Heat exchangers for fluid media

1. A compact heat exchanger for interchanging thermal energy between two different fluids while maintaining the two different fluids physically separate, and also having capability for adding thermal energy, the heat exchanger comprising:

a tubular body comprising two concentric cylindrical heat conductive elements disposed along a longitudinal axis and spaced apart by a selected radial gap, the outer one of the cylindrical elements having an outer diameter of less than 2.00″, and the inner one of the cylindrical elements being sized such that the radial gap is less than 0.50″;

a hollow, heat conductive tubular member wrapped about the inner one of the cylindrical elements and defining a helical path along the longitudinal axis, said tubular member being disposed in and having a diameter filling the radial gap between the two concentric cylindrical elements, and being in thermally conductive contact with both said concentric cylindrical elements and confining a first of the fluids that is fed into the radial gap between the cylindrical elements to a helical path along the longitudinal axis within the radial gap between the turns of said tubular member, the tubular member receiving and confining the second of the two fluids, such that the two fluids flow in interspersed helical paths separated only by the wall thickness of the tubular member;

first end ports coupled to the opposite longitudinal ends of the radial gap between the cylindrical elements for transporting the first of the fluids along the helical path in the space between the turns of the tubular member;

second end ports coupled to the interior of the hollow tubular member at the opposite longitudinal ends of the hollow, heat conductive tubular member for feeding the second of the fluids therethrough;

wherein the first of the fluids is a thermal transfer fluid and the second of the fluids is an at least partially vaporizable refrigerant, and

wherein the exchanger further includes a heater element removably positioned in the interior of the interior cylindrical element in thermal exchange relation with the first fluid flowing in the radial gap between the cylindrical elements, the heater element comprising a cylindrical electrical heater substantially filling the interior of the inner cylindrical element and in thermal interchange relation thereto.

2. The heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the tubular body includes thermally conductive joinder material tangentially joining surfaces of the tubular member to the adjacent surfaces of the inner and outer concentric cylindrical elements and wherein the inner cylindrical element has an outer dimension of about 0.750″ and the helical path of the tubular element has a pitch of about 0.70″/turn.

3. The heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the first of the fluids comprises a thermal transfer fluid the temperature of which is to be principally regulated by the second of the fluids, the second of the fluids comprising a vaporizable refrigerant output from a compression/evaporation cycle, wherein the heat exchanger further includes:

a third cylindrical heat conductive element having an external diameter fitting radially and concentrically within the inner one of the cylindrical elements in the tubular body, to provide a radial flow gap for a third fluid, and

radially projecting elements of small surface area integrally formed in at least one of the inner one of the cylindrical elements and the third cylindrical element at spaced apart longitudinal positions along the length of the heat exchanger, said radially projecting elements projecting from one of the cylindrical elements toward the other of the cylindrical elements, defining a radial flow gap for a third fluid, to engage the adjacent cylindrical element and maintain the radial flow gap despite any forces that may tend to distort the shape and diminish said radial flow gap for the third fluid.

4. The heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the spacings between the first and second cylindrical elements and the pitch of the tubular member are selected to provide cross-sectional flow areas therebetween for the thermal transfer fluid that are of about of the same magnitude as the internal cross-sectional area of the hollow tubular member for transporting refrigerant.

5. The heat exchanger as set forth in claim 4 , wherein the exchanger is about 23 to 25 inches long, and wherein the tubular member is of highly heat conductive metal of selected wall thickness and wherein said wall comprises the sole material intervening between the fluids to provide direct thermal energy transfer through the tubular member wall between the first and second fluids.