JP6415855B2 - Circulation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a circulation system for circulating a heat medium composed of cold water or hot water. The circulation system by this invention is utilized as an air-conditioning system for controlling the environment of an air-conditioned room based on the thermal radiation between the heat medium which consists of cold water or warm water, for example.

  In recent years, air conditioning equipment that controls the environment of an air-conditioned room based on the exchange of radiant heat with a human body or OA equipment has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning facility including a radiating panel disposed on a ceiling of an air-conditioned room and a circulation pipe provided along the radiating panel. In this air conditioning equipment, the radiant panel is cooled or heated by circulating a heat medium made of cold water or hot water through a circulation pipe. Then, the environment of the air-conditioned room is adjusted by heat exchange between the radiation panel and the human body or the OA equipment based on the heat radiation.

  By the way, in the air conditioning system using radiant heat as described above, if the circulation pipe circulating the heat medium breaks due to corrosion or the joint of the circulation pipe loosens and comes off, the heat medium is removed from the circulation pipe. It is possible that water leaks and damages the air-conditioned room. In particular, since a supply system for supplying a heat medium to the circulation pipe is generally connected to the circulation pipe, when water leaks from the circulation pipe, not only the heat medium existing in the circulation pipe, It is conceivable that the liquid heat medium from the supply system continues to leak into the air-conditioned room. Therefore, in an air conditioning system using radiant heat, suppressing damage at the time of water leakage is one of important issues.

  In order to prevent the occurrence of water leakage, for example, in the air conditioning system described in Patent Document 1 described above, a vacuum system including a vacuum pump and a vacuum tank is connected to a circulation system including a circulation pipe. It has been proposed to maintain the overall pressure always below atmospheric pressure.

JP 2008-215653 A

  When the pressure of the entire system of the air conditioning system is always less than atmospheric pressure, the heat medium circulating in the circulation system contains a large amount of air such as bubbles, and as a result, the heat medium is circulated. It is possible that the noise will increase. For this reason, there is a concern that the advantage of “low noise”, which is a feature of an air conditioning system using radiant heat, compared to an air conditioning system using forced convection is impaired.

  An object of this invention is to provide the circulation system which can solve such a subject effectively.

  The present invention is a circulation system that circulates a heat medium containing at least one of cold water and hot water, and includes a circulation pipe that constitutes a circulation flow path for circulating the heat medium, and a circulation pump connected to the circulation pipe. Including a circulation system, a vacuum pipe connected to the circulation pipe via a first valve, and a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum pipe, and leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe A leakage detection system for detecting, and while the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the leakage detection system, the first valve of the vacuum system is closed, and the leakage of the heating medium is detected by the leakage detection system. When detected, the first valve of the vacuum system is opened, whereby the pressure in the circulation pipe becomes less than atmospheric pressure.

  In the present invention, the vacuum system further includes a vacuum tank connected to the vacuum pipe, and while the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the leak detection system, the pressure in the vacuum tank is increased by the vacuum pump. It may be maintained below atmospheric pressure.

  In the present invention, the circulation pipe of the circulation system may be disposed at least partially inside the air-conditioned room whose environment is to be controlled, or may be disposed adjacent to the air-conditioned room. In this case, the circulation system may further include a heat radiating device such as a radiating panel which is disposed in the air-conditioned room and is adjacent to the circulation pipe.

  In the present invention, the water leakage detection system may be a device installed in the air-conditioned room so as to directly detect the presence of water leakage, or the occurrence of water leakage is detected by detecting a decrease in pressure in the circulation pipe. It may be a device for judging.

  The circulation system according to the present invention includes a heat medium supply pipe connected to the circulation pipe via a second valve, and a heat medium supply tank connected to the supply pipe, and the circulation A supply system for supplying the heat medium to the system may be further provided. In this case, the second valve of the replenishment system is closed at least from when the leakage of the heat medium is detected by the water leakage detection system until the leakage of the heat medium subsides. When the supply tank is installed at a lower position than the second valve, the supply system may further include a supply pump connected to the supply pipe. On the other hand, when the supply tank is installed higher than the second valve, the supply system may not include a supply pump.

