Device for pre-cooling air in air-cooling units

Abstract

An apparatus for condensing or cooling a heat carrier can be used at power, chemical or oil-refining plants. It comprises a housing, a fan, and a heat exchanger. In front of openings in the housing serving for ambient air intake, at least one water atomizing element is placed connected to an independent water source. The element is a closed contour with nozzles equally spaced along the length of the contour that is rigidly connected to the housing or secured on a base shared with the housing. Preferably, a plurality of water atomizing elements is provided arranged along the perimeter of the housing and connected by a conduit to the water source. Each element is equipped with a shut-off cock to independently service, repair or replace the element. The apparatus improves the interaction of air with the heat carrier and thus enhances the operational efficiency, especially under hot climate conditions.

Claims

1-6. (canceled)

7. An apparatus for cooling or condensing a heat carrier in an air cooling unit (ACU) comprising a housing with openings to draw incoming air, a fan, and a heat exchanger with the heat carrier, the apparatus comprising, at least, one element for atomizing water and an independent source of water, the element being placed in front of the housing openings, the element including a closed contour with nozzles equally spaced along the length of the contour, the element being in fluid communication with the independent source of water, whereby cooling the incoming air and cooling the heat carrier are separated.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the contour of the element includes two hollow tubes connected to each other by upper and bottom portions thereof, whereby liquid can be passed therethrough with homogeneous pressure thereof at each of the nozzles.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the element is attached to the housing or to a base shared with the housing.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein diameter of the nozzles is between 0.1 and 0.5 mm.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the pressure between 50 and 90 atm is created in the contour.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said at least one element for atomizing water includes a plurality of elements for atomizing water arranged along the perimeter of the ACU, the elements being connected to each other by a conduit fed from the independent source of water, whereby an overcast fog-like curtain is created around the ACU.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each element for atomizing water comprises a shut-off cock for independently isolating same from the conduit, whereby each of the elements can be repaired or replaced without stopping other elements.

14. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein diameter of nozzles is 0.3 mm and the pressure is 70 atm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above features and advantages of the present invention will now be discussed in more detail with the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 presents an isometric view of the apparatus for cooling (condensing) heat carrier according to the invention, with water atomizing elements shown schematically.

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates how water vaporizing elements can be placed around the apparatus.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows an element for atomizing water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The apparatus comprises a housing 1 with windows or openings to let air in, a fan 2, and a set 3 of heat exchangers. Arranged externally of the ACU are two hollow tubes connected to each other by their top portions and bottom portions and thus forming a contour constituting a water vaporizing element 4. The tubes can be made, for example, of plastic, stainless steel or brass. The contour is closed and connected to an independent source 6 of water. The tubular portions of the element 4 are equipped with nozzles 7 evenly spaced along the perimeter of the element 4.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, there is a plurality of elements 4 connected to each other by a conduit 5 and forming a closed system around the perimeter of the ACU. Placed in the air intake openings or windows of the housing 1, the elements 4 are on the path of incoming air. They are fed from the water source 6. Each element 4 is provided with a shut-off cock 8 for isolating the element from the system such that repairing or replacing the element can be performed without stopping other elements 4. The nozzle orifice diameter is preferably between 0.1 and 0.5 mm, the pressure provided in the contours is preferably between 50 and 90 atm. Advantageously, the orifice diameter is 0.3 mm, and the pressure of water supplied thereto is 70 atm.

[0021] The apparatus operates as follows. The heat carrier to be cooled or condensed is supplied to the heat exchanger 3. Along the conduit 5, water at high pressure is supplied from the independent water source 6 to the elements 4. Through orifices of nozzles 7, water is atomized in an air flow arriving through windows or openings arranged around the housing 1. Upon contact of the hot air flow with the water curtain, the water vaporizes. Since any vaporizing liquid takes energy from its adjacency, the air flow cools. The cooled air flow passes through the fan system 2 and finds its way at the heat exchangers 3 and cools or condenses (depending on the purpose of the apparatus) the heat carrier arriving at the apparatus.

[0022] Due to introducing a vaporizing system (element or elements 4) at the air inlet of the ACU, it became feasible to pre-cool the air through vaporizing the moisture that is atomized by nozzles into the air arriving at the ACU. When compared to the closest analog, the present invention makes it possible to separate the process of cooling air from the process of cooling a heat carrier. First, due to creating the fog-like curtain by the nozzles atomizing water upstream the ACU, the highest possible vaporization of micro droplets of water is achieved without having them deposited on the ACU structure. In such a way, the cooling of hot air arriving at the ACU takes place. Then, inside the ACU, in the heat exchanger, through the enhanced heat exchange of the heat carrier with the incoming flow of the air pre-cooled at the entrance of the ACU, the cooling or condensing of the heat carrier occurs. Thus, higher operational efficiency of the ACU, especially under hot climate conditions, is attained. Due to placing the vaporizing elements outside the ACU, the present design makes it possible to access the nozzles atomizing cold water and thus make servicing the ACU simpler. Also, a ring-type vaporizing structure with exterior tubular elements made as rings permits servicing and repairing nozzles of one of the elements with no need for turning off the whole system and stopping the ACU.

[0023] The above-discussed array of the tubular atomizing elements of the apparatus makes possible providing homogeneous pressure for each nozzle. If, for example, one element of the spray-type evaporating system is equipped with ten nozzles with orifice diameter of 0.3 mm, the water pressure being 80 atm, 184 liters of water per hour can be evaporated, which results in decreasing the temperature of the air passing through this element by 15 C. The operation of the whole pre-cooling apparatus takes 17 million Kcal per hour, resulting in decreasing the temperature of the air arriving at the ACU by 15 C. on the average.