Patent Grant
11872772
The present disclosure is directed generally to tube manufacture and more particularly to fabricating composite (or “hybrid”) tubes or pipes.
Heat exchangers are widely used in industrial cooling and heating processes to transfer heat between fluids. A typical heat exchanger includes one or more tubes that contain a first fluid to be heated or cooled, and a second fluid designed to absorb or provide heat is passed over the tube(s). Such heat exchangers typically include highly thermally conductive tubes having a size, shape and arrangement suitable for high-pressure applications.
Waste heat in the form of industrial emissions amounts to about 4.3% of total energy use by industry in the United States. Annually, about 1.5 trillion Btu of energy in the form of exhaust gas thermal emissions remains unrecovered. More than 80% of this waste heat is in what may be referred to as the low temperature regime (25° C.-150° C.). Despite the abundance of low temperature energy sources, the total amount of heat recovered from these sources is small when compared to high temperature sources (>650° C.). The small temperature “head” of low temperature sources is believed to increase the size and therefore cost of heat exchangers employed to recover the heat. Most low temperature heat recovery systems use copper pipes that are bent into a U-shape to increase residence time for the fluid to improve heat exchange. Such heat exchangers may suffer from high material costs and consequently long payback periods that challenge economically justifiable heat recovery. In contrast, polymer-based heat exchangers can be advantageous for low temperature heat recovery, as they may be lightweight, low cost, structurally flexible, and resistant to corrosion from flue gas condensates. However, heat exchangers based on polymer tubes typically are not suitable for operating internal pressures >1 MPa (150 psi) and may suffer from low overall heat transfer coefficient.
A method and apparatus for assembling a hybrid tube are described herein.
The method includes rotating a mandrel about a longitudinal axis thereof. During the rotating, a first strip is helically wound about the mandrel. The first strip is dispensed at a predetermined angle from a first housing translating alongside the mandrel. During or after the helical winding, while the mandrel is rotating, overlapping strip portions on the mandrel are bonded, and the hybrid tube is formed.
The apparatus includes a rotatable mandrel and a first housing configured to translate alongside the rotatable mandrel while dispensing a first strip to be helically wound about the mandrel. The first housing includes an angle adjustment mechanism to control a dispensation angle of the first strip. The apparatus also includes at least one energy or adhesive source for bonding overlapping strip portions on the rotatable mandrel and forming the hybrid tube. The at least one energy or adhesive source is configured for translation alongside the rotatable mandrel.
A method and apparatus for assembling a composite (or hybrid) tube from one or more strips comprising multiple materials, such as a polymer and a metal, is described in this disclosure. The method may be described as a strip-winding or roll-to-roll approach to fabricate hybrid tubes including controlled amounts of the multiple materials and having predetermined strip patterns. Hybrid tubes or pipes made in this way can be designed to meet specific needs, such as reduced material costs, increased corrosion resistance and/or improved flexibility. Consequently, the composite tubes may have industrial applications ranging from heat exchangers to aerospace components and flexible electronics.
Referring to
As shown in
The at least one energy or adhesive source 112 referred to above, which may be configured for translation alongside the mandrel 102 to bond overlapping strip portions 114, may also or alternatively be configured for coordinated movement (e.g., translation and/or rotation) with the first and/or the second housing 104a,104b. The at least one energy or adhesive source 112 may include, for example, one or more ultrasonic horns for producing ultrasonic vibrations, one or more lasers for emitting a laser beam, one or more electrodes for resistance welding, arc welding, or another welding method, and/or one or more adhesive sources (e.g., a mixer tube 118) for providing an adhesive composition.
In one example, as shown in
The apparatus 100 may further include a rotating pressing rod 130, which is discussed further below and shown schematically in
The “Case 2” design utilizes first, second and third strips 106a,106b,106c, each comprising a different material, which are helically wound around the mandrel serially, that is, separately. In one example, the first strip 106a may be a metal strip, the second strip 106b may be a polymer strip, and the third strip 106c may be a metal strip. Once the Case 2 strips 106a,106b,106c are helically wound around the mandrel, the strip pattern 412 shown in
The “Case 3” design utilizes first and second strips 106a,106b, each comprising a different material, which are helically wound around the mandrel simultaneously. In one example, the first strip 106a may be a polymer strip and the second strip 106b may be a metal (e.g., copper) strip. When the Case 3 strips 106a,106b are helically wound around the mandrel, the strip pattern 512 shown in
In addition to the exemplary hybrid tubes 120 described above, hybrid tubes having other designs that utilize at least one strip comprising at least two different materials may be fabricated using the apparatus and method described in this disclosure. In some examples, the hybrid tubes may have extended metal surfaces and continuous metal pathways that can improve both heat transfer and mechanical stability compared to all-polymer pipes. As described below, thermal conductivities (keff) of about 1 Wm−1K−1 or higher may be achieved for exemplary hybrid tubes using only about 20-35 vol. % metal, with a remainder being a polymer.
