A headerless heat exchanger has a core comprised of a stack of flat tubes
of rectangular cross section through which a first heat exchange fluid
passes. The tubes are expanded in height at their end portions to provide
spaces between adjacent plate pairs for passage of a second heat exchange
fluid between the tubes. The sides of the tubes are coplanar, at least in
the end portions of the tubes, to provide flat surfaces along which the
core is sealed to side plates of the heat exchanger, for example by
brazing or welding. The side plates may be separately formed or may
comprise part of a continuous housing. The tubes are preferably formed
from plate pairs having nesting side walls.