Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D7/00—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary tubular conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall
  • F28D7/10—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary tubular conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall the conduits being arranged one within the other, e.g. concentrically
  • F28D7/106—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary tubular conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall the conduits being arranged one within the other, e.g. concentrically consisting of two coaxial conduits or modules of two coaxial conduits
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C48/00—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C48/25—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
  • B29C48/78—Thermal treatment of the extrusion moulding material or of preformed parts or layers, e.g. by heating or cooling
  • B29C48/80—Thermal treatment of the extrusion moulding material or of preformed parts or layers, e.g. by heating or cooling at the plasticising zone, e.g. by heating cylinders
  • B29C48/83—Heating or cooling the cylinders
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F13/00—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing
  • F28F13/02—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by influencing fluid boundary
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F13/00—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing
  • F28F13/06—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media
  • F28F13/12—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media by creating turbulence, e.g. by stirring, by increasing the force of circulation
  • F28F13/125—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media by creating turbulence, e.g. by stirring, by increasing the force of circulation by stirring
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C48/00—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C48/03—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor characterised by the shape of the extruded material at extrusion
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
  • F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
  • F28D2021/0077—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for tempering, e.g. with cooling or heating circuits for temperature control of elements

Definitions

• the invention is concerned with new methods and apparatus for the transfer of heat energy between body surfaces and heat transfer fluids, wherein the surfaces are contacted by the fluids for such transfer.
• Such apparatus almost universally is referred to as a heat exchanger.
• the invention is concerned with new methods and apparatus for cooling a surface of a body in which heat energy is being produced, or for heating a surface of a body in which heat energy is being consumed, by contacting the body surface with heat transfer fluid.
• methods for transferring heat energy to and from a body surface respectively from and to heat transfer fluid that is introduced into and removed from a space bounded by the body surface for heat transfer contact with the body surface comprising: applying heat transfer fluid introduced into the space to the body surface from a plurality of delivery inlets in the form of a corresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams impinging on the body surface; and thereafter removing heat transfer fluid rebounding from the surface from the space through a plurality of spaced removal outlets distributed among the delivery streams to establish corresponding flow paths for the heat transfer fluid between each delivery inlet and one or more removal outlets.
• new apparatus for transferring heat energy to and from a body surface respectively from and to heat transfer fluid that is introduced into and removed from a space bounded by the body surface for heat transfer contact with the body surface
• the apparatus comprising: a plurality of delivery inlets delivering heat transfer fluid that is introduced into the space to the surface in the form of a corresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams impinging on the body surface; means for supplying heat transfer fluid to the delivery inlets; and a plurality of spaced removal outlets distributed among the delivery inlets through which heat transfer fluid rebounding from the surface is removed from the space after its passage in corresponding flow paths established between each delivery inlet and one or more removal outlets.
• each delivery inlet is disposed immediately adjacent its associated one or more removal outlets to ensure that the corresponding flow path or paths are uninterrupted.
• the delivery streams impinge the body surface at an angle thereto from a right angle to an acute angle, and when it is curved about an axis they impinge the body surface at an angle thereto from a right angle to an angle that is tangential to the surface.
• each delivery inlet may be spaced a distance from 0.001cm (0.0004in) to 0.2cm (0.08in) from the surface.
• Figure 1 is a part elevation, part longitudinal cross section, through a first embodiment of heat transfer apparatus of the invention as applied to a specific form of material processing apparatus, and illustrating a corresponding method of heat energy transfer of the invention
• Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross section through a part of the apparatus of the apparatus of Figure 1 to a larger scale to show in greater detail the structure of the heat exchange apparatus;
• Figure 3 is a transverse cross section through apparatus as shown in Figures
• Figure 4 is a cross section similar to Figure 2 in which the streams of heat transfer fluid impinging the surface to be cooled or heated, as seen in transverse cross section, are directed at the surface at an angle other than perpendicular (at a right angle) thereto;
• Figure 5 is a cross section similar to Figure 3 in which the streams of heat transfer fluid impinging the surface to be cooled or heated, as seen in longitudinal cross section, are directed at the surface at an angle other than perpendicular (at a right angle) thereto; and
• Figures 6 and 7 are longitudinal cross sections through apparatus that are other and further embodiments of the invention.
• a particular apparatus for high shear processing consists of two cylinders mounted one inside the other for rotation relative to one another about a common axis, the cylinders providing an annular processing gap between their opposed inner and outer surfaces.
• the materials to be processed are fed into the annular space which is of specific, very small dimensions in which the processing that is taking place is independent of Avolume@ effects, being constituted instead by the interaction of boundary layers of the materials on the opposed surfaces, with or without an intervening layer that, if present, is too thin for so-called Taylor vortices (see below) to be established.
