Patent Application
20180216519
The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to a heat exchanger having different types of turbulators.
The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Automotive vehicles use engines with turbochargers to increase power and reduce fuel consumption. A heat exchanger in the form of an air-to-air charge air cooler (“CAC”) is often used to cool compressed air generated by the turbocharger before the compressed air is fed into an intake manifold of the engine. Cooling of the compressed air increases the density of the air, which increases the efficiency of the engine.
The CAC includes a plurality of independent tubes through which the compressed air flows. The CAC is usually located at the front of the vehicle so that ambient air passes over the tubes as the vehicle is driven. A separate turbulator may be disposed inside each of the tubes. The turbulators act as heat sinks to help dissipate heat from the compressed air produced by the turbocharger. However, it is important that moisture in the air fed into the CAC does not condense in the CAC. The moisture reduces engine performance if the liquid migrates into the combustion chambers of the engine. At low temperatures, the moisture can freeze and cause blockage of some of the flow paths through the CAC. If the moisture freezes, it can also lead to cracking of the CAC. This can lead to leakage of compressed air from the CAC, reducing efficiency of the engine.
The size of the CAC can be increased to increase cooling capacity. However, increasing the size of the CAC impacts surrounding components within the engine compartment due to the limited space available. A coolant-to-air heat exchanger system is another option to increase cooling capacity. However, coolant-to-air heat exchangers are more costly, heavier than CAC type heat exchangers, and often involve more components than air-to-air CACs.
In one aspect the present disclosure relates to an air air-to-air charge air cooler (CAC) for cooling air supplied to an internal combustion engine. The CAC may comprise a housing and a plurality of trays located in the housing. A first one of the trays may include a first turbulator having a first internal configuration. A second one of the trays may include a second turbulator having a second internal configuration different from the first internal configuration.
In another aspect the present disclosure relates to an air-to-air charge air cooler (CAC) for cooling air supplied to an internal combustion engine. The CAC may comprise a housing. A plurality of trays may be located in the housing. A first one of the trays may include a lanced-offset turbulator. A second one of the trays may include a smooth style turbulator.
In still another aspect the present disclosure relates to an air-to-air charge air cooler (CAC) for cooling air supplied to an internal combustion engine. The CAC may comprise a housing and a plurality of trays located in the housing. Each one of a first subplurality of the trays may include a separate lanced-offset turbulator. Each one of a second subplurality of the trays, different from the first subplurality of trays, may include a separate smooth style turbulator.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and/or identical elements.
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Using two different types of turbulators in the CAC 100 or 200 provides a number of benefits. For example, the CAC 100 or 200 may provide improved cooling performance over a prior art CAC of the same size that has all smooth style turbulators without significantly increasing the risk of condensate and/or icing developing in the CAC. An additional advantage of the CAC 100 or 200 is that for a given degree of cooling capacity, the CAC can be made physically smaller, and with less weight and material, than what would be required for a CAC that incorporates all smooth style turbulators. This may result in a cost savings in manufacturing the CAC 100. The improved compactness of the CAC 100 may also enable the CAC 100 to be used in locations in an engine compartment where a prior art CAC having the same cooling capability, but which is larger because of its use of only smooth style turbulators, would not be possible.
It should be appreciated that the present disclosure also extends toward using all of one type of turbulator, such as all smooth style turbulators but where two or more of the smooth style turbulators have different internal configurations, for example different internal fin designs or configurations, or alternatively to using all lanced-offset turbulators but where two or more of the lanced-offset turbulators have different internal configurations, for example different fin designs or configurations. Still further, the present disclosure extends to any combination of smooth style and lanced-offset turbulators where one style, or both styles, have dissimilar internal configurations.
The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.
Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example, between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including “connected,” “engaged,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” and “disposed.” Unless explicitly described as being “direct,” when a relationship between first and second elements is described in the above disclosure, that relationship can be a direct relationship where no other intervening elements are present between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements are present (either spatially or functionally) between the first and second elements. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
None of the elements recited in the claims are intended to be a means-plus-function element within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless an element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for,” or in the case of a method claim using the phrases “operation for” or “step for.”
