JPH0540084Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] Industrial field of application This invention relates to equipment for melting snow accumulated on road surfaces by using the heat of hot springs.

2. Description of the Related Art Melting snow from road surfaces in areas with heavy snowfall is important for ensuring traffic flow, and various snow removal methods have been tried for this purpose. Most commonly, snow removal is carried out using snow removal vehicles, but this method has the problem of requiring a large amount of mechanical equipment and labor.
Therefore, snow melting by dispersing groundwater has begun to be carried out. When using groundwater,
There are advantages such as low running costs because no special energy is required other than the driving force of the pump, but on the other hand, there are major problems such as ground subsidence, and in order to overcome this, pumped groundwater and Attempts have been made to exchange heat with water for spraying to raise the temperature of the water for spraying using the heat of groundwater, and to send the groundwater back into the ground after the heat exchange. However, although this method can suppress ground subsidence, it requires equipment such as a heat exchanger and has the problem of becoming less effective at melting snow.

As a method of using natural heat such as groundwater for snow melting, recent attempts have been made to transport natural heat to the snow melting area using heat pipes.This method solves the above-mentioned problems, It is seen as promising for snow melting. The heat source used in the heat pipe snow melting method is heat from underground water, geothermal heat, etc., and there are no particular restrictions, but when using the heat from hot spring water, the following methods may be considered. There is.

In other words, a heat pipe is constructed by evacuating the inside of a closed container such as a pipe, and then filling it with a condensable fluid such as water or fluorocarbons as a working fluid, which transports heat as latent heat, to reduce heat transfer resistance as much as possible. To keep costs low, sealed containers are generally made of metal such as copper, aluminum, or stainless steel. On the other hand, hot spring water is highly corrosive due to its high sulfur content, and is also highly prone to scale build-up. Therefore, if a heat pipe is directly immersed in hot spring water, there will be problems such as damage to the heat pipe due to corrosion and a decrease in heat exchange efficiency due to scale adhesion. In this case, a heat exchanger with a corrosion-resistant structure exchanges heat between hot spring water and fresh water to obtain high-temperature fresh water, which is used as a heat source to melt snow.

Problems that the invention aims to solve: However, when using hot spring water as a heat source for snow melting, once heat is exchanged between the hot spring water and fresh water, a loss occurs during heat exchange. In addition, scale adhering to the inside of the heat exchanger must be periodically removed, causing problems such as troublesome maintenance.

This idea was made in view of the above circumstances, and allows hot spring water to be effectively used for snow melting.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heat pipe type snow melting equipment that is easy to maintain.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, this invention embeds one end of the heat pipe inside the wall of the U-shaped groove through which hot spring water flows, and the other end of the heat pipe. This is characterized by the fact that the snow melting section is buried under the area where snow melting is to be carried out.

Further, in this invention, the inner surface of the U-shaped groove can be coated with a corrosion-resistant material.

Further, the U-shaped groove may be made of a corrosion-resistant material.

Effect In this idea, if hot spring water is poured into the U-shaped groove,
The heat is transmitted to one end of the heat pipe through the wall of the U-shaped groove. As a result, the working fluid evaporates inside the heat pipe, and the vapor flows to the other end, which is buried beneath the area where the snow is to be melted, where it radiates heat and melts the snow, condenses, and liquefies it. The working fluid flows back to one end on the U-shaped groove side. Therefore, since the heat pipe does not come into direct contact with hot spring water, there is no corrosion or scale adhesion, and since the hot spring water flows through a U-shaped groove that opens upward, it is easy to remove scale that adheres to the inner surface of the heat pipe. It is.

Embodiments Next, embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of this invention, and the equipment shown here is constructed to melt snow from a road surface. In other words, hot spring water 1
The side gutter 2 through which the water flows is formed as a U-shaped groove from concrete, and a coating 3 made of synthetic resin or the like is formed on the inner surface of the gutter to prevent corrosion of the concrete by the hot spring water 1. One end of the heat pipe 4 is buried inside the wall. Similar to those used in heat-related equipment such as ordinary heat exchangers, this heat pipe 4 is a sealed pipe in which a condensable fluid such as water is sealed as a working fluid while the inside of the pipe is evacuated. ,
Furthermore, the structure is such that the liquid phase working fluid is refluxed to the location where evaporation occurs by the capillary pressure generated in the wick. The other end of the heat pipe 4 is drawn out from the side gutter 2 to its outer surface, and is buried directly under the road surface 5 so as to be substantially parallel to the road surface 5.

Therefore, in the snow melting equipment configured as described above, when it snows, the temperature of the road surface 5 becomes lower than that of the hot spring water 1.
As a result, a temperature difference occurs between one end of the heat pipe 4 and the other end. evaporation occurs, and the vapor flows to the other end directly below the road surface 5,
It radiates heat and condenses. Therefore, the road surface 5 is heated or kept warm by the heat carried from the hot spring water 1 in the gutter 2 by the heat pipe 4, and as a result, the snow on the road surface 5 is heated by the heat of the hot spring water 1. It is indirectly melted and snow accumulation on the road surface 5 is prevented.

In this invention, the U-shaped groove itself can be made of resin that is resistant to corrosion by hot spring water.

Effects of the invention As is clear from the above explanation, in the snow melting equipment of this invention, one end of the heat pipe is buried in the wall of the U-shaped groove through which hot spring water flows, so that the hot spring water and the heat pipe are not in contact with each other. This allows heat to be exchanged between the two, and therefore the heat of the hot spring water can be efficiently used for snow melting without causing heat pipe corrosion or heat loss. Since this is not necessary, equipment costs can be reduced. Further, scale contained in hot spring water may adhere to the inner surface of the U-shaped groove, but due to the shape of the U-shaped groove, it is easy to remove and maintenance will not be difficult.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of this invention. 1...Hot spring water, 2...U-shaped groove, 3...Coating, 4
... Heat pipe, 5 ... Road surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) One end of the heat pipe is embedded inside the wall of the U-shaped groove through which hot spring water flows, and the other end of the heat pipe is placed on the underside of the area where snow melting is to be performed. Heat pipe type snow melting equipment that uses hot spring water and is characterized by being buried. (2) The heat pipe type snow melting equipment using hot spring water according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the U-shaped groove is coated with a corrosion-resistant material. (3) The heat pipe type snow melting equipment using hot spring water according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped groove is made of a corrosion-resistant material.