Compliant Heat Exchangers, Heat Pipes, and Methods for Making Same

The vast majority of energy conversion technologies and industrial processes depend on heat exchangers for transferring heat between fluids. Two of the most common modes of failure experienced by heat exchangers include constrained thermal expansion and constrained thermal fatigue. This invention is for designing and fabricating heat exchangers with resistance to constrained thermal fatigue by virtue of their structural compliance, which is granted by their helicoidal geometry. This technology is enabled by additive manufacturing, which permits the fabrication of objects with complex geometries that can’t be attained with conventional manufacturing methods.This invention disclosure describes a novel heat exchanger or heat pipe. By virtue of its geometry, the described heat exchanger exhibits axial structural compliance to accommodate deformations associated with temperature gradients and thermal loads, thus exhibiting high resistance to thermal fatigue. While it is possible to fabricate plastic, metallic, glass, and ceramic objects with such a shape using conventional manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing makes it possible to fabricate complex structures, which could be used for fabricating heat exchangers, with variable pitch or dimensions, noncircular cross sections, and structures in which the geometry and dimensions of the internal channel vary.Benefits: High resistance to thermal fatigue High thermal conductivity Optimizing parameters, such as materials utilization, size, and cost Attaining complex shapes and dimensions that maximize heat transfer while minimizing pressure drop Applicable to polymers, metals, and ceramicsApplications and industries: Heat exchange for gas-to-gas, liquid-to-gas, super-critical-fluid to gas, and super-critical-fluid to liquid applications Solid oxide fuel cells Industrial processes HVAC and refrigeration Power generation Nuclear applications

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