EP4624811A1

EP4624811A1 - System and method of heat transfer from cubicle with heat generating device to heating installation

Info

Publication number: EP4624811A1
Application number: EP24167907.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marcin Lagiewka; Martin Stefanka
Original assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
Current assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
Priority date: 2024-03-29
Filing date: 2024-03-29
Publication date: 2025-10-01

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of cubicles with heat generating device heat recovery systems in particular for switchgear heat recovery systems. More specifically, the invention relates to the heat recovery systems that can be installed independently of the heat generating elements inside the cubicle, and allows to be pluged into existing heating installations.

According to the invention a heat exchange system comprising: a cubicle (1) comprising: at least one heat generating devices (1a) and an absorber (3) configured to receive a heat, wherein the absorber (3) is configured to receive the heat from at least one heat generating device (1a); and at least one pump (4, 8) which is disposed in the line extending from the absorber (3).

Description

Technical field

Prior Art

The heat recovery systems are known to be used for small cubicle with heat generating devices or power stations. They usually require the custom system to be designed for specific type of heating elements and custom for one specific cubicle.
Document EP2503257B9 describes a shelter that is a transportable enclosure designed for air conditioning. It consists of enclosure and externally mounted containers for cooling devices. The enclosure has passages for heat recirculation to the container space. The containers house cooling devices that operate independently, with one container utilizing air-cooling and the other using fluid-cooling heat exchangers. Fire-resistant materials provide a separation between the enclosure interior and the container space, with activatable sections for covering duct openings during a fire. The design also includes features such as inclined heat exchangers, ventilation devices, and access doors, ensuring efficient and safe air conditioning within the shelter.
Document JP3885193B2 describes the cubicle power receiving device that accommodates a power generation device and an electric device. The device utilizes a water-cooled partition wall to separate the power generation device and other electric device sections. The water-cooled partition wall also serves as a cooler for both the power generator and electric devices. Additionally, it can be utilized as part of a waste heat recovery system attached to the power generation apparatus. The water or refrigerant inside the water-cooled partition wall is circulated in a absorber to dissipate heat, and it can also be supplied to an external heat consuming facility. Overall, this design ensures efficient cooling and heat management within the cubicle type power receiving device.
Eventhough there exist methods of heat recovery from cubicles with heat generating devices most of the commonly used cubicles do not use the heat dissipated from the electrical devices and conductors turning the hot air which could be used for heating water into waste.
The object of the present invention is to provide a universal heat recovery system that could be applied for multiple types of cubicles with heat generating devices without need for customization.

Summary of invention

According to the first embodiments of the invention a heat exchange system is provided comprising:

a cubicle comprising:
1. a) at least one heat generating devices and
2. b) an absorber configured to receive a heat, wherein the absorber is configured to receive the heat from at least one heat generating device,
and at least one pump which is disposed in the line extending from the absorber.

Preferably it further comprises a mixing valve configured to be coupled with an existing warm liquid heating installation. The mixing valve is configured to transfer the heat to the existing warm liquid heating installation wherein the absorber is coupled with the mixing valve such that the heat from the absorber is transferred to the existing warm liquid heating installation wherein the at least one pump is configured to transport the heat from the absorber to the mixing valve.
Preferably the coupling between absorber and the mixing valve comprises two heat transfer loops:

A first heat transfer loop comprising: the absorber, a first pump, a first heat exchanger, and a fluid tank, wherein the first pump is disposed in a line extending from the absorber to the heat exchanger. It is configured to transport the heat from the absorber to the heat exchanger coupled with the fluid tank.
A second heat transfer loop comprising a second pump, a second heat exchanger, the fluid tank and the mixing valve. The second pump is disposed in a line extending from the second heat exchanger to the mixing valve and is configured to transport the heat from the second heat exchanger coupled with the fluid tank to the mixing valve.

Preferably the heat generating devices are electrical devices and/or conductors.
Preferably the cubicle comprises air inlets and air outlets, configured to exchange an air inside the cubicle with an air outside of the cubicle.
Preferably the at least one air inlet and the at least one air outlet is configured to exchange the air from inside the cubicle to the outside of the cubicle by convection.
Preferably the at least one air inlet and the at least one air outlet is configured to exchange the air from inside the cubicle to the outside of the cubicle by forced convection.
According to the second embodiments of the invention a method of heat transfer from the cubicle 1 with a heat generating devices to a heating installation using a heat exchange system according to first embodiment of the invention, comprising following steps:

heating a fluid inside an absorber by an air heated by at least one heat generating device;
transporting the fluid from the absorber by using at least one pump.

