WO2021161825A1

WO2021161825A1 - Heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: WO2021161825A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/003457
Authority: WO
Inventors: 慎吾大野; 孝博宇野; 隆一郎稲垣
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2020-02-14
Filing date: 2021-02-01
Publication date: 2021-08-19
Also published as: CN115103994A; JP2021127868A; DE112021001022T5; US20220381514A1

Abstract

A heat exchanger (10) comprises: a plurality of tubes (130, 230) disposed so as to be lined up along the layering direction; and tanks (110, 210, 120, 220) to which the respective tubes are connected. The tubes each include: flat plate parts (131, 231) formed in a pair of flat plate shapes which oppose each other; and curved parts (132, 232) curving so as to connect the ends of the respective flat plate parts. A plate member (300) of the tanks includes: a first portion (310) in which a direction normal thereto goes along the longitudinal direction of the tubes; and a second portion (320) extending toward the container member from an end of the first section, the end extending along the direction in which air flows. When seen along the layering direction of the tubes, a boundary between the first portion and the second portion is disposed at a position of the tubes more on the flat plate part side than a boundary between the flat plate part and the curved part.

Description

Heat exchanger

Cross-reference of related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-023492, which was filed on February 14, 2020, and claims the benefit of its priority. Incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a heat medium and air.

For example, heat exchangers such as radiators and evaporators are provided with a plurality of metal tubes through which a heat medium passes. In the heat exchanger, heat exchange takes place between the heat medium passing through the inside of the tube and the air passing through the outside of the tube.

As described in Patent Document 1 below, a plurality of tubes are often brazed to the plate member in a state of being inserted into a metal plate member forming a part of the tank. .. In a heat exchanger having such a configuration, the joint portion between the tube and the plate member tends to be distorted due to thermal expansion or contraction due to the temperature of the heat medium.

Japanese Patent No. 3674120

The tube thickness needs to be relatively thin so that heat exchange can be performed efficiently. Therefore, if the above-mentioned distortion occurs at the joint portion between the tube and the plate member, a part of the tube may be damaged. In a heat exchanger having a flat cross section as described in Patent Document 1, damage due to strain occurs at a position of the tube at the boundary between the flat plate portion and the curved portion. Especially likely to occur.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a heat exchanger that can reduce distortion at the joint portion of a tube.

The heat exchanger according to the present disclosure is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a heat medium and air. This heat exchanger is a tubular member through which a heat medium passes, and includes a plurality of tubes arranged so as to be arranged along a stacking direction, and a tank to which each tube is connected. The tube has a pair of flat plate portions facing each other and a curved portion curved so as to connect the ends of the respective flat plate portions, and the normal directions of the flat plate portions are laminated. It is arranged along the direction. The tank has a plate-shaped plate member in which a plurality of insertion holes for inserting a tube are formed, and a container member in which a space for storing a heat medium is formed inside. The plate member includes a first portion whose normal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the tube, and a second portion extending from the end of the first portion along the direction of air flow toward the container member. have. When viewed along the stacking direction, the boundary between the first portion and the second portion is arranged at a position on the tube that is closer to the flat plate portion than the boundary between the flat plate portion and the curved portion.

According to the experiments conducted by the present inventors, the boundary between the first portion and the second portion of the plate member is the boundary between the flat plate portion and the curved portion of the tube when viewed along the stacking direction. It has been found that the strain of the tube at the time of thermal expansion or contraction tends to be relatively large in a configuration in which the tube is arranged on the curved portion side.

This is because the boundary between the first portion and the second portion of the plate member becomes the starting point of deformation of the plate member during thermal expansion of the tube, and the strain due to the deformation is concentrated on the curved portion of the tube. it is conceivable that.

Therefore, in the heat exchanger having the above configuration, the boundary between the first portion and the second portion of the plate member is larger than the boundary between the flat plate portion and the curved portion of the tube when viewed along the stacking direction. The configuration is such that it is arranged at a position on the flat plate side. In such a configuration, the deformation of the plate member that occurs starting from the boundary between the first portion and the second portion is received by the flat plate portion instead of the curved portion of the tube. This makes it possible to reduce the maximum value of distortion generated in the tube as compared with the conventional case.

According to the present disclosure, a heat exchanger capable of reducing distortion at a joint portion of a tube is provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a heat exchanger according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the heat exchanger of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing fins included in the heat exchanger of FIG. 1 and tubes arranged above and below the fins. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the tube and the magnitude of the strain generated at the joint portion of the tube. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a plate member included in the heat exchanger of FIG.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals as much as possible in each drawing, and duplicate description is omitted.

