JPH01260281A - Air liquefying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the freezing of saturated water vapor sent into an air liquefying unit and improve the efficiency of an air liquefying machine, by providing a dehumidifying device, condensing and removing the saturated water vapor in suction air, in an air suction system at the upstream side of the air liquefying unit. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of cooling pipes 13 is arranged in an air suction duct 12 at the upstream side of an air liquefying unit. The cooling pipe 13 is constituted of the combination of an upper cooling pipe 13a consisting of a reverse U-shape bent pipe projected from the upper part of the duct 12 and a straight pipe type lower cooling pipe 13b arranged in the duct 12 while a multitude of fins 14 is attached to the cooling pipe. The lower end opening of the upper cooling pipe 13a and the upper end opening of the lower cooling pipe 13b are connected to a slanted trough type upper pipe collecting member 15 provided on the upper inner wall of the duct 12. The lower opening of the lower cooling pipe 13b is connected to a trough type lower pipe collecting member 16. Low-boiling point cooling medium 17 is received in the pipe collecting chamber 16 and evaporation as well as condensation are repeated between the cooling pipes 13a, 13b whereby saturated water vapor in air passing through the duct 12 is condensed and removed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an improvement in an air liquefier that sucks outside air and cools it to liquefy it.

[Conventional technology]

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional air liquefier. system), 3 is an inner cylinder arranged inside the cover 1, for meandering air from the outside of the air liquefier in the direction of the arrow and guiding it into the inside of the air liquefier; 4 is a cylinder equipped on the cover 1; 5 is a saucer for liquefied air storage integrally formed at the upper end of the cylinder 4; 6 is a cylinder head provided at the center of the saucer 5 at the upper end closed position of the cylinder 4; a 6° portion of the cylinder head; is an ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section that is cooled to about -195°C. 7 is liquefied air that has been liquefied by the cylinder head 6 and stored in the saucer 5; 8 is a conduit for guiding the liquefied air 7 to the outside; 9 is a conduit that reciprocates within the cylinder 4 to A piston 10 is connected to the piston 9 for cooling the cylinder head 6 to about -195° C. by adiabatically compressing and expanding refrigerant gas previously filled in the cylinder head 6. It is a piston rondo. Next, the operation will be explained. The refrigerant gas in the cylinder 4 is adiabatically compressed and expanded by the reciprocating motion of the piston 9, and when the cylinder head 6 is cooled to an extremely low temperature of about 1195°C, the air that was in contact with the cylinder head 6 is liquefied. As the pressure in this area decreases, a pressure difference is generated between the air suction port 2 and the vicinity of the cylinder head 6, which is the air liquefaction section in the air liquefaction machine. This pressure difference causes the external air of the air liquefier to flow from the air intake port 2 to the cover 1.
The external air is guided in the direction of the arrow through the meandering passage between the inner cylinder 3 and the inner cylinder 3, and reaches the cylinder head 6, which has been cooled to about -195°C as described above. The liquefied air 7 flows into the saucer 5 and accumulates therein. When the liquefied air 7 accumulates in the saucer 5, the liquefied air 7 continuously flows out from the conduit 8.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Since the conventional air liquefaction machine is configured as above,
If the external air being sucked in is dry, only that dry air can be liquefied in the cylinder head 6, and the liquefied air 7 can be flowed out to the outside. However, if the sucked air contains moisture (water vapor) However, there is a problem in that the water vapor liquefies before the air liquefies, and the water vapor freezes around the cylinder head 6, impeding the heat conduction properties of the cylinder head 6 and making it difficult to form liquefied air 7. there were. This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by removing the saturated water vapor contained in the intake air before the air liquefaction section, it is possible to efficiently liquefy the external air. The purpose is to obtain an air liquefaction machine that can.

[Means to solve the problem]

The air liquefier according to the present invention includes a dehumidifier for condensing and removing saturated water vapor contained in the intake air in an air suction system upstream of an ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section that sucks outside air and cools it to liquefy it. It is connected.

[For use]

In the air liquefier of the present invention, the saturated water vapor in the external air that is drawn in is condensed and removed by the dehumidifier before the air liquefaction section, so that the saturated water vapor does not freeze in the air liquefaction section. Dry air can always be supplied to the air liquefaction section, and therefore liquefied air can be obtained continuously, efficiently and stably.

