TEMPERING ASSEMBLY FOR TEMPERING AIR OF A FACILITY AND CORRESPONDING METHOD

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns a tempering assembly for tempering air of a facility, the tempering system being fluidly connectable to a tempering fluid source and comprising: a reactor defining an air-tempering cavity and comprising: an air inlet to introduce ambient air into the air-tempering cavity, and an air outlet fluidly connectable to the facility to expel into the facility the tempered air out of the air-tempering cavity; a tempering fluid provider fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source and configured to provide the tempering fluid within the air-tempering cavity to temper the air circulating within the air-tempering cavity; an evacuation system fluidly connected to the air-tempering cavity and configured to remove the tempering fluid from the reactor cavity. It also concerns a corresponding method.

Claims

1. A tempering assembly for tempering air of a facility, the tempering assembly being fluidly connectable to a tempering fluid source and comprising: a reactor defining an air-tempering cavity and comprising: an air inlet to introduce ambient air into the air-tempering cavity, an air outlet fluidly connectable to the facility to expel into the facility the tempered air out of the air-tempering cavity, a tempering fluid inlet, and a tempering fluid outlet; a tempering fluid provider fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source and fluidly connected to the tempering fluid inlet and configured to put in contact the tempering fluid with the air of the air-tempering cavity; and an evacuation system fluidly connected to the tempering fluid outlet of the air-tempering cavity and configured to remove the tempering fluid from the air-tempering cavity.

2. The tempering assembly of claim 1, wherein the tempering fluid source is a repository of at least one of water and ice material, and wherein the tempering fluid comprises water.

3. The tempering assembly of claim 1, wherein the reactor includes a tempering fluid reservoir to at least partially hold and/or retain the tempering fluid.

4-6. (canceled)

7. The tempering assembly of claim 1, wherein the tempering fluid comprises water and the tempering fluid provider comprises one or more water sprayers configured to produce water droplets within the air-tempering cavity.

8. The tempering assembly of claim 1, wherein the tempering assembly is configured to be reversibly configured in a heating configuration and in a cooling configuration.

9-11. (canceled)

12. A warming assembly for warming air of a facility, the warming assembly being fluidly connectable to a tempering fluid source, and comprising: a reactor defining an air-warming cavity and comprising: an air inlet to introduce the air at a first temperature into the air-warming cavity, an air outlet fluidly connectable to the facility to expel out of the air-warming cavity into the facility the air at a second temperature, the second temperature being greater than the first temperature, a tempering fluid inlet, and a tempering fluid outlet; a tempering fluid provider fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source and fluidly connected to the tempering fluid inlet and configured to put in contact the tempering fluid with the air of the air-warming cavity; and an evacuation system fluidly connected to the tempering fluid outlet of the air-warming cavity and configured to remove the tempering fluid from the reactor.

13. The warming assembly of claim 12, wherein the tempering fluid comprises water.

14. (canceled)

15. The warming assembly of claim 12, wherein the reactor further comprises a deicing assembly arranged in the air-warming cavity or forming at least partially the reactor.

16. The warming assembly of claim 15, wherein the deicing assembly comprises at least one flexible membrane at least partially delimiting or extending in the air-warming cavity, the deicing assembly being configured into a tempering fluid-removing configuration upon distortion of at least a portion of the flexible membrane.

17. (canceled)

18. The warming assembly of claim 16, wherein the reactor comprises a support member, the flexible membrane being at least partially displaceable with respect to the support member, the air-warming assembly further comprising at least one membrane-distorting member in contact with a support-facing side of the flexible membrane and displaceable between the support member and the flexible membrane.

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

21. The warming assembly of claim 16, wherein the reactor comprises a support member, the flexible membrane being at least partially displaceable with respect to the support member and comprising a support-facing side at least partially delimiting at least one inflatable pocket comprising an inlet, the deicing assembly further comprising a fluid distribution assembly fluidly connected to the inlet to at least partially distort the flexible membrane upon at least one of injection within and removal from said inflatable pocket of the fluid and wherein the flexible membrane forms an inner panel at least partially delimiting the air-warming cavity and an outer panel extending between the inner panel and the support member of the peripheral wall, the inflatable pocket being at least partially delimited by the inner and outer panels of the flexible membrane.

22-31. (canceled)

32. The warming assembly of claim 12, further comprising: a tempering fluid collector including a reservoir defining a collecting cavity and having a collector inlet in fluid communication with the tempering fluid outlet of the reactor and a collector outlet in fluid communication with the evacuation system and an ice crushing mechanism arranged in the collecting cavity.

33. (canceled)

34. The warming assembly of claim 12, further comprising an air separator shaped and dimensioned to retain particles from the air expelled out of the air-warming cavity.

35. A method for providing warmed air to a facility, the method comprising: introducing air at a first temperature into an air-warming cavity of a reactor; spraying water onto said air within the air-warming cavity, to increase the air to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; expelling the air at the second temperature into the facility; and evacuating the tempering fluid outside of the air-warming cavity of the reactor.

36. (canceled)

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising forming on a cavity-delimiting surface delimiting the air-warming cavity an ice material by-product from a portion of the sprayed tempering fluid thermally contacting the air and removing at least partially the ice material by-product from the cavity-delimiting surface.

38. (canceled)

39. (canceled)

40. The method of claim 37, further comprising evacuating the ice-material by-product outside of air-warming cavity of the reactor to a collecting cavity and crushing the ice material by-product in the collecting cavity.

41. (canceled)

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising evacuating at least a portion of the crushed ice material by-product out of the collecting cavity and providing the tempering fluid from a tempering fluid source, the method further comprising evacuating said at least a portion of the crushed ice material by-product back to the tempering fluid source.

43. (canceled)

44. The method of claim 35, further comprising retaining particles from the air before expelling the air into the facility.

45. The tempering assembly of claim 1, further comprising an air separator shaped and dimensioned to retain particles from the air expelled out of the air-tempering cavity.

46. The tempering assembly of claim 7, wherein the tempering fluid comprises water and the air separator is shaped and dimensioned to capture residual water and ice particles in the air-tempering cavity.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a representation in isometric view of a tempering assembly of four reactors in parallel in accordance with an embodiment in the vicinity of a facility according to a first mode of operation, wherein the tempering assembly provides warm air to the facility;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a representation in isometric view of a tempering assembly of four reactors in parallel in accordance with an embodiment in the vicinity of a facility according to a second mode of operation, wherein the tempering assembly provides cold air to the facility;

[0017] FIG. 3A is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, the tempering assembly comprising a reactor comprising a cyclone separator reactor, the assembly further comprising a tempering fluid provider and an evacuation system;

[0018] FIG. 3B shows a schematic of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, the tempering assembly comprising reactors at least partially contained in ship containers, the reactors being configured in parallel and in series;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the tempering assembly of FIG. 3A with the addition of an air-reheater, a water injection system, an air separator, a phase separator and a transport system;

[0020] FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic representations of different versions of a tempering assembly with two distinct configurations of an air inlet of the container thereof, wherein the inlet is either formed in a top wall (FIG. 5A) or in the bottom wall (FIG. 5B);

[0021] FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, wherein an air inlet of the reactor thereof comprises a plurality of orifices;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, the assembly comprising a water injection system;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment wherein the reactor includes heating and insulating components;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, the assembly comprising an air-reheater shaped and dimensioned to provide cold water to the reactor;

[0025] FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of a tempering assembly in accordance with an embodiment, the assembly comprising an air separator shaped and dimensioned to provide cold water to the reactor;

[0026] FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of a warming assembly including a reactor in accordance with an embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 12 is a top perspective view of another possible embodiment of the reactor of the warming assembly;

[0028] FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of another possible embodiment of the reactor of the warming assembly;

[0029] FIG. 14 is a cross-section view of the reactor of the warming assembly of FIG. 11;

[0030] FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-section view of a deicing assembly of the warming assembly of FIG. 11;

[0031] FIG. 16A is a front perspective view of a deicing assembly in accordance with another embodiment;

[0032] FIG. 16B is a partially sectioned view of a bottom portion of the deicing assembly of FIG. 16A;

[0033] FIG. 17A is a back perspective view of the deicing assembly of FIG. 16A, comprising a plurality of retaining lines;

[0034] FIG. 17B is an enlarged view of a portion of one of the retaining lines of FIG. 17A;

[0035] FIGS. 18A and 18B are perspective views of a fluid distribution assembly of a deicing assembly, respectively configured in first and second configurations;

[0036] FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of a bottom reservoir of the warming assembly of FIG. 11 in accordance with an embodiment;

[0037] FIG. 20 is a top perspective view of another possible embodiment of the reservoir defining a collecting cavity;

[0038] FIG. 21 is a top perspective view of a tempering fluid collector of the warming assembly of FIG. 11, showing an embodiment of an ice crushing mechanism arranged in the collecting cavity;

[0039] FIG. 22 is another top perspective view of the tempering fluid collector of FIG. 21;

[0040] FIG. 23 is a top perspective view of an evacuation system of the warming assembly of FIG. 11 in accordance with an embodiment including three mixing tanks;

[0041] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of another possible embodiment of the evacuation system including a spinning mixing cylinder;

[0042] FIG. 25 is a perspective view of another possible embodiment of the evacuation system including a conveyor;

[0043] FIG. 26 is a perspective view of another possible embodiment of the evacuation system including a roller;

[0044] FIG. 27A is a top elevation view of another possible embodiment of the evacuation system including a substantially V-shape receptacle, an auger and a crusher; and

[0045] FIG. 27B is an enlarged view of a portion of the evacuation system shown in

[0046] FIG. 27A, showing rotary blades and stator plates of the crusher.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] It is understood that even though in the following description the tempering assembly, its corresponding method, and the other elements described herein, are mostly referred to in relation to an underground mine, the components hereof can also be embodied in any other kind of outdoor operation that may require air tempering and is not limited to providing tempered air to mine galleries. For instance, the tempering assembly can be adapted to provide tempered air to a farm, a factory or any other facilities, underground or above ground. It is also understood that the tempering assembly can be used to heat or cool any buildings and structures and/or to be used in any other kind of indoor operation. Moreover, it is understood that even though the description sometimes refers to a reversible tempering assembly and to a corresponding reversible method, the assembly could be configurable only in one of cooling and heating configurations.

