Seeking new materials for gas water heater heat exchangers

  • Elaine from Haier
  • From China
  • Responsive
  • Project Size Range : 250,000 - 1,000,000 €
  • Deadline completed
    The submission process for new proposals is closed. Proposals submitted before the deadline will follow the standard evaluation process.

Desired outcome

At present, there are two kinds of materials for heat exchangers in the gas water heater industry: copper or stainless steel. It is hoped to find alternative materials.

Haier
Haier
Haier
Haier

Details of the Innovation Need

I. Background:

At present, there are two kinds of materials for heat exchangers in the gas water heater industry: copper or stainless steel. We hope to find new materials or solutions to solve the corrosion problems of existing copper tube heat exchangers.

II. Parameters:

Target:Machinability (welding, bending, etc.); corrosion resistance (medium salt spray test is not less than 3,000 hours); weight and cost do not float too high; thermal conductivity is moderate, close to stainless steel.

Environment temperature:within 1200°C

Water temperature:0-100°C

1、The overall structure of the heat exchanger is illustrated (take the 16L heat exchanger as an example):

2、Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4 are photos of the frontal structure of the heat exchanger at different positions (see pictures on this post). The internal key specifications are shown in Table 1.

Heat exchanger specifications (Table 1):

Inlet pipe 12.7 +/- 0.05*0.6

Box tube (shell around tube) 14 +/- 0.05*0.6

Small U 14 +/- 0.05*0.8

Large U1 (center distance 36 +/- 0.1) 16 +/- 0.05*0.8

Large U2 (center distance 34 +/- 0.1) 16 +/- 0.05*0.8

Outlet pipe connection 14 +/- 0.05*0.6

Outlet pipe 12.07 +/- 0.05*0.6

Bypass 5 +/- 0.05*1

Discarted solutions

  • Stainless steel

Possible solution areas

  • New material instead of cooper tube
  • Add new material copper alloy

Related Keywords

  • Industrial manufacturing, Material and Transport Technologies
  • Industrial Manufacture
  • Coatings
  • Industrial Technologies
  • Apparatus Engineering
  • Chemical Technology and Engineering
  • Heat exchangers
  • Process optimisation, waste heat utilisation
  • Heat pipes
  • Physical Sciences and Exact Sciences
  • Power Supplies
  • Industrial Products

About Haier

Founded in Qingdao, China in 1984, Haier now has become the world’s largest home appliance manufacturer, with its major product lines ranging from refrigerator, freezer, water heater, air conditioner, washing machine, kitchen appliances and many other small appliances. Currently, the Group’s major brands include Haier, Casarte, GE Appliances, Aqua, Fisher & Paykel, and Leader. Each brand has its own market position and provides outstanding user experiences for end users.

In the age when open innovation is becoming ever more present, the company is also exploring disruptive innovation in many aspects. In terms of R&D, Haier holds the principle that “The world is our R&D center” and now has established 10 R&D centers all around the world, including 3 in North America, 1 in Germany, 2 in China, 1 in South Korea, 1 in Japan, 1 in India and 1 in New Zealand. Each R&D center can be regarded as a technology integrator and all together they form into a global network to bring continuous advanced and disruptive technologies to Haier.

Haier Open Partnership Ecosystem (HOPE) is an open innovation platform of Haier Group. It engages over 3.8 million technology resources and over 400,000 registered users, and generates over 6,000 creative ideas each year. The platform is dedicated to providing services for global innovators and maximizing the interests of all parties by integrating global resources and facilitating the transformation of these good ideas.

We sincerely welcome organizations, universities, companies to be part of our open innovation process to make best use of their talents and gain benefits from the cooperation between us.

Elaine Wang

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