CN211012553U - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes a series of flat tubes arranged in two or more rows. The conduits each have at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface. At least one outwardly facing heat transfer surface of each tube in the first row is aligned with at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of a tube in the second row. A series of spacer structures is at least partially disposed between the first row of tubes and the second row of tubes. Each of the spacer structures has a first planar surface that is aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the first row of flat tubes and the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the second row of flat tubes. Each of the spacer structures further has a second planar surface aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the first row of tubes and the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the second row of tubes.

Description

Heat exchanger

Technical Field

The present application relates to heat exchangers.

Background

Heat exchangers for heating and/or cooling a flow of liquid coolant are known. In some such heat exchangers, the flow of liquid coolant is directed through a plurality of parallel arranged tubes between fluid manifolds, and heat is transferred through the walls of the tubes to or from the liquid coolant flow.

Such heat exchangers typically use flat tubes arranged in a plurality of rows. The different rows of tubes may be aligned so that the corrugated fins or other structures can be placed against the outer alignment surfaces of the tubes to provide good heat transfer. However, when the tubes in different rows are independent of each other, problems in terms of assembly and heat transfer performance may result.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

According to some embodiments of the invention, the heat exchanger comprises a series of flat tubes arranged in two or more rows. The tubes each have at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface, and in some (but not all) embodiments, the tubes each have two outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces. At least one outwardly facing heat transfer surface of each tube in the first row is aligned with at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of a tube in the second row. In some embodiments, the heat exchanger includes more than two rows of flat tubes, and the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of each successive row of tubes are aligned with the corresponding outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the tubes in the first and second rows.

The heat exchanger further comprises a series of spacer structures arranged at least partially between the first row of tubes and the second row of tubes. Each of the spacer structures has a first planar surface aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the flat tubes of the first row and the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the flat tubes of the second row. Each of the spacer structures further has a second planar surface aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the tubes of the first row and the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of the tubes of the second row.

In some embodiments, the first and second planar surfaces of a given one of the spacer structures are aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the tubes of the first row of tubes and are aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the tubes of the second row of tubes. In other embodiments, the first and second planar surfaces of a given one of the spacer structures are aligned with the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surfaces of adjacent conduits in a given row.

In some embodiments where the heat exchanger includes a third row of flat tubes, the heat exchanger further includes an additional spacer structure at least partially disposed between the second and third rows of flat tubes. In some embodiments, the heat exchanger comprises additional rows and additional spacer structures are arranged at least partially between flat tubes of adjacent additional rows of said additional rows.

In at least some embodiments, each flat tube of the first row of flat tubes and each flat tube of the second row of flat tubes has a male tube nose that is received into the female recess of one of the spacer structures. In some embodiments, at least some of the flat tubes have two male tube noses, each of which is received into a female recess of a spacer structure. In some such embodiments, the two male tube noses are received into the female recesses of the same spacer structure, while in other such embodiments, the two male tube noses are received into the female recesses of two different spacer structures.

In at least some embodiments, the heat exchanger further comprises a series of corrugated air fins. At least some of the corrugated air fins have peaks bonded to one of the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the flat tubes in the first row of flat tubes, the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the flat tubes in the second row of tubes, and the planar surface of one of the spacer structures. At least some of the corrugated air fins also have a valley joined to one of the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of another one of the flat tubes of the first row of flat tubes, the outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of another one of the tubes of the second row of tubes, and the planar surface of another one of the spacer structures. In other embodiments, the heat exchanger lacks corrugated air fins.

According to some other embodiments of the invention, the heat exchanger comprises a conduit structure extending in a length direction and having first and second opposing planar heat transfer surfaces. The conduit structure is a non-uniform conduit structure in that it has a non-uniform cross-section such that it comprises two or more coolant flow channels which are non-uniformly distributed over the cross-section of the structure. A first portion of one of the first and second planar heat transfer surfaces is disposed directly adjacent a first one of the coolant flow channels and a second portion of the same planar heat transfer surface is disposed directly adjacent a second one of the coolant flow channels. In some (but not all) such embodiments, the first portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is also disposed directly adjacent to the first of the coolant flow channels, and the second portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is also disposed directly adjacent to the second of the coolant flow channels. By "directly adjacent" it is meant that the liquid coolant flowing through the coolant flow channels is separated from the heat transfer surface portion only by the thin walls of the non-uniform conduit structure.

