The present disclosure relates to a technical field of heat exchange, and in particular, to a heat exchanger and a manufacturing method thereof.
In the related art, a heat exchanger in a heat exchange system is used as a device for exchanging heat between two fluids. The heat exchanger includes a heat exchange core, an outer shell, a collecting pipe, etc. Mostly, various components of the heat exchanger are sealed and connected by a brazing process. However, in the related art, the components of the heat exchanger will be sent into a brazing furnace as a whole after being assembled, with the heat exchange core being enclosed by the outer shell and the collecting pipe, which is unbeneficial to the heating effect of the heat exchange core, and leads to poor brazing and sealing effect of the heat exchange core itself and poor brazing and sealing effect between the heat exchange core and its brazed components, resulting in that leakage is prone to occur, and the reliability of the heat exchanger is poor.
The present disclosure provides a heat exchanger and a manufacturing method thereof, which is beneficial to improve the product reliability of the heat exchanger.
On one hand, the present disclosure provides a heat exchanger, including: a main body portion and a cover;
the main body portion including a heat exchange core, a collecting pipe portion and a first mounting shell;
the heat exchange core including at least one heat exchange tube, the heat exchange tube having at least one tube inner channel and a tube wall located on a periphery of the tube inner channel;
the collecting pipe portion including a first collecting pipe portion and a second collecting pipe portion, the first collecting pipe portion and the second collecting pipe portion being located on two sides of the heat exchange core along a length direction of the heat exchange core, respectively; each of the first collecting pipe portion and the second collecting pipe portion including a mounting end plate; the mounting end plates being hermetically connected to the heat exchange tube by brazing; the tube inner channel of the heat exchange tube being in communication with an inner cavity of the first collecting pipe portion and an inner cavity of the second collecting pipe portion; and
the first mounting shell enclosing a part of the heat exchange core in a circumferential direction of the heat exchange core, two ends of the first mounting shell along the length direction of the heat exchange core being hermetically connected to the mounting end plates by brazing; two ends of the cover along the length direction of the heat exchange core being hermetically connected to the mounting end plates by bonding; the cover and the first mounting shell being arranged in an enclosing manner along the circumferential direction of the heat exchange core, and the cover and the first mounting shell being hermetically connected along the length direction of the heat exchange core by bonding.
On the other hand, the present disclosure also provides a manufacturing method of a heat exchanger, including following steps:
providing a heat exchange core, a first collecting pipe portion, a second collecting pipe portion and a first mounting shell, the heat exchange core including at least one heat exchange tube, each of the first collecting pipe portion and the second collecting pipe portion including a mounting end plate, and the mounting end plate being provided with an insertion hole adaptable to the heat exchange tube; inserting one end of the heat exchange tube in a length direction of the heat exchange tube into the insertion hole arranged on the mounting end plate of the first collecting pipe portion, inserting the other end of the heat exchange tube in the length direction into the insertion hole arranged on the mounting end plate of the second collecting pipe portion, and arranging the first mounting shell in close contact with the heat exchange core along a length direction of the heat exchange core;
fixing the heat exchange core, the first collecting pipe portion, the second collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell as a whole by brazing; wherein a tube wall of the heat exchange tube is hermetically connected to the mounting end plate at the insertion hole, and a tube inner channel of the heat exchange tube is in communication with an inner cavity of the first collecting pipe portion and an inner cavity of the second collecting pipe portion; and
providing a cover, hermetically connecting the cover and the first mounting shell in the length direction of the heat exchange core by bonding, and hermetically connecting the cover and the mounting end plate by bonding; the cover and the first mounting shell being arranged in an enclosing manner along a circumferential direction of the heat exchange core.