• Taylor vortices see below
• the eddies that are produced in this apparatus are much smaller than Kolmogoroff vortices and are therefore referred to as "sub-Kolmogoroff” vortices, while eddies that are much larger than Kolmogoroff vortices are referred to as “supra-Kolmogoroff” vortices.
• Such apparatus is described and shown, for example, in my US Patents Nos. 5,279,463 (issued 18 January, 1994) and 5,538,191 (issued 23 July 1996), and in my US application Serial No. 09/802,037, filed March 7, 2001 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
• the - cylindrical rotor and stator have their longitudinal axes parallel but displaced from one another to provide an annular flow passage that varies in radial dimension about the circumferences of the opposed surfaces.
• the passage thus comprises a flow path containing a zone in which the passage radial spacing is smaller than in the remainder of the passage to provide a highest-shear processing zone in which free supra-Kolmogoroff eddies are suppressed.
• Processing apparatus takes advantage of the special properties of the thin tenacious boundary layer that is always present whenever a viscous fluid is in contact with a surface, together with the interaction that can be produced between two boundary layers on two relatively moving surfaces when they are sufficiently close together to interact.
• the most practical form taken by the apparatus is two coaxial cylinders with an annular processing space between them, the inner cylinder being rotated while the outer one is stationary.
• the type of flow obtained between two such surfaces when they are relatively widely spaced is commonly known as Couette flow and has been well described by G.I.
• Taylor vortices whose axes are located along the circumference of the rotor parallel to its axis of rotation and which rotate in alternately opposite directions.
• the conditions for the flow to become unstable in this manner can be expressed with the aid of a characteristic number now known as the Taylor number, depending upon the radial width of the annular gap, the radius of the rotor, and its peripheral velocity.
• Such methods and apparatus are operable, for example, to quickly forcibly dissolve gases in liquids in which they are normally of low solubility , or to virtually instantaneously emulsify non-miscible liquids, or to chemically react two or more materials together with very high reaction rates, sometimes even in the absence of the catalysts, special solvents, surface active materials, etc. that frequently are required in conventional processes to obtain economically acceptable reaction rates.
• first and second reactant materials are fed from respective supply tanks 10 and 12 via respective metering pumps or valves 14 and 16 to an inlet 18 at one end of the apparatus.
• optional functional materials such as catalysts, reactant gas/es, surfactant/s, etc. as required for the process, are fed from a third supply tank 20 also via a metering pump or valve 21.
• a third supply tank 20 also via a metering pump or valve 21.
• An apparatus baseplate 22 carries rotor bearing supports 24, stator supports 26 and a variable speed electric drive motor 28.
• a cylindrical tube 30 of uniform diameter and wall thickness along its length constitutes the apparatus stator body and is mounted on the supports 26, the tube being enclosed by another cylindrical tube 32 that is coaxial therewith and extends along substantially its entire length, this tube 32 constituting the outermost casing of a heat exchanger of the invention. Both of these tubes have longitudinal axes that are coincident with one another and lie on the common central longitudinal line 33.
• a rotor shaft 34 is carried by the rotor bearing supports 24 with one end connected to the motor 28.
• the shaft carries a cylindrical rotor 36, the longitudinal axes of rotation of both the shaft and the rotor body being coincident with one another along the line 33, and therefore coincident with the longitudinal axis of the stator tube 30.
• An annular cross section processing passage or chamber 38 of uniform radial dimension around its circumference, and with a longitudinal axis coincident with the other axes is formed between inner cylindrical surface 40 of stator 30, outer cylindrical surface 42 of rotor 36, and inner annular surfaces 44 of two end closure members 46, the ends of the chamber being closed against leakage by respective end seals 48 that surround the shaft 34. Material that has been processed in the chamber 38 is discharged through an outlet 50 at the other end.
• a common prior art solution is to surround the stator with a cylindrical casing through which heat exchange fluid, usually a liquid, and if possible water, is passed, the heat exchange fluid flowing along outer surface 52 of the stator wall.
• the material flowing in the processing passage 38 forms a respective boundary layer on each of the cylindrical surfaces 40 and 42, the thicknesses of which are determined primarily by the material viscosity and its relative flow velocity over the surfaces in the flow path, which in this apparatus may be taken as one circumferential flow length around the stator surface 40 or the rotor surface 42, which are approximately equal.
• the difference between the internal diameter of the stator surface 40 and the external diameter of the rotor surface 42 is such that the radial dimension of the processing passage 38 is at most just equal to the combined thicknesses of the two boundary layers back-to-back, so that there is no room between them for an intervening bulk layer of radial dimension sufficient to permit Taylor vortices to be formed and disrupt the high-shear mixing that takes place.
