JP5844503B1 - Heat exchanger for aircraft engine - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a heat exchanger capable of suppressing deformation of a heat radiation fin due to an external force. The heat exchanger (1) of this embodiment can be arranged along the curved surface of the aircraft engine. The heat exchanger (1) includes a main body (10), a plurality of heat radiation fins (20), and a lid member (50). The main body (10) includes a flow path through which fluid can flow, and has a back surface (3) facing the curved surface and a surface (2) opposite to the back surface (3). The body (10) is curved corresponding to the curved surface of the aircraft engine. The plurality of heat dissipating fins (20) are arranged on the surface (2) of the main body and exposed to the airflow. The lid member (50) is fixed to the upper ends of the plurality of radiating fins (20).

Description

  The present invention relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to heat exchangers for aircraft engines.

  An aircraft engine represented by a gas turbine engine is equipped with a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger for an aircraft engine is used for cooling the lubricating oil of the aircraft engine and cooling the lubricating oil of the generator mounted on the aircraft engine. Air exchangers for aircraft engines include a plate fin type, a shell and tube type, and a surface type.

  Among these heat exchangers, the surface type heat exchanger can be made compact as compared with other heat exchangers. Such surface heat exchangers are proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-144752 (Patent Document 1) and Patent No. 5442916 (Patent Document 2).

  The surface heat exchangers disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are plate-shaped curved in a bow shape, and have a front surface and a back surface. The surface heat exchanger is disposed along the curved surface of the aircraft engine. At this time, the back surface of the surface heat exchanger faces the curved surface. The curved surface of the aircraft engine is, for example, the inner peripheral surface of the fan case, the outer peripheral surface of the engine core casing, or the like. The curved shape of the surface type heat exchanger corresponds to the shape of the curved surface where the heat exchanger is disposed.

  The front and back surfaces of the surface heat exchanger are exposed to airflow passing through the aircraft engine. A plurality of radiating fins are arranged on the surface of the surface heat exchanger. The plurality of radiating fins extend in the axial direction of the aircraft engine and are arranged in the circumferential direction of the aircraft engine. Furthermore, a flow path is formed inside the heat exchanger.

  The above-described fluid such as lubricating oil (hereinafter referred to as a target fluid) flows into the surface heat exchanger and flows through the internal flow path. The plurality of heat dissipating fins on the surface of the surface type heat exchanger are exposed to the air flow. Therefore, the heat of the target fluid in the flow path is released to the outside through the radiation fin. The cooled target fluid flows out from the heat exchanger and returns to the device (generator, etc.) to be used.

  As described above, the surface type heat exchanger is disposed at an arbitrary position of the aircraft engine along the curved surface of the engine. Therefore, the resistance of the airflow flowing through the engine is reduced as compared with other heat exchangers.

  In the surface type heat exchanger, a plurality of radiating fins are exposed and arranged on a curved surface of an aircraft engine. Aircraft engines are regularly inspected. During the inspection work, the worker performs the inspection work while standing on the curved surface of the aircraft engine, or performs the inspection work while walking on the curved surface. At this time, an excessive external force may be applied to the heat radiating fins, for example, an operator accidentally steps on the heat radiating fins that are barely arranged on the curved surface. In this case, excessive stress concentrates on the radiating fin, and the radiating fin is deformed. Similarly, when a surface type heat exchanger is arranged at a desired location (during handling), an excessive external force may be applied to the radiating fin by mistake and the radiating fin may be deformed. If the radiating fin is deformed, the heat exchange rate is lowered.

  The objective of this invention is providing the heat exchanger which can suppress the deformation | transformation of the radiation fin by external force.

  The heat exchanger for an aircraft engine according to the present embodiment can be disposed along the curved surface of the aircraft engine. The heat exchanger includes a main body, a plurality of heat radiation fins, and a lid member. The main body includes a flow path through which a fluid can flow. The main body has a back surface facing the curved surface and a surface opposite to the back surface, and is curved corresponding to the curved surface. The plurality of radiating fins are arranged on the surface of the main body and are exposed to the airflow. The lid member is fixed to the upper ends of the plurality of radiating fins.

