Abstract: A heat exchanger has a corner metal temperature attenuator that may attenuate a localized stack wise temperature gradient. The corner metal temperature attenuator may locally reduce or eliminate the source of large amplitude temperature swings near the end of the stack of passages which are correlated with the areas of greatest low cycle fatigue (LCF) damage. The corner metal temperature attenuator may locally block the inlet flow to every other (alternating) passage in the stack, beginning with the second passage inward from each end of the stack. The width of the blocked flow at any passage can be minimized using existing analytical methods to determine the threshold at which the metal damage index (DI) falls below a predetermined threshold at that location. Since the damage index naturally attenuates toward the passage stack midplane, the width of the blocked flow may also be reduced moving toward the stack midplane and eventually may go to zero blockage for all remaining alternating passages.

Abstract: A heat exchanger has a corner metal temperature attenuator that may attenuate a localized stack wise temperature gradient. The corner metal temperature attenuator may locally reduce or eliminate the source of large amplitude temperature swings near the end of the stack of passages which are correlated with the areas of greatest low cycle fatigue (LCF) damage. The corner metal temperature attenuator may locally block the inlet flow to every other (alternating) passage in the stack, beginning with the second passage inward from each end of the stack. The width of the blocked flow at any passage can be minimized using existing analytical methods to determine the threshold at which the metal damage index (DI) falls below a predetermined threshold at that location. Since the damage index naturally attenuates toward the passage stack midplane, the width of the blocked flow may also be reduced moving toward the stack midplane and eventually may go to zero blockage for all remaining alternating passages.

Abstract: A compact heat battery (CHB) may comprise a casing, a tube containment sheath, a bundle of hermetically sealed phase change material (PCM) encapsulation tubes, and encapsulation tube inserts. An insulation envelope and insulation shield may be positioned radially outward from the casing. As an alternative the casing, insulation, and insulation shield can be integrated into a double-walled vacuum cylinder. The cylindrical containment sheath can open and close along a split-seam in response to radial expansion of the tubes. The natural packing of the encapsulation tubes within the containment sheath can distribute a heat transfer fluid through the interstitial spaces between the encapsulation tubes. Floating baffle plates provide for axial containment and expansion of the encapsulation tube bundle. The CHB of the present invention can allow for increased tube density, providing increased heat absorption and decreased CHB dimensions.

Abstract: A compact heat battery (CHB) may comprise a casing, a tube containment sheath, a bundle of hermetically sealed phase change material (PCM) encapsulation tubes, and encapsulation tube inserts. An insulation envelope and insulation shield may be positioned radially outward from the casing. As an alternative the casing, insulation, and insulation shield can be integrated into a double-walled vacuum cylinder. The cylindrical containment sheath can open and close along a split-seam in response to radial expansion of the tubes. The natural packing of the encapsulation tubes within the containment sheath can distribute a heat transfer fluid through the interstitial spaces between the encapsulation tubes. Floating baffle plates provide for axial containment and expansion of the encapsulation tube bundle. The CHB of the present invention can allow for increased tube density, providing increased heat absorption and decreased CHB dimensions.