The present invention relates to a header for an exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger, such as a heat exchanger which is designed for motor vehicle. The header according to the present invention is particularly suitable for withstanding high pressures.
A heat exchanger of the type used in the motor vehicle industry in principle comprises a casing or housing comprising in its interior heat exchange elements which permit the exchange of heat from a first fluid to a second fluid. These elements which permit this exchange of heat can for example comprise tubes.
The tubes situated inside a heat exchanger can be present within an exchanger bundle comprising a plurality of tubes arranged substantially parallel to one another. The tubes can be positioned in a row or a plurality of rows which are parallel to one another. The tubes are retained at their respective ends on a first and a second header. The tubes make it possible to guide the first fluid inside said tubes, from a first end of an exchanger bundle to the second end of the exchanger bundle.
The tubes taken as a whole define between one another, in combination with the walls of the housing, channels which guide the second fluid from the second end of the heat exchanger to the first end of the heat exchanger. Thus, a heat exchanger makes possible in particular the counter-current circulation of a first and a second fluid within said heat exchanger.
Other elements such as plates, fins and flow disturbers can be provided as a complement to the tubes which form the exchanger bundle, in order to improve the exchange of heat between the first and the second fluid.
Headers which are designed for an exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger are known in the prior art. The housing is in the form of a casing comprising a plurality of walls which form the exterior of the housing, and define the volume in which the heat exchange takes place. In principle, the housing is provided with inlets and outlets which are designed for the first and the second fluid at a first and a second end of the housing. These inlets and outlets thus allow the heat exchanger to be connected to inlet piping which makes it possible to convey the first and second fluids in the direction of the heat exchanger and to outlet piping which make it possible to convey the first and second fluids to a final destination, when said first and second fluids have passed through the heat exchanger.
A header for the exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger as described above is disclosed in European patent application EP 2463612. The header disclosed in said application comprises a plurality of elements stacked on one another inside a housing in order to obtain said header.
According to document EP 2463612, the elements must be secured to one another before the use of the heat exchanger. Securing of the different elements to one another is essential for optimum functioning, in order to allow the heat exchanger comprising a header of this type to function in high-pressure conditions. However, the securing methods are relatively complex and costly. In addition, the weight of all the components increases the weight of the vehicles significantly.
The objective of the present invention concerns obtaining a header for an exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger which has low production costs and a reduced weight, and makes it possible to ensure functioning which is designed for high-pressure conditions.
The header for an exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger according to the present invention is intended to eliminate the disadvantages of the heat headers known in the prior art, by proposing a design which is improved in terms of the establishment of heat exchange.
For this purpose, the present invention concerns a header which is designed to be used with an exchanger bundle of a heat exchanger, said exchanger bundle comprising at least a first row of tubes and a second row of tubes, the tubes being designed to permit the circulation of a first fluid in the exchanger bundle, the header comprising at least:
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plate comprises metal such as aluminum.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the material of said plate comprises plated aluminum.
The invention also relates to a plate made of a bendable material comprising bending elements, said plate being configured such that, when it is bent by means of bending elements, it forms a header as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.
The objectives, subjects and characteristics of the present invention, as well its advantages, will become more clearly apparent from reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of a heat exchanger according to the invention, provided with reference to the drawings, in which;
The heat exchanger 1 comprises walls 2, 3, 4 which, when assembled, form a casing or housing representing the outer wall of said heat exchanger 1. The wall 3 forms the upper part of the heat exchanger 1, the wall forms the base of said heat exchanger 1, and the walls 2, 4, form the lateral parts of said heat exchanger 1.
Inside the casing, the heat exchanger contains an exchanger bundle which permits an exchange of heat between a first and a second fluid. The exchanger bundle comprises rows of tubes 30 which are stacked in a manner substantially parallel to one another, in order to form a stack 31.
At its two ends, the stack 31 of tubes 30 is connected to two headers 60 with a plurality of functions. Thus, the headers 60 can receive and retain the different tubes 30 of the stack 31. The headers 60 are arranged in a position substantially parallel to one another.
The form and functioning of the headers 60 are described hereinafter in detail with reference to
As shown in
The first fluid, which circulates from the inlet 41 to the outlet 51, is for example a fluid such as the oil which is present in an oil circuit, and needs to be cooled during its conventional use. In order to be cooled, said fluid circulates inside tubes 30 which together form the stack 31. Channels are present on the exterior of the tubes 30, thus allowing a second fluid to be displaced in a counter-current manner relative to the first fluid, from an inlet 22 which is present in the wall 2, to an outlet 21 which is also present in said wall 2. In order to create the different channels between the tubes 30 which form the stack 31, said tubes 30 can be connected to one another, with a distance imposed between each tube such that the second fluid can circulate from the inlet 22 to the outlet 21.
According to the present invention, it is important for the different tubes 30 which together form the stack 31 to be secured in an optimum manner, in order to permit use of the heat exchanger 1 in high-pressure conditions.
According to
In order to permit implementation of the bending process and the different functionalities of the header 60, said header 60 is provided with a series of contact elements 61, 62 which are connected to one another by means of connection elements 63, 64, 65 designed to be bent. Each first contact element 61 is connected to a second contact element 62 by means of two connection elements 63 which are located substantially on the borders of the plate. Each second contact element 62 is connected to a first adjacent contact element 61 by means of a series of four connection elements 64 situated between the two borders of the plate 60. The contact elements 61, 62 delimit between one another the openings 65 which are designed to allow a tube of the stack 30 to pass individually as shown in
The openings 66, 67, 68 form together a passage which makes it possible to allow a row of tubes 30 of the stack 31 to pass. The thickness of the plate 60 corresponds to the height of passage of the cooling liquid which circulates between the different tubes 30, from the inlet 22 to the outlet 21, as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1456404 | Jul 2014 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2015/065223 | 7/3/2015 | WO | 00 |