For the heat exchanger, the heat exchange core, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell are all fixed by brazing, and the first mounting shell surrounds a part of the heat exchange core along the circumferential direction of the heat exchange core, which is beneficial to ensure that temperature of the first mounting shell close to an inner side of the heat exchange core is in consistent with temperature of the first mounting shell far from an outer side of the heat exchange core when the heat exchange core, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell are fixed by brazing, and thereby improving the connection quality among the heat exchange core, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell. The cover is fixed with the mounting end plate of the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell by bonding, respectively, which is beneficial to improve connection quality between the cover and the mounting end plate and that between the cover and the first mounting shell, so as to be beneficial to improve stability and reliability of the whole heat exchanger.
In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the following further describes the present disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present disclosure, and are not used to limit the present disclosure.
The heat exchanger provided in the present disclosure may be used in a heat exchange system, and the heat exchanger may be used as an evaporator, a condenser, an intermediate heat exchanger, or the like.
As shown in
The main body portion 11 includes a heat exchange core 100, a collecting pipe portion and a first mounting shell 301 which are brazed as a whole.
The heat exchange core 100 includes at least one heat exchange tube 101. Each of the heat exchange tube 101 has at least one tube inner channel 102 and a tube wall 103 located on a periphery of the tube inner channel 102. The heat exchange tube 101 may be a circular tube, an elliptical tube, or a microchannel flat tube. In related implementations of the present disclosure, exemplarily, the heat exchange tube 101 is a microchannel flat tube. When there are multiple heat exchange tubes 101, the multiple heat exchange tubes 101 may be arranged at intervals with each other. In the exploded view of the main body portion 11 shown in
The heat exchange core 100, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell 301 are fixed as an integral structure by brazing. The heat exchange core 100 composed of multiple heat exchange tubes 101 and/or heat sinks 104, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell 301 are sent into a brazing furnace for brazing as a whole. Of course, the heat exchange core 100 composed of the multiple heat exchange tubes and/or fins, the collecting pipe portion, and the first mounting shell 301 may also be brazed for multiple times. For example, firstly, the heat exchange core 100 is brazed with the collecting pipe portion, and then is secondly brazed with the first mounting shell.
The collecting pipe portion includes a first collecting pipe portion 201 and a second collecting pipe portion 202 disposed on two sides in a length direction of the heat exchange core 100. Each of the first collecting pipe portion 201 and the second collecting pipe portion 202 has a mounting end plate 203 for fixed installation with the heat exchange tube 101. The mounting end plate 203 is provided with an insertion hole 204 adaptable to the heat exchange tube 101. Referring to
The first collecting pipe portion 201 may be formed by fixing multiple plates as a whole by brazing after splicing. Similarly, the second collecting pipe portion 202 may also be formed by fixing multiple plates as a whole by brazing after splicing. The mounting end plate 203 is one of the multiple plates, or a part of area of a plate body of one of the multiple plates.
The first medium may be a refrigerant. In
The first mounting shell 301 is combined and fixed with the heat exchange core 100 along the length direction of the heat exchange core 100 by brazing, and two ends of the first mounting shell 301 in the length direction of the heat exchange core 100 are hermetically connected to the mounting end plates 203 by brazing. The first mounting shell 301 and the mounting end plates 203 are combined to form a first accommodating area having a first opening 304. The first opening 304 is disposed toward the cover 12. At least part of the heat exchange core 100 may be placed in the first accommodating area through the first opening 304.
The cover 12 closes the first opening 304. The cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 are hermetically connected in the length direction of the heat exchange core 100. The specific sealing manner may be that the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 are hermetically connected by bonding. Two ends of the cover 12 in the length direction of the heat exchange core 100 are hermetically connected to the mounting end plate 203. The specific sealing manner may be that the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 are hermetically connected by bonding. The cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 form an outer shell enclosing the heat exchange core 100 along a circumferential direction of the heat exchange core 100. In other words, the outer shell and the mounting end plate 203 form an inner space capable of accommodating the at least part of the heat exchange core 100 in the circumferential direction of the heat exchange core 100. The outer shell and the mounting end plate 203 enclose at least part of the flow area for a second medium to flow. In simple terms, the first mounting shell 301 wraps most of sides of the heat exchange core 100 in the circumferential direction of the heat exchange core 100, and the cover 12 wraps remaining side the heat exchange core 100 in the circumferential direction of the heat exchange core 100.
