Low cost modular diffusion bonded heat exchanger

This project will develop a novel design and manufacturing technology for diffusion bonded compact heat exchangers, also called printed circuit heat exchangers. About a third of the manufacturing cost is the labor intensive and time-consuming photochemical etching process that forms channels in sheet metal. The resulting etched sheets, called shims, are stacked and diffusion bonded in a vacuum furnace to fabricate a heat exchanger. As an alternative to photochemical etching, this project will develop a shim stamping process. This will fully replace the photochemical etching process. A new design methodology will be enabled to manufacture low cost modular printed circuit heat exchangers. This advanced manufacturing process would enable efficient mass production, which will further drive down production costs. Highly adjustable modular designs will be enabled. The same stamped shim pattern could be used to design and manufacture the multiple heat exchanger types needed for nuclear power plants. In Phase I, the team will demonstrate the manufacturability of the new design. The team will modify their existing through-etched shim design to be suitable for stamping. Shim stamping and trimming processes will be developed that minimize deformation and reduce residual stress. The team will then diffusion bond and mechanically test a prototype heat exchanger. In Phase II, a scaled up prototype heat exchanger will be fabricated for third party performance testing at an experimental nuclear power facility. The project team specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing compact heat exchangers with its unique diffusion bonding technology. The new patent-pending heat exchanger architecture is derived from extensive experience and knowledge established over 10 years. In Phase III, the technology developed in this project will be commercialized by the project team and its extensive network of business collaborators.