Patent ID: 8726508
Filing Date: 2014-05-20
Classification: B21C,F28D,F28F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of forming a heat exchanger tube, the method comprising: shaping a first sheet of material having a thickness no greater than about 0.20 mm to form at least a portion of each of a first broad side, a first narrow side, and a second narrow side of a tube body, wherein the first and second narrow sides are opposite one another; shaping a second sheet of material having a thickness no greater than about 0.20 mm to form at least a portion of each of a second broad side, the first narrow side, and the second narrow side of the tube body, wherein the first and second broad sides of the tube body are opposite one another and are joined by the first and second narrow sides of the tube body; shaping a third sheet of material to form an insert supported in an interior space of the tube body between the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material; overlapping the first and second sheets of material at the first and second narrow sides to double the thickness of the tube body across the entirety of the first and second narrow sides, and nesting ends of the insert within concave portions of the first and second narrow sides of the tube body; wherein nesting the ends of the insert includes, inserting a first edge of the insert into the concave portion of the first narrow side to define a nested relationship between the first edge of the insert and the first narrow side, and inserting a second edge of the insert into the concave portion of the second narrow side to define a nested relationship between the second edge of the insert and the second narrow side.