WO2011150920A2

WO2011150920A2 - Heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: WO2011150920A2
Application number: PCT/DE2011/001184
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Gennat
Original assignee: Tfc Cooling Products E.K.
Priority date: 2010-06-02
Filing date: 2011-06-01
Publication date: 2011-12-08
Also published as: DE202010007533U1; WO2011150920A3

Abstract

Described and claimed is a heat exchanger, in particular for personal computers or aquariums, constructed from a housing having a flow duct for a liquid medium between an inflow opening and an outflow opening, wherein a plurality of tubes is accommodated in the housing, wherein a first tube is connected via an inflow duct to the inflow opening and a further tube is connected via an outflow duct to the outflow opening, wherein the tubes are arranged parallel to one another and are held at one end by means of one holding plate and at another end by means of a further holding plate, wherein the tubes, to form the flow duct, are traversed by the flow of the liquid medium in series in a countercurrent configuration, and said tubes are connected to one another at the ends via in each case one connecting duct, wherein all the tubes, at one end thereof, open into cavities formed by a first connecting plate, and all of the tubes, at the opposite end thereof, open into cavities formed by a further second connecting plate, wherein the connecting plate together with the holding plate forms the connecting ducts of the tubes and the connecting plate together with the holding plate forms the connecting ducts of the tubes.

Description

fi

heat exchangers

The invention relates to a heat exchanger, in particular for use in personal computers or in aquaristics.

In the new generations of personal computers cooling over fans is not enough due to the high performance of the computer and the resulting waste heat of the individual components or the necessary fans are too high a noise pollution. Low noise contrast is a water cooling, already for cooling used by personal computers and their peripherals. Known water cooler in personal computers consist of a cooling circuit, wherein at least the internal region of the cooling circuit is provided within the computer. The coolant flowing through the computer absorbs heat from the heat-generating components. Through this heat exchange, the cooling liquid heats up. This heated coolant flows through another area of the cooling circuit in the computer or outside the computer. There, the cooling liquid is cooled by a further heat exchange by means of a heat exchanger again. The known external or internal heat exchangers, through which the heated cooling water flows, are generally made of a material with a good thermal conductivity and / or a large heat exchange surface, in order to enable an efficient and rapid cooling of the cooling water.

Known are u.a. Shell and tube heat exchangers, which are flowed through in cocurrent or in countercurrent from the liquid to be cooled medium. There is a heat exchange with the ambient air instead. Flows through the liquid medium, the tubes in the DC, so collection vessels are usually provided at the ends of the tubes. At the front end, the pipes are with

confirmation copy fed to the warm medium and at the rear end a collecting vessel is provided which receives the cooled liquid medium to forward this according to the application. An improved heat exchange is achieved with a media guide in countercurrent, such as in the device according to DE 10 2004 002 375 B4. A disadvantage of such a device, however, is the complex connection of the individual pipe ends, for example via hose or pipe connections, so that the liquid medium can flow through the individual tubes in succession and results in a continuous flow channel from the medium inlet to the medium outlet.

Object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger is available, which has a high heat exchange performance and is easy to produce. This object is achieved with a heat exchanger having the features of claim 1. In known manner, this heat exchanger consists of mutually parallel tubes, which are accommodated in a housing, wherein the tubes are flowed through successively in countercurrent to the liquid medium. From the inlet opening provided in the housing to the outflow opening provided in the housing, there is a continuous, outwardly fluid-tight flow channel for the liquid medium to be cooled. This includes various sections. Starting from the inlet opening, an inflow channel is present up to the first pipe. The medium flows through the cylindrical interior of the first tube and flows in the second tube in countercurrent. Between the first and second tube connecting channel connecting both pipe ends is provided as part of the flow channel. The flow channel comprises the interior of the second tube, the connecting channel to the third tube, etc., to the last tube, which in turn is connected via an outflow channel with the outflow opening. For a particularly stable formation of such a heat exchanger holding plates are provided for the tubes in the housing for the heat exchanger. Such a holding plate is in each case arranged in the end region of the tubes, wherein the Haiteplatten for the ends of the tubes have openings, so that the ends of the tubes for connection to the holding plate can pass through the openings or the ends of the tubes are frontally connected to the edge of the openings Holding plate connected.

