FRAMELESS COOLING MODULE
A heat exchanger adapted to be coupled with a platform is disclosed. The heat exchanger comprises two or more core units having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of each core unit being fixed to the platform. The heat exchanger further includes a plate disposed along the upper surface of the core units, the plate having a plurality of bend enhancement regions and a plurality of holes, each bend enhancement region being placed at a predetermined distance from the nearest adjacent holes, and a plurality of spacers interposed between the plate and the upper surface to couple the plate to the upper surface, the plurality of spacers adapted to provide offset between the plate from the core units. During operation of the heat exchanger, each bend enhancement region is configured to facilitate flexibility of the plate to accommodate any uneven expansion of the core units.
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The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers and more specifically, to an assembly of heat exchangers.
BACKGROUNDHeat exchangers are utilized across various machines for exchanging heat. The heat exchangers include multiple tubes having an outlet port, and an inlet port. The heat exchangers include fins on the outer surface of the tubes. As fluid flows through the tubes, the heat is dissipated away into ambient air with the help of fins.
Due to prolonged heat dissipation, cores of the heat exchangers exhibit thermal expansion/contraction in all directions. Currently, the heat exchangers are mounted within a rigid framed structure. The framed structure utilizes various types of isolators that are able to compress to account for the thermal expansion/contraction of the cores. However, the framed structure is expensive due to cost of frames and the isolators. Moreover, frameless designs are also known for mounting the cores of the heat exchangers. The frameless designs are cheaper, but uneven rates of expansion of the cores reduces overall thermal life. Further, there are also challenges in controlling uneven expansion of the cores. Therefore, there is a need for packaging or assembly of such frameless heat exchangers to accommodate the uneven expansion of the cores.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,603 (hereinafter referred to as '603) discloses a double heat exchanger. The double heat exchanger includes a multi-core radiator which consists of a condenser and a radiator for heat dissipation. Further, a connecting member is provided with a slit and a wavy shaped flexible member, As the condenser and the radiator begin to heat, expansion and contraction of the flexible member allows the thermal expansion within the frame, However, '603 reference fails to provide a cheaper and easily fabricable solution for controlling uneven expansion of the core units. Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective plate to accommodate uneven expansion of the core units of the heat exchangers.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREIn one aspect of the present disclosure, a heat exchanger adapted to be coupled with a platform is disclosed. The heat exchanger comprises two or more core units having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of each core unit being fixed to the platform. The heat exchanger further includes a plate disposed along the upper surface of the core units, the plate having a plurality of bend enhancement regions and a plurality of holes, each bend enhancement region being placed at a predetermined distance from the nearest adjacent holes, and a plurality of spacers interposed between the plate and the upper surface to couple the plate to the upper surface, the plurality of spacers adapted to provide offset between the plate from the core units. During operation of the heat exchanger, each bend enhancement region is configured to facilitate flexibility of the plate to accommodate any uneven expansion of the two or more core units.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The terms “core” and “core unit” have similar meaning and interpretations and may be interchangeably used with the description without departing from the meaning and scope of the disclosure. The core assembly 20 may include one or more cores, such, for example, shown: a first core 28 (also called a first core unit), a second core 30 (also called a second core unit) and a third core 32 (also called a third core unit). In an embodiment, the core assembly 20 may include oil cooling core, turbo compressed air core, engine coolant core, among others and other components, such as inlets, outlets, fins (not shown in
The lower surface 24 of the core assembly 20 can be coupled to the platform 26. In one example, the platform 26 is fixedly secured to the lower surface 24 of the core assembly 20 or lower surface 24 of each of the cores 28, 30 or 32. The platform 26 is utilized for mounting onto a machine, a vehicle frame or any other implement which requires the heat exchanger 10. The spacers 16 are provided for preventing interference between the plate 12 and the core assembly 20. During thermal expansion, the spacers 16 are adapted to provide offset between the core assembly 20 and the plate 12. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the spacers 16 may be of different shapes, configuration and material, but not limited to steel, stainless steel, iron, copper, among others. The spacers 16 may be separate components or may be a part of the core assembly 20 without departing from the meaning and scope of the disclosure. The spacers 16 are inboard on the first core 28, the second core 30, and the third core 32 to reduce the overall stiffness of the plate 12. As a result, thermal stress is reduced as the first core 28, the second core 30, the third core 32 expand or contract. For the purpose of simplicity various other components of the heat exchanger 10 are not labeled in
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Currently, there are challenges for controlling uneven thermal expansion of the core assembly 20 of the heat exchanger 10 having various cores for oil cooling, turbo compressed air cooling, engine coolant core, among others and other components for an engine. During operation of the heat exchanger 10, the plate 12 having the bend enhancement regions 18 that offer flexibility to the plate 12 to accommodate any uneven expansion of the first core 28, the second core 30 and the third core 32. The plate 12 is made from a sheet metal that is manufactured easily and mounted within any frameless configuration without requiring a complete dismantling of the core assembly 20. As a result, the maintenance cost and machine down time is reduced. The plate 12 is light weight, and easily fabricable.
Referring to
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A heat exchanger adapted to be coupled with a platform, the heat exchanger comprising:
- two or more core units having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of each core unit being fixed to the platform;
- a plate disposed along the upper surface of the core units, the plate having a plurality of bend enhancement regions and a plurality of holes, each bend enhancement region being placed at a predetermined distance from the nearest adjacent holes; and
- a plurality of spacers interposed between the plate and the upper surface to couple the plate to the upper surface, the plurality of spacers adapted to provide offset between the plate from the core units;
- wherein, during operation of the heat exchanger, each bend enhancement region is configured to facilitate flexibility of the plate to accommodate any uneven expansion of the two or more core units.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2016
Publication Date: Jul 14, 2016
Applicant: CATERPILLAR INC. (Peoria, IL)
Inventors: Joseph L. Kennedy (Peoria, IL), Neil A. Terry (Edelstein, IL), Mahesh K. Mokire (Dunlap, IL), Bradley Wrage (Yates City, IL), Deepak B. Thakkar (Peoria, IL)
Application Number: 15/075,362