JP2023177277A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heat exchanger capable of simply cleaning a plate and easily replacing a damaged plate.SOLUTION: A heat exchanger comprises a frame including a pair of opposing side plates and a horizontal frame connecting the pair of side plates, a plate laminate that is housed in the frame and is composed of a plurality of plates, and a fixing part that fixes the plate laminate to the frame. When the fixing of the plate laminate by the fixing part is released, each of the plurality of plates is removable from a front surface of the frame.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger.

Generally, in a plate heat exchanger, a plurality of heat transfer plates are brazed to each other, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Utility Model Registration No. 3222546).

Utility model registration No. 3222546

However, cleaning the heat transfer plate laminate integrated by brazing or the like is troublesome. Furthermore, if any of the plates is damaged, the entire heat transfer plate stack must be replaced, and it is difficult to replace each plate individually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger in which plates can be easily cleaned and damaged plates can be easily replaced.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention
a frame including a pair of opposing side plates and a horizontal frame connecting the pair of side plates;
a plate laminate made up of a plurality of plates that are housed in the frame and slide along the horizontal frame;
an insert that is removably attached to the frame and presses a plate stack in the frame against the side plate;
a fixing part that fixes the plate laminate to the horizontal frame,
when the insert is removed from the frame, the plate is removable via the mounting space of the insert in the frame;
A heat exchanger is provided.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, it is preferable that the frame further includes a rail provided along the horizontal frame, and each plate has an engagement piece that engages with the rail.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, it is preferable that the rail is cut out at a position corresponding to the insert.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, it is preferable that the fixing portion fixes the plate to the horizontal frame by sandwiching the engagement piece with the rail.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, it is preferable that the insert body has a pressing portion that presses the plate stack in the frame against the side plate.

It is preferable that the heat exchanger of the present invention further includes a roller that supports each of the plurality of plates so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the frame.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, the roller has grooves formed in the circumferential direction that are lined up at predetermined intervals in the axial direction, and each of the plurality of plates has a protrusion piece that engages with the groove. Preferably, each of the plurality of plates slides on the roller while the groove and the projection piece are engaged with each other.

In the heat exchanger of the present invention, it is preferable that the fixing part is a door that is detachably attached to the front surface of the frame and allows ventilation in the front and rear directions of the frame.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat exchanger in which plates can be easily cleaned and damaged plates can be easily replaced.

1 is a front view, a side view, a sectional view taken along the line AA, and a partially enlarged view of a portion B of a heat exchanger 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. They are a front view, a side view, an enlarged front view of C part, and an enlarged side view of C part of element 50. FIG. 7 is a front view and a side view of the insert 7. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 in a state in which the insert 7 is being taken out from the frame 3; 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 with the insert 7 taken out from the frame 3. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 with the fixing portion released. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 with one element 50 sliding within the frame 3; FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 in a state where one element 50 is about to be taken out from the frame 3; 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 with one element 50 taken out from the frame 3. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 with one element 50 taken out from the frame 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an element 50 and a plate laminate 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the element 50 and the plate stack 5. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger 101 according to a second embodiment. 2 is a partially cross-sectional perspective view of the heat exchanger 101. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged front view of the left side portion of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the upper left part of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged side view of the front upper part of FIG. 15. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of heat exchanger 101 with one door 109 removed from frame 103. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 101 with one element 150 about to be removed from the frame 103; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 101 with one element 150 removed from the frame 103; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat exchanger 101 with another element 150 about to be removed from the frame 103;

Hereinafter, typical embodiments of the heat exchanger according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to what is illustrated. Since the drawings are for conceptually explaining the present invention, dimensions, ratios, or numbers may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary to facilitate understanding. In the following description, the same or corresponding parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions may be omitted.

A. Embodiment 1
A heat exchanger according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.

1. Configuration of heat exchanger 1 Although the heat exchanger 1 is assumed to be used as an air preheater using exhaust gas, the present invention is not limited to this.
The heat exchanger 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is made of a metal material such as stainless steel. Here, the front and rear surfaces of the heat exchanger 1 serve as flow paths for heat-radiating fluid (e.g., exhaust gas), and the upper and lower surfaces of the heat exchanger 1 serve as flow paths for heat-receiving fluid (e.g., air). However, the present invention is not limited to this.

The heat exchanger 1 includes a frame 3 , a plate stack 5 , an insert 7 and a fixing part 9 . These components will be explained in detail below.