  In the heat exchanger according to the present embodiment, deformation of the radiating fin due to external force is suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger for an aircraft engine according to the present embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow of airflow in a heat exchanger that does not include a lid member. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow of airflow in the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a heat exchanger according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another heat exchanger different from FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another heat exchanger, which is different from FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another heat exchanger, which is different from FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another heat exchanger different from FIG.

  The heat exchanger for an aircraft engine according to the present embodiment can be disposed along the curved surface of the aircraft engine. The heat exchanger includes a main body, a plurality of heat radiation fins, and a lid member. The main body includes a flow path through which a fluid can flow. The main body has a back surface facing the curved surface and a surface opposite to the back surface, and is curved corresponding to the curved surface. The plurality of radiating fins are arranged on the surface of the main body and are exposed to the airflow. The lid member is fixed to the upper ends of the plurality of radiating fins.

  When an external force from above is directly applied to the radiating fin, stress concentrates and the radiating fin may be deformed. However, in the present embodiment, the lid member is fixed to the upper ends of the plurality of radiating fins. In this case, when an external force is applied from above, the lid member once receives the external force and can be further distributed to the plurality of heat radiating fins. Therefore, it can suppress that stress concentrates on a specific radiation fin, and a deformation | transformation of a radiation fin is suppressed.

  Further, the lid member suppresses the airflow that flows between the adjacent radiating fins from flowing out (upward) of the radiating fins. Therefore, the radiating fins are easily exposed to more airflow, and the heat exchange rate is increased.

  Preferably, the lid member extends further to the upstream side of the airflow than the radiating fin.

  In this case, more airflow is likely to flow between the heat radiating fins. Therefore, the heat exchange rate is increased.

  Preferably, the lower surface of the end portion on the upstream side of the lid member extends while being inclined to the opposite side to the curved surface.

  In this case, the airflow inlet to the radiating fin is widened. Therefore, more airflow flows between the heat radiating fins.

  Hereinafter, the details of the heat exchanger of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[Overall configuration of heat exchanger]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger for an aircraft engine according to the present embodiment. The heat exchanger of this embodiment is arrange | positioned at the curved surface of an aircraft engine. The aircraft engine is, for example, a gas turbine engine. The curved surface of the aircraft engine is, for example, the inner peripheral surface of the fan casing of the aircraft engine, the outer peripheral surface of the engine core casing, or the like. In FIG. 1, the heat exchanger arrange | positioned at the internal peripheral surface of a fan casing is illustrated. However, the heat exchanger of the present embodiment may be disposed on a curved surface of an engine member other than the fan casing and the engine core casing. The location of the heat exchanger on the curved surface is arbitrary and is not particularly limited.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a heat exchanger 1 is a so-called surface-type heat exchanger, which has a plate shape curved like a bow. In the aircraft engine, the heat exchanger 1 is curved corresponding to a curved surface (not shown).

  The X axis in FIG. 1 indicates the direction of the rotational axis of an aircraft engine (not shown). The length of the heat exchanger 1 shown in FIG. 1 is about 1/8 of the circumferential length at the location of the curved surface of the aircraft engine. However, the length of the heat exchanger 1 is not particularly limited. The heat exchanger 1 may be, for example, an annular shape extending in the entire circumferential direction at the place where the curved surface of the fan casing is disposed.

  An air flow AF (see arrows in FIG. 1) flows from the left side of FIG. 1 toward the right side. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the left side of the heat exchanger 1 is the upstream side US of the airflow, and the right side is the downstream side DS of the airflow.