  A circulation system according to the present invention includes, in addition to a circulation pipe for circulating a heat medium, a vacuum system including a vacuum pipe connected to the circulation pipe via a first valve and a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum pipe, and a circulation pipe. And a water leakage detection system for detecting leakage of the heat medium. In the circulation system according to the present invention, the first valve of the vacuum system is closed while the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the leakage detection system, that is, normally. For this reason, normally, the pressure in the circulation pipe is maintained at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, noise generated when the heat medium circulates in the circulation pipe can be suppressed. Further, when the leakage of the heat medium is detected by the water leakage detection system, the first valve of the vacuum system is opened. As a result, the pressure in the circulation pipe can be reduced to less than atmospheric pressure, which can reduce the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress noise by maintaining a high pressure in the circulation pipe at normal times, and to reduce water leakage by reducing the pressure in the circulation pipe to less than atmospheric pressure at the time of water leakage. it can.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circulation system of a circulation system according to the present invention, which is used as an air conditioning system for controlling the environment of an air-conditioned room. FIG. 2 shows a circulation system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a water leakage detection device of a type that directly detects water leakage as an example of a water leakage detection system.

Circulation system will be described below embodiments of the present invention. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, an example will be described in which a circulation system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as an air conditioning system for controlling the environment of an air-conditioned room 11. The application of the circulation system 10 is not limited to the air conditioning system, and the circulation system 10 can be used in various applications in which leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe may occur.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the components arranged in the air-conditioned room 11 in the circulation system 10 include a circulation pipe 21 that circulates a heat medium containing at least one of cold water and hot water, and a circulation pipe 21 adjacent to the circulation pipe 21. And a radiating panel 26 provided. In FIG. 1, an example in which the circulation pipe 21 and the radiation panel 26 are arranged along the ceiling of the air-conditioned room 11 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, although not shown, the circulation pipe 21 and the radiation panel 26 may be disposed along the floor or wall of the air-conditioned room 11.

  Next, the entire circulation system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The circulation system 10 detects a leak from the circulation system 20 including the circulation pipe 21 that circulates the heat medium, the heat exchange system 15 for exchanging heat between the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21, and the circulation pipe 21. The water leakage detection system 30 to be connected, the vacuum system 40 connected to the circulation system 20, and the replenishment system 50 connected to the circulation system 20 are provided. Each system is controlled by the control device 12. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

(Circulation system)
As shown in FIG. 2, the circulation system 20 includes the above-described circulation pipe 21 that circulates the heat medium, and a circulation pump 23 connected to the circulation pipe 21. The circulation pump 23 is pressurized by the expansion tank 61 so that the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure or higher than atmospheric pressure while the first valve 42 described later is closed. The For example, while the first valve 42 is closed, the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 is in the range of 0.02 MPa to 1.0 MPa. When there are a plurality of air-conditioned rooms 11, a plurality of circulation pumps 23 may be installed, and the circulation piping 21 may be divided into a plurality of systems. The circulation pipe 21 may be provided with a control valve 62 that can be opened and closed.

(Heat exchange system)
The heat exchange system 15 is configured so that the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21 can exchange heat with the second heat medium in the pipe 17 in the heat exchanger 19. As shown in FIG. 2, a heat source device 16 that controls the temperature of the second heat medium circulating in the pipe 17 and a pump 18 that circulates the second heat medium in the pipe 17 are connected to the pipe 17. ing. When the circulation system 10 is used as an air conditioning system for cooling, the heat source unit 16 supplies the second heat medium having a temperature lower than the target temperature of the air-conditioned room 11 toward the heat exchanger 19, thereby circulating The heat medium in the pipe 21 is cooled. As a result, the heat medium made of cold water circulates in the circulation pipe 21. When the circulation system 10 is used as an air conditioning system for heating, the heat source unit 16 supplies a second heat medium having a temperature higher than the target temperature of the air-conditioned room 11 toward the heat exchanger 19, thereby circulating The heat medium in the pipe 21 is heated. As a result, the heat medium made of warm water circulates in the circulation pipe 21. In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 2, although the system in case the 2nd heat medium for either cold water or warm water is prepared is shown for simplification of explanation, it is not restricted to this. . For example, as the heat source device 16, one for cold water and one for hot water are provided, and the second heat for cold water is supplied to the heat exchanger 19 at a portion of the pipe 17 connected to the heat exchanger 19. You may make it switch which medium or the 2nd heating medium for warm water is supplied. Further, as the heat source unit 16, there are provided for cold water and for hot water respectively, and the pipe 17, the heat exchanger 19, the circulation pipe 21 and the circulation pump 23 are also for cold water and hot water. Then, it is possible to switch between supplying a heat medium made of hot water or a heat medium made of cold water to the radiation panel 26. An automatic control valve or the like can be used as a means for switching.

