JP2014178026A - Roller for forming heat transfer elements of heat exchangers - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roller with geometrical characteristics that is more economical, easily manufactured and less time consuming in manufacture than machined rollers.SOLUTION: A roller 100 for forming heat transfer elements includes a central shaft 110 and a plurality of roller elements 120. Each roller element 120 has a geometrical characteristic formed along an outer periphery thereof. The roller elements 120 are cut from metallic sheets by a method such as laser cutting. The roller elements 120 stacked on the central shaft 110 configure the roller 100 with a circumferential surface 150 corresponding to the geometrical characteristic of the stacked roller elements 120.

Description

BACKGROUND Field of Effort The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers, and in particular to rollers for forming heat transfer elements used in such heat exchangers for transferring heat.

Brief Description of Related Art A heat exchanger, such as a rotary regenerative air preheater, has various heat transfer elements stacked within the heat exchanger to transfer heat from the hot gas stream to the cold gas stream. . For effective heat transfer, the heat transfer element has one or more geometric features such as relief, corrugations, notches and flats. In general, such features are formed by roll pressing a metal sheet or plate between a pair of metal rollers having one or more similar features on its peripheral surface. Features formed on the roll-pressed metal sheet correspond to features on the peripheral surface of the press roller.

  A metal roller with the above features is generally manufactured by machining the roller along its circumference. Machining the features or various combinations thereof in a metal roller is not only uneconomical, but also a very cumbersome and time consuming task. Furthermore, such machining of the rollers also generally limits its features to current machining techniques and methods and uninterrupted feature geometries. Furthermore, the attachment and detachment of such metal rollers to a roller press to form a heat transfer element with various features also increases its overall complexity and time.

  The present disclosure relates to a roller for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, which roller is shown in the following brief overview to provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the disclosure. One or more aspects are intended to overcome the disadvantages discussed, but are intended to provide some additional advantages and include all of them. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. The summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of the disclosure, aspects and advantages thereof in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented below.

  An object of the present disclosure is to provide a roller with geometric features that is relatively economical, easy to form, and takes less time to form than conventional machined rollers. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a roller in a convenient and economical manner in a substantially shorter time. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a heat transfer plate and the formation of a roller array for its manufacture. Yet another problem of the present disclosure is to avoid detaching the roller from the roller array each time a new heat transfer element profile needs to be formed. Various other objects and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description and claims.

  The above and other problems may be achieved in one aspect by a roller of the present disclosure for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger. In another aspect, the above and other problems are achieved by a method for forming a roller, a roller arrangement having a roller for forming a heat transfer element, and a method for obtaining a heat transfer element for a heat exchanger. May be achieved.

  In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a roller is provided for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger. The roller has a plurality of roller elements each defining an outer periphery. Each roller element has a geometric feature formed along its outer periphery. Multiple roller elements are adapted to be stacked to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface Has been.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, a roller for forming a heat transfer element is provided that includes a central shaft and a plurality of roller elements adapted to be stacked on the central shaft. Each roller element defines an outer peripheral portion, and the outer peripheral portion is formed to have a geometric feature along the outer peripheral portion. In one embodiment, each roller element may be a substantially thin metal sheet having one of a flat shape or a non-flat shape and is cut from the metal sheet. Further, each roller element is formed in one of a circular shape and a non-circular shape. The stacked roller elements in the central shaft form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface. In one aspect, the geometric shape is not limited in any way and may be at least one of undulations, corrugations, flats, notches, ribs, tabs, indentations, and small corrugations, which are required. It may be cut by a tool or by laser or any other digital method.

  In one embodiment, each roller element has a cutout that defines an inner periphery opposite to the outer periphery, and each roller element is stacked on the central shaft by passing through this cutout.