The configuration of the heat exchanger 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The heat exchanger 10 is a heat exchanger mounted on a vehicle (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the heat exchanger 10 is configured as a composite heat exchanger in which the radiator 100 and the evaporator 200 are combined and integrated.

The radiator 100 is a heat exchanger for cooling cooling water that has become hot through a heating element (not shown) by heat exchange with air. The "heating element" referred to here is a device mounted on the vehicle and requiring cooling, for example, an internal combustion engine, an intercooler, a motor, an inverter, a battery, or the like. The evaporator 200 is a part of an air conditioner (not shown) mounted on a vehicle, and is a heat exchanger for evaporating a liquid phase refrigerant by heat exchange with air.

First, the configuration of the radiator 100 will be described. The radiator 100 includes a pair of

tanks

110 and 120, a tube 130, and fins 140. Note that the fins 140 are not shown in FIG.

Both

tanks

110 and 120 are metal containers for temporarily storing cooling water, which is a heat medium. These are formed as elongated containers having a substantially cylindrical shape, and are arranged in a state in which the longitudinal direction thereof is along the vertical direction. The

tanks

110 and 120 are arranged at positions separated from each other along the horizontal direction, and the tubes 130 and fins 140 described later are arranged between them.

The tank 110 has a plate member 300 and a container member 400, and is formed by combining these and brazing each other. The plate member 300 is a plate-shaped member, and a plurality of insertion holes 301 for inserting the tube 130 are formed. The container member 400 is a member in which a space for storing cooling water is formed inside. The entire surface of the container member 400 on the tube 130 side is open, and the opening is watertightly closed by the plate member 300.

As shown in FIG. 1, a part of the plate member 300 constituting the tank 110 is also a member constituting the tank 210 included in the evaporator 200. Such a configuration can also be said to be a configuration in which the plate member 300 constituting the tank 110 and the plate member 300 constituting the tank 210 are connected so as to be integrated.

In addition, a part of the container member 400 constituting the tank 110 is also a member constituting the tank 210. Such a configuration can also be said to be a configuration in which the container member 400 constituting the tank 110 and the container member 400 constituting the tank 210 are connected so as to be integrated.

With the above configuration, the tank 110 is integrated with the tank 210. The tank 120 is integrated with the tank 220 by a structure similar to this, that is, a structure in which the plate member 300 and the container member 400 are joined to each other. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the container member 400 is removed from the plate member 300 in order to show the internal configurations of the tank 110 and the tank 210.

Receiving

portions

111 and 112 are formed in the tank 110. All of these are provided as a portion for receiving the cooling water after passing through the heating element. The receiving portion 111 is provided at a position on the upper side of the tank 110. The receiving portion 112 is provided at a position on the lower side of the tank 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, the internal space of the tank 110 is divided into upper and lower parts by a separator S3. The cooling water supplied from the receiving portion 111 flows into a portion of the internal space of the tank 110 on the upper side of the separator S3. The cooling water supplied from the receiving portion 112 flows into a portion of the internal space of the tank 110 below the separator S3.

The tank 120 is formed with

discharge portions

121 and 122. All of these are provided as parts for discharging the cooling water after being subjected to heat exchange to the outside. The discharge portion 121 is provided at a position on the upper side of the tank 120. The discharge portion 122 is provided at a position on the lower side of the tank 120.

Inside the tank 120, a separator similar to the separator S3 is arranged at a position at the same height as the separator S3. The internal space of the tank 120 is divided into upper and lower parts by the separator. The cooling water that has flowed into the internal space above the separator in the tank 120 is discharged to the outside from the discharge unit 121. The cooling water that has flowed into the internal space below the separator in the tank 120 is discharged to the outside from the discharge unit 122.

The tube 130 is a tubular member through which cooling water passes, and the radiator 100 is provided with a plurality of tubes 130. Each tube 130 is an elongated straight tube and is arranged so as to extend in the horizontal direction. One end of the tube 130 is connected to the tank 110, and the other end is connected to the tank 120. As a result, the internal space of the tank 110 is communicated with the internal space of the tank 120 via the respective tubes 130.

Each tube 130 is arranged so as to be arranged in the vertical direction, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the tank 110 or the like. The fins 140 are arranged between the tubes 130 adjacent to each other along the vertical direction, but as described above, the fins 140 are not shown in FIG. The direction in which a plurality of tubes 130 are lined up, that is, the vertical direction in the present embodiment is also referred to as a "stacking direction" below.

