U.S. patent application number 11/634456 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-14 for outlet/inlet piping structure for intercooler.
This patent application is currently assigned to DENSO Corporation. Invention is credited to Masaki Harada, Sumio Susa, Haruhiko Watanabe.
Application Number | 20070131405 11/634456 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38138117 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070131405 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Harada; Masaki ; et
al. |
June 14, 2007 |
Outlet/inlet piping structure for intercooler
Abstract
An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler according to
the invention has a construction in which an outlet/inlet piping 5
is branched in such a fashion as to possess a plurality of flow
passages from one of the flow passages of a distal end position 5a
spaced apart from a header tank 4 of an intercooler to a connection
portion 5b to the header tank so that a fluid pressure loss does
not substantially occur in the flow between the distal end position
and the connection portion. In other words, a ratio of a sectional
area of the flow passage of the connection portion to a sectional
area of the connection portion of the far end portion is at least
78%.
Inventors: |
Harada; Masaki;
(Kariya-city, JP) ; Susa; Sumio; (Anjo-city,
JP) ; Watanabe; Haruhiko; (Chiryu-city, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C.
P.O. BOX 828
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48303
US
|
Assignee: |
DENSO Corporation
Kariya-city
JP
|
Family ID: |
38138117 |
Appl. No.: |
11/634456 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/178 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28F 9/0246 20130101;
F28D 2021/0082 20130101; F28F 9/0275 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/178 |
International
Class: |
F28F 9/04 20060101
F28F009/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 9, 2005 |
JP |
2005-355917 |
Aug 3, 2006 |
JP |
2006-212143 |
Claims
1. An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler for causing
high-pressure air from a supercharger to flow into an intercooler
and sending the high-pressure air, the air density of which is
increased upon cooling, from said intercooler to an engine main
body, wherein at least one of an inlet piping and an outlet piping
has a construction such that it is divided into a plurality of flow
passages from one flow passage at a distal end position spaced
apart from a header tank of said intercooler to a connection
portion to said header tank, and a fluid pressure loss does not
substantially occur between said distal end position and said
connection portion.
2. An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler according to
claim 1, wherein a sectional area of the flow passage of said
connection portion to a sectional area of the flow passage of said
distal end position is at least 78%.
3. An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler according to
claim 1, wherein said outlet/inlet piping structure is formed by
combining half split members divided into a plurality of units in
an axial direction of tubes with one another and fixing them.
4. An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler according to
claim 1, wherein a flat flow passage connecting said divided flow
passages is provided.
5. An outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler according to
claim 4, wherein a support pole is arranged in said flat flow
passage.
6. An intercooler comprising: two header tanks on an inlet side and
an outlet side so arranged as to oppose each other; an inlet piping
connected to a supercharger side piping for passing high-pressure
air from a supercharger and provided in said inlet side header
tank; a heat exchange core connected to both of said header tanks,
for cooling the high-pressure air flowing in from said inlet piping
and increasing an air density; and an outlet piping connected to an
engine side piping for sending the high-pressure air to the engine
main body and provided on said outlet side header tank; wherein at
least one of said inlet piping and said outlet piping is branched
in such a fashion as to possess a plurality of flow passages from
one of the flow passages of a distal end position spaced apart from
said inlet side header tank to a connection portion to said inlet
side header tank so that a fluid pressure loss does not
substantially occur between said distal end position and said
connection portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to an outlet/inlet piping structure
for an intercooler for causing high-pressure air from a
supercharger to flow into an intercooler, cooling the high-pressure
air and sending the high-pressure air to an engine main body in a
feed system of an internal combustion engine (engine).
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] To improve an engine output, it has generally been a
customary practice to send a large quantity of air into an engine
using a supercharger. Because air is compressed in the
supercharger, however, the air temperature rises and the air
changes to high-pressure air having a temperature of about
180.degree. C., for example. An intercooler (cooler) is used to
increase the air density by cooling this high-pressure air before
it is fed to the engine main body.
