KR101173297B1 - Cooling tower - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a cooling tower having a structure capable of effectively reducing white smoke. Cooling tower according to the present invention is equipped with a fan for sucking the outside air, the outside air suction port and the outside air outlet is discharged is formed, respectively, the lower housing is formed with a collecting tank for storing the cooling water; A first coolant line connected to the coolant outlet of the cooler; A second coolant line connecting the first coolant line and the sump of the housing to transfer the hot coolant discharged from the cooler to the sump of the housing; And a third coolant line connecting the sump of the housing and the coolant inlet of the cooler to supply the cooled coolant in the sump to the cooler. In the cooling tower of this structure, the cooling water in the collection tank is cooled by the outside air sucked by the fan, and the high temperature cooling water discharged from the cooling unit is mixed with the low temperature cooling water in the collection tank of the housing and cooled.

Description

Cooling tower

The present invention relates to a cooling tower, and more particularly to a cooling tower having a structure capable of suppressing the generation of white smoke.

Generally, a cooling tower is installed outside a building equipped with a refrigerating unit to cool high temperature cooling water used for cooling a refrigerating unit (cooler), and is mainly used for heat transfer and residual heat of evaporation of coolant when contacted with the outside air. It is divided into an open cooling tower which lowers the temperature of the cooling water and a closed cooling tower which lowers the temperature of the cooling water by the latent heat of evaporation of the evaporated water sprayed on the cooling water on the closed circuit.

Open cooling towers are further divided into counterflow cooling towers, crossflow cooling towers, and non-powered cooling towers. In particular, the counterflow cooling towers are introduced through the inlet opening at the bottom of the side wall, and the low temperature external air flowing upward through the filler and the spray nozzles disposed thereon. By contacting the high-temperature cooling water injected from each other using the principle of heat transfer between the relatively low temperature of the outside air and the relatively high temperature of the cooling water and the cooling water by the evaporation residual heat generated while a part of the cooling water is evaporated into the air.

The general counter-flow cooling tower as described above has a problem of generating white smoke while generating a large amount of fine blisters from the air discharged from the outlet, especially when operating in low temperature conditions such as winter.

Cooling water discharged from the cooler is sprayed inside the cooling tower, and then cooled by contact with low temperature external air introduced into the cooling tower. When contacted with cold outside air, a portion of the injected hot cooling water evaporates and the temperature of the vaporized water vapor falls below the dew point to become fine droplets. When the coolant in this droplet state is discharged out of the cooling tower together with air, it appears as white smoke (white smoke).

Such white lead is usually harmless as condensate discharged from the cooling tower after cooling function, but may be harmful when the cooling water is contaminated or the cleaning state of the filler is poor. In addition, outsiders may see this smoke and mistake it for a fire in the room.

On the other hand, the white smoke generated in the cooling tower is generated when the difference (ΔT = T1-T2) between the temperature T1 of the cooling water discharged from the cooler and the temperature T2 of the external atmosphere is 15 ° C or more. In particular, when the temperature difference between the coolant discharged from the cooler and the coolant discharged from the cooler is severe, such as winter, when the temperature of the cooler is low, effective removal of white lead is difficult. Skill is required.

On the other hand, since the air discharged from the cooling tower is discharged to the atmosphere in a humid state to generate white smoke, the amount of cooling water discarded in the air in the state of steam together with the discharged outdoor air increases, and thus the amount of cooling water circulated in the cooler. It also involves the problem of having to replenish the cooling water periodically to keep it above a certain level.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling tower having a structure capable of effectively reducing white smoke.

Cooling tower according to the present invention for achieving the above object is equipped with a fan for sucking the outside air, the outside air suction port and the outside air discharge port is formed, respectively, the outside air is sucked in, the lower part of the water tank Formed housing; A first coolant line connected to the coolant outlet of the cooler; A second coolant line connecting the first coolant line and the sump of the housing to transfer the hot coolant discharged from the cooler to the sump of the housing; And a third coolant line connecting the sump of the housing and the coolant inlet of the cooler to supply the cooled coolant in the sump to the cooler.

In the cooling tower of this structure, the cooling water in the sump is cooled by external air sucked by the fan, and the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler is mixed with the low temperature cooling water in the sump to cool.

Here, the first coolant line is connected to the third coolant line and a portion of the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler is supplied to the cooler together with the cooled coolant, and the second coolant line and the third coolant of the first coolant line are provided. A first valve is installed in the area between the lines to control the flow of coolant to the third coolant line.

On the other hand, the cooling tower according to the present invention includes a first temperature sensor installed in the third cooling water line; And a control unit electrically connected to the first temperature sensor and the first valve of the first cooling water line. The control unit adjusts the temperature of the coolant flowing into the cooler to an optimal state by opening and closing the first valve based on the signal transmitted from the first temperature sensor.

