FR3030712A1 - HEAT EXCHANGER COMPRISING MEANS FOR ENHANCING THE SEALING OF THE HEAT EXCHANGER - Google Patents

Abstract

Heat exchanger (1) adapted to allow a heat exchange between a first fluid and a second fluid, the heat exchanger (1) comprising: - a housing formed of at least one wall (3, 4), and adapted to receive therein an exchange beam (2), said exchange beam (2) comprising at least one collector (7, 8) adapted to be assembled at at least one end (5, 6) of the beam of exchange (2), said at least one collector (7, 8) being adapted to be assembled on the housing, - said at least one wall (3, 4) comprising, at at least one of its free ends, a locking pin (13, 14) adapted to cooperate with said at least one collector (7, 8) in order to assemble, on the housing, said at least one collector (7, 8) according to a determined position with respect to said at least one wall (3, 4).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, such as a heat exchanger for a motor vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to a heat exchanger adapted to be used during the cooling of the charge air or recirculated exhaust gas. The invention also relates to a housing adapted to be used within said heat exchanger. STATE OF THE ART Today, within a motor vehicle, the internal combustion engine of said motor vehicle can be combined with a turbocharger to improve the performance of said engine. Thus, the internal combustion engine is powered with compressed air also called "supercharging air".

The use of the turbocharger induces a high temperature of said charge air introduced into the internal combustion engine. Therefore, it is known to associate said turbocharger, a heat exchanger to cool the charge air prior to its introduction into the internal combustion engine.

Such a heat exchanger generally comprises a housing, consisting of walls, and an exchange beam disposed inside the housing. The exchange beam comprises an assembly of plates positioned one above the other and forming in combination a conduit for guiding a first fluid intended to be cooled, such as the supercharging air, from a first inlet to a first exit. The housing is generally provided with a second inlet and a second outlet for a second fluid, such as a coolant. The housing is adapted to guide the second fluid from the second inlet to the second outlet. In order to improve the heat exchange between the first fluid and the second fluid, the assembly of the plates can be completed by corrugated spacer elements. The box also comprises two collectors, each collector being adapted to receive an end of the exchange beam, by means of a connection in the zone located at each end of the walls of the housing. Now, the walls of the housing form, in this zone, a substantially perpendicular angle. Therefore, the creation of a sealed connection, by means of a brazing process, is difficult to achieve in this area. It is indeed necessary, beforehand, to precisely adjust the position of the walls of the housing relative to the collector to immobilize the collector in a specific position and thus reduce the empty spaces between the walls at the end of the soldering process .

In the state of the art, it is known to apply folding and cutting methods for positioning the walls of the housing and the collector so that the collector is blocked vis-à-vis the walls of the housing before the application of the brazing process. However, these methods are relatively complex and expensive.

Moreover, it is now common to associate at least two turbochargers to the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, in order to significantly increase the power of the motor vehicle. However, the increase in the number of turbochargers within a motor vehicle leads to a significant rise in the pressure and temperature of the charge air. A heat exchanger for cooling the charge air generated by a plurality of turbochargers, is therefore subject in the state of the art, to significant mechanical constraints related to the increase in pressure and temperature of the air of supercharging. These mechanical stresses weaken the connection zone connecting the walls of the housing to the wall of the collector and may therefore cause leakage of the second fluid, that is to say the coolant, especially at this connection area. However, these leaks can cause a degradation of the operation of the motor vehicle.

Consequently, there is a need to improve the techniques of positioning the collector with respect to the walls of the housing before applying the brazing process, and this, in order to improve the sealing of the connection between the collector and the walls. of the case, obtained at the end of the brazing process.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The heat exchanger according to the present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of heat exchangers, as disclosed in the state of the art, by proposing an improved design of a heat exchanger for cooling the heat exchanger. charge air or recirculated exhaust gas. A first object of the invention relates to _a heat exchanger adapted to allow a heat exchange between a first fluid and a second fluid, the heat exchanger comprising: a housing formed of at least one wall, and adapted to receive in an exchange beam, said exchange beam comprising at least one collector adapted to be assembled at at least one end of the exchange beam, said at least one collector being adapted to be assembled on the housing, said at least one a wall comprising, at at least one of its free ends, a locking lug adapted to cooperate with said at least one manifold in order to assemble, on the housing, said at least one manifold in a position determined with respect to said at least one a wall.