The second medium may be a coolant, such as an aqueous glycol solution. In
In the structure shown in
As shown in
The heat exchange tube 101 is a microchannel flat tube. The heat exchange tube 101 has multiple channels arranged side by side. The width direction of the heat exchange tube 101 is substantially parallel to the first connecting wall 401. Correspondingly, the multiple channels of each of the heat exchange tube 101 are arranged in a direction parallel to the first connecting wall 401.
Further referring to
The cover 12 includes a second connecting wall 404 and two extension portions 405 connected to the second connecting wall 404. The two extension portions 405 extends toward two opposite sides of the second connecting wall 404 in the width direction, respectively. The first connecting wall 401 and the second connecting wall 404 are at least partially arranged opposite to each other. At least part of the heat exchange core 100 is located between the first connecting wall 401 and the second connecting wall 404. The extension portion 405 and the first flange portion 403 are at least partially arranged opposite to each other along the height direction of the heat exchange core. The extension portion 405 and the first flange portion 403 are fixed by bonding, so that the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 are hermetically connected in the length direction of the heat exchange core 100.
Furthermore, as shown in
The height h1 of the first boss 310 is 0.1 mm to 1 mm, and in some implementations, 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm may be selected. The arrangement of the first boss 310 ensures the gluing thickness of the glue. That is, the thickness of the glue M1 may be 0.1 mm to 1 mm, and in some implementations, may be 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm. At the same time, the first boss 310 also has a function of preventing the glue from overflowing into a cavity where the heat exchange core 100 is located. Along the extension direction away from the second connecting wall 404, the width W1 of the adhesive area is greater than or equal to 3 mm. That is, the width of the glue M1 is greater than or equal to 3 mm. The relatively large bonding surface size is beneficial to improve the reliability of the bonding of heat exchanger products.
In order to expand the space of the heat exchange core 100 in the outer shell, as shown in
A distance L1 between a bottom of the recessed portion 311 and a side of the cover 12 away from the heat exchange core 100 is greater than a distance L2 between the bottom of the recessed portion 311 and a top of the first boss 310. By ensuring that the recessed portion 311 of the cover 12 is not too deep, and that a side of the cover 12 facing the heat exchange core 100 have a certain thickness as much as possible, the stability of the connection between the cover 12 and the heat exchange core 100 can be improved, and the connection strength between the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 can be improved.
In other implementations, as shown in
In order to ensure a reliable connection between the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301, the sum of the width of the second adhesive area and the width of the third adhesive area needs to be greater than or equal to 3 mm. That is, the sum of the widths of the glue M2 and the glue M3 is greater than or equal to 3 mm. The relatively large bonding surface size is beneficial to improve bonding reliability of heat exchanger products. In addition, by bonding the first flange portion 403 and the second flange portion 406 and the extension portion 405 in different directions, the bonding strength between the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 can be effectively improve, and the size of the extension portion 405 along its extension direction can be shorten, so that the cover 12 may be made as small as possible under the premise of ensuring the reliable connection with the first mounting shell 301, which is beneficial to optimize installation space occupied by the heat exchanger.
The present disclosure also provides another implementation of the cover 12 as shown in
The first connecting wall 401 and the second connecting wall 404 are at least partially arranged opposite to each other. In the circumferential direction of the outer shell, the size of the first side wall 402 is larger than the size of the second side wall 407. The two first side walls 402 and the two second side walls 407 are correspondingly matched respectively, wherein, the second side wall 407 is overlapped with a side of the first side wall 402 away from the heat exchange core 100 by means of bonding. A fourth adhesive area is formed by at least part area of the second side wall 407 facing the first side wall 402. The glue attached to the fourth adhesive area is marked as M4, which can refer to the black filled area between the first side wall 402 and the second side wall 407 in
Since both the first mounting shell 301 and the cover 12 have a certain wall thickness, when assembling by means of overlap, by overlapping the shorter side wall to a side of the longer side wall away from the heat exchange core 100, the area where the height difference is leaded and influenced by the wall thickness of the shell is less, which can reduce the problem of the waste of glue material caused by filling the height difference.
