Systems and methods for heat exchanger tubes having internal flow features
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsHendrik Pieter Jacobus de Bock, Karthik Kumar Bodla, William Dwight Gerstler, James Albert Tallman, Konrad Roman Weeber
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Abstract
A support form defining a longitudinal axis is provided. The support form includes a first section, a second substantially solid section, and at least one flow feature form. The first section includes a plurality of unit cells of a first material joined together to form a lattice. The second section includes a second material and surrounds the first section. The at least one flow feature form is defined in the second section and is configured to generate a flow feature on a heat exchanger tube formed by plating the support form.
Claims14
A support form defining a longitudinal axis, said support form comprising:
- a first section comprising a plurality of unit cells of a first material joined together to form a lattice;
- a second solid section comprising a second material, said second section surrounding said first section;
- and
- at least one flow feature form defined in said second section, said at least one flow feature form comprising a negative mold, wherein said support form is configured to form a heat exchanger tube by plating said support form, and wherein said at least one flow feature form is configured to yield a positive cast of a flow feature on the heat exchanger tube formed by plating said support form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.