JPH0660774B2 - Snowmaking method and device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a snowmaking method and apparatus, and more particularly to a snowmaking method and apparatus suitable for making snow as a cold heat source for precooling of snow and concrete at leisure facilities such as indoor artificial ski resorts and at event areas.

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of leisure facilities such as artificial ski resorts and the increasing demand for cold heat sources in industrial facilities, the need for artificial snow is increasing. As a conventional artificial snowmaking method, snowmaking is performed in an outdoor natural environment where the temperature is 0 ° C. or lower, or in a large building cooled by a large-scale refrigerator. In the pre-cooling of concrete, water is sprinkled on the surface of a cylinder called a freezing drum at 0 ° C or lower, and ice produced on the drum surface is scraped off with a knife to obtain sliced ice, which is used as a cold heat source. I'm using it. Further, JP-A-63-161377 discloses that the artificial snow generating chamber is provided with a liquid spraying means and a liquefied gas spray nozzle, and the liquefied gas immediately after spraying is arranged so as to be separated from the liquid spraying means and jetted from the liquid spraying means. Disclosed is an artificial snow making device that produces snow by bringing a mist of liquid into contact with a liquefied gas injected from a liquefied gas injection nozzle.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, various drawbacks cannot be avoided by the conventional methods. That is, in the case of snow making under outdoor natural environment, it is impossible to make snow when the temperature is above the freezing point, and in the case of snow making in a large building, a large space (for example, height 10 m, width 10 m, depth 30 m) A large-scale refrigerator was required, and the facility was inevitably increased in size and cost, and even in the case of sliced ice, there was a tendency for the facility to be increased in size and cost. The artificial snow manufacturing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-161377 has a drawback that condensed water adheres to the wall surface of the artificial snow generation chamber and reduces the efficiency of snow generation. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a snowmaking method and apparatus which can be implemented on a small scale throughout the four seasons and which is highly efficient.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

1 to FIG. 6, according to the snowmaking method of the present invention, at the top of the heat insulating space 2 having a square horizontal cross section of one side H, water from the water supply device 7 is supplied to the one side H. The liquid phase refrigerant from the refrigerant supply device 9 is sprayed so as to form a downward precipitation drop stream 10 of a circular horizontal section having a shorter diameter D, and the heat insulating space 2 is formed into a conical shape having four horizontal corners at right angles from the four corners of the heat insulating space 2. The water droplets 8 of the descending water droplet stream 10 are condensed by spraying upward from the center of the descending water droplet stream 10 toward the center of the descending water droplet stream 10 to make snow. The snow making device of the present invention is provided with a heat insulating space 2 having a square horizontal cross section on one side H, a plurality of peripheral spray nozzles 4a radially provided obliquely downward at the center of the upper end of the heat insulating space 2, and downward from the radial center. The spray nozzle device 3 having the central spray nozzle 4b provided therein, the water supply device 7 connected to the spray nozzle device 3, and the spray nozzle device 3 arranged upward at a position on the center line of the heat insulating space facing the spray nozzle device 3 at a predetermined distance. A central refrigerant nozzle 5a, a plurality of peripheral refrigerant nozzles 5b arranged at the four corners of the heat insulating space 2 and directed toward the center of the heat insulating space 2, and a liquid phase refrigerant delivery connected to the central refrigerant nozzle 5a and the peripheral refrigerant nozzle 5b. A configuration including the device 9 is used. The spray nozzle device 3 sprays water from the water supply device 7 so as to form a downward raindrop stream 10 having a circular horizontal cross section having a diameter D shorter than the one side H. The central refrigerant nozzle 5a has a liquid phase refrigerant delivery device 9
The refrigerant from the above is ejected into the descending water drop stream 10 in a conical shape upward against the descending water droplets, and the peripheral refrigerant nozzle 5b directs the liquid toward the center of the adiabatic space 2 in a conical shape with a horizontal vertical angle of 90 degrees. The refrigerant from the phase refrigerant delivery device 9 is ejected.

[Action]

