Storage integrated heat exchanger
AssigneeVito NV
InventorsJohan VAN BAEL, Robbe SALENBIEN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat exchanger with integrated thermal storage, for example, having a new tertiary side utilising phase change material in between and in thermal contact with the primary and secondary circuits, e.g. of a plate heat exchanger. The tertiary side helps reduce e.g. leak flows in district heating applications, or reduce energy losses in periods of low flow through the heat exchanger. By including thermal energy storage in a heat exchanger or reactor, response times of the systems are reduced as well as internal energy losses, and external energy storage units are reduced in number or are potentially rendered obsolete.
Claims15
1-14. (canceled)
A heat exchanger comprising:
- a plurality of first zones forming with a first inlet and a first outlet a primary circuit;
- a plurality of second zones forming with a second inlet and a second outlet a secondary circuit;
- and
- a plurality of third zones forming a tertiary side in thermal contact with the first and second circuits,
- each third zone of the tertiary side comprising three or more different phase change materials wherein each phase change material changes from a lower temperature to an upper temperature phase at a phase transition temperature,
- the three or more different phase change materials being physically separated from each other,
- wherein each of the three or more different phase change materials has a different phase transition temperature and
- wherein the three or more different phase change materials are arranged in a graded manner with respect to the phase transition temperature from an upper portion of the heat exchanger to a lower portion of the heat exchanger or from the first inlet to the first outlet or from the second inlet to the second outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.