[0048] For instance, the two embodiments shown in the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 2 show a tempering assembly 10 operating to provide heating and cooling respectively, with the reactors 100 of both embodiments sharing some of the same technical features. Therefore, in an example, if the reactors 100 seen in FIG. 1 are used during the winter months for heating, the same reactors 100 may advantageously be used later on in the hotter months (e.g. the summer months) with no or relatively few modifications, hence making the assembly 10 reversible. However, in another example, the embodiment of FIG. 2 may as well be used exclusively for cooling without being used for heating during the colder months. Inversely, in another example, the assembly 10 embodied of FIG. 1 can be used exclusively for heating without ever being used to provide cooling to a mine gallery 20. Whether the assembly 10 is to be reversed at any point during its operation will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to: operating cost, the requirements of the mines, access to an ice material repository 40, the ambient air 6 temperature, or any combination herein.

[0049] In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several references numbers, not all figures contain references to all the components and features, and references to some components and features may be found in only one figure, and components and features of the present disclosure which are illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are optional and are given for exemplification purposes only.

[0050] Moreover, it will be appreciated that positional descriptions such as top, bottom, peripheral, above, below, forward, rearward, left, right, and the like should, unless otherwise indicated, be taken in the context of the figures only and should not be considered limiting. Moreover, the figures are meant to be illustrative of certain characteristics of the tempering assembly and are not necessarily to scale.

[0051] To provide a more concise description, some of the quantitative expressions given herein may be qualified with the term about. It is understood that whether the term about is used explicitly or not, every quantity given herein is meant to refer to an actual given value, and it is also meant to refer to the approximation to such given value that would reasonably be inferred based on the ordinary skill in the art, including approximations due to the experimental and/or measurement conditions for such given value.

[0052] A similar comment applies to the use of terms such as warm and cold which are to be understood as providing information on relative temperature of a component in relation to the same component in a different stage of the tempering process, or in relation to a different component altogether. None of these terms are to be construed as providing a specific or a rigid scale of temperature. For instance, if the disclosure describes cold air having absorbed heat following a heat exchange process within a reactor resulting in warm air being introduced into a mine, that is not to say that the resulting warm air is objectively warm or hot, but it will rather be understood that the produced warm air is strictly warmer than the cold air which entered the reactor (i.e., the produced air has a temperature greater than a temperature of the air which entered the reactor). For example, if the ambient air temperature is about minus 20 degrees Celsius while the reactor operates to provide heat to the mine galleries, the air may be heated to about 0 degree Celsius by the reactor. For the purposes of this description, the air heated to about 0 degree Celsius is considered warm air. This terminology in this particular example also reflects the fact that mine workers can work relatively comfortably with about 0 degree Celsius warm air being introduced into the galleries.

[0053] In the same vein, the use of the term tempering is to be understood as the process realized by the assembly thereby increasing or decreasing a temperature of air (e.g., ambient air circulating in the assembly) and/or any other element described herein. For the purpose of this description, tempering is also understood as meaning to increase or decrease the temperature of an element to a desired temperature value or to bring said temperature into a desired temperature interval. The desired temperature or temperature interval can vary depending on the mode of operation of the assembly and/or the activity in question. In other words, depending on the context, tempering can mean lowering a temperature considered too high for the purpose of this invention, or it can mean increasing a temperature considered too low. It follows that a tempering fluid is a substance possessing physical properties (e.g., different temperature compared to the air, atomized state, presence of impurities, or any combination herein) which allow the tempering of an element. In the following description, an embodiment is an example or implementation. The various appearances of one embodiment, an embodiment or some embodiments do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments. Although various features may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, it may also be implemented in a single embodiment. Reference in the specification to some embodiments, an embodiment, one embodiment or other embodiments means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments.

[0054] It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are not to be construed as limiting and are for descriptive purpose only. The principles and uses of the teachings of the present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description, figures and examples. It is to be understood that the details set forth herein do not construe a limitation to an application of the disclosure.

[0055] Furthermore, it is to be understood that the disclosure can be carried out or practiced in various ways and that the disclosure can be implemented in embodiments other than the ones outlined in the description above. It is to be understood that the terms including, comprising, and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components, features, steps, or integers or groups thereof and that the terms are to be construed as specifying components, features, steps or integers. If the specification or claims refer to an additional element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional elements. It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to a or an element, such reference is not to be construed that there is only one of those elements. It is to be understood that where the specification states that a component, feature, structure, or characteristic may, might, can or could be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included.

[0056] The descriptions, examples, methods and materials presented in the claims and the specification are not to be construed as limiting but rather as illustrative only. Meanings of technical and scientific terms used herein are to be commonly understood as by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. It will be appreciated that the methods described herein may be performed in the described order, or in any suitable order.

Tempering Assembly

[0057] This disclosure provides a tempering assembly 10 (a reversible tempering assembly 10, in the first embodiment shown) for tempering air of an underground mine gallery 20, the tempering assembly 10 being fluidly connectable to a tempering fluid source 30. In the embodiment shown and as detailed below, the tempering assembly 10 comprises a reactor 100 defining an air-tempering cavity 110 and comprising an air inlet 120 to introduce ambient air 6 into the air-tempering cavity 110, and an air outlet 130 fluidly connectable to the mine gallery 20 to expel into the mine gallery 20 the tempered air 132 out of the air-tempering cavity 110. The tempering assembly 10 further comprises a tempering fluid provider 200 fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source 30 and configured to provide the tempering fluid 32 within the air-tempering cavity 110 to temper the air circulating within the air-tempering cavity 110; and an evacuation system 300 fluidly connected either directly or indirectly to the air-tempering cavity 110 and configured to remove the tempering fluid 32 from the reactor cavity 110. Optionally and as detailed below, the assembly 10 can further include an air-reheater 400, an air separator 500 and a phase separator 600.

[0058] As detailed below, the tempering of the air passing through the tempering assembly 10 is achieved through the heat exchange-for instance via a thermal contact-between the tempering fluid 32 and ambient air 6. Ambient air 6 is utilized by the assembly 10 to ensure that the miners in the mine galleries 20 are provided with a clean source of air.

[0059] As represented for instance in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tempering assembly 10 is fluidly connected to a tempering fluid source 30 which provides the assembly 10 with the tempering fluid 32. The temperature of the tempering fluid 32 depends on the season and whether warm air 1 or cold air 2 is ultimately required by the mine galleries 20 (i.e., whether the assembly is configured into a cooling configuration or into a heating configuration). In some embodiments, the temperature of the tempering fluid 32 when introduced within the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 is close to 0 degree Celsius.

[0060] For instance and without being limitative, the tempering fluid source 30 can be a lake, a well, a settling tank, a river, a settling pond, a water storage within the mine, a water circulation system 60 or a combination hereof. On the other hand, the tempering fluid 32 can be composed of water or of a water solution in which some impurities are introduced or of a mixture of ice, snow and/or water.

[0061] As better shown in FIG. 1, during the winter months (or when an external temperature is below a pre-determined temperature), the tempering assembly 10 is configured to provide the mine galleries 20 with warm air 1 (i.e., is configured into the heating configuration). Whereas during the summer months (or when the external temperature is above a pre-determined temperature), the tempering assembly 10 is configured to provide cold air 2 to said galleries 20 as better shown in FIG. 2 (i.e., is configured into the cooling configuration). In all cases, the resulting tempered air 132 is transferred to the mine galleries 20, for instance through a ventilation shaft 22. To enable the transfer of tempered air 132 through the shaft 22, a ventilation shaft fan 23 can be configured at the inlet of the shaft. When the tempering assembly 10 is operating to provide heating to the mine galleries 20 (i.e., is configured into the heating configuration) as illustrated in FIG. 1, ambient cold air 2 is introduced into the tempering assembly 10 (i.e., into the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 in the embodiment shown) to ultimately produce warm air 1 (i.e., air having a temperature greater than a temperature of the cold ambient air 2 introduced into the air-tempering cavity). It will be understood that in one embodiment, the assembly 10 can optionally be reversed from a heating configuration to a cooling configuration, and inversely (in other words, in some embodiments, the tempering assembly 10 could be reversible). However, in other embodiments, the assembly 10 may not be reversible from one mode of operation to another at all (i.e., from one of the cooling and heating configurations to the other).

[0062] During the heating process (i.e., when the tempering assembly 10 is configured into the heating configuration), ice material 42 (or tempering by-product material) may accumulate within the tempering assembly 10 (for instance within the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor) as a by-product of the heating process. In order to not discard the ice material 42, the reactor 100 of the tempering assembly 10 might be fluidly connected to a transport system 50, (for instance fluidly connected directly or indirectly to the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 and/or via the evacuation system) whereon said ice material 42 is transported outside of the assembly 10, preferably to an ice material repository 40 onto which ice material 42 accumulates throughout the heating operation by the tempering assembly 10. The transport system 50 might be part of the tempering assembly 10 or distinct therefrom.

[0063] In other words, the transport system 50 displaces the ice material 42 which may result from the heating process and which may accumulate for instance in the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 and transport said material 42 directly to the tempering fluid source 30 and/or to another place. In the embodiment wherein the ice material 42 accumulating within the reactor 100 comprises a mixture of different elements (for instance ice and water), the transport system 50 might be configured to transport said different components of the ice material 42 (or the tempering by-product material 42) together or separately. It will be understood that all or part of the transported ice material 42 (or tempering by-product material 42) can be stored for later use (for instance when the assembly is configured into the cooling configuration) or for some other process altogether.

[0064] It will be understood that the term ice material 42 can be embodied by different states of water or fluid depending on the performance of the tempering assembly 10 at a given moment. For example, the ice material 42 circulating in the system could be embodied by solid ice, frazil ice, or any other ice and water mixture, also colloquially known as slush. Similarly, the ice material repository 40 can be composed of a mixture of different phases of water and is subject to change as outside temperatures vary.

[0065] When the tempering assembly 10 is operating to provide cooling to mine galleries 20 (i.e., when configured into the cooling configuration) as illustrated in FIG. 2, ambient warm air 1 is introduced into the tempering assembly 10 (for instance into the air-tempering cavity of the reactor) to ultimately produce cold air 2 (i.e., an air having a temperature smaller than a temperature of the ambient warmer air 1). Advantageously, the tempering fluid source 30 can be embodied by an ice material repository 40. More specifically, the tempering assembly 10 can draw cold tempering fluid 32 from an ice material repository 40 (i.e., from the tempering fluid source 30) located offsite from the assembly 10 (and fluidly connected therewith). As detailed below, the tempering fluid 32 expelled from the assembly 10 during the cooling process is redirected to the repository 40 where it is cooled again to be reintroduced into the assembly 10.

