Method for making heat exchange tubes

Patent · Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5906769

Cunningham, J L; Campbell, B J

This patent describes a method of making a heat exchange tube from difficult to work materials such as titanium and stainless steel in a single finning pass. It consists of inserting a mandrel having at least a first larger diameter portion and a second smaller diameter portion inside a plain tube. Then move the axes of a rotating disc carrying finning arbors toward the tube so that first and second sets of discs on the arbors, which are separated from each other by a spacer member, will sequentially force portions of the tube toward the first and second portions of the mandrel. The first set of discs serve to initially form the fins on the tube to at least approximately their final outside diameter and the second set of discs, whose discs are axially spaced so as to have a greater pitch than the discs of the first set, serve to reduce the root diameter of the fins previously formed by the first set of discs without substantially changing the outer diameter of the fins formed by the first set of discs. The greater pitch of the second set of discs causes an elongation of the tube and reduces its tendency to twist during finning.

• Assignee: Wolverine Tube, Inc., Decatur, AL
• Patent Number(s): US 4692978
• OSTI ID: 5906769
• Resource Relation: Patent File Date: Filed date 24 Jun 1985
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
HEAT EXCHANGERS
FABRICATION
STAINLESS STEELS
TITANIUM
DIMENSIONS
PLATES
ROTATION
SLEEVES
TUBES
ALLOYS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
ELEMENTS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
METALS
MOTION
STEELS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
360101* - Metals & Alloys- Preparation & Fabrication