MX2008007238A - Remote cooling system for charge-air cooled engines - Google Patents

Abstract

A remote cooling system (10) for cooling turbocharged compressed air from a charge-air cooled engine (12) which is placed within an enclosed environment. The cooling system (10) comprises a charge-air cooler (14) located a predetermined distance from the engine (12). The charge-air cooler (14) comprises a fluid receiver (16) which receives turbocharged air from the engine 12, an air-to-water heat exchanger (24) which cools the turbocharged air received from the fluid receiver (16), and a fluid return member (26) for returning the cooled air to the engine (12). A secondary cooling device (34), located outside of the enclosed environment, provides heat transfer from the heat exchanger (24) within the charge-air cooler (14) to an external environment.

Description

REMOTE COOLING SYSTEM FOR COOLED ENGINES WITH AIR LOADING Field of the Invention The present invention relates in general to cooling systems and to devices for use in connection with engines and similar heat generating devices, in particular, to a cooling system remote and an arrangement to be used in connection with the cooled engines with air charge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Air-charged cooling systems and arrangements used in connection with high-horsepower engines include a two-stage system, wherein the air load is recycled through a block mounted with an air-to-water, air-charged cooler, and the water is then cooled with a radiator. Such air-charged cooling systems are constructed as an integrated part of the engine itself, as a component packaged by the engine manufacturer. Accordingly, such systems do not have the ability to disassemble and be used in connection with other applications and cooling systems. The increasingly stringent restrictions of the Environmental Protection Agency have forced manufacturers to design engines that have reduced fossil fuel emissions, such as nitrous oxide, dioxide of carbon, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, while increasing the fuel economy. In order to comply with the legislation of emmissions, while the expectations of the customers' performance are reached, the designers of engines have begun to use air-to-air cooling. Currently designed engines, such as Tier I I engines in the automotive industry, use the air-to-air-air charge cooling for the entry of air from a turbocharger. Outside the automotive production and manufacturing industry, engines are used in a wide variety of applications and fields. Certain engine installations, such as in the power generation industry, require non-integrated and remote cooling systems. For example, such cooling systems are necessary when the engine is located within a building or structure, such as the basement, a closed room or other structure, to prevent the engine from being exposed to environmental elements. In such application, the use of a single-stage air-to-air cooling system, such as with Tier II or with the latest Tier III engines, is not possible, since it requires heat from the air load be transferred within the enclosed structure. Such a situation is not practical, since the enclosed area will be heated and this heat will require its removal with other means. In the enclosed structure application, another option would be a pipe or the transfer of the air charge to a cooling system of air, air to air charge. In this way, the heat will be transferred to the exterior environment of the enclosed structure. However, such an arrangement is neither efficient nor practical. In particular, such a system will increase the internal air pressure drop and therefore, will reduce the operation and efficiency of the engine. Due to these limitations, higher performance engines, such as the Tier II engine type, can not be used in the enclosed structure environment. Accordingly, the use of engines within the enclosed structure environment requires the use of traditional air-load cooling systems that include a two-stage system, wherein the cooling components are constructed as an integrated part of the engine. itself, as a component packaged by the engine manufacturer. In addition, for the lower levels of engine performance, these systems have other disadvantages, as described above.