The cooling water supplied to the tank 110 from the outside flows into the tank 120 through the inside of each tube 130. When the cooling water passes through the inside of the tube 130, it is cooled by the air passing through the outside of the tube 130 to lower its temperature. The direction in which the air passes is perpendicular to both the longitudinal direction of the tank 110 and the longitudinal direction of the tube 130, and is a direction from the radiator 100 to the evaporator 200. A fan (not shown) for sending air in the above direction is provided in the vicinity of the heat exchanger 10.

The fin 140 is a corrugated fin formed by bending a metal plate in a wavy shape. As described above, the fins 140 are arranged at positions between the tubes 130 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. That is, in the radiator 100, the fins 140 and the tubes 130 are laminated so as to be alternately arranged along the stacking direction. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the configuration of the fin 140 and its vicinity after viewing the radiator 100 along the direction of air flow. As shown in FIG. 2, the tops of the wavy fins 140 are in contact with and brazed to the surfaces of adjacent tubes 130 in the stacking direction.

When the cooling water passes through the inside of the tube 130, the heat of the cooling water is transferred to the air through the tube 130 and also to the air through the tube 130 and the fins 140. That is, the contact area with the air is increased by the fins 140, whereby heat exchange between the air and the cooling water is efficiently performed.

The configuration of the evaporator 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 again. The evaporator 200 includes a pair of

tanks

210 and 220, a tube 230, and fins 140.

Both

tanks

210 and 220 are containers for temporarily storing the refrigerant, which is a heat medium. These are formed as elongated containers having a substantially cylindrical shape, and are arranged in a state in which the longitudinal direction thereof is along the vertical direction. The

tanks

210 and 220 are arranged at positions separated from each other along the horizontal direction, and the tubes 230 and fins 140 are arranged between them.

The

tanks

210 and 220 have the same configuration as the

tanks

110 and 120 described above. As described above, the tank 210 is integrated with the tank 110 included in the radiator 100, and is configured by joining the plate member 300 and the container member 400 to each other. Similarly, the tank 220 is integrated with the tank 120 of the radiator 100, and is configured by joining the plate member 300 and the container member 400 to each other.

The tank 210 is formed with a receiving portion 211 and a discharging portion 212. The receiving portion 211 is a portion for receiving the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner. A low-temperature liquid-phase refrigerant is supplied to the receiving unit 211 after passing through an expansion valve (not shown) provided in the air conditioner. The receiving portion 211 is provided at a position near the upper end portion of the tank 210. The discharge unit 212 is a part for discharging the refrigerant after being subjected to heat exchange to the outside. The gas phase refrigerant evaporated by heat exchange in the evaporator 200 is discharged to the outside from the discharge unit 212, and then supplied to a compressor (not shown) provided in the air conditioner. The discharge portion 212 is provided at a position near the lower end portion of the tank 210.

As shown in FIG. 1, the internal space of the tank 210 is divided into three upper and lower parts by separators S1 and S2. The receiving portion 211 is provided at a position further above the separator S1 on the upper side. The discharge portion 212 is provided at a position further below the separator S2 on the lower side.

The internal space of the tank 220 is divided into upper and lower parts by a separator (not shown). The position where the separator is provided is lower than the separator S1 and higher than the separator S2.

The tube 230 is a tubular member through which the refrigerant passes, and the evaporator 200 is provided with a plurality of tubes 230. Each tube 230 is an elongated straight tube and is arranged so as to extend in the horizontal direction. One end of the tube 230 is connected to the tank 210, and the other end is connected to the tank 220. As a result, the internal space of the tank 210 is communicated with the internal space of the tank 220 via the respective tubes 230.

Each tube 230 is arranged so as to be lined up in the vertical direction, that is, in the stacking direction. In the present embodiment, each tube 230 is arranged at a position adjacent to the tube 130 along the direction of air flow. That is, the same number of tubes 230 as the tubes 130 are provided, and the tubes 230 are arranged at the same height as the respective tubes 130.

The refrigerant supplied from the outside to the receiving portion 211 flows into the portion above the separator S1 in the internal space of the tank 210. The refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230 arranged above the separator S1 and flows into a portion of the internal space of the tank 220 above the separator (not shown). After that, the refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230 arranged above the separator and below the separator S1 and flows into the portion of the internal space of the tank 210 between the separator S1 and the separator S2. do.

