MXPA00009265A - Thermal storage coil arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a planned array (66) of tubes (62) and circuits for a thermal storage coil assembly to maintain at least some of the vertical aisles (103) between adjacent circuits or sets of circuit is to provide communication through the cooling coil to present more ice-contact surface area to the heat transfer fluid for maintenance of a fluid temperature at about the desired output temperature at design or overbuilt ice conditions and to provide a means to monitor and control termination of the ice build in a thermal storage coil assembly.

Description

THERMAL STORAGE SERPENT ARRANGEMENT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to thermal storage coil assemblies, which have 5 heat exchange tubes, and heat exchanger arrangements, such as a cooling coil used to cool and freeze the heat exchanger. thermal storage fluid inside a storage tank. More specifically, coil arrangements are identified to better facilitate the melting of the thermal storage fluid in its solid phase, such as ice, after over-accumulation of the fluid in its solid phase within a thermal storage coil assembly, whose arrangements of The coils allow the maintenance of a suitably low temperature so that the fluid output of the thermal storage meets the cooling requirements of the normal systems. The thermal storage coil assemblies provide a means for storing cooling capacity for use in the future. Coil assemblies have phase change fluids, thermal storage fluids, such as water, whose fluids can freeze to form solid phases, such as ice. Additional reference will be made in the description to the thermal storage fluids with water as a specific example of a ^ Jyg¡¡ ^ ^^^^^ storage and ice as its solid phase. A frequent application of such thermal storage equipment uses • low-cost electrical energy, usually from evening hours to night, to generate and store a volume of thermal storage fluid in its solid phase as ice, in a large vat or a chamber filled with a storage fluid thermal, like water. This mixture of ice and water is retained until its stored cooling capacity is required, the requirement of which is usually experienced during periods of high demand, high energy costs, such as hours of the day. In a typical operation, the low temperature thermal storage fluid is extracted from the storage chamber, pumped through the heat exchanger to absorb heat, and then it is returned to the thermal storage coil assembly chamber to cool by melting the retained ice. An exemplary application of the stored cooling capacity is a district cooling operation, which is becoming a practice of highly accepted cooling. These district cooling operations generally have multiple heat exchangers coupled to a single thermal storage facility. The largest number of different users of the storage coil assemblies thermal in a district cooling application ice or other thermal storage fluid, in the tubes or circuits, will result or may result in a bypass • Full horizontal of the ice formed in the adjacent tubes. The total amount of ice stored in the fluid chamber may be sufficient for the application after an over-accumulation of ice, however, the temperature of the thermal storage fluid drawn from the chamber may be inadequate because only the perimeter of the formed monolithic ice block is accessible • 10 at the contact of circulating thermal storage fluid. A stirring method, typically with air, is provided at the bottom of the ice storage chamber as a method to improve the recovery of stored energy or cooling capacity. This air travels upwards through vertical spaces between adjacent tubes and ice masses. However, the development of solid or monolithic ice masses removes vertical separation spaces between adjacent tubes and ice on them, which inhibits airflow and the flow of fluid through the ice mass. The result of this restricted air and fluid flow is the reduction of the recovery of cooling capacity, since the recovery is limited to the outer surfaces of the ice mass, which produces a cooling fluid of thermal storage extracted from the chamber É H. - ft. tr At,,, • ..,. -, ..-.-, < ", R -, - - > * -? Ki jjj¡ ^ thermal storage at higher temperatures and less useful. Other attempts to improve efficiency sometimes use extreme measures to melt the ice mass, such as spraying high-pressure water on the monolithic blocks to melt the ice. The conditions of over-accumulation of ice that have monolithic ice blocks are a common and recurrent condition. It happens commonly due to various conditions such as unbalanced fluid flow velocities, inadequate measurements, or malfunctioning controls.While there are verification techniques and equipment available to measure the volume of ice developed in a given chamber, it is a more general practice. visually inspect tank volume Another method uses a 15 fluid level tester based on ice volume change, but these devices are not very reliable especially for low volume tanks that involve very small changes in fluid height. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a means or method for having greater access to more of the stored ice surface than just the outer perimeter of a monolithic ice block when an over-accumulation occurs.The present invention provides a cooling coil arrangement that uses an alignment of variable space distance, which incorporates the use of at least one fluid flow or ventilation channel within the arrangement of coils with a gap • greater between the adjacent tubes than the separation spaces of the remaining tubes. In addition, it has also been noted that with a small increase in the width of the arrangement, which is approximately 3% cooling, alternative arrangements can be provided to accommodate the ventilation gap. Beyond the design or a one hundred percent ice production cycle, the (H 10 exposed ice surface area is decreased in terms of measuring capacity.) This decrease causes the suction pressure or temperature in the Refrigerant compressor decreases in terms of measuring capacity, which can be used to identify the end of the cycle of desired production. The detected temperature change can be used to shut down the thermal storage coil assembly. The change in the temperature of the refrigerant fluid in the discharge port or the change in the inlet suction pressure in its port to the cooling coils indicates the cycle of ice buildup, or excessive ice buildup, per enzyme of approximately ten percent beyond its total capacity. A decrease in the ice surface area within the thermal storage chamber may have a effect on the thermal storage fluid and this effect can be used to control the cooling cycle. The retention of the exposed ice surface area to contact it with the thermal storage fluid during the melting or the recovery cycle will provide the thermal storage fluid at a suitably low temperature to meet the requirements of the normal cooling cycle. . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In several figures of the drawings, the numbers w? Similar figures refer to similar elements, and in the figures: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the typical prior art thermal storage application; Figure 2 is an oblique end view of a typical prior art coil structure with loop head ends and pipe extending between the ends; Figure 2A is a side elevation view of a coil assembly as in Figure 2; Figure 2B is an end view taken along the lines 2B-2B of the coil assembly in Figure 2A; Figure 2C is an end view taken along the line 2C-2C of the coil assembly in Figure 2A; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary schematic arrangement of the prior art of the coils of a coil structure in Figure 2A taken along line 3-3 with a desired accumulation, or 100%, of ice in the coils; Figure 3A is an enlarged cut 4 x 4 of the ice and coil structure in Figure 3; ^ 10 Figure 3B is a segmented view of the coil structure in Figure 3 with approximately ten percent excess ice buildup in the coil structure, as an illustration of vertical gap blocking; Figure 3C illustrates a typical or desired ice buildup in the tubes in a coil structure; Figure 4 is a first exemplary embodiment in a cross-sectional view of a coil arrangement with a greater number of individual tubes in an array of coil in pairs with adjacent tubes closely aligned and having a first gap, but alternating pairs of circuits having a second greater gap between adjacent pairs of circuits; Figure 4A is an enlarged cross section 4 x 6 - ~ t ffliHÜÉnfflfflti of the structure of ice and coil accumulation in Figure 4; Figure 5 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the structure in Figure 4 with a first narrower space and a second wider space; Figure 5A is an enlarged cross section 4 x 6 of the ice and coil accumulation structure in Figure 5; Figure 6 illustrates a second alternative embodiment of the structure in Figure 4 with a first wider gap and a second narrower gap; Figure 6A is an enlarged cross section 4 x 6 of the ice and coil accumulation structure in Figure 6; Figure 7 is an alternative embodiment of the structure in Figure 4 where the first gap between the adjacent tubes is incrementally larger, and the second gap is nominally narrower; Figure 7A is an enlarged cross section 4 x 6 of the ice and coil accumulation structure in Figure 7; Figure 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the structure to Figure 4 where the first separation is aká ^ _ * »__ Bd. nominally equal between the adjacent pairs of tubes, the second gap between the adjacent pairs of coils is measured narrower and a third gap with a significant width is provided centrally between the central pairs of adjacent coils; Figure 8A is an enlarged cross section 4 x 6 of the ice and coil accumulation structure in Figure 8, and including the central separation space jA 10 enlarged; Figure 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the structure in Figure 6 with an enlarged central gap; Figure 9A is an enlarged cut 4 x 6 of the ice build-up structure and coil in Figure 9, but does not include the enlarged central gap; Figure 10 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention wherein a plurality of adjacent circuits of the Figure 4 agglomerates to provide groups of circuits 20 with significant separation spaces between the adjacent groups of the circuits; Figure 10A is an enlarged cut 4 x 4 of the ice build-up structure and coil in Figure 10, but does not include the extended central gap 25; ^ t *** gtit * ^ ASk * * á.

