Connection of reduced overall dimensions between an aluminum tube and a heat exchanger

A method for connecting an aluminum tube to a heat exchanger, comprising the steps of:

• providing a heat exchanger provided with a connection flange within which a fluid flow duct is formed,
• providing an aluminum tube having an outer diameter D and comprising an end flange, the tube further comprising an elbow arranged close to the end flange and a rectilinear segment extending from the end flange to an end cross-section of the elbow,
• abutting the end flange of the tube against the connection flange of the heat exchanger, and
• fastening the end flange of the tube to the connection flange of the heat exchanger by means of a fastener, wherein:
• the elbow has a bend radius R, referred to the central axis of the tube, such that 0.5D≦R≦D and the end cross-section of the elbow is arranged at a distance d from the connection flange of the heat exchanger such that d≦0.5D, and
• the fastener consists of a tube clamp of plastic material comprising a pair of separate clamp halves snap-fittable to each other, the fastening step comprising
• moving the clamp halves closer to each other and to the connection flange of the heat exchanger and the end flange of the tube, in a direction perpendicular to the rectilinear segment of the tube, until the clamp halves encircle the connection flange of the heat exchanger and the end flange of the tube and snap-fit to each other.