JPH04295528A - Heat storage tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To economize on the running cost on one hand and increase the heat- storage capacity on the other hand, in the use of heat-storage tanks divided into groups each of which consists of a row of tanks for liquid for storing a liquid heat medium and is arranged in parallel with other rows of tanks, by reducing the fluid resistance to the liquid heat medium for the reduction of the running cost and by decreasing the difference in the liquid level between the upstream end and the downstream end relative to the direction of the flow of the liquid heat medium. CONSTITUTION:Individual liquid tanks 1a, 1b, 1c are connected in series to form a single row L of tanks so as to allow liquid heat medium to flow from one end of the row L to the other end and such rows L of tanks are connected in parallel in relation to an outgoing line 2 for liquid heat medium and to a return line 3 for liquid heat medium.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a heat storage tank used for heat storage type air conditioning, etc., and more specifically, a plurality of liquid tanks for storing heat medium liquid are arranged in a row to form a tank row, and the tank rows are arranged in a plurality of rows. Regarding heat storage tanks installed in parallel.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a heat storage tank having a liquid tank arrangement as described above, the heat medium liquid returns to the heat storage tank from the heat medium liquid return path and the heat medium liquid is sent from the heat storage tank to the heat medium liquid delivery path. From the viewpoint of maintaining the temperature difference, as shown in FIG. All the liquid tanks 1a to 1x are connected in series to the heat medium liquid return path 3 and the heat medium liquid delivery path 2 so that the heat medium liquid W flows in a meandering manner toward the end liquid tank 1x of the column Lx. It was connected.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional meandering series connection described above, the flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank is large, and therefore, a large amount of power is required to circulate the heat medium liquid, increasing running costs. There was a problem.

[0004] Furthermore, due to the large flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank, a large liquid level difference occurs between the end liquid tank on the heat medium liquid return side and the end liquid tank on the heat medium liquid delivery side. There was a problem in that the effective storage amount of heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank was small, and the heat storage capacity of the heat storage tank was small relative to the tank volume.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by adopting a rational liquid tank connection form.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A first feature of the heat storage tank according to the present invention is that a plurality of liquid tanks for storing heat medium liquid are arranged in a row to form a tank row, and the tank rows are arranged in a plurality of rows. In this configuration, the liquid tanks in the same tank row are connected in series so that the heat medium liquid flows from one end side of the tank row to the other end, and the tank rows are connected to a heat medium liquid delivery path and a heat medium liquid return path. The function and effect are as follows.

[0007]

[Operation] In other words, only the liquid tanks in the same tank row are connected in series, and each tank row consisting of the series-connected liquid tanks is connected in parallel to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path. Because I will,
Compared to conventional heat storage tanks, which connect all liquid tanks in series in a meandering pattern,
The flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank can be reduced.

Furthermore, by connecting each of the tank rows in parallel to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path, each liquid tank Since the amount of heat medium liquid flowing in and out per unit time (in other words, the flow rate of heat medium liquid in each liquid tank) becomes small, each of the tank rows is connected to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path. Even when connected in parallel, the temperature difference between the heat medium liquid returning from the heat medium liquid return path to each tank row and the heat medium liquid sent from each tank row to the heat medium liquid sending path, that is, the heat medium returning to the heat storage tank. The temperature difference between the liquid and the heat medium liquid sent out from the heat storage tank can be maintained at the same level as in a conventional heat storage tank in which all the liquid tanks are connected in series in a meandering manner.

[0009]

As a result, according to the first feature of the present invention, the temperature difference between the heat medium liquid returned to the heat storage tank and the heat medium liquid sent out from the heat storage tank can be maintained at the same level as before. By reducing the flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank, the power required for circulation of the heat medium liquid can be reduced and running costs can be saved. The difference in liquid level with the side end liquid tank can also be reduced, making it possible to secure a larger effective storage amount of heat medium liquid relative to the tank volume, and thus a larger heat storage capacity than in the past.

Incidentally, in order to reduce the flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank and also to reduce the liquid level difference between the heat medium liquid return side end and the heat medium liquid delivery side end of the heat storage tank, it is necessary to It is also possible to connect the tanks in parallel to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path, but in this case, each of the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path is connected to all liquid tanks. The piping configuration is extremely complicated due to the separate branch connections, and in a liquid tank arrangement in which multiple tank rows are arranged in parallel, the heating medium for the liquid tank located in the center is The connection configuration of the delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path becomes difficult, and this causes a problem that the overall equipment configuration of the heat storage tank becomes complicated and the equipment cost increases.

