MICROCHANNEL HEAT EXCHANGER
Disclosed is a microchannel heat exchanger (10) including at least one manifold (14) for distributing fluid and a plurality of tubes (12) extending from the at least one manifold (14). At least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) has a substantially curvilinear cross-section and includes a plurality of ports (24) extending from a first end of each tube (12) to a second end of each tube (12), the ports (24) capable of carrying fluid therethrough. A plurality of fins (16) are located along a length of the plurality of tubes (24). Further disclosed is a method for extracting thermal energy from a flow via a microchannel heat exchanger (10).
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The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to microchannel heat exchangers. More specifically, this disclosure relates to tube configurations for microchannel heat exchangers.
Microchannel heat exchangers find use in a wide variety of applications, including automotive, residential and aerospace. As shown in
According to one aspect of the invention, a microchannel heat exchanger includes at least one manifold for distributing fluid and a plurality of tubes extending from the at least one manifold. At least one tube of the plurality of tubes has a substantially curvilinear cross-section and includes a plurality of ports extending from a first end of each tube to a second end of each tube, the ports capable of carrying fluid therethrough. A plurality of fins are located along a length of the plurality of tubes.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method for extracting thermal energy from a flow includes urging a coolant from a manifold into a plurality of tubes in flow communication with the manifold. At least one tube of the plurality of tubes has a substantially curvilinear cross-section and includes a plurality of ports extending from a first end of each tube to a second end of each tube, the ports capable of carrying fluid therethrough. The coolant is urged along a length of the tubes via the plurality of ports. The flow is urged across a plurality of fins in thermal communication with the plurality of tubes and thermal energy is transferred to the coolant via the plurality of fins.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONIllustrated in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Referring again to
Referring now to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is a multi-pass configuration, meaning that each tube 12 may pass through the plurality of fins 16 more than once. As shown in
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A microchannel heat exchanger (10) comprising:
- at least one manifold (14) for distributing fluid;
- a plurality of tubes (12) extending from the at least one manifold (14), at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) having:
- a substantially curvilinear cross-section; and
- a plurality of ports (24) extending from a first end of each tube (12) to a second end of each tube (12), the ports (24) capable of carrying fluid therethrough; and
- a plurality of fins (16) disposed along a length of the plurality of tubes (12).
2. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) includes a hollow portion (28) extending along its length, the plurality of ports (24) disposed between the hollow portion (28) and an exterior wall (30) of the tube (12).
3. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 2 wherein the hollow portion (28) is plugged at an end to prevent fluid from entering the hollow portion (28).
4. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) is substantially circular in cross-section.
5. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) has a substantially airfoil-shaped cross-section.
6. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein at least two tubes (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) are connected at one end via a u-shaped connector (40).
7. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein at least two tubes (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) are configured to improve interactions with airflow therebetween to enhance heat transfer.
8. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein each fin (16) of the plurality of fins (16) includes at least one fin opening (20) through which at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) passes.
9. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein the at least one fin opening (20) includes a collar (22) to determine spacing between adjacent fins (16) of the plurality of fins (16).
10. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein at least one fin (16) of the plurality of fins (16) includes at least one louver (18) to enhance heat transfer capability of the plurality of fins (16).
11. The microchannel heat exchanger (10) of claim 1 wherein each port (24) of the plurality of ports (24) is about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm in width.
12. A method for extracting thermal energy from a flow comprising:
- urging a coolant from a manifold (14) into a plurality of tubes (12) in flow communication with the manifold (14), at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) including:
- a substantially curvilinear cross-section; and
- a plurality of ports (24) extending from a first end of each tube (12) to a second end of each tube (12), the ports (24) capable of carrying fluid therethrough;
- urging the coolant along a length of the tubes (12) via the plurality of ports (24);
- urging a flow across a plurality of fins (16) in thermal communication with the plurality of tubes (12); and
- transferring thermal energy to the coolant via the plurality of fins (16).
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) includes a hollow portion (28) extending alone its length, the plurality of ports (24) disposed between the hollow portion (28) and an exterior wall (30) of the tube (12).
14. The method of claim 13 comprising plugging the hollow portion (28) at an end to prevent fluid from entering the hollow portion (28).
15. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) is substantially circular in cross-section.
16. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) has a substantially airfoil-shaped cross-section.
17. The method of claim 12 comprising:
- flowing the coolant through a first tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12);
- flowing the coolant through a u-shaped connector (40) disposed between the first tube (12) and a second tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12); and
- flowing the coolant through the second tube (12).
18. The method of claim 12 wherein at least two tubes (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) are configured to improve interactions with airflow therebetween to enhance heat transfer.
19. The method of claim 12 wherein each fin (16) of the plurality of fins (16) includes at least one fin opening (20) through which at least one tube (12) of the plurality of tubes (12) passes.
20. The method of claim 12 comprising urging the flow past at least one louver (18) disposed in the plurality of fins (16) to enhance heat transfer capability.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 21, 2009
Publication Date: Oct 21, 2010
Applicant: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION (Windsor Locks, CT)
Inventors: Abbas A. Alahyari (Manchester, CT), Mohsen Farzad (Glastonbury, CT)
Application Number: 12/426,980
International Classification: F28F 9/02 (20060101); F28F 1/24 (20060101);