The cooling tower according to the present invention includes a nozzle assembly installed in the housing; A fourth coolant line connected to the first coolant line and the nozzle assembly to supply the hot coolant discharged from the cooler to the nozzle assembly; And a fifth coolant line connecting the sump of the housing and the fourth coolant line to flow the low temperature coolant of the sump together with the hot coolant to the nozzle assembly, wherein the high temperature coolant sprayed in the housing through the nozzle assembly is further included. Cooled by outside air sucked by the fan.

On the other hand, the cooling tower according to the present invention is installed in the second cooling water line second valve for controlling the flow of the cooling water; And a fourth valve installed in the fourth cooling water line to control the flow of the cooling water, wherein only one of the second valve and the fourth valve is opened during operation of the cooling tower. To this end, the cooling tower according to the present invention includes a second temperature sensor installed outside the housing; And a control unit electrically connected to the second temperature sensor and the second and fourth valves, wherein the control unit selectively selects the second and fourth valves according to the temperature of the outside air from which the second temperature sensor is detected. Open and close.

The cooling tower according to the present invention as described above can prevent the direct contact between the high temperature coolant and the low temperature outside air or reduce the temperature difference between the coolant injected for cooling and the temperature of the outside air so that white lead is reduced even under low temperature conditions. Does not occur.

1 is a view showing the structure of a cooling tower according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings and the following description, the means (for example, pumps) for forcibly supplying (flowing) the coolant from the cooler to the corresponding coolant line and from the sump to the corresponding coolant line are not shown and described. Of course, a person of knowledge can easily understand and arrange the function of the means.

1 is a view showing the structure of a cooling tower according to the present invention, the cooling tower 100 according to the present invention is installed outdoors and is fluidly connected to the indoor cooler (indoor). The cooling tower 100 according to the present invention includes a housing 103 and a fan 105 that sucks outside air into the housing 103.

The outside air inlet 111 is formed at the lower portion of the housing 103, and the outside air outlet 113 in which the fan 105 is mounted is formed at the top thereof. In addition, a water collecting tank 119 is formed below the housing 103.

In such a structure, according to the operation of the fan 105, the outside air is forcibly drawn into the housing 103 through the inlet 111, and then discharged to the outside through the outside air outlet 113 (the path of such external air Is shown by arrows in FIG. 1).

The cooling tower 100 according to the present invention includes a third coolant line L3 connecting the coolant inlet of the cooler 110 and the sump tank 119 of the housing 103, a coolant outlet of the cooler 110, and a third coolant line ( It further comprises a first coolant line (L1) for connecting L3 and a second coolant line (L2) for connecting the first coolant line (L1) and the collection tank (119 (substantially coolant outlet)).

Here, in FIG. 1, the first to third cooling water lines L1 to L3 are represented by a single solid line for convenience.

In the region between the second coolant line L2 and the third coolant line L3 of the first coolant line L1, a first valve V1 for controlling the flow of coolant to the third coolant line L3 is provided. In addition, the second cooling water line L2 is equipped with a second valve V2 for controlling the flow of the cooling water to the water collecting tank 109.

On the other hand, the cooling tower 100 according to the present invention is mounted on the housing 103 in a state connected to the fourth cooling water line (L4), the fourth cooling water line (L4) connected to the first cooling water line (L1) cooler 110 It may further include a nozzle assembly 115 for injecting a high temperature coolant discharged from the into the housing 103 and a filler unit 109 for absorbing the injected coolant.

Here, the fourth cooling water line L4 is equipped with a fourth valve V4 for controlling the flow of the cooling water to the nozzle assembly 115.

In addition, the cooling tower 100 according to the present invention may further include a fifth cooling water line L5 connecting the water collecting tank 109 and the fourth cooling water line L4. As shown in FIG. 1, the fifth coolant line L5 is preferably connected to the discharge end of the fourth valve V4.

In this structure, the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 passes through the first coolant line L1 and the fourth coolant line L4 and the low temperature coolant in the sump 109 and the fifth coolant line L5. It may be supplied to the nozzle assembly 115 through the fourth cooling water line (L4), and then sprayed onto the filler unit 109 through each nozzle 107 constituting the nozzle assembly 115.

In this process, the high temperature coolant is sucked into the housing 103 by the fan 105 and cooled by the low temperature external air flowing thereafter, and then passes through the filler unit 109 to fall into the water collecting tank 119.

The low temperature coolant collected in the sump 119 is supplied into the cooler 110 through a third coolant line L3 connecting the sump 119 and the cooler 110.

The function of the cooling tower 100 having such a structure will be described by dividing the external atmospheric temperature introduced into the housing 103 into a large winter and a summer in which the temperature difference is not large. Additional structures and functions are described together.