The operation will be described for an example in which the refrigerant of the refrigerant supply device 9 is liquid nitrogen or liquid air in FIG. Insulation space 2
When a liquid-phase refrigerant composed of liquid nitrogen or liquid air is sprayed through the central refrigerant nozzle 5a and the peripheral refrigerant nozzle 5b that are open to the inner peripheral portion inside, the refrigerant effect and liquid due to the ingress of the liquid-phase refrigerant at a temperature below freezing Since the latent heat absorbing effect is generated when the phase refrigerant is sprayed and vaporized, the temperature in the heat insulating space 2 drops below the freezing point. If the water from the water supply device 7 is sprayed into the thus cooled insulating space 2 through the spray nozzle device 3 which opens at the upper middle portion of the space, the sprayed water droplets are condensed into snow 6 and the desired water content is obtained. Snow is made. The spray nozzle device 3 used in the present invention comprises a plurality of obliquely downward peripheral spray nozzles 4a arranged radially and a central downward center spray nozzle 4b in a radial arrangement. The spray nozzles 4a, 4b are appropriately shaped and arranged, and at a position separated from the spray nozzle device 3 by a predetermined distance L, the water droplets 8 ejected from the spray nozzle device 3 have a side H of the heat insulating space 2.
A downward water drop stream 10 having a circular horizontal cross section with a shorter diameter D is provided. Since the descending water droplet stream 10 is formed, the water droplets 8 from the spray nozzle device 3 are prevented from adhering to the wall surface of the heat insulating space 2, and the efficiency of snowmaking is improved. Preferably, the spray nozzle device 3 has a relatively low flow rate 6
The peripheral spray nozzles 4a and the central spray nozzle 4b having a relatively large flow rate are provided to form the water droplet 8 and the descending water droplet stream 10 under the condition that the water droplet diameter is 200 μm or less. The liquid-phase refrigerant ejected upward from the central refrigerant nozzle 5a is
The dwell time of the water drops 8 in the descending water drop stream 10 is lengthened, the condensation of the sprayed water drops 8 is promoted, and the snowmaking efficiency is further improved. The refrigerant ejected from the surrounding refrigerant nozzle 5b toward the center of the heat insulating space 2 in the shape of a cone having a horizontal apex angle of right angle spreads over the entire horizontal cross section of the descending water droplet stream 10 and ensures cooling for all water droplets 8. The condensation, that is, the efficiency of snow making is improved. Preferably, the surrounding refrigerant nozzles 5b are provided in upper and lower two stages to further ensure cooling for the descending water droplet stream 10. The present inventor has experimentally confirmed that the snow 6 can be produced in the above-described manner even if the heat insulating space 2 is a relatively narrow space having a length of 1 m, a width of 1 m, and a height of 2 m. Preferably, the water sent from the water supply device 7 to the spray nozzle 3 is cooled in advance to a low temperature close to the freezing point, for example, about 2 ° C. Thus, the object of the present invention is to "provide a snowmaking method and apparatus which can be implemented on a small scale throughout the four seasons and which is highly efficient".

【Example】

The connection of the equipment used in one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
The outline of the arrangement is shown in the perspective view of FIG. The heat insulation space 2 is formed inside the heat insulation container 1, and the spray nozzle device 3 attached to the top of the heat insulation space 2 is connected to the water supply device 7 via the water supply pipe 19 and receives the supply of water which is a snowmaking raw material. Central and peripheral refrigerant nozzles 5 arranged in the central portion and four corners of the heat insulating container 1
The a and 5b are connected to the refrigerant feeding device 9 through the refrigerant supply pipe 31 and receive the supply of the liquid phase refrigerant. The heat insulating container 1 in the illustrated example is a wooden rectangular parallelepiped having inner dimensions of 1.1 m in length, 1.1 m in width, and 2.2 m in height, and a heat insulating material having a thickness of 100 mm provided on the peripheral wall forms a heat insulating space 2 inside the container 1. To do. The water supply pipe 19 is guided to the center of the upper end of the heat insulating space 2 through the ceiling wall of the heat insulating container 1, and the spray nozzle device 3 for spraying water is attached to the tip of the heat insulating space. The refrigerant supply pipe 31 is guided to the outer peripheral inside corner and the central part of the heat insulating space 2 through the side wall of the heat insulating container 1, and the end of the refrigerant supply pipe 31 in the central part and the outer peripheral inner corner of the heat insulating space 2 is used for refrigerant spraying. Refrigerant nozzle
Install 5a and 5b. An exhaust pipe 11 is provided at the corner of the ceiling of the heat insulating container 1 to discharge the vaporized refrigerant after spraying. Further, an observation window 13 for viewing the snowmaking condition is provided at an appropriate portion of the side wall, and a door 14 for taking out the snow 6 is attached to the lower portion. A thermometer 25 is appropriately installed to monitor the temperature in the heat insulating space 2. In this case, the water supply device 7 includes the water tank 15, the pump 17, the water supply pipe 19,
It consists of a flow meter 21, a pressure gauge 23, and a thermometer 25. Water pipe 19
An on-off valve 32 is provided in the container to supply water to the heat insulating container 1 as indicated by arrow A. The discharge pressure of the pump 17 and the structure of the spray nozzle 3 are appropriately selected, and water droplets having a particle size of about 100 μm are sprayed uniformly over the entire heat insulating space 2 without directly hitting the side wall. Further, the water supply pipe with the opening / closing valve 33 circulates the water as shown by the arrow B, and prevents freezing of the water in the water tank 15 when precooling the water. The refrigerant feeding device 9 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 uses the liquid phase refrigerant contained in the high pressure refrigerant container 27. As the refrigerant, for example, liquefied carbon dioxide gas or the like can be used in addition to liquid nitrogen or liquid air, and one expected after spraying in the heat insulating space 2 is preferable. The refrigerant feeding device 9 further includes a pressure gauge 23, a solenoid valve 29, a refrigerant supply pipe 31, and a flow meter (not shown). The solenoid valve 29 in the illustrated example is controlled by the output of the thermometer 25 in the heat insulating space 2. By the refrigerant supply pipe 31 and the solenoid valve 29 or the manual valve 34, the liquid-phase refrigerant is delivered at an appropriate flow rate in the direction indicated by the arrow C to keep the temperature in the heat insulating space 2 of the heat insulating container 1 below freezing. The low-temperature liquid-phase refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant container 27 may be sent to the water tank 15 via the pipe with the cooling valve 35 to precool the water in the water tank. The present inventors prototyped the snow making device having the illustrated structure, cooled the temperature in the heat insulating space 2 to about −20 ° C., then pressurized the water in the water tank 15 with the pump 17, and sprayed the nozzle device 3 for water. About 2 through
By spraying at a rate of 1 liter / minute and adjusting the amount of refrigerant supplied by the solenoid valve 29, the temperature inside the heat insulating space 2 was maintained at a temperature below freezing. The snow flakes of Snow 6 thus obtained had a particle size of about 100 μm and a density of about 0.3 g / cm ³ , and artificial snow close to natural snow could be produced. The snowmaking speed was about 120 kg / h, and almost all of the supplied water could be snow. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the snow-making rate can be increased by increasing the volume of the heat insulating container 1, that is, the volume of the heat insulating space 2 and / or increasing the number of the heat insulating container 1.