In some embodiments, the non-uniform conduit structure is constructed by brazing a plurality of aluminum tubes to at least one aluminum extrusion disposed at least partially between the aluminum tubes. The aluminum tube may be a welded tube having a braze cladding disposed on an outer surface of the welded tube such that the braze cladding connects the aluminum tube to the aluminum extrusion. In some embodiments, the aluminum extrusion provides an additional portion of either the first planar heat transfer surface or the second planar heat transfer surface or both. In some such embodiments, the additional portion is no more than twenty-five percent of the total heat transfer surface.

In some embodiments, the non-uniform conduit structure comprises four flow channels extending in the length direction of the structure. The four flow channels are each arranged at a different corner of the structure. A first portion of the first planar heat transfer surface is positioned directly adjacent a first flow channel of the four flow channels and a second portion of the first planar heat transfer surface is disposed directly adjacent a second flow channel of the four flow channels. A first portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is positioned directly adjacent a third one of the flow passages and a second portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is disposed directly adjacent a fourth one of the flow passages.

In some embodiments, a turbulence insert is disposed in each of the flow channels. In some embodiments, the hollow chamber is disposed at a center of the non-uniform duct structure and extends in a length direction.

In some embodiments, the ends of the flow channels of the non-uniform conduit structure are fluidly connected to one or more fluid manifolds disposed at a first end of the structure in the length direction and one or more second fluid manifolds disposed at a second end opposite the first end. In some embodiments, the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of such non-uniform conduit structures, and the end of the flow channel of each of the non-uniform conduit structures is connected to a fluid manifold.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a heat exchanger includes first and second spaced apart headers, each of the headers having one or more coolant manifolds. A plurality of non-uniform conduit structures extend between the headers. Each non-uniform conduit structure includes four coolant flow channels, each of the four coolant flow channels connecting one of the coolant manifolds of the first header to one of the coolant manifolds of the second header. Each non-uniform conduit structure also includes a first planar heat transfer surface configured to be cooled by coolant flow through two of the flow channels and a second planar heat transfer surface configured to be cooled by coolant flow through the other two of the flow channels.

In some such embodiments, the header and non-uniform conduit structure are provided as a brazed aluminum assembly. In some embodiments, each of the non-uniform conduit structures is constructed from four aluminum tubes bonded to an aluminum extrusion. The first and second planar heat transfer surfaces are each at least partially defined by two of the aluminum tubes and at least partially by the aluminum extrusion.

In some embodiments, adjacent ones of the non-uniform structures are spaced apart such that the heat discharging member can be secured to the first and second planar heat transfer surfaces in a gap between adjacent ones of the non-uniform conduit structures. In other embodiments, adjacent ones of the non-uniform structures are separated and joined by a corrugated fin disposed in a gap between adjacent ones of the non-uniform structures. In another further embodiment, adjacent ones of the non-uniform conduit structures are bonded together such that the first planar heat transfer surface of the structure forms a continuous heat transfer surface and the second planar heat transfer surface of the structure forms a continuous heat transfer surface.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway partial perspective view of a portion of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of components of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded partial perspective view of the components of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the member of fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the member of fig. 3.

FIG. 7 is an end view showing an alternate version of the components of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of components of the heat exchanger of FIG. 8.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the member of fig. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is an end view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 11

Detailed Description

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "supported," and "coupled" and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, "connected" and "coupled" are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.

The heat exchanger 1 depicted in fig. 1-2 is particularly well suited for: particularly in automobiles and other vehicles that use internal combustion engines or electric motors, or both, to reject heat from a fluid (such as coolant, lubricating oil, transmission oil) to the ambient air. The heat exchanger 1 is preferably formed as a brazed aluminum structure and is constructed of alternating layers of non-uniform conduit structures 2 and corrugated air fins 17. The non-uniform conduit structure 2, shown in greater detail in fig. 3-7, serves to direct the flow of coolant 5 in a plurality of channels between a pair of opposed headers 13, 14 of the heat exchanger 1.