According to a particular embodiment, the housing is formed of a first wall and a second wall, the first and the second wall being adapted to be in mutual contact by means of a first contact line belonging to the first or second wall. at the second wall, and a second contact line belonging to the first or second wall, said first contact line and said second contact line each comprising at least one end zone provided with a locking pin , to form a set of locking lugs, said set of locking lugs being adapted to cooperate with said at least one manifold in order to assemble, on the case, said at least one manifold in a position determined with respect to the first and second wall. According to a particular embodiment, the exchange beam comprises a first collector adapted to be assembled at a first end of the exchange beam and a second collector adapted to be assembled at a second end of the exchange beam, the first and the second collector being adapted to be assembled on the housing, said at least one wall comprising, at each of these free ends, at least a first and a second locking lug adapted to cooperate with, respectively, the first and the second collector so as to to assemble on the housing, the first and the second collector according to a determined position with respect to said at least one wall. According to a particular embodiment, the locking pin comprises a chamfer. According to an alternative embodiment, the locking lug comprises a rounded shape. According to a particular embodiment, the housing is formed of a first and a second wall-shaped "L".

According to a particular embodiment, the first and second "L" -shaped walls are symmetrical.

According to a particular embodiment, the first and second "L" -shaped walls are made of aluminum or an aluminum-based alloy. According to a particular embodiment, the thickness of the first and second walls is between 0.5 and 1.5 millimeters (mm). A second object of the invention relates to a housing adapted to be used within a heat exchanger according to the first object of the invention, said housing comprising at least one wall, and said housing being intended to be assembled to at least one a collector, said at least one wall comprising, at at least one of its free ends, a locking pin for assembling, on the housing, said at least one collector at a determined position relative to said at least one wall. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects, objects and features of the present invention as well as its advantages will become more clearly apparent on reading the description which follows, of the preferred embodiments of a heat exchanger according to the invention, made with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 shows schematically and in an exploded view, a heat exchanger comprising in particular a housing, two collectors and an exchange beam according to one embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 shows in detail and in a perspective view, the spaced walls of the housing, said walls each comprising a locking pin according to a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 shows in detail, and in perspective view. , the walls spaced from the housing, one of the walls comprising a locking pin according to a second embodiment of the invention, Figure 4 shows, in detail, and according to a view in FIG. perspective, the walls in contact with the housing, said walls each comprising a locking pin according to Figure 2, Figure 5 shows in detail, and in a sectional view, the connection zone of the collector, the exchange beam and walls of the housing comprising the locking lugs according to Figure 2, Figures 6, 7 and 8 show in detail, and in a perspective view, the connection zone of the collector, the exchange beam and the walls of the housing comprising each a locking pin according to Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description is intended to explain the invention in a sufficiently clear and complete manner, in particular by means of examples, but should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. protection to the particular embodiments and examples presented hereinafter. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger 1 according to the invention, intended to be used within a motor vehicle for cooling the supercharging air or the recirculated exhaust gas. Figure 1 shows, schematically, the heat exchanger 1, in an exploded view. The heat exchanger 1 comprises an exchange beam 2 adapted for a heat exchange between a first fluid, such as supercharging air, and a second fluid, such as a coolant. The exchange beam 2 is enveloped by a housing. The housing comprises at least one wall made for example of aluminum or an aluminum-based alloy. The wall comprises two free ends adapted to be in contact to form the housing. The thickness of the wall is between about 0.5 and 1.5 millimeters (mm). According to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the housing comprises a first wall 3 and a second wall 4, intended to be fixed or assembled with each other at their respective free ends to envelop the exchange beam 2 .