A method of fabricating hybrid tubes 120, such as those shown in
Depending on the desired strip pattern, the method may further include helically winding a second strip 106b about the rotating mandrel 102. The second strip 106b may be dispensed from a second housing 104b translating alongside the mandrel 102. More specifically, the second strip 106b may be dispensed from a roll 124 contained in the second housing 104b. A translation speed of the second housing 104b may be coordinated with a rotational speed of the mandrel 102. As described above, the second housing 104a may be rotatably attached to a motorized linear stage 128. As shown in
The helical winding of the second strip 106b may occur during or after the helical winding of the first strip 106a. In other words, depending on the desired strip pattern of the composite tube 120 to be formed, the first and second strips 106a,106b may be helically wound on the mandrel 102 simultaneously, as shown in
The bonding of the overlapping strip portions 114 may comprise applying energy or an adhesive composition, or both; accordingly, at least one energy or adhesive source 112 may translate alongside or otherwise exhibit coordinated movement with the rotating mandrel 102 to apply the energy and/or the adhesive composition and effect bonding. A translation speed of the at least one energy or adhesive source 112 may be coordinated with a rotational speed of the mandrel 102. When an adhesive composition is employed for bonding, a curing step (e.g., application of light or heat) may be required after applying the adhesive composition to ensure that a robust bond is formed.
In one example, where bonding of the overlapping strip portions 114 comprises applying energy from at least one energy source, the energy may comprise ultrasonic vibrations and the energy source may comprise an ultrasonic horn. Also or alternatively, the energy may comprise heat, electricity and/or light (e.g., a laser beam) and the energy source may comprise a laser, electrode and/or an electric arc, for example.
In another example, where bonding of the overlapping strip portions 114 comprises applying an adhesive composition from at least one adhesive source, one or more mixer tubes 118 may be employed to dispense a suitable adhesive composition, such as an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, or a silicone resin. In some cases the adhesive composition may further include a hardener or curing agent. The schematic of
As described above in reference to
The overlapping strip portions 114 may comprise overlapping portions of the same or different strips. In one example, such as the Case 1 strip design described above and shown in
The method may further include, during the helical winding, applying pressure to the strip or strips (e.g., the first, second, third and/or additional strips) 106 being wound about the mandrel. More specifically, the pressure may be applied to the overlapping strip portions 114. Referring to
Each strip 106,106a,106b,106c typically comprises a polymer and/or a metal, but other materials (e.g., semiconductors, ceramics) may also or alternatively be used. Suitable polymers may include polyimides (e.g., Kapton®), acrylic, polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), polyvinylchloride (PVC), and/or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Suitable metals may include copper, aluminum, brass, and/or steel. The strips may also be fabricated with one or more thin-film electronic devices (e.g., thermoelectric devices and/or integrated sensors) prior to winding. It is understood that the polymer, metal or other material may make up an entirety of a strip or a portion of a strip (e.g., as a layer or coating). Each strip or layer may have a thickness in a range from about 10 microns to about 10 mm, and the thickness is more typically in a range from about 50 microns to about 1 mm. The thickness of the polymer strip or layer may be the same as or different from that of the metal strip or layer in a given hybrid tube. For example, referring to
Exemplary dimensions of the strips and overlapping strip portions, as well as computed thermal characteristics for the hybrid tube designs shown in
1.85
2.17 × 10
−3
1.82
1.83 × 10
−3
0.46
1.23
1.22
0.29
2.77
1.16 × 10
−3
2.64
1.15
1.26 × 10
−3
1.16
0.50
0.30
0.66
1.80 × 10
−3
0.63
1.59 × 10
−3
0.34
1.06
0.37
1.06