[0066] In other words, according to preferred embodiments, during colder months a water spray creates ice 42 which is evacuated with water to form a slush-like product which is then stored in a remote area for use during warmer months. During warmer months the water might be cooled via the stored ice/slush prior to spraying in the ambient air 6 for cooling the ambient air 6. Any other source, such as a lake, a river, a pond comprising ice and/or snow produced during winter might also be used as a tempering fluid source, alone or in combination with the stored ice-slush.

Reactor

[0067] As mentioned above, the reactor 100 is shaped and dimensioned for a heat transfer to take place between the ambient air 6 and the tempering fluid 32 both circulating within the air-tempering cavity 110. As mentioned above, the air-tempering cavity 110 defines the space within the reactor 100 wherein heat exchange occurs between the ambient air 6 and the tempering fluid 32.

[0068] In the embodiment shown, and without being limitative, the reactor 100a (see for instance FIG. 3A), comprises a substantially parallelepipedal upper portion 101 and a substantially funnel-shaped lower portion 101c fluidly connected to the upper portion. As detailed below, the air inlet 120, the air outlet 130, the tempering fluid provider 200 and/or the evacuation system 300 might be mounted to or formed at the funnel-shaped lower portion 101c of the reactor 100.

[0069] For instance, referring to FIG. 5A, the reactor 100 might comprise a top wall portion 101b, a bottom wall portion 101d and a peripheral wall portion 101e extending between the top wall 101b and bottom wall 101d portions. The wall portions 101b, 101d, 101e at least partially delimit together the air-tempering cavity 110.

[0070] The air inlet 120 is shaped and dimensioned to introduce the ambient air 6 into the air-tempering cavity 110. For instance, the air inlet 120 can be provided with pumping units such as fans, filters, duct and diffusers, which can be positioned within as well as outside of the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100.

[0071] For instance, the air inlet 120 is at least partially formed in one of the top wall portion 101b, the bottom wall portion 101d and the peripheral wall 101e. Referring to FIG. 5A, the air inlet 120a is at least partially formed in the top wall portion 101b of the reactor 100. As a result, an airstream of ambient air 6 injected into the air-tempering cavity 110 travels (for instance spirals) downwards the cavity 110. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A, the air outlet 130a is consequently configured at the opposite end of the reactor 100, for instance at least partially formed in the bottom wall portion 101d, to receive and evacuate the tempered air 132.

[0072] In another embodiment, as represented for instance in FIG. 5B, the reactor 100 may include an air inlet 120b at least partially formed in the bottom wall portion 101d. As a result, the airstream of ambient air 6 injected into the air-tempering cavity 110 travels (for instance spirals) upward the air-tempering cavity 110. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, the air outlet 130b is configured at the opposite end of the reactor 100, for instance at least partially formed in the top wall portion 101b of said reactor 100 to receive and evacuate the tempered air 132.

[0073] In another alternative embodiment, with reference to FIG. 6, the air inlet 120c might comprise a plurality of orifices 122 thereby allowing the injection of at least one of ambient air 6 and water within the air-tempering cavity 110 at different levels of the reactor 100 and/or at different angles into the air-tempering cavity 110. In the embodiment shown, the plurality of the orifices 122 is formed in a lower portion of the peripheral wall portion 101e but any other arrangement could be conceived.

[0074] Different embodiments of the reactor 100 are possible. For instance, referring to FIG. 3A, the reactor 100 can comprise a cyclone separator 100a (i.e., a substantially cyclone-shaped separator), for instance a monolithic element. Another version is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the reactor is embodied as a silo.

[0075] In another embodiment, as represented in FIG. 3B, the reactor 100 can comprise a ship container 100b. For instance, the reactor 100 can comprise a plurality of sub-reactors 109 which are fluidly connected to each other in series or in parallel to increase the volume (or the total power of the reactor) of tempered air 132 provided to the mine galleries 20.

[0076] As explained above, the reactor 100 may alternatively be at least partially contained in a reactor-containing cavity of a ship container reactor 100b, as best shown in FIG. 3B. It will be understood that the ship container described herein abides to the one of the standard dimensions of about 10 feet, 20 feet or 40 feet in length and about 6 feet, 8 feet or 10 feet in width. Similarly, the height of the ship container may vary between the standard height of about 6 feet, 8 feet and 6 inches or 10 feet and the high cube of about 6 feet, 9 feet 6 inches or 11 feet. Preferably, the version of container used as a reactor 100 is about 20 feet in length (dimension LFIG. 3B), about 10 feet in width (dimension WFIG. 3B) and about 8 feet in height (dimension HFIG. 3B).

[0077] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the tempering assembly 10 further comprises a funnel 1400 (or tempered-air directing system) arranged (or located) at a tempered air-expelling end 134 of a plurality of ship container reactors 100b. In the embodiment shown, the funnel 1400 is fluidly connected to at least one air outlet 130 of the plurality of sub-reactors 109 at a first end, and to a ventilation shaft 22 at a second end, so to redirect an airstream of tempered air 132 into the ventilation shaft 22. Still referring to FIG. 3B, the air inlets 120 and the air outlets 130 of the plurality of sub-reactors 109 are located at opposite ends to one another and are fluidly connected to each other. It will be noted that a tempering fluid provider 200 provides tempering fluid 32 to at least one air-tempering cavity 110 of one of the sub-reactors 109 of the ship container reactor 100b.

[0078] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the reactor 100b comprises eight sub-reactors 109 substantially identical forming together two superposed layers of four sub-reactors 109 each. For each layer, a sub-reactor 109 is at each of the four corners and each layer has a substantially rectangular shape. The disclosure is not limited to this specific arrangement of the sub-reactors 109 and it could be conceived a reactor 100 comprising a different number of sub-reactors 109, a different number of layers and/or a combination of sub-reactors 109 of different shapes and/or dimensions.

[0079] For example, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2 presents another configuration of the tempering assembly comprising a plurality of reactors; in the embodiment shown, the assembly comprising four reactors 100 subdivided into two tempering subassemblies. Moreover, the subassemblies are connected in parallel to expel tempered air (either warm air 1 as in FIG. 1 or cold air 2 as in FIG. 2) to the same ventilation shaft 22. It is understood that the disclosure is not limited to a specific number of reactors forming a specific number of tempering subassemblies; a tempering assembly comprising a different number of reactors and/or a different number of sub-assemblies and/or different reactors in each of the plurality of sub-assemblies could also be conceived.

[0080] In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 8, the reactor 100 may include, alone or in combination therein, the following elements to prevent ice formation on the wall portions of the reactor 100: a hydrophobic or freezing retardant surface 1110, heating devices 1120 such as electrical wires and heating fluid, an insulating material 1130 to prevent heat from permeating the wall portions 101b, 101d, 101e of the reactor 100. Said components can be integrated within all or part of the wall portions of the reactor 100 or separately. They might be arranged within the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100. It will also be understood that the heating devices 1120 can be operated continuously or periodically. The latter operation allows for a layer of ice to form within the walls, and the latter reduces heating expenses and makes profit of wall convection.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 8, it is shown that the hydrophobic or freezing retardant surface 1110, the heating device 1120, and the insulating material 1130 are used in combination for better efficiency. More specifically, in this particular embodiment, the inner surface of a reactor 100 wall portion (i.e., any portion of the top wall portion 101b, bottom wall portion 101b and peripheral wall portion 101e) is coated with a layer of a hydrophobic and freezing retardant mixture. Moreover, electrical wires 1120 run through a cavity delimited on both sides by a double wall 107 (i.e., a plurality of reactor wall layers) (e.g., FIG. 13) of a reactor 100 wall portion. Finally, a layer of insulating material is mounted on the exterior surface of the reactor 100 wall portion. It will be noted that the configuration of heating element described herein is not limitative and other arrangements and combinations are possible.

[0082] In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, the reactor 100 may include a tempering fluid reservoir 800 to at least partially hold and/or retain the tempering fluid 32. In this embodiment, the bottom wall portion 101d of the reactor is formed by a bottom wall portion of the tempering fluid reservoir 800 which extends below ground level (however, the bottom wall may as well be at a different level, for instance elevated at a higher level). The peripheral wall portion 101e of the reactor 100 is at least partially formed by a peripheral wall portion of the reservoir 800 and by the peripheral wall portion of at least one of the sub-reactors 109. The peripheral wall 101e portion extends upwardly from the bottom wall portion 101d. The reservoir 800 thus defines a space (an underground space, in the embodiment shown) at least partially delimited by the peripheral wall portions 101e. It is thus understood that in the embodiment shown the two sub-reactors are bottomless and open at lower portions thereof into the reservoir 800. When the assembly is in use, the reservoir 800 is not completely filled with tempering fluid 132 so that some room is left for tempered air 32 to circulate to the air outlet 130. In the embodiment shown, the reservoir 800 is fluidly connected to two sub-reactors 109, at the lower portions thereof. In other words, in the embodiment shown, the reactor 10 comprises a plurality of sub-reactors (two, in the embodiment shown) and a reservoir, each of the two sub-reactors opening at their lower portions into the reservoir.

[0083] In one embodiment, when the tempering assembly 10 is under a heating configuration, the tempering fluid may crystallize into ice material 42 which may accumulate within the reservoir 800. In this case, the evacuation system 300 is adapted to periodically or continuously remove the ice material 42 that may have accumulated within the reservoir 800. In one example, the evacuation system 300 comprises an endless screw which serves to both brake down the ice material 42 and evacuate said ice material 42 outside of the reactor 100. Any other device configured to at least partially brake ice accumulated within the reservoir could be conceived.

[0084] It is appreciated that the shape, the configuration of the reactor 100, the shape, the configuration and the location of the air outlet 130, the air inlet 120 the top wall portion 101b, the bottom wall portion 101d and the peripheral wall portion 101e thereof, as wall the shape, the configuration, the number and the relative arrangement of the sub-reactors 109 thereof can vary from the embodiments shown. Any other configuration of a reactor 100 shaped and dimensioned to allow a temperature transfer between an air to be expelled in a mine gallery 20 and a tempering fluid 32 could be conceived.

[0085] It will also be understood that the tempering assembly 10 as described in the embodiments of the disclosure is meant to be flexible for the purpose of upscaling which is an inherent concern for mining operations. For instance, in some embodiments, when the tempering assembly 10 operates to provide cooling, the evacuated tempering fluid 32 may be directed to the same reactor 100 wherefrom warm air 1 was tempered, a distinct reactor 100 of the same kind, or a distinct type of heat exchanger such as for instance, plate exchangers, tube exchangers or any kind of commercially available heat exchanger.

