Coiled adsorption heat exchanger
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJens O. Ammann, Patrick Ruch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A unit for exchanging heat between a working fluid and a heat transfer fluid by means of adsorption. The heat exchange unit comprises a tube hosting the heat transfer fluid and being surrounded by mass channel coils comprising a metallic spacer strip in physical contact with the tube for permitting heat conduction and a metal foil strip supported by the spacer strip, a width of the foil strip exceeding a width of the spacer strip in an axial direction of the tube. Additionally, a heat exchange system comprising a plurality of the heat exchange units is provided, and a method for manufacturing a heat exchange unit is provided.
Claims16
A heat exchange unit for exchanging heat between a working fluid and a heat transfer fluid by adsorption and desorption of the working fluid, the heat exchange unit comprising:
- a tube to carry the heat transfer fluid along its inner surface, and
- a plurality of spaced apart mass channel coils wound around the tube in an orthogonal direction with respect to a central axis of the tube, each of the mass channel coils comprising:
- a coiled metallic spacer strip being in physical contact with the tube for permitting heat conduction, and
- a coiled metal foil strip being supported by and centrally aligned with the spacer strip, a width of the foil strip exceeding a width of the spacer strip in an axial direction of the tube.
A heat exchange system comprising a hermetically sealed chamber to contain a low pressure working fluid below atmospheric pressure or a high pressure working fluid above atmospheric pressure, and a plurality of the heat exchange units disposed within the vacuum chamber, each heat exchange unit for exchanging heat between the working fluid and a heat transfer fluid by adsorption and desorption of the working fluid, each heat exchange unit comprising:
- a tube to carry the heat transfer fluid along its inner surface, and
- a plurality of spaced apart mass channel coils wound around the tube in an orthogonal direction with respect to a central axis of the tube, each of the mass channel coils comprising:
- a coiled metallic spacer strip being in physical contact with the tube for permitting heat conduction, and
- a coiled metal foil strip being supported by and centrally aligned with the spacer strip, a width of the foil strip exceeding a width of the spacer strip in an axial direction of the tube,
- the tubes of the heat exchange units being aligned in parallel and being in hydraulic communication with each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.