  In one embodiment, an engagement arrangement is provided that allows for proper stacking of multiple roller elements on the central shaft. The engagement arrangement includes an engagement member extending longitudinally on the surface of the central shaft, and downward from the inner periphery of each roller element to match the engagement member for stacking a plurality of roller elements on the central shaft. Extended complementary engagement members. The engagement member may be a groove and the complementary engagement member may be a protrusion.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for forming a roller is provided. This method
Forming the central shaft,
From the metal sheet, a plurality of roller elements, each roller element defining an outer periphery, cutting the plurality of roller elements,
Forming geometric features along the outer perimeter of each roller element;
Stacking a plurality of roller elements on a central shaft to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface; Including.

In one alternative aspect of the present disclosure, a roller arrangement for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger is provided. Roller arrangement is
A pair of rollers, each roller having a central shaft;
A plurality of roller elements each defining an outer periphery, each roller element having a geometric feature formed on the outer periphery of the roller element, the plurality of roller elements being stacked on the central shaft Have been adapted to
The roller elements laminated to the central shaft form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the laminated roller elements,
The pair of rollers are spaced in parallel to form a nip, the pair of rollers receiving a metal sheet to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface. Can be rotated along their respective axes.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of forming a heat exchanger heat transfer element is provided. The method includes placing a pair of rollers spaced apart to form a nip, the pair of rollers being rotatable along their respective axes, each roller being
A central shaft,
A plurality of roller elements each forming an outer periphery, each roller element having a geometric feature formed along the outer periphery, the plurality of roller elements being stacked on a central shaft Adapted to
The laminated roller elements in the central shaft form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the laminated roller elements,
Including passing a metal sheet through the nip of the pair of rollers to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surfaces of the pair of rollers.

  In one embodiment of the above aspects of the method and roller arrangement, the formation of the rollers may be performed without being stacked on the central shaft.

  These, along with other aspects of the present disclosure, along with various features of novelty that characterize the present disclosure, are particularly pointed out by the present disclosure. For a better understanding of the present disclosure, its operational advantages, and its use, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and description, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

  The advantages and features of the present disclosure will be further understood by reference to the following detailed description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like numerals.

2 is a perspective view of partially stacked rollers for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side view of partially stacked rollers for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. 4 shows a side view of a fully stacked roller for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows a front view of a roller element of the roller of FIGS. 1A-1C, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows a side view of a roller element of the roller of FIGS. 1A-1C, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for forming the roller of FIGS. 1A-1C, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a roller arrangement for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for forming a heat transfer element by utilizing the roller arrangement of FIG. 4 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

  Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE For a full understanding of the present disclosure, reference is made to the following detailed description, including the appended claims, in connection with the above-described drawings. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown only in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure. In this specification, “one embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “another embodiment,” and “various embodiments” refer to specific characteristics described with respect to that embodiment, It means that a structure or feature is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily separate or alternative to each other, even though they all refer to the same embodiment. It is not a typical embodiment. In addition, various features are described that may be shown by some embodiments but not by other embodiments. Similarly, various embodiments are described that are requirements for some embodiments, but not other embodiments.

  Although the following description includes many specific items for illustration, those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations and / or modifications to these specific items are within the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, while many of the features of the present disclosure have been described as being interchanged with or in conjunction with one another, one of ordinary skill in the art can provide many of these features independently of other features. I will admit. Accordingly, this description of the disclosure is presented without any loss of generality to the present disclosure and without limitation to the present disclosure. Furthermore, relative terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “distal”, “proximal”, “intermediate” do not indicate any order, height, or importance herein; Used to distinguish one element from another. Further, the singular description herein does not mean a limitation of quantity, but the presence of at least one of the cited items.

  Referring now to FIGS. 1A-1C, there are shown a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a roller 100 for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The roller 100 is a stamping die for forming a heat transfer element. The roller 100 has a central shaft 110. The central shaft 110 may be a metal shaft of any suitable length and diameter depending on industrial requirements. The central shaft 110 has a distal end 112a and a proximal end 112b opposite to each other, and an intermediate portion 112c extending between the distal end 112a and the proximal end 112b. In one aspect, the distal end 112a and the proximal end 112b may have flanges for being operatively coupled to a suitable mechanical arrangement that rotates the central shaft 110 about an axis.

  Further, the roller 100 has a plurality of roller elements 120. The roller element 120 may be adapted to be laminated on the central shaft 110.