In this regard, according to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention,
Since a tank row in which a plurality of liquid tanks are connected in series is connected in parallel to the heating medium liquid delivery path and the heating medium liquid return path, one end side liquid tank of each tank row is connected to the heating medium liquid sending path, and , it is only necessary to connect the liquid tank on the other end side to the heat medium liquid reflux path, and compared to connecting each of the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid reflux path separately for all liquid tanks, a branch piping configuration is required. In addition, it is not necessary to connect the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path to the liquid tank located in the center of the liquid tank arrangement. This has the advantage of suppressing cost increases.

(Second and Third Characteristic Structure of the Present Invention) The second characteristic structure of the heat storage tank according to the present invention is that the number of the tank rows arranged in parallel is larger than the number of liquid tanks in the tank row. be.

In other words, in a liquid tank arrangement in which a plurality of tank rows in which a plurality of liquid tanks are arranged in a row are arranged in parallel, the vertical direction of the liquid tanks is the tank row direction, and the horizontal direction of the liquid tanks is the parallel arrangement of the tank rows. Depending on whether you view the horizontal direction of the liquid tanks as the direction of the tank rows or the vertical direction of the liquid tanks as the direction in which the tank rows are arranged, the number of juxtaposed tank rows is larger than the number of liquid tanks in the tank row. In this case, if the second characteristic configuration is adopted in implementing the first characteristic configuration, in other words, the number of juxtaposed tank rows becomes smaller than the number of liquids in the tank row. If the first characteristic configuration described above is implemented in a configuration where the number of tank rows is larger than the number of liquid tanks in each tank row, the number of liquid tanks in each tank row Since the number of series connections is small, the flow resistance of the heat medium liquid in the heat storage tank is reduced, and the liquid level difference between the heat medium liquid return side end and the heat medium liquid delivery side end of the heat storage tank is reduced. can be achieved more effectively.

The third characteristic configuration of the heat storage tank according to the present invention is as follows:
The number of liquid tanks in the tank row is three or more.

[0015] In other words, compared to the connection of liquid tanks, which generally allows for a large communication opening area, the piping opening area is smaller in the case of connecting a liquid tank to a piping configuration that forms a heating medium liquid delivery path or a heating medium liquid return path. Because the flow rate of the heat medium liquid at the piping connection part is small, turbulence tends to occur in the stored heat medium liquid in the liquid tank connected to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path, and this turbulence causes the stored heat to Since the temperature distribution of the medium is also disturbed, there is a phenomenon in which the heat storage efficiency in the flow path connected liquid tanks is reduced.

[0016] Therefore, when the number of liquid tanks in a tank row is two, both of those two tanks (as a result, all the liquid tanks) serve as connecting liquid tanks to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path. As a result, the heat storage efficiency becomes low, leading to problems such as a significant decrease in the heat storage efficiency of the heat storage tank as a whole.
In this regard, if the third characteristic configuration described above is adopted, the intermediate liquid tanks other than the liquid tanks located at both ends of each tank row are connected to the heat medium liquid delivery path and the heat medium liquid return path. Since it is possible to create a liquid tank with high heat storage efficiency in which the heat medium liquid storage state is stable without being affected by the heat medium liquid inflow from the heat medium, there is an advantage that the heat storage efficiency of the heat storage tank as a whole can be maintained at a high level.

[0017]

[Example] Next, an example will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows a heat storage tank 1 consisting of a large number of water tanks 1a to 1c. A plurality of water tanks 1a to 1c are arranged in a row to form a tank row L, and a plurality of tank rows L are arranged in parallel. be.

The water tanks 1a to 1c of the same tank row L are connected in series so that the stored cold water W flows from one end of the tank row L to the other end, and these tank rows L are connected to a cold water delivery path. 2
and is connected in parallel to the cold water return path 3.