[0005] The intercooler generally includes a heat exchange core 3
formed by alternately stacking a large number of flat tubes 1 and a
large number of corrugated fins 12 as shown in FIG. 7 and header
tanks 4 are arranged on both sides of this heat exchange core 3.
The header tank 4 is constituted by a core plate 41, to which a
large number of tubes 1 are connected, and a tank plate 42 having a
U-shaped sectional shape for forming a tank space, as shown in FIG.
8. An inlet piping 5 is connected to the substantial top of the
header tank in the case of an inlet side header tank 4, for
example, and an outlet piping 5 (not shown in the drawing) is
connected in the case of an outlet side header tank (not
shown).
[0006] In the intercooler having such a construction, the
high-pressure air pressurized by the supercharger enters the inlet
side header tank 4 through the inlet piping 5, then enters the
outlet side header tank through a large number of flat tubes 1 and
is discharged from this outlet side header tank through the outlet
piping to the engine. On the other hand, external air, due to the
movement of a car and a cooling fan, flows orthogonally to the
flowing direction of the high-pressure air outside the tubes 1,
thereby causing a heat exchange and cooling the high-temperature
and high-pressure air. In this way, the intercooler generally
employs a high-pressure air flow of single pass system.
[0007] Therefore, to improve heat exchange efficiency, it is
necessary to allow the high-pressure air from the inlet piping 5 to
flow in a broader range and to uniformly distribute the
high-pressure air to a large number of flat tubes 1. In the
intercoolers of the prior art, the tip end of the inlet piping 5 is
shaped into a flat shape as shown in FIG. 7 and is connected to the
header tank 4. (Incidentally, this is fundamentally the same in the
case of the outlet piping, too). In this way, the high-pressure air
is allowed to flow uniformly through each tube 1.
[0008] To cope with the environmental pollution, the exhaust gas
regulation of Diesel engines has become more severe in recent
years. In the case of large trucks, for example, the NOx value of
the exhaust gas in Europe has changed from 5 (g/kwh) in EURO3 to
3.5 (g/kwh) in EURO4 and is expected to be 2 (g/kwh) in EURO5 which
is scheduled to start from 2008. The PM (floating particulate
matter) value is reduced from 0.1 (g/kwh) of EURO3 to 0.02 (g/kwh)
in EURO5.
[0009] To avoid these regulation limits, it is necessary to improve
the pressure of the high-pressure air outgoing from the existing
superchargers from 1.8 (kgf/cm.sup.2) through 2.7 (kgf/cm.sup.2) to
a final target value of 3.6 (kgf/cm.sup.2) and to raise the
temperature of the high-pressure air from 180.degree. C. to
204.degree. C. to 239.degree. C.
[0010] As described above, both the supercharging pressure and the
temperature have been drastically increased in the intercoolers for
the large scale trucks owing to exhaust gas regulations.
[0011] In the outlet/inlet piping structure (particularly the inlet
piping structure) according to the prior art in which the tip end
of the outlet/inlet piping (connection portion with the header
tank) has a flat shape, however, the possibilities occur, with the
rise of the supercharging pressure and temperature owing to
tightening of the exhaust gas regulation, that the strength becomes
insufficient and the outlet/inlet piping undergoes deformation.
[0012] In other words, the flat tip end of the outlet/inlet piping
is likely to swell into a round shape. The deformation of the tip
end of the outlet/inlet piping may result in the problems that a
tank plate 42 and a core plate 41 are pulled as indicated by dash
line in FIG. 8 and deform and, eventually, a large stress acts on a
tube root R connecting the core plate and the tube by brazing, etc,
and results in a fracture. The intercoolers according to the prior
art employ the wide pipe shape so as to let the supercharging air
flow in a broader range but the pressure receiving area is large
and deformation is more likely to occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In view of the problems described above, the present
invention aims to provide an outlet/inlet piping structure of an
intercooler that can uniformly supply a fluid to each tube
connected to a header tank, has strength sufficient to suppress
deformation against the fluid that is highly pressurized, and can
reduce the stress on a tube root.
