Patent ID: 7360584

Claim:
A multi-fluid heat exchanger for transferring heat between a first fluid and a common fluid in one part of the heat exchanger and between a second fluid and the common fluid in a second part of the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger comprising: a first elongated header pipe having a plurality of tube receiving openings spaced along a length of the first header pipe; a second elongate header pipe having a plurality of tube receiving openings spaced along a length of the second header pipe; a first core section comprising a plurality of parallel, spaced tubes, each of the tubes having a first end and a second end, with the first end received in a corresponding one of the tube receiving openings of the first header pipe and the second end received in a corresponding one of the tube receiving openings of the second header pipe to direct the first fluid between the first and second header pipes through an interior of the tube; a second core section comprising a plurality of parallel, spaced tubes, each of the tubes having a first end and a second end, with the first end received in a corresponding one of the tube receiving openings of the first header pipe and the second end received in a corresponding one of the tube receiving openings of the second header pipe to direct the second fluid between the first and second header pipes through an interior of the tube, the second core spaced from the first core along the lengths of the first and second header pipes; and a pair of baffles located in the first header pipe at a location between the first and second cores to divide an interior of the first header pipe into a first fluid manifold for the first fluid and a second fluid manifold for the second fluid, the first header pipe includes a cut portion located between the pair of baffles, the cut portion having at least a majority of a transverse cross section of the header pipe removed in comparison to the immediately adjacent transverse cross sections of the first header pipe, wherein the cut portion is sized so that any remaining part of the transverse cross section of the first header pipe at the cut portion is severed under thermal cycling of the heat exchanger during operation of the heat exchanger.