  In one preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the roller elements 120 may be stacked to form a roller without the need for a central shaft, such as the central shaft 110. For example, a roller without a central shaft may be manufactured from a series of roller elements 120 and rotated about a stub shaft at each end of the laminated assembly.

  Each roller element 120 is a substantially thin metal sheet, which may or may not be flat and generally features the required heating element forming roll when laminated. Is obtained by cutting a sheet of metal with the required peripheral geometry. In one embodiment, the roller element 120 may be circular, but in another embodiment, the roller element 120 may be any shape other than circular. Further, in one alternative embodiment, roller element 120 may be cut by one of a laser cutting method, a water jet cutting method, or any other suitable digital cutting method known in the art. A front view and a side view of the roller element 120 are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively, and will be described in connection with FIGS. 1A-1C. Each roller element 120 has an outer peripheral portion 122. Furthermore, each roller element 120 has a cutout portion 124 formed through the roller element at the center, and this cutout portion 124 forms an inner peripheral portion 126 opposite to the outer peripheral portion 122. Each roller element 120 has a geometric feature 130 formed along its outer periphery 122. In one embodiment, the geometric features 130 may include, but are not limited to, at least one of undulations, corrugations, flats, notches, ribs, tabs, indentations, and minor corrugations. It can be cut by the required tool or by laser or any other digital method. Without departing from the scope of this disclosure, each roller element 120 may include a geometric feature 130 such as a relief section, a corrugated section, a flat section, a notched section, a rib section, a tab section, a recessed section, and a small corrugated section, or It may have any other geometric features in any desired combination or alone.

  As described above, in one embodiment, each roller element 120 is adapted to be stacked on the central shaft 110. Each of the plurality of roller elements 120 is adapted to be stacked over the entire length of the intermediate portion 112c of the central shaft 110 except for the flanged distal end 112a and proximal end 112b. Roller element 120 may be conformally stacked over middle portion 112c on central shaft 110 by passing through cutout 124. Only a portion of the central shaft 110 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Further, in FIG. 1C, the roller element 120 is shown stacked over the entire length of the intermediate portion 112 c of the central shaft 110 for forming the roller 100. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an engagement arrangement 140 may be provided for proper lamination of the roller elements 120 along the central shaft 110. The engagement arrangement 140 may include an engagement member 142 that extends longitudinally on the surface 114 of the central shaft 110. The engagement arrangement 140 further includes a complementary extension extending downwardly from the inner periphery 126 of each roller element 120 to fit the engagement member 142 for stacking the plurality of roller elements 120 on the central shaft 110. An engagement member 144 may be included. One aspect of the engagement arrangement 140 is a male-female engagement arrangement, where the engagement member 142 may be a groove and the complementary engagement member 144 is a protrusion that fits into the groove. It may be.

  The stacked roller elements 120 in the central shaft 110 form a roller 100 with a peripheral surface 150 corresponding to the geometric features 130 of the stacked roller elements 120.

  Further, in one embodiment, as clearly shown by FIG. 4, the stacked roller elements 120 are supported between two support plates 162, 164 and are provided with various extended threading. It is gripped by using a rod and nut combination 170 (rod and nut combination 170). The support plates 162 and 164 may be disposed at both ends of the stacked roller elements 120 in the intermediate portion 112 c of the central shaft 110. Further, the rod and nut combination 170 may be used with the support plates 162, 164 to grip the stacked roller elements 120. Each roller element 120 may have a through hole 128 (shown in FIG. 2A) and a rod and nut combination 170 with support plates 162 and 164 that may also have through holes (not shown). The roller element can be gripped on the central shaft 110. The extended threaded rod 172 may be inserted into the concentric through-hole 128 of the stacked roller element 120 and the nut 174 may be screwed into the extended rod 162, thereby supporting The stacked roller elements 120 are gripped together with the plates 162 and 164.

  The stacked roller elements 120 that form the peripheral surface 150 of the roller 100 corresponding to the geometric features 130 of the stacked roller elements 120 are utilized to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface 150, 4 and FIG. 5 will be described below.