That is, by connecting a plurality of tank rows L in parallel to the cold water delivery path 2 and the cold water return path 3 in this way, all of the large number of water tanks 1a to 1c are connected to the cold water delivery path 2 and the cold water return path 3. 3, the cold water flow resistance of the heat storage tank 1 as a whole is reduced, and the heat storage tank 1
The water level difference between the upstream end and the downstream end in the cold water flow direction is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cold water delivery path 2 transfers the stored cold water W in the heat storage tank 1 to a cold heat consuming device 4 such as an air conditioner.
The cold water return path 3 is a flow path that returns the cold water W used in the cold heat consumption device 4 to the heat storage tank 1.

The formation structure of the water tanks 1a to 1c in each tank row L and the series connection structure include a first wall located on the upstream side in the flow direction of the stored cold water W and forming a communication opening 5 at the lower end. A weir structure 9 for partitioning the tank is constituted by the body 6 and a second wall 8 located on the downstream side in the flow direction of the stored cold water W and forming a cold water overflow part 7 at the upper end.
This weir structure 9 is positioned between adjacent water tanks 1a to 1c, and the water tanks 1a to 1c are connected in series and partitioned.

[0023] Also, the connection structure between the water tank 1a at the upstream end of each tank row L and the cold water return path 3, and the connection structure between the water tank 1c at the downstream end of each tank row L and the cold water delivery path 2. In this case, the heat storage tank connecting portions of the cold water return path 3 and the cold water delivery path 2 are formed by header structures 3h and 2h, and the header structure 3h of the cold water return path 3 and the upstream end of each tank row L are formed by the header structures 3h and 2h. The water tank 1a is connected via a single pipe 10, and the header structure 2h in the cold water delivery path 2 and the water tank 1c at the downstream end of each tank row L are connected via a single pipe 11.

In the water tank 1a at the upstream end of each tank row L, on the single pipe connection side, there is an upstream end wall 13 having the same structure as the second wall 8 and forming a cold water overflow part 12 at the upper end. A water tank 1c at the downstream end of each tank row L
A downstream end wall 15 having the same structure as the first wall 6 and having a communication opening 14 at its lower end is provided on the single pipe connection side.

That is, due to the partitioning of the water tank by the weir structure 9 and the arrangement of the upstream end wall 13 and the downstream end wall 15 in the end water tanks 1a and 1c, the stored cold water W is distributed as indicated by the arrow in the figure. is made to flow, thereby maintaining a large cold water temperature difference between the upstream end and the downstream end of the tank row L while maintaining the cold water storage state in each of the water tanks 1a to 1c in a temperature stratified state.

Each of the single pipes 10 connecting the header structure 3h in the cold water return path 3 and the water tank 1a at the upstream end of each tank row L is provided with a flow rate regulating valve 16 and a flow meter 18, and Each of the single pipes 11 connecting the header structure 2h in the cold water delivery path 2 and the water tank 1c at the downstream end of each tank row L is provided with a flow rate regulating valve 17 (although not shown in the figure, the cold water delivery path Flow meter 1 is also installed on the connecting end pipe 11 on the 2 side.
8 may be added), and by adjusting the flow rate regulating valves 16 and 17 based on the flow rate measurement by the flow meter 18, the amount of cold water flowing to each tank row L is equalized.

When constructing a heat storage tank configuration in which a plurality of tank rows L each having a plurality of water tanks 1a to 1c connected in series are connected in parallel to the cold water delivery path 2 and the cold water return path 3, the number of tank rows L to be installed in parallel is determined by The number is greater than the number of water tanks 1a to 1c connected in series in the tank row L, thereby reducing the cold water flow resistance in the heat storage tank 1 and reducing the water level difference between the upstream end and the downstream end of the heat storage tank 1. The reduction is achieved more effectively.

In addition, the number of series connections of the water tanks 1a to 1c in each tank row L is three or more, so that cold water can be stored without being affected by the cold water sent to the cold water delivery path 2 or the cold water inflow from the cold water return path 3. By securing a water tank 1b in a stable state at the intermediate portion of the cold water flow path of each tank row L, the heat storage efficiency of the heat storage tank as a whole is maintained at a high level.

19 in the figure is a refrigerator, and this refrigerator 19
The cold water discharge path 20 is connected to the cold water delivery path 2, and the cold water return path 21 to the refrigerator 19 is connected to the cold water return path 3.
It is connected to.