The frame 3 includes a pair of side plates 31 and 32 facing each other. Although the side plates 31 and 32 have a substantially rectangular shape, they are not limited thereto.
Further, the frame 3 includes horizontal frames 33 to 36 that connect the side plates 31 and 32 to each other. Here, the horizontal frames 33 to 36 connect corresponding corners of the side plates 31 and 32.
Therefore, the front and rear surfaces of the frame 3 are open to serve as flow paths for the heat radiation side, and the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 3 are open to serve as flow paths for the fluid (for example, air) on the heat reception side. .

The frame 3 may further include rails 37-40 provided along the horizontal frames 33-36. Here, the rails 37 to 40 are plate-shaped bodies that protrude inward.
The rails 37-40 are cut out at positions corresponding to the inserts 7. Alternatively, it may be said that each of the rails 37 to 40 is composed of a pair of left and right plate-like pieces arranged at a predetermined distance apart. An insert body 7 and a plate 50, which will be described later, are taken out of the frame 3 from this cut portion (see FIGS. 5 and 9).

A plate stack 5 is housed in the frame 3.
The plate stack 5 is composed of a plurality of plates (elements) 50. That is, a plurality of elements 50 are stacked in the thickness direction to form the plate stack 5. Adjacent elements 50 are not welded together.
As shown in FIG. 2, the element 50 has a substantially rectangular shape.

Here, a configuration example of the element 50 (elements 50A and 50B) will be described.
As shown in FIG. 12(A), one set of parts 60 is prepared. The part 60 consists of opposing plate members 61 and 62, which are pressed (bended) into a special shape. The upper and lower edges of the plates 61 and 62 are connected to each other, and substantially L-shaped connecting pieces 63 and 64 protrude from the front and rear edges of the plates 61 and 62, respectively. Then, the element 50A is constructed by joining the connecting pieces 63 and 64 of the plate materials 61 and 62 by welding or the like (see FIG. 12(B)).
Therefore, three channels 66A-66C are formed within element 50A. The central flow path 66A forms a vertical flow path, that is, a heat receiving side path. Further, the flow paths 66B and 66C on both sides form a flow path in the front-rear direction, that is, a heat radiation side path.
Then, the plate laminate 5 is formed by stacking the plurality of elements 50 in close contact with each other in the thickness direction (horizontal direction) (see FIGS. 12C and 12D). That is, the plate stack 5 made up of the elements 50A is configured so that the fluid on the heat receiving side and the fluid on the heat radiation side do not mix with each other.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13, it is also possible to use elements 50B in which a set of parts 60 are combined in different ways.
That is, the element 50B is configured by joining a set of parts 60 at the plate material 61 (see FIGS. 13(A) and 13(B)). The element 50B includes channels 67A and 67B in the same direction (front-back direction) inside, and furthermore, by stacking a plurality of elements 50B in close contact with each other, there is a gap between adjacent elements 50B in a different direction (vertical direction). A flow path 67C is formed ((see FIGS. 13C and 13D)). That is, the plate stack 5 made up of the elements 50B is also configured so that the fluid on the heat receiving side and the fluid on the heat radiation side do not mix with each other.

Returning to FIG. 2, the element 50 has engagement pieces 51 to 54 at its corners that engage with the rails 37 to 40. The engaging pieces 51 to 54 protrude outward from the corners of the element 50 in the vertical direction. Although the protruding piece is approximately L-shaped here, it is not limited to this.

The engaging pieces 51 to 54 are located outside the rails 37 to 40 when the element 50 is housed in the frame 3 (for example, see FIG. 7). Therefore, when the engaging pieces 51 to 54 engage with the rails 37 to 40, the element 50 slides along the horizontal frames 33 to 36 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

Further, the engaging pieces 51 to 54 are located inside the fixing portion 9 (91 to 94) when the element 50 is housed in the frame 3 (see, for example, FIG. 7). Therefore, as will be described later, the engaging pieces 51 to 54 can be held between the rails 37 to 40 and the fixed part 9 (91 to 94).

The plate laminate 5 is pressed against the side plates 31 and 32 of the frame 3 by the insert 7 and integrated therewith.
The insert 7 includes a pair of opposing plates 71 and 72, a connecting part 73 that connects the plates 71 and 72, pressing parts 74 to 77 provided across the corners of the plates 71 and 72, and a plate on the front side. It includes a handle 78 attached to 71 and a displacement mechanism (for example, a handle) 79 that displaces the pressing parts 74 to 77 in the direction of the side plates 31 and 32.

The insert 7 can be inserted into and removed from the frame 3 via the cutouts in the rails 37 to 40 (see FIG. 5). In addition, the insert body 7 attached to the frame 3 displaces the pressing parts 74 to 77 outward (towards the side plates 31 and 32) in accordance with the operation of the displacement mechanism 79, thereby moving the plate stack 5 between the side plates 31 and 32. to press.