Further, after that, the refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230 arranged above the separator S2 and below the separator in the tank 220, and enters the portion of the internal space of the tank 220 below the separator. Inflow. The refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230 arranged below the separator S2, flows into a portion of the internal space of the tank 220 below the separator S2, and then is discharged to the outside from the discharge portion 212. NS.

When the refrigerant passes through the inside of each tube 230 as described above, it is heated by the air passing through the outside of the tube 230 and evaporates, and changes from a liquid phase to a gas phase. The air is the air that has passed through the radiator 100 and the temperature has risen. Air loses heat as it passes outside the tube 230, thus lowering its temperature.

Fins 140 (not shown in FIG. 1) are arranged between the tubes 230 adjacent to each other along the stacking direction. The fin 140 is a fin 140 included in the radiator 100 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, each fin 140 is arranged so as to extend from between the tubes 130 included in the radiator 100 to between the tubes 230 included in the evaporator 200. That is, each fin 140 is shared between the radiator 100 and the evaporator 200.

Therefore, in the evaporator 200, the fins 140 and the tubes 230 are laminated so as to be alternately arranged along the stacking direction, similarly to the radiator 100 described with reference to FIG. The tops of the wavy fins 140 are in contact with and waxed against the surfaces of adjacent tubes 230 in the stacking direction.

When the refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230, the heat of the air is transferred to the refrigerant through the tube 230 and also to the refrigerant through the tube 230 and the fins 140. That is, the contact area with air is increased by the fins 140, whereby heat exchange between air and the refrigerant is efficiently performed.

In the present embodiment, the heat of the cooling water passing through the inside of the tube 130 is further transferred to the refrigerant passing through the inside of the tube 230 by heat conduction through the fins 140. In the evaporator 200, the heat from the cooling water is recovered in addition to the heat from the air, so that the operating efficiency of the air conditioner is further improved.

As shown in FIG. 1, a reinforcing plate 11 which is a plate-shaped member is arranged at a position on the uppermost side of the

tubes

130 and 230 arranged on the uppermost side. Further, a reinforcing plate 12 which is a plate-shaped member is arranged at a position further below the

tubes

130 and 230 arranged on the lowermost side. Reinforcing

plates

11 and 12 are metal plates provided to reinforce the tube 130 and the like to prevent their deformation.

In FIG. 1, the direction from the radiator 100 to the evaporator 200, that is, the direction in which air flows through these is the x direction, and the x axis is set along the same direction. Further, the direction perpendicular to the x direction, that is, the direction from the tank 120 to the tank 110, that is, the longitudinal direction of the tube 130 or the like is the y direction, and the y axis is set along the same direction. .. Further, the direction is perpendicular to both the x direction and the y direction, and the direction from the lower side to the upper side, that is, the longitudinal direction of the tank 110 or the like is the z direction, and z is along the same direction. The axis is set. Hereinafter, the description will be given using the x-direction, y-direction, and z-direction defined as described above.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of one fin 140 and

tubes

130 and 230 arranged on both upper and lower sides thereof. As shown in the figure, each of the

tubes

130 and 230 has a flat cross section extending in the x direction. A flow path FP1 through which cooling water passes is formed inside the tube 130. An inner fin IF1 is arranged in the flow path FP1. Similarly, a flow path FP2 through which the refrigerant passes is formed inside the tube 230. An inner fin IF2 is arranged in the flow path FP2. A gap is formed between the tube 130 and the tube 230 arranged at the same height.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of louvers 141 are formed on the fin 140. The louver 141 is formed by cutting up a part of the fins 140. Specifically, a plurality of linear notches extending along the z direction are formed on the flat plate-shaped portion of the fin 140 so as to be lined up along the x direction, and then the portion between the notches adjacent to each other. The louver 141 is formed by twisting. By passing the air through the gap formed in the vicinity of the louver 141, heat exchange with the air is performed more efficiently. As the shape of such a louver 141, the same shape as the louver formed on the conventional fin can be adopted.

The specific shape of the tube 130 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the tube 130 is a tubular member formed by bending a single metal plate and then brazing the ends thereof. As already mentioned, the tube 130 has a flat cross section extending along the x direction. In the cross section, the tube 130 has a flat plate portion 131 and a curved portion 132.

The flat plate portion 131 is a portion formed in a flat plate shape, and is arranged so that its normal line is along the z-axis. In other words, each tube 130 is arranged so that the normal direction of the flat plate portion 131 is along the stacking direction. Two flat plate portions 131 are provided, and these are arranged so as to face each other in the vertical direction. Such a flat plate portion 131 can be said to be a pair of flat plate-shaped portions of the tube 130 facing each other.