Figure 11 illustrates the general structure of the Figure 4 with a second gap again • observed between adjacent pairs of a plurality of agglomerated pairs to provide the fixed structure of Figure 10 and including the extended gap between adjacent sets of agglomerated pairs of coils or tubes; Figure HA is an enlarged cut 4 x 6 of the structure of ice and coil accumulation in Figure 11, but does not include spaces or aisles of extended separation; Figure 12 is a graphic illustration of the outlet temperature versus the percentage of usable ice surface area; Figure 13 is a graphical illustration of the freezing fluid temperature versus the percentage of freeze Figure 14 is a plan view of an ice tube arrangement with mechanical spacers to provide an enlarged gap; and, Figure 15 illustrates alternative embodiments for providing a mechanical separation between the adjacent tubes, which provides the vertical separation spaces. Figure 1 is a schematic illustrative view of a thermal storage apparatus 10 coupled to an external heat exchanger 12. The apparatus 10 has a cooling tower 14 coupled to a condenser and a water pump 16. A glycol cooler 18 with a drum 15 and a pump 20 is connected to a cooling coil array 22 in the thermal storage tank 24, which has water as storage fluid in the tank chamber 26. The vent line 28 provides ventilation and agitation of the fluid in the tank 24. The coil 22 is (B 10 connected to the inlet 32, for introducing the cooling fluid and an outlet 34 for discharging or returning the hot refrigerant to the chiller 18 of glycol, which may include a compressor.The specific refrigerant and cooling unit or cooler 18 is not limited respectively to glycol or the illustrated structure, but it is a design choice. The cooler 18 provides cold glycol through the drum 15, which glycol is pumped into a tube arrangement 22 to cool or freeze the thermal storage fluid in the tank 24. The ice-water pump 36 in this example is coupled between the heat exchanger 12 and the tank chamber 26 to transfer the cooled thermal storage fluid to the exchanger 12 and return the fluid to the tank chamber 26 via the line 40. In an exemplary application, the pump of frozen water communicates a cooled fluid of the exchanger 12 to a handling apparatus 44. Figure 1 includes a temperature detector 46 • connected to return line 48 of refrigerant downstream of discharge outlet 34 to verify the discharge coolant temperature or pressure. In this illustration, detector 46 is coupled by line 47 to control CPU 50, which is coupled to pump 16 by line 52 and pump 20 by line 54, to start or stop operation of pump 16 and the pump. pump 20 and to start or B 10 stop the accumulation of ice in tank 24. This illustration and the use of CPU 50 as a control device is simply exemplary and does not limit the present invention. The use of the assemblies 10 of the thermal storage coil is known in the art. The assemblies Thermal storage is often used to provide a cooling capacity for periods of high demand. The stored cooling capacity or the thermal storage capacity is generated or accumulated in off-peak periods of demand time, usually at night time, by cooling the ice or other phase-changing thermal storage fluid. The stored cooling capacity is typically recovered by withdrawing the fluid from the chamber 26 of the tank 24 and transferring it through a heat exchanger 12 or other device 44 of use -f ÍHMÉftl.r «+ fr« '• "• * it tf, tt irnr • *, - *,, - and" "" "» »" "-. ^ -f ..... ...- , ... ... ... .. ..,., ....,., .._ ,,. ^ *.,.. ***** final The serpentine arrangement 22 in the Figure 2 is shown in an oblique end view with connecting ends 61 or 63 with return ends 60 of the tubes 62, as can be more easily seen in Figure 2 A. The head 58 has an inlet port 65 and a port 67 of discharge, whose ports 65 and 67 are connected to a cooler 18 and a pump 20 by the lines 48. The upper head 58 and the lower head 59 in Figures 2A and 2C are illustrative of a specifically used coil arrangement 22. for the coil feed structure which will be described below with other circuits for alternate glycol feed circuits of the upper and lower head to pack ice more efficiently in tank 24 as shown in FIG. can see in Figure 13C. The specific arrangement in Figures 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, 3A, 3B and 3C is an exemplary description and not a limitation. In Figure 3, the vertical bridging between vertically adjacent tubes 62 is an accepted and known practice, while the horizontal bridging between the adjacent vertical circuits 68 and 76 is an undesirable condition in this structure. The use of thermal storage coil assemblies 10 is known in the art. The