NL2007008C2 - METHOD OF FIXING PIPES INTO A PLATE. - Google Patents

Description

- 1 -

METHOD OF FIXING PIPES INTO A PLATE

The present invention relates to a method for fixing pipes in openings in a plate.

Conventional methods of previously securing thoroughly cleaned pipes at their circumference in also thoroughly cleaned openings in a pipe plate make use of the piece by piece mechanically expanding and then optionally welding or soldering the ends of the pipes therein. In practice, for example, in the manufacture of heat exchangers, this requires many hours of the same manual operations to be carried out by specialist personnel in order to establish leak-free connections. Thereafter, in the latter case, further grinding or cutting, grinding, deburring and removal of pipe residues protruding from the plate due to the expansion awaits.

EP 1103333 and US 6921013 each disclose more laborious methods as indicated in the preamble of claim 1.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method in which fewer operations to be carried out by specialist personnel are required, in particular to fix large numbers of pipes leak-proof to plates without, in the case of the manufacture of heat exchangers, welding and grinding of pipe residues is necessary.

To that end, the method according to the invention has the features of claim 1.

35 - 2 -

The advantage of the method according to the invention is that applying electromagnetic pulses in the manner described when fixing a pipe end in a continuous opening in a plate, such as a pipe plate or pipe plate, makes it no longer necessary to subsequently carry out further operations. to finish the resulting connection. Deburring or grinding has become superfluous, because there are no longer any protruding pipe residues or parts attached to the plate or pipe. The connection method itself can be carried out in a shorter time and by less trained personnel without this being at the expense of the quality, predictability, uniformity and ultimately desired long-term leakage of the connection between the various pipe ends and the plate. A mechanically stable leak-free heat-seal connection between pipe and pipe plate has thus been established. Moreover, no mold is required for the method according to the invention, because the plate fulfills the function of the mold.

Furthermore, it appears that a thorough prior cleaning and greasing of the circumference of the pipe ends and the inner circumference of the various continuous openings in the plate are no longer necessary. The EMP energy exerted by the EMP probe in the pipe end generates an expansion force therein such that the contamination at the locally briefly generated high temperature simply melts into the connection between the material of the pipe circumference and the internal opening.

An embodiment of the method according to the

The invention is characterized in that after several relevant ends of the line have been inserted into relevant openings, one or more EMP probes are inserted through the above-mentioned openings into the ends of the lines 35 located in the plate, and electromagnetic pulses at the EMP

- 3 probes are supplied.

The advantage of this is that, if desired, large numbers of connections can be made between pipe ends and through openings in the plate. This provides 5 time savings that can be further increased by energizing multiple EMP probes shortly after one another, or even simultaneously from one or more EMP power sources.

Further detailed possible embodiments set out in the remaining claims are listed in the following description together with the associated advantages.

Now, in particular, the method according to the invention and the heat exchanger according to the invention obtained therewith will be further elucidated with reference to the figures below, in which corresponding parts are provided with the same reference numerals. It shows:

Figure 1 shows a plate with an opening in which a pipe 20 will be fixed by means of the method according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows the pipe fixed therewith in the opening of the plate of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows an example of a pipe plate from a heat exchanger according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a part of a plate 1 which is provided with openings 2 running through the plate, in which ends 3 of conduits 4 are to be fixed. The ends 3 of the plate 4 are inserted into the opening 2 from one side 5 of the plate 4 as shown.

It has been shown that the end 3 protrudes from the opposite side 6 of the plate 4. When inserting multiple ends of the plate through several openings of the plate, it is advantageously immediately visible to the personnel that all ends protrude from the opposite side 6.

At least the lines 4 are made of a material in which eddy currents can be induced.

Here an EMP coil or probe 7 is inserted from the side 6 into the end 3 of the conduit 4 located in the plate 1. Subsequently, an electromagnetic pulse, called EMP for short, is applied to the EMP probe 7 from a schematically shown EMP supply source 8. The result is that the end 3 of the conduit located in the plate and manufactured from the material in which eddy currents are then induced by the EMP expands with plastic deformation.

As a result, as Figure 2 shows, the end 3 becomes permanently stuck in the opening 2. In the case also shown in which that end 3 partially protrudes on the side 6, the pipe residual portion 9 of that end 3 is advantageously cut off at the same time by the EMP and can be removed. No additional operation is required for cutting.

In practice, at least the pipes, tubes or conduits 4 are made from coatings or materials that can be fused with the aid of electromagnetic energy, for example metal, such as steel, aluminum or metal alloys.

For heat exchangers in particular, this metal of the pipes and / or the pipe plate or pipe plate 1 customarily used therein will contain copper or even be entirely made of copper, because this is also a highly suitable and commonly used thermally conductive metal for this purpose.

The method described above can be applied successively to further pipes and further openings of possibly the same plate 1. The method also advantageously makes it possible to secure rows, or even entire matrices of rows and columns of numbers of pipe ends, in as many openings of in particular pipe plates, as often used in heat exchangers. By applying one or possibly several EMP probes 7 and energizing them successively or successively or even simultaneously from one or more high-power pulse generators 8 which then form the EMP power sources, the method becomes particularly much faster to apply and the final connection more uniform than was previously the case.

In practice, the probe 7 as shown in Figure 1 can be inserted through the end 3 from the left-hand side 6, but of course also from the right-hand side.

Claims (10)

Method in which ends of pipes (4) are fixed in openings (2) running through a plate (1) by inserting the end (3) of the pipe (4) in the opening (2) after which an EMP probe (7) is inserted into the end (3) of the conduit (4) located in the plate (1), and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is applied to the EMP probe (7) which is inserted into the plate (1) 10 of the conduit (4) which is made of a material in which eddy currents can be induced under plastic deformation causes the end (3) to be permanently fixed in the opening (2) in the plate (1), characterized in that the EMP probe (7) also protrudes outside the opening (2) in the conduit (4) and, when expanding in the end located outside the plate (1), simultaneously the part (9) projecting outside the plate (1) ) is cut off from the line (4). Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the ends of the conduits are fixed in the openings running through the plate by inserting the end of the conduit on one side of the plate into the opening, whereafter through said opening the EMP probe terminating on the opposite side of the plate until the end of the conduit located in the plate is inserted. 3. Method as claimed in any of the claims 1-2, characterized in that the method is likewise applied to the end of a further pipe which is also fixed in a further continuous opening in the plate. 4. Method as claimed in any of the claims 1-3, characterized in that the method is likewise applied to rows of pipes which are fixed in continuous openings in the plate. A method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the method is likewise applied to a matrix of rows and columns of pipes which are fixed in continuous openings in the plate. 6. Method as claimed in any of the claims 1-5, characterized in that after several relevant ends of the conduit have been inserted into relevant openings, one or more EMP probes are inserted through the aforementioned openings into the ends of the conduits located in the plate and electromagnetic pulses are applied to the EMP probes. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the application of the electromagnetic pulses to the EMP probes takes place intermittently or simultaneously. 20 A method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the EMP probes are often supplied from a same EMP power source with a high-power pulse generator. A method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the plate is a pipe or pipe plate which, together with the pipes, forms part of a heat exchanger, such as an oil cooler, water cooler or bin cooler. 10. Method as claimed in any of the claims 1-9, characterized in that at least the pipes are manufactured from coatings or materials that can be fused with the material of the pipe plate with the aid of electromagnetic energy, for example metal, such as steel, aluminum, copper or metal alloys .