ES2544536T3 - Device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components, as well as a submarine with such a device - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components, with a piston compressor (2) with means for introducing a liquid (22) into a compression chamber (12) of the piston compressor (2) during compression, and with a piston pump (14) for transporting the liquid, characterized in that a piston rod (40) of the piston compressor (2) is coupled as regards the movement to a linear drive with continuous regulation, the compressor driving the linear drive of piston (2) next to the piston pump (14).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components, as well as a submarine with such a device

The invention relates to a device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components with the characteristics indicated in the preamble of claim 1 as well as a submarine.

Piston compressors are often used to compress gases. However, the piston compressors generally have a dead space, also called damaging space, in which after the compression cycle there is compressed gas that expands during the suction cycle of the piston compressor, thus initially avoiding the suction of new gas This considerably reduces the degree of efficiency of the piston compressors, increasing this effect as the compression pressure increases.

In addition, the compression of gases takes place in a polytropic manner, so that the temperature in the compressors increases with the ratio between the final pressure / initial pressure. As the temperature rises, the compression work to be rendered increases. This and the dead space of the aforementioned piston compressors make it generally not possible to compress gases that are to be compressed at a relatively high pressure in a single stage process in a piston compressor. Therefore, it is often necessary to increase the pressure of a gas step by step in several piston compressors arranged one behind the other, the gas being cooled respectively between the compression steps.

This procedure is cumbersome and technically complex.

Documents DE296367A, DE357858A and US2,404,660 disclosed devices for the compression of gases having a piston compressor driven by a connecting rod and crank mechanism that sucks gas into a compression chamber and compresses it therein. To avoid dead space in the compression chamber and for cooling the gas located in the compression chamber, water is introduced into the compression chamber.

Document DE102009040379B3 describes a device for compressing gas that has a pressure tank with a gas inlet, a gas outlet and a liquid inlet and in which the gas located in the pressure tank is compressed by means of the inlet a liquid in the pressure vessel.

A piston machine known from DE102006053923A1 has a piston compressor and means for introducing a coolant into a compression chamber of the piston compressor. A piston rod of the piston compressor is coupled with respect to the movement to a crank mechanism.

From DE102004052168A1 the way of operating a piston machine instead of a crank mechanism with a linear drive was disclosed.

In a device for compressing a fluid, known from GB455,829A, intended for use in the beer industry, a cooling liquid is introduced into the compression chamber of a piston compressor. The piston compressor and the piston pump have a common drive.

Against this background, the invention aims to provide a device for compressing a gaseous fluid

or composed of gaseous and liquid components that allow the compression of a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components at a relatively high pressure with a single stage process in a piston compressor, the piston compressor of the device being able to adapt quickly to different or changing compression tasks.

This objective is achieved by a device with the characteristics indicated in claim 1. Advantageous variants of the device result from the dependent claims, the following description and the drawing. According to the invention, the characteristics indicated in the dependent claims can be used by themselves.

or in combinations suitable for making additional variants of the device according to claim 1.

The device according to the invention for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components has a piston compressor. In order to compress the fluid in the piston compressor in a single stage at a relatively high pressure, the device has means for introducing a liquid into a compression chamber of the piston compressor during compression and a plunger pump for transporting the liquid. Therefore, conveyor means are provided with which a liquid is transported from a storage tank.

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liquid to the compression chamber of the piston compressor. In addition, control means are provided that control the device such that during the compression of the fluid the liquid is introduced into the compression chamber of the piston compressor.

The objective of this embodiment of the device according to the invention is to introduce liquid into the compression chamber of the piston compressor during the compression of the fluid. By this measure, the fluid located in the compression chamber is cooled during the compression process. At the same time, after completing the compression of the fluid, with a corresponding dosage, the dead space existing in the compression chamber is completely filled with the non-compressible liquid, so that gas is no longer found in the compression chamber and virtually has removed dead space. Therefore, in the process according to the invention the effects generally related to the dead space cannot occur. By means of the cooling produced by the introduction of the liquid into the compression chamber and the removal of the dead space it is possible to compress gases in the piston compressor in a single stage process at a relatively high pressure.

