Heat Exchange System

Abstract

The invention relates to a heat exchange system with a heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) including an inflow area (2) and an outflow area (3), wherein for the exchange of heat between a transport fluid (4) and a heat transfer agent (5) flowing through the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) in the operational state, the transport fluid (4) can be conducted via an arriving flow area (200) of the heat exchange system and via the inflow area (2) to the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102), can be brought into flow contact with the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) and can be led away again from the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) via the outflow area (3). In accordance with the invention the heat exchange system (100) includes an automatic cleaning system (7) for the removal of contaminants (6).

Description

The invention relates to a heat exchange system in accordance with the preamble of the independent claim 1.

The use of heat exchange systems is known in a number of applications from the prior art which can practically not be overseen. Heat exchangers are used in refrigeration systems such as in common domestic refrigerators, in air-conditioning systems for buildings or in vehicles of all kinds, in particular in motor vehicles, aircraft and ships, as water radiators or as oil radiators in combustion engines, as condensers or evaporators in refrigerant circuits and in further innumerable different applications which are all well-known to the person of ordinary skill in the art.

In this respect, there are different possibilities of sensibly classifying the heat exchangers from very different applications. One attempt is to carry out a distinguishing by the structure or by the manufacture of the different types of heat exchangers.

A division can thus be made in accordance with so-called “finned heat exchangers”, on the one hand, and “minichannel” or “microchannel” heat exchangers, on the other hand.

The finned heat exchangers which have been well-known for a very long time serve, like all types of heat exchangers, for the transfer of heat between two media, e.g., but not only, for the transfer from a cooling medium to air or vice versa, such as is known, for example, from a classical domestic refrigerator in which heat is emitted to ambient air via the heat exchanger for the production of a cooling capacity in the interior of the refrigerator.

The ambient medium outside the heat exchanger, that is e.g. water, oil or frequently simply the ambient air, which takes up the heat, for example, or from which heat is transferred to the heat exchanger, is either cooled or heated accordingly in this process. The second medium can e.g. be a liquid cold carrier or heat carrier or an evaporating or condensing refrigerant. In any case, the ambient medium, that is e.g. the air, has a substantially lower heat transfer coefficient than the second medium, that is e.g. the refrigerant, which circulates in the heat exchange system. This is balanced by highly different heat transfer surfaces for the two media. The medium with the high heat transfer coefficient flows in the pipe which has a very enlarged surface at the outer side at which the heat transfer e.g. to the air takes place by thin metal sheets (ribs, fins).

FIG. 4 shows a simple example of an element of such a finned heat exchanger which is known per se. In practice, the heat exchanger is formed in this respect by a plurality of such elements in accordance with FIG. 4.

The ratio of the outer surface to the inner surface depends in this respect on the fin geometry (=pipe diameter, pipe arrangement and pipe spacing) as well as on the fin spacing. The fin spacing is selected differently for different applications. However, it should be as small as possible from a purely thermodynamic aspect, but not so small that the pressure loss on the air side is too large. An efficient optimum is at approximately 2 mm, which is a typical value for the condenser and the heat exchanger.

The manufacture of these so-called finned heat exchangers takes place in accordance with a standardized process known for a long time. The fins are stamped using a press and a special tool and are placed in packets with one another. Subsequently, the pipes are pushed in and expanded either mechanically or hydraulically so that a very good contact, and thus a good heat transfer, arises between the pipe and the fin. The individual pipes are then connected to one another, often soldered to one another, by bends and inlet tanks and outlet tanks.

The efficiency is in this respect substantively determined by the fact that the heat which is transferred between the fin surface and the air has to be transferred to the pipe via heat conduction through the fins. This heat transfer is the more effective, the higher the conductivity or the thickness of the fin is, but also the smaller the spacing between the pipes is. One speaks of fin efficiency here. Aluminum is therefore primarily used as the fin material today which has a high heat conductivity (approx. 220 W/mK) at economic conditions. The pipe spacing should be as small as possible; however, this results in the problem that many pipes are needed. Many pipes mean high costs since the pipes (made from copper as rule) are much more expensive than the thin aluminum fins. These material costs could be reduced in that the pipe diameter and the wall thickness are reduced, i.e. a heat exchanger is made with a number of small pipes instead of with a few larger pipes. This solution would be ideal thermodynamically: Very many pipes at small distances with small diameters. A substantial cost factor is, however, also the labor time for the widening and soldering of the pipes. It would increase extremely with such a geometry.