【Example】

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure is a cross-sectional view showing a dehumidifying device for an air liquefier according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. In the figure, 11 is a dehumidifier connected to the air suction system of the air liquefier, 12 is a duct that constitutes the main body of the dehumidifier 11, and this duct 12 is the air intake port of the air liquefier shown in FIG. Connected to 2. Reference numeral 13 denotes a plurality of cooling pipes arranged in the duct 12, and these cooling pipes 13 are a plurality of upper cooling pipes 13 formed of inverted U-shaped bent pipes attached to the upper part of the duct 12 and projecting upward.
a, and a plurality of straight lower cooling pipes 13b arranged in the duct 12. 14 indicates each of the cooling pipes 13 (upper cooling pipe 13a and lower cooling pipe 13b).
) attached to the upper cooling pipe 13a, the upper header member 15 is an inclined gutter-shaped upper header member provided on the upper inner wall of the duct 12.
The lower end openings of the lower cooling pipes 13b and the upper end openings of the lower cooling pipes 13b are bundled and connected at predetermined intervals, respectively. Reference numeral 16 denotes a hollow gutter-shaped lower header member provided at the inner bottom of the duct 12, which connects the lower end openings of the lower cooling pipes 13b in bundles at predetermined intervals. 17 is the lower header member 1
This cooling medium 17 is a low boiling point cooling medium made of ether, chlorofluorocarbon, etc. contained in the lower cooling pipe 13b, and is advected upward by evaporation in the lower cooling pipe 13b. The upper header member 1 is condensed during the advection process.
It is designed to flow down to within 5. 18 is a cooling fan disposed near the upper header member 15 for reliquefying the low boiling point cooling medium 17 that evaporates and advects within the upper header member 15; 19 is a cooling fan disposed near the upper header member 15;
A pipe with a trap connects the inside of the inclined descending end side and the inside of the lower header member 16 and advects the cooling medium 17 accumulated in the upper header member 15 into the lower header member 16. be. Next, the operation will be explained. The low boiling point cooling medium 17 accommodated in the lower header member 16 of the dehumidifier 11 evaporates and advects upward in the lower cooling pipe 13b, and flows from the lower cooling pipe 13b through the upper header member 15. Upper cooling pipe 1
Evaporation advection occurs within 3a. In such an advection process of the cooling medium 17, the lower cooling pipe 13b is cooled by the heat of vaporization of the cooling medium 17 that evaporates inside and advects upward. As a result, the lower cooling pipe 13b and its cooling fins 1
4's surface temperature decreases. In this state, external air that is sucked in by the air liquefier and is on its way to the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section (cylinder head 6 in FIG. 3) is transferred to the dehumidifier 1.
By passing through the inside of the duct 12, the external air comes into contact with the lower cooling pipe 13b and the surfaces of the cooling fins 14 thereof. At this time, due to the temperature difference between the surface temperature of the lower cooling pipe 13b and the cooling fins 14 and the saturated water vapor contained in the external air, the supersaturated water vapor is transferred to the lower cooling pipe 13b and the cooling fin 4, respectively. Condensation forms on the surface. Due to this condensation,
Since the water vapor in the external air is condensed and removed, the air that has passed through the dehumidifier 11 becomes dry air. and,
Since this dry air is sent to the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section, air liquefaction by this air liquefaction section is performed smoothly and efficiently. On the other hand, the upper cooling pipe 13a and its cooling fins 14
is cooled by the cooling fan 18, so that the low boiling point cooling medium 17 evaporates and advects inside the upper cooling pipe 13a.
is condensed. The condensed cooling medium 17 flows down inside the upper cooling pipe 13a and accumulates in the upper header member 15.
9 and moves into the lower header member 16, evaporates again within this lower header member 16, and becomes the upper cooling pipe 13a.
The cycle of rising within is repeated. In the above embodiment, the cooling pipes 13 are arranged in a line between the upper header member 15 and the lower header member 16, but the cooling pipes 13 may be arranged in a staggered manner or in multiple rows. good. Although the evaporative cooling medium 17 advected in the upper cooling pipe 13a was liquefied by air-cooling the upper cooling pipe 13a and the cooling fins 14 with the cooling fan 18, the liquefaction of the evaporative cooling medium 17 may also be performed by water cooling. .

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, according to the present invention, the saturated water vapor contained in the external air is condensed and removed by the dehumidifier on the upstream side of the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section that sucks outside air and cools it to liquefy it. External air drawn in by the air liquefaction machine can be converted into dry air and sent to the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section, thereby minimizing freezing in the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section due to water vapor contained in the external air. It is said that this can reduce the amount of air liquefied, and that the heat conduction characteristics of the ultra-low temperature air liquefaction section will not be inhibited by this freezing, making it possible to liquefy air continuously and efficiently, greatly improving the operating efficiency of the air liquefaction machine. effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a dehumidifying device for an air liquefier according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows a conventional air liquefier. FIG. In the figure, 2 is an air intake port (air suction system), 6 is a cylinder head (air liquefier), and 11 is a dehumidifier. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Patent applicant Mitsubishi Electric Co., Ltd. Figure 1 11-Taste) i Fading! Hi J7

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an air liquefaction machine equipped with an ultra-low-temperature air liquefaction section that sucks in outside air and cools it to liquefy it, the air liquefaction machine is connected to an air suction system upstream of the air liquefaction section and converts the saturated water vapor contained in the drawn air into the air liquefaction machine. An air liquefaction machine with a dehumidifier that removes condensation at the front stage of the air liquefaction machine.