The curved portion 132 is a portion that is curved so as to connect the ends of the vertically arranged flat plate portions 131. One curved portion 132 is provided on each of a portion on the x-direction side of the flat plate portion 131 and a portion on the −x direction side of the flat plate portion 131. The dotted lines DL1 and DL2 shown in FIG. 4 indicate the boundary between the flat plate portion 131 and the curved portion 132.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the curved portion 132 on the x-direction side and the shape of the curved portion 132 on the −x direction side are not the same as each other. Instead of such an embodiment, the shapes of the curved portions 132 may be the same as each other and may be arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the yz plane. Specifically, for example, the shapes of the curved portions 132 on both sides along the x direction are curved in an arc shape like the curved portions 132 on the x direction side of the present embodiment. The configuration may not have a crimping portion such as the −x direction side of the form. Such a tube 130 may be integrally formed as a whole by, for example, extrusion molding.

Since the shape of the tube 230 is almost the same as the shape of the tube 130 as described above, the specific illustration thereof will be omitted. The portion of the tube 230 corresponding to the flat plate portion 131 is also hereinafter referred to as “flat plate portion 231”. Similarly, the portion of the tube 230 corresponding to the curved portion 132 is also hereinafter referred to as “curved portion 232”.

The graph shown in the lower portion of FIG. 4 schematically shows the magnitude of strain generated at the joint portion between the tube 130 and the plate member 300 when thermal expansion occurs in the tube 130. The above-mentioned "joint portion" is a portion of the tube 130 that is joined to the edge of the insertion hole 301.

The strain as described above occurs when the tube 130 in a state of being restrained by brazing with respect to the plate member 300 expands or contracts due to the temperature of the heat medium. For example, when high-temperature cooling water passes through the inside of the tube 130 and low-temperature refrigerant passes through the inside of the tube 230, the plate member 300 is deformed due to the difference in thermal expansion between the tube 130 and the tube 230. Along with the deformation, distortion occurs at the joint portion between the tube 130 and the plate member 300. Further, even when the temperature of the cooling water is different in each of the plurality of tubes 130, distortion due to the difference in thermal expansion of each tube 130 occurs. Similar strain can occur not only at the tube 130 but also at the junction of the tube 230.

As shown in FIG. 4, the distortion generated at the joint portion tends to be the largest at the position of the boundary indicated by the dotted lines DL1 and DL2. It is considered that this is because the stress at the time of thermal expansion or the like tends to be concentrated on the curved portion 132 as the rigidity of the tube 130 increases in the curved portion 132. For this reason, damage to the tube 130 due to distortion tends to occur particularly easily at the above boundary or a portion closer to the curved portion 132. The same applies to the tube 230.

Therefore, the heat exchanger 10 according to the present embodiment is configured to reduce the above-mentioned distortion and prevent damage to the

tubes

130 and 230 by devising the shape of the plate member 300.

The shape of the plate member 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the plate member 300 included in the tank 110 and the tank 210 and its vicinity. In FIG. 5, the container member 400 is not shown. Since the shapes of the plate members 300 included in the tank 120 and the tank 220 are the same as the shapes of the plate members 300 shown in FIG. 5, the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the plate member 300 has a first portion 310, a second portion 320, a third portion 330, a fourth portion 340, and a fifth portion 350.

The first portion 310 is a portion formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and its normal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the tube 130 or the like, that is, the y direction. The first portion 310 is formed on each side of the plate member 300 with a central position along the x-axis. The first portion 310 formed at a position closer to the −x direction than the center is a portion in which a plurality of insertion holes 301 for inserting the tube 130 are formed. The first portion 310 formed at a position on the x-direction side of the center is a portion in which a plurality of insertion holes 301 for inserting the tube 230 are formed.

Although the first portion 310 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape as described above, it does not have to be a perfect flat plate shape. For example, a burring process may be applied to a portion near the insertion hole 301, and the portion may locally project to the y-direction side or the −y-direction side.

The second portion 320 is a portion formed so as to extend from the end of the first portion 310 along the direction of air flow toward the container member 400 side, that is, the y direction side. The second portion 320 is provided on both the x-direction side and the −x-direction side of the first portion 310. In FIG. 5, the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 is indicated by the dotted lines DL11 and DL12. Most of the insertion hole 301 is formed in the first portion 310, but a part of the insertion hole 301 also overlaps with the second portion 320.