A new class of heat exchangers, so-called minichannel or also microchannel heat exchangers, was therefore already developed some years ago which are manufactured using a completely different process and almost correspond to the ideal of a finned heat exchanger: many small pipes at small intervals.

Instead of small pipes, however, extruded aluminum sections are used in the minichannel heat exchanger which have very small channels with a diameter of e.g. approximately 1 mm. Such an extruded section likewise known per se is shown schematically e.g. in FIG. 3. In practice in this respect, a heat exchanger can already manage, depending on the required heat capacity, with one single extruded section as a central heat exchange element. To be able to achieve higher heat transfer capacities, a plurality of extruded sections can naturally also be provided simultaneously in one single heat exchanger which are connected to one another, e.g. soldered to one another, in suitable combinations, for example via inlet feeds and outlet feeds.

Such sections can e.g. be manufactured in suitable extrusion processes simply and in a variety of shapes from a plurality of materials. However, other manufacturing processes are also known for the manufacture of minichannel heat exchangers such as the assembly of suitably shaped sectional metal sheets or other suitable processes.

These sections cannot, and also do not have to, be widened and they are also not pushed into stamped fin packets.

Instead, for example, sheet metal strips, in particular aluminum strips, are placed between two sections disposed close to one another (common spacings, for example, <1 cm) so that a heat exchanger packet arises by alternating placing of sheet metal strips and sections next to one another. This packet is then soldered completely in a soldering furnace.

A heat exchanger having a very high fin efficiency and a very small filling volume (inner channel side) arises due to the narrow spacings and the small channel diameters. The further advantages of this technique are the avoidance of material pairings (corrosion), the low weight (no copper), the high pressure stability (approx. 100 bar) as well as the compact construction shape (typical depth of a heat exchanger e.g. 20 mm).

Minichannel heat exchangers became established in mobile use in the course of the 1990s. The low weight, the small block depth as well as the restricted dimensions required here are the ideal conditions for this. Automotive radiators as well as condensers and evaporators for automotive air-conditioning systems are today realized almost exclusively with minichannel heat exchangers.

In the stationary area, larger heat exchangers are usually needed, on the one hand; on the other hand, the emphasis here is less on the weight and the compact design and more on the ideal price-performance ratio. Minichannel heat exchangers were previously too limited in dimensions to be considered for this purpose. Many small modules would have had to be connected to one another in a complex and/or expensive manner. In addition, the use of aluminum is relatively high in the extruded sections so that a cost advantage was also practically not to be expected from the material use aspect.

Due to the high volumes in the automotive sector, the manufacturing processes for minichannel heat exchangers have become standardized and have improved so that this technology can today be called mature. The soldering furnace size has also increased in the meantime so that heat exchangers can already be produced in the size of approximately 1×2 m.

The initial difficulties with the connection system have been remedied. In the meantime, there are a plurality of patented processes on how the inlet tanks and outlet tanks can be soldered in.

However, above all the price of copper, which has increased greatly with respect to aluminum, has had the result that this technology is also becoming very interesting for stationary use.

A problem underlying all of the previously known heat exchange systems is in this respect the contamination of the system components of the heat exchange system which basically cannot be prevented in any mode of operation.

Scavenged heat exchangers, such as for example, condensers or heat exchangers often work in contaminated surroundings. The contamination of the air can be natural (pollen, insects etc.) or of industrial type (swarf, tire wear, flour dust, dust from boxes etc.). Many of the contaminants are caught on the scavenged heat exchanger and obstruct it over time.

The heat exchangers in which, for example, the cooling air is guided past the heat exchanger with the aid of corresponding fans, can become contaminated more and more over time by such types and other types of contaminations contained in the cooling air, which, for example, can lead to a reduction of the heat transfer coefficient of the surface of the heat exchanger so that the heat transfer performance is considerably reduced. This can lead to increased costs of operation or in extreme cases the heat exchange system can no longer deliver the required heat exchange performance which in worst cases can lead to serious damage.