The non-uniform conduit structure 2 is so called because: as best seen in fig. 5-6, they comprise coolant flow channels or paths 5, the coolant flow channels or paths 5 being non-uniformly distributed over the cross-section of the structure 2. This configuration allows for multiple coolant flow channels 5 to be arranged along the direction of air flow through the heat exchanger 1, while still maintaining a rigid, unitary structure for the coolant to flow through. In particular, the non-uniform conduit structure 2 may be characterized by thin walls 16 in some regions and substantially thicker walls in other regions that provide structural support to the non-uniform conduit structure 2.

The headers 13, 14 are each provided with one or more fluid manifolds 11, the one or more fluid manifolds 11 being arranged within the headers to distribute coolant flow to, or receive coolant flow from, some or all of the coolant flow channels 5. As shown in fig. 2, either or both of the headers 13, 14 may be provided with a plurality of manifolds 11 by, for example, arranging partition baffles 15 within the headers. Various flow configurations can be achieved by this arrangement.

In some embodiments, each of the headers 13, 14 may be provided with only a single fluid manifold 11, such that all of the coolant flow channels 5 are arranged hydraulically in parallel. In other embodiments, each of the headers 13, 14 may be provided with one or more dividing baffles 15 to form two or more independent manifolds 11 within each header. In this way, the individual coolant flow paths 5 of each non-uniform conduit structure 2 can be hydraulically isolated from each other within the heat exchanger 1. This arrangement can be beneficial because it allows two different fluids to flow through the heat exchanger 1 simultaneously to be heated or cooled by the air flow. Alternatively, the same fluid may flow through the heat exchanger 1 in the opposite direction, as indicated in fig. 7 by arrow 50. In some embodiments, only one of the headers 13, 14 is provided with a dividing baffle 15 between the two sets of coolant flow channels 5, so that the fluid manifold 11 at the opposite header functions as a turn manifold to allow the same coolant to flow through the heat exchanger 1 multiple times.

As depicted in fig. 3-5, the non-uniform conduit structure 2 may be constructed from multiple components that are bonded together to form the non-uniform conduit structure 2. The exemplary non-uniform conduit structure 2 depicted in those figures is constructed from two flattened aluminum tubes 9, the flattened aluminum tubes 9 being formed of a brazeable aluminum alloy and bonded to an aluminum extrusion 8. The aluminium tube 9 is preferably welded from thin aluminium sheet material and is formed into a generally flat shape with opposed planar walls joined by an arcuate convex tube nose 19. The sheet material may be provided with a cladding of brazing alloy on at least one surface of said sheet, which surface becomes the outwardly facing surface of the aluminium tube 9 after the tube has been formed. This brazing alloy layer can then be used during the formation of the heat exchanger 1 to bond the aluminium tube 9 to the aluminium extrusion 8 and the corrugated air fins 17.

Turbulence inserts 7 are optionally disposed within the coolant flow channels 5 to structurally support the thin walls 16 of the non-uniform conduit structure 2 and to enhance the heat transfer rate to/from the liquid flowing through the flow channels 5. In the embodiment comprising the turbulence insert 7, the plate material used to form the aluminium tube 9 is preferably provided with a coating of a brazing alloy on both surfaces, such that the brazing alloy is additionally present on the inwardly facing surface of the aluminium tube 9 in order to bond the turbulence insert 7 to the aluminium tube 9.

The coolant flow channels 5 are provided with extensions 12 at opposite ends in the length direction 6 of the non-uniform conduit structure 2. As shown in fig. 2, the extensions 12 extend through corresponding slots provided in the headers 13, 14 to provide fluid communication between the coolant flow channels 5 and the fluid manifold 11. When constructing the non-uniform conduit structure 2 using aluminium tubes 9 and aluminium extrusions 8, it is easy to achieve the extension 12 by producing aluminium tubes 9 having a length slightly exceeding that of the aluminium extrusions 8.

The aluminium extrusion 8 is provided with a concave recess 18 corresponding to the convex tube nose 19 to allow accurate alignment and assembly of the aluminium tube 9 and the aluminium extrusion 8 when forming the non-uniform conduit structure 2. Once assembled and bonded together, the aluminum tubes 9 and aluminum extrusion 8 define two opposing, planar heat transfer surfaces 3 and 4 of the non-uniform conduit structure 2. In the construction of the heat exchanger 1, the peaks and valleys of the corrugated air fins 17 are bonded to the planar heat transfer surfaces 3 and 4 to allow efficient transfer of heat between the air flow passing through the corrugated air fins 17 and the liquid coolant flow passing through the coolant flow channels 5.