• the thickness of a single laminar boundary layer was 0.85mm (0.033in), and therefore that of back to back interacting layers 1.7mm (0.067in).
• a heat exchange or transfer structure comprises an inner cylindrical tubular member 54 and an outer cylindrical tubular member 56 which are coaxial with one another, and also with the stator 30, the outermost casing 32 and the rotor 36.
• the two cylindrical members 32 and 56 form between them an annular heat transfer fluid receiving plenum 58, the fluid entering the plenum via one or more inlets 60.
• the two cylindrical members 54 and 56 form between them an annular heat transfer fluid discharge plenum 62, the fluid leaving the plenum via a one or more outlets 64.
• the cylindrical member 54 and the outer cylindrical surface 52 of the stator form between them an annular heat exchange or heat transfer plenum 66, in which the transfer of heat energy between the surface 52 and the heat exchange fluid takes place.
• the inlet or inlets 60 are placed at one end, while the outlet or outlets are placed at the other end to establish a flow path for the heat transfer fluid along its entire length. It is also usual to arrange that the direction of flow of the fluid is opposite to that of the material, although concurrent flow is also possible.
• Each passage is formed by a respective tube 70 that extends from the cylindrical member 56 and opens at its radially outer end at an inlet port 72 to the receiving plenum 58; the tube passes through a hole in the cylindrical member 54, the junction being sealed to prevent leakage between the plenums.
• the tube terminates very close to the stator outer surface 52 at an outlet port 74, which also constitutes a corresponding delivery inlet port (also employing the reference 74) to the transfer plenum 66.
• Each passage 68 delivers its portion of the transfer fluid to the surface 52 in the form of a radially inward directed delivery jet stream that impinges forcibly on the surface 52, preferably at a velocity that is sufficient for it to penetrate and completely disrupt the barrier layer of the fluid thereon.
• the heated or cooled transfer fluid rebounding from the surface is promptly, almost immediately, removed from the heat transfer plenum 66 via an approximately equally large number of spaced removal outlets 76, of at least the same total flow capacity, formed in the cylindrical member 54, through which the fluid passes into the fluid removal plenum 62 and out through exit or exits 64.
• the inlets 74 and outlets 76 are interspersed and disposed relative to one another such that each inlet 74 is surrounded by a number of immediately adjacent outlets 76, and vice versa, thereby providing flow paths for the fluid after it has impinged on the surface 52 and rebounded therefrom that are uninterrupted and are as short as possible so as to achieve the required prompt removal.
• the transfer fluid passing out of the heat exchanger may be discarded, but more usually will be passed to an external heat exchanger (not shown) in which heat energy is removed or added, as is required with careful control of the exit temperature of the heat transfer fluid, so that it can be recycled back to the processing apparatus.
• An inherent characteristic of the methods and apparatus of the invention is that the heat transfer fluid engages the surface involved in the heat transfer for a relatively very brief period of time, as contrasted with most conventional apparatus in which contact is prolonged for as long as possible, and is then immediately removed and delivered into a plenum 62 spaced from the surface.
• the contact which does take place is extremely forceful and intimate, directly with the surface without the intervention of the usual fluid barrier layer, so that there is enhanced opportunity for heat transfer despite the very short contact engagement time. It is a consequence of this very short contact period that the majority of the temperature difference in the heat transfer fluid between the inlet s 60 and the outlet/s 64 takes place during this period, with relatively little of the difference produced before the surface 52 is engaged by the fluid, and after the fluid has left the heat exchanger plenum 66 and exited through the outlet/s, giving the possibility of much more precise control of the value of the temperature difference than is possible when the contact time with the heat exchange surface is substantial.
• the wall of the cylindrical member 56 containing the inlet ports 72 should be of low heat transmission capability to minimize heat transfer between the incoming and outgoing flows of heat transfer fluid. This can be achieved, for example, by making it thicker, bearing in mind that the size, weight, cost, etc. are thereby increased, or even by making it of a heat insulating material, such as plastics or ceramic.
• each outlet (delivery) port 74 to the heat exchange plenum directing the respective stream of fluid against the surface 52 may be spaced a distance of from 0.001cm to 0.2cm (0.0004in to O.O ⁇ in) from that surface.
• the diameter of the rotor and stator body surfaces of an individual machine can vary widely.
• the rotor body can be of diameter as small as about 0.1cm (0.04in), having the form of a solid needle rotating within a stator tube of the required dimensions.
• Such an embodiment will usually comprise a single unit in a large array thereof, e.g.
• a practical upper limit for the rotor diameter is about 500cm (200in), and is set primarily by the engineering design requirements to maintain the radial dimension of the processing passage 38 sufficiently constant with a rotor of this diameter, which will also usually be of substantial length in order to give a desired high material throughput.