[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, an
outlet/inlet piping structure of an intercooler has a construction
in which outlet and inlet piping 5, 5A and 5B are divided in such a
fashion as to possess a plurality of flow passages from one flow
passage at a distal end position 5a spaced apart from header tanks
4, 4A, 4B of the intercooler to a connection portion 5b to the
header tanks, and a fluid pressure loss does not substantially
occur between the distal end position 5a and the connection portion
5b. Accordingly, the pressure reception area can be reduced without
decreasing a flow passage sectional area, the strength of the
outlet/inlet piping 5A, 5B can be increased, its deformation can be
suppressed and damage to, and fracture of, the tube root R of the
intercooler can be prevented. The fluid can be uniformly supplied
to each tube connected to the header tanks.
[0015] In the outlet/inlet piping structure according to the
invention, a ratio of a sectional area of the flow passage of the
connection portion 6b to a sectional area of the flow passage of
the distal end position 5a is at least 78%. The outlet/inlet
sectional area ratio of the outlet/inlet piping is measured by a
pressure loss of supercharging air but a measurement error of
.+-.5% generally exists in the measurement of the pressure loss.
Therefore, the invention employs an outlet/inlet sectional area
ratio of at least 78% corresponding to +5% as the upper limit at
which the difference becomes clear. This is equivalent to a
construction in which the pressure loss basically does not occur in
the outlet/inlet piping.
[0016] In the outlet/inlet piping structure according to the
invention, the outlet/inlet piping 5, 5A, 5B is formed by combining
half split members divided into a plurality of units in an axial
direction of tubes with one another and fixing them. Therefore,
production is easy and a production cost can be reduced.
[0017] An intercooler according to another aspect of the invention
includes two header tanks 4A and 4B on the inlet side and the
outlet side, an inlet piping 5A provided in the inlet side header
tank 4A, a heat exchange core 3 connected to both header tanks 4A
and 4B, and an outlet piping 5B provided in the outlet side header
tank 4B, wherein at least one of both piping 5A and 5B is branched
in such a fashion as to possess a plurality of flow passages from
one of the flow passages of the distal end position 5a spaced apart
from the inlet side header tank 4A to the connection portion 5b to
the inlet side header tank 4A so that a fluid pressure loss does
not substantially occur between the distal end position 5a and the
connection portion 5b. Consequently, it is possible to acquire an
intercooler including an inlet piping having improved pressure
resistance.
[0018] The present invention may be more fully understood from the
description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth
below, together with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] In the drawings:
[0020] FIG. 1A is a view showing an upper half structure of an
intercooler equipped with an outlet/inlet piping structure
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 1B an explanatory view useful for explaining
deformation of an outlet/inlet piping at a connection portion;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relation between an outlet
(connection side)/inlet (distal end portion side) sectional area
ratio and a supercharging pressure loss of the intercooler;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a front view of an intercooler equipped with an
outlet/inlet piping structure according to another embodiment of
the invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is an explanatory view useful for explaining
difficulties in processing of an outlet/inlet piping structure
having completely branched flow passages according to the
embodiment of the invention;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an outlet/inlet piping
structure in each embodiment (a) to (d) and taken along a line V-V
in FIG. 4;
[0026] FIGS. 6A and 6B show outlet/inlet piping structures
according to two more embodiments of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 7 is an upper half view of an intercooler equipped with
an outlet/inlet piping structure according to the prior art;
[0028] FIG. 8 is an explanatory view useful for explaining
deformation of a header tank of the outlet/inlet piping structure
of the prior art before and after pressurization; and
[0029] FIG. 9 is a graph useful for explaining a trend of an
exhaust gas regulation value in EURO (Europe) and the change of
pressure and temperature of high-pressure air after
supercharging.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] An outlet/inlet piping structures of intercoolers according
to preferred embodiments of the invention will be hereinafter
explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0031] FIG. 1A shows an upper half structure of an intercooler
equipped with an outlet/inlet piping structure according to an
embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory view
useful for explaining deformation of an outlet/inlet piping at a
connection portion. Though the invention will be explained with
regard to an intercooler for cooling high-pressure air from a
supercharger and sending it to an internal combustion engine
(engine), the invention can be appropriately applied to heat
exchangers other than an intercooler.
