Manufacturing a heat exchanger using a material buildup process

1. A method for manufacturing at least a portion of a heat exchanger, comprising:

forming a first heat exchanger section comprising a base, a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality of second protrusions, the forming of the first heat exchanger section comprising

building up first protrusion material on the base to form the first protrusions; and

building up second protrusion material on the base to form the second protrusions, wherein the second protrusion material is different from the first protrusion material; and

attaching the first heat exchanger section to a second heat exchanger section, wherein a plurality of flow channels are defined between the first heat exchanger section and the second heat exchanger section;

wherein a first of the first protrusions is configured as at least a portion of a first flow channel wall that at least partially defines a side of a first of the flow channels; and

wherein a first of the second protrusions is configured as a first heat transfer augmentor that projects partially into the first of the flow channels from the base.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the building up of the first protrusion material on the base to form the first protrusions is performed using an additive manufacturing process.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the building up of the first protrusion material on the base to form the first protrusions is performed using a thermal spraying process.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the building up of the first protrusion material on the base to form the first protrusions is performed using a plating process.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the attaching of the first heat exchanger section to the second heat exchanger section comprises bonding the first heat exchanger section to the second heat exchanger section.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first heat transfer augmentor is configured as an elongated protrusion.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first heat transfer augmentor is configured as a point protrusion.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the first flow channel wall at least partially defines a side of a second of the flow channels where the first flow channel wall is between the first of the flow channels and the second of the flow channels;

the first heat transfer augmentor is configured as a first type of heat transfer augmentor; and

the first heat exchanger section further comprises a plurality of third protrusions, a first of the third protrusions is configured as a second heat transfer augmentor that projects partially into the second of the flow channels from the base, and the second heat transfer augmentor is configured as a second type of heat transfer augmentor that is different than the first type of heat transfer augmentor.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein

the first type of heat transfer augmentor is an elongated protrusion; and

the second type of heat transfer augmentor is a point protrusion.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein

none of the third protrusions are configured within the first of the flow channels; and

none of the second protrusions are configured within the second of the flow channels.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base comprises base material that is different than the first protrusion material and the second protrusion material.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

forming the second heat exchanger section;

the second heat exchanger section comprising a second base and a plurality of second heat exchanger section protrusions; and

the forming of the second heat exchanger section comprising building up at least one protrusion material on the second base to form the second heat exchanger section protrusions.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the attaching of the first heat exchanger section to the second heat exchanger section comprises bonding one of the first protrusions to a respective one of the second heat exchanger section protrusions.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a plurality of flow channel modules, a first of the flow channel modules including the first heat exchanger section and the second heat exchanger section;

arranging the flow channel modules into a stack; and

configuring the stack of the flow channel modules with one or more heat exchanger manifolds to provide the heat exchanger.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base is cast or wrought during the forming of the first heat exchanger section.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein

a third of the flow channels is located laterally between the first of the flow channels and a second of the flow channels;

a second of the second protrusions is configured as a second heat transfer augmentor that projects partially into the second of the flow channels from the base; and

the first heat exchanger section further comprises a plurality of third protrusions, a first of the third protrusions is configured as a third heat transfer augmentor that projects partially into the third of the flow channels from the base, and the third heat transfer augmentor is configured as a different type of heat transfer augmentor than the first heat transfer augmentor and the second heat transfer augmentor.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein

the first heat transfer augmentor and the second heat transfer augmentor are each configured as an elongated protrusion; and

the third heat transfer augmentor is configured as a point protrusion.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein

none of the third protrusions are configured within the first of the flow channels or the second of the flow channels; and

none of the second protrusions are configured within the third of the flow channels.

19. A manufacturing method, comprising:

forming a first heat exchanger plate configured with a first base plate, a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality of second protrusions, the forming of the first heat exchanger plate comprising

after the first base plate has been formed, building up first protrusion material on the first base plate to form the first protrusions, wherein the first base plate comprises base material, and the first protrusion material is different from the base material; and

after the first base plate has been formed, building up second protrusion material on the first base plate to form the second protrusions, wherein the second protrusion material is different from the base material and the first protrusion material;

forming a second heat exchanger plate;

bonding the first heat exchanger plate to a second heat exchanger plate, wherein a plurality of flow channels are defined between the first heat exchanger plate and the second heat exchanger plate; and

assembling the bonded first and second heat exchanger plates with other components to provide a heat exchanger.