According to the invention, the piston rod of the piston compressor is preferably coupled with respect to the movement to a linear drive with continuous regulation. A linear drive with continuous regulation means a linear drive in which the movement path and the speed of movement of a component of the linear drive can be modified without graduation, which can be moved by translation and is coupled to the piston rod . Therefore, the path traveled by the piston of the piston compressor and the speed thereof can be regulated continuously during suction and compression of the fluid, so that the piston compressor can adapt quickly to different or changing compression tasks.

Conveniently, the compression chamber of the piston compressor has, in addition to a first inlet for the fluid to be compressed, a second inlet to introduce the liquid. On the inlet side of the first inlet of the compression chamber a valve is arranged in the usual manner that prevents fluid from leaving the compression chamber of the piston compressor during its compression cycle. Similarly, a valve with the same function is conveniently arranged on the inlet side of the second inlet of the compression chamber. These valves can advantageously be check valves.

Advantageously, the piston pump for transporting the liquid is connected to the second inlet of the piston compressor. Said piston pump that allows a very accurate liquid dosage, so that exactly the amount of liquid necessary to fill the dead space and to cool the fluid can be pumped into the compression chamber of the piston compressor, is performed so convenient so that it can counteract the compression pressure in the compression chamber of the piston compressor.

Advantageously, the duty cycles of the piston compressor and the piston pump are synchronized. That is to say that the piston compressor and / or the piston pump are preferably controlled in such a way that when the piston compressor performs a compression cycle the piston pump simultaneously performs an ejection cycle by pumping liquid into the compressor compression chamber. of piston and that, when the piston compressor sucks the fluid to be compressed, the piston pump also simultaneously performs a suction cycle by sucking the liquid to be introduced into the compressor compression chamber from a liquid reservoir piston

Preferably, the linear drive is formed by an electrically operated threaded mechanism. In this case, a threaded spindle of the threaded mechanism is coupled to the piston rod of the piston compressor in terms of translational movement. An axially immovable component, screwed onto the threaded spindle is rotatably coupled to an electrically driven motor. Especially advantageously, the threaded mechanism is a threaded planetary roller mechanism that allows the transmission of relatively high forces and high positioning accuracy of the threaded spindle.

According to the invention, the piston compressor and the piston pump have a common drive. For example, a threaded mechanism may be provided with a threaded spindle that can be moved by translation, the threaded spindle being coupled in terms of movement, at one end, to the piston rod of the piston compressor and, at the other end, to a piston rod of the piston pump. The piston compressor and the piston pump are made and / or arranged in this case in such a way that in case of a translational movement of the threaded spindle, the piston compressor performs a compression cycle, while the piston pump performs a expulsion cycle and the piston compressor and the piston pump respectively perform a

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suction cycle in case of a screw spindle movement in the opposite direction.

The invention is especially suitable for the expulsion of CO2 from a submarine. In submarines, it is necessary to properly fix the carbon dioxide or CO2 contained in the interior air of the submarine during a submerged trip, originated especially in the air exhaled by the submarine's crew and store it in the submarine in tanks intended for it or evacuate it from the submarine to the outside environment of this.

From DE102006048716B3 a process was disclosed in which the CO2 fixed in a CO2 fixing device is separated from a CO2 fixing agent by water vapor and then, after dissolving in water, it is evacuated from the submarine. The device according to the invention can be advantageously provided to evacuate the fluid formed by CO2 and water vapor originated after the separation of the CO2 from the fixing agent, from the submarine directly in gaseous form, that is, without prior dissolution in water. For this, the fluid is sucked by the piston compressor into its compression chamber and compressed therein, with liquid being introduced into the compression chamber during compression. By introducing the liquid, the fluid can be compressed in the piston compressor, in a single stage, at a pressure level that allows it to be expelled under pressure from the submarine against the water pressure in the outer environment of the submarine during a submerged trip

The water vapor necessary to separate the CO2 from the CO2 fixing agent is generally generated in an evaporator in which the water is boiled. Advantageously, the condensate originated in the evaporator is suctioned by a pump and is introduced as a coolant into the compression chamber of the piston compressor during the compression of the fluid formed by CO2 and water vapor.

Therefore, the invention also relates to a submarine having at least one device according to one of claims 4 to 10. This device serves the submarine to evacuate to the outer environment of the submarine the CO2 originated in the air exhaled by the crew of the submarine inside the submarine.

In the following, the invention is described in detail with the aid of embodiments shown in the drawing. In the drawing they show:

Figure 1, a device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components in a very simplified schematic diagram and Figure 2, a submarine with the device according to Figure 1 in a very simplified schematic diagram.

The device shown in Figure 1 has a piston compressor 2 in which a piston 4 can linearly slide into a cylinder 6 to suction and compress a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components. At an inlet 8, a feed conduit 10 flows into a compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2. Through the feed conduit 10 and the inlet 8 a fluid can be sucked into a suction cycle of the piston compressor 2 a the compression chamber 12 thereof and then compressed therein.

In addition, the device shown in FIG. 1 has a plunger pump 14 with a plunger 18 arranged in a linearly movable manner within a cylinder 16. With the plunger pump 14, the liquid 22 stored in a reservoir 20 is sucked, through of a feed conduit 24 leading to an inlet 26 of the plunger pump 14, to an ejection chamber 28 of the plunger pump 14 and is then expelled, through an outlet 30, to a conduit 32.

The conduit 32 flows into an inlet 14 made in the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor

2. That is to say that by means of the piston pump 14 liquid 22 is transported from the reservoir 20 to the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2, the manner and purpose of this measurement being described in detail below.

The piston compressor 2 and the piston pump 14 are driven by a common drive. It is a threaded mechanism with a threaded spindle 38, actuated by an electric motor 36. The threaded spindle 38 is coupled with respect to the movement, at a first end, to a piston rod 40 of the piston compressor 2 and, on the other end, to a piston rod 42 of the piston pump 14.

The piston rod 42 of the piston pump 14 is driven to the piston 18 through the ejection chamber 28 of the piston pump 14. Therefore, and by the relatively large diameter of the piston rod 14, the chamber volume of ejection 28 is reduced to an annular gap around the piston rod 42.

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The threaded spindle 38 can be moved by the electric motor 36 in a direction A and in a direction B opposite to it. Correspondingly, the piston rod 40 with the piston 4 and the piston rod 42 with the piston 18 can move together in directions A and B. The piston compressor 2 and the piston pump 14 are made and arranged in such a way. so that during a movement of the threaded spindle 38 in the

5 direction A, the two respectively perform a suction cycle, while during a movement of the threaded spindle 38 in the direction B, the piston compressor 2 performs a compression cycle and the piston pump 14 performs an ejection cycle.

The mode of operation of the device shown in Figure 1 is as follows:

10 When the threaded spindle 38 is driven by the electric motor 36 in the A direction, the piston compressor 2 performs a suction cycle during which a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components is sucked into the compression chamber 12 of the piston pump 14 through the conduit 10. During this, the second inlet 34, made in the compression chamber 12, is closed by a valve

15 retention 44 disposed in the conduit 30. At the same time, the plunger pump 14 performs a suction cycle during which the liquid 22 located in the reservoir 20 is sucked into the ejection chamber 28 of the plunger pump.

Next, the electric motor 36 is controlled by a control device not shown in the drawing, of such

20 so that the threaded spindle 38 moves in the direction B. The piston compressor 3 then performs a compression cycle during which the previously sucked fluid is compressed in the compression chamber 12. During this, the check valve 44 and a check valve 46 disposed in the conduit 10 prevents fluid from leaving the compression chamber 12. As soon as a desired compression pressure has been adjusted in the compression chamber 12, the fluid is evacuated through an outlet 48 which it is made in compression chamber 12

25 and to which a conduit 50 is connected, a prestressed check valve 52 being arranged in the conduit 50 that opens only when the desired compression pressure has been reached.

Since the piston pump 14 simultaneously carries out an expulsion cycle to the compression cycle of the piston compressor 2, the liquid 22 located in the ejection chamber 28 of the piston pump 14 is transported

30 during compression of the fluid to the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2. During this, a check valve 54 disposed in the feed line 24 prevents the return of the liquid 22 to the feed line 24.