The plate stack 5 (element 50) is fixed to the frame 3 by fixing parts 91 to 94 (sometimes collectively referred to as the fixing part 9). Here, the fixing portion 9 is a substantially L-shaped plate piece. The fixing portion 9 fixes the element 50 to the frame 3 (horizontal frames 33 to 36) by pressing the engaging pieces 51 to 54 of the element 50 against the corresponding rails 37 to 40.

The fixing part 9 has a locking mechanism 95 that holds the fixing part 9 in a predetermined position. The locking mechanism 95 is assumed to be a screw member with a handle (see FIG. 1(E)), but is not limited thereto.

2. Operation of the heat exchanger 1 The operation of the heat exchanger 1 will be described, particularly from the viewpoint of maintenance.

The heat exchanger 1 in operation performs heat exchange by, for example, circulating exhaust gas from the front and rear surfaces of the frame 3 and circulating air from the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 3 (see FIG. 4).

Maintenance and parts replacement of the heat exchanger 1 are performed in the following steps.
That is, the pressing of the element 50 by the insert 7 is released, and the insert 7 is removed from the frame 3 (see FIG. 5).

Next, by releasing the locking mechanism 95 of the fixed part 9 and moving the fixed part 9 away from the element 50, the fixation between the element 50 and the frame 3 is released (see FIGS. 6 and 7).
Slide the element 50 toward the center and remove it from the frame 3 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

After performing necessary cleaning and parts replacement, the element 50 is inserted into the frame 3 and slid toward the side plates 31 and 32, and the insert body 7 is inserted into the frame 3 and fixed in the reverse order.
Thereby, the insert 7 and the plate stack 5 can be cleaned and parts replaced easily.

3. Effects of Embodiment 1 In this embodiment, the elements 50 constituting the plate stack 5 are not integrated by welding or the like, and each element 50 can be taken out from the frame 3. Therefore, not only is maintenance and cleaning of the heat exchanger 1 easy, but also by replacing a damaged element 50, the remaining elements 50 can be used continuously.

B. Embodiment 2
A heat exchanger according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 22.

1. Configuration of Heat Exchanger 101 For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the heat exchanger 101 includes a frame 103, a plate stack 105, rollers 107, and a door 109 as an example of a fixed part.

Frame 103 includes a pair of side plates 131 and 132 facing each other. Further, the frame 103 includes horizontal frames 133 to 136 that connect the side plates 131 and 132 to each other. Therefore, the front and rear surfaces of the frame 103 are open to serve as flow paths for the heat radiation side, and the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 103 are open to serve as flow paths for the fluid (for example, air) on the heat reception side. .

A plate stack 105 is housed in the frame 103 . For example, as shown in FIG. 21, the element 150 has a substantially rectangular shape.
The plate stack 105 is composed of a plurality of plates (elements) 150. That is, a plurality of elements 150 are stacked in the thickness direction to form the plate stack 105. Adjacent elements 150 are not welded together, and therefore each element 150 can be taken out from the frame 103.

Here, a configuration example of the element 150 will be explained.
The element 150 is made up of opposing plate members 151 and 152, and may be pressed (bent) into a special shape. The plate materials 151 and 152 are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval, and are connected at the upper and lower edges by a joining means such as welding (see, for example, FIG. 16). Therefore, the element 150 is closed in the vertical direction and open in the front-back direction. That is, the element 150 forms a flow path in the front-rear direction.

The above-mentioned connecting portions form engaging pieces 153, 154 that protrude from the upper and lower ends of the plate materials 151, 152 and enter grooves 171A, 172A of the lower roller 171 and upper roller 172, which will be described later (see also FIG. 17). . This makes it easier for the element 150 to slide in the front-rear direction with respect to the frame 103 (that is, it becomes easier to take out or insert it from the frame 103), and it is accurately positioned in the left-right direction of the frame 103.

Further, the plate materials 151 and 152 are wider in the thickness direction (lateral direction) at the front edge and the rear edge than the other portions, forming wide portions 155 and 156 (see, for example, FIG. 21). The wide portions 155 and 156 contact each other in a state in which a plurality of elements 150 are stacked, and form a vertical flow path between the elements 150.

Therefore, the plate laminate 105, which is a laminate of elements 150, has two channels: a longitudinal flow path formed within the element 150, and a vertical flow path formed between adjacent elements 150. It has a flow path. For example, the flow path in the vertical direction may be the heat receiving side passage, and the flow path in the front and back direction may be the heat radiation side passage, or vice versa. That is, the plate stack 105 is configured so that the fluid on the heat receiving side and the fluid on the heat radiation side do not mix with each other.