In particular, the ends of the tubes are not individually connected by hose or pipe connections. In accordance with the invention, the tubes are each held at the ends in the openings of the holding plates, wherein in the region of the opening there is a fluid-tight connection between the tubes and the holding plate. The ends of the tubes connected to a first holding plate are all covered by a first connecting plate and the opposite ends of the tubes connected to further holding plate are covered by a further second connecting plates. Both connecting plates are formed so that their base plate rests at least partially on the respective holding plate. Furthermore, the connecting plates have formations which do not rest against the holding plate but rise above the holding plate, so that in each case a cavity is formed with the holding plate in the region of the formations. In each case, a formation is provided in a region of two pipe ends, in each case where two pipe ends are to be connected to one another to form the continuous flow channel. Thus, the formations of a connection plate together with the adjacent support plate form all the connection channels on one side of the tube bundle, i. with a connection plate all connections of the individual tubes are achieved on one side and with the other connection plate all necessary connections of the tubes on the other side of the tubes. Connecting plate and retaining plate are firmly connected to each other and media-tight.

In an advantageous embodiment, the connection plates consist of a flat base plate into which the formation of the connecting channels Moldings are formed in the form of depressions or elevations. These formations can be achieved in the simplest way by a stamping process. However, it is also possible to cast a connecting plate with the corresponding formations or to form out of the planar base plate by a deep-drawing process or other forming method out. A flat base plate can be easily fitted adjacent to the retaining plate and by a welded joint, a firm, fluid-tight connection between the retaining plate and the connecting plate can be achieved. In a particularly simple embodiment, the welded connection can be made on the edge.

If a flat base plate is not used, it must be ensured that the connection plate is fluid-tight at the edge of each formation and that no media outlet gap can form between the holding plate and the connection plate.

For the first and last tube, which forms the continuous flow channel and is connected at the front end of the heat exchanger via an inflow or outflow with the inflow or outflow, in the arranged at the front end of the heat exchanger connection plate in each case a corresponding bore for the Ends of the aforementioned tubes provided.

The tubes can be single tubes made of metal, for example copper, aluminum or stainless steel. The tubes are preferably identical, ie have the same internal as well as outer geometry. For special applications, it is also possible to use pipes with different internal and / or external geometry in the heat exchanger. To increase the heat exchange performance, the tubes may have an enlarged inner or outer heat exchange surface by having inner ribs or outer ribs at least over a substantial portion of their length. It is preferred to provide ribs on the outer tube shell. Such finned tubes are known. These pipes are out Made of metal such as aluminum or copper, the ribs can be easily formed integrally with the tube by a rolling process. It is of course also possible to produce the ribs by a kneading process, a printing process or by machining processes.

In a particular embodiment, bimetallic tubes are used as tubes for the heat exchanger. The tube used as inner tube or core tube can have a smooth or textured inner surface. As a structure, for example, formations of the cylindrical Innenrohrwandung, ribs or webs, which protrude from the inner wall of the tube, possible. Such a core tube is usually made of a particularly corrosion-resistant material, such as stainless steel, as it is constantly exposed to the media flow. The outer tube connected to the core tube via a positive and / or non-positive and / or material-locking connection preferably consists of an aluminum alloy.

Aluminum alloy pipes have good corrosion resistance. In addition, however, the surface of such tubes can be provided with an additional corrosion-resistant coating when the heat exchanger is exposed to special influences, for example acidic or basic fluids. The corrosion-resistant coating can be, for example, a lacquer or a silicon-containing sol-gel coating. Depending on the desired heat exchange performance, the number and type of tubes for the heat exchanger is selected. Such a heat exchanger can be connected as a separate, external unit to a cooling circuit of a personal computer or it can be provided such a unit for installation in a PC. The heated cooling water of the personal computer flows through the heat exchanger and is cooled in this in a heat exchange with the ambient air. To increase the heat exchange performance, one or more can be attached to the heat exchanger Be fan provided, the cross-flow, ie transversely to the flow direction of the tubes, suck or blow air. The fans can be provided on both sides of the housing or only on one side. If fans are provided only on one side, then they will be provided in an advantageous manner on the side of the housing, on which run the tubes that form the end of the flow channel, ie in which the liquid medium has already largely cooled.

The heat exchanger according to the invention is easy to produce. The ends of the tubes need not be complexly interconnected individually by tube or pipe connections, but all the connection channels on one side of the heat exchanger are formed by fixing a connection plate to a retaining plate and all the connection channels on the other side of the heat exchanger are determined by the definition another connecting plate formed on the opposite Haltepiatte.

Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the embodiments in the drawing. Show it:

1 is a side view of a heat exchanger,

FIG. 2 shows the front view of the holding plate according to FIG. 1 ,

3 shows the front view of a connecting plate according to FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows the front view of the other connecting plate according to FIG. 1, Fig. 5a the front view of a front connecting plate and

5b shows the front view of a rear connection plate,

The illustrated in Fig. 1 heat exchanger 1 0 consists of a housing 1 1, in which a plurality, in this case twenty tubes 30 are arranged parallel to each other in three rows. This is better seen in the sectional drawings, Figures 2 to 4. In FIG. 1, only the first row with seven tubes 30 arranged one above the other is visible. The pipes 30 ', 30, 30 " are successively flowed through in countercurrent to the liquid medium. From the inlet opening 21 provided in the housing 11 to the outlet opening 26 provided in the housing 11, there is a continuous, outwardly fluid-tight flow channel 20 for the liquid medium to be cooled. In this example, the inflow opening 21 and the outflow opening 26 are arranged on the front side and are each provided with a connection 19 in order to permit connection to an internal cooling circuit of a personal computer or to a cooling circuit of another device with electronic or other components to be cooled. The heat exchanger can also be connected in an advantageous manner to an aquarium, so that the temperature of the water in the aquarium does not rise above a desired value.

In Fig. 1, the various portions of the flow channel 20 of the heat exchanger 10 are indicated. Starting from the inflow opening 21, an inflow channel 22 to the first tube 30 'is present. The medium flows through the cylindrical interior of the first tube in the arrow direction and flows in the second tube 30 in countercurrent. Between the first tube 30 'and the second tube 30, a connecting channel 24 connecting both tube ends 38 is provided as part of the flow channel 20. The flow channel 20 comprises the interior of the second tube 30, the connection channel 23 to the third tube 30, etc., to the last tube 30 ", which is arranged at the top in the rear row, not visible in Fig. 1. This last flowed through by the liquid medium Pipe 30 "is in turn connected via an outflow channel 25 with the discharge opening 26. The originally warm fluid medium leaves the outflow opening 26 cooled, since a heat exchange between the medium and the good heat-conducting tubes 30 ', 30, 30 "has taken place, which in turn emit their heat to the ambient air.

1, finned tubes are used, in which the fins 33 are formed integrally with the tube jacket 34 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "The fins 33 are exclusively in a central region of the longitudinal extent of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "provided. The end regions 31, 32 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "have no ribs to facilitate the connection of the tube ends 37, 38 with the retaining plate 50, 51. The tubes 30, 30', 30" in the example of Figure 1 are also bimetallic tubes. An enlarged section of Figure 2 shows an opening 52 in the holding plate 51. The edge of the opening 52 is located directly on the tube jacket 34 of the outer tube 36 is. This outer tube 36 is fixedly connected to a core tube 35. The cylindrical interior of the bimetallic tube 30 is part of the flow channel 20. The tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "have a stainless steel core tube, ie, this core tube has excellent corrosion resistance to the fluid media flowing through the heat exchanger in this embodiment, an aluminum alloy, namely, an AlMgSiO.S alloy which has good forming properties, which is advantageous for producing the finned tube The core tube and finned tube are fixedly connected to each other by cold welding to the tube 30 ', 30, 30 ". The tubes 30 ', 30, 30 "can also consist of only one material, in the rule of metal, since this has good thermal conductivity, preference is given to copper, copper alloys, aluminum alloys or stainless steel, since these materials have sufficient corrosion resistance In case of application additional corrosion protection layers are possible, if they do not affect the heat exchange.

The tubes 30 ', 30, 30 "are held stably in the housing 11 of the heat exchanger 10. For this purpose, at the ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30', 30, 30" holding plates 50, 51 for the tubes 30 ', 30, 30 ", wherein the holding plates 50, 51 for the ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30 ', 30, 30" openings 52 have. In this example, the ends 37 of the tubes 30 ', 30 "pass through the openings 52 for connection to the inlet channel 22 and the outflow channel 25. All other ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30', 30, 30" are frontally connected to the edge of the Openings 52 of the holding plate 50, 51 are connected, ie the rear ends 38 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "open into the holding plate 51, as can be seen in Fig. 2. Spaced to the outlet openings of the ends 38 of the tubes 30, 30th ', 30 "is a connecting plate 40 is arranged. This connection plate 40 is connected to the Holding plate 51 firmly connected and media-tight, in this example by a peripheral welding. Furthermore, the front-side ends 38 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "are connected to the opening 52 of the holding plate 51 in a media-tight manner, for example laser-welded.Furthermore, it can be seen that the holding plate 51 advantageously has insertion slots 53 and bent Flanges 54 for connection to the housing 1 1 has.

The holding plate 50 at the front end of the heat exchanger 10 is formed in the same way and connected to the housing 1. Through the openings 52 of the holding plate 50 protrude the front ends 37 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 ", which are covered by a connecting plate 41.