According to Figure 1, the first and the second wall 3, 4 have an "L" shape. The exchange beam 2 comprises a first end 5 and a second end 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the first end 5 of the exchange bundle 2 is intended to be assembled with a first collector 7 and the second end 6 of the exchange beam 2 is intended to be assembled with a second collector 8. The first and second collectors 7, 8 each comprising at least one receiving slit 50, detailed in FIG. 5, in order to receive each end 5, 6 of the exchange beam 2.

The assembly, formed by the first and second collectors 7, 8 respectively assembled to the first and the second end 5, 6 of the exchange beam 2, is adapted to be assembled to the housing, on the first and second wall 3, 4, by means of a brazing process, during the assembly of the heat exchanger 1.

The first wall 3 and the second wall 4 are adapted to be in mutual contact by means of a first nip and a second nip to form the housing. The first line of contact may belong to the first or second free end of the first wall 3 or the second wall 4. The second contact line may belong to the first or second free end of the first wall 3 or of the second wall 4. The first and second nips comprise an end zone containing the end of said first and second nips and extending to a distance relatively close to said end. As shown in FIG. 1, the first wall 3 comprises a first contact line A and a second contact line B. Similarly, the second wall 4 comprises a first contact line C and a second contact line D. According to FIG. the embodiment (not shown) in which the housing comprises a wall, the first contact line is located on the first free end of the wall and the second contact line is located on the second free end of the wall. The first line of contact or the second line of contact of the wall comprises a locking pin in the corresponding end zone. Thus, a manifold 7, 8 can be assembled on the housing in a position determined with respect to the wall by the presence of the locking pin. According to another embodiment (not shown) the first and second line of contact of the wall each comprise a locking lug in their respective end zones. Each locking pin is adapted to cooperate with a collector. Thus, the first and second collectors 7, 8 can be assembled on the housing in a predetermined position for said first and second manifolds 7, 8 relative to the wall, thanks to the presence of the locking lugs.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the first contact line of the first wall 3 comprises a locking pin 13 at the end of said first nip. Similarly, the first contact line of the second wall 4 comprises a locking pin 14 at the end of said first contact line C, facing the locking pin 13. According to one embodiment of the invention, at least a first contact line A, C and a second contact line B, D are provided with a locking lug at each of their ends. Thus, the housing formed of the first wall 3 and the second wall 4 comprises a set of locking lugs comprising four locking lugs. Preferably, the first and second contact lines A, B, C, D are all provided with a locking lug at each of their ends. The housing formed of the first wall 3 and the second wall 4 then comprises a set of locking lugs comprising eight locking lugs. Thus, preferably, the first and second walls 3, 4 comprise at their free ends at the contact lines A, B, C, D, a locking pin for blocking the first and second collectors 7, 8 in a determined position during the assembly of the first and second collectors 7, 8, respectively at the first and the second end 5, 6 of the exchange beam 2.

