Design and characterization of an additive manufactured hydraulic oil cooler

A hydraulic oil cooler was fabricated from an aluminum alloy by selective laser melting. The plate-fin tube bank has special features, including non-circular, internally finned tubes, and external angled fins to allow flexibility in the printing process. The study demonstrates the capability to additively manufacture commercial-scale heat exchangers with intricate features. Heat transfer and pressure drop performance are characterized in a wind tunnel over a range of oil- and air-side flow rates for inlet temperatures representing high limits for a commercial hydraulic excavator. The data and results of a computational fluid dynamic model provide insight on the impact of features that are dictated by the manufacturing process on thermal and hydraulic performance.