Heat exchanger and home appliance including the same

Abstract

A home appliance may include: a housing; and a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing, the heat exchanger including: a first pipe providing a flow path along which a refrigerant is flowable, and including aluminum, a second pipe adjacent to the first pipe, the second pipe including aluminum, and configured to receive a sensor, and a filler metal configured to couple the first pipe and the second pipe together, At least of a portion of the first pipe or a portion of the second pipe includes a zinc diffusion layer. An electrical potential difference between any two of the filler metal, the first pipe, and the second pipe is 50 mV or less.

1 . A home appliance, comprising:
 a housing; and   a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing, the heat exchanger including:
 a first pipe providing a flow path along which a refrigerant is flowable, and including aluminum, 
 a second pipe adjacent to the first pipe, the second pipe including aluminum, and configured to receive a sensor, and 
 a filler metal configured to couple the first pipe and the second pipe together, 
 wherein at least of a portion of the first pipe or a portion of the second pipe includes a zinc diffusion layer, and 
 wherein an electrical potential difference between any two of the filler metal, the first pipe, and the second pipe is 50 mV or less. 
   
     
     
         2 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 the filler metal is an alloy including zinc and aluminum, and   the alloy includes 10 to 90 wt % zinc relative to a total weight of the alloy.   
     
     
         3 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 the filler metal is an alloy including zinc and aluminum, and   the alloy includes 40 to 70 wt % zinc relative to a total weight of the alloy.   
     
     
         4 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 the zinc diffusion layer includes a layer extending from a surface of the first pipe or the second pipe to a core portion thereof by a thickness of 10 μm or more.   
     
     
         5 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the zinc diffusion layer has an irregular thickness as a result of:
 zinc having been arc-sprayed onto a surface of the first pipe and diffused into a core portion of the first pipe by heat treatment, and/or
 zinc having been arc-sprayed onto a surface of the second pipe and diffused into a core portion of the second pipe by heat treatment. 
   
     
     
         6 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical potential difference between any two of the filler metal, the first pipe, and the second pipe is 30 mV or less. 
     
     
         7 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein an electrical potential value of the filler metal is configured to be less than or equal to a surface potential value of the first pipe or a surface potential value the second pipe. 
     
     
         8 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 a core portion of the first pipe has an electrical potential value that is higher than an electrical potential value of a surface of the first pipe,   a core portion of the second pipe has an electrical potential value that is higher than an electrical potential value of a surface of the second pipe, and   the filler metal is configured to have an electrical potential value that is lower than the electrical potential value of the core portion of the first pipe and/or the electrical potential value of the second pipe.   
     
     
         9 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 a material of the first pipe includes A3xxx series aluminum or A1xxx series aluminum, and   a material of the second pipe includes A3xxx series aluminum or A1xxx series aluminum.   
     
     
         10 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 a portion of the first pipe includes a bent portion, and   the second pipe is coupled on the bent portion by the filler metal.   
     
     
         11 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 the first pipe includes the zinc diffusion layer and the zinc diffusion layer includes 3 to 7 wt % zinc relative to a total weight of the first pipe, and/or   the second pipe includes the zinc diffusion layer and the zinc diffusion layer includes 3 to 7 wt % zinc relative to a total weight of the second pipe.   
     
     
         12 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 the zinc diffusion layer has a thickness of 100 μm or more from a surface of the first pipe or the second pipe to a core portion thereof, and wherein a content of Zn (zinc) in the zinc diffusion layer gradually decreases from the surface to the core portion.   
     
     
         13 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein
 in a state where the second pipe is coupled on the bent portion of the first pipe, when viewed from above the second pipe, a designated angle is formed between a center line (L) of the bent portion and a center line (L′) of the second pipe.   
     
     
         14 . A heat exchanger comprising:
 a first pipe providing a flow path along which a refrigerant is flowable, and including aluminum;   a second pipe adjacent to the first pipe, the second pipe including aluminum, and configured to receive a sensor; and   a filler metal configured to couple the first pipe and the second pipe together,   wherein at least of a portion of the first pipe or a portion of the second pipe includes a zinc diffusion layer wherein the filler metal is an alloy including zinc and aluminum, with zinc present at 10 to 90 wt % relative to a total weight of the alloy.   
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger of  claim 14 , wherein an electrical potential difference between any two of the filler metal, the first pipe, and the second pipe is 50 mV or less. 
     
     
         16 . The heat exchanger of  claim 14 , wherein
 the alloy of the filler metal includes 40 to 70 wt % zinc relative to the total weight of the alloy.   
     
     
         17 . A home appliance, comprising:
 a housing; and   a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing, the heat exchanger including:
 a first pipe providing a flow path along which a refrigerant is flowable, and including aluminum, and 
 a second pipe adjacent to the first pipe, the second pipe including aluminum, and configured to receive a sensor, 
   wherein the first pipe and the second pipe are directly bonded so as to be integrally formed, and   wherein a bonding width of a bonding portion of the first pipe and the second pipe is smaller than a thickness of the first pipe or a thickness of the second pipe.   
     
     
         18 . The home appliance of  claim 17 , wherein
 the first pipe has a first thickness (t 1 ), and the second pipe has a second thickness (t 2 ) corresponding to the first thickness, and   wherein the bonding width (t 3 ) of the bonding portion (A) is ½ or less of the first thickness or the second thickness.   
     
     
         19 . The home appliance of  claim 17 , wherein
 a bonding length (L 1 ) perpendicular to the bonding width (t 3 ) of the bonding portion (A) is larger than a thickness of the first pipe or the second pipe.   
     
     
         20 . The home appliance of any one of  claim 17 , wherein the first pipe and the second pipe are a monolithic support body that result from having been bonded by a laser.