The connecting plates 40, 41 are formed in a special way. Fig. 3 shows the rear connecting plate 40 and Fig. 4 shows the front connecting plate 41. Both have a flat base plate 42, 43, from which by an embossing process formations 44, 44 'are formed as elevations. The height of these protrusions 44, 44 'is so great that a connecting channel 23, 24 is formed between two tubes 30, without a reduction in the flow cross-section occurring in the region of the connecting channel 23, 24. Such a reduction in cross-sectional area increases the bursting pressure, which unnecessarily stresses the connections between the connecting plates 41, 40 and the holding plate 50, 51. The length of the formations 44, 44 'corresponds at least to the distance between two tubes 30, as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, where the tubes 30, 30', 30 "are indicated by dashed lines The formation 44 extends in a straight alignment between two ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 ". The formation 44 ', however, extends arcuately between two ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "end in the holding plate 50, 51. It is also possible that the ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30, 30', 30" or only the ends of the core tubes pass through the openings 52 of the holding plates 50, 51 and extend into the connecting channel 23, 24 formed by the formations 44, 44 '. In this case, a media-tight connection between the tube jacket 34 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "to provide in the region of the opening 52 and the height of the shape corresponding to the protruding end 37, 38 of the tubes 30, 30', 30" adapt.

The tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "are indicated in Figures 3 and 4. It is clear that the heat exchanger 10 has a plurality of tubes 30 arranged one above the other, seven each in the outer row and six in a middle row six In the outer rows, the first tube 30 'of the flow channel 20 and the last tube 30 "of the flow channel 20 is arranged at the top. The first tube 30 'and the last tube 30 "of the flow channel 20 are not covered by the connecting plate 41. For the ends 37 of these tubes 30', 30", a bore 45, 46 is provided in the connecting plate 41, see FIG to connect the end 37 of the tube 30 'with the inflow channel 22, which begins at the inflow opening 21 and is supplied there via a connection 19 with warm fluid, in particular liquid medium. The end 37 of the last tube 30 "of the flow channel 20 is in turn connected to the outflow channel 25, which ends in the outflow opening 26. This outflow opening 26 also has a connection 1 9 for connection, for example, with a cooling circuit to the cooled medium in the to be cooled Device.

Of course, smaller heat exchangers 10 with fewer rows or with fewer tubes arranged one above the other can also be provided. 5a and 5b show an example of a larger heat exchanger with five rows of tubes 30 arranged one above the other, for which corresponding formations 44 are arranged in the base plate 42, 43 of the connecting plates 40 ', 41'. In Fig. 5b is the front connecting plate 41 '. There are the holes 45, 46 for the ends 37 of the tubes 30 'and 30 "can be seen.

The tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "are, as shown in Figure 1, housed in a housing 1 1, which comprises a cover 12 and a bottom 13. Cover 12 and bottom 13 are connected on the left with a head cover 14 and on the right with a head cover 15. The lid 12 and the bottom 13 have laterally downwardly or laterally upwardly bent bottle 17, which leave substantially the side surfaces of the heat exchanger, so that air flows transversely to the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "through the heat exchanger 10 in cross flow To increase the air flow flowing transversely to the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 ", several, in this example up to three fans, can be fastened on each side of these flanges 17. To attach the fan 17 threaded sleeves 16 are recessed in the flanges. From the arrangement of these threaded sleeves 16 it can be seen that two different sizes of fans can be connected to this heat exchanger 10. The flanges 17 with the threaded sleeves 16 are provided on both sides, so that on one side, for example, the front side, one to three fans can be arranged, which blow the air through the heat exchanger 10. On the opposite side, one to three fans can be attached, which suck in the air passing through the heat exchanger 10. The fans are not shown in the drawing for the sake of clarity.

The head covers 14, 15 of the housing represent the boundary of the heat exchanger 10. These head covers 14, 15 are box-shaped, the bottom of this box is the outer boundary surface of the heat exchanger 10 and its narrow side surfaces connected to the lid 12 and the bottom 13 are. The open side of the box-shaped head cover 15, 14 is closed by the holding plate 50, 51. The interior of the box-shaped head cover 15, 14 provides space for the connecting channels 23, 24 of the ends 37, 38 of the tubes 30, 30 ', 30 " variable use of the heat exchanger 10 also possible to provide these openings 21, 26 on the front or the back of the head cover 15 or holes are provided on several sides, with two bores serve as inlet opening 21 and as discharge opening 26 and provided with corresponding terminals 19 are and the other holes are closed on the other sides of the head cover 15 with blind plugs. The parts of the housing 1 1 are in this example sheet metal parts made of an A! Mg3 alloy.