For use in heat exchangers and other applications where thermal conductivity is important, the hybrid tubes preferably exhibit both high keff and U/Upoly at low ϕ and/or low χ. Preferred examples have a high keff and/or high U/Upoly, and most preferred examples have both high keff and U/Upoly at ϕ<0.4 and/or χ<0.5. The highest effective thermal conductivity (about 2.77 Wm−1K−1) is obtained for Case 2 with ϕ=0.6. Cases 1 and 3 reach up to 1.85 Wm−1K−1 and 0.67 Wm−1K−1 at ϕ=0.62 and 0.7, respectively. Although the Case 3 structures do not achieve keff>1 Wm−1K−1 for ϕ<0.7, it is notable that a keff=1.01 Wm−1K−1 is achieved at ϕ=0.88 with χ=0.42. These results suggest the hybrid tubes can reach a target effective thermal conductivity of ˜1 Wm−1K−1 at ˜30% volume fraction of copper in both Case 1 and Case 2. A larger volume fraction of metal may be required for less conductive metals, such as aluminum. Notably, the optimal design points that achieve a keff of about 1 Wm−1K−1 at a low copper volume fraction (e.g., about 30%) typically have a much thicker polymer layer (e.g., 2 mm) and a thinner copper layer (e.g., 0.4 mm). Essentially, the optimal designs may use just enough copper to conduct the required heat across the thickness of the pipe. Designs can be chosen to have low overall metal volume for reduced cost, or high pipe thickness for enhanced thermomechanical strength. Case 3 structures have a low metal surface area fraction (χ=0.42) and low overall thickness (tavg=0.68 mm), which may mean a low overall volume of metal per unit volume of pipe. Case 1 and Case 2 structures have a low volume fraction ϕ and a high thickness (tavg=2.51 mm), which may mean a high thermomechanical strength. A preliminary analysis suggests that the hybrid pipes described in this disclosure may enjoy a cost benefit over all-copper pipes. Based on this work, hybrid pipes are believed to be a viable alternative to all-polymer or all-copper pipes for low temperature (<150° C.) waste heat recovery from exhaust flue gas streams.
In this and other applications for the hybrid tubes, heat transfer between a fluid flowing inside the hybrid tube, such as water, and fluid flowing outside the hybrid tube, such as air or exhaust gas, is facilitated by convective heat transfer at the internal and external tube walls. It is found that convection may be enhanced due to the hybrid structure of the tubes. In particular, the hybrid tubes manufactured as described above possess intrinsic helical roughness due to steps at the interface between the adhesively or otherwise bonded strips, i.e., due to the overlapping strip portions described above. This unevenness, which is related to the thickness of the strip(s), may have the effect of disrupting the boundary layer of the flow and enhancing fluid mixing as well as convective heat transfer. In fact, computational investigation of the flow physics and heat transfer using the commercial Ansys Fluent software reveals that there can be significant enhancement to the convective heat transfer coefficient at the internal and external tube walls, when compared against a smooth tube.
Internal (water) and external (air) flow was simulated on a single hybrid copper-polymer (Kapton) tube of 1 inch diameter, with the flow rate of water varied between 0.5 l/min to 2.5 l/min and the flow rate of air set to 0.15 m3/s. The internal flow is laminar with a Reynolds number between 500 and 2000. The external air flow is turbulent and modeled using k-ε turbulence model. The strip thickness was varied from 0 mils (smooth wall) to 60 mils (1.524 mm). The tube wall temperatures were 120° C. and 15° C. for internal and external flow simulations, respectively. The simulations employed ˜200,000 computational nodes and were tested for mesh size independence. The computed heat transfer rate enhancements over a smooth tube expressed as percentage improvement is plotted in
To clarify the use of and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . and <N>” or “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . <N>, or combinations thereof” or “<A>, <B>, . . . and/or <N>” are defined by the Applicant in the broadest sense, superseding any other implied definitions hereinbefore or hereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary, to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, . . . and N. In other words, the phrases mean any combination of one or more of the elements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or the one element in combination with one or more of the other elements which may also include, in combination, additional elements not listed.
Although considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments has been described, other embodiments are possible. The spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited, therefore, to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein. All embodiments that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.
Furthermore, the advantages described above are not necessarily the only advantages, and it is not necessarily expected that all of the described advantages will be achieved with every embodiment.
The present disclosure claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/056,255, which was filed on Jul. 24, 2020, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
This invention was made with government support under contract number DE-EE0008312 awarded by the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the U.S. Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220024154 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63056255 | Jul 2020 | US |
