive system sections having an electrical series connection therebetween, and wherein:

a first portion of said plural electrically conductive elements is positioned at, and electrically connected to, a first plural electrically conductive system section; and

a second portion of said plural electrically conductive elements is positioned at, and electrically connected to, a last plural electrically conductive system section.

8. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein the transformer comprises at least one transformer selected from a group of:

a step-down transformer, and an intermittent-action transformer.

9. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 8, wherein said at least one transformer comprises at least one primary winding, and one secondary winding, further comprising at least one resonant capacitor, connected in series with said at least one primary winding of said at least one transformer, being operable to compensate for the system'"'"'s inductance.

10. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 1, wherein the transformer comprises at least one electronic transformer, comprising at least one inverter selected from a group of:

an AC-AC inverter, and an AC-DC inverter.

11. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 10, wherein said at least one inverter comprises an output transformer having at least one primary winding, the system further comprising at least one resonant capacitor connected in series with said at least one primary winding of said inverter output transformer to compensate for system'"'"'s inductance.

12. The evaporator/heat exchanger system of claim 10, wherein at least one electronic transformer is an intermittent-action electronic transformer.