Winter season  function

In winter, the fourth valve V4 installed in the fourth coolant line L4 and the first valve V1 installed in the first coolant line L1 are closed and the second valve V2 is open. The high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 100 is introduced into the collection tank 119 of the housing 103 through the first coolant line L1 and the second coolant line L2.

In this state, the outside air is forced into the housing 103 through the inlet 111 according to the operation of the fan 105, and then the outside air is passed through the outside air outlet 113 while passing through the filler unit 109. Is discharged. In this process, the high temperature cooling water in the collection tank 119 is cooled by low temperature external air, and then is supplied to the cooler 110 through the third cooling water line L3.

At the same time, the high temperature cooling water discharged from the cooler 110 is mixed with the low temperature cooling water in the water collecting tank 119 to lower the temperature first, and also the mixed cooling water (that is, the existing cooling water in the water collecting tank 119 and newly introduced water). Cooling water) is further lowered by the introduced outside air.

In such a condition, since the high temperature cooling water is directly supplied into the collection tank 119 blocked from the outside air, white smoke does not occur due to the temperature difference when the high temperature cooling water and the low temperature external air contact each other.

Meanwhile, after the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is mixed with the low temperature coolant in the water collecting tank 119, the coolant 110 is heated to a temperature (eg, 22 to 32 ° C.) to perform a cooling function of the cooler. If it is not lowered, it is preferable to further cool the cooling water of the sump 119.

As described above, the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is mixed with the low temperature coolant in the sump 119, and a part of the mixed coolant is the fifth coolant line L5 and the fourth coolant line L4. Flow through the nozzle assembly 115. Thereafter, when sprayed through the nozzle 107 of the nozzle assembly 115, the heat exchanged with the external air introduced from the outside, and the cooling water having a sufficiently low temperature is collected into the collection tank 119.

In this process, the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is mixed with the relatively low temperature coolant supplied from the water collection tank 119 and the temperature thereof is lowered. Thus, even when sprayed through the nozzle assembly 115, the coolant and the external The difference in temperature of the air (e.g., 15 ° C or less) is reduced so that white smoke does not occur.

On the other hand, the coolant supplied from the sump 119 to the cooler 110 is sufficiently cooled, and in particular, coolant having a temperature lower than an appropriate temperature (for example, 22 to 32 ° C.) for cooling is supplied to the cooler 110. Can be. For example, in general, the temperature difference between the hot coolant discharged from the cooler and the cold coolant flowing into the cooler is set to about 5 ° C. In winter, when the atmospheric temperature is low, the temperature of the cooling water in the sump cooled by forced external air may drop below 20 ° C. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the cooling water flowing into the cooler for thermal balance in the cooler.

In such a condition, it is effective to supply the high temperature cooling water discharged from the cooler 110 to the cooler 110 together with the low temperature cooling water supplied from the collection tank 119.

To this end, the first valve V1 installed in the first coolant line L1 is opened, so that a portion of the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 partially passes through the first and second coolant lines L1 and L2. The water is introduced into the water collecting tank 119 and cooled, and a part of the water is introduced into the cooler 110 through the first and third cooling water lines L1 and L3.

In this process, the low temperature coolant (ie, the coolant discharged from the sump 119 to the third coolant line L3) and the high temperature coolant are mixed in the third coolant line L3 and thus flow into the cooler 110. The resulting coolant will have a temperature that is sufficient to perform the cooling function.

Summer season  function

In the summer, only the fourth valve V4 is opened while the first and second valves V1 and V2 are blocked. Therefore, the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 100 is supplied to the nozzle assembly 115 through the first coolant line L1 and the fourth coolant line L4, and then through each nozzle 107, the filler unit ( 109).

In this process, the high temperature coolant is sucked into the housing 103 by the fan 105 and cooled by low temperature external air flowing (shown by arrows in FIG. 1), and then passed through the filler unit 109. It falls to the sump 119.

The cooled coolant is supplied to the cooler 110 through the third coolant line L3, and the new high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler 110 repeats the above-described process.

In summer, white smoke does not occur even if high temperature coolant is injected through the nozzle assembly 115 of the cooling tower 100 when the temperature difference between the outside air temperature and the coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is 15 ° C. or less.

 The foregoing detailed description is illustrative of the present invention. In addition, the foregoing description shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, the scope equivalent to the disclosed contents, and / or the skill or knowledge in the art.

For example, the cooling tower 100 according to the present invention has a third cooling water line L3 connecting the sump tank 119 and the cooler 110, in particular, a first temperature installed in a region adjacent to the cooling water inlet end of the cooler 110. The control unit 120 may further include a sensor S1, a temperature sensor S1, and a control unit 120 electrically connected to the first valve V1.