[0086] In another embodiment, the separate heat exchanger can be located underground in a mine gallery 20, so to bring cold water 4 as close as possible to the underground galleries 20 in need of cooling. Ice material 42 (or a tempering fluid at a first temperature) with or without water could be brought to the underground heat exchanger or to an underground temporary pond, then, warm water 3 (or the tempering fluid at a second temperature higher than the first temperature) would be pumped back out of the mine. The underground temporary pond could be used as an intermediate tempering fluid source for a plurality of tempering assemblies.

[0087] For the rest of this specification, it will be understood that all drawings represented in FIG. 3A and FIG. 4 to FIG. 9 show schematic representations of a reactor 100 comprising a cyclonic separator 100a. This is done for illustrative purposes only. It will be noted that any feature seen in said figures can be implemented to a ship container reactor 100b with the necessary changes.

Cooling and Heating Configurations of the Air-Tempering Assembly

[0088] For instance, when the reactor 100 operates during the cooling process (i.e., when the tempering assembly 10 is configured into the cooling configuration), and as best shown in FIG. 2, ambient warm air 1 enters the reactor 100 (at least the reactor 10 thereof) where the warm air's 1 heat is transferred to the cold tempering fluid 32 circulated into the reactor 100 (within the air-tempering cavity 110 thereof) and which was preferably obtained, for instance, from the ice material repository 40 (or tempering-fluid source). The heated fluid then returns to the ice repository 40 as shown or it can be diverted elsewhere. A circulation system 60 is thus defined between the tempering assembly 10 (for instance the reactor 100 thereof) and the ice material repository 40. A first branch of the circulation system 60 is directed from the ice repository 40 towards the tempering assembly 10 to provide the tempering fluid 32 to the reactor 100. For instance, when the ice repository 40 melts, a surplus of water may be generated from the ice repository 40, that can be directed to a water source used in a process or can be disposed of in some other way. The circulation system 60 comprises a second branch directed from the tempering assembly 10 towards the ice repository 40.

[0089] For instance, when the reactor 100 operates during the heating process (i.e., when the tempering assembly 10 is configured into the heating configuration), as represented in FIG. 1, ambient cold air 2 enters the reactor 100 (at least the reactor thereof) wherein the cold air 2 absorbs heat transferred from the warm tempering fluid 32which was obtained from the tempering fluid source 30circulated into the reactor 100 (within the air-tempering cavity 110 thereof) by means of a tempering fluid provider 200. The resulting heated warm air 1 exits the reactor 100 via the air outlet 130, meanwhile the cooled tempering fluid 32 is expelled through the evacuation system 300. In some conditions, the tempering fluid 32 having released its heat within the reactor cavity 110 turns into ice material 42 inside the air-tempering cavity 110. If that is the case, the ice material 42 can advantageously be displaced by the transport system 50 and ultimately to an ice material repository 40. It should be understood that the term ice material repository does not necessarily refer to a heap comprising only ice material, but could also consist of, for instance and without being limitative, a settling pond comprising, amongst other, water and ice material. In one aspect of this disclosure, the ice material repository 40 connected to the circulation system 60 during the summer months (i.e., when the tempering assembly is in the cooling configuration) is the same ice repository 40 which was formed by the reversible tempering assembly 10 operating to provide heat in the winter months (i.e., when the tempering assembly is configured in the heating configuration), whereby ice material 42 evacuated from the assembly 10 accumulated on the ice material repository 40 by-use-of the transport system 50, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0090] For instance and without being limitative, the circulation system 60 can include a melt system 70 (FIG. 2) which comprises means to melt the content of the ice repository 40 (or any other version of the tempering fluid source 30). The melted ice is extracted and the resulting cold water integrates the circulation system 60 for further use in the tempering assembly 10.

[0091] In one embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the melt system 70 might include a nozzle system comprising one or more nozzles that are shaped and dimensioned to spray the ice repository 40 for instance and without being limitative with water or with any other ice-melting fluid to melt at least part of the ice and thus collects cold water 4. In another version, said melt system 70 is provided with a mechanical system that is shaped and dimensioned to cut pieces of ice to generate a slurry of water and ice.

[0092] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the ice repository 40 can be covered by an ice insulation 700 which thermally isolates said repository 40 from the external environment in order to limit or at least slow the melting of the ice of said repository 40.

[0093] The ice insulation 700 can be a heat-insulating membrane 710 used for thermally insulating an ice repository 40 and can be made of a flexible thermal insulation assembly. Said membrane 710 may comprise a plurality of thermal covering sections. Furthermore, an insulated matter-mounting assembly securing the plurality of thermal insulation covering sections onto the insulated matter can be provided with the heat-insulating membrane 710. Said membrane 710 is installed over the ice repository 42 when the temperature of the ambient air 6 generally goes over 0 C.; generally outside the winter months. Different possible embodiments of a thermal insulation assembly are described in US application US2022/055337 filed by the applicant, the content of which being hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0094] Alternatively, the heat-insulating membrane 710 used for thermally insulating an ice repository 40 can be comprised of a different insulation material or method, such as and without being limitative, sawdust, straw, insulating mats, a building, and any insulating membrane or material.

[0095] Whatever the mode of operation of the tempering assembly 10, it will be understood that the tempering process is capable of being continuous insofar that the inputs (e.g., the ambient air 6 entering through the air inlet 120, and/or the tempering fluid 32 introduced by the tempering fluid provider 200) and outputs (e.g., the tempered air 132 expelled through the air outlet 130, and/or the tempering fluid exiting through the evacuation system 300, sometimes under the form of ice material 42) of the reactor 100 (or plurality of reactors 100) occur concurrently and to appropriate levels such that the assembly 10 can operate continuously provided that the system is provided with sufficient inputs.

Tempering Fluid Provider

[0096] As mentioned above, the tempering assembly 10 also comprises the tempering fluid provider 200 fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source 30 and configured to provide the tempering fluid 32 within the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 to temper the air circulating within the air-tempering cavity 110.

[0097] In other words, the tempering fluid provider 200 is shaped and dimensioned to introduce a tempering fluid 32 into the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100. Said fluid provider 200 can be embodied by any kind of fluid sprayer such as a nozzle system or any fluid atomizing means. Preferably, a plurality of water sprayers 200a is used (FIG. 7).

[0098] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, when water sprayers 200a sprinkle water droplets, the ambient air 6 introduced through the air inlet 120 encounters the water droplets within the air-tempering cavity 110 so that heat is exchanged between the water droplets and the ambient air 6 and such that the ambient air 6 is tempered to create tempered air 132. Simultaneously, the water droplets having released heat may crystallize into ice material 42 or create warm water 3 depending on the mode of operation of the tempering assembly 10. Said ice material 42 or warm water 3 accumulates within the reactor 100 until it is evacuated. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the water sprayers 200a are arranged at an upper portion 101a of the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 but any other arrangement could be conceived.

[0099] It will be noted that the water sprayers 200a can be configured to allow an adjustment of the size of water droplets or to provide different sizes of droplets therefrom. When the tempering assembly is configured into the cooling configuration, the water droplets sprayed by the water sprayers could also include ice particles.

[0100] In another version of the tempering assembly 10, the reactor 100 might comprise tempering fluid receiving elements arranged within the air-tempering cavity 110; the tempering fluid or water receiving elements are arranged to receive water (or any other suitable tempering fluid) sprayed from the water sprayers 200a; in other words, the water receiving elements (or tempering fluid-receiving elements) are configured to allow the formation of a thin water layer within the air tempering cavity 110. It is to be understood that the tempering fluid receiving elements could be used in any one of the cooling and heating configurations enhance heat transfer within the air-tempering cavity. The person skilled in the art would understand that said water receiving elements (for instance fixedly mounted to an inner surface of at least one of the top wall portion 101b, the bottom wall portion 101d and the peripheral wall portion 101e of the reactor 100) suited for heat transfer would include plates, cables, mesh, primers or any other suitable element. For instance, for the heating configuration the water-receiving elements are shaped and dimensioned for the flow of said thin water layer to freeze upon contact with the ambient cold air 2 entering the cavity 110 via the air inlet 120, thus forming an ice layer of increasing thickness. For instance, when the layer of ice thus formed on the water receiving element (or tempering fluid 32 receiving member) reaches a predetermined thickness, mechanical elements or heating elements of the tempering assembly 10, for instance arranged within the air-tempering cavity 110 or proximate at least one of the upper wall portion 101a, bottom wall portion 101d and peripheral wall 101e portion of the reactor 100, are used to detach the ice material 42 from the fixed elements so that at least portions of the ice material 42 formed on the tempering fluid receiving elements falls to the bottom of the reactor 100. For the cooling configuration, the water-receiving elements could be shaped and dimensioned for a water thin layer to evaporate and enhance the cooling effect. They could also be shaped and dimensioned to retain ice particles in the airflow during their melting phase, and thus improve the heat transfer by increasing a residency time of ice in the air-tempering cavity.

[0101] It is understood that the heat transfer from the water layer (or tempering fluid layer) on the fixed (or fluid-receiving) elements to the air resulting from the release of both latent energy of the phase change and sensible energy warms the ambient air 6 before it is expelled through the air outlet 130. The ice material 42 gathered therefrom is removed from the reactor 100 by the evacuation system 300 to avoid an excessive accumulation of ice within the reactor 100, wherein the evacuation system 300 can be configured to remove ice material 42, as opposed to being limited to operating with tempered fluid 32 in a liquid state.

Additional Features of the Tempering Assembly

[0102] As shown in an embodiment represented in FIG. 4, the tempering assembly 10 might further include an air-reheater 400. The air-reheater 400 is configured to operate when the tempering assembly 10 provides warm air 1 to mine galleries 20 (i.e., when configured in the heating configuration). The air-reheater 400 includes heating elements such as for instance a burner, a heat exchanger or a water shower. The air-reheater 400 is configured to further heat tempered air 132. The air-reheater 400 can be located in close proximity to the air outlet 130, or can even be mounted to the top wall portion 101b of the reactor 100 such that the re-heated is directly connected to the air outlet 130, so that a minimal amount of heat loss of the warm tempered air 132 occurs between the moment said tempered air 132 is expelled by the air outlet 130 and the moment it enters the air-reheater 400. FIGS. 1-2 show an illustration embodiment of an air re-heater 400 which is shaped as a horizontal funnel having a ventilation fan 23 connecting to the ventilation shaft 22.

[0103] In another embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the air-reheater 400 further includes an air separator configured to separate air from water, ice and other particles in suspension, for instance and without being limitative by centrifugation, filtering or other techniques. A temperature of the separated cold water 4 can be lowered and then injected back in the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100. The air-reheater 400 can be at least partially formed of a thermally insulating material to increase efficiency thereof.