The consequence of the contaminations is thus very often that the resistance on the air side is increased and that thereby the air flow volume is reduced and also that the heat transfer is reduced. The previously described effects lead to the the energy consumption of a cooling system being increased with increasing contamination up to a functional stand-still.

This can have the effect that a connected machine to be cooled, such as a data processing unit or a combustion engine or any other type of machine can overheat and thereby become damaged. But also damage to goods, such as for example foods, which are stored in a cooling house can, for example, go off if insufficiently cooled.

To prevent such serious damage and to counteract such contaminations the heat exchanger either has to be cleaned regularly in a complex and/or expensive process or be provided with a corresponding filter. However, these filters must also be cleaned regularly. In particular the associated cooling machines must generally be switched off for the purpose of cleaning the heat exchanger, or the heat transfer performance of the heat exchanger is strongly negatively influenced during the cleaning procedure.

In this respect with known systems the cleaning of heat exchange systems is already awkward and thus complex and expensive purely for constructional reasons, for example because the heat exchanger is not easily directly accessible in the built in state. With many known heat exchange systems it is thus necessary to open a housing to, for example, clean the heat exchanger itself or other essential components in the inner part of the housing of the heat exchange system. In this respect the opening of the housing is not only complex and/or expensive and awkward. Also in this case the correspondingly connected heating machines must be switched off as already mentioned, since otherwise an opening of the housing of the heat exchange system is not allowed purely for reasons of security or it is not possible at all for technical reasons in the operational state.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide an improved heat exchange system which overcomes the known problems from the prior art and in particular is easy to clean, preferably can also be cleaned in the operational state, with a heat transfer performance of the heat exchanger and/or of the total heat exchange system, essentially also not reducing over a longer operational time but also guarantees an essentially constant pre-settable heat transfer performance over a long operational time.

The subjects satisfying the object of the invention are characterized by the features of the independent claim 1.

The dependent claims relate to particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The invention thus relates to a heat exchange system with a heat exchanger including an inflow area and an outflow area, with the transport fluid being able to be supplied to the heat exchanger via an arriving flow area of the heat exchange system and via the inflow area, being able to be brought into flow contact with the heat exchanger and being able to be led away from the heat exchanger again via the outflow area for the exchange of heat between a transport fluid and a heat transfer agent flowing through the heat exchanger in the operational state of the heat exchanger. In accordance with the invention the heat exchange system includes an automatic cleaning system for the removal of contaminants.

This means that, the present invention specifically relates to an automatic cleaning system such that with a preferred embodiment either a filter (e.g. a fly grid) provided in front of the heat exchanger or the heat exchanger itself is cleaned automatically. As will be explained in more detail later with reference to specific embodiments, this can be achieved, for example, in that the filter is rolled over a type of wiper or that respectively the filter or the heat exchanger itself is automatically cleaned by a type of wiper or, however, that the filter per se at least partially envelope the heat exchanger and, for example, permanently revolves about the heat exchanger. It is thereby achieved that the contamination accommodated on the inlet side of the heat exchanger is directly carried away again on the opposite side of the heat exchanger by the air flow whereby the filter is automatically cleaned.

In this respect in a specific embodiment, the heat exchanger can also be situated in a housing the heat exchange system, with the automatic cleaning system then being provided alternatively or additionally at an inflow area of the housing of the heat exchange system.

It is thus essential for the invention that an automatic cleaning system is provided which allows the cleaning specifically of the heat exchanger and/or of a contamination filter at the heat exchanger or an inflow area of the heat exchange system and/or a contamination filter at the inflow area of the heat exchange system also in the operational state, with a heat transform performance of the heat exchanger essentially also not reducing over a longer period of operation, but rather an essentially constant presettable heat transfer performance also being guaranteed over a longer period of operation.