  The heat exchanger 1 passes a fluid to be cooled (hereinafter referred to as a target fluid) through the inside, and cools the target fluid. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat exchanger 1 includes a main body 10 having a front surface 2 and a back surface 3. The back surface 3 faces the curved surface of the aircraft engine (in this example, the inner surface of the fan casing). The front surface 2 is disposed on the side opposite to the back surface 3. A plurality of heat radiation fins 20 and 30 are arranged on the front surface 2 and the back surface 3. The plurality of heat radiation fins 20 are erected on the surface 2. The plurality of radiating fins 20 extend along the X axis and are arranged in the circumferential direction of the aircraft engine. The plurality of radiating fins 30 are erected on the back surface 3, extend along the X axis, and are arranged in the circumferential direction of the aircraft engine. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a region where the plurality of heat radiation fins 20 and 30 are arranged is indicated by a one-dot chain line, and some of the heat radiation fins 20 and 30 are not illustrated.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchanger 1. The main body 10 includes a plate-like front member 11 and a plate-like back member 12. The main body 10 is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The material of the main body 10 may also be stainless steel, titanium, copper, Inconel (trademark) or the like.

  The front member 11 and the back member 12 are overlapped in the plate thickness direction to form a casing-shaped main body 10. A plurality of corrugated fins 40 are disposed in the main body 10. The front member 11, the back member 12, and the plate-like fins 40 are joined together by brazing, for example.

  A space in the main body 10 is divided into an outward path 111 and a return path 113 by a partition 112. Corrugated fins 40 are disposed in the forward path 111. The corrugated fin 40 divides the forward path 111 into a plurality of fine flow paths. Similarly, the corrugated fins 40 are disposed on the return path 113, and the return path 113 is partitioned into a plurality of fine flow paths. The forward path 111 and the return path 113 are connected in the main body 10 to form a flow path of the target fluid.

  The back member 12 has an inlet 121 and an outlet 122 on the back surface 3. The target fluid flows into the heat exchanger 1 from the inlet 121. The target fluid is distributed to fine flow paths partitioned by the corrugated fins 40 and flows through the main body 10 in the order of the forward path 111 and the return path 113. At this time, heat exchange is performed between the target fluid in the main body 10 and the external airflow via the corrugated fins 40 and the heat radiating fins 20 and 30, and the target fluid is cooled. The cooled target fluid flows out of the heat exchanger 1 from the outlet 122 and returns to a device (an engine core, a generator, or the like) in which the target fluid is used.

[Cover member]
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat exchanger 1 further includes a lid member 50. The lid member 50 has a plate shape and is disposed on the plurality of heat radiation fins 20.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heat exchanger 1 on the IV-IV plane in FIG. 1. In FIG. 4, in the heat exchanger 1 curved in an arc shape, the radius of curvature of the upstream US end is smaller than the radius of curvature of the downstream DS end. That is, the heat exchanger 1 has a tapered shape in which the radius of curvature increases from the upstream US toward the downstream DS. This is because the curved shape of the heat exchanger 1 corresponds to the curved surface to be arranged.

  With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, the lid member 50 is fixed to the upper ends 21 of the plurality of radiating fins 20. The lid member 50 is fixed to the plurality of upper ends 21 by brazing, for example.

  As described above, the heat dissipating fins of the heat exchanger may receive an external force during periodic inspection by an operator of the aircraft engine or when the heat exchanger is attached. If stress concentrates on the radiating fin due to an external force, the radiating fin is bent and the heat exchange rate is lowered.

  However, in the heat exchanger 1 of the present embodiment, the lid member 50 is fixed to the upper ends 21 of the plurality of radiating fins 20. In this case, the external force generated by the operator or the like is not directly applied to the heat radiating fin 20 but is applied to the lid member 50. Since the lid member 50 is fixed to the plurality of radiating fins 20, the external force received by the lid member 50 is distributed to the plurality of radiating fins 20. Therefore, the concentration of stress on the specific radiating fin 20 is alleviated and the radiating fin 20 can be prevented from being bent.