[0104] As shown in the illustrated version of FIG. 4, the tempering assembly 10 can further include an air separator 500. For instance, the air separator 500 is shaped and dimensioned to separate the remaining ice or water particles suspended in the airstream, using principles such as cyclonic separation, blades filter (for instance comprising one or more plates in a given orientation relative to each other, a grid or a cyclone), sudden turn in airflow and other separation means before exiting the air-tempering cavity of the reactor. For instance and without being limitative, the air separator is shaped and dimensioned to capture residual water and ice particles in the airflow to prevent them from leaving the air tempering cavity of the reactor and entering into the facility (for instance the mine gallery). The air separator (for instance a filter thereof) could be arranged in any part of the air tempering cavity of the reactor, for instance at or in the vicinity of the air outlet thereof. It is understood that the air separator (or at least some portions thereof) could be arranged outside the air tempering cavity of the reactor. The air separator could be configured to filter particles for instance via rotating an air flow within the air tempering cavity, via a modification of a cross section of the air tempering cavity of the reactor to alter a speed of the airflow (for instance to accelerate or decelerate the airflow in order to drive the particles towards a particle collecting portion) or to let the particles be separated by gravity. make them fall out on their own).

[0105] In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4, 7 and 10, the air separator 500, 500 is fluidly connected to an air-reheater 400, 400 such that the air separator 500, 500 can intake the warm air 1 produced by said reheater 400, 400. The air-separator 500, 500, can be at least formed of a thermally insulating material to increase efficiency thereof. The air separator 500, 500 is arranged downstream from the air-reheater 400, 400. It could also be conceived a tempering assembly wherein the air separator would be arranged upstream of the air-reheater in order to remove air and/or ice particles from the air before a temperature of the air is increased by the reheater. It is to be noted that downstream is understood as the position of an element 10 arranged in a later stage of the circulation of air in the tempering assembly 10 in relation to another element. For instance, the air inlet 120 is most upstream because it introduces ambient air 6 into the assembly 10 while the routing of air towards the mine gallery 20 is most downstream since it represents the last step of the air-tempering process whereby air was tempered in the reactor 100. In another embodiment, the air separator comprises a phase separator.

[0106] As better shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 9, when the tempering assembly 10 is configured to provide warm air 1 (i.e., when configured into the heating configuration), the assembly 10 includes a phase separator 600 which is shaped and dimensioned to separate the reaction product (or byproduct) phases comprising ice material 42, to displace separated water (or tempering fluid in a liquid phase) to one place and the separated ice (or tempering fluid in a solid phase) to another. The phase separator 600 might comprise filters, screens or any other suitable device using for instance gravity to separate the phases of the by-product. In other versions, the phase separator 600 could comprise an inclined worm drive or a conveyor to separate the water and the ice (or distinct phases of the air-tempering by-products). It will be noted that the phase separator 600 only operates when the tempering assembly 10 is configured into the heating configuration, that is, when ice material 42 is produced by the reactor 100. However, the phase separator 600 may nonetheless be connected to the evacuation system 300 of the reactor 100 in the cooling configuration without necessarily being operational.

[0107] In one embodiment, the phase separator 600 can be positioned close to the reactor 100 downstream thereof (i.e., in the vicinity of the air outlet) for times when reaction products consist of a rather water-rich ice material 42, or near the ice repository 40, to simplify slurry handling. It will be understood that the phase separator 600 is configured to better handle ice material 42 composed of a water to ice ratio within a certain range, characterized in that a high water to ice ratio results in a more liquid slurry, and a lower ratio results in a more solid slurry. If the produced ice material 42 comprises slurry holding a water to ice ratio situated outside the optimal range of operation for the phase separator 600, then water can be added to help handling.

[0108] As best shown in FIG. 7, the tempering assembly 10 can further include a water injection system 1000 fluidly connected to the tempering fluid provider 200 and to other elements in certain embodiments described herein.

[0109] According to a version of the assembly 10 shown in FIG. 7, wherein the tempering fluid provider 200 comprises said one or more water sprayer 200a, the water injection system 1000 can include at least one of a filtering system or sanitation device 1002, a water chiller or heater 1004, a pump 1006, an air compressor 1008 and a precursor injection system 1012. The water injection system 1000 provides the tempering fluid provider 200 with tempering fluid 32 at a controlled temperature, pressure, can add compressed air, water flow and composition (e.g., with impurities particles). The water injection system might comprise high pressure pumps or any other means configured, for instance, to provide water droplets of smaller dimensions and to decrease a temperature of the water droplets, in order to ease and accelerate a crystallization thereof.

[0110] As mentioned above, the tempering assembly 10 comprises the tempering fluid provider 200 fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source 30 and configured to provide the tempering fluid 32 within the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 to temper the air circulating within the air-tempering cavity 110. As mentioned above, the water circulating in the water injection system 1000 is supplied by the tempering fluid source 30. However, when the tempering assembly 10 operates to provide heating, the water can also be supplied, partially or entirely, by a fluid recirculation system 1014 fluidly connected to the phase separator 600 and/or to a bottom portion of the air-tempering cavity of the reactor. The fluid recirculation system 1014 partially or completely redirects tempering fluid 32 into the water injection system 1000.

[0111] In the embodiment shown in the schematic of FIG. 2, a fluid recirculation system 1014 is fluidly connected to the fluid tempering reservoir 800 in such a way to collect tempering fluid 32 from the reservoir 800 and to redirect it to supply the water injection system 1000, partially or entirely. Under this arrangement, the reservoir 800 increases the water/fluid consumption efficiency of the reactor 100 by storing tempering fluid 32 within the reservoir 800 which can then be recirculated, thus reducing water losses that could take place when water is removed from the reactor.

[0112] In the water injection system 1000, the sanitation device 1002 first filters impurities which may reside in the water source 30. The water chiller or heater 1004 then controls water temperature in the intake channels prior to injection. Finally, the pump 1006 pressurizes water for the water sprayers 200a. Said water 32 can be provided by the fluid recirculation system 1014.

[0113] The same combination of the sanitation device 1002, water heater 1004 and pump 1006 can also simultaneously supply an air-reheater 400 with pressurized (or unpressurized) warm water 3 to provide the air-reheater 400 with a source of heat when the air-reheater 400 includes a water shower as a heating element or heat exchange coil, as mentioned above.

[0114] As best shown in FIG. 7, another version of the water injection system 1000 could include a precursor injection system 1012 which can provide already-frozen water particles (or solid tempering fluid particles) to the air-tempering cavity 110 of the reactor 100 to initiate crystallization of the injected droplets. Such particles can be supplied by the fluid recirculation system 1014 or they can be created in a distinct device.

[0115] In addition, the precursor injection system 1012 can insert impurities within the tempering fluid 32 droplets to facilitate the formation of crystals in the air-tempering cavity 110. Some examples of impurities that can be used to accelerate droplets nucleation include silver iodide, potassium iodide, solid carbon dioxide, nanoparticles, nanobubbles or any other particle that might come from the mine 20. Preferably, impurity particles can be obtained from the by-products of the mining operation, but they can also be stored near the reactor 100 or created in a separate device and then provided to the precursor injection system 1012. Alternatively, the precursor injection system 1012 can include nucleation acceleration devices such as ultrasonic waves or static or alternating electrical fields to initiate droplets nucleation earlier.

[0116] The air compressor 1008 of the water injection system 1000 is shaped and dimensioned to compress ambient air 6 into compressed air 1010, which provides high-pressure air to the tempering fluid provider 200 (for instance to the water sprayers 200a thereof) for increased water nucleation.

[0117] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the air outlet of the air-tempering cavity of the reactor is fluidly connected to an air recirculation element 1300 which can partially or completely redirect tempered air 132 to the air inlet 120 or any other part of the tempering assembly 10.

[0118] It is appreciated that the shape and the configuration of the tempering assembly 10 and the shape, the configuration and the relative arrangement of the different components thereof can vary from the embodiments shown.

[0119] For instance, the tempering assembly 10 could further comprise downstream the reactor a burner, an electric heater or a heat exchanger (for instance an air/air heat exchanger or a fluid/air heat exchanger). For instance, adding an air/air heat exchanger at or proximate the air outlet of the reactor could be useful for buildings or for any other indoor operations where the air outlet of the reactor would be connected to an air/air exchanger (one air being the exiting air from the assembly and the other air being the hot air exiting the building). A fluid/air heat exchanger could for instance be configured to use hot water from a process occurring in the building, said hot water needing to be rejected.

[0120] The tempering assembly could also comprise a heat pump configured to exchange heat between the tempered air at the air outlet of the reactor and the ambient air or with the tempering fluid feeding the air-tempering cavity of the reactor (for instance water or any other tempering fluid). For instance, in the embodiment wherein the reactor comprises the above-described tempering fluid reservoir, the heat pump could be configured to take heat from the tempering fluid (for instance water) contained in the tempering fluid reservoir and direct it towards the tempered air at the air outlet of the reactor, so as to further increase the efficiency of the tempering assembly.

[0121] The tempering assembly 10 can be coupled with a prediction device to estimate the cooling and heating capacity within the stored ice and water.

[0122] The tempering assembly 10 can be coupled a system equipped with water contamination sensors and treatment.

Method for Providing Tempered Air to a Facility Such as an Underground Mine Gallery

[0123] According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for providing tempered air 132 to an underground mine gallery 20. The method according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out with the steps of introducing ambient air 6 to an air-tempering cavity 110 through an air inlet 120, spraying said ambient air 6 with tempering fluid from a tempering fluid source 30, the ambient air 6 being tempered upon contact with the tempering fluid 32, forming a tempered airstream, expelling the tempered airstream into the mine galleries 20 through an air outlet 130, and evacuating the tempering fluid 132 outside of the air-tempering cavity 110.