  Referring now to FIG. 3, a flowchart of a method 200 for forming a roller 100 is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. At 210 of method 200, various roller elements 120 are cut from the metal sheet by using a laser cutting method, a water jet cutting method, or any other suitable method known in the art. At 220, geometric features 130 are formed along the outer periphery 122 of each roller element 120. Further, at 230, the roller elements 120 are stacked. In one embodiment, the stacking of roller elements 120 may be performed on the central shaft 110 as described above. However, in another embodiment, the lamination of the roller elements 120 may be performed without using the central shaft 110. Further, in one embodiment, as described above, if the stacking of the various roller elements 120 is performed at the central shaft 110, such stacking may be enabled by the engagement arrangement 140. . For a detailed description of the various components, their formation, and their stacking, reference may be made to the above description of FIGS. 1A-2B, which is omitted here for the sake of brevity.

  Referring now to FIG. 4, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the roller array 300 may be provided for the formation of a heat transfer element that corresponds to the peripheral surface 150 of the roller 100. The roller arrangement 300 shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A-3. Roller array 300 includes a pair of rollers, such as roller 100. For brevity, the description of roller 100 is not repeated here, and all the limitations of roller 100 described above are relevant here. The pairs of rollers 100 are substantially spaced apart in a parallel relationship so as to form a nip 310. Each roller 100 is rotatable about an axis in the opposite direction to the other roller so that the nip 310 can receive the metal sheet 'M'. The metal sheet 'M' may be pressed while passing through the nip 310 between the rollers 100, thereby forming a heat transfer element 400 with geometric features 130 corresponding to the peripheral surface 150 of the roller 100. To do.

  Referring now to FIG. 5, a flowchart of a method 500 for forming a heat transfer element 400 is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The heat transfer element 400 may be formed by the roller array 300 of FIG. At 510, the pair of rollers 100 is arranged in the manner described above in connection with FIG. Further, at 520, the metal sheet 'M' is passed through the pair of nips 310 of the roller 100, thereby providing a geometric feature 130 corresponding to the peripheral surface 150 of the roller 100 as described above. Heat transfer element 400 is formed. For simplicity, the same description is not repeated here.

  The rollers of the present disclosure are advantageous in various areas. Rollers with geometric features are relatively economical, easy to form, and take less time to form than conventional machined rollers. Roller elements (with geometric features) stacked to form a roller may be easily manufactured by a laser cutting method, reducing costs and reducing development time from months to hours. The major costs associated with developing roller elements are significantly reduced by eliminating the necessary machining processes when forming conventional heat transfer elements. Furthermore, the formation of geometric features is now not limited to available machining processes, thus expanding the scope of the formation of various new geometries according to future requirements. In addition, the lamination of the various roller elements avoids detaching the roller from the roller array each time a new heat transfer element profile needs to be formed.

  The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The particular embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and many modifications and variations are apparent in light of the above description. . The embodiments best describe the principles of the present disclosure and their practical application, so that those skilled in the art will understand the various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the present disclosure and the intended specific use. Selected and explained to allow for the best use. Various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are envisioned as the situation suggests or is preferred, but they cover application and practice without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of this disclosure. Is intended to be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Roller 110 Center shaft 112a Distal end part 112b Proximal end part 112c Intermediate part 114 Center shaft surface 120 Roller element 122 Outer part 124 Cutout part 126 Inner part 128 Through-hole 130 Geometric feature 140 Engagement arrangement 142 Engagement Combined member 144 Complementary engaging member 150 Peripheral surfaces 162, 164 Support plate 170 Extended threaded rod and nut combination 172 Extended threaded rod 174 Nut 200 Method of forming a roller 210-230 Method step 300 Roller arrangement 310 Nip 400 Heat transfer element 500 Method of forming heat transfer element 510-520 Method step 'M' Metal sheet

Claims (17)