The planar heat transfer surface 3 comprises a first portion 3a and a second portion 3b, the first portion 3a being positioned directly adjacent to a first of said flow channels 5 and the second portion 3b being positioned directly adjacent to a second of said flow channels 5. Similarly, the planar heat transfer surface 4 comprises a first portion 4a and a second portion 4b, the first portion 4a being positioned directly adjacent to the first flow channel 5 and the second portion 4b being positioned directly adjacent to the second flow channel 5. The portions 3a, 3b, 4a and 4b are considered to be directly adjacent to the respective flow channels 5, because the liquid coolant flowing through the coolant flow channels 5 is only separated from the heat transfer surface portions by the thin walls 16 of the non-uniform conduit structure 2.

In order to provide a uniform and continuous mounting surface for the corrugated air fin 17, the aluminum extrusion 8 provides a third portion 3c of the first planar heat transfer surface 3 and a third portion 4c of the second planar heat transfer surface 4. The portions 3c, 4c provide structural support for electronic components mounted to the heat transfer surface and additional heat transfer surface area. Heat transferred from the air passing through the corrugated air fin 17 to the portions 3c, 4c can be conductively transferred to the flow channel 5. Since the efficiency of the conductive transfer of heat from the portions 3c, 4c will be lower than the heat transfer efficiency through the thin wall 16, it is preferred to have the portion 3c be a relatively small portion of the entire heat transfer surface 3, and similarly, to have the portion 4c be a relatively small portion of the entire heat transfer surface 4. In some embodiments, it is preferable to have portion 3c not greater than twenty-five percent of the heat transfer surface 3, and to have portion 4c not greater than twenty-five percent of the heat transfer surface 4. The first and second portions 3a, 3b and 4a, 4b thus define at least seventy-five percent of the heat transfer surfaces 3 and 4, respectively.

Although the exemplary heat exchanger 1 depicted in fig. 1-2 has non-uniform conduit structures 2 with two coolant flow paths 5 each, it should be understood that other embodiments may include more than two coolant flow paths 5 in each non-uniform conduit structure 2. By way of example, an alternative non-uniform conduit structure 2 having three coolant flow paths 5 is depicted in fig. 7, and the alternative non-uniform conduit structure 2 is formed using two aluminum extrusions 8 and two aluminum tubes 9. In such an embodiment, it may be preferred that the sum of those portions of the heat transfer surfaces 3, 4 that are located directly adjacent to one of the coolant flow channels 5 defines at least seventy-five percent of the heat transfer surface.

An alternative heat exchanger 101 is depicted in fig. 8, and this alternative heat exchanger 101 uses a modified non-uniform conduit structure 102 shown in detail in fig. 9-10. The non-uniform conduit structure 102 includes a coolant flow channel 5, the coolant flow channel 5 being disposed at each of four corners of the non-uniform conduit structure 102. The coolant flow channels 5 are constructed in a similar manner to those previously described with respect to the non-uniform conduit structure 2. The non-uniform conduit structure 2 further comprises aluminum extrusions 108 disposed between the four aluminum tubes 9 to position them and form a rigid, unitary structure after brazing. In order to minimize the weight and cost of the heat exchanger 101, the aluminium extrusion 8 may be provided with a hollow chamber 10 in the centre.

The planar heat transfer surfaces 3, 4 of the non-uniform conduit structure 102 are similar to those of the non-uniform conduit structure 2. The planar heat transfer surface 3 comprises a first portion 3a and a second portion 3b, the first portion 3a being arranged directly adjacent to a first one of the coolant flow channels 5 and the second portion 3b being arranged directly adjacent to a second one of the coolant flow channels 5. The planar heat transfer surface 4 comprises a first portion 4a and a second portion 4b, the first portion 4a being arranged directly adjacent to a third one of the coolant flow channels 5, and the second portion 4b being arranged directly adjacent to a fourth one of the coolant flow channels 5. Thus, in contrast to the non-uniform conduit structure 2, each of the coolant flow channels 5 of the non-uniform conduit structure 102 is directly adjacent to only one of the planar heat transfer surfaces.