In this structure, the first temperature sensor S1 senses the temperature of the coolant flowing into the cooler 110 (that is, the coolant flowing from the sump 109 and the first coolant line L1, respectively), and the control unit ( The cooler 120 may selectively open or close the first valve V1 based on the signal transmitted from the first temperature sensor S1 (that is, adjust the flow rate of the high temperature coolant flowing from the first coolant line L1). 110, the temperature of the cooling water flowing into the optimal state can be adjusted.

On the other hand, the cooling tower 100 according to the present invention may further include a second temperature sensor (S2) installed on the outside (that is, the external atmosphere) of the housing 103, the second temperature sensor (S2) is the second and Fourth valves V2 and V4 are connected to an electrically connected control unit 120. (In addition, in FIG. 1, the connection state of the control unit 120 and each valve is not shown.)

In this structure, the second temperature sensor S2 senses the temperature of the outside air, and the control unit 120 is based on the signal transmitted from the second temperature sensor S2 and the second and fourth valves V2 and V4. Control the opening and closing of

That is, since the temperature of the coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is within a certain range and the temperature of the outside air changes, the second and fourth valves V2 and V4 may be changed according to the temperature change of the outside air in order to prevent the generation of white smoke. It is preferable to open and close selectively.

In more detail, the temperature difference of the coolant discharged from the cooler 110 by the temperature of the outside air detected through the second temperature sensor S2 is 15 ° C. or less (a condition set in the control unit 120, mainly in summer) , The control unit 120 closes the second valve V2 and opens the fourth valve V4, so that the coolant flows through the fourth coolant line L4 to the nozzle assembly 115 (after Is the same as described above).

On the contrary, when the temperature difference of the temperature of the external air sensed by the second temperature sensor S2 is 15 ° C. or more (mainly winter), the temperature of the coolant discharged from the cooler 110 is controlled by the fourth coolant. Closing the fourth valve V4 installed in the line L4 and opening the second valve V2, so that the coolant flows directly into the sump 119 (the following functions are the same as described above).

Therefore, the cooling tower 100 can be operated without generating mist without the operator needing to operate the valve according to the temperature change of the outside air.

Claims (8)

In the cooling tower installed outdoors, connected to the indoor cooler,
A housing equipped with a fan for sucking outside air, an outside air inlet through which external air is sucked in, and an outside air outlet through which air is discharged, respectively, and a housing having a water collecting tank configured to store cooled coolant in a lower portion thereof;
A nozzle assembly installed in the housing and spraying the supplied coolant to the sump;
A first coolant line connected to the coolant outlet of the cooler;
A second coolant line connecting the first coolant line and the sump of the housing to transfer the hot coolant discharged from the cooler to the sump of the housing; And
A third coolant line connecting the sump of the housing and the coolant inlet of the cooler to supply the cooled coolant in the sump to the cooler; And
A fourth coolant line connected to the first coolant line and the nozzle assembly to supply the hot coolant discharged from the cooler to the nozzle assembly,
And a cooling water in the sump is cooled by the outside air sucked by the fan, and the high temperature coolant discharged from the cooler is mixed with the low temperature coolant in the sump of the housing. The method of claim 1,
The first cooling water line is directly connected to the third cooling water line, characterized in that a portion of the high temperature cooling water discharged from the cooler is supplied to the cooler along with the cooled coolant. 3. The cooling tower of claim 2, further comprising a first valve disposed in an area between the second coolant line and the third coolant line of the first coolant line to control the flow of coolant to the third coolant line. The method of claim 3, wherein
A first temperature sensor installed in the third cooling water line; And
And a control unit electrically connected to the first temperature sensor and the first valve of the first cooling water line, wherein the control unit opens and closes the first valve based on a signal transmitted from the first temperature sensor. Cooling tower, characterized in that to adjust the temperature. The method of claim 4, wherein
Cooling tower, characterized in that the first temperature sensor is installed in the area adjacent to the cooling water inlet of the cooler. The method of claim 1,
A fifth coolant line connecting the sump of the housing and the fourth coolant line to flow the coolant of the sump with the hot coolant to the nozzle assembly;
Cooling tower, characterized in that the hot coolant sprayed in the housing through the nozzle assembly is cooled by the outside air sucked by the fan. The method according to claim 6,
A second valve installed in the second cooling water line to control the flow of the cooling water; And
And a fourth valve installed in the fourth cooling water line to control the flow of the cooling water, wherein only one of the second valve and the fourth valve is opened during operation. The method according to claim 6,
A second temperature sensor installed outside of the housing; And
And a control unit electrically connected to the second temperature sensor and the second and fourth valves, wherein the control unit selectively opens and closes the second and fourth valves according to the temperature of the outside air from which the second temperature sensor is sensed. Cooling tower characterized by.

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