【The invention's effect】

As described in detail above, the snow making method and device of the present invention have a circular cross-section that does not contact the wall surface of the heat-insulating space from the top of the heat-insulating space of the square cross-section that is cooled below freezing by vaporizing the liquid-phase refrigerant to spray. Since water is sprayed as a downward precipitation stream to condense into snow, the following effects are achieved. (B) Water is prevented from adhering to the wall surface of the heat insulation space, and snow making efficiency is improved. (B) The refrigerant is jetted in opposition to the descending water droplet flow to suppress the descending speed of the water droplets, and the residence time of the water droplets, that is, the cooling time is lengthened, so that the snowmaking efficiency can be further enhanced. (C) Snow can be made without using a large-scale building or refrigerator. (D) It is possible to provide a snow making device that is easy to move.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the constitution of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement of an embodiment, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a spray nozzle device, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show a descending water droplet flow. Explanatory drawing and FIG. 6 are sectional views of the heat insulating space. 1 ... Insulation container, 2 ... Insulation space, 3 ... Spray nozzle device, 4a
... Surrounding spray nozzle, 4b ... Central spray nozzle, 5a ... Central coolant nozzle, 5b ... Surrounding coolant nozzle, 6 ... Snow, 7 ... Water supply device,
8 ... Water droplets, 9 ... Refrigerant feeding device, 10 ... Downward water droplet flow, 11 ... Exhaust pipe, 13 ... Observation window, 14 ... Door, 15 ... Water tank, 17 ... Pump, 19
… Water supply pipe, 21… Flow meter, 23… Pressure gauge, 25… Thermometer, 27…
High-pressure refrigerant container, 29 ... Solenoid valve, 31 ... Refrigerant supply pipe, 32, 33, 34
… Open / close valve, 35… cooling valve.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Water is sprayed from the top of a heat insulating space having a square horizontal cross section on one side H so as to form a downward precipitation drop flow in a circular horizontal cross section having a diameter D shorter than the one side H, and liquefied refrigerant is applied to the four corners of the heat insulating space. From the center of the adiabatic space to the center of the adiabatic space and upward in a cone shape from the center of the descending water droplet flow to condense the water droplets of the descending water droplet flow. 2. A heat insulating space having a square horizontal cross section on one side H, a plurality of peripheral spray nozzles provided obliquely downward at the center of the upper end of the heat insulating space, and a central spray nozzle provided downward from the radial center. Spray nozzle device, a water supply device connected to the spray nozzle device, a central refrigerant nozzle disposed upward at a position on the heat insulating space center line facing the spray nozzle device at a predetermined distance, four corners of the heat insulating space And a plurality of peripheral refrigerant nozzles directed to the center of the adiabatic space, and a liquid-phase refrigerant delivery device connected to the central refrigerant nozzle and the peripheral refrigerant nozzles, the diameter D from the spray nozzle device being one side Water is sprayed in the form of a drop of water on the bottom of a circular horizontal section shorter than H, and a conical liquid-phase refrigerant jet is jetted upwards from the central refrigerant nozzle and the surrounding refrigerant nozzle Snowmaking apparatus is horizontal apex angle formed by ejecting the orientation liquid refrigerant into the heat insulation space center at right angles of the conical.