Warming Assembly

[0124] As mentioned above, the air-tempering assembly 10 could be adapted to be used exclusively for heating (i.e., not to be alternatively configurable from the heating configuration to the cooling configuration, and vice versa). Referring to FIGS. 11 to 26, there is shown a warming assembly 10 dedicated to warm air and to provide said warmed air to the mine galleries 20. The following warming assembly 10 could be used as a reversible tempering assembly or a semi-permanently dedicated cooling assembly (not shown) in light of the present disclosure. Partially because the warming-assembly 10 purports to operate in freezing or near freezing conditions and comprises ice formation, means to process ice material are also provided. In other words, the reactor of the warming assembly could also be used for cooling, for example by spraying cold water or a mix of cold water and ice on the warm air. The tempering assembly could also comprise packing material (such as for instance plates, cables, mesh or any other suitable element) for instance arranged in the air-tempering cavity of the reactor when the tempering assembly is configured in the cooling configuration, in order to increase a residence time of the ice and/or water in the air-tempering cavity while the ice is melting and/or while the water is evaporating.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown an embodiment of the reactor 100 of the warming assembly 10, the warming assembly further comprising, as detailed below, a reservoir (FIG. 14). It will be appreciated that the reactor 100 of the warming assembly 10 forms in the embodiment shown a substantially L shape defining a vertical chamber or portion and a horizontal chamber or portion. The horizontal chamber is fluidly connected to the vertical chamber to allow a continuous or semi-continuous flow of air from the air inlet 120 to the air outlet 130. The reactor 100 includes the top wall air inlet 120a previously discussed in regard to FIG. 5A. In the embodiment shown, the tempering fluid provider 200 is also provided in the upper portion 101a of the air-warming reactor 100 such that both air and tempering fluid 32 are introduced in the air-warming cavity 110 in a same downward direction. For compactness purposes as well as to increase a duration of suspension of the particles of air-tempering fluid in the air-warming cavity, the reactor might be substantially vertical (for instance have greater dimensions in a vertical direction than in a horizontal direction). As mentioned above, the warming assembly might comprise a filter 1002 fitted, for instance and without being limitative, at or in the vicinity of an intersection between the vertical chamber and the horizontal chamber (FIG. 14) adapted to let through air towards the air outlet 130 but filter out tempering fluid 32 (i.e., to remove from the air having an increased temperature particles of the tempering fluid, for instance ice material by-product thereof). Alternatively, or additionally, a length of the horizontal chamber can be increased to allow the injected tempering fluid 32 to settle in the reservoir by increasing its suspension time.

[0126] Regarding dimensions, the exemplary reactor 100 embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 might have for instance a substantially square or rectangular cross-section, with a side dimension (L shown in FIG. 12, for instance) in the range of 4 to 30 feet, for instance in the range of 10 to 20 feet, for instance of about 12 feet. It could also be conceived a reactor having a cross-section increasing towards a bottom portion thereof, in order to ease a falling of the tempering fluid drops.

[0127] The illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 12 and 13 provide possible examples of reactors 100, 100 of the warming-assembly 10 represented in FIG. 11. With reference to the embodiment of FIG. 11, the wall portions 101b, 101d, 101e of the reactor 100 might include self-supported panels assembled together to form the reactor 100. The self-supported panels can be made of galvanized steel, or of any other suitable material commonly used for self-supported panels. Furthermore, each self-supporting panel can be lined with insulation material. With reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the reactor 100 might include a frame structure having beams at least partially delimiting wall-receiving slots or openings in-between and into which wall portions of the reactor can be fitted (e.g., top wall portion 101b, bottom wall portion 101d, peripheral wall portion 101e), for instance along with the insulation material 1130. In such embodiment, the wall portions of the reactor 100 are partially modular. According to another embodiment, the peripheral wall portion 101e is at least partially defined by components of a deicing assembly as described in detail below (for instance at least partially defined by flexible membrane described below). In the embodiment of FIG. 13, a scaffolded reactor 100 is shown wherein the reactor 100 of FIG. 12 is at least partially covered or formed by scaffolding elements forming gateways that can be used by an operator to reach elevated parts of the reactor 100 or shield an operator at the reactor 100 from external conditions.

[0128] For the sake of simplicity, the disclosure of the following embodiments of the air-warming assembly 10 refers to the reactor 100 embodiment shown in FIG. 11, but it should be noted that the structure of the reactor 100 is not determinative as the internal configuration and specifications of the reactors 100, 100 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 are substantially similar to that of the reactor 100 of FIG. 11 and can be substituted or combined therewith.

[0129] It should be noted that the embodiments of the warming assembly 10 partially shown in FIGS. 11 to 26 may share some of the features of the reversible tempering assembly 10 embodiment described in the context of FIGS. 1 to 10 and may share reference numerals. Indeed, the warming assembly 10 generally adds features to the previously discussed embodiment; therefore, some of the features of the reversible tempering assembly 10 are incorporated to the warming assembly 10 as previously described. For instance, according to one embodiment, the warming assembly 10 is fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid source 30. In one implementation, the tempering fluid source 30 provides water or a water solution. This said, and as mentioned above, the composition of the tempering fluid 32 can be altered to introduce impurities or any other particles to accelerate droplets nucleation.

[0130] Referring to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, the warming assembly 10 comprises the above-mentioned reactor 100 defining an air-warming cavity 110. As for the air-tempering assembly, the reactor 100 comprises: an air inlet 120, an air outlet 130, a tempering fluid inlet 180 and a tempering fluid outlet 190, as previously described (FIG. 3A). The air inlet 120 introduces substantially cold air 2 (e.g., ambient cold air during the winter months) at a first temperature into the air-warming cavity 110. The air outlet 130 is fluidly connectable to the mine gallery (not shown) to expel the air warmed within the air-tempering or air-warming cavity of the reactor 100, as previously described. The tempering fluid inlet 180 is adapted to enable the introduction of the tempering fluid 32 directly into the air-warming cavity 110.

[0131] Again referring to the embodiment of FIG. 11, the warming assembly 10 further comprises one or more tempering fluid providers 200 as described above, connectable to the tempering fluid source 30 and to the tempering fluid inlet 180. As such, the tempering fluid providers 200 are configured to provide the tempering fluid 32 within the air-warming cavity 110. As the tempering fluid 32 is sprayed into the air-warming cavity 110 of the reactor 100 by the tempering fluid providers 200 at a first temperature, a heat exchange occurs within the air-warming cavity 110 between the tempering fluid 32 and the circulating cold air 2 introduced through the air inlet 120. In other words, the tempering fluid and the air circulating in the air-warming cavity are put into thermal contact with each other. As a result of the heat exchange, a temperature of the air circulating in the air-warming cavity increases to a second temperature. An ice material 42 might form within the air-warming cavity as a by-product of the heat exchange as a portion of the tempering fluid 32 droplets releases heat and crystallizes, as illustrated in FIG. 11.

[0132] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the warming assembly 10 includes two tempering fluid providers arranged at an upper portion 101a of the reactor (as previously discussed) and oriented downwardly to provide a downward spray of tempering fluid 32 within the air-warming cavity 110. Advantageously, the arrangement of the tempering fluid providers 200 in the upper portion 101a of the reactor 100 substantially avoids an exposure to the ice material 42 formed on inner surfaces of the reactor and removed therefrom, which could otherwise obstruct or damage the tempering fluid providers 200. Another aspect of this arrangement is to ease an access to the fluid providers 200 from an opening (for instance via a hatch or directly via a top opening) (not shown) in the top wall portion 101b of the reactor 100, provided for maintenance purposes, for instance. The tempering fluid providers 200 might comprise an integrated bleed valve, to prevent the formation of ice at an outlet of the fluid providers, that would at least partially obstruct the outlet and thus jeopardize the working of the air-warming assembly.

[0133] In one embodiment of the warming assembly 10, the tempering fluid provider 200 can be configured to atomize the tempering fluid 32 in order to ease a nucleation thereof and spray the tempering fluid into particles of a significantly small size (for instance of the order of a few micrometers). Indeed, it has been noticed that a smaller droplet size can enable an earlier phase change of fluid (i.e., for water, a change from a liquid phase to a solid phase) for the same temperature compared to larger droplets thereby facilitating the release of latent energy of phase change from liquid to solid and sensible energy from the tempering fluid 32 to the circulating air. In addition, smaller droplet size increases a suspension time of the sprayed tempering fluid 32 in the air-warming cavity 110, which also increases a heat exchange efficiency or thermal contact between the tempering fluid and the air circulating within the air-warming cavity.

Deicing Assembly

[0134] With reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 to 18B, the reactor 100 of the warming assembly 10 includes a deicing assembly 140. The deicing assembly 140 is adapted to at least partially remove ice material 42 (or ice material by-product) accumulated within the air-warming cavity 110 (for instance formed on inner surfaces at least partially delimiting the air-warming cavity) as a result of the heat exchange described above. Where ice-material 42 forms for instance on cavity-delimiting surfaces of the peripheral wall portion 101e of the reactor 110 of the air-warming assembly 10, according to non-limitative embodiments (not shown), the deicing assembly may include a vibrator, such as for instance and without being limitative an unbalanced motor, operatively connected to the peripheral wall portion 101e of the reactor 100 and configured to apply vibrations (for instance to locally distort at least a portion of the peripheral wall portion) to the peripheral wall portion 101e, so as to detach the ice-material 42 from the cavity-delimiting surface of the peripheral wall portion 101e. The deicing assembly might also comprise air cannons disposed adjacently to the peripheral wall portion 101e to shoot a wave of compressed air towards the cavity-delimiting surface of the wall portion 101e, thus at least partially removing the ice-material 42 for the cavity-deliming surface. It should be noted that the use of the vibrator and/or the air cannons might be applied to other wall portions 101b, 101d of the reactor 100.

[0135] In one embodiment, the deicing assembly 140 can comprise a water receiving element as mentioned above, the water-receiving element being arranged in the tempering cavity 110 to receive water sprayed thereon. Specifically, referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 12 to 18B, the receiving element water can be embodied by one or more flexible membranes 142. The flexible membrane 142 at least partially delimits the air-warming cavity 110, meaning that the heat exchange between the tempering fluid 32 and the cold air 2 is at least partially confined by an inner surface or cavity-delimiting surface of the flexible membranes. In one embodiment, a peripheral wall portion or peripheral wall 101e of the reactor includes at plurality (for instance four) interconnected substantially fluid-impervious walls, and the flexible membrane 142 of the deicing assembly 140 is directly or indirectly connected thereto. Alternatively, in one embodiment, and as previously mentioned in relation to the embodiment of FIG. 15, the flexible membrane 142 at least partially forms the peripheral wall portion 101e of the reactor 100. For instance, referring more specifically to the embodiment of FIG. 12 in which the peripheral wall portion 101e the reactor 100 comprises four sides, a flexible membrane 142 can be provided to cover each side wall from the inside of the structure frame (i.e., to at least partially cover a cavity-delimiting surface of the side wall), thus effectively forming at least partially the peripheral wall portion 101e, and thus partially delimiting the air-warming cavity. For the sake of clarity, it will be assumed that the following embodiments (FIGS. 15 to 18B) include a warming assembly 10 having distinct peripheral wall portion 101e, and flexible membrane 142.