The particular advantage of this invention is that with a plurality of tubes 30, 30 ', 30 "in the heat exchanger 10, which require a plurality of end connections to form a continuous flow channel 20, these connections need not be mounted individually, such as The plurality of connections between each two tubes 30 is achieved according to the invention by a connecting plate 41 at the front end 37 of the tubes 30 and by a further connecting plate 40 at the rear end 38 of the tubes 30. This simplifies the manufacture of the heat exchanger 10 substantially, without the heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger 10 is impaired.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 radiator

11 housing

12 lids

13 floor

14 head cover

15 head cover

16 threaded sleeve

17 closure

19 connection

20 flow channel

21 inlet opening

22 inflow channel

23, 24 connecting channel

25 outflow channel

26 outflow opening

30, 30 ', 30 "pipe

31 end area

32 end area

33 ribs

34 pipe jacket

35 core tube

36 outer tube

37 front end

38 rear end

40, 40 'connection plate

41, 41 'connecting plate

42 base plate

43 base plate

44, 44 'shaping 45 bore 46 bore 50 holding plate 51 holding plate 52 opening 53 insertion slot 54 flange

Claims

claims

1. Heat exchanger, in particular for personal computers or for aquariums, constructed from a housing (11) with a flow channel (20) for a liquid medium between an inflow opening (21) and an outflow opening (26), wherein in the housing (11) a plurality of pipes { 30, 30 ', 30 "), wherein a first tube (30') through an inflow channel (22) with the inflow opening (21) and a further tube (30") through an outflow channel (25) with the outflow opening (26 ), wherein the tubes (30, 30 ', 30 ") are arranged parallel to one another and held at one end (37) by means of a holding plate (50) and at another end (38) by means of a further holding plate (51) the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") are flowed through in succession in countercurrent to the liquid medium to form the flow channel (20) and are connected to each other at the ends via a connecting channel (23, 24), characterized in that all the tubes (30) at her one end e (37) open into cavities formed by a first connecting plate (41) and all tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") open at their opposite end (38) into cavities formed by a further second connecting plate (40), wherein the connecting plate (40) together with the holding plate (51) the connecting channels (24) of the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") and the connecting plate (41) together with the holding plate (50) the connecting channels (23) of the tubes (23) 30).

2. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting plates (40, 41) consist of a flat base plate (42, 43), in which the formation of the connecting channels (23, 24) formations (44, 44 ') in the form of Recesses or elevations are formed, preferably embossed.

3. Heat exchanger according to claim 2, characterized in that the base plates (42, 43) of the connecting plates (40, 41) on the holding plates (50, 51) rest and are firmly connected thereto.

4. Heat exchanger according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that in the base plate (43) of the connecting plate (41) has two bores (45, 46) for the ends (37) of the tubes (30 ', 30 ") are introduced, wherein the ends (37) of the tubes (30 ', 30 ") pass through the bores (45, 46) and connect the tube (30') to the inlet channel (22) and the tube (30") to the outlet channel (25) enable.

5. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that all tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") are identical, namely having a same internal and external geometry.

6. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that all tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") over at least part of their length with ribs (33) are provided, wherein the ribs (33) preferably integrally with the Pipe jacket (34) are formed.

7. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") as bimetallic tubes are formed, consisting of a core tube (35) and an outer tube (36), wherein the core tube (35) preferably made of stainless steel and the outer tube (36) preferably consists of an aluminum alloy.

8. Heat exchanger according to claim 7, characterized in that the core tube (35) has a smooth or textured inner surface.

9. Heat exchanger according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the outer tube (36) with the core tube (35) via a positive and / or non-positive and / or material connection is firmly connected.

10. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that all the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") are protected by a coating against corrosion.

1 1. A heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that all the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") with their ends (37, 38) openings (52) in the holding plates (50, 51) pass through and a solid, fluid-tight connection between the holding plates (50, 51) and the end portions (31, 32) of the tubes (30, 30 ', 30 ") consist.

12. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that all the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") with their ends (38) in openings (52) of the holding plates (51) open and all tubes (30) their ends (37) in openings (52) of the holding plates (50) open, wherein the tubes (30 ', 30, 30 ") each end face with the edge of the opening (52) have a tight, fluid-tight connection.

13. Heat exchanger according to claim 3, characterized in that the base plates (42, 43) of the connecting plates (40, 41) are peripherally welded to the holding plates (50, 51).

14. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the housing (1 1) Mittet has for connection to one or more fans.

Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the housing (1 1) is provided with connections for the liquid medium, so that the radiator (10) as an external unit to a cooling water circuit of a device to be cooled, such as a personal computer or an aquarium, can be connected.