(Vacuum system)
The vacuum system 40 is for drawing in the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21 of the circulation system 20 when water leakage occurs. As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum system 40 includes a vacuum pipe 41 connected to the circulation pipe 21 via the first valve 42, and a vacuum pump 43 and a vacuum tank 44 connected to the vacuum pipe 41. Yes. Preferably, the capacity of the vacuum tank 44 is larger than the capacity of the heat medium circulating in the circulation pipe 21. This makes it possible to draw all of the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21 into the vacuum tank 44 when water leakage occurs.

(Supply system)
The supply system 50 is for supplying a heat medium to the circulation pipe 21 so as to appropriately maintain the amount of the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the supply system 50 includes a supply pipe 51 connected to the circulation pipe 21 via the second valve 52, and a supply tank 54 connected to the supply pipe 51. When the supply tank 54 is installed at a lower position than the second valve 52, the supply system 50 may further include a supply pump 53 connected to the supply pipe 51. In this case, by opening the second valve 52 and driving the supply pump 53, the heat medium in the supply tank 54 can be sent to the circulation pipe 21, thereby replenishing the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21. be able to. On the other hand, although not shown, when the supply tank 54 is installed at a higher position than the second valve 52, the supply system 50 may not include the supply pump. In this case, by opening the second valve 52, the heat medium in the replenishing tank 54 can be sent to the circulation pipe 21, whereby the heat medium can be replenished in the circulation pipe 21. The timing at which the second valve 52 is opened is appropriately determined according to the reduction rate of the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21 and the like. For example, the second valve 52 is opened for about 30 minutes during the day when air conditioning is stopped during the day, whereby the heat medium is sent from the replenishment system 50 to the circulation system 20, and the second valve 52 is turned on at other times. Closed.

(Water leakage detection system)
As long as the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe 21 can be detected, the configuration of the leakage detection system 30 is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the water leakage detection system 30 may have a wire shape including a pair of conductors 31 and a first covering 32 that covers the pair of conductors 31. The wire-like water leakage detection system 30 is laid on a portion of the circulation pipe 21 that is easily detected when water leakage occurs, for example, the floor surface of the air-conditioned room 11. In this case, when the heat medium leaks in the circulation pipe 21, the heat medium soaks into the first coating 32, and as a result, the electrical resistance value between the pair of conductors 31 decreases. By detecting such a decrease in the electric resistance value, it is possible to detect the occurrence of water leakage in the circulation pipe 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the wire-like water leakage detection system 30 may further include a second coating 33 that covers both of the pair of conductive wires 31 covered by the first coating 32.

Moreover, in the example shown in FIG. 3, although the water leak detection system 30 showed the example which is a thing of a type which detects directly the water leak of the heat medium from the circulation piping 21, it is not restricted to this. For example, the water leakage detection system is of a type that indirectly detects the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe 21 based on a change in pressure in the circulation pipe 21 as indicated by reference numeral 35 in FIG. Also good.
For example, when the circulation pipe 21 is configured as a sealed pipe, when a part of the circulation pipe 21 is broken or a joint is removed to form an opening in the circulation pipe 21, the circulation pipe 21 is passed through the opening. The internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure are in equilibrium. For this reason, when the pressure of the circulation pipe 21 at the normal time is larger than the atmospheric pressure, the opening in the circulation pipe 21 is formed, so that the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 is lowered. Therefore, it is possible to indirectly detect the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe 21 by detecting the pressure drop in the circulation pipe 21.

  Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described. Here, the operation of the circulation system 10 at normal time, that is, when the water leakage from the circulation pipe 21 has not occurred, and the operation of the circulation system 10 at the time of water leakage from the circulation pipe 21 (at the time of water leakage), explain.

(Normal time)
First, the operation of the circulation system 10 while the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the leakage detection system 30 will be described. The control device 12 of the circulation system 10 controls the control valve 62 so that the temperature and humidity in the air-conditioned room 11 become target values based on information from the temperature / humidity sensor 13 that measures the temperature and humidity of the air-conditioned room 11. To control. When the control valve 62 is in the closing direction, the output of the circulation pump 23 decreases, so that the flow rate of the heat medium can be controlled.

  The circulation system 20 is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure or a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure by setting the pressure of the heat medium supplied from the second valve 52. As a result, the heat medium can be circulated in the circulation pipe 21 without causing loud noise.