  The lid member 50 further increases the heat exchange rate. The longer the distance at which the airflow contacts the radiating fin 20, the higher the heat exchange rate. As shown in FIG. 5, when the lid member 50 is not disposed, the airflow AF1 flowing along the surface 2 flows from the upstream side US to the downstream side DS in contact with the entire length of the radiating fin 20. However, the airflow AF <b> 2 flowing from obliquely above hits the surface 2 in the middle of passing between the plurality of heat radiation fins 20. At this time, the airflow AF2 changes direction and proceeds in a direction away from the surface 2 (that is, above the radiation fin 20). Therefore, the airflow AF2 leaves the heat radiating fin 20 to the outside (upward) in the middle of passage. Similarly, the airflow AF3 flowing obliquely from below is in contact with the front end portion of the radiating fin 20, but is separated from the radiating fin 20 during the passage. Therefore, the airflows AF2 and AF3 do not contact the entire length of the heat radiating fins 20 but contact only a part of the heat radiating fins 20. Therefore, the airflows AF2 and AF3 are unlikely to contribute to heat exchange.

  On the other hand, referring to FIG. 6, in the heat exchanger 1 of the present embodiment, the lid member 50 allows the airflow such as the airflows AF <b> 2 and AF <b> 3 to flow out between the plurality of radiating fins 20 to the outside (upward). Suppress. In FIG. 6, the airflows AF <b> 2 and AF <b> 3 change direction while repeatedly hitting the lid member 50 and the surface 2, and flow over the entire length of the radiating fin 20. Therefore, the heat exchange rate is increased.

  In short, the lid member 50 guides the airflow once flowing between the plurality of radiating fins 20 on the upstream side US to the downstream side DS of the radiating fins 20 without escaping above the radiating fins 20. Therefore, the lid member 50 increases the heat exchange rate of the heat exchanger 1.

  Furthermore, since the lid member 50 is joined to the upper ends 21 of the plurality of radiating fins 20, it functions as a heat transfer surface.

  As mentioned above, the heat exchanger 1 of this embodiment can suppress the deformation | transformation of the radiation fin 20 by external force with the cover member 50, and can raise a heat exchange rate.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the heat exchanger 11 according to the second embodiment. With reference to FIG. 7, the heat exchanger 11 includes a lid member 51 in place of the lid member 50 as compared with the heat exchanger 1. Other configurations of the heat exchanger 11 are the same as those of the heat exchanger 1.

  The lid member 51 extends to the upstream side US from the heat radiation fin 20. More specifically, the end surface 51E on the upstream side US of the lid member 51 is disposed on the upstream side US with respect to the end surface 20E of the radiating fin 20. Therefore, the lower surface 51 </ b> L (surface facing the surface 2) of the lid member 51 extends to the upstream side US from the upper end 20 </ b> P of the end surface 20 </ b> E of the radiating fin 20.

  Since the lid member 51 extends to the upstream side US from the radiating fin 20, an air current that does not flow between the radiating fins 20, such as the air flow AF <b> 4, can be taken in if the lid member 51 is not disposed. Specifically, the airflow AF4 hits the lower surface 51L, changes its direction, and flows between the plurality of heat radiation fins 20. Thereafter, the air flow AF4 flows over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the radiation fin 20 while hitting the lower surface 51L and the surface 2 of the lid member 51. Thus, since more airflow contacts the heat radiation fin 20 by the cover member 51, the heat exchange rate is increased.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the end portion 511 of the lid member 51 that extends to the upstream side US from the radiating fin 20 is on the side opposite to the curved surface of the aircraft engine on which the heat exchanger 11 is disposed (upward in the drawing). You may extend diagonally toward. In this case, the inlet OP to the plurality of flow paths 25 defined by the lid member 51, the surface 2, and the plurality of heat radiation fins 20 is wider than that in FIG. Therefore, more airflow flows into the flow path 25 and comes into contact with the plurality of radiating fins 20. Therefore, the heat exchange rate is increased. In FIG. 8, the lower surface 51L is curved, but the lower surface 51L may be flat without being curved.