[0032] FIG. 1A shows only the upper half structure of the
intercooler because the lower half has substantially the same
structure. Therefore, the lower half is omitted from the
drawing.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 1A, the intercooler includes a heat
exchange core 3 that is formed by alternately stacking a large
number of flat tubes 1 and a large number of corrugated fins
(corrugate fins) 2, and header tanks 4 that are arranged on both
sides of this heat exchange core 3. Each header tank 4 includes a
core plate 41 to which a large number of tubes 1 are connected and
a tank plate 42 having a U-shaped sectional shape that defines a
tank space. Incidentally, the side surface of the header tank 4 is
closed by a side plate. Incidentally, a large number of flat tubes
1 constituting the heat exchange core 3 are generally arranged with
the longitudinal direction of the flat section of the tube 1 being
in conformity with the flowing direction of a fluid (external air)
flowing outside the tubes 1, but are aligned in parallel in a
direction crossing at right angles the flow in this embodiment.
[0034] Both header tanks 4 to be connected at both ends of the flat
tubes 1 are arranged in the vertical direction of a car. An inlet
piping 5A is connected to the upper end of the inlet side header
tank 4A and an outlet piping 5B (not shown in the drawing) is
connected to the upper end of an outlet side header tank 4B, not
shown (at the lower end when depicted in FIG. 1A). Incidentally,
both header tanks 4 may be arranged in the transverse direction of
the car. The inlet piping 5A and the outlet piping 5B generally
have the same shape for the sake of production and the term
"outlet/inlet piping structure" used in the embodiments generically
represents both of inlet piping 5A and outlet piping 5B. As
high-pressure air is pressurized by the supercharger, the air
density increases when the air is cooled by the intercooler.
Because the pressure and temperature conditions are severe for the
inlet piping 5A and are mitigated on the side of the outlet piping
5B, their structure need not always be the same, but the
outlet/inlet piping structure according to this embodiment must be
employed for at least the side of the inlet piping 5A.
[0035] The other end of the inlet piping 5A is connected to the
piping on the supercharger side for passing the high-pressure air
from the supercharger and the other end of the outlet piping 5B is
connected to an engine side piping for sending the high-pressure
air to the engine main body.
[0036] In the intercooler having the construction described above,
air (feed air) pressurized by the supercharger enters the inlet
side header tank 4A through the inlet piping 5A, flows from thence
into the outlet side header tank 4B through the tubes 1 of the heat
exchange core 3 and is sent to the engine main body through the
outlet piping 5B. On the other hand, external air sucked by a
cooling fan (not shown) and driving wind taken in when the car is
running flow outside the tubes 1 in such a fashion as to penetrate
the drawing sheet from the front side of the sheet to the back side
thereof and a cross the high-pressure air flow inside the tubes 1.
In consequence, the high-pressure air and the external air exchange
heat, and the high-pressure air that is about 180.degree. C. on the
inlet side of the intercooler, for example, is cooled to about
50.degree. C. on the outlet side. Therefore, as the high-pressure
air is cooled, its density increases, the packing efficiency of the
air fed to the engine increases and the output is improved.
