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
  • F28D9/00—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary plate-like or laminated conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall
  • F28D9/0031—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary plate-like or laminated conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by paired plates touching each other
  • F28D9/0043—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary plate-like or laminated conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by paired plates touching each other the plates having openings therein for circulation of at least one heat-exchange medium from one conduit to another
  • F28D9/005—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary plate-like or laminated conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different sides of a conduit wall the conduits for one heat-exchange medium being formed by paired plates touching each other the plates having openings therein for circulation of at least one heat-exchange medium from one conduit to another the plates having openings therein for both heat-exchange media

Definitions

• this invention relates to a stacking plate for a stacked plate heat exchanger configured in such a way that when stacked and connected to another stacking plate interference problems between them are minimized or eliminated .
• a second aspect of this invention relates to a stacked plate heat exchanger comprising a plurality of stacking plates according to the first aspect of the invention .
• the invention applies especially to heat exchangers (heating or cooling) in motor vehicles , in particular in TOC (Transmission Oil Cooler) and EOC (Engine Oil Cooler) applications .
• TOC Transmission Oil Cooler
• EOC Engine Oil Cooler
• the main function of the oil cooler is to exchange heat between two fluids , the coolant and the oil . In addition to this it must satisfy other functions such as maintaining a low fluid pressure drop, withstanding the working conditions of the fluid, withstanding environmental conditions , providing a connection to oil and coolant circuits , etc .
• Market requirements have been increasing in terms of needing more efficient and compact coolers which must be capable of working under more exacting conditions (for example a greater oil pressure and higher temperature) .
• an oil cooler comprises a set of plates stacked alternately to allow circulation and prevent contact between the fluids , sealing off both circuits , the coolant circulation and the oil circulation .
• a vertical force is applied to compact the device and compensate for the lack of actual contact .
• the circuits comprising the spaces between the plates have to be completely sealed both within the cooler, that is to say the areas surrounding the passage openings defined in the plates , and laterally, that is to say around the outer perimeter of the plates .
• the manner of resolving this problem is by means of raised edges which project beyond the perimeter of a substantially flat base of the plate with a particular inclination so as to close and join together the edges of each plate with those of the plate onto which it is stacked by means of pressure .
• the plate has a combination of longitudinal dimensions , height dimensions (that is to say the dimensions of its raised edges) and the angle of its raised edges , which allow the whole to be adjusted .
• the design and manufacture of the cooler components require a range of tolerances in their various dimensions .
• the distances or spaces between the components must nevertheless lie within a small safety zone which allows the components to be welded together .
• the design of such components especially that of the stacking plates , must satisfy a compromise between the said range of dimensional tolerances and the said distances or spaces .
• Patent US7717164B2 describes a stacked plate heat exchanger formed by stacking plates having the characteristics of the precharacteri z ing clause of Claim 1 of this invention .
• Other patent documents representative of the state of the art and describing stacked plate heat exchangers are the documents JP2006010192A, DE19828029A1 and EP1452816B1.
• a first aspect of this invention relates to a stacking plate for a stacked plate heat exchanger comprising, in a manner which is in itself known : - a substantially flat base extending along a principal plane, in which first passage openings and second passage openings are located for the passage of a first medium and a second medium respectively, and - a raised edge proj ecting beyond the perimeter of the said substantially flat base , surrounding it in a continuous manner .
• first and second portions of the mentioned raised border are characteristically proj ected beyond the perimeter of the substantially flat base in accordance with first and second lateral angles with respect to the said principal plane respectively, in which the said first and second lateral angles are different from each other .
• first and second angles are selected according to the application or final design of the exchanger for which the stacking plate is intended.
• the said first portions proj ect from straight segments of the perimeter of the substantially flat base while the second portions proj ect from curved segments thereof .
• the first lateral angle is smaller than the second lateral angle .
• first portions proj ect from straight segments of the base perimeter and the second portions proj ect from curved segments thereof , and the first lateral angle is smaller than the second
• interference in curved areas is minimized when stacking plates designed according to the first aspect of the invention are stacked and nested, these said curved areas being those where suitable contact between the faces of the raised edges is most difficult .
• a design of stacking plate with different lateral angles at the raised edges of the straight segments of the perimeter of the base of the plate in comparison with those of the curved segments is provided in order to compensate for the fact that they behave differently when they are nested together .
• This solution makes it possible to provide assembly conditions that differ between the different areas , that is to say between the raised edges of the different segments of the perimeter of the base of the stacking plates , in order to solve or minimize problems of interference between them .
• the first lateral angle has a value of between 8° and 10.5° while the second lateral angle has a value of between 11° and 14°.
• the curved segments mentioned form rounded arrises of the substantially flat base and are interconnected by the straight segments mentioned .
• the substantially flat base is of rectangular shape, including four of the said rounded arrises and four of the said straight segments which are each interconnected by rounded arrises .
