Fin for Heat Exchanger and Heat Exchanger Equipped with Such Fins

Abstract

The invention concerns a fin defining a general corrugated direction (D 1 ), comprising a plurality of corrugations ( 123 ) alternately linked by a corrugation top ( 121 ) and a corrugation base ( 122 ). The fins are formed exclusively from sintered metal particles. The invention is applicable to plate heat exchangers of a unit for air separation or H2/CO mixtures by cryogenic distillation.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
   
   
       11 . A corrugated fin for plate-and-fin heat exchanger, of the type having a general main corrugated direction, and comprising a plurality of corrugations alternately linked by a corrugation peak and by a corrugation valley, wherein it is formed exclusively from sintered metal particles. 
   
   
       12 . The corrugated fin of  claim 11 , wherein the corrugation sides, the corrugation peaks and the corrugation valleys form straight segments, in cross section with respect to the main corrugation direction, the peaks and valleys being parallel to each other. 
   
   
       13 . The corrugated fin of  claim 11 , wherein the particles are of aluminum, of an aluminum alloy containing at least about 90 mol % of aluminum, of copper, or of an alloy containing at least about 90 mol % of copper. 
   
   
       14 . The corrugated fin of  claim 11 , wherein the fin has a thickness of between about 0.25 and about 0.6 mm. 
   
   
       15 . The corrugated fin of  claim 11 , in which the pores formed in the fin have a diameter of between about 10 and about 100 μm. 
   
   
       16 . An evaporator/condenser, of the type comprising a stack of parallel plates, closure bars and, optionally, corrugated spacers, which define a first series of passages for a fluid to be evaporated supplied at the source, and a second series of passages contiguous with the first for at least one fluid for heating said fluid to be evaporated, said passages of the first series being divided into three successive zones, from the bottom to the top, of the evaporator/condenser:
 a) a first zone configured to promote heat exchanges by convection;   b) a second zone configured to promote nucleated boiling;   c) a third zone configured to promote convective boiling;   
     wherein at least the second zone and, optionally, the third zone and even, optionally, the first zone, contains fins conforming to  claim 11 . 
   
   
       17 . The evaporator/condenser of  claim 16 , wherein it is of the bath evaporator type. 
   
   
       18 . An evaporator/condenser of the film evaporator type, containing fins conforming to  claim 11 . 
   
   
       19 . A unit for separating air by cryogenic distillation, comprising at least one evaporator/condenser of  claim 16 . 
   
   
       20 . The air separation units of  claim 19 , comprising at least two columns thermally coupled together via an evaporator.