[0037] Next, the outlet/inlet piping structure as the feature of
the present invention will be explained. The intercooler is of the
type in which the high-pressure air passes only once between both
header tanks 4A and 4B (single pass type) and the high-pressure air
must be uniformly fed to each tube 1. Therefore, the connection
portion at which the outlet/inlet piping 5 is connected to the
header tank 4 is shaped into the flat shape. When the piping 5 is
shaped into the flat shape, however, the pressure receiving area
increases as shown in FIG. 7, so that the pressure resistance drops
and the connection portion undergoes great deformation, thereby
inviting possible damage and fracture of the tube root R.
[0038] Therefore, this embodiment employs the structure in which
the outlet/inlet piping 4 is divided into a plurality of units. In
other words, the distal end portion 5a of the outlet/inlet piping 5
far spaced apart from the header tank 4 has only one flow passage
but the outlet/inlet piping 4 is divided into a plurality of units
at the connection portion 5b of the outlet/inlet piping 5 connected
to the header tank 4 in such a fashion as to possess a plurality of
flow passages 52 and 53 that are integrally formed with one
another. In this case, the sectional shape of the flow passage of
the distal end portion 5a is round for the connection with the
supercharger piping whereas the sectional shape of the flow
passages 52 and 53 of the connection portion 5b may be round but is
more preferably elliptic. When the sectional shape of the flow
passages 52 and 53 of the connection portion 5b is elliptic (flat),
the distribution factor of the high-pressure air to each tube 1 can
be improved. As the outlet/inlet piping 4 is divided into a
plurality of flow passages 52 and 53 at the connection portion 5b
as shown in FIG. 1B, the pressure receiving area per flow passage
52, 53 becomes smaller, the degree of deformation of the flow
passages 52 and 53 decreases and the stress of the tube root can be
reduced.
[0039] It is also necessary to employ the construction that does
not create the pressure loss of the fluid in the flow passage
extending from the distal end portion 5a of the outlet/inlet piping
4 to the connection portion 5b. Therefore, the sectional area is
substantially the same in the full flow passage from the distal end
portion 5a to the connection portion 5b or is greater on the side
of the connection portion 5b. In this case, measurement of the
pressure loss is executed by measuring the proportion of the
sectional area of the flow passage of the distal end portion 5a to
the sectional area of the flow passage of the connection portion
5b. In such a measurement of the pressure loss, a measurement error
of about .+-.5% generally exists. FIG. 2 is a graph showing the
relation between the outlet (connection side)/inlet (distal end
portion side) sectional area ratio and the supercharging pressure
loss of the intercooler. According to this graph, the outlet/inlet
sectional area is preferably at least 78% that corresponds to +5%
as the upper limit at which the error becomes remarkable. In other
words, the outlet/inlet piping structure is employed in which the
sectional area of the flow passages 52 and 53 of the connection
portion 5b to the sectional area of the flow passage of the distal
end portion 5a in the outlet/inlet piping 5 is at least 78%.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows an outlet/inlet piping structure of an
intercooler according to another embodiment of the present
invention. The foregoing embodiment has been explained on the
assumption that the structure of the inlet piping 5A is
substantially the same as that of the outlet piping 5B but in this
embodiment, their piping structures are different. In other words,
there is the possibility that only the piping on the inlet side is
an end protrusion pipe owing to the space limitation inside the
engine compartment when the intercooler is mounted to the car. In
such a case, the inlet piping 5A is connected to the side surface
of the inlet side header tank 4A (on the right side of the inlet
side header tank 4A in FIG. 3) so that the inlet side of the
high-pressure air is arranged on one of the sides of the direction
orthogonally crossing the direction of the tube axis of the flat
tubes 1 as shown in FIG. 3. This inlet piping 5A is a piping having
a single structure that is not branched.
