Patent Application
20110168369
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 (a), this application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0002373, filed in Korea on Jan. 11, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
1. Field
A heat exchanger is disclosed herein.
2. Background
Heat exchangers are known. However, they suffer from various disadvantages.
Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, wherein:
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this disclosure, the size and shape of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for the sake of clarity and convenience. Further, terms that are specifically defined in consideration of the construction and operation of embodiments may be changed according to operator's intention or custom. Definition of such items should be made on the basis of the entire contents of the disclosure.
Generally, a heat exchanger is an apparatus that reduces a temperature of a high temperature fluid and increases a temperature of a low temperature fluid by transferring thermal energy from the high temperature fluid to the low temperature fluid. Such a heat exchanger may be used in a heater, a cooler, an evaporator, or a condenser, for example.
For example, in such a heater, a heat transfer medium used to transfer heat to a target fluid is referred to as a heat medium, and a heat transfer medium used to take heat from a target fluid is referred to as a refrigerant. The fluid used as the heat medium or refrigerant may be, for example, air or a liquid.
A double-pipe heat exchanger is one example of a heat exchanger and includes an internal pipe through which a first fluid passes, and an external pipe that encloses the internal pipe and through which a second fluid passes. Heat exchange is performed between first and second fluids using a side wall of the internal pipe acting as a heat transfer wall. A typical double-pipe heat exchanger may be a straight-type double-pipe heat exchanger or a helical-type double-pipe heat exchanger.
The straight-type double-pipe heat exchanger has a problem in that there is a vibration phenomenon in which the internal pipe vibrates and may contact the external pipe when fluid is circulated through the pipe in a case where the heat exchanger is long in a longitudinal direction. Further, because of the vibration phenomenon described above, there are problems in that the pipe is continuously worn out, noise occurs, and welding portions may experience metal fatigue failure. Furthermore, because of this vibration phenomenon, there occurs a limitation on length when designing the heat exchanger.
In a case that such a heat exchanger is sufficiently long in a longitudinal direction, when the fluid is circulated through the pipes, the second pipe 20 may vibrate and contact the first pipe 10, so that there occurs continuous wear, noise, and metal fatigue failure at a welding portion(s). Accordingly, in order to prevent such problems from occurring, a heat exchanger having a vibration preventing structure is provided.
Referring to
The first fluid may be introduced into the first pipe 100A, 100B through a first fluid inlet 110 formed in one end of the first pipe 100A, 100B, and may be discharged through a first fluid outlet 120 formed in the other end of the first pipe 100. The second fluid may be introduced into the second pipe 200A, 200B through a second fluid inlet 210 formed in one end of the second pipe 200A, 200B, and may be discharged through a second fluid outlet 220 formed in the other end of the second pipe 200A, 200B.
The first and second fluids circulating in the first and second pipes 100A, 100B and 200A, 200B may have different temperatures from each other and a heat exchange may be made utilizing the temperature difference between two fluids. That is, a higher temperature one of the two fluids may be cooled and a lower temperature one of the two fluids heated.
Meanwhile, as shown in
As such, in the heat exchanger according to this embodiment, vibration occurring when the fluid is circulated may be prevented by forming the second pipe 200A in a structure in which the convex portion 230 and concave portion 240 are repeatedly formed, and then making the convex portion 230 contact the internal surface of the first pipe 100A.
Alternatively, as shown in
Referring to
The vibration preventing member(s) 300 may be formed in a hemisphere shape and may be fixed to an internal surface of the first pipe 100C, such that a convex surface thereof may contact an external surface of the second pipe 200C. A plurality of vibration preventing members 300 may be provided on the internal surface of the first pipe 100C in a circumferential direction with a predetermined space therebetween along a longitudinal direction of the first pipe 100C.
For example, three vibration preventing members 300 may be arranged with a space therebetween in the circumferential direction of the first pipe 100 so that three convex projections 310 may contact the external surface of the second pipe 200C. For example, a central angle θ formed by two projections 310 of the three projections 300 may range from approximately 100° to approximately 140°.
Further, a distance L between the vibration preventing members 300 disposed with the space therebetween in the longitudinal direction of the first pipe 100C may be approximately 20 to approximately 40 times an external diameter of the second pipe 200C.
Referring to
The vibration preventing member(s) 400 of the heat exchanger 2D in accordance with this embodiment may be fixed to and through the first pipe 100D with a predetermined space therebetween, and ends of the vibration preventing member(s) 400 may contact an external surface of the second pipe 200D so as to support the second pipe 200D.
The vibration preventing member(s) 400 may pass through the first pipe 100D and may be fixed to the first pipe 100D using a method, such as, for example, welding, and ends thereof may contact the external surface of the second pipe 200D.
A plurality of vibration preventing members 400 may be provided with a predetermined space therebetween in a longitudinal direction of the first pipe 100D, and may be disposed on an internal surface of the first pipe 100D in a circumferential direction of the first pipe 100D.
Moreover, the vibration preventing members 400 may be pins arranged with a space therebetween in the circumferential direction of the first pipe 100D, so that ends of the pins, which may be formed in a tapered shape, may contact the external surface of the second pipe 200D.
A central angle θ1 formed between two pins of the three pins of the vibration preventing members 400 may range from approximately 100° to approximately 140°. Further, a distance M between the vibration preventing members 400 disposed with the space along the longitudinal direction of the first pipe 100D may be approximately 20 to approximately 40 times an external diameter of the second pipe 200D.
Embodiments disclosed herein provide a heat exchanger capable of preventing a vibration phenomenon of an internal pipe when fluid is circulated therein, by including a vibration preventing structure in a straight-type double pipe heat exchanger.
Embodiments disclosed herein provide a heat exchanger which may include a first pipe, through which a first fluid may pass, and a second pipe disposed in the first pipe, through which a second fluid may pass, wherein the first and second pipes may touch each other so that the second pipe may be prevented from vibrating.
Further, the first pipe may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and the second pipe may be formed in a wave shape, so that a convex portion of the second pipe contacts an internal surface of the first pipe. Alternatively, the first pipe may be formed in a wave shape, and the second pipe may be formed in a cylindrical shape, so that a concave portion of the first pipe contacts an external surface of the second pipe.
Also, the first and second pipes may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and a vibration preventing member may be included between the first and second pipes in order to prevent the second pipe from vibrating. The vibration preventing member may be formed in a hemisphere shape and fixed to the internal surface of the first pipe. A convex portion of the vibration preventing member may contact the external surface of the second pipe.
A plurality of the vibration preventing members may be arranged across a space along a longitudinal direction of the first pipe, and may be radially and circumferentially disposed on the internal surface of the first pipe. For example, three vibration preventing members may be circumferentially arranged across a space, and a central angle formed by two of the three vibration preventing members may range from approximately 100° to 140°.
Further, a distance between the vibration preventing members arranged in the longitudinal direction of the first pipe may be approximately 20 to 40 times an external diameter of the second pipe.
The vibration preventing member may be formed in a pin shape, so that the member may be fixed through the first pipe and an end of the member may be brought into contact with the external surface of the second pipe.
Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The heat exchanger disclosed herein may be used, for example, as a heater, cooler, evaporator and/or condenser in various appliances and devices disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,793,551, 7,454,921, 7,856,840, 7,726,141, 7,677,681, 7,347,009, 7,721,559, 7,322,199, 6,843,066, 6,735,975, 6,354,095, 7,726,141, 7,540,169, 7,347,009, 7,716,942, and 7,621,138, whose entire disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2010-0002373 | Jan 2010 | KR | national |