Brief Description of the Invention Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system for use in connection with an air-charging motor, air to air. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system for use in connection with the engine installation, wherein the cooling system is remote and not intted with the engine. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system cooling that is useful in connection with a motor or other heat generating device that is placed in an enclosed structure. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a remote cooling system that does not reduce efficiency much or warm the internal environment. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a cooling system for use in connection with a heat generating device, such as an air-loaded engine and the like thereof. In particular, the cooling system of the present invention utilizes an air-to-water, air charge cooling device, which is located at a predetermined distance from the engine and uses a secondary closed water circuit to remove the heat at through the remote cooling device to the external environment. Such a unique arrangement provides a high performance engine that is usually cooled through an air-charged, air-to-air (post-cooled) system to be used in an installation where the engine is located in a closed environment that will require a remote cooling system. These and other features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structures and the combination of parts and economy of manufacture, will become apparent upon considering the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. , all of them are part of this specification, where equal numbers designate corresponding parts in the different Figures. However, it must be understood that the drawings are intended to illustrate and describe and not They are intended to be considered as a definition of the terms of the invention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form of "a", "an" and "the", "the" include their plural references, unless otherwise indicated.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic view of the complete remote cooling system coupled with a motor in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a plan view of the complete remote cooling system coupled with a motor in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a perspective view of an air charge cooler used in the cooling system of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a perspective view of an air charge cooler in accordance with an alternative design, which it can be used in the cooling system of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a top view of an air charge cooler of Figure 4. Figure 6 is a perspective view of an air charge cooler of the Figure 4, with the head separated to see the arrangement of tubes inside the cooler. Figure 7 is a first embodiment of an end view of a tube column scheme for a pipe tube arrangement design alternating that can be used with the air charge cooler of Figure 4; and Figure 8 is a second embodiment of an end view of the pipe arrangement with the use of "end-to-end" or "pipe-touch" positioning of the pipes for a row spacing that can be used in the pipeline. air charge cooler of Figure 3.

