Caterpillar Inc.

Anthony L Deluca

Scott Richard Schuricht

Dongming Tan

Michael J Campagna

Joseph Lee Kennedy

Neil Alan Terry

Jianlong Xu

Rohit K Paramatmuni

Doug A Long

In some implementations, an exhaust gas recirculation cooler may include a shell defining an internal chamber; a first tube support plate defining a first wall of the internal chamber; a second tube support plate defining a second wall of the internal chamber; a plurality of cooling tubes extending through the internal chamber from the first tube support plate to the second tube support plate, the plurality of cooling tubes being flexible tubes; and at least one separator plate, extending within the internal chamber between the first tube support plate and the second tube support plate, that partitions the internal chamber such that a first set of the plurality of cooling tubes are to a first side of the at least one separator plate and a second set of the plurality of cooling tubes are to a second side of the at least one separator plate.

Separator plate for cooling tubes

A system for determining a remaining useful life of a cooling component operatively connected to a prime mover. A controller performs a thermal strain analysis that includes determining the power output of the prime mover based upon sensor signals, determining a temperature output of the prime mover based upon the power output, determining a temperature at each of the plurality of analysis locations based upon the temperature output, determining a temperature difference based upon the temperature at each respective one of the plurality of analysis locations, and determining a thermal strain based upon the temperature difference. The controller repeats the thermal strain analysis at time intervals over a period of time, determines an accumulated damage for the cooling component based upon the thermal strain from each thermal strain analysis, and determines a remaining useful life of the cooling component based upon the material characteristics and the accumulated damage.

Useful life prediction system for cooling components

A heat exchanger associated with an exhaust gas recirculation system cools the exhaust gasses before directing them to an internal combustion engine. The heat exchanger can include a tube core having a plurality of exhaust gas tubes that can extend along a longitudinal axis. The tube core can also include a plurality of coolant channels disposed between and spacing apart the plurality of exhaust gas tubes. A coolant inlet line is disposed about at least a portion of the tube core to direct coolant inwardly toward the coolant channels. At least a portion of the coolant can converge approximately at the longitudinal axis line.

Heat exchanger for exhaust gas recirculation

Growing community of inventors

Germantown Hills, IL, United States of America

Anthony L Deluca