According to an illustrative example, FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the heat exchanger 1 in which the first wall 3 comprises a locking pin 13 on the first contact line A, and the second wall 4 comprises a locking pin 14 on the first contact line C, facing the locking pin 13. The locking lugs 13, 14, are each disposed at a free end of the first wall 3 and the second wall 4 so as to what said locking lugs 13, 14 cooperate when the second collector 8 is assembled on the end 6 of the exchange bundle 2 during the manufacture of the heat exchanger 1. Thus, the locking lugs 13, 14, allow to fix, in the corresponding angle of the housing, the position of the second manifold 8 so that the application of the brazing process in the angle thus formed is optimal. Similarly, the heat exchanger 1 comprises locking lugs (not shown) arranged symmetrically with the locking lugs 13, 14 at the other free end of the first wall 3 and the second wall 4 so that said locking lugs cooperate with the first manifold 7 after assembly of said first manifold 7 on the end 5 of the exchange beam 2 during the manufacture of the heat exchanger 1. Thus, the locking lugs (not shown) allow to fixing, in the other corresponding angle of the housing, the position of the first manifold 7, so that the application of the brazing process in the other angle thus formed is optimal. The heat exchanger 1 also comprises a first input element 9 and a first output element 10, intended for the first fluid. The heat exchanger 1 also comprises, on the second wall 4, a second input element 11 and a second output element 12, intended for the second fluid. The first and second input elements 9, 11 as well as the first and the second output elements 10, 12 may be made of plastic or aluminum in order to be crimped on the assembly formed by the first and second collectors 7, 8, the exchange bundle 2, the first and the second wall 3, 4. The first and the second input element 9, 11 as well as the first and the second output element 10, 12 can be made in aluminum to be molded on the assembly formed by the first and second collector 7, 8, the first and the second wall 3, 4 and the exchange beam 2.

FIG. 2 shows, according to an illustrative example, the locking lugs 13, 14 within the first and second walls 3, 4. The locking lug 13 is located at the end of the first line of contact. A and the locking lug 14 is located at the end of the first contact line C. According to the first embodiment, the locking lug 13, 14 comprises a chamfer on the zone intended to be in contact with the manifold 8 during the assembly of the heat exchanger 1 by means of a brazing process. Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the locking pin according to the invention. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the first wall 3 comprises a locking lug 16 located near the end of the first contact line A. The locking lug 16 comprises a rounded shape projecting from the side of the the first wall 3 intended to be in contact with the second collector 8 during assembly of the heat exchanger 1.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the first and second walls 3, 4 are spaced apart from one another according to a first configuration example of said first and second walls 3, 4. FIG. 4 shows an example of integration locking lugs 13, 14 according to Figure 2 with the first and the second wall 3, 4 in contact with each other, and with an additional wall 40 in contact with the first and the second wall 3, 4 and the exchange beam 2. The end of the additional wall 40 comprises a locking pin 42 provided with a chamfer according to the second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a truncated sectional view of the heat exchanger 1 after assembly of the second collector 8 with the exchange bundle 2 and with the first and the second wall 3, 4 each comprising a locking pin 13, 14 according to FIG. the first embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2. Thus, as shown in Figure 5, at the end of the assembly of the second collector 8 at the first and second wall 3, 4, the locking lugs 13, 14 make it possible to fix the position of said second collector 8 on said first and second walls 3, 4 of the housing. Thus, the second collector 8 is immobilized, prior to the application of the brazing process intended to secure the elements in the presence, in particular the second collector 8, on the first and the second wall 3, 4, the locking lugs 13, 14 and the end 6 of the exchange bundle 2. Similarly, the first collector 7 is immobilized by means of locking lugs (not shown) within the walls 3, 4 at the end of said first and second wall 3, 4 on the side of the end 5 of the exchange beam 2. FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the heat exchanger 1 according to the invention and after the assembly of the second collector 8 on the first and the second second wall 3, 4 according to FIG.