Detailed Description of the Invention For the purpose of describing the invention, the terms of space, or address related to the invention refer to the orientation they have in the Figures. However, it should be understood that the invention may adopt several alternative modalities, except where otherwise specified. Also, it should be understood that the specific components illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and described in the following specification, are only exemplary embodiments of the invention. Therefore, the specific dimensions as well as the physical characteristics related to the modalities described here should not be considered as limiting. The embodiment of the invention is a cooling system for use in connection with a variety of steam generating devices, such as an air-charged engine, which is typically cooled by an air-to-air cooling system, including the Tier II or Tier III high performance / low emission engine, but where the engine is in an enclosed environment and therefore, an air-to-air cooling system It will be impractical to cool the motor. As shown in the drawings, the embodiment of the invention includes a cooling device with air charge and a secondary remote cooling device, such as a radiator device, for cooling and removing the heat generated by the motor. No one of the air-charged cooling device or the secondary cooling device is coupled or integrated with the motor, however, the air-charged cooling device and the secondary cooling device effectively and efficiently cool the engine and transfer heat from the engine to the outside environment. Reference is now made to Figures 1 and 2, which show a complete remote cooling system generally indicated with 10, coupled with a 1 2 engine, such as a cooled engine with air charge to cool the air compressed, turbocharged exiting motor 1 2. Cooling system 1 0 includes a cooler 14 with air charge located at a predetermined distance from the engine. The air-charged chiller 14 is shown in detail in Figures 3 through 6. It should be noted that Figures 3 and 4 only differ in the number of side vanes 49 in the air-charged chiller 14. The number of side flaps 49 may vary depending on the internal pressure observed by the air-charged chiller 14, since the flaps 49 function to increase the stiffness of the side member, which increases the durability of the chiller 14 with charge of air. For example, a lower internal pressure will require fewer lateral fins. The air-charged cooler comprises a fluid receiver, for generally indicated by the number 1 6, which receives the turbocharged air from the engine 1 2. This fluid receiver 16 comprises a pipe 1 8, as is well known in the art, coupled between an inlet 20 in the cooler 14 under load of air and an outlet 22 in the engine 1 2. A heat exchanger 24, as shown in Figure 6, is provided to cool the turbocharged air received from the fluid receiver 16. This heat exchanger 24 is in the form of an air to water heat exchanger described in more detail below. A fluid return member, indicated generally with the 26, is provided to return the cooled air to the engine 1 2. This fluid return member 26 comprises a pipe 28, as is well known in the art, coupled between a outlet 30 in the cooler 14 with air charge and an inlet 32 in the engine 1 2. A secondary cooling device, such as a radiator 34, provides heat transfer from the heat exchanger 24, inside the cooler 14 under load of air to the outside environment. The radiator 34 is mounted at a predetermined distance from the air-charged cooler 14, such as, for example, outside the enclosed environment of a roof 47 in a building, as shown in Figure 2. Conventional tubing may be provided to perform the cycle of the hot liquid inside the radiator through a tube 36 and a liquid cooled through the regulator tube 38 inside the air-charged cooler 14. An outlet 37 is provided in the air-charged chiller 14 for feeding the hot liquid out of the air-charged chiller 14 into the tube 36 and an inlet 39 is provided in the air-charged chiller 14 for receive the cooled liquid in it. An auxiliary pump 40 may be provided for pumping the cooled liquid from the radiator 34 to the air-charged cooler 14. The radiator 34 may also include means, such as the pipe 42, 44 for performing the jacketed water cycle from the radiator 34 to the engine 1 2. A pump 46 of the engine may be provided for pumping the jacketed water from the radiator 34 to the engine 1 2. An independent fluid pump can be used in a post-cooler circuit of the radiator to maintain the gallons per minute required for the air-cooled cooling device 14. This arrangement is used when the motor pump 46 is not present. The air-charged device 14 and the radiator 34 have the dimensions, form and operate to maintain proper cooling and flow requirements of the heat generating device or engine 1 2. As described above, the present invention is directed to a remote cooling system that can be used to cool engines that they are located in an enclosed environment. The invention is particularly suitable for use with motors that are typically cooled by the use of an air-to-air cooling system, but since the motors are located in an enclosed environment, air-to-air cooling of the motor is not convenient. For this reason, an air-to-water cooling system is used to cool this type of engines. The air-to-water cooling system is not mounted directly on the engine block, rather, it is a separate unit that is placed at a predetermined distance from the engine. An example of this design is shown, for example, in Figure 2, where the engine 1 2 is mounted in a sub-base 48 and air-charged cooler 14 this sub-base 48 is mounted at a predetermined distance away from the engine 12. In another preferred and non-limiting embodiment, the air-charged cooling device can be mounted at 1.5 meters of the engine, 6.0 meters from the engine or at a distance necessary for a particular environment, as long as the appropriate pressure drop requirements are maintained, which is typically not greater than 1 psi. Reference is now made to Figures 3 to 8, which show the details of air-charged chiller 14 for use with a remote cooling system 10. The air-charged cooler 14 includes an air-to-water heat exchanger 24 which is described in more detail below. Figure 6 shows the heat exchanger 24 with a head 54 removed to show the plurality of tubes 50 for the air-to-water cooling system. A first preferred technique for coupling these tubes 50 with the fins 52 of the heat exchanger 24 is by a mechanical coupling, wherein the individual tubes 50 expand within the fins 52 having a similar orifice geometry to provide a tube connection -a-fin The ends of the tubes 50 can also be mechanically coupled with the head 54 in the same shape. This expansion technique for building the heat exchanger is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 3,857,151 to Young et.al.