The heat exchanger 101 provides increased structural rigidity and stiffness of the conduit structure 2 at the expense of a reduction in corrugated fin surface area and flow area as compared to the heat exchanger 1. In some specific applications, the corrugated air fins 17 can be completely removed and heat dissipating structures (such as batteries, power electronics, etc.) can instead be placed in the gaps between the non-uniform conduit structures and arranged against the planar heat transfer surfaces 3, 4 to transfer heat therefrom into the coolant flowing through the coolant flow channels 5.

An exemplary embodiment employing a non-uniform conduit structure 202 as a heat exchanger 201 for a battery or other heat dissipating structure is depicted in fig. 11-12. The aluminum extrusion 208 of the non-uniform conduit structures 202 is provided with engagement features 220, the engagement features 220 interlocking with adjoining ones of the non-uniform conduit structures 202 such that the planar heat transfer surfaces 3 of all of the non-uniform conduit structures 202 form a continuous heat transfer surface and the planar heat transfer surfaces 4 of all of the non-uniform conduit structures 202 form a continuous heat transfer surface. This provides a plate heat exchanger with double-sided cooling, which has a high degree of flexibility in varying the dimensions of the heat exchanger in order to match the footprint of the device to be cooled. Headers similar to headers 13, 14 (ninety degrees of slot rotation to receive the coolant flow channel extension 12) may be bonded to the assembled non-uniform conduit structure 202 to circulate coolant through the flow channels 5.

Various alternatives to some features and elements of the present invention are described with reference to specific embodiments of the invention. In addition to the features, elements, and manners of operation that are mutually exclusive of or are inconsistent with each embodiment described above, it should be noted that the alternative features, elements, and manners of operation described with reference to one particular embodiment can be applied to other embodiments.

The embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. A heat exchanger, comprising:

a plurality of first flat tubes arranged in a first row, each of the plurality of first flat tubes having at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface;

a plurality of second flat tubes arranged in a second row offset from the first row, each of the plurality of second flat tubes having at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface aligned with the at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the plurality of first flat tubes; and

a plurality of spacer structures at least partially disposed between the first row and the second row, each of the plurality of spacer structures having a first planar surface and a second planar surface, the first planar surface being aligned with the outwardly facing heat transfer surface of one of the plurality of first flat tubes and the outwardly facing heat transfer surface of one of the plurality of second flat tubes, and the second planar surface being aligned with the other of the outwardly facing heat transfer surface of one of the plurality of first flat tubes and the other of the outwardly facing heat transfer surface of one of the plurality of second flat tubes.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein each of the first plurality of flat tubes and each of the second plurality of flat tubes has a male tube nose received into a female recess of one of the plurality of spacer structures.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of corrugated air fins, at least some of the corrugated air fins comprising:

a plurality of peaks bonded to the at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the first plurality of flat tubes, the at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of one of the second plurality of flat tubes, and one of the planar surfaces of one of the spacer structures; and

a plurality of valleys bonded to one of the at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of another one of the first plurality of flat tubes, the at least one outwardly facing planar heat transfer surface of another one of the second plurality of flat tubes, and the planar surface of another one of the spacer structures.

4. A heat exchanger, comprising:

a non-uniform conduit structure extending in a length direction and having opposing first and second planar heat transfer surfaces;

a first flow channel for a liquid coolant, the first flow channel extending through the non-uniform conduit structure in the length direction, a first portion of the first planar heat transfer surface being located directly adjacent the first flow channel; and

a second flow channel for liquid coolant, the second flow channel arranged to extend through the non-uniform conduit structure in the length direction, a second portion of the first planar heat transfer surface being located directly adjacent the second flow channel.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 4, wherein a first portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is positioned directly adjacent to the first flow channel, and wherein a second portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is positioned directly adjacent to the second flow channel.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 4, wherein the non-uniform conduit structure is constructed by brazing a plurality of aluminum tubes to at least one aluminum extrusion, the at least one aluminum extrusion being disposed at least partially between the aluminum tubes, the plurality of aluminum tubes being welded tubing, the welded tubing having a braze cladding disposed on an outer surface of the welded tubing to connect the plurality of aluminum tubes to the at least one aluminum extrusion.