In those cases where the cleaning cannot be performed in the operational state of the heat exchanger or of the heat exchange system for certain reasons, the invention can also be advantageously used since for the cleaning with the automatic cleaning system in accordance with the invention the heat exchange system does not have to be demounted or taken apart or opened for the cleaning, whereby the cleaning is significantly simplified and is therefore more efficient and cheaper than with the previously known heat exchange systems. In particular, but not only, because at least less personal has to be provided for the cleaning.

In a preferred embodiment the cleaning system in accordance with the invention includes a dust catching grid and/or a contamination filter, with a contamination wiper and/or a washer being provided for the automatic cleaning of the heat exchange system, i.e. especially, for example, for the automatic cleaning of the dust catching grid or of the contamination filter, said contamination wiper and/or washer being operated automatically in accordance with the invention as will be discussed in more detail further on.

In a specific embodiment, a contamination filter is provided at the inflow area of the heat exchanger and/or at the arriving flow area of the heat exchange system and/or at the outflow area of the heat exchanger and contaminants of all kind, such as, dust, soot, insects, etc. can be filtered by said contamination filter from the transport fluid sucked in, i.e., for example, from the air which is conducted via the heat exchanger for the heat exchange.

In an embodiment particularly important for practice, a deflection device, in particular a deflection roller, is in this respect provided with the contamination filter enveloping, the inflow area and the outflow area of the heat exchanger in such way that a suction side of the contamination filter can be guided from the inflow area via the deflection device in front of the outflow area. In this embodiment in the operational state the contamination filter can, for example, permanently revolve about the heat exchanger, whereby it is achieved that the contamination taken up by the contamination filter on the suction side at the inflow area is carried away again at the opposite outflow area of the heat exchanger by the air outflowing through the outflow area and is conducted away by said air.

It is naturally also possible that such a revolving contamination filter is not arranged directly at the heat exchanger, but that it is arranged in front of the arriving flow area of the heat exchange system for the taking up of contaminants, with a contamination filter being brought, with the contamination filter being able to be suitably brought from the inflow area to the outflowing air flow by a transport and deflection device, e.g. in a permanently revolving manner so that the contamination filter is constantly freed from contaminant by the outflowing air flow.

To increase the heat exchange performance, the heat exchange system can in particular also be formed from a plurality of heat exchange modules, in particular by identical heat exchange modules.

The heat transfer performance and/or the performance density of the heat transfer can thereby be adapted simply and in an efficient way through a modular design of the heat exchange system of the present invention by the repetition of preferably identical heat exchange modules, or by removing identical heat exchange modules from the heat exchange system.

For a further increase of the performance density of the heat transfer between the heat transfer agent and the transport fluid and/or for the increase of a heat transfer rate between the heat transfer agent and the transport fluid a cooling device can be provided in the known manner for the cooling of the heat exchanger, in particular a fan for the production of a gas flow can be provided.

In this respect, the heat exchanger itself, as known per se from the prior art, can be made by a plurality of microchannels as a microchannel heat exchanger and/or the heat exchanger can also be made as a finned heat exchanger with cooling fins. Specifically, the heat exchange system is made as a combination heat exchange system of the finned heat exchanger and the microchannel heat exchanger if specific demands prefer such a construction shape.

To improve the possibilities of regulating the heat transfer capacity of a heat exchange system in accordance with the invention, a sealing, in particular an air sealing, can be provided for the regulation of a flow rate of the transport fluid which can be controlled and/or regulated either manually or via a control unit in dependence on a presettable operating parameter.

The components of the heat exchange system in accordance with the invention, i.e. for example, the heat exchanger and/or a supply line for the heat transfer agent and/or a removal line for the heat transfer agent and/or a possibly provided cleaning flap for cleaning the interior of the heat exchange system and/or every other component of a heat exchange system in accordance with the invention can be connected to every other component of the heat exchange system by a universal connector element such that, for example, a heat exchanger module can be particularly easily added or removed. In particular the cleaning flap and the inlet manifolds and outlet manifolds and the collection pipes for the heat transfer agent or also sheet metal parts and other modules and components of the heat exchange system are preferably connected with a universal connector element. In this respect the universal connector elements are particularly suitable not only for a vertical assembly but also for a horizontal assembly of the heat exchange systems or of the heat exchanger modules.