A second preferred technique for coupling the tubes 50 with the fins 52 of the heat exchanger 24 and for coupling the ends of the tubes 50 with the head 54 is a technique known as a technique CUPROBRAZE ™. CUPROBRAZE ™ is a manufacturing process that is used to weld copper and brass at temperatures that are generally below those of normal welding operations, but do not exceed the softening temperatures of the components to be bonded. This process involves depositing a solder paste in the tubes or fins, which are then assembled and heated to an appropriate soldering temperature. The paste used as the solder compound is known as OKC 600, as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,378,294, to Rissanen and U.S. Patent No. 5,429,794 and 6,264,764 to Kamf et.al. This compound contains binders and a metal solder alloy based on a CuSnNiP system, for example, about 75% copper, about 15% tin, about 5% nickel and about 5% phosphorus. Other compounds and methods are in development for use with the CUPROBRAZE ™ technique. These compounds are the subject matter of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,032,808 and 6,997,371 to Shabtay and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0283967 and 2006/0249559. It should be noted that the heat exchanger 24 of the present invention is not limited to the tube-to-fin and tube-to-head coupling techniques described above. Other types of coupling techniques can be used for the coupling of the tubes with the fins and the heads, such as welding, adhesives and their like. During the construction of the heat exchange means 24 of the invention, it was determined that when the CUPROBRAZE ™ process is used, It is necessary to add a small percentage of iron to the copper alloy tube to make it "resistant to tempering". In the application of the CU PROBRAZE ™ process of the invention, it is necessary to temper the tube to appropriate shape and mechanically wind it with the joint. It was found that the grain size of the material had to be increased at the end of the tube so that they do not harden during processing and fail prematurely due to cycle fatigue in the user's final application or during testing. The air-to-water exchanger 52 may include a fin core constructed in accordance with any known structure including a serpentine arrangement., a square wave, a corrugated fin or an oval tube. The air-to-water exchanger 24 can be constructed in accordance with a first embodiment, wherein the plurality of tubes 50 can be configured in an alternate arrangement, as shown in Figure 7. This design is the subject matter of the US Pat. United States No. 7, 003, 879 of Sm ith et. al This design allows for an increase in air flow around the tubes 50 and allows an increase in the web 56 in the head 54 around the tubes 50. In this design, the plurality of tubes 50 having an end configuration are arranged in a default alternate arrangement. The head 54 is provided with a predetermined number of openings 60 arranged in the predetermined alternating arrangement corresponding to the plurality of tubes 50. The head 54 is formed by identifying the direction of the air flow, determining at least one row shrinkage and the contraction of the number tube predetermined openings, and by aligning at least one row shrinkage and the shrinkage of the tube with respect to the air flow. The plurality of tubes 50 is arranged so that the row shrinkage and the shrinkage of the tube are essentially the same. A safety system is provided to secure one end of each of the plurality of tubes 50 within a corresponding opening 60 in the head 54. This insurance system can be any process, eg, mechanical, CU PROBRAZE ™, welding and their similes, as described in detail before. A second method for constructing an air-to-water heat exchanger 24 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7, 036, 570 to Korth et al. In this technique, an "end to end" or "tube tap" position of the tubes is used for row separation. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 7. In this technique, the core structure of the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of tubes 50 having a predetermined end configuration, the head 54 having a number of corresponding openings 60. to the plurality of tubes, so that the openings 60 are arranged in an end-to-end arrangement and wherein the predetermined end configurations are touched and an insurance system for securing one end of each of the plurality of tubes. in a corresponding one of each opening 60 in the head 54. This insurance system may comprise any of the processes described above in detail. Although the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration based on what is currently considered the most practices and preferred, it should be understood that such details only serve that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the modalities described, on the contrary, it is intended to cover the modifications and equivalent arrangements that fall within the scope and spirit of the invention. invention. For example, it should be understood that the present invention contemplates that as far as possible, one or more characteristics of any modality may be combined with one or more characteristics of another modality.

Claims (9)