Figures 7 and 8 show for illustrative perspective views after the application of the brazing process on the second collector 8, at the junction with the first and the second wall 3, 4 at the locking pin 16. As shown in FIG. 6, at the end of the brazing process, a brazing line 18 is present at the junction between the second collector 8 and the first wall 3. Similarly, the first wall 3 comprises a locking lug (not shown) at the other free end of said first wall 3 and a brazing line (not shown) is present at the junction between the first manifold 7 and the first wall 3. The locking lug 16 and the other locking pin (not shown) as well as brazing lines 18 make it possible to confine the second fluid, such as the coolant, within the first and second walls 3, 4, of the first and second collectors 7, 8 as well as the exchanger beam e 2 at each angle of the housing of the heat exchanger 1. Furthermore, the first fluid, such as supercharging air, is effectively confined, on the one hand, within the exchange beam 2 comprising also corrugated intermediate elements and secondly, within the first input element 9 and the first output element 10. Thus, according to the present invention, the presence of the locking lugs 13, 14, 16, 42 within of the heat exchanger 1 makes it possible to apply the brazing process effectively. At the end of the application of the soldering method, an extended connection between the first and second collector 7, 8 and the walls 3, 4 of the housing is created. Such an extended connection ensures optimum sealing of the heat exchanger, despite the presence of high pressures and high temperatures during operation of the heat exchanger. Preferably, a locking lug 13, 14, according to the first embodiment comprising a chamfer, makes it possible to ensure the presence of a brazing joint at the end of the application of the brazing process, thus reinforcing the sealing of the extended connection. Finally, advantageously, the presence of the locking lugs according to the present invention makes it possible to avoid complex and costly operations when assembling said heat exchanger.

Claims (2)

REVENDICATIONS1. Heat exchanger (1) adapted to allow a heat exchange between a first fluid and a second fluid, the heat exchanger (1) comprising: a housing formed of at least one wall (3, 4), and adapted to receiving therein an exchange beam (2), said exchange beam (2) comprising at least one collector (7, 8) adapted to be assembled at at least one end (5, 6) of the exchange beam (2), said at least one manifold (7, 8) being adapted to be assembled on the housing, said at least one wall (3, 4) comprising, at at least one of its free ends, a locking pin (13). , 14, 16, 42) adapted to cooperate with said at least one collector (7, 8) in order to assemble, on the housing, said at least one collector (7, 8) according to a position determined with respect to said at least one a wall (3, 4). 2. heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1, wherein the housing is formed of a first wall (3) and a second wall (4), the first and the second wall (3, 4) being adapted to be in mutual contact by means of a first nip (A, C) belonging to the first or second wall (3, 4), and a second nip (B, D) belonging to the first or second wall (3, 4), said first contact line (A, C) and said second contact line (B, D) each comprising at least one end zone provided with a locking pin ( 13, 14, 16, 42), to form a set of locking lugs (13, 14, 16, 42), said set of locking lugs (13, 14, 16, 42) being adapted to cooperate with said at least one collector (7, 8) for assembling, on the housing, said at least one collector (7, 8) in a predetermined position with respect to the first and second walls (3, 4) .3. The heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1, wherein the exchange beam (2) comprises a first collector (7) adapted to be assembled to a first end (5) of the exchange beam (2) and a second collector (8) adapted to be assembled at a second end (6) of the exchange beam (2), the first and the second collector (7, 8) being adapted to be assembled on the housing, said at least one wall (3, 4) comprising, at each of these free ends, at least a first and a second locking lug (13, 14, 16, 42) adapted to cooperate with, respectively, the first and second collectors (7, 8) for assembling on the housing, the first and second collectors (7, 8) at a predetermined position with respect to said at least one wall (3, 4 ). Heat exchanger (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the locking pin (13, 14, 42) comprising a chamfer. Heat exchanger (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the locking pin (16) comprising a rounded shape. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 2, wherein the first and second walls (3, 4) are L-shaped. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 6, the first and second wall (3,4) being symmetrical. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 6 or 7, the first and second wall (3, 4) being made of aluminum or an aluminum-based alloy. Heat exchanger (1) according to one of claims 6 to 8, the thickness of the first and second wall (3, 4) being between 0.5 and 1.5 millimeter (mm). 10. Housing adapted for use within a heat exchanger (1) according to one of the preceding claims, said housing comprising at least one wall (3, 4), and said housing being intended to be assembled to at least a collector (7, 8), said at least one wall (3, 4) comprising, at at least one of its free ends, a locking lug (13, 14, 16, 42) for assembling, on the case , said at least one collector (7, 8) according to a predetermined position with respect to said at least one wall (3, 4).