thermal storage assemblies 10 are used in a manner frequent to provide a cooling capacity in , - * «**. * * *. demand. The stored cooling capacity or thermal storage capacity is generated or accumulated in periods ^ of off-season demand time, usually at night hours, by the regeneration of ice or other phase-change thermal storage fluid. The stored cooling capacity is typically coated by extracting the fluid from the chamber 26 of the tank 24 and transferring it through a heat exchanger 12 or other end-use device 44. B 10 A recurring problem of importance to the user and the designer of the thermal storage assembly 10 is the temperature of the extracted thermal storage coolant fluid. This temperature of the fluid in the ice-water pump 36 is typically desired to be at 15 or below 1111 ° C to maximize the cooling effect on the end-use apparatus 44. After cycling the thermal storage fluid from chamber 26 through apparatus 44 or heat exchanger 12, the heated thermal storage fluid is returned to the chamber 26 20 to be cooled to 1111 ° C so that it can be reused in the apparatus 44 or the heat exchanger 12. However, it is known that the freezing speed of the recycled thermal storage fluid depends on the available stored mass of ice and its available contact surface area. Therefore, in chamber 26, coil array 22 is designed with a maximum or total design capacity to accommodate fluid flow between adjacent tubes 62. Preferably, the contact surface area of the available ice provides more exposed ice contact surface area than only the outer surfaces of a monolithic block of ice to a condition of ice super-accumulation in the chamber 26. The tubes 62 You can see in the Figures as round cross sections, but the description can be applied to several <B 10 cross sections of tube and thus the shape of the tube is not a limitation. In addition, the shape of the tube can be provided in plates or plate shapes, as is known in the art of heat exchangers. The amount of ice surface area The useable amount depends on the amount of solidification of the thermal storage fluid in the tubes 62 in the chamber 26, which may include ice bridging between the vertically or horizontally adjacent tubes 62. Although it is desirable to maintain a separation between the 90 masses of ice in the tubes 62, it is known that through the use of fans 28 or other apparatuses, the vertical thermal storage fluid flow can be accommodated to provide a temperature reduction of fluid in chamber 26. Therefore, it is generally considered more critical maintain the channels or vertical passages between the horizontally adjacent tubes 62 as a means for maintaining the fluid with reduced fluid flow temperature in the chamber 26. • maintenance of these vertical channels will provide a contact surface area with adequate ice even after bridging the ice between the vertically adjacent tubes 62. Although the amount of surface area of contact with the ice depends on the amount of solidification and its structural impact on the channels (Lm 10 mentioned above, the rate of removal of thermal energy will impact the total capacity of the coil assembly 10). thermal storage in terms of ice melt time These speed effects are known in the art but are not part of the present invention except as a natural consequence of the resulting structures. However, the output temperature of the desired thermal storage fluid is about 1111 ° C which is a desired temperature in many applications. Figure 3 illustrates a diagram in section Representative cross-sectional view of a coil array 22 illustrated in Figure 2. The coil array 22 has a plurality of tubes 62, which are generally parallel inside in the array 22, but alternative configurations may be used. The tubes 62 in Figures 4, 6, 6A, 9 and 10 are part of a circuit feeding structure, which has been mentioned above, which provides refrigerant fluid to the ^ adjacent tubes 62 in opposite directions of cooling devices such as cooler 18. Ice resulting from the accumulation of solidified thermal storage fluid in the tubes 62 is illustrated in the Figure 3C. This concept of accumulation of the opposite directions or the ends of the tubes provides a more uniform mass of ice in the tubes 62 to maximize the use of the volume of the chamber 26, and this technique is known in the art. Likewise, the use of a feeder circuit arrangement is known and shown in Figure 3 together with the use of headers 58 and 59 to retain the tubes 62 and transfer the refrigerant fluid from the cooler 18 or other apparatus refrigerant. As mentioned above, Figure 3 illustrates the array arrangement or arrangement 22 of the tubes 62 in the chamber 26. A cross-sectional view of the