Patent ID: 11885286
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  Y | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler comprising:
a shell extending along a longitudinal direction and defining an internal chamber therein;
a first tube support plate defining a first wall of the internal chamber at a first end of the shell;
a second tube support plate defining a second wall of the internal chamber, opposite the first wall, at a second end of the shell;
a plurality of cooling tubes extending through the internal chamber from the first tube support plate to the second tube support plate along the longitudinal direction, the plurality of cooling tubes being flexible tubes;
a coolant inlet through the shell;
a coolant outlet through the shell, the coolant inlet being disposed between the coolant outlet and the first tube support plate along the longitudinal direction, the coolant outlet being disposed between the coolant inlet and the second tube support plate along the longitudinal direction; and
a substantially planar separator plate, extending within the internal chamber between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate along the longitudinal direction, that partitions the internal chamber such that a first set of cooling tubes of the plurality of cooling tubes is disposed on a first side of the separator plate, and a second set of the plurality of cooling tubes of the plurality of cooling tubes is disposed on a second side of the separator plate,
the separator plate extending within the internal chamber between the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet along the longitudinal direction, and the separator plate terminating short of the coolant inlet and short of the coolant outlet,
a first end of the separator plate being disposed adjacent to the coolant inlet, and a second end of the separator plate being disposed adjacent to the coolant outlet, the first end of the separator plate being opposite the second end of the separator plate along the longitudinal direction.