As a rule, but not necessarily, a control unit, in particular a control unit having a data processing system for the control of the cooling device and/or of the cleaning system and/or of the air sealing and/or of an operating or state parameter of the heat transfer agent and/or of another operating parameter of the heat exchange system is provided for the control and/or regulation of the heat exchange system, such as is known to the skilled person per se from the prior art with existing heat exchange systems.

The heat exchange system or the heat exchange module and/or the heat exchanger and/or a boundary surface of the heat exchange module, specifically the total heat exchange system, is particularly advantageously produced from a metal and/or a metal alloy, in particular from a single alloy, and can in particular be produced from stainless steel, specifically from aluminum or from an aluminum alloy, with a sacrificial metal preferably being provided as corrosion protection and/or with the heat exchange system being at least partly provided with a protective layer, in particular with a corrosion protective layer. Particularly the inlet tanks and outlet tanks are preferably produced for high pressures, for example for operation with CO₂, from very strong materials such as stainless steel.

A heat exchange system in accordance with the invention is specifically a radiator, in particular a radiator for a vehicle, specifically for a land vehicle, for an aircraft or for a water vehicle, or a radiator, a capacitor or an evaporator for a mobile or stationary heating plant, refrigerating plant or air-conditioning plant, in particular a radiator apparatus for a machine, a data processing system or for a building or for another apparatus which can be operated with a heat exchange system.

The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the drawing. There are shown in a schematic representation:

FIG. 1 a first embodiment of a heat exchange system in accordance with the invention with a contamination wiper;

FIG. 2 a second embodiment with a contamination filter and a deflection device for the contamination filter;

FIG. 3 a heat exchanger with microchannels;

FIG. 4 an element of a finned heat exchanger;

FIG. 5 a further embodiment in accordance with FIG. 2 with an air sealing;

FIG. 6 a heat exchange system with a cleaning system at the arriving flow area.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a first embodiment of a heat exchange system in accordance with the invention with a contamination wiper which in the following will be provided as a whole with the reference numeral 100. In this respect the heat exchange system 100 in FIG. 1 is shown during a cleaning procedure in the operation state of the heat exchange system 100.

The heat exchange system 100 in accordance with the invention of FIG. 1 is a modular heat exchange system 100 and includes as an essential element a heat exchange module 1000 with a heat exchanger 1 for the exchange of heat between a heat transfer agent 5, for example a cooling liquid 5 or a vaporizing medium 5 and a transport fluid 4, for example air 4. In the present case the heat exchanger 1 is a microchannel heat exchanger 101 known per se with a plurality of microchannels 9. The micro-channels 9 of the heat exchanger 101 are connected via a connection system, not shown in FIG. 1, which is known in principle to the person of ordinary skill in the art, for the exchange of heat transfer agent 5 to a cooling machine, also not shown.

In a manner known per se the cooling machine is flow connected to the connection system including an inlet channel with an inlet segment of the heat exchanger 101 and an outlet channel with an outlet segment of the heat exchanger 101 such that the heat transfer agent 5 for the exchange of heat with the air 4 can be conducted from the inlet channel via the inlet segment by the plurality of microchannels 9 of the heat exchanger 1 and finally to the outlet channel via the outlet segment.

An outer boundary of the heat exchanger module 1000 and/or of the heat exchange system 100 is in this respect formed by an inflow area 2 of the heat exchanger 1 and an outflow area 300 of the heat exchange system 1 such that in the operational state for the exchange of heat between the transport fluid 4, whose flow direction is illustrated symbolically by the arrows 40, and the heat transfer agent 5 flowing through the heat exchanger 1, the transport fluid 4 can be supplied to the heat exchange module 1000 via the inflow area can be brought into flow contact with the heat exchanger 1 and can be led away from the heat exchange module 1000 or from the heat exchange system 1 again via the outflow area 300.

So that the heat can be exchanged better between the air 4 and the heat transfer agent 5, a cooling device 11 is additionally provided, in the present case a fan 11, with which a quantity of air 4 can be controlled which is conveyed through the heat exchange module 1000 per time unit.