The second portion 320 provided on the x-direction side of the first portion 310 is provided as an inclined portion so as to approach the y-direction side toward the x-direction side. The second portion 320 provided on the −x direction side of the first portion 310 is provided as a portion inclined so as to approach the y direction side toward the −x direction side.

The third portion 330 is a portion formed so as to extend in the y direction from each of the pair of second portions 320 provided on the central side of the plate member 300 among the four second portions 320 in total. Is. The third portion 330 is formed so as to extend linearly along the normal direction of the first portion 310 from the end portion of the pair of second portions 320 opposite to the first portion 310. .. Each of the pair of third portions 330 formed in this way has a flat plate shape. The flat surface formed on the inner surface side of the third portion 330 is a surface for abutting and joining the container member 400. In FIG. 5, the boundary between the second portion 320 and the third portion 330 is indicated by the dotted line DL13.

The fourth part 340 is a portion of each third part 330 that is curved so as to connect the ends opposite to the second part 320. That is, the fourth portion 340 connects the ends of the pair of third portions 330 on the y-direction side. The plate member 300 is bent in an arc shape at the fourth portion 340. In FIG. 5, the boundary between the third portion 330 and the fourth portion 340 is indicated by the dotted line DL14.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of third portions 330 and the fourth portion 340 between them connect between the plate member 300 included in the radiator 100 and the plate member 300 included in the evaporator 200, respectively. It functions as an integral part of the plate member 300. Therefore, the pair of the third portion 330 and the fourth portion 340 between them are also referred to as "connection portion 360" below.

In the heat exchanger 10 configured as a composite heat exchanger, the radiator 100 composed of the tank 110, the tank 120, the tube 130, and the fins 140 corresponds to the "first heat exchanger" and is the first heat. The cooling water passing through the exchange section corresponds to the "first heat medium". Further, the evaporator 200 composed of the tank 210, the tank 220, the tube 230, and the fins 140 corresponds to the "second heat exchange section", and the refrigerant passing through the second heat exchange section corresponds to the "second heat exchange section". do. In the heat exchanger 10, the first heat exchange section and the second heat exchange section are arranged so as to line up along the direction of air flow, and the plate member 300 included in the first heat exchange section and the second heat exchange section are arranged. The plate member 300 provided in the portion is connected so as to be integrated via the connection portion 360 described above.

In the connection portion 360 of the present embodiment, the fourth portion 340 is continuously formed in the entire connection portion 360 along the z direction. Instead of such an embodiment, the fourth portion 340 may be interrupted at one or a plurality of locations along the z direction.

The fifth portion 350 is a portion formed so as to extend in the y direction from each of the pair of second portions 320 located on the outer side along the x-axis of the four second portions 320 in total. Is. The fifth portion 350 is formed so as to extend linearly along the normal direction of the first portion 310 from the end portion of the pair of second portions 320 opposite to the first portion 310. ..

Each fifth portion 350 is arranged so as to face the third portion 330 along the direction of air flow. The flat surface formed on the inner surface side of the fifth portion 350 is a surface for abutting and joining the container member 400. Such a fifth portion 350 is arranged so as to face the third portion 330 along the direction of air flow and is joined to the container member 400 together with the third portion 330 by the method of the first portion 310. It can also be said to be a portion formed so as to extend along the linear direction. In FIG. 5, the boundary between the second portion 320 and the fifth portion 350 is indicated by the dotted line DL15.

In FIG. 5, the tube 130 inserted into the insertion hole 301 of the plate member 300 is also shown. The dotted line DL21 and the dotted line DL22, like the dotted line DL1 and the dotted line DL2 in FIG. 4, indicate the boundary between the flat plate portion 131 and the curved portion 132 and the boundary between the flat plate portion 231 and the curved portion 232, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the radiator 100 is viewed along the stacking direction, that is, the z direction, the boundary (DL11, DL12) between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 is the flat plate portion 131 of the tube 130. It is arranged at a position closer to the flat plate portion 131 than the boundary (DL21, DL22) between the curved portion 132 and the curved portion 132. Similarly, when the evaporator 200 is viewed along the stacking direction, that is, the z-direction, the boundary (DL11, DL12) between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 is the tube 230. , It is arranged at a position closer to the flat plate portion 231 than the boundary (DL21, DL22) between the flat plate portion 231 and the curved portion 232.