In the circumferential direction of the outer shell, the length of the second side wall 407 is greater than or equal to 3 mm, and the length L3 of overlapping area between the second side wall 407 and the first side wall 402 is greater than or equal to 3 mm. The relatively large bonding surface size is beneficial to improve the reliability of the bonding of heat exchanger products. The first side wall 402 abuts against the second connecting wall 404, and the inner side wall of the outer shell forms a substantially regular rectangular cavity.
When bonding the first mounting shell 301 and the cover 12, butting surfaces on both sides of the bonding glue may be full planes, by which the gluing process is simple and quick, and is suitable for automated production. The butting surfaces on both sides of the bonding glue may also be connected to uneven tongued and grooved surfaces, which is beneficial to improve the connection strength.
Furthermore, as shown in
For the mounting end plate 203, it is connected to the first mounting shell 301 by welding, and is connected to the cover 12 by bonding. Since the first mounting shell 301 and the mounting end plate 203 are connected by welding, in order to facilitate welding and improve the welding strength, an end of the first mounting shell 301 close to the mounting end plate 203 may also extend in the direction away from the heat exchange core 100 so as to form a fourth flange portion. A complete annular flange may be formed by matching the third flange portion 600 and the fourth flange portion. Of course, due to relatively small limitation on the size of the welding surface in the brazing method, the first mounting shell 301 may not be provided with the fourth flange portion, and the first mounting shell 301 and the mounting end plate 203 are directly fixed by brazing, on which the present disclosure does not define too much limitations.
When the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 are bonded, the abutting surfaces on both sides of the bonding glue may be full planes, by which the gluing process is simple and quick, and is suitable for automated production. The butting surfaces on both sides of the bonding glue may also be connected by tongued and grooved surfaces, which is beneficial to improve the connection strength.
As shown in
The height h2 of the second boss 2032 is 0.1 mm to 1 mm, and relatively preferably, is 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm. In a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the mounting end plate, that is, in a direction in which the surface of the mounting end plate extends, the length L4 of the first plate portion 2031 beyond the second boss 2032 is greater than or equal to 3 mm. The second boss 2032 is beneficial to prevent the glue M5 in the fifth adhesive area from overflowing into the cavity of the outer shell. When processing and installing the end plate 203, an annular notch may be cut at the edge of the plate with a certain thickness in a vertical thickness direction. A second boss 2032 is formed on an inner side of the annular notch. The first plate portion 2031 is formed on the other side of the plate without the annular notch.
Furthermore, the material of the cover 12 is a metallic material or a non-metallic material. The heat exchange core 100, the mounting end plate 203 and the first mounting shell 301 may be brazed at high temperature. Under conditions of the brazing process, materials of the heat exchange core 100, the mounting end plate 203 and the first mounting shell 301 need to be metallic materials. The heat exchange core 100, the mounting end plate 203 and the first mounting shell 301 may be made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. The cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301, and the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 are combined by bonding. The cover 12 does not need to undergo a high-temperature brazing process, so that selection of material of the cover 12 may be more flexible. The materials of the cover 12, the heat exchange core 100, the mounting end plate 203 and the first mounting shell 301 may be the same, or may be other different materials. The material of the cover 12 may be metallic materials, such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper-aluminum alloy, or stainless steel, or non-metallic materials, such as rubber or plastic. The technical solution provided in the present disclosure is beneficial to extend material types of the cover 12, enrich product types and application scenarios of heat exchanger products, and has advantages in cost-effective options and lightweight options.
Average thickness of the cover 12 may be similar to that of the first mounting shell 301, or average thickness of the cover 12 may be greater than average thickness of the shell of the first mounting shell 301, which is beneficial to improve deformation resistance of the cover 12 under high fluid pressure and improve product stability, especially when the material of the cover 12 is plastic, etc.