arrangement 22 of the known assemblies provides tubes 62 in a uniform arrangement. Typically, first circuits or columns 68 and second circuits or columns 76 of this array 22 provide a series of rows 70 and columns 72 with a uniform spacing 84 between the adjacent row and the column tube centers. In Figure 3, space 84 The horizontal separation between the tube centers of the columns 68 and 76 of adjacent tube columns is substantially uniform across the width 71 of the arrangement 22. In Figure 3A, it can be seen that the vertical separation space or distance 73 is less than horizontal space 84. In this reference or in the prior art figure, the tube arrangement 22 is shown with uniform ice formations 90, but in the vertical direction of the columns 72 and 80, the solidified masses ^ 10 between the adjacent tubes 62 they have a space 73 bridged or interleaved. The vertical corridor 88 between the vertically adjacent columns 72 and 80 through the width 71 of the arrangement remain open for fluid flow in this passage 88. The width between the ice formations 90 or the tubes 62 is shown as space 81 in Figure 3A. The above icing configuration is a desired or design feature for ice accumulation in one hundred percent ice growth or total ice capacity. After that, the thermal storage coil assembly 10 and specifically the ice cooler 18, should cease the solidification-regeneration process. However, it is known that continuous ice will develop in the tubes 62 as long as the cooler 18 continues its operation. Said continuous ice growth t ^ *** ^? Ak * k ****** will be at a slower growth speed and can get full bridging through corridors 88 to form what • which is called a monolithic mass, which as shown in Figure 3B. This ice bridging reduces or eliminates the flow of thermal storage fluid between the adjacent tubes 62 in the arrangement 22 and the thermal storage fluid within the chamber 26 mainly flows along and around the perimeter of the coil arrangement 22. as in the side walls 96 and 98, top portion 95, bottom 97 and end walls not shown. This minimizes the ability of the fluid to flow through the corridors 88 and the arrangement 22 and reduces the effectiveness of the heat transfer in the thermal storage fluid that is being transferred by the ice pump 36 to the apparatus 44 or heat exchanger 12, as the usable ice contact surface area is dramatically reduced from the design features. As a consequence of the loss in the effectiveness of the heat transfer, the temperature of the The thermal storage communicating with the apparatus 44 increases. The high temperature, the thermal storage fluid reduce the efficiency of heat exchanger 12 or apparatus 44, which may require the use of supplementary cooling devices or other accommodation to achieve the desired operating performance of said devices. Thus, after over-accumulation of ice occurs, it is desired to maintain at least some of the aisles 88 open for the passage of the fluid under any condition, including over-accumulation of ice to maintain a more usable ice contact surface area to achieve and maintain lower thermal storage fluid temperatures, as illustrated in Figure 12. More specifically, it is desired to maintain at least part of the surface area usable ice ice 10 for contact with the thermal storage fluid after the ice accumulation has been obtained or exceeded in its total or maximum capacity as designed. As mentioned above, the methods generally used to verify the accumulation of ice to avoid the bridging of the corridors 88 have included the inspection or visual measurement of the fluid level in the tank chamber 26 or ice thickness controls. The present invention provides ice buildup in chamber 26 with a tolerance for a condition of over-accumulation that will maintain fluid flow in at least some of the aisles 88. Specifically, the aisles 88 are kept open between at least some of the generally vertical circuits 68 and 76, whose aisles 88 in Figure 3 will hold approximately he thirty percent of the surface ice contact area exposed to maintain the desired heat transfer to the flowing thermal storage fluid. • In Figure 4, the first circuit 68 of the second circuit 76 with the tubes 62 are again provided as 5 components of the arrangement 66 in this first illustrative embodiment of the present invention, which appears with the same general configuration of the arrangement 22 mentioned above. In this configuration, the first adjacent circuit 68 and the second circuit 76 of pairs or circuit assemblies 100 are closely aligned in vertical columns 72 and 80 with the first gap 104 between the adjacent pairs of tubes 62 in the columns 72 and 80 being less uniform with the first separation