According to the experiments conducted by the present inventors, the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 of the plate member 300 is the tube 130 when viewed along the stacking direction as shown in FIG. It was found that the strain of the tube 130 at the time of thermal expansion or contraction tends to be relatively large in the configuration where the flat plate portion 131 and the curved portion 132 are arranged at the boundary or on the curved portion 132 side of the boundary. Has been obtained. Similarly, in a configuration in which the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 is arranged on the boundary between the flat plate portion 231 and the curved portion 232 of the tube 230, or on the curved portion 232 side thereof. It has been found that the strain of the tube 230 tends to be relatively large during thermal expansion or contraction.

This is because the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 of the plate member 300 becomes the starting point of the deformation of the plate member 300 at the time of thermal expansion of the tube 130 or the like, and the strain due to the deformation is the strain of the tube 130. It is considered that this is because it concentrates on the curved portion 132 and the curved portion 232 of the tube 230.

On the other hand, in the radiator 100 of the heat exchanger 10 according to the present embodiment, when viewed along the stacking direction, the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 of the plate member 300 is the tube 130. Of these, the configuration is such that the flat plate portion 131 and the curved portion 132 are arranged at a position closer to the flat plate portion 131 than the boundary. Similarly, in the evaporator 200, the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 of the plate member 300 is closer to the flat plate portion 231 than the boundary between the flat plate portion 231 and the curved portion 232 of the tube 230. It is configured to be placed at a position.

In such a configuration, the plate member 300 is deformed starting from the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 at the

flat plate portions

131 and 231 instead of the

curved portions

132 and 232. As a result, the strain is diffused over a wide range of the joint portion, so that the maximum value of the strain generated in the

tubes

130 and 230 can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. The above-mentioned "maximum value of distortion" is the peak value of distortion shown in the graph at the bottom of FIG.

In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 360 is formed so that the gap between the pair of third portions 330 adjacent to each other is substantially zero. As a result, the radiator 100 and the evaporator 200 are in close proximity to each other, and the length of the fins 140 along the x direction is relatively short. As a result, heat conduction between the cooling water and the refrigerant via the fins 140 is efficiently performed, but on the contrary, the strain due to thermal expansion of the

tubes

130 and 230 is caused when the fins 140 are long. It will be bigger than that.

However, in the present embodiment, the distortion of the joint portion is suppressed by devising the shape of the plate member 300 as described above. Therefore, even in a configuration in which the fins 140 are shortened in consideration of heat conduction, it is possible to prevent the tube 130 and the like from being damaged due to strain.

By the way, the deformation of the plate member 300 when the

tubes

130 and 230 are thermally expanded or the like occurs from the boundary between the first portion 310 and the second portion 320 as described above. For example, the plate member 300 tends to be deformed in the direction in which the second portion 320 is inclined toward the x-direction side or the-direction side, starting from the boundary indicated by the dotted line DL11 in FIG. In the present embodiment, the shape of the second portion 320 is devised so that most of the deformation is absorbed by the second portion 320 and the influence on the joint portion is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, each second portion 320 has a shape that is substantially arcuately curved so as to be convex toward the outside of the tank 110 or the like. However, in the portion with the reference numeral "320", the second portion 320 locally protrudes toward the inside of the tank 110 or the like. Such a portion locally protruding inward of the tank 110 or the like is also referred to as a "bent portion 321" below. One bent portion 321 is formed in each of the four second portions 320. The position where the bent portion 321 is formed is a position in the second portion 320 that does not overlap with the joint portion such as the tube 130. Specifically, it is a position closer to the container member 400 than the tip of the tube 130.

Since such a bent portion 321 is formed, the second portion 320 is provided with a function as a "leaf spring" that absorbs strain. Since the second portion 320 is easily deformed in the whole including the bent portion 321, it is possible to prevent the strain caused by the thermal expansion of the

tubes

130 and 230 from being concentrated on the joint portion with the

tubes

130 and 230. Will be done. As a result, the maximum value of distortion is further reduced. As described above, in the present embodiment, the distortion is further reduced by forming the bent portion 321 so as to project inward of the tank 110 or the like in the second portion 320.

The radius of curvature of the bent portion 321 is preferably larger than the radius of curvature of the fourth portion 340. The "radius of curvature" in this case is the radius of curvature on the surface of the one protruding in an arc shape in the cross section as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the inner surfaces of the third portion 330 and the fifth portion 350 are surfaces for abutting and brazing the container member 400. As shown in FIG. 5, when the length of the inner surface of the third portion 330 along the y direction is "L1" and the length of the inner surface of the fifth portion 350 along the y direction is "L2". The dimensions of each part are set so that L1 <L2. The "length along the y direction" in the above corresponds to the length along the normal direction of the first portion 310.