  Normally, the first valve 42 of the vacuum system 40 is closed. At this time, the vacuum pump 43 may be driven so as to maintain the pressure in the vacuum pipe 41 and the vacuum tank 44 below atmospheric pressure.

  The supply system 50 controls the second valve 52 and the supply pump 53 so as to supply the heat medium from the supply tank 54 to the circulation pipe 21 as necessary. For example, as described above, the second valve 52 is opened for about 30 minutes in one day, and the heat medium is replenished in the circulation pipe 21.

(When water leaks)
Next, the operation of the circulation system 10 at the time of water leakage will be described. When an opening is formed in a part of the circulation pipe 21, and the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe 21 is detected by the water leakage detection system 30 or the water leakage detection system 35 described later, the control device 12 is connected to the vacuum system 40. The first valve 42 is controlled so that the first valve 42 is opened. Thereby, the environment under atmospheric pressure formed in the vacuum pipe 41 and the vacuum tank 44 communicates with the environment in the circulation pipe 21. Therefore, the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 can be quickly reduced to less than atmospheric pressure. Moreover, since the circulation piping 21 comes to communicate with the vacuum pump 43 of the activated vacuum system 40, the pressure in the circulation piping 21 can be maintained below atmospheric pressure thereafter.

  If the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 is less than atmospheric pressure, the air in the air-conditioned room 11 enters the circulation pipe 21 from the opening of the circulation pipe 21, so that the heat medium leaks from the circulation pipe 21. Can be suppressed. When the vacuum system 40 includes the vacuum tank 44, the heat medium in the circulation pipe 21 can be drawn into the vacuum tank 44. Thereby, it is possible to further suppress the heat medium from leaking from the circulation pipe 21. Moreover, the operation | work which repairs the opening part formed in the circulation piping 21 can be implemented more easily.

  Preferably, at least during the period from when the leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe 21 is detected by the water leakage detection system 30 until the leakage of the heat medium subsides, for example, until the opening of the circulation pipe 21 is repaired. The second valve 52 of the system 50 is closed. That is, even when the opening timing of the second valve 52 for 30 minutes of the above-mentioned day arrives at the time of water leakage, the control device 12 controls the second valve 52 so that the second valve 52 is kept closed. . This can prevent the leakage of water from expanding.

  According to the present embodiment, noise is suppressed by maintaining the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 high at normal times, and water leakage is reduced by making the pressure in the circulation pipe 21 less than atmospheric pressure at the time of water leakage. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Circulation system 11 Air-conditioned room 12 Control apparatus 15 Heat exchange system 16 Heat source machine 17 Piping 18 Pump 19 Heat exchanger 20 Circulation system 21 Circulation piping 23 Circulation pump 26 Radiation panel 30, 35 Leak detection system 31 Conductor 32 First covering 33 Second coating 40 Vacuum system 41 Vacuum pipe 42 First valve 43 Vacuum pump 44 Vacuum tank 50 Supply system 51 Supply pipe 52 Second valve 53 Supply pump 54 Supply tank 61 Expansion tank

Claims (3)

A circulation system for circulating a heat medium including at least one of cold water and hot water,
A circulation system including a circulation pipe constituting a circulation flow path for circulating the heat medium, and a circulation pump connected to the circulation pipe;
A vacuum including a vacuum pipe connected to the circulation pipe through a first valve, a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum pipe, and a vacuum tank connected in parallel to the vacuum pump with respect to the circulation pipe The system,
A leakage detection system for detecting leakage of the heat medium from the circulation pipe, and
While the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the leakage detection system, the first valve of the vacuum system is closed,
When the leakage of the heat medium is detected by the leakage detection system, the first valve of the vacuum system is opened, whereby the pressure in the circulation pipe becomes less than atmospheric pressure. . The vacuum system further includes a vacuum tank connected to the vacuum pipe,
2. The circulation system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure in the vacuum tank is maintained below atmospheric pressure by the vacuum pump while the leakage of the heat medium is not detected by the water leakage detection system. A heat medium replenishment pipe connected to the circulation pipe via a second valve; and a heat medium replenishment tank connected to the replenishment pipe, wherein the circulation system is replenished with the heat medium. A replenishment system
The second valve of the replenishment system is closed at least during a period from when the leakage of the heat medium is detected by the water leakage detection system to when the leakage of the heat medium subsides. Circulation system.

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