A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A FORMED COIL PARTICULARLY A HEAT EXCHANGER COIL AND THE COIL SO FORMED

摘要

pApparatus and a method of manufacturing a formed coil having multiple single row coil cores of varying lengths. Sheets of fins are cut from plate fin stock such that the fins within each sheet are connected to each other by rupturable tabular portions. The sheets of fins are then arranged in registration such that openings within the fins for the receipt of tubes are aligned and tubular members or hairpins may be inserted within the fins to form part of the fluid flow circuit of the coil. Since the hairpins for adjacent coil rows are of different lengths, when the multiple row coil core is bent each coil row is formed about a separate radius curvature so that the formed coil will be in the desired configuration. Prior to bending, the hairpins are expanded to form a heat transfer bond with the fins, the expansion process acting to rupture the tabular portions connecting the fins such that the fins on the hairpins become separately spaced along each hairpin. Thereafter the coil core is bent to the desired formed coil configuration wherein the fins are spaced distinctly along each coil row notwithstanding that the fins were originally from the same sheet and connected to each other by the tabular portions./p[US4173998A]