A cogeneration power plant and a method for operating a cogeneration power plant are provided, with a working medium being additionally cooled by a suitable heat pump between an outlet of a thermal heating device and an inlet of a power generator of the cogeneration process. The thermal power obtained in this manner is again available for heating purposes within the heat cycle.

The present invention is directed to a load bearing direct-drive system and a variable process control system for efficiently managing the operation of fans in a cooling system such as a wet-cooling tower, air-cooled heat exchanger (ACHE), HVAC system, blowers and centrifugal blowers, mechanical towers or chiller systems. In one embodiment, the load bearing direct-drive system comprises a load bearing torque multiplier device having an output rotatable shaft connected to a fan, and a load bearing motor comprising a rotatable shaft that drives the load bearing torque multiplier device.

A fan brake system for controlling an industrial fan system, the fan brake system including a fan brake having a brake pad movable on the fan brake to selectively engage the fan system. An actuator including a motor can be operable to cause the fan brake to perform a braking procedure on the fan system to resist rotational movement of the fan system. A controller can be communicated with the actuator, the controller operable to selectively cause the actuator and the fan brake to perform the braking procedure, wherein the controller is operable to monitor and control power being supplied to the motor of the actuator during the braking procedure to maintain a torque output of the motor according to a predetermined torque profile during the braking procedure.

The invention relates to an improved cooling apparatus for swimming pools including an inlet for water and an outlet for returning the water with a body between the inlet and outlet, with a reservoir for water contained within. A cooling arrangement associated with the body is included, the cooling arrangement able to act upon and cool the water introduced through the inlet. Further a water control apparatus, associated with the cooling arrangement is included, the water control apparatus including a high level valve and a low level valve, whereby the cooled water in the reservoir is returned through the outlet when the water level in the reservoir is above the lower level valve, and water enters the inlet only when the water level in the reservoir is below the high level valve. The invention also relates to variants thereon and methods of use.

A cooling tower having a controller installed within the cooling tower which controls the operation of pump motors, fans, dampers, valves and adjusts the speed of the fan and pump motor. The controller is placed inside a compartment which is attached to an inside surface of the cooling tower. The compartment has an inlet and an outlet such that conditioned air enters the compartment inlet and flows over the surface of the controller to either cool or heat the controller and then the conditioned air, which has flowed over the surface of the controller, exits the compartment through the compartment outlet.

A wet surface air cooler (WSAC), including a tube bundle having a process medium therein, a first inlet, a nozzle assembly positioned adjacent to the first inlet for spraying water over the tube bundle to cool the process medium, an outlet, a fill section spaced from the tube bundle and positioned directly below the outlet, a second inlet provided in an outer wall of the WSAC and positioned below the fill section, the second inlet being configured to provide air from outside the WSAC to the fill section, a fan assembly for causing cause air to flow through the inlet, then past the tube bundle, to be mixed with air flowing through the second inlet, and out the outlet, and a basin extending an entire width of the WSAC for receiving water sprayed from the nozzle assembly.

An integrated circulating water cooling system includes at least one load; an air cooling sub-system; a wet surface cooling sub-system; at least one temperature sensor; a control; and a coolant circulation sub-system for fluidly circulating coolant from the at least one load to the air cooling sub-system to the wet surface cooling sub-system and back to the at least one load. The control selectively operates the wet surface cooling sub-system and the air cooling sub-system based on at least one of temperature sensed in the water circulation sub-system; or sensed ambient temperature.

A method by a controller of a cooling system includes calculating a difference between a first temperature of ambient air and a second temperature of pre-cooled air. The pre-cooled air is ambient air that has been cooled by water from a water distribution system before it enters one or more condenser coils. The method further includes determining that the difference between the first and second temperatures is less than or equal to a predetermined temperature difference, and in response, determining that the first temperature is greater than or equal to a minimum temperature. The method further includes, if the first temperature is greater than or equal to the minimum temperature, instructing the water distribution system to distribute the water to pre-cool the ambient air for a predetermined length of time and to disable the distribution of the water after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

Chiller control systems and methods for chiller control use iterative modeling of cooling towers, heat exchangers, and pumps to determine the feasibility of integrated free cooling and the ability to take advantage of free cooling. The control systems and control methods can further include selecting the parameters for operating in the free cooling or integrated free cooling mode to improve efficiency and/or reduce energy consumption when operating in these modes. The models can have inputs and outputs that feed into one another, and converge at a solution over multiple iterations. The feasibility of integrated free cooling can be based on providing cooling to a cooling load process fluid at a heat exchanger. The availability of free cooling can be based on the cooling provided at the heat exchanger achieving a target temperature for the cooling load process fluid.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a tubular membrane heat exchanger module is provided that includes an inlet header and outlet header. The inlet header is configured to connect to an adjacent upstream tubular membrane heat exchanger module and from an upstream wetted compartment therewith. The outlet header is configured to connect to an adjacent downstream tubular membrane heat exchanger module and form a downstream wetted compartment therewith. The tubular membrane heat exchanger module further includes tubular membranes connecting the inlet header and the outlet header. The tubular membranes facilitate flow of process fluid from the upstream wetted compartment to the downstream wetted compartment. Further, the tubular membranes permit mass transfer between the process fluid in the tubular membranes and a fluid contacting outer surfaces of the tubular membranes.