Due to its structure, the plate member 300 has a relatively high rigidity near the central portion where the connecting portion 360 is formed, while the rigidity near the end portion where the fifth portion 350 is formed is relatively low. It has become. Therefore, in the present embodiment, L1 <L2 is set as described above, and the joint area in the fifth portion 350 is made larger than the joint area in the third portion 330. As a result, the rigidity in the vicinity of the end portion where the fifth portion 350 is formed is increased, so that the balance of the rigidity of each portion of the plate member 300 can be evenly approached. As a result, the maximum value of distortion generated in the plate member 300 can be further reduced.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the length of the fifth portion 350 along the normal direction of the first portion 310 is made longer than the length of the third portion 330 along the same direction, thereby maximizing the distortion. It is configured to reduce the value. The length (L1) of the third portion 330 along the normal direction of the first portion 310 is preferably 0.8 mm or more.

Further, it is preferable that the third portion 330 and the fifth portion 350 are all arranged closer to the container member 400 than the tips of the

tubes

130 and 230. That is, it is preferable that the third portion 330 and the fifth portion 350 are arranged at positions so that the

tubes

130 and 230 are not sandwiched between them.

In the above description, an example in which the heat exchanger 10 is configured as a composite heat exchanger in which the radiator 100 and the evaporator 200 are combined has been described. However, the device for reducing distortion as described above can also be applied to a single heat exchanger that is not a composite type. For example, in the case of a single heat exchanger 10 composed of only the radiator 100, among the plate members 300 shown in FIG. 5, the first portion 310, the second portion 320, and the third portion 330 on the −x direction side. , And the plate member 300 may be configured so as to have only the fifth portion 350.

The present embodiment has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Those skilled in the art with appropriate design changes to these specific examples are also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as they have the features of the present disclosure. Each element included in each of the above-mentioned specific examples, its arrangement, conditions, shape, and the like are not limited to those illustrated, and can be changed as appropriate. The combinations of the elements included in each of the above-mentioned specific examples can be appropriately changed as long as there is no technical contradiction.

Claims

A heat exchanger (10) that exchanges heat between a heat medium and air.
A tubular member through which a heat medium passes, and a plurality of tubes (130, 230) arranged so as to be arranged along the stacking direction.
A tank (110, 210, 120, 220) to which each of the tubes is connected is provided.
The tube includes a pair of flat plate portions (131, 231) that face each other, and curved portions (132, 232) that are curved so as to connect the ends of the respective flat plate portions. Is arranged so that the normal direction of the flat plate portion is along the stacking direction.
The tank has a plate-shaped plate member (300) in which a plurality of insertion holes (301) for inserting the tube are formed, and a container member (400) in which a space for storing the heat medium is formed inside. And have
The plate member
The first portion (310) whose normal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the tube, and
It has a second portion (320) extending from the end of the first portion along the direction of air flow toward the container member.
When viewed along the stacking direction,
A heat exchanger in which the boundary between the first portion and the second portion is located on the flat plate portion side of the tube so as to be closer to the flat plate portion than the boundary between the flat plate portion and the curved portion.
A first heat exchange unit (100), which is composed of a plurality of the tubes and the tank and is a portion for heat exchange between the first heat medium and air,
The second heat exchange section (200), which is composed of the plurality of tubes and the tank and is a portion for heat exchange between the second heat medium and air, is arranged so as to be lined up along the direction of air flow. Has been
The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the plate member included in the first heat exchange section and the plate member included in the second heat exchange section are integrally connected via a connecting portion (360). Heat exchanger.
The connection part
A pair of third portions (330) formed so as to extend along the normal direction of the first portion from an end portion of the pair of adjacent second portions adjacent to each other on the side opposite to the first portion. When,
The heat according to claim 2, further comprising a fourth portion (340) of each of the third portions, which is curved so as to connect the ends opposite to the second portion. Exchanger.
The heat exchanger according to claim 3, wherein the length of the third portion along the normal direction of the first portion is 0.8 mm or more.
For each of the plate members,
It is arranged so as to face the third portion along the direction of air flow, and is formed so as to extend along the normal direction of the first portion so as to be joined to the container member together with the third portion. The heat exchanger according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the fifth portion (350) is further formed.
The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein the length of the fifth portion along the normal direction of the first portion is longer than the length of the third portion along the same direction.
The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a bent portion (321) is formed in the second portion so as to project toward the inside of the tank.