A roller 107 is rotatably supported by the frame 103.
The rollers 107 may include an upper roller 172 arranged above the plate stack 105 and a lower roller 171 arranged below the plate stack 105 (see, for example, FIG. 16). Although the upper roller 172 and the lower roller 171 each include two rollers, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

The roller 107 is attached between the side plates 131 and 132. That is, the roller 107 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the element 150, which allows the element 150 to slide smoothly.

The roller 107 has circumferential grooves 171A and 172A formed therein.
These grooves 171A and 172A engage with engagement pieces 153 and 154 of element 150. Rotation of roller 107 facilitates pulling out and insertion of element 150. Furthermore, positioning of the element 150 in the left-right direction of the frame 103 becomes easier.

Grooves 171A and 172A are formed at predetermined intervals. It is preferable that the predetermined interval is substantially the same as the width of the wide portions 155 and 156, so that a vertical flow path can be formed between adjacent elements 150.

A door 109 is detachably attached to the front surface of the frame 103. The door 109 is an example of a fixing portion as described above, and is provided to hold the plate stack 105 within the frame 103. For example, the door 109 is held by the frame 103 by being inserted between the holding pieces 137 protruding from the upper and lower horizontal frames 133 and 134 on the front side (see FIG. 18).

An opening 191 is formed in the door 109 so as not to obstruct the flow path of the plate stack 105 in the front-rear direction. Here, the opening 191 has a slit shape extending in the vertical direction corresponding to the shape of the flow path in the front-rear direction of the plate stack 105, but is not limited to this.

2. Operation of Heat Exchanger 101 The operation of heat exchanger 101 will be described, particularly from the viewpoint of maintenance.

The heat exchanger 101 in operation performs heat exchange by, for example, circulating exhaust gas from the front and rear surfaces of the frame 103 and circulating air from the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 103 (see FIG. 14).

Maintenance and parts replacement of the heat exchanger 101 are performed in the following steps.
That is, the door 109 is removed from the frame 103 and the holding of the element 150 is released (see FIG. 19).

Slide any one element 150 forward and remove it from the frame 103 (see FIGS. 20 and 21). If necessary, slide another element 150 forward and remove it from the frame 103 (see FIG. 22). Then, perform necessary cleaning and parts replacement.
At this time, since it is sufficient to take out only the desired element 150, work efficiency is improved.

3. Effects of Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 2, only the element 150 that requires cleaning or parts replacement can be taken out and inserted, so in addition to the effects of Embodiment 1, cleaning and parts replacement work is further simplified. be done.
Further, due to the rotation of the roller 107, the element 150 can be smoothly inserted and removed.

Although typical embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various design changes are possible, and all aspects of such design changes also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. included.

1,101 Heat exchanger 3,103 Frame 5,105 Plate laminate 7 Insert 9 Fixing part 50,150 Plate (element)
107 Roller 109 Door

Claims (9)

a frame including a pair of opposing side plates and a horizontal frame connecting the pair of side plates;
a plate laminate that is housed in the frame and is composed of a plurality of plates;
a fixing part that fixes the plate laminate to the frame,
When the fixation of the plate stack by the fixing part is released, each of the plurality of plates becomes removable from the front surface of the frame;
A heat exchanger featuring: further comprising an insert that is removably attached to the frame and presses a plate stack in the frame against the side plate,
When the insert is removed from the frame, each of the plurality of plates is removable via a mounting space of the insert in the frame;
The heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frame further includes a rail provided along the horizontal frame,
each plate has an engagement piece that engages with the rail;
The heat exchanger according to claim 2, characterized in that: the rail is cut out at a position corresponding to the insert;
The heat exchanger according to claim 3, characterized in that: the fixing part fixing the plate to the horizontal frame by sandwiching the engagement piece between the fixing part and the rail;
The heat exchanger according to claim 3, characterized in that: the insert body has a pressing part that presses the plate stack in the frame against the side plate;
The heat exchanger according to claim 2, characterized in that: further comprising a roller that supports each of the plurality of plates in a slidable manner in a front-back direction of the frame;
The heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The roller has grooves formed in the circumferential direction that are arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction,
Each of the plurality of plates has a protrusion piece that engages with the groove,
each of the plurality of plates sliding on the roller while the groove and the projection piece are engaged;
The heat exchanger according to claim 7, characterized in that: The fixed part is a door that is removably attached to the front surface of the frame and allows ventilation in the front and rear directions of the frame;
The heat exchanger according to claim 7, characterized in that: