GB2365956A

GB2365956A - Apparatus for cooling a liquid

Info

Publication number: GB2365956A
Application number: GB0117594A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Michael Lickes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-07-29
Filing date: 2001-07-19
Publication date: 2002-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-19
Also published as: GB2365956B; GB0018565D0; GB0117594D0

Abstract

Apparatus for cooling a liquid used in an industrial process has an upper fan unit 10, an intermediate cooling unit 12 in which liquid is sprayed downwards through colder air drawn upwards by the fan unit, and a lower collection unit 14 for the liquid. The apparatus is produced as a vertical stack 16 with a common plan outline, so that a number of stacks can be connected together. A stack to be used singly includes a trough 48, interposed between the cooling unit and the collection unit, which projects both outwards and inwards from every side of the stack. The trough acts to direct liquid so as not to allow a curtain of air to form in front of the air inlet 44. The packing members for this tower are in the form of arrays of multi- apertured members 30.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> "Apparatus for Cooling a Liquid." This invention relates to apparatus for cooling a liquid used in an industrial process.

It is known to cool liquids by spraying them downwards within confining walls through an upward flow of colder air.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for cooling a liquid in the form of a stack which is readily connectible to an identical stack or stacks to provide an installation of the required capacity. A subsidiary object of the present invention is to provide means for aiding a free flow of inlet air to apparatus for cooling a liquid.

According to the invention, apparatus for cooling a liquid comprises an upper fan unit, an intermediate cooling unit and a lower collection unit disposed in a vertical stack and having a common plan outline so that a plurality of stacks each of a standard capacity can be contiguously interconnected to provide a compact cooling installation of suitable total capacity for a process in which it is to be used.

The common plan outline is preferably a rectangle. Preferably, the fan unit includes a horizontal multi- apertured member below the fan which acts as a baffle to inhibit the upward expulsion of droplets of liquid from said unit.

Preferably, also, the cooling unit includes a liquid spray assembly above arrays of multi-apert ured members adapted to provide a large area over which the liquid can spread.

Preferably, the fan unit and the cooling unit hare removeable side panels to give access to the interior of the stack for cleaning and maintenance purposes.

Preferably, also, the collection unit includes a liquid outlet and a make-up water inlet.

A trough may be interposed between the cooling unit and the collection unit, project inwards from a11 sides of a stack used singly, and have at least one notch at its inner edge to direct liquid, which has drained down the sides of the cooling unit, in a stream clear of the sides of the collection unit so as not to allow the formation of a curtain of liquid hindering air flow through an air inlet in a side of the collection unit.

Alternatively, the apparatus comprises an installation consisting of a plurality of interconnected stacks and having a trough interposed between the cooling units and the collection units, said trough projecting inwards from the outer periphery of the installation and having notches at its inner edge to direct liquid, which has drained down those sides of the cooling units which form part of said periphery, in streams clear of those sides of the collection units which form part of said periphery and are arranged to contain air inlets so as not to allow the

formation. of. curtains of liquid hindering air flow through said inlets.

Preferably, the or each air inlet is fitted with a vertical multi-apertured member which acts as a baffle to prevent the ingress of large foreign bodies.

Preferably, also, each multi-apertured member comprises a unitary panel consisting of short parallel open-ended tubes.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:- Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus for cooling a liquid in the form of a single vertical stack; Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation. of the stack; Figure 3 is a plan view of a trough adapted to be incorporated in a single stack; Figure 4 is a section on an even larger scale through the trough on the line 4-4 in Figure 3; and Figure S is a diagrammatic plan view on the same scale as Figures 1 and 2 of an installation comprising a plurality of contiguously interconnected stacks.

Referring now to the drawings, apparatus for cooling a liquid used in an industrial process includes an upper fan unit 10, an intermediate cooling unit 12 and a lower collection unit 14 disposed in a vertical stack indicated generally at lo. Said units have a common plan outline consisting of an equilateral rectangle, that is to say a

square, so that any feasible number of, for example two, three, four or six, stacks 16 each of a standard capacity can if required be connected together in close contact with one another to provide a compact cooling installation of any convenient overall shape in plan view and of suitable total capacity for a process in which it is to be used. Each stack 16 is formed principally of plastics components with flush-fitting stainless steel connectors, for corrosion resistance. Thus two or more stacks 16 can be contiguously interconnected as shown in Figure 5 by means of adhesive/ sealant complemented by reinforcing bolts (not shown). The fan unit 10 has an open top 17 for the exhaust of air and contains a shroud 18 surrounding a fan 20 driven by an electric motor 22. Below the fan 20 there is disposed a horizontal multi-apertured member 24 which acts as a baffle to inhibit the upward expulsion of droplets of liquid from said unit. The cooling unit 12 includes a liquid spray assembly comprising an inlet pipe 26 carrying a liquid spray nozzle 28 disposed in the centre of said unit as seen in plan view. A low pressure nozzle 28 is used to ensure efficient water distribution without the formation of fire droplets. Below said assembly the cooling unit 12 is substantially filled with arrays of multi-apertured members 30 adapted to provide a large area over which the liquid can spread to maximise its cooling. The fan unit 10 and the cooling unit 12 have common removeable side panels 32 to give access to the interior of

the stack 16 for clearing and maintenance purposes. The collection unit 14 comprises a basin with a downwardly and outwardly sloping floor 34 and a drain plug 36 for easy drainage, an overflow aperture 38, a liquid outlet pipe 40, and an inlet 42 for make-up water. Normal water level is indicated at 43 in Figure 1. The unit 14 also has an air inlet opening 44 disposed in one of its sides and fitted with a vertical multi-apertured member 46 which acts as a baffle to prevent the ingress of large foreign bodies. A11 of the multi-apertured members 24, 30 and 46 comprise unitary panels of plastics material consisting of short open-ended tubes which are parallel though wavy. The wavy configuration together with the use of black plastics material allows very little light to pass through and thus minimises algal growth.

A trough 48 which has the form of a hollow square in plan view as shown in Figure 3 is interposed between the cooling unit 12 and the collection unit 14 and projects both outwards and inwards from all four sides of a stack 16 used singly as in Figures 1 and 2. The inner edge of the trough 48 is provided with a gully 50, and a v-shaped notch (not shown) is formed in the centre of each side of said gully to direct liquid, which has drained down the sides of the cooling unit 12 into the trough 48, in a stream clear of the sides of the collection unit 14, as indicated by the arrow 52 in Figure 2, so as not to allow the formation of a curtain of liquid hindering air flow through the inlet

opening 44. The outer edge of the trough 48 projects outwards in order to accommodate with clearance the lower ends of the side panels 32, which are spaced a short distance above the flat floor of the trough so that any liquid which it might collect from the interior or exterior surfaces of the panels can flow inwards to the gully 50 and thence join the streams into the collection unit 14.

Referring now to Figure 5, when apparatus for cooling a liquid comprises an installation of higher capacity consisting of a plurality of, say four as shown, interconnected stacks 16, a somewhat different trough 54 is required due to the trough 48 hereinbefore described projecting outwards from all four sides of the single stack 16 which define its common plan outline. The trough 54 is interposed between the cooling units 12 and the collection units 14, projects both outwards and inwards from the outer periphery 56 of the installation, and has notches (not shown) in a gully 58 provided around its inner edge to direct liquid, which has drained down those sides of the cooling units which form part of said periphery, in streams clear of those sides of the collection units 14 which form part of said periphery and are arranged to contain the air inlet openings 44 so as not to allow the formation of curtains of liquid hindering air flow through said openings. Each stack 16 can be supplied partly disassembled for easy export or erection in confined spaces. The liquids to

be cooed, normally for the purpose of recirculation, can be water or chemicals.

In a modification, the fan unit 10 and the cooling unit 12 have separate removeable side panels. In another modification, the collection unit 14 has air inlet openings 44 in two, three or all four of its sides.

Claims

Claims:- 1. Apparatus for cooling a liquid comprising an upper fan unit, an intermediate cooling unit and a lower collection unit disposed in a vertical stack and having a common plan outline so that a plurality of stacks each of a standard capacity car. be contiguously interconnected to provide a compact cooling installation of suitable total capacity for a process in which it is to be used.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the common plan outline is preferably a rectangle.
3. Apparatus according to either of the preceding claims, wherein the fan unit includes a horizontal multi-apertured member below the fan which acts as a baffle to inhibit the upward expulsion of droplets of liquid from said unit.
4. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the cooling unit includes a liquid spray assembly above arrays of multi-apertured members adapted to provide a large area over which the liquid can spread.
5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fan unit and the cooling unit have removeable side panes to give access to the interior of the stack for cleaning and maintenance purposes.
6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collection unit includes a liquid outlet and a make-up water inlet.
7. Apparatus according to any one. of the preceding claims, wherein a trough is interposed between the cocling

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unit and the collection unit, project inwards from a11 sides of a stack used singly, and has at least one notch at its inner edge to direct liquid, which has drained down the sides of the cooling unit, in a stream clear of the sides of the collection unit so as not to allow the formation of a curtain of liquid hindering air flow through an air inlet in a side of the collection unit.
8. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising an installation consisting of a plurality of interconnected stacks and having a trough interposed between the cooling units and the collection units, said trough projecting inwards from the outer periphery of the installation and having notches at its inner edge to direct liquid, which has drained down those sides of the cooling units which form part of said periphery, in streams clear of those sides of the collection units which form part of said periphery and are arranged to contain air inlets so as not to allow the formation of curtains of liquid hindering air flow through said inlets.
9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the or each air inlet is fitted with a vertical multi- apertured member which acts as a baffle to prevent the ingress of large foreign bodies.
10. Apparatus according to any one of claims 3, 4 and 9, wherein each multi-apertured member comprises a unitary panel consisting of short parallel open-ended tubes.

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11. Single-stack apparatus for cooling a liquid constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
12. Multi-stack apparatus for cooling a liquid constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.