Patent Grant
10976107
The present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger, such as a radiator, in an automotive vehicle. In particular, the heat exchanger is provided with an intermediate tank between an inlet tank and an outlet tank.
Heat exchangers can be used to cool or heat associated components within a vehicle. For example, radiators cool engine fluid (e.g., coolant), and condensers cool HVAC fluid. In certain heat exchangers, there may be an inlet tank for receiving the fluid, a core with tubes and fins for performing heat exchange, and an outlet tank. Large temperature differences in adjacent components has a potential for causing strain.
According to one embodiment, a heat exchanger for an automotive vehicle includes an inlet header tank, a first heat exchanger core fluidly and mechanically coupled to the inlet header tank, an outlet header tank, and a second heat exchanger core fluidly and mechanically coupled to the outlet header tank. An intermediate tank is fluidly and mechanically coupled to and between the first heat exchanger core and the second heat exchanger core to transfer fluid therebetween. The intermediate tank has an interior surface with protuberances integrally formed therewith. The protuberances are configured to cause mixing of the fluid as the fluid transfers from the first heat exchanger core to the second heat exchanger core.
In another embodiment, a heat exchanger includes an inlet header tank, a first heat exchanger core having a first plurality of tubes coupled to the inlet header tank, an intermediate tank coupled to the first plurality of tubes, a second heat exchanger core having a second plurality of tubes coupled to the intermediate tank, and an outlet header tank coupled to the second plurality of tubes. The intermediate tank includes protuberances configured to facilitate mixing of fluid within the intermediate tank as the fluid transfers from the first heat exchanger core to the second heat exchanger core.
In yet another embodiment, a heat exchanger includes an inlet header tank configured to receive a fluid, an outlet header tank configured to output the fluid, and an intermediate tank between the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank. The intermediate tank has an interior region having a plurality of protuberances disposed therein. The protuberances are configured to facilitate mixing of the fluid within the intermediate tank.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments can take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the embodiments. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures can be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.
Terms such as “leading,” “front,” “forward,” “rearward,” etc. are used in this disclosure. These terms are for giving positional context of various components relative to a vehicle in which the heat exchanger resides. For example, the leading or front edge of a component is one that is forward-most in the direction of the front of the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle grille).
Heat exchangers can be used to cool or heat associated components within a vehicle. For example, radiators cool engine fluid (e.g., coolant), and condensers cool HVAC fluid. In certain heat exchangers, there may be an inlet tank for receiving the fluid, a core with tubes and fins for performing heat exchange, and an outlet tank. As the fluid flows through the core, there may be a temperature discrepancy at different regions of the core. For example, the fluid closer to the top portion of the header tank may be hotter than the fluid closer to the bottom portion of the outlet tank. This has a potential for causing strain at the interface between hot and cold tubes in the heat exchanger core, due to different rates of expansion of the tubes. Too much strain on the tubes has the potential to cause cracks in the tubes or their connections with the tanks, which has a possibility for leaking fluid.
Coolant from the engine, which may either be a liquid or gaseous phase, flows from the inlet header tank 12, through the core 16, and to the outlet header tank 14. The core 16 cools the coolant flowing through the radiator 10. More specifically, the coolant flows through the tubes 22, and the fins 24 conduct or transfer heat from the coolant flowing through the tubes 22. Heat transferred to the fins 24 is transferred to air flowing through the radiator 10. The air flowing through the radiator can be supplied naturally when the vehicle is traveling, or via a fan (not shown).
As explained above, there can be a potential for strain at the interface between hot and cold tubes in the heat exchanger core. For example, in the heat exchanger of
Therefore, according to various embodiments disclosed herein, a heat exchanger (such as a radiator) is provided with a center tank or intermediate tank between the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank. The intermediate tank has flow-mixing features for mixing the coolant as it passes from an inlet side to an outlet side of the intermediate tank. This redistributes the temperature of the coolant, resulting in a more neutral temperature fluid in the heat exchanger core. The flow-mixing features can also be referred to as flow diverters or protuberances (e.g., protruding from one direction to another within the intermediate tank).
The intermediate tank 32 includes a plurality of protuberances or flow-mixing features. Various embodiments of protuberances are illustrated in
The protuberances 46 may be integrally formed with an interior surface of the intermediate tank 32. For example, the intermediate tank 32 may be formed or bent from a metal blank initially in a two-piece state, and the protuberances 46 may be permanently fixed (e.g., welded, brazed, etc.) to an interior surface of one of the halves of the intermediate tank 32, and the two halves of the intermediate tank 32 can then be permanently fixed to one another. In another embodiment, the protuberances 46 are co-molded with the intermediate tank 32.
