Waste Heat Exchanger for Diesel Exhaust Powered Air Conditioning

The waste heat exchanger is often the largest single component in diesel-exhaust powered air conditioning systems, and on account of its high material content, is often the heaviest and most costly as well. The need exists for a heat exchanger design and fabrication technique which provides a configuration that is compact and lightweight, resists fouling from exhaust gases, is easily cleaned, uses inexpensive materials, and is amenable to high volume manufacturing. An experimental program aimed at the initial development of a heat exchanger meeting these requirements was conducted. The program was based on a design approach which integrates a low-cost, fouling resistant, easily cleanable heat exchanger with the engine muffler. A prototype proof-of- principle waste heat exchanger was designed, fabricated, and tested to demonstrate feasibility. The overall results obtained were sufficiently encouraging to warrant further consideration of the concept.