1. The remote cooling system for cooling turbocharged compressed air of a cooled engine with air charge, the cooling system is characterized in that it comprises: (a) an air-charged cooler located at a predetermined distance from the engine, the cooler with load of air comprises: (i) a fluid receiver that receives the turbocharged air from the engine; (ii) a heat exchanger that cools the turbocharged air received from the fluid receiver; and (ii) a fluid return member that returns the cooled air to the engine; and (b) a secondary cooling device for providing heat transfer from the heat exchanger inside the air-charged cooler to the outside environment. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the fluid receiver comprises an inlet inside the air-charged cooler, an outlet inside the engine and a tubular member in fluid communication with the inlet of the cooler under load of air and the output of the motor. 3. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the fluid return member comprises an outlet inside the air-charged cooler, an inlet inside the motor and a tubular member in fluid communication with the cooler outlet with air charge and the motor inlet. 4. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat exchanger comprises an air-to-water cooling system. The remote cooling system according to claim 4, characterized in that the aeration-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes mechanically expanded within fins having a similar orifice geometry to provide the tube-to-fin connection. The remote cooling system according to claim 4, characterized in that the aeration-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes mechanically expanded within the holes within the head to provide a tube-to-head connection. 7. The remote cooling system according to claim 4, characterized in that the air-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes joined with fins and a head using a welding process comprising a metal welding alloy. based on a CuSn N iP system. 8. The remote cooling system according to claim 7, characterized in that the plurality of tubes are composed of a brass alloy containing a small percentage of iron to cause the tube to become resistant to quenching. 9. The remote cooling system in accordance with the claim 4, characterized in that the air-cooling system includes a fin core constructed in accordance with one of a coil tube, square wave, corrugated fin or oval tube arrangement. The remote cooling system according to claim 4, characterized in that the aeration-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes having an end configuration, the plurality of tubes are arranged in a predetermined alternating arrangement. , a head has a predetermined number of openings disposed in the predetermined alternating arrangement corresponding to the plurality of tubes, and a locking system securing one end of each of the plurality of tubes within a corresponding opening in the head. eleven . The remote cooling system according to claim 4, characterized in that the air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes having a predetermined end configuration, the head has a number of openings corresponding to the plurality of tubes , so that the openings are arranged in an end-to-end arrangement, and wherein the predetermined end configurations are touched, and an insurance system securing one end of each of the plurality of tubes within a corresponding one of each of the openings in the head.

2. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the secondary cooling device comprises a radiator mounted at a distance. default from the air-charged cooler. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the secondary cooling system includes a cycle system with the ability to perform a jacketed cycle of the water through the motor. 14. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes an auxiliary pump for pumping the cooled fluid from the secondary cooling medium to the air-charged cooler. 5. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the engine is operated in an enclosed environment and a secondary cooling means is located outside the enclosed environment. The remote cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the engine comprises an air-to-air, low emission, high performance cooled motor. The remote cooling system according to claim 1 6, characterized in that the engine comprises a Tier I I engine. 1 8. A remote cooling system for cooling air with turbocharged prime of a cooled engine with air charge, the cooled engine with air charge is located within a confined environment, the cooling system is characterized because it comprises: (a) An air-charged cooler installed at a predeter- mined distance from the engine, the air-charged cooler comprises: (i) a fluid receiver that receives turbocharged air from the engine; (ii) an air-to-water heat exchanger that cools the turbocharged air received from the fluid receiver; and (iv) a fluid return member that returns the cooled air to the engine; and (b) a secondary cooling device located outside the enclosed environment to provide heat transfer from the heat exchanger inside the air-charged cooler to the outside environment. 9. The remote cooling system according to claim 18, characterized in that the engine comprises an air-to-air cooled, low emission, high performance motor. 20. A remote cooling system for cooling the turbocharged compressed air of an air-cooled engine, the cooled engine with air charge is located within an enclosed environment, the cooling system is characterized in that it comprises: (a) a An air-charged chiller located at a predetermined distance from the engine, the air-charged chiller comprises: (i) a fluid receiver that receives turbocharged air from the engine; the fluid receiver comprises an inlet inside the air-charged chiller, an outlet within the motor and a tubular member in fluid communication with the inlet of the air-charged chiller and with the outlet of the motor; (ii) an air-to-water heat exchanger that cools the air turbocharged received from the fluid receiver; and (ii i) a fluid return member that returns the cooled air to the motor; the return member comprises an outlet within the air-charged chiller, an inlet within the motor and a tubular member in fluid communication with the outlet of the air-charged chiller and with the motor inlet; and (b) a secondary cooling device located outside the enclosed environment to provide heat transfer from the heat exchanger inside the air-charged cooler to the outside environment.