Smart additively manufactured heat exchanger with adaptive profile and turbulator
AssigneeHamilton Sundstrand Corporation
InventorViktor Kilchyk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat exchanger element includes a body and at least one deformable surface feature disposed at an outer body surface of the body. At least one of the body and of the at least one surface feature is configured to selectively respond to a temperature change such that a physical characteristic of the heat exchanger element changes in response to the temperature change. The physical characteristic is selected from the group consisting of: a shape of the heat exchanger element, a surface area of the heat exchanger element, a surface roughness of the heat exchanger element, and combinations thereof.
Claims19
A heat exchanger element, comprising:
- a body comprising an outer body surface surrounding an inner body surface;
- and
- a first tail fin and a second tail fin each comprising:
- a base attached to the outer body surface;
- and
- a tip extending from the base and away from the body;
- wherein each of the body, the first tail fin, and the second tail fin is configured to selectively deform in response to respective temperature changes to alter fluid flow about the heat exchanger element;
- and
- wherein the first tail fin and the second tail fin are configured to selectively deform to move away from one another in response to the respective temperature changes.
A heat exchanger element for an aircraft comprising:
- a body comprising:
- an inner body surface formed from the first material and the second material;
- and
- an outer body surface formed from the first material and the second material and surrounding the inner body surface;
- and
- at least one surface feature disposed at the outer body surface of the body, wherein the at least one surface feature is deformable;
- and
- wherein at least one of the body and the at least one surface feature is configured to selectively respond to respective temperature changes such that a physical characteristic of the heat exchanger element changes in response to the respective temperature changes, the physical characteristic selected from the group consisting of:
- a shape of the heat exchanger element, a surface area of the heat exchanger element, a surface roughness of the heat exchanger element, and combinations thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.