In accordance with the present invention a cleaning system 7, 71 in the form of a contamination wiper 71 is furthermore provided as a central element. The contamination wiper 71 is automatically, preferably permanently, moved to and frow over the contamination filter 8 in a respectively alternating direction of the double arrow P on operation of the heat exchange system 100 such that contaminants 6 which are deposited on the contamination filter 8 by the suction of air 4 through it in the operational state are permanently removed, whereby the heat exchanger 1 also produces an essentially constant heat transfer performance over a long operational time because no contaminants can accumulate permanently on the heat exchanger 1 and/or on the contamination filter 8.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a heat exchange system 100 in accordance with the invention with a contamination filter 8 and a deflection device 72 for the contamination filter 8.

The heat exchange system of FIG. 2 thus differs from that in FIG. 1 in that not a contamination wiper 71 is provided as a cleaning system 7 but that a deflection device 72 is provided in the form of a deflection roller 721, with the contamination filter 8 enveloping the inflow area 2 and the outflow area 3 of the heat exchanger 1, 101, 102, such that a suction side 21 of the contamination filter 8 can be conducted from the inflow area 2 via the deflection device 72 to in front of the outflow area 3.

In this embodiment which is particularly important in practice, in the operational state, the contamination filter 8 can, for example, permanently revolve about the heat exchanger 1, whereby it is achieved that the contaminant 6 taken up on the contamination filter 8 on the suction side 21 at the inflow area 2 or at the arriving area 200 can be carried away again at the opposite outflow area 3 of the heat exchanger 1 by the air 4 flowing out through the outflow area 3 of the heat exchanger 1 and can be led away to the outside by said air.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic section of a heat exchanger 1, 101 in accordance with FIG. 1 with microchannels 9. Instead of small pipes as are used for classic finned heat exchangers 102 in accordance with FIG. 4, as previously mentioned, with microchannel heat exchangers 101, which are frequently also referred to as a minichannel heat exchangers 101, for example aluminium extrusions are used which have very many small channels 9 with a cross-section of, e.g. approximately 1 mm. The heat exchanger 1, 101 of FIG. 3 can, for example, be manufactured in a suitable extrusion method easily and in a plurality of shapes from a plurality of materials. In this respect the heat exchanger 1 in accordance with FIG. 3 can in another embodiment not explicitly shown in FIG. 3 also be produced by other production methods, such as, for example, by the combination of suitably shaped sectioned sheet metal parts or other suitable methods.

In contrast to FIG. 3 FIG. 4 shows an element of a finned heat exchanger 1, 102 as is known per se, with cooling fins 10 which could be used instead of a microchannel heat exchanger 101 in an embodiment of the present invention. The heat transfer agent 5 flows through the pipe shaped element of the finned heat exchanger 102 which in the operational state normally exchanges the heat via the cooling fins 10 with the passing flowing air 4. It is to be understood that in practice the heat exchanger 1 can generally be formed from a plurality of elements in accordance with FIG. 4.

In a very special embodiment of the present invention which for reasons of space is not explicitly illustrated with reference to a drawing, the heat exchanger 1 is used as a combination heat exchanger 1, 101, 102. This means a heat exchange system 100 of the present invention can for very special applications simultaneously include besides a heat exchanger 101, with a plurality of microchannels 9, a finned heat exchanger 102 with cooling fins 10.

A further embodiment in accordance with FIG. 2 is shown schematically with an air sealing 12 in FIG. 5. The air sealing 12 is preferably made in the form of a sun blind or of a Venetian blind, including individual sun blind elements 121 or Venetian blind elements 121, so that the degree of covering of the heat exchanger 1 can be changed variably, preferably in electronically controlled and/or regulated form, in that the air sealing is removed in a known manner, wholly or partly for example, from the surface of the heat exchanger 1 by gathering together the individual sun blind elements 121 or Venetian blind elements 121 or in that an angle between the individual Venetian blind elements 121 and the surface of the heat exchanger 1 is changed so that the effective passage area for the air 4 can be varied. A regulation of the heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger 1 is thereby possible in a simple manner without changing the flow dynamics in the cooling system.

