Recuperator assembly and procedures
AssigneeCapstone Turbine Corporation
InventorsYungmo Kang, Robert McKeirnan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A construction of recuperator core segments is provided which insures proper assembly of the components of the recuperator core segment, and of a plurality of recuperator core segments. Each recuperator core segment must be constructed so as to prevent nesting of fin folds of the adjacent heat exchanger foils of the recuperator core segment. A plurality of recuperator core segments must be assembled together so as to prevent nesting of adjacent fin folds of adjacent recuperator core segments.
Claims7
A method of assembly of a recuperator core, comprising:
- (a) providing a supply of first heat exchanger foils and a supply of second heat exchanger foils, the first heat exchanger foils having a first fin fold orientation and the second heat exchanger foils having a different second fin fold orientation;
- and
- (b) forming an indexing indicator on each of said first heat exchanger foils and each of said second heat exchanger foils, such that an improper assembly of two first heat exchanger foils or two second heat exchanger foils is visibly distinguishable from a proper assembly of one first heat exchanger foil and one second heat exchanger foil.
A heat exchanger foil comprising:
- a foil sheet having an overall generally trapezoidal outer profile defined by a longer side, a shorter side parallel to the longer side, and first and second sloped manifold sides of substantially equal length;
- a first indexing corner and a second indexing corner each defined in the generally trapezoidal outer profile at an intersection of the shorter side and a sloped manifold side, each first and second indexing corner having a generally curved outer profile defined by a first indexing radius and a second indexing radius respectively,
- wherein, the first indexing radius and the second indexing radius are selected such that, for two such identical foils, mating a first indexing corner of one foil with a second indexing corner of a second foil creates a distortion in the profile of the mated assembly identifiable by an inspection means.
A recuperator core apparatus comprising:
- a first heat exchanger foil and a second heat exchanger foil, each foil comprising:
- an inlet manifold zone;
- an outlet manifold zone;
- a primary surface zone adjacently disposed between the inlet manifold zone and the outlet manifold zone;
- and
- an offset peripheral mating flange defining a mating plane, the mating flange having a first indexing corner and a second indexing corner, each indexing corner having a generally curved outer profile defined by a first indexing radius and a second indexing radius respectively,
- wherein, the second heat exchanger foil has generally mirror symmetry to the first heat exchanger foil about the mating plane,
- wherein, the first indexing radius and the second indexing radius are selected such that, during mating of the first and second heat exchanger foils, the first corner of the first heat exchanger foil is aligned with the first corner of the second heat exchanger foil, but the mating of either two first heat exchanger foils or two second heat exchanger foils creates a distortion in the profile of the mated offset peripheral mating flange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.