In a roller for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, the roller
A central shaft,
A plurality of roller elements each forming an outer periphery, each roller element having a geometric feature formed along the outer periphery, the plurality of roller elements being on the central shaft Adapted to be laminated,
The stacked roller elements in the central shaft form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface. A roller for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger.   2. The roller element according to claim 1, wherein each roller element has a cutout portion defining an inner peripheral portion opposite to the outer peripheral portion, and each roller element is stacked on the central shaft by passing through the cutout portion. roller. Further comprising an engagement arrangement for allowing a plurality of the roller elements to be stacked on the central shaft, the engagement arrangement comprising:
An engagement member extending longitudinally on the surface of the central shaft;
A complementary engagement member extending downwardly from the inner periphery of each roller element to mate with the engagement member for stacking a plurality of roller elements on the central shaft. The roller described.   The roller according to claim 3, wherein the engaging member is a groove.   The roller according to claim 3, wherein the complementary engaging member is a protrusion.   The roller of claim 1, wherein each roller element is a substantially thin metal sheet having one of a flat shape or an uneven shape cut from the metal sheet.   The roller according to claim 1, wherein each roller element is formed in one of a circular shape and a non-circular shape. In a method of forming a roller, the roller can form a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, the method comprising:
Forming the central shaft,
From the metal sheet, a plurality of roller elements, each roller element defining an outer periphery, cutting the plurality of roller elements,
Forming geometric features along the outer perimeter of each roller element;
In order to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric feature of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface, a plurality of the roller elements are provided on the central shaft. A method of forming a roller, comprising laminating.   Laminating the plurality of roller elements further includes cutting each roller element having a cut-out portion, and each roller element is stacked on the central shaft by passing through the cut-out portion, and the cut-out portion 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the inner periphery of the roller element is defined opposite to the outer periphery. The engagement arrangement further comprises engaging a plurality of roller elements on the central shaft to allow the lamination thereof, the engagement arrangement comprising:
An engagement member extending longitudinally on the surface of the central shaft;
A complementary engagement member extending downward from the inner periphery of each roller element to engage the engagement member for laminating a plurality of roller elements on the central shaft. Item 10. The method according to Item 9. In a roller for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, the roller
Each roller element has a plurality of roller elements forming an outer peripheral surface, each roller element has a geometric feature formed along the outer peripheral surface, and the plurality of roller elements are peripheral surfaces of a pair of rollers Characterized in that it is adapted to be laminated to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric features of the laminated roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to A roller for forming a heat transfer element of the heat exchanger.   The roller of claim 11, wherein each roller element is molded in one of a circular shape or a non-circular shape.   The roller of claim 11, wherein each roller element is a substantially thin metal sheet having one of a flat shape or an uneven shape cut from the metal sheet. In a method of forming a roller, the roller can form a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, the method comprising:
From the metal sheet, a plurality of roller elements, each roller element defining an outer periphery, cutting the plurality of roller elements,
Forming geometric features along the outer perimeter of each roller element;
Laminating the plurality of roller elements to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the stacked roller elements to form a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface. A method of forming a roller. A roller array for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, the roller array comprising:
A pair of rollers, each roller
Each roller element has a plurality of roller elements defining an outer periphery, each roller element has a geometric feature formed on the outer periphery of the roller element, and the plurality of roller elements adapted to be stacked are Forming a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric characteristics of the laminated roller elements;
The pair of rollers are spaced in parallel to form a nip, the pair of rollers receiving a metal sheet so that the nip forms a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surface. Roller arrangement for forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, characterized in that it can be rotated about its respective axis so that it can. A method of forming a heat transfer element of a heat exchanger, comprising:
Disposing a pair of rollers spaced apart to form a nip, the pair of rollers being rotatable about their respective axes, each roller comprising:
Each roller element has a plurality of roller elements forming an outer periphery, each roller element has a geometric feature formed along the outer periphery, and the plurality of roller elements are stacked roller elements. Adapted to be laminated to form a roller with a peripheral surface corresponding to the geometric features;
Forming a heat transfer element corresponding to the peripheral surfaces of the pair of rollers, including passing a metal sheet through a nip of the pair of rollers; Method.   A heat transfer element obtained by using a roller, a roller arrangement or a method according to any one of the preceding claims.