The protuberances 46 are configured to mix the coolant or fluid as it travels through the intermediate tank 32. This redistributes the heat of the fluid before entering the second heat exchanger core 36. The mixing of the fluid of shown by arrows 48. In the illustrated embodiment, the coolant exits the first plurality of tubes 38 and enters the intermediate tank 32. Within the intermediate tank 32, the fluid is forced between and around various protuberances 46 such that the fluid comingles and mixes together. Therefore, fluid from one of the tubes 38 mixes with fluid from another one of the tubes 38 within the intermediate tank 32. The protuberances facilitate such mixing in ways that an intermediate tank without protuberances would. For example, as shown in
The arrangement of the protuberances 46 shown in
The angles of the various protuberances may change or alternate to cause various flow-mixing characteristics. For example, a first pair of adjacent protuberances may cause the fluid to converge as shown by arrows 56, forming a restrictive flow path. This can cause the fluid to increase in pressure and/or speed as the fluid travels from the first heat exchanger core 34 toward the second heat exchanger core 36 in the direction of the arrows 56. Meanwhile, a second pair of adjacent protuberances may cause the fluid to diverge as shown by arrows 58, forming an expansive flow path. This can cause the fluid to decrease in pressure and/or speed as the fluid travels from the first heat exchanger core 34 toward the second heat exchanger core 36 in the direction of the arrows 58. The differing pressures and/or speeds of the fluid within the intermediate tank 52 can facilitate mixing of the fluid within the intermediate tank 52, particularly in the region between the protuberances 54 and the second heat exchanger core 36.
For example, the protuberances 64 can rotate to various positions shown with dashed lines in
The protuberances 64 can be operated and controlled to specifically direct fluid flow to account for various temperature distributions. For example, when the heat exchanger 60 begins operation, hot coolant is pumped through the heat exchanger 60 through the inlet 18. This may cause the region around the inlet 18 (e.g, the upper left corner of the first heat exchanger core 34) to heat first. The distribution of heat travels downward and towards the right as more hot coolant is introduced into the heat exchanger. During this time, the protuberances 64 may be operated to rotate from an open position to a closed position progressively from top to bottom of the intermediate tank. In other words, the uppermost valve 64 may be commanded to close, and then the next uppermost valve may be commanded to close, and so on, as the distribution of heat moves from top to bottom within the heat exchanger 60.
This is but one example of controlled operation of the valves. The valves can operate in various fashions to facilitate the mixing of fluid in the intermediate tank 62. For example, the valves may randomly, or at predetermined intervals, alternate between open and closed to redirect the fluid flow within the intermediate tank 62.
The protuberances 64 can have a portion that extends from the interior surface of the intermediate tank 62. For example, the intermediate tank 62 may have extensions integrally formed with the interior of the intermediate tank 62, and flippers or flaps may extend from the extensions in a rotatable manner.
In any of the embodiments above, at least a portion of the protuberances can be integrally-formed with an interior of the intermediate tank. In other words, the protuberances can be formed, molded, bent, or otherwise made as an integrated extension of the interior surface of the intermediate tank. In other embodiments, the protuberances can be separately attached (e.g., via welding) to the interior surface of the intermediate tank.
The protuberances of this disclosure help to redistribute the temperature of the fluid in the heat exchanger core. Reducing the difference in neighboring tubes in the core reduces the potential strain on the tubes, which increases the durability of the heat exchanger. The protuberances facilitate the mixing of the fluid in ways that an intermediate tank without such protuberances would. For example, fluid can be forced to travel around protrusions, converge, diverge, or otherwise move within the intermediate tank as the fluid travels from one heat exchanger core to the other between the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank.
It should be understood that the embodiments described above can be combined. The intermediate tank can include protuberances of any or all of the embodiments described above.
While the controller is not illustrated in the figures, it should be understood that the controller may include a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) in communication with various types of computer readable storage devices or media to perform the task of operating the valves. Computer readable storage devices or media may include volatile and nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example. KAM is a persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the CPU is powered down. Computer-readable storage devices or media may be implemented using any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROM), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric, magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the controller in controlling the valves.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms encompassed by the claims. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments can be combined to form further embodiments of the invention that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics can be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. These attributes can include, but are not limited to cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As such, to the extent any embodiments are described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics, these embodiments are not outside the scope of the disclosure and can be desirable for particular applications.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20200132380 A1 | Apr 2020 | US |