[0041] On the other hand, the outlet piping 5B connected to the
outlet side header tank 4B has a split structure of a plurality of
tubes in the same way as in the foregoing embodiment and is
connected to the upper part of the outlet side header tank 4B. In
this way, only one of the inlet piping 5A and the outlet piping 5B
of the outlet/inlet piping structure may be branched. Incidentally,
the construction of other members such as the tubes 1, the fins 2
and the heat exchange core 3 is the same as in the foregoing
embodiment and its explanation will be omitted.
[0042] In the foregoing embodiment, the outlet/inlet piping 5 has
the completely branched structure (refer also to FIG. 5A) as shown
in FIG. 4. In this case, there remain the problems that an inner
portion 51 of the branched piping (represented by thick solid line
in FIG. 4) must be bonded by welding or brazing and that drawing
must be excessively applied by pressing during shaping with the
result of the drop of the processing factor.
[0043] Therefore, a structure, in which the outlet/inlet piping 5
is not completely branched may be employed.
[0044] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line V-V in FIG. 4
and showing an embodiment of the structure that is completely
branched structure and an embodiment of the structure that is not
completely branched. FIG. 5(a) shows the section of the
outlet/inlet piping 5 having the completely branched flow passages
52 and 53. FIG. 5(b) shows the section of the outlet/inlet piping 5
that has branched flow passages 52 and 53 and a flow passage 54
connecting both flow passages 52 and 53, and the construction that
is not completely branched. The flow passage 54 is shaped into a
flat shape and can restrict deformation of the branched flow
passages 52 and 53. In this case, however, as the flow passages 52
and 53 are not completely branched, the deformation restriction
effect is smaller than when the flow passages 52 and 53 are
completely branched, but is superior, in processing factor, to the
case where they are completely branched.
[0045] FIG. 5(c) shows the section of the outlet/inlet piping 5
having a construction which is not completely branched and in which
a support pole 55 is arranged in the flat flow passage 54
connecting the branched flow passages 52 and 53. Because the
support pole 55 is disposed, the strength of the flat flow passage
54 can be improved and the deformation restriction effect of the
branched flow passages 52 and 53 can be improved.
[0046] FIG. 5(d) shows the section of the outlet/inlet piping 5
having a construction which is not completely branched and in which
the flow passage 54 connecting the branched flow passages 52 and 53
is narrowed until it comes into contact (by bringing the upper and
lower inner surfaces of the flow passage 54 into mutual contact)
and is bonded by spot welding W, etc, to close the flow passage 54.
In this case, the deformation restriction effect is substantially
equal to that of the outlet/inlet piping 5 having the completely
branched structure and the processing factor can be improved.
[0047] FIGS. 6A and 6B show outlet/inlet piping structures
according to two embodiments of the invention. In these
embodiments, the outlet/inlet piping 5 is formed by combining half
split members that are equally split into two units in the axial
direction of the tube, and fixing them by welding, brazing, or the
like. FIG. 6A shows an outlet/inlet piping 5 in which a connection
portion 5b has two branched flow passages and FIG. 6B shows an
outlet/inlet piping 5 in which a connection portion 5b has three
branched flow passages. In these embodiments, the two half split
members are fixed and integrated to give the outlet/inlet piping 5
but the outlet/inlet piping 5 may well be integrated from the
beginning by casting or like means. Examples of the materials of
the outlet/inlet piping 5 are stainless steel, iron, aluminum
(inclusive of aluminum alloys) and copper (inclusive of copper
alloys).
[0048] As explained above, the present invention can decrease the
pressure receiving area per flow passage of the outlet/inlet piping
at the connection portion with the header tank at which the
pressure receiving area attains the maximum in the prior art
products, and can reduce the deformation amount at the connection
portion.
[0049] As the degree of deformation at the connection portion of
the outlet/inlet piping can thus be reduced, deformation of the
tank plate and the core plate that are pulled by the outlet/inlet
piping can be limited and the tube root stress can be reduced.
[0050] While the invention has been described by reference to
specific embodiments chosen for purposes of illustration, it should
be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by
those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept
and scope of the invention.
* * * * *