  As shown in FIG. 9, even though the upper surface 51U (surface opposite to the lower surface 51L) of the lid member 51 is not warped, the lower surface 51L extends obliquely toward the side opposite to the curved surface of the aircraft engine. Good. Even in such a case, the inflow port OP expands compared to FIG. Therefore, a large amount of air current can be introduced into the flow path 25. The lower surface 51L may be curved as shown in FIG. 9, or may be flat as shown in FIG. In any shape, the inlet OP is widened.

  As described above, if the lid member extends to the upstream side US from the radiation fins 20, more airflow can be taken in between the plurality of radiation fins 20, and the heat exchange rate is improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid member 50 extends over the entire length of the radiating fin 20 in the longitudinal direction. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the lid member 50 may be disposed in a part in the longitudinal direction of the radiating fin 20.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the end face 20E in the longitudinal direction of the radiating fin 20 is inclined with respect to the surface 2, and the root 20B is disposed upstream of the upper end 20P. Yes. Thus, if the end surface 20E is inclined, the air resistance can be reduced. However, the end surface 20E may not be inclined with respect to the surface 2 or may be inclined in the opposite direction. For example, the end surface 20E may be perpendicular to the surface 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the lid member 51 extends to the upstream side US from the radiating fin 20. However, the lid member 50 and the lid member 51 may extend to the downstream side DS from the radiation fin 20. Further, the lower surface of the downstream end portion of the lid member 51 may be inclined to the opposite side of the curved surface.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lid members 50 and 51 are joined to the upper ends 21 of the plurality of radiating fins 20 by, for example, brazing. However, the method for joining the lid members 50 and 51 and the plurality of heat radiation fins 20 is not particularly limited. The lid members 50 and 51 and the plurality of radiating fins 20 may be integrally formed by a layered modeling method or a casting modeling method.

  In the above description, as an example, the inside of the heat exchanger body corresponding to an annular shape or a part of the annular shape is defined as a surface. However, the outer side of the main body corresponding to the annular shape or a part of the annular shape may be the surface, and the lid member may be disposed on the surface. For example, when a heat exchanger having a main body corresponding to an annular shape or a part of an annular ring is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the engine core casing, the lid member is arranged with the outer side of the annular or annular main body as a surface. Is done.

  In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of radiating fins are arranged on the surface of the main body of the heat exchanger, and the lid member is fixed to the upper end of the radiating fins. However, a plurality of radiating fins may be disposed on the front and back surfaces of the main body of the heat exchanger, and a lid member may be disposed on the upper ends of the radiating fins on the front and back surfaces.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the above-described embodiment is merely an example for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented by appropriately modifying the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat exchanger 2 Front surface 3 Back surface 10 Main body 20, 30 Radiation fin 50, 51 Cover member 51L Bottom surface of cover member

Claims (3)

A surface-type heat exchanger for an aircraft engine that can be placed along a curved surface of the aircraft engine and is exposed to an airflow passing through the aircraft engine,
A main body that includes a flow path through which fluid can flow and has a back surface facing the curved surface and a surface opposite to the back surface, and is curved corresponding to the curved surface;
A plurality of heat dissipating fins arranged on the surface of the main body and exposed to airflow;
Wherein there are multiple joined to the upper end of the heat dissipating fins are fixed Tei, or, and a lid member that is fixed said plurality of heat dissipating fins and are integrally molded on the upper end of said plurality of radiating fins, the heat exchanger vessel. The heat exchanger according to claim 1,
The said cover member is a heat exchanger extended in the upstream of the said airflow rather than the said radiation fin. The heat exchanger according to claim 2,
The heat exchanger in which the lower surface of the end of the lid member on the upstream side is inclined and extends to the opposite side of the curved surface.

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