That is, during the cold heat storage operation for the heat storage tank 1, the header structure 2h of the cold water delivery path 2 in each tank row L is
The cold water W is circulated between the heat storage tank 1 and the refrigerator 19 in such a manner that the cold water W flows from there toward the header structure 3h of the cold water return path 3, and the low-temperature cold water W generated by the refrigerator 19 is stored in the heat storage tank 1. .

Reference numeral 22 denotes a bypass passage that makes a part of the low-temperature cold water W discharged from the refrigerator 19 merge into the cold water return passage 21. By adjusting the amount of this confluence with the three-way valve 23, the cold water returned to the refrigerator 19 can be adjusted. Adjust the temperature to the desired temperature.

In the figure, 24 and 25 are pumps, respectively.

Next, another example will be listed.

(a) In the above embodiment, cold water was used as the stored heat transfer liquid W, but the heat transfer liquid W may be hot water or a liquid other than water.

[0035] In addition, FIGS. 1 and 2 described earlier, and FIG. 3 described later
, 4 and 5, the arrows indicating the flow of the heat medium liquid W indicate the cold heat consumption operation in which cold water stored in the heat storage tank 1 is taken out and consumed in a form in which cold water is stored as the heat medium liquid W in the heat storage tank 1. The flow direction is the opposite direction during cold heat storage operation in which cold heat is stored in the heat storage tank 1; The flow direction during the heat consumption operation in which the heat stored in the tank 1 is taken out and consumed is opposite to the flow direction during the cold heat consumption operation in the cold water storage mode, and the flow direction during the heat storage operation in which warm heat is stored in the heat storage tank 1. The direction is also opposite to the flow direction during the cold heat storage operation in the cold water storage mode.

(b) Liquid tanks 1 connected in series in tank row L
Various configuration changes are possible for the partition structures a to 1c,
As shown in FIG. 3, a weir structure 28 in which a third wall 27 with a communication opening 26 formed in the upper and lower intermediate portions is arranged between the first wall 6 and the second wall 8 is used to create a liquid tank 1a to 1c may be connected in series to form a partition, or as shown in FIG.
Adjacent liquid tanks 1a and 1b are connected in series to form a partition using only the first wall 6, and the adjacent liquid tanks 1
The liquid tanks 1a to 1c are connected in series by alternately using the first wall 6 and the second wall 8, in which the liquid tanks 1a to 1c are connected in series and partitioned using only the second wall 8 described above. Partitions may be formed depending on the state.

(c) The number of the liquid tanks 1a to 1c connected in series in the tank row L is not limited to three tanks, and the number of parallel arrangement of the tank row L is also limited to the number of parallel arrangement in the above-mentioned embodiment. It's not something you can do.

(d) As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of heat storage tank configurations 1A and 1B in which a plurality of tank rows L are connected in parallel to the heat medium liquid delivery path 2 and the heat medium liquid return path 3 are connected to the heat medium They may be disposed adjacent to each other so as to serve as both the liquid delivery path 2 and the heat medium liquid return path 3.

(e) An automatic constant flow valve may be used as the flow rate adjustment valve for adjusting the flow rate of the heat medium liquid to each tank row L.

(f) The flow path structures of the heat medium liquid delivery path 2 and the heat medium liquid return path 3 can be modified in various ways.

[0041] Although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure of the accompanying drawings by such entry.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1] Plan view

[Figure 2] Longitudinal cross-sectional view of tank rows

[Fig. 3] Vertical cross-sectional view of a tank row showing another embodiment

[Fig. 4] Vertical cross-sectional view of a tank row showing another embodiment

[Fig. 5] Plan view showing another embodiment

[Fig. 6] Plan view showing a conventional example

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b, 1c Liquid tank

Claims (3)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Liquid tank (1a) for storing heat transfer liquid (W)
, (1b), (1c) are arranged in a row to form a tank row (L).
The heat storage tank has a plurality of tank rows (L) arranged in parallel, and the liquid tanks (1a), (1b), of the same tank row (L),
(1c) are connected in series so that the heat medium liquid flows from one end side of the tank row (L) to the other end side, and these tank rows (L) are connected to the heat medium liquid delivery path (2) and the heat medium liquid reflux path. A heat storage tank connected in parallel to the road (3). [Claim 2] The number of the tank rows (L) arranged in parallel is the tank row (L).
2. The heat storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the number of liquid tanks is larger than that of the heat storage tank. 3. The heat storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the number of liquid tanks in the tank row (L) is three or more.