Preferably after the step of transporting the fluid from the absorber by using a first pump the method comprises additional steps of:

transporting the heat from a fluid tank to a mixing valve with a cold fluid by using a second pump;
using a first heat exchanger to transfer the heat between the fluid from the absorber and a tank fluid inside the fluid tank;
using the second heat exchanger to transfer the heat between the tank fluid inside the fluid tank and the cold fluid from heating installation;

Preferably the air inside the cubicle, by means of air inlets and air outlets, is exchanged by a convection with the air outside of the cubicle.
Preferably the air inside the cubicle, by means of air inlets and air outlets, is exchanged by forced convection with the air outside of the cubicle.

Description of the drawing

The invention will now be presented in more detail in a preferable embodiment with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows schematic of the first embodiment of the heat transfer system.
Fig. 2 shows schematic of the second embodiment of the heat transfer system.

Preffered embodiments of the inventions

The invention relates to a heat recovery system and method of heat transfer for cubicles with heat generating devices preferably for switchgear, switchboard, controlgear, rectifier or other similar devices, wherein the system can be applied to the cubicle with heat generating device without customization of components of the system for specific heat dissipating elements.
The heat exchange system according to the first embodiment of the invention comprises one heat transfer loop. The heat is transported from the absorber 3 to external heating installation 7 without intermediate heat transfer elements.
Heat exchange system comprises a cubicle 1, at least one heat generating devices 1a an absorber 3, first pump 4 and external heating installation 7. Preferably the heat exchange system further comprises mixing valve 6 which can be coupled with existing warm liquid heating installation. The mixing valve 6 is configured to transfer the heat to existing warm liquid heating installation 7. The fluid constitutes means of transporting heat and is configured to cycle inside the heat exchange system. Absorber 3 is configured to receive the heat from at least one heat generating devices 1a. The first pump 4 is disposed in the line extending from the absorber 3 to the mixing valve 6. A mixing valve 6 is coupled with existing warm liquid heating installation 7 and the mixing valve 6 is configured to transfer the heat to existing external heating installation 7. The absorber 3 is coupled with mixing valve 6 such that the heat from the absorber 3 is transferred to the existing external heating installation 7. First pump 4 is configured to transport heated fluid from the absorber 3 to the mixing valve 6, and cooled fluid from the mixing valve 6 back to heat absorber 3.
The heat exchange system according to the second embodiment of the invention differ from the first embodiment in that the heat is transported from the absorber 3 to external heating installation 7 with two heat transfer loops. It comprises of a cubicle 1 that contains at least one heat generating device 1a and an absorber 3. The heat generating device 1a can be any electrical component inside the cubicle 1 such as electrical devices or conductors. The absorber 3 receives heat from air heated by the heat generating devices 1a. The absorber 3 is made of metal preferably metal with high thermal conductivity coefficient such as aluminum or copper and is mounted on the hot air outlets 2b. A first pump 4 is disposed in line extending from the absorber 3 to the first heat exchanger 9 and is configured to transport the heat by means of first fluid from the absorber 3 to the first heat exchanger 9. The first pump 4 also returns the first cooled fluid from the first heat exchanger 5 back to the absorber 3. The first heat exchanger 9 is coupled in fluid tank 6 to enable heat transfer between first heat transfer loop and second heat transfer loop by using first heat exchanger 9 and second heat exchanger 10. The tank fluid inside the fluid tank 5 receives the heat from the first heated fluid by first heat exchanger 9.
The system further comprises a mixing valve 6, and a second pump 8 that is disposed in line extending from the second heat exchanger 10 to the mixing valve 6. The heat from fluid tank 5 is transported by second fluid inside the second heat transfer loop by using second heat exchanger 10. The second pump 8 transports the heat from the second heat exchanger 10 to the mixing valve 6. In the mixing valve 6 the heat is transported to external heating installation 7. The cooled fluid from external heating installation can be then pumped back to the second heat exchanger 10 by the second pump 8.
The first fluid, second fluid and fluid inside the fluid tank 5 can be any fluid from the list: acetone, ammonia, ethane, methanol, methylamine, pentane, propylene or water, depending on the material and expected temperature of operation.
Additionally the cubicle 1 comprises air inlets 2a and air outlets 2b that allow the exchange of air between the inside and outside of the cubicle 1. This exchange can occur through convection or forced convection, For example using the fans aiding removing the excess heat that was not transfered to the absorber 3.
The second aspect of the invention is a method of heat transfer using the previously described systems, it comprises following steps:

Heating the fluid inside the absorber 3 by air heated by at least one heat generating devices 1a;
The first pump 4 then moves the first heated fluid from the absorber 3 to the fluid tank 5;
Heat is transferred between the first heated fluid from the absorber 3 and the fluid inside the fluid tank 5 using the first heat exchanger 9;
The heat from fluid of the fluid tank 5 is transferred to the cold fluid from the heating installation 7 using the second heat exchanger 10;
Finally the second pump 8 transports the second heated fluid from the fluid tank 5 to the mixing valve 6.