7. The heat exchanger of claim 6, wherein the aluminum extrusion provides a third portion of the first planar heat transfer surface and a third portion of the second planar heat transfer surface.

8. The heat exchanger of claim 7, wherein the third portion of the first planar heat transfer surface is no greater than twenty-five percent of the first planar heat transfer surface, and wherein the third portion of the second planar heat transfer surface is no greater than twenty-five percent of the second planar heat transfer surface.

9. The heat exchanger of claim 4, wherein the first flow channel is disposed at a first corner of the non-uniform conduit structure, and wherein the second flow channel is disposed at a second corner of the non-uniform conduit structure, the heat exchanger further comprising:

a third flow passage for liquid coolant, the third flow passage being disposed at a third corner of the non-uniform conduit structure and extending in the length direction, a first portion of the second planar heat transfer surface being located directly adjacent the third flow passage; and

a fourth flow channel for liquid coolant, the fourth flow channel being disposed at a fourth corner of the non-uniform conduit structure and extending in the length direction, a second portion of the second planar heat transfer surface being located directly adjacent the fourth flow channel.

10. The heat exchanger of claim 9, further comprising a turbulence insert disposed in each of the first, second, third, and fourth flow channels.

11. The heat exchanger of claim 9, further comprising a hollow chamber disposed at a center of the non-uniform conduit structure and extending in the length direction.

12. The heat exchanger of claim 9, wherein ends of the first, second, third and fourth flow channels are fluidly connected to one or more first fluid manifolds and one or more second fluid manifolds, the one or more first fluid manifolds being disposed at a first end of the non-uniform conduit structure in the length direction, the one or more second fluid manifolds being disposed at a second end of the non-uniform conduit structure in the length direction.

13. The heat exchanger of claim 12, wherein the non-uniform conduit structure is one of a plurality of such non-uniform conduit structures, wherein ends of the first, second, third, and fourth flow channels of each of the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures are fluidly connected to the one or more first fluid manifolds and the one or more second fluid manifolds.

14. A heat exchanger, comprising:

a first header having one or more coolant manifolds;

a second header separated from the first header and having one or more coolant manifolds; and

a plurality of non-uniform conduit structures extending between the first header and the second header, each of the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures comprising:

a first coolant flow passage fluidly connecting one of the at least one coolant manifold of the first header to one of the at least one coolant manifold of the second header;

a second coolant flow passage fluidly connecting one of the at least one coolant manifold of the first header to one of the at least one coolant manifold of the second header;

a third coolant flow passage fluidly connecting one of the at least one coolant manifold of the first header to one of the at least one coolant manifold of the second header;

a fourth coolant flow passage fluidly connecting one of the at least one coolant manifold of the first header to one of the at least one coolant manifold of the second header;

a first planar heat transfer surface configured to be cooled by a flow of coolant flowing through the first coolant flow passage and by a flow of coolant flowing through the second coolant flow passage; and

a second planar heat transfer surface arranged parallel to the first planar heat transfer surface and configured to be cooled by the coolant flow through the third coolant flow passage and by the coolant flow through the fourth coolant flow passage.

15. The heat exchanger of claim 14, wherein the first header, the second header, and the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures are provided as a brazed aluminum assembly.

16. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 14 wherein adjacent ones of the non-uniform conduit structures are spaced apart such that a heat discharging member can be secured to the first and second planar heat transfer surfaces in a gap between adjacent ones of the non-uniform conduit structures.

17. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 14 wherein adjacent ones of the non-uniform conduit structures are bonded together such that the first planar heat transfer surfaces of the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures form a continuous heat transfer surface and the second planar heat transfer surfaces of the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures form a continuous heat transfer surface.

18. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 14 wherein each of the plurality of non-uniform conduit structures comprises four aluminum tubes bonded to an aluminum extrusion, the first and second planar heat transfer surfaces of each non-uniform conduit structure each being at least partially defined by two of the aluminum tubes and at least partially by the aluminum extrusion.

19. The heat exchanger of claim 14, further comprising a turbulence insert disposed in each of the first, second, third, and fourth flow passages of each of the non-uniform conduit structures.

20. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a hollow chamber disposed at a center of each of the non-uniform conduit structures.

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