KR-20260066286-A - Printed circuit heat exchanger having vertical tunnel and method for manufacturing the same

KR20260066286AKR 20260066286 AKR20260066286 AKR 20260066286AKR-20260066286-A

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention, a printed circuit heat exchanger having a vertical tunnel and a method for manufacturing the same are to form a vertical tunnel connecting the flow paths of the printed circuit heat exchanger vertically, thereby enabling fluid flow between the vertically connected flow paths and thereby resolving the non-uniformity of the flow rate of the flow paths. A first metal plate is positioned below a second metal plate, and the second metal plate is positioned below a third metal plate. On the upper surface of the first metal plate, concave first flow paths with an open top are extended in the longitudinal direction, on the upper surface of the second metal plate, concave second flow paths with an open top are extended in the longitudinal direction, and on the upper surface of the third metal plate, concave third flow paths with an open top are extended in the longitudinal direction. At least one vertical tunnel is positioned between the second flow paths and can vertically penetrate the second metal plate and the third metal plate to connect the first flow path and the third flow path.

Inventors

김민창
김우경
도규형
김태훈
유화롱
김창현
배준혁

Assignees

한국기계연구원

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241104

Claims (16)

The first metal plate is located beneath the second metal plate, and The second metal plate is located under the third metal plate, and On the upper surface of the first metal plate, concave first channels with open tops extend in the longitudinal direction, and On the upper surface of the second metal plate, concave second channels with open tops extend longitudinally, and On the upper surface of the third metal plate, concave third channels with open tops extend longitudinally, and A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized by having at least one vertical tunnel located between the second flow paths, vertically penetrating the second metal plate and the third metal plate to connect the first flow path and the third flow path.
In Article 1, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first metal plate, the second metal plate, and the third metal plate are joined through a diffusion bonding method.
In Article 1, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first, second, and third euros have a semicircular cross-section.
In Article 1, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first Euro, the second Euro, the third Euro, and at least one vertical tunnel are formed by an etching process.
In a printed circuit heat exchanger, The first Euro; and Includes a third euro located above the first euro and parallel to the first euro, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first Euro and the third Euro are connected through at least one vertical tunnel.
In Article 5, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized by further including a second flow path positioned between the first flow path and the third flow path, parallel to the first flow path and the third flow path, and positioned so as not to overlap with the at least one vertical tunnel.
In Article 6, The first fluid is moved through the first Euro, the third Euro, and the vertical tunnel, and The second fluid is moved into the second Euro, but, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first fluid and the second fluid are fluids having a temperature difference.
In a printed circuit heat exchanger comprising a plurality of flow paths, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized by including at least one upper-lower connecting channel group in which two or more vertically adjacent channels are connected to each other so that fluid can move through the channels by at least one vertical tunnel penetrating the channels vertically.
In Article 8, A printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the upper and lower connecting flow groups are arranged spaced apart from each other from left to right, and adjacent upper and lower connecting flow groups are arranged so that the flow paths are not located at the same height.
(a) A step of forming first concave channels with open tops on the upper surface of the first metal plate; (b) forming a second concave flow path with an open top and at least one first vertical tunnel on the upper surface of the second metal plate, wherein the at least one first vertical tunnel is formed to be located between the second flow paths; (c) forming a third concave flow path with an open top and at least one second vertical tunnel on the upper surface of the third metal plate, wherein the at least one second vertical tunnel is formed to be located on the third flow path; (d) a step of stacking the first metal plate, the second metal plate, and the third metal plate in sequence and joining them together, wherein A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the at least one first vertical tunnel, the at least one second vertical tunnel, and the first flow path are connected to each other.
In Article 10, A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the cross-sections of the first, second, and third fluid paths are semicircular.
In Article 10, The above at least one first vertical tunnel penetrates the second metal plate vertically up and down, and A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger, characterized in that at least one second vertical tunnel penetrates the third metal plate vertically up and down.
In Article 10, A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger, characterized in that the first flow paths, the second flow paths, the third flow paths, the at least one first vertical tunnel, and the at least one second vertical tunnel are formed through an etching step.
In Article 10, The above step (b) involves forming the second channels by etching, and then additionally forming the at least one first vertical tunnel by etching, and A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger, characterized in that step (c) above further forms at least one second vertical tunnel by etching after forming the third Euros by etching.
In Article 10, Step (b) above involves forming at least one first vertical tunnel by etching, and then additionally forming second channels by etching, A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger, characterized in that step (c) above involves forming at least one second vertical tunnel by etching, and then additionally forming third channels by etching.
In Article 10, A method for manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger characterized in that the first metal plate, the second metal plate, and the third metal plate are joined through a diffusion bonding method.

Description

Printed circuit heat exchanger having a vertical tunnel and method for manufacturing the same The present invention relates to a printed circuit heat exchanger having a vertical tunnel and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the invention relates to a printed circuit heat exchanger and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a vertical tunnel is formed to connect the flow paths of the printed circuit heat exchanger vertically, thereby enabling fluid flow between the vertically connected flow paths and thereby resolving non-uniformity of flow rates among the flow paths. Due to the recent increase in demand for hydrogen mobility, liquid hydrogen refueling stations capable of storing large amounts of hydrogen are gaining attention. These stations require heat exchangers capable of vaporizing high-pressure liquid hydrogen, and Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHEs), which offer excellent high-pressure durability and strong resistance to thermal stress, are attracting interest as such heat exchangers. Printed circuit heat exchangers are designed to withstand extreme environments such as high pressure and low temperature, and are capable of providing stable structural and thermal performance in cryogenic environments, such as liquid hydrogen. Figure 1 is a drawing illustrating the shapes of the flow paths of a conventional printed circuit heat exchanger. A printed circuit heat exchanger is formed by stacking and combining multiple metal plates (10, 20, 30), and generally one fluid flows through one metal plate, and heat exchange occurs between the high-temperature fluid and the low-temperature fluid by flowing the high-temperature fluid and the low-temperature fluid alternately through multiple layers. Since the printed circuit heat exchanger has a structure in which metal plates (10, 20, 30) are stacked, the flow paths (11, 21, 31) of the metal plates (10, 20, 30) are separated from one another. In this printed circuit heat exchanger, when fluid supplied through the header is distributed to the flow paths (11, 21, 31) of each metal plate (10, 20, 30), a flow non-uniformity problem occurs in which more fluid is supplied as it goes toward the lower metal plate (i.e., toward direction B). Since this flow non-uniformity problem reduces the efficiency of printed circuit heat exchangers, it must be resolved for them to be applied in liquid hydrogen refueling stations, where high-efficiency heat exchangers are required. Many inventors recognize the importance of resolving flow non-uniformity between flow paths in printed circuit heat exchangers and are researching and developing solutions, but satisfactory results have not yet been obtained. A brief description of each drawing is provided to help to better understand the drawings cited in this specification. Figure 1 is a drawing illustrating the shapes of the flow paths of a conventional printed circuit heat exchanger. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which a vertical channel is formed in the flow path of a low-temperature fluid of a printed circuit heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a metal plate through which a low-temperature fluid flows and a metal plate through which a high-temperature fluid flows in a printed circuit heat exchanger as shown in Figure 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which a vertical channel is formed in the flow path of a high-temperature fluid of a printed circuit heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a metal plate through which a high-temperature fluid flows and a metal plate through which a low-temperature fluid flows in a printed circuit heat exchanger shown in Figure 4. The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related prior art may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. Additionally, numbers used in the description of this specification (e.g., 1st, 2nd, etc.) are merely identification symbols to distinguish one component from another. In addition, when a component is described in this specification as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected to or directly connected to the other component, but unless otherwise specifica