Cooling tube for heat exchanger

Claim 1

A sealed heat exchanger for cooling a working fluid flowing therethrough comprising a sealed interconnected network of a plurality of tubes and headers, at least one pair of headers having a plurality of tube receiving openings disposed therein for supplying and receiving a fluid to and from said tubes; each of said tubes comprising a flat, oblong, flow-through malleable tube for insertion through said openings in said headers for making mechanical position locating contact between said tube and said headers; at least one of said tubes including a plurality of inwardly projecting turbulator dimples exhibiting a substantially cylindrical portion about a primary axis of heat conduction for creating vortices about the primary axis of heat conduction to reduce boundary heat resistance between the tube and the working fluid: wherein said tube lateral width is W and the lateral spacing between adjacent dimples is approximately 0.3 W to maximize heat transfer and the dimples are spaced in a longitudinal direction at a spacing of approximately 0.8 W to minimize longitudinal pressure drop.

Claim 13

A method of cooling a fluid comprising the steps of: providing a cooling circuit including at least one flattened cooling tube, said cooling tube having a first substantially planar surface and a primary heat transfer axis substantially perpendicular to the planar surface; and providing said cooling tube with an array of inwardly projecting dimples for agitation of fluid flowing through the tube dimples in opposed vortices about the primary heat transfer axis to reduce boundary thermal resistance otherwise occurring at the wall, said tube having a lateral width W and a lateral spacing between adjacent dimples is approximately 0.3 W to maximize heat transfer and the dimples are spaced in a longitudinal direction at a spacing of approximately 0.8 W to minimize longitudinal pressure drop.

Claim 14

A method of cooling a fluid comprising the steps of: providing a cooling circuit including at least one flattened cooling tube, said cooling tube having a first substantially planar surface and a primary heat transfer axis substantially perpendicular to the planar surface; and providing said cooling tube with an array of inwardly projecting dimples for agitation of fluid flowing through the tube dimples in opposed vortices about the primary heat transfer axis to reduce boundary thermal resistance otherwise occurring at the wall, said tube having a lateral width W and a lateral spacing between adjacent dimples is approximately 0.3 W to maximize heat transfer and the dimples are spaced in a longitudinal direction at a spacing of approximately 0.8 W to minimize longitudinal pressure drop.