• the dimensions of the delivery ports 74 into the respective heat exchange plenum will also depend upon the rotor diameter, the rate of heat exchange required, the degree of temperature control needed, and therefore the rate of flow of the heat exchange fluid to ensure that the boundary layer is penetrated.
• each delivery nozzle will provide a delivery port 74 of between 0.3cm and 1.5cm (0.12in and 0.6in).
• the fluid removal outlets 76 must together provide an exit flow rate at least equal to the inlet flow rate of the delivery inlet 74, and preferably somewhat greater, the number, size and distribution of the outlets 76 being chosen to obtain the desired objective of prompt removal from the plenum 66 with the shortest possible uninterrupted flow path.
• the rate at which the heat exchange fluid is passed in the flow paths will be such that its impact velocity against the stator surface 52 disrupts the barrier layer thereon, attainment of this objective being indicated by a corresponding increase in the rate of heat transfer obtained.
• FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment in which the tubes 70 and the corresponding jets of heat transfer fluid are delivered to the surface 42 in the longitudinal direction at an angle that is other than a right angle, the Figure being a longitudinal cross section through apparatus as otherwise shown in Figures 1-3.
• the Figure also illustrates the situation when the surface 42 is flat (see also Figures 6 and 7), wherein the delivery streams impinge the surface 42 at an angle from a right angle to an acute angle whose minimum value is set by the physical constraints imposed by the size of the tubes 70 and the structure required to support them in the apparatus.
• FIGS 6 and 7 show the application of the invention to heat exchange apparatus not necessarily physically associated with, or part of, any specific other apparatus.
• the heat exchange apparatus of Figure 6 comprises a heat exchange structure (subscripts A) on one side of a flat plate 30 that heats or cools the plate, while a second structure (subscripts B) has its heat exchange fluid heated or cooled by its contact with the plate 30.
• a heat exchange structure subscripts A
• a second structure subscripts B
• the plate 30 has respective inner surfaces 40A and 40B and is equivalent to the stator outer casing 30 of the apparatus of Figures 1-5.
• the heat exchange apparatus overall takes the form of a rectangular structure that has the plate 30 forming one wall of the two structures, being attached to the remainder of each structure with a respective gasket 78 between them.
• Inner and outer flat plates 54 and 56 are equivalent to the cylindrical members 54 and 56 respectively of the apparatus of Figures 1-5, the plates having tubes 70 mounted in holes therein that provide respective passages 68 conveying the heat transfer fluid from plenum 58 via inlet ports 72 and outlet ports 74 to the heat exchange plenum 66. Fluid rebounding from the inner plate surfaces 40A and 40B is immediately discharged through the respective outlet ports 76A and 76b to the respective fluid discharging plenum 66A and 66B, and thence to the respective outlets 64A and 64B.
• Figure 7 shows a heat exchanger whose function is to heat or cool the plate 30.
• Rotor bearing supports Stator supports Variable speed electric drive motor Cylindrical stator body , 32A, 32B Heat exchanger outermost casing/s Common line for various longitudinal axes Rotor drive shaft Cylindrical rotor body Annular processing passage or chamber , 40A, 40B Stator inner cylindrical surface/s Rotor outer cylindrical surface End member annular surfaces End closure members End seals Processing passage outlet Stator outer cylindrical surface , 54A, 54B Heat exchanger inner member/s , 56A, 56B Heat exchanger outer tubular member/s , 58A, 58B Heat exchange fluid receiving plenum/s , 60A, 60B Inlet to plenum 58, 58A, 58B respectively , 62A, 62B Heat exchange fluid discharging plenum/s , 64A, 64B Outlet from
• 66A, 66B respectively 70, 70A, 70B Tubes forming passages 68, 68A, 68B respectively 72, 72A, 72B Inlet ports of tubes 70, 70A, 70B respectively from plenums 58,
• 58A, 58B respectively 74, 74A, 74B Outlet ports of tubes 70, 70A, 70B respectively and delivery inlets to plenums 66, 66A, 66B respectively 76, 76A, 76B Fluid removal outlets from plenums 66, 66A, 66B respectively to plenums 62, 62A, 62B respectively 78 Gasket between body 30 and heat exchange structure

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Heat-Exchange Devices With Radiators And Conduit Assemblies (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)

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• 2002
  • 2002-09-13 US US10/243,384 patent/US20030066624A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-09-13 AU AU2002336510A patent/AU2002336510A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-09-13 EP EP02773363A patent/EP1446222A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2002-09-13 WO PCT/US2002/029093 patent/WO2003022415A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation

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