Since the liquid 22 is fed into the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2 during the cycle of

35 compression, the fluid located in the compression chamber 12 is cooled by the liquid 22, so that the temperature increase during compression is considerably smaller compared to a plunger pump without liquid feeding. In addition, after opening of the check valve 52, when the piston 4 is in its neutral position, the liquid 22 fills the entire dead space in the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2. This and the cooling of the fluid located in the compression chamber

40 12 allow the compression of the fluid at higher compression pressures than would be possible without the introduction of liquid into the compression chamber 12.

A submarine 56 is schematically simplified in FIG. 2. Said submarine 56 presents the device for compressing a gaseous liquid or composed of gaseous and liquid components, 45 which is represented in FIG. 1. Furthermore, in submarine 56 it is arranged a CO2 fixation device

58. Through a duct 60, the submarine's indoor air is directed to the CO2 fixation device 58. In this, the CO2 contained in the air is fixed by a CO2 fixing agent 62 and the air released by the CO2 is it leads back to the interior space of submarine 56 through a conduit 64.

50 The CO2 fixing agent 62 is regenerated by water vapor that separates the CO2 from the CO2 fixing agent 62. The water vapor is provided by an evaporator 66 disposed in the submarine 56. Through a water inlet 68 is introduced water in evaporator 66 and evaporates in it. Next, the water vapor is conducted through a conduit 70 to the CO2 fixation device 58.

55 After the regeneration of the CO2 fixing agent 62, a mixture of CO2 and water vapor is found in the CO2 fixing device 58. During a suction cycle of the piston compressor 2, this mixture is conducted, through the supply line 10 connected to the CO2 fixing device 58, to the compression chamber 12 thereof, is compressed therein and is conducted through from conduit 50 to conduit 72 flooded by seawater. From this, the mixture of CO2 and water vapor reaches the outside environment of submarine 56.

60 In order to evacuate the mixture of CO2 and water vapor from submarine 56 during the submerged voyage of the submarine, the

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The mixture of CO2 and water vapor must be compressed in the piston compressor 2 at a pressure higher than the pressure of the submarine environment. The generation of such pressure is achieved because during the compression of the mixture of CO2 and water vapor a liquid is introduced into the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor

2. As a liquid, a condensate that accumulates at the bottom of the evaporator 66 is used. This condensate is fed to the plunger pump 14. To evacuate the condensate from the evaporator 66 to the plunger pump 14, the feed conduit 24 which flows in the ejection chamber 28 of the plunger pump 14 it is connected to the evaporator 66. By means of the plunger pump 14, the condensate is suctioned out of the evaporator 66 and pumped in an expulsion cycle of the plunger pump 14, through the conduit 32, to the compression chamber 12 of the piston compressor 2.

List of reference signs

2 Piston compressor 4 Piston 6 Cylinder 8 Inlet 10 Feed duct 12 Compression chamber 14 Piston pump 16 Cylinder 18 Piston 20 Tank 22 Liquid 24 Feed duct 26 Inlet 28 Ejection chamber 30 Outlet 32 Duct 34 Inlet 36 Electromotor 38 Threaded spindle 40 Piston rod 42 Piston rod 44 Check valve 46 Check valve 48 Outlet 50 Duct 52 Check valve 54 Check valve 56 Submarine 58 CO2 fixing device 60 Duct 62 CO2 fixing agent 64 Duct 66 Evaporator 68 Inlet of water 70 Duct 72 Duct

A Address B Address

Claims (3)

1.-Device for compressing a gaseous fluid or composed of gaseous and liquid components, with a piston compressor (2) with means for introducing a liquid (22) into a compression chamber (12) of the 5 piston compressor (2) during compression, and with a piston pump (14) for transporting the liquid, characterized in that a piston rod (40) of the piston compressor (2) is coupled as for the movement to a drive linear with continuous regulation, the linear drive activating the piston compressor (2) next to the piston pump (14). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the compression chamber (12) has a first inlet (8) for the fluid to be compressed and a second inlet (34) for the introduction of the liquid (22). 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the piston pump (14) for transporting the liquid is connected to the second inlet (34) of the 15 piston compressor (2). 4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an electrically driven threaded drive constitutes the linear drive. 5. Submarine (56), characterized in that the submarine (56) has at least one device according to one of claims 1 to 4 for evacuating a gaseous fluid from the submarine (56). 7