Heat exchanger assembly

1. A heat exchanger assembly for a gas turbine engine comprising:

a frame comprising:

a non-planar outer wall;

a non-planar inner wall spaced radially inward from the non-planar outer wall to form a frame cavity therebetween;

an inlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the non-planar inner wall;

an inlet passage extending through the inlet side;

an outlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the non-planar inner wall opposite the inlet side;

an outlet passage extending through the outlet side;

the non-planar outer wall, the non-planar inner wall, the inlet side, and the outlet side defining a frame cavity therebetween;

a continuous non-planar core disposed within the frame cavity and in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage;

a first diffuser, including a first diffuser cavity, disposed within the frame cavity, wherein the first diffuser is in flow communication with the continuous non-planer core; and

at least one first vane disposed within the first diffuser cavity.

2. The heat exchanger assembly of claim 1 , wherein the continuous non-planar core comprises: at least one non-planar channel, wherein the at least one non-planar channel is in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage;

and a plurality of cooling fins operably coupled to the at least one non-planar channel.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , further comprising a second diffuser, including a second diffuser cavity, disposed within the frame cavity, wherein the second diffuser is in flow communication with the continuous non-planar core.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 3 , further comprising at least one second vane disposed within the second diffuser cavity.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the frame and the continuous non-planar core are formed using an additive manufacturing technique.

6. A gas turbine engine assembly comprising:

a core gas turbine engine;

a nacelle circumscribing the core gas turbine engine to create a fan bypass duct; and a heat exchanger assembly disposed within the fan bypass duct, wherein the heat exchanger assembly comprises:

a frame comprising:

a non-planar outer wall;

a non-planar inner wall spaced radially inward from the non-planar outer wall to form a frame cavity therebetween;

an inlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the continuous non-planar inner wall;

an inlet passage extending through the inlet side;

an outlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the non-planar inner wall opposite the inlet side;

an outlet passage extending through the outlet side;

the non-planar outer wall, the non-planar inner wall, the inlet side, and the outlet side defining a frame cavity therebetween;

a continuous non-planar core disposed within the frame cavity and in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage;

a first diffuser, including a first diffuser cavity, disposed within the frame cavity, wherein the first diffuser is in flow communication with the continuous non-planer core; and

at least one first vane disposed within the first diffuser cavity.

7. The gas turbine engine assembly of claim 6 , wherein the continuous non-planar core comprises:

at least one non-planar channel, wherein the at least one non-planar channel is in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage;

and a plurality of cooling fins operably coupled to the at least one non-planar channel.

8. The gas turbine engine assembly of claim 6 , further comprising a second diffuser, including a second diffuser cavity, disposed within the frame cavity, wherein the second diffuser is in flow communication with the continuous non-planar core.

9. The gas turbine engine assembly of claim 8 , wherein at least one second vane is disposed within the second diffuser cavity.

10. The gas turbine engine assembly claim 6 , wherein the frame, and continuous non-planar core are formed using an additive manufacturing technique.

11. A method of manufacturing a heat exchanger assembly comprising: performing an additive manufacturing process to form a non-planar outer wall, a non-planar inner wall spaced radially inward from the non-planar outer wall to form a frame cavity there between, and a continuous non-planar core disposed within the frame cavity; and

forming a first diffuser, including a first diffuser cavity, within the frame cavity, wherein the first diffuser is in flow communication with the continuous non-planar core and at least one first vane within the first diffuser cavity.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

performing an additive manufacturing process to form an inlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the non-planar inner wall, and an outlet side extending between the non-planar outer wall and the non-planar inner wall opposite the inlet side;

wherein an inlet passage extends through the inlet side, and an outlet passage extends through the outlet side; and

wherein the continuous non-planar core is in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising: performing an additive manufacturing process to form at least one non-planar channel, within the continuous non-planar core, wherein the at least one non-planar channel is in flow communication with the inlet passage and the outlet passage, and a plurality of cooling fins operably coupled to the at least one non-planar channel.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

performing an additive manufacturing process to form the first diffuser.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of performing comprises: defining a three-dimensional model of the heat exchanger assembly; and

converting the three-dimensional model to a plurality of slices that each define a cross-sectional layer of the heat exchanger assembly.