Two-piece header

摘要

A heat exchanger has a pair of headers which are formed from only two components. Each header is formed from a header channel which has an open portion which extends along the length of the header channel. Grooves are formed on either side of the open portion for receiving a header plate. The header plate is formed with a series of holes extending along the length of the plate. A fluid partition and end caps are formed from a folded portion of the header plate to direct fluid flow through the header pipe. The header plate is inserted into the header channel by inserting the side edges of the header plate into the grooves and sliding the header plate from one end of the header channel to the other so that the header plate extends over the open portion with the fluid partition and end caps protruding across and blocking the interior of the header channel. In an alternate embodiment, two header plates having end caps at each end are positioned within the header channel. The end caps located in the interior of the header channel form partitions for diverting flow.