space 84 of the prior art arrangement 22 in Figure 3. In this embodiment in Figure 4, the adjacent pairs 100 of circuits 68 and 76 are separated by corridors or corridors 102, which are wider than the first aisles 88 of the prior art arrangement 22. In an exemplary arrangement, separation space 104 was reduced in width of the first separation space 84 approximately thirty percent. However, the width 81 of the aisles 88 was more than doubled to the width 103 to provide aisles 102 between the pairs 100 of adjacent circuits. As can be seen in Figure 4, the concentric ice accumulation will bypass the vertical and horizontal separation distance between the adjacent tubes 62 in each circuit pair 100 to a maximum ice or total capacity accumulation. However, the corridor 102 will remain open at twice the width of the corridor 88 mentioned above. An array 66 maintains the aisle 102 open for fluid flow, and consequently to the air flow of the fan 28, still in a condition of over-accumulation. During the operation, as the ice in the tube 62 occurs, the ice provides an insulation effect on the tubes 62, which reduces the cooling rate of the thermal storage fluid by the coolant of the cooler 18. From this 15 mode, the rate of ice buildup is reduced and the effect on the cooler compressor is shown as a reduction in the suction pressure and the temperature of the ^ f coolant in the cooler 18 as well as a reduction in the temperature of the glycol in the cooler 18. These 20 parameters are correlated with an ice build-up of total capacity design as a measure of desired ice build-up. However, the continuous operation of the cooler 18 will result in a continuous accumulation in the tubes 62 and the circuit pairs 100. As the width 103 25 of the corridor 102 is now twice, the width of the technique riii ñmn artiMmiiriM ririrt i ifl -it- i »? t, tf.t».? . - ,, p, - - i. .,,, - ", - -. , **, "." •. ,. " ,..".. .to _.,... ..*. . ^ *,. «Aa, -. ^. ^ ............ above and the rate of ice build-up has been reduced, the corridor 102 will remain open to the flow of • fluid in a state of over-accumulation of ice, although, the width 81 of the aisle 82 will decrease in length. The maintenance of the open aisle 102 will maintain the desired temperatures due to the greater amount of ice surface contact area for the heat transfer of the recycled thermal storage fluid. In an alternative embodiment, the tubes 62 of the adjacent columns 72 and 80 have been nominally provided to be more closely aligned with each other, ie the width 104 in the aisle can be reduced approximately seven percent less than the width in Figure 4, as an example. The effect has provided a approximate increase in width 103 and corridor size 102 of approximately fifteen percent, which further improves the ability of arrangement 66 to maintain a sufficient contact surface area with ice. This also inhibits the bypass of ice accumulation to through the corridor 102 in conditions of over-accumulation of ice. Figures 6 and 6A demonstrate another alternative embodiment to the structure of Figure 4. The coil structure 22 in Figure 6 in the ice production of design has half the number of vertical corridors 102 shown in the structure in Figure 3. This allows more pounds of ice per cubic foot in tank 24, which is • commonly referred to as ice packing efficiency, and should also allow a smaller amount of air required for agitation by a reduction of as much as fifty percent of the above structures. In these illustrations, the gap 104 between the adjacent tubes 62 in the columns 68 and 76 are laterally displaced approximately thirty percent more than the (? 10 tubes in Figure 4. The aisle 102 and the width 103 are consequently reduced in width approximately fifteen percent, but the corridor 102 remains in its open condition still in a state of over-accumulation.In addition, the increased width 104 requires more energy to provide ice bridging and can potentially incorporate 105 gaps in the total capacity design. Gaps 105 can open corridors 104 for fluid flow after ice melting or during fluid flow to apparatus 44 or other demands on thermal capacity stored. In this illustration, it can be seen that as soon as the ice cylinders 90 or adjacent tubes 62 are joined or bypassed, the heat transfer surface area of the ice is halved. During the accumulation of ice in the tubes 62, the diameter cross sectional growth of the ice ^^? í > > TO. increases the ice insulation factor in relation to the heat transfer capacity between the coolant • in the tubes 62 of the cooler 18 and the thermal storage fluid in the chamber 26. Accordingly, the rate of ice growth in the tubes 62 is significantly and rapidly