[0136] As the reactor 110 of the air-warming assembly 10 operates to provide warmed air (or to increase a temperature of the air circulating within the air-warming cavity), a thin layer of ice material 42 may form on the surface of the flexible membrane 142 of increasing thickness as the warming operation resumes. When a predetermined thickness of ice material 42 on the flexible membrane 142 is reached, or when a predetermined schedule laps, the deicing assembly 140 (for instance a membrane-distorting member thereof) can be actuated, as explained below. It is understood that an excessive accumulation of ice material by-product 42 within the air-warming cavity 110 can narrow a clear cross-section profile of the cavity 100, thus partially obstructing the circulation of both tempering fluid 32 and air within. Due to the weight of the accumulated ice material by-product onto the cavity-delimiting surfaces of the reactor, the reactor might also be damaged.

[0137] The flexible membrane, or at least the cavity-facing side 146 thereof, can be at least partially made of a polyester. Any material with sufficient mechanical properties and with some degree of water-repellant or hydrophobic properties is also envisioned herein. In another embodiment, the flexible membrane can be coated with a layer of polyurethane or any other suitable material. The flexible membrane could also comprise heating elements (such as heating wires) embedded in the membrane or at least partially forming it.

[0138] The flexible membrane 142 is configurable into a tempering fluid-receiving configuration (FIGS. 16A and 16B), wherein the flexible membrane comprises a cavity-delimiting surface substantially flat, and a tempering fluid-removing configuration (FIG. 15). The flexible membrane is configured from a configuration to the other upon distortion of at least a portion of the flexible membrane 142. By distorting the flexible membrane 142 when initially configured into the tempering fluid-receiving-configuration, a tension is applied to the layer of ice material 42, thus allowing its breaking and detachment therefrom. It should be noted that the term distorted or distortion, as used herein in relation to the flexible membrane 142 should be understood as a deformation of the membrane 142, including, without being limited to, bulging, stretching, contracting, twisting, bending, vibrating, relative motion of the membrane, and any combination thereof. As mentioned above, the deicing assembly 140 of the reactor 100 can comprise mechanical elements or actuators to distort the flexible membrane. The deicing assembly might also comprise heating elements, alone or in combination, in order to ease the breaking of the ice accumulated onto the cavity-delimiting surface and/or its detachment therefrom. As such, distortion means for the flexible membrane 142 are described below.

[0139] In the embodiment shown, a peripheral wall portion of the reactor 100 includes a support member 102 to at least partially support the flexible membrane 142 within the air-warming cavity of the reactor 100, and a membrane-distorting member 176 (i.e., distortion means) adapted to distort the flexible membrane 142 in any manner previously described. In such embodiment, the flexible membrane 142 has a support-facing side 145, and an opposed cavity-facing (or cavity-delimiting side) 146. For instance, the membrane-deforming member 176 is displaceable (for instance translate) along a dimension (for instance along a height) of the peripheral wall portion 101e while being in contact with the flexible membrane (for instance with the support-facing side thereof). For instance, the support member 102 comprises a frame with attachment means to connect the flexible member 142, made of any suitable material able to support the flexible membrane 142 during operation. In one embodiment, the structure of the reactor 100 has a peripheral wall portion 101e including the support member 102. In this embodiment, the flexible membrane 142 is arranged to be at least partially displaceable with respect to the support member 102. Referring to the non-limitative embodiment of shown in FIG. 15, the peripheral wall portion might further include a track 104 extending vertically within the cavity 110 and configured to guide a displacement of the membrane-deforming member 176. The support member 102 also includes attachment means to connect upper and lower portions of the flexible membrane 142 for instance respectively adjacent to an upper portion 101a and a lower portion of the cavity 110. It could also be conceived a plurality of flexible membranes, mounted to each other, each of the flexible membrane extending along a portion of dimensions (for instance along a portion of the height and/or the width) of the wall portions at least partially delimiting the air-warming cavity. Still referring to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 15, the membrane-deforming member 176 includes a roller 178 coupled to the track 104 and adapted to translate along a length of the track. Alternatively, the membrane-distorting member 178 can include other mechanical means, including, but not limited to: a conveyor belt to translate (i.e., distort) the flexible membrane 142 along the support member 102, a scraper arranged proximate to the cavity-facing side 146 of the flexible member 142; a vibrator (for instance an unbalanced motor) operatively connected to the membrane 142 and configured to vibrate (for instance to at least partially distort a portion of) the membrane 142, such that the vibration waves detach the ice-material 42 from the membrane 142; or air cannons disposed adjacently to the membrane 142 to shoot a wave or compressed air, thus distorting the membrane 142. In another alternative embodiment to the deicing assembly 140, the support member 102 can include a plurality of structural components arranged within the cavity 110 to individually and separately connect to the flexible member 142.

[0140] In other words, the flexible membrane 142 is at least partially displaceable with respect to the support member 102, for instance in a transverse direction with respect to a height of the flexible membrane (for instance in a substantially horizontal direction, or in an inward direction, considered with respect to the air-warming cavity).

[0141] The flexible membrane 142 might also be configured to at least partially delimit or form at least one inflatable pocket 150 having opposed support-facing and cavity-facing sides 145, 146. The inflatable pocket 150 further includes an inlet 152 (i.e., pocket inlet 152) to allow introduction of a fluidfor instance airtherein. In the following description and drawings, a single inflatable pocket 150 is shown for the sake of simplicity, but the deicing assembly might comprise a plurality of inflatable pockets formed by corresponding flexible membranes, wherein at least some of the plurality of inflatable pockets might be in fluid communication with each other. In the same embodiment, the deicing assembly 140 comprises a fluid distribution assembly 170, fluidly connected to the inlet 152 of the inflatable pocket 150.

[0142] The fluid distribution assembly 170 is adapted to inject fluid into the inflatable pocket 150 through the inlet 152. As the inflatable pocket 150 fills with fluid, the pocket 150 inflates and expands in volume within the air-warming cavity 110, thus distorting at least partially the cavity-facing side 145 of the membrane 142. In other words, the inflatable pocket is configured into the tempering fluid-removing configuration upon inflation of the pocket. After the pocket 150 has been fully or partially inflated, the fluid distribution assembly 170 is also adapted to draw or remove (e.g., through a suction effect) the fluid out of the inflatable pocket 150, for instance via the inlet 152. In other words, the inflatable pocket is configured back into the tempering fluid-receiving configuration upon deflation of the pocket. It should be noted that although the expression inlet is used herein in relation to the inflatable pocket 150, in some embodiments, the pocket inlet 152 is not limited to introducing fluid and may be used as an outlet to actively empty or drain the pocket 150. It could also be conceived an inflatable pocket comprising distinct apertures forming respectively an inlet and an outlet. It should also be noted that the term fluid when used herein in relation to the fluid distribution assembly 170 can include liquid, gazes (i.e., air) or any combination thereof. As non-limitative example, the embodiments of the fluid distribution assembly described herein include air (e.g., ambient air). The fluid distribution assembly 170 is described in more detail below. Regarding the build of the inflatable pocket 150, the pocket can be fully or partially delimited by the flexible membrane 142, meaning that the pocket 150 can be fully made of the flexible membrane 142 and the material thereof, or the pocket 150 can be made of several different materials as explained below.

[0143] Referring now to FIGS. 15 to 18B, an embodiment of the deicing assembly 140 is shown with a version of the support member 102 and of the inflatable pocket 150 in the water-receiving configuration. As better shown in FIG. 16B, the inflatable pocket 150 is partially formed by an inner panel 154 and an outer panel 156 of the flexible membrane, each panel having a first and second lateral edge. The inner and outer panels are formed by the flexible membrane 142 such that the inner panel 154 at least partially delimits the air-warming cavity 110. The pocket inlet 152 is arranged in a lower portion of the inflatable pocket (not visible). In such embodiment, the pocket inlet 152 is connected to the fluid distribution assembly 170; in case the fluid distribution assembly is arranged outside of the air-warming cavity and outside of the reservoir, the connection between the fluid distribution assembly and the pocket inlet might be realized through an aperture formed in the reactor 100 (for instance in the peripheral wall portion thereof).

[0144] Furthermore, and referring again to the embodiment of the air-warming assembly 140 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the deicing assembly 140 further includes first and second lateral connecting strips 158 (one visible). For instance, the inner and outer panels are connected to each other at first and second lateral edges of the inflatable pocket, the first and second lateral connecting strips connecting respectively the first and second lateral edges to the support member. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 16B to 17B, the connecting strips 148 are at least partially made of flexible material, specifically a rubber-based material, such that when the flexible membrane 142 is configured into the tempering fluid-removing configuration upon inflation of the inflatable pocket 150, the pocket 145 can expand in volume as much as a stretch of the connecting strips 158 can allow for a given fluid pressure provided by the fluid distribution assembly 170. Alternatively, the connecting strips 158 can be made of any sufficiently elastic material able to withstand the distortion of the membrane, but resilient materials with little stretching properties are also envisioned herein.

[0145] Turning now to the embodiment of the warming assembly 10 shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, there is shown an embodiment of the fluid distribution assembly 170 adapted to fluidly connect to at least two inflatable pockets (for instance at least partially formed by two flexible membranes) (not shown) comprising respectively first and second inlets. The fluid distribution assembly 170 includes first and second valves 174a, 174b operatively coupled respectively to the inlets of the first and second inflatable pockets, to deflate and inflate independently the first and second inflatable pockets. Moreover, each first and second valves 174a, 174b is fluidly connected to a suction pump 172b and a blower pump 172a. Consequently, in the embodiment shown, the first and second valves are 3-way valves.

[0146] The deicing assembly 140 includes support cables 164 fixedly connected to the inflatable pocket 150 and connected to the support member 102 to support the inflatable pocket relative to the peripheral wall portion, while enabling the inflatable pocket to be displaceable with respect to the support member, as mentioned above. As better shown in FIG. 17A, for instance two support cables extend along and within two funnels defined by each of the lateral connecting strips. Any other arrangement could be conceived. The support cables can be made of metal wiring, or any other material with sufficient mechanical properties to support a given version of the flexible membrane.

