Separator plate for cooling tubes

An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system comprising:

• an EGR passageway configured to recirculate exhaust gas exiting an engine to an intake of the engine;
• and
• an EGR cooler in the EGR passageway, the EGR cooler comprising:
• a shell extending along a longitudinal direction and defining an internal chamber therein;
• a first tube supporting plate defining a first wall of the internal chamber at a first end of the shell;
• a second tube support plate defining a second wall of the internal chamber, opposite the first all along the longitudinal direction, at a second end of the shell;
• a coolant inlet through the shell between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate;
• a coolant outlet through the shell between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate;
• a plurality of cooling tubes extending through the internal chamber from the first tube support plate to the second tube support plate, the plurality of cooling tubes being flexible tubes;
• and
• a plurality of separator plates extending within the internal chamber along the longitudinal direction between the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet, each plate terminating short of the coolant inlet and coolant outlet, adjacent separator plates of the plurality of separator plates facing one another along a first transverse direction, the first transverse direction being transverse to the longitudinal direction,
• the plurality of cooling tubes being arranged in a plurality of tube rows distributed along the first transverse direction,
• at least, two tube rows of the plurality of tube rows being disposed between adjacent separator plates of the plurality of separator plates along the first transverse direction, wherein adjacent separator plates have no additional separator plates disposed therebetween.

A heat exchanger, comprising:

• a shell extending along a longitudinal direction and defining an internal chamber therein;
• a first tube support plate defining a first wall of the internal chamber at a first end of the shell;
• a second tube support plate defining a second wall of the internal chamber, opposite the first wall, at a second end of the shell;
• a plurality of cooling tubes extending through the internal chamber from the first tube support plate to the second tube support plate along the longitudinal direction, the plurality of cooling tubes being flexible tubes;
• a coolant inlet through the shell between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate, the coolant inlet being disposed adjacent to the first tube support plate;
• a coolant outlet through the shell between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate, the coolant outlet being disposed adjacent to the second tube support plate;
• and
• a substantially planar separator plate, within the internal chamber, that partitions the internal chamber such that a first set of cooling tubes of the plurality of cooling tubes is disposed on a first side of the separator plate, and a second set of cooling tubes of the plurality of cooling tubes is disposed on a second side of the separator plate,
• the separator plate extending within the internal chamber between the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet along the longitudinal direction, and the separator plate terminating short of the coolant inlet and short of the coolant outlet,
• a first end of the separator plate being disposed adjacent to the coolant inlet, and a second end of the separator plate being disposed adjacent to the coolant outlet, the first end of the separator plate being opposite the second end of the separator plate along the longitudinal direction.