• the stacking plate according to the first aspect of the invention comprises more than two portions of the raised edge mentioned which proj ect beyond the perimeter of the substantially flat base according to more than two lateral angles with respect to the principal plane respectively, in which the more than two lateral angles are different from each other .
• a second aspect of this invention relates to a stacked plate heat exchanger comprising a plurality of stacking plates according to the first aspect of the invention, including : first stacking plates in which the first passage openings are located in the substantially flat base , while the second passage openings are located in raised annular formations ; and
• first and second stacking plates are stacked and fixed one above the other alternately, with at least part of their raised edges nested together by means of pressure .
• Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a plurality of stacking plates according to one embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, stacked together with the exception of one, the uppermost one, which is located in a position prior to being nested and stacked on the one located immediately below .
• Figure 2a is a view in elevation of the stacking plate provided by the first aspect of the invention for an embodiment corresponding to the uppermost plate in Figure 1.
• Figure 2b is a plan view of the stacking plate provided for the first aspect of the invention, for the same embodiment as in Figure 2a.
• Figure 3a is a partial view in transverse cross section of the stacking plate in Figure 2b along a section plane indicated by the line G-G, which includes the raised edge proj ecting from a curved segment of the perimeter of the base of the plate .
• Figure 3b is a partial view in transverse cross section of the stacking plate in Figure 2b along a section plane indicated by the line E-E, which includes the raised edge proj ecting from the straight segment of the perimeter of the base of the plate .
• Figure 4a is a view in elevation showing portions of three stacking plates according to one embodiment of the first aspect of this invention, stacked together in an initial situation during assembly, including the raised edges which proj ect from straight segments of the perimeter of their base .
• Figure 4b is a view in elevation showing other portions of the three stacking plates according to the same embodiment as in Figure 4a, stacked together in the same initial assembly situation, where the portions in this case include the raised edges proj ecting from curved segments of the perimeter of the base of the plates .
• stacking plate 1, la, lb for a stacked plate heat exchanger comprises : a substantially flat base 2a extending along a principal plane, in which first passage openings 7 and second passage openings 8 are provided for the passage of a first medium and a second medium respectively, and
• Figure 1 likewise illustrates part of the stacked plate heat exchanger according to the second aspect of this invention, in particular a plurality of stacking plates 1 which include : first stacking plates la in which first passage openings 7 are located in the substantially flat base 2a, while second passage openings 8 are provided in raised annular formations ; and
• First stacking plate la and second stacking plate lb are stacked and attached one above the other alternately, with their raised edges 2b stacked together through pressure .
• the raised edge includes first portions 2bl proj ecting beyond curved segments of the perimeter of substantially flat base 2a, in particular from four curved segments corresponding to four rounded arrises of the said perimeter, together with second portions 2b2 proj ecting beyond straight segments of the said perimeter of substantially flat base 2a, in particular from four flat segments which are each interconnected by the said four rounded arrises .
• Figure 3b shows how first portions 2bl proj ect beyond the curved segments of the perimeter of substantially flat base 2a according to a first lateral angle a with respect to the said principal plane
• Figure 3a shows how second portions 2b2 proj ect beyond the curved segments of the said perimeter according to a second lateral angle ⁇ , the first lateral angle and the second ⁇ being different from each other, in particular the first a being smaller than the second ⁇ , for the embodiment illustrated .
• Figures 4a and 4b show the effect achieved through the difference in lateral angles a and ⁇ , as already- explained in a previous section .
• FIGs 4a and 4b illustrate an initial assembly position in which the three stacking plates according to the invention are stacked together but no vertical compression force has yet been applied (or, if it has been applied, it is very small ) , in such a way that while raised edges 2bl proj ecting from the straight segments of the perimeter of bases 2a of the stacked plates are in contact with each other, as will be seen in Figure 4a, raised edges 2b2 proj ecting from the curved segments of the said perimeter are not , there being a space between them in order to prevent interferences , as will be seen in Figure 4b.
• the present inventors have performed experiments with stacking plates constructed, stacked and assembled together, and have achieved as a result that no spaces between the plates or any visible deformations between the raised edges thereof are produced, neither before or after they are welded together by brazing .
• the present inventors have carried out digital computer simulations of assembled sets of rectangular stacking plates designed according to a first aspect of the invention and conventional rectangular stacking plates , obtaining as a result values for Von Mises stress levels which are approximately 25% smaller in the set of plates according to this invention than those in conventional stacks , in the areas experiencing greatest stress , that is to say in the areas corresponding to the raised edges proj ecting from the shortest straight segments of the perimeters of the bases of the stacking plates .

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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)

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Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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Citations (4)

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• 2016
  • 2016-10-17 ES ES201631339A patent/ES2664103B1/es not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2017
  • 2017-10-16 WO PCT/EP2017/076365 patent/WO2018073180A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2017-10-16 EP EP17784292.9A patent/EP3526535B1/en active Active
  • 2017-10-16 CN CN201780071214.XA patent/CN110418932B/zh active Active

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