The hot fluid is then fed into the external heating installation 7 and can be used for example for heating the household.
Since the heat transfer inside the cubicle 1 is done by heating the air by the electrical components it is possible to install the absorber 3 on the air outlets 2b where it would be possible to recover some of the dissipated heat from the air that otherwise would be wasted. The solution does not require instalment of custom heat pipes or other thermal conductivity elements between the heat generating devices 1a and the heat transfer loops. Such system can be installed in any cubicle 1 without much consideration of the internal components and geometry.
Overall, this heat exchange system transfers heat generated by electrical devices or conductors to a fluid, which is then utilized for heating purposes in a heating installation.
The system also incorporates mechanisms for cooling the air inside the cubicle 1, contributing to effective heat dissipation and recovery of some of the waste heat.

1: - cubicle
1a: - heat generating devices
2a: - air inlets
2b: - air outlets
3: - absorber
4: - first pump
5: - fluid tank
6: - mixing valve
7: - heating installation
8: - second pump
9: - first heat exchanger
10: - second heat exchanger

Claims

A heat exchange system comprising:
a cubicle (1) comprising:
a) at least one heat generating devices (1a) and

b) an absorber (3) configured to receive a heat, wherein the absorber (3) is configured to receive the heat from at least one heat generating device (1a)

and at least one pump (4, 8) which is disposed in the line extending from the absorber (3).
The heat exchange system according to claim 1 characterized in that it further comprises a mixing valve (6) configured to be coupled with an existing warm liquid heating installation (7), wherein the mixing valve (6) is configured to transfer the heat to the existing warm liquid heating installation (7) wherein the absorber (3) is coupled with the mixing valve (6) such that the heat from the absorber (3) is transferred to the existing warm liquid heating installation (7) wherein the at least one pump (4, 8) is configured to transport the heat from the absorber (3) to the mixing valve (6).
The heat exchange system according to claim 2 characterized in that the coupling between absorber (3) and the mixing valve (6) comprises two heat transfer loops:
a first heat transfer loop comprising: the absorber (3), a first pump (4), a first heat exchanger (9), and a fluid tank (5), wherein the first pump (4) is disposed in a line extending from the absorber (3) to the heat exchanger (9) and is configured to transport the heat from the absorber (3) to the heat exchanger (9) coupled with the fluid tank (5);

a second heat transfer loop comprising a second pump (8), a second heat exchanger (10), the fluid tank (5) and the mixing valve (6) wherein the second pump (8) is disposed in a line extending from the second heat exchanger (10) to the mixing valve (6) and is configured to transport the heat from the second heat exchanger (10) coupled with the fluid tank (5) to the mixing valve (6).
The heat exchange system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the heat generating devices (1a) are electrical devices and/or conductors.
The heat exchange system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the cubicle (1) comprises at least one air inlet (2a) and at least one air outlet (2b), configured to exchange an air inside the cubicle (1) with an air outside of the cubicle (1).
The heat exchange system according to claim 5, characterized in that the cubicle (1) comprising the at least one air inlet (2a) and the at least one air outlet (2b) is configured to exchange the air from inside the cubicle (1) to the outside of the cubicle (1) by a convection.
The heat exchange system according to claim 5, characterized in that the at least one air inlet (2a) and the at least one air outlet (2b) is configured to exchange the air from inside the cubicle (1) to the outside of the cubicle (1) by a forced convection.
A method of heat transfer from the cubicle 1 with a heat generating devices to a heating installation using a heat exchange system according to any of the claims 1-7, comprising following steps:
- heating a fluid inside an absorber (3) by an air heated by at least one heat generating devices (1a);

- transporting the fluid from the absorber (3) by using at least one pump (4, 8).
The method according to claim 8 characterized in that after the step of transporting the fluid from the absorber (3) by using a first pump (4) the method comprises additional steps of:
- transporting the heat from a fluid tank (5) to a mixing valve (6) with a cold fluid by using a second pump (8);

- using a first heat exchanger (9) to transfer the heat between the fluid from the absorber (3) and a tank fluid inside the fluid tank (5);

- using the second heat exchanger (10) to transfer the heat between the tank fluid inside the fluid tank (5) and the cold fluid from heating installation (7);
The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the air inside the cubicle (1), by means of air inlets (2a) and air outlets (2b), is exchanged by a convection with the air outside of the cubicle (1).
The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the air inside the cubicle (1), by means of air inlets (2a) and air outlets (2b), is exchanged by forced convection with the air outside of the cubicle (1).