[0147] Referring again to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 17B, the deicing assembly 152 includes a plurality of retaining lines 160, of which nine are provided in the non-limitative represented embodiment. Each retaining line extends along the cavity-delimiting side of the flexible membrane. The retaining lines each define a first and second segments (one for each end) that are each connected to the support member. A length of each retaining line (defined for instance between the first to second attachments thereof to the support member) might be adjusted to at least partially limit a volumetric expansion of the corresponding inflatable pocket 150 when in the tempering fluid-removing configuration previously described, thus imparting a constraint to the inflatable pocket in order to further distort it. Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 to 17B, the retaining lines extend along the inner panel (comprising the cavity-delimiting side) of the inflatable pocket. In such embodiment, the inner panel (and optionally the outer panel) formed by the flexible membrane includes a plurality of sub-layers 157 made of the material of the membrane as previously described. Each retaining line is hemmed in underneath two of said plurality of layers beginning at a lower portion (but not at the extremity) of the inner panel and hemming out at an upper portion thereof. A length of each retaining line is sufficient to define free extremity segments thereof which are connectable to the support member. It should be noted that a deicing assembly including a single retaining line is envisioned herein, as implemented as any individual of the plurality of retaining lines described below.

[0148] Referring once more to the non-limitative embodiment of the warming assembly shown in FIGS. 11 to 18B, including retaining lines 160 extending along the inflatable pocket, each upper and lower extremities of the retaining lines and the support lines is selectively inserted through respective mounting inserts defined in upper and lower portions of the support member and fixed therethrough. Alternatively, each retaining line or cable extremity can be operatively connected to a winch or any other tensioning means mounted to the support member, for instance at a lower portion of the support assembly, in order to adjust a length thereof, and thus adjusting a tension or constraint applied to the inflatable pocket when at least partially inflated. As such, each retaining line and support cable can be adjustably tightened or loosened to obtain a predetermined tension.

[0149] Referring again to the implementation of the air-warming assembly 10 shown in FIG. 16B, the air-warming assembly 10 includes a heating element 166 arranged at a bottom portion of the inflatable pocket defined by the flexible membrane. The heating element is configured to limit an accumulation of ice onto the inflatable pocket or upon detachment of the ice from the cavity-delimiting surface of the flexible membrane. The assembly 10 also includes a drainer 166 (FIG. 16B), connected to a bottom end of the inflatable pocket 150. The drainer 166 is adapted to collect any fluid (e.g., water) or ice material accumulation within or detached from the inflatable pocket. The drainer 166 can have one or more evacuation apertures defined at a bottom edge thereof (not visible).

[0150] Referring now to FIGS. 19 and 20, there are shown two possible embodiments of the reservoir 800 previously described in view of the reversible tempering assembly 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2. With reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 19, there is shown an extension reservoir 800 that includes panels structurally interconnected to each other. The extension reservoir 800 is adapted to be operatively attached below the reactor 100, thus forming a bottom wall portion thereof, as previously explained. With reference to the embodiment of FIG. 20, there is shown a support reservoir 800 defining a collecting cavity 802 and including a concrete slab onto which the reactor 100 can be arranged and supported.

[0151] In accordance with the embodiments shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the warming assembly 10 further includes a tempering fluid collector 750 including the support reservoir 800 as previously described, the reservoir defining a fluid-collecting cavity 802. The tempering fluid collector has a collector inlet in fluid communication with the tempering fluid outlet of the reactor to collect tempering fluid evacuated during the warming operation, and also ice material by-product 42 if applicable, and a collector outlet 752 in fluid communication with the evacuation system. In order to enable a transfer of the collected tempering fluid and ice material by-product to the evacuation system and then back to the tempering fluid source 30, an ice crushing mechanism such as for instance a cutter pump 804 and/or a whirlpool pump 806 might be arranged in the collecting cavity, in order to crush and/or homogenize the collected tempering fluid and ice material by-product forming a slurry ice, and/or to keep in constant motion said slurry ice. This way, the ice-material 42 in the fluid-collecting cavity 802 being swirled around therein is more likely to encounter a cutter pump 804. The tempering fluid collector 750 might further include at least one floating skimming apparatus, connected to one or more cutter pump 804 and arranged in the collecting cavity 802, and configured to provide a skimming effect in the reservoir 800 to direct the ice-material 42 or ice slurry towards the cutter pump.

[0152] Turning to FIGS. 23 to 26, there are shown embodiments of the evacuation system 300 previously introduced. Any of these embodiments of the evacuation system 300 is fluidly connectable to the tempering fluid collector 750 through the collector outlet 752 at an upstream end and to the transport system 50 at a downstream end. As illustrated in FIG. 23, the evacuation systems 300a includes substantially conical-shaped mixing tank 314 adapted to dispose the tempering fluid 32 and ice material 42 into a cyclone and to direct the mixture to an auger 316. As illustrated in FIG. 24, the evacuation systems 300b includes a spinning mixing cylinder 318 to break down the ice material 42 or ice-slurry further. As illustrated in FIG. 25, the evacuation systems 300c includes a conveyor 320 to direct the ice-slurry to the transport system 50. Alternatively, the evacuation system 300 can include an industrial shredder. As illustrated in FIG. 26, the evacuation system might include another conveyor and a roller 322 connected thereto and adapted to break down the ice material 42 or ice-slurry therein. As illustrated in the non limitative embodiment shown in FIGS. 27A and 27B, the evacuation system 300e might include a substantially V-shape receptacle, an auger 324, an endless screw 326 arranged in a bottom portion of the auger and a crusher 328 downstream of the auger 324. The endless screw 326 is shaped and dimensioned to direct the material collected at the bottom portion of the auger towards the crusher 328. It is understood that although the receptacle of the evacuation system 300e shows a receptacle having a V-shape, any other shape and/or configuration of the receptacle allowing the ice-material to funnel to the auger 324 and to maintain the ice material in range of the auger is contemplated herein. As better shown in FIG. 27B, the crusher 328 includes rotary blades 330 and stator plates 332 configured such that the ice material is constrained between the rotary blades and the stator plates to break down the ice-material further. In one embodiment of the evacuation system 300e of FIGS. 27A and 27B, an outlet of the crusher 328 leads to the transport system 50 (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 27A and 27B, it could be conceived a tempering assembly with no tempering fluid collector. The evacuation system might further comprise at least one floating skimming apparatus, connected to the above-mentioned cutter pump arranged in the collecting cavity, and configured to provide a skimming effect in the reservoir to direct the ice-material or ice slurry towards the ice crushing mechanism, for instance the cutter pump.

Method for Providing Warmed Air to a Facility Such as an Underground Mine Gallery

[0153] According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20. The method according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out with the steps of introducing air at a first temperature into an air-warming cavity 110 of a reactor 100 at a first temperature through an air inlet 120; putting into thermal contact a tempering fluid 32 with said air within the air-warming cavity, to increase the air to a second temperature greater than the first temperature (for instance spraying the tempering fluid 32 onto said air in the air-warming cavity); expelling the air 32 at the second temperature into the mine gallery 20; and evacuating the tempering fluid 32 outside of the reactor 100.

[0154] The method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20 may further include forming on a cavity-delimiting surface delimiting the air-warming cavity an ice material by-product from a portion of the sprayed tempering fluid thermally contacting the air.

[0155] The method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20 may yet further include evacuating the ice material by-product 42 outside of the reactor 100 by distorting the flexible membrane 142 of the deicing assembly, thus detaching at least a portion of the layer of ice material by-product 42 from the flexible membrane 142.

[0156] The method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20 may further include evacuating the ice material by-product 42 to a collecting cavity defined by a collector 800 at least partially positioned outside of the reactor 100, and wherein evacuating the tempering fluid outside of the reactor 100 further comprises evacuating the tempering fluid 32 to the collector cavity 800.

[0157] The method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20 may further include crushing the ice material by-product 42 in the collecting cavity 800 with one or more cutter pumps 310 being operatively and fluidly connected in the collecting cavity 800. The method for providing warmed air 1 to an underground mine gallery 20 may further include evacuating at least a portion of the crushed ice material by-product 42 and the tempering fluid 32 via an evacuation system. The method might further comprise retaining particles from the air before expelling the air into the facility.

[0158] It is understood that the method according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out with a tempering assembly or a warming assembly such as the embodiments thereof described above.

[0159] As detailed above, an object of the disclosure is to provide an assembly comprising a reactor through which ambient air circulates. Within a cluster of said reactor, a mist of atomized water is injected within the incoming air. Near-zero degrees Celsius water will then either heat or cool the incoming air, depending on the season and the requirements of the mine. A method to temper the air of a mine gallery is also provided.

[0160] In winter, cold ambient air is routed through the reactor, and sprayed with water from a source (i.e., the bottom of a lake) in order to warm the air close to 0 degree Celsius. The warmed air is then routed to the mine shaft. Simultaneously, the water droplets sprayed on the ambient air have frozen into ice crystals.

[0161] In one version of this invention wherein the reactor is a container, instead of accumulating ice, the ice created is evacuated, for instance in a substantially continuous manner, from the containers with a stream of water-which then becomes more like a slush-to a remote area where it is left to freeze again for use next summer for cooling.

[0162] It is the contact between the outside cold air and the relatively warm water droplets which makes the water droplets crystallize and consequently release heat. The heat transfer from the droplets to the air occurs with the release of latent energy of phase change and sensible energy. This disclosure provides elements to prevent the circulating air from carrying the droplets to the reactor air outlet to separate the droplets from the air.

[0163] In summer, warm ambient air circulates in the reactor where cold water is sprayed on the warm airstream to cool the ambient air before ending down to the mine shaft. To obtain cold water, water might get cooled through a circulation system involving the ice material repository or any other tempering fluid source. Alternatively, instead of being sprayed, cold water could pass through a plate heat exchanger or another kind of heat exchanger to transfer the heat from the air to the water.

[0164] The water used for the tempering process may advantageously be water which accumulated in the galleries, and which already needs to be pumped out of the mines and accumulates in artificial reservoirs.

[0165] An advantage of the disclosed system is that the ice material generated by the process could facilitate mine water management by storing this water in the form of ice and allowing the rate of melting to be controlled. For instance, the water could be stored in an ice heap, making it possible to store water in a substantially solid form outside of a pond. Indeed, this offers several possibilities such as the management of the amount of water to be treated when there is a peak.

[0166] Another aspect of the system disclosed is that the formation of ice material could help to separate some contaminants from the water (e.g.: salts).

[0167] Another aspect disclosed is to employ sea containers as a vessel for heat exchange whereby ambient air circulates through the containers, the resulting introduced air, either warm or cold, is then sprayed with a water mist.

[0168] Several alternative embodiments and examples have been described and illustrated herein. The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the features of the individual embodiments, and the possible combinations and variations of the components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the embodiments could be provided in any combination with the other embodiments disclosed herein. It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein. Accordingly, while the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited by the scope of the appended claims.

[0169] Although narrow claims are presented therein, it should be recognized the scope of this invention is much broader than presented by the claims. It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in an application that claims benefit of priority from this application.