reduced, as shown in Figure 13. The effect of the Cooler is a rapid decrease in capacity, suction pressure and temperature, as in the glycol temperature. These rapid declines in capacity can be verified to show the end of the ice production cycles more precisely than prior art methods. Another example of variation in aisle width 104 between adjacent tubes 62 of columns 68 and 76, has a corridor width 104 approximately seven percent wider than the width between the tubes 62 in the Figure 4. This results in a narrowing of the corridors 102 and width 103 approximately four percent, but this rearrangement reduces the speed of accumulation or bridges between adjacent tubes 62 in each pair 100. The structure will continue to maintain a desired minimum percent of heat transfer surface area. Although the aforementioned embodiments illustrate variants of the even sets of the adjacent tubes 62 with common aisle widths 102, it is recognized that these widths will vary under different operating conditions, such as the rate of ice accumulation or the fusion in • individual columns 68 and 76 or tubes 62. In addition, specific widths may be a design option or be directed by an application specification for thermal storage, but order and arrangement can generally be applied to such structures. An additional embodiment has adjacent tubes 62 in pairs 100 most closely aligned for mp 10 to provide a narrower dimension of the aisle or space 104. In addition, the separation width 103 is also made narrower to generally decrease the widths of the aisles 102. However, the decrease in aisle widths 102 and 104 are accommodated by providing a corridor 110. center and extended with a width approximately twice width 103. This enlarged aisle 110 will provide fluid flow through array 66 even in a condition of extreme buildup when fluid flow is inhibited or restricted through corridors 102.

This structure will allow the fluid to make contact with more ice surface area to maintain a lower fluid temperature than with a monolithic ice mass. This flow rate will continue to maintain the desired fluid temperature below 1111 ° C and will increase the The melting speed of said monolithic masses to reopen the corridors 102 to the flow of air and fluid. Figures 9 and 9A show a structural arrangement 66 generally similar to the arrangement 66 of Figures 4 and 6 with a large aisle 128 between the adjacent groups 120 5. In this structure, the passageway 104 between the tubes 62 of each pair 100 increases approximately thirty percent. The increase once again results in gaps 105 in a total capacity design between ice cylinders 90. However, there is a reduction ^ 10 in the width of the corridors 102 of about seventeen percent, and a reduction in the clearance width 103 of about fourteen percent. The reductions are once again reflected by maintaining the corridor width 110 approximately equal in both modalities to continuously provide fluid flow access through the arrangement 66. Although only two pairs 100 of circuits 100 are described in Figures 4, 6 and 9, which only have two adjacent circuits 68 and 76 per pair 100, it is considered that 100 pairs can have three or more circuits 68 and 76 closely adjacent in each cluster 100. The use of the illustration of only two circuits was to facilitate illustration and understanding not as limitation for the number of circuits 68 and 76 used. In a third structure, they are provided multiple sets 120 of tubes 62 of serpentines 68 and 76 «- - * -» - close to each other in Figures 10 and 10A. In each set 100 the narrow passageways 122 are provided, similar to the ^ aisle 88 in Figure 3 between adjacent tubes 62 or ice cylinders 90. The narrow passageways 122 are, for example, approximately thirty percent narrower than the corridors 88, although the aisle width 104 between the adjacent tube centers is only about three percent. The assemblies 120 illustrated in Figure 10 have six vertical columns of tubes 62 and circuits 68 and 76. The | 10 three assemblies 120 in arrangement 126 are provided with wide aisles 128 between adjacent assemblies 120, whose aisles 128 for comparative purposes are only about thirty-five percent narrower than aisle 128 central width of the third structure mentioned. This structure accommodates the over-accumulation condition and provides more ice surface contact area for heat transfer than the prior art devices in said over-accumulation state. You can see that there is a reduction in the total number of tubes 62, although it is a number equivalent to the prior art with improved corridor widths and safety or wide widths to accommodate over-accumulation of ice with an adequate provision for fluid flow