Patent ID: 6167956
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: F04B,F28B,F28D,F28F

Abstract:
An aftercooler for cooling a compressed fluid exiting from a compressor, said aftercooler comprising: a radiator unit for receiving such compressed fluid exiting from such compressor and for cooling such compressed fluid, said radiator unit including an inlet for receiving such compressed fluid, an outlet for discharging such compressed fluid and a plurality of heat exchange passageways connecting said inlet and said outlet for transferring heat from such compressed fluid; said plurality of heat exchange passageways being arranged to form an array of said plurality of heat exchange passageways; said array of said plurality of heat exchange passageways being disposed substantially in the shape of a parallelepiped having two opposing major faces; and said parallelepiped being bounded by four sides joining said two opposing major faces of said parallelepiped; a bypass channel for bypassing said plurality of heat exchange passageways, said bypass channel extending from a first point substantially adjacent said inlet of said radiator unit to a second point substantially adjacent said outlet of said radiator unit; said bypass channel carrying a bypass flow comprising a portion of such compressed fluid exiting from such compressor, said bypass flow substantially completely bypassing, and substantially not passing through, said plurality of heat exchange passageways; and said bypass channel extending substantially continuously over and being in substantially contiguous and abutting relationship with two of said four sides bounding said parallelepiped, said two of said four sides over which said bypass channel extends and abuts with being two adjoining and adjacent sides of said parallelepiped; and a flow proportioning mechanism, said flow proportioning mechanism being effective to proportion such flow of such compressed fluid exiting from such compressor and flowing through said aftercooler between said radiator unit and said bypass channel dependent upon a pressure differential across said radiator unit.