Finally, FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of a different embodiment of a heat exchange system 100 in accordance with the invention in which the heat exchanger 1 is provided inside a closed housing G of the heat exchange system 1.

In contrast to FIG. 1 the contamination filter 8 is not provided directly at the heat exchanger 1 here, but at a housing wall of the heat exchange system 100 forming the arriving flow area 200. Correspondingly the cleaning system 7 adapted as a contamination wiper 71 is not only provided at the housing G but also at the contamination filter 8 in front of the arriving flow area 200.

It is to be understood that in a further embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 6 in addition to the contamination wiper 71 provided in front of the arriving flow area 200 another cleaning system, for example in accordance with FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or FIG. 5 can also be provided directly at the heat exchanger 1 so that for specific applications an even better cleaning effect and/or an even better protection against contamination of the heat exchanger 1 can be guaranteed.

It is understood that the embodiments described within the framework of this application are only to be understood as examples. This means that the invention is not solely restricted to the specific embodiments described. All suitable combinations of the presented embodiments are in particular likewise covered by the invention.

Claims

1. A heat exchange system with a heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) including an inflow area (2) and an outflow area (3), wherein for the exchange of heat between a transport fluid (4) and a heat transfer agent (5) flowing through the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) in the operational state of the heat exchanger, the transport fluid (4) can be conducted via an arriving flow area (200) of the heat exchange system and via the inflow area (2) of the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) and can be brought into flowing contact with the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) and can be led away again from the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) via the outflow area (3), characterized in that the heat exchange system includes an automatic cleaning system (7) for the removal of contaminants (6).

2. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein for the automatic cleaning of the heat exchange system a contamination wiper (7, 71) and/or a washer (7, 71) is provided.

3. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein a contamination filter (8) is provided at the inflow area (2) and/or at the arriving flow area (200) and/or at the outflow area (3).

4. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein a deflection device (72), in particular a deflection roller (72, 721), is provided, and the contamination filter (8) envelops the inflow area (2) and the outflow area (3) of the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) such that a suction side (21) of the contamination filter (8) can be guided from the inflow area (2) via the deflection device (72) in front of the outflow area (3).

5. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (1) is formed by a plurality of microchannels (9) as a microchannel heat exchanger (1, 101) and/or wherein the heat exchanger is formed as a finned heat exchanger (1, 102) with cooling fins (10).

6. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heat exchange system is of modular design formed from at least one heat exchanger module (1000).

7. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1 wherein, for the increase of a heat transfer rate between the heat transfer agent (5) and the transport fluid (4), a cooling device (11) for the cooling of the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102), in particular a fan (11) for the generation of a gas flow (40) is provided.

8. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein a partition (12), in particular an air sealing (12) is provided for the regulation of a flow rate of the transport fluid (4).

9. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heat exchange system is formed as a combination heat exchange system of the finned heat exchanger (1, 102) and the microchannel heat exchanger (1, 101).

10. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1 wherein, for the control and/or regulation of the heat exchange system, a control unit, in particular a control unit having a data processing unit is provided for the control of a cooling machine and/or of the cooling device (11) and/or of the cleaning system (7) and/or of the partition (12) and/or of an operation parameter status parameter of the heat transfer agent (5) and/or a different operation parameter of the heat exchange system.

11. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger module (1000) and/or the heat exchanger (1, 101, 102) and/or the complete heat exchange system is manufactured from a metal and/or a metal alloy, in particular from a single metal or a single metal alloy, in particular from stainless steel, especially from aluminum or an aluminium alloy, wherein a sacrificial metal is provided as a corrosion protector, and/or wherein the heat exchange system is at least partially provided with a protective coating, in particular a corrosion protective coating.

12. A heat exchange system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heat exchange system is a radiator, in particular a radiator for a vehicle, more specifically for a land vehicle, for an aircraft or for a water vehicle, or is a radiator, or a condenser or a vaporizer for a mobile heating device or for a stationary heating device, or is a cooling device or is an air conditioning unit in particular a cooling apparatus for a machine, or for a data processing unit or for a building.