Compared with the way that all components of the heat exchanger are fixed by welding, since the first mounting shell 301 is a semi-enclosing type shell relative to the heat exchange core 100, when brazing the main body portion as a whole, the heat of the brazing process may directly act on the heat exchange core 100, the collecting pipe portion and the first mounting shell 301. In particular, the heat of the heat exchange core is more controllable and more accurate, which is beneficial to avoid leakage of the first medium flow area which is partially leaded by inconsistent brazing temperature of inside and outside of the heat exchanger outer shell of the heat exchange core. As for the cover 12, the cover 12 is connected to the first mounting shell 301 and the mounting end plate 203 by bonding. The cover 12 is not susceptible to high temperature deformation due to the influence of the brazing process. The second medium flow area enclosed by the cover 12, the first mounting shell 301 and the mounting end plate 203 is not prone to leakage.
The first medium may be a refrigerant. Correspondingly, the second medium is a coolant. The bonding between the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 and that between the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 are suitable for the coolant side fluid with relatively low pressure, and the heat exchange tube 101 and the collecting pipe portion fixed by the brazing process are still used for relatively high pressure refrigerant side fluid, which is beneficial to improve flow reliability of the two fluids. Size design based on the bonding area and glue thickness design of the gluing area, are beneficial to compact structure of the heat exchanger, which can meet the needs of lightweight and high efficiency.
The glues M1 to M5 used in the bonding method of the embodiment of the present disclosure may all be high-strength epoxy-based two-component structural glue or single-component sealing structural glue. Both high-strength epoxy-based two-component structural glue and single-component sealing structural glue have certain corrosion resistance, which is beneficial to improve corrosion resistance of heat exchanger products. The gluing thickness of the sealing structural glue is 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, and the relatively preferably, thickness is 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm.
The present disclosure also provides a manufacturing method of the heat exchanger. In an implementation provided in the present disclosure, the manufacturing method includes:
Step S101, providing the heat exchange core 100, the first collecting pipe portion 201, the second collecting pipe portion 202 and the first mounting shell 301;
The heat exchange core 100 includes at least one heat exchange tube 101. Each of the first collecting pipe portion 201 and the second collecting pipe portion 202 are formed with a mounting end plate 203 for fixed installation with the heat exchange tube 101. The mounting end plate 203 is provided with an insertion hole 204 adaptable to the heat exchange tube 101. One end of the heat exchange tube 101 is inserted into the insertion hole 204 provided on the mounting end plate 203 of the first collecting pipe section 201, and the other end of the heat exchange tube 101 is inserted into the insertion hole 204 provided on the mounting end plate 203 of the second collecting pipe section 202. And, the first mounting shell 301 is arranged in attached and arranged along the length direction of the heat exchange core 100.
Step S102, fixing the heat exchange core 100, the first collecting pipe portion 201, the second collecting pipe portion 202 and the first mounting shell 301 as a whole by brazing. A tube wall 103 of the heat exchange tube 101 is hermetically connected to the mounting end plate 203 at the insertion hole 204. The first mounting shell 301 is hermetically connected to the mounting end plate 203. The first mounting shell 301 is fixedly connected to the heat exchange core 100 along the length direction of the heat exchange core 100, wherein, the tube inner channel 102 of the heat exchange tube 101 is in communication with an inner cavity of the first collecting pipe portion 201 and an inner cavity of the second collecting pipe portion 202.
Step S103, providing the cover 12, hermetically connecting the cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 along the length direction of the heat exchange core 100 by bonding, and hermetically connecting the cover 12 and the mounting end plate 203 by bonding. The cover 12 and the first mounting shell 301 are arranged in an enclosing manner along a circumferential direction of the heat exchange core 100.
The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not used to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201910947967.3 | Sep 2019 | CN | national |
This application is a bypass continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/116978, filed on Sep. 23, 2020, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201910947967.3, filed on Sep. 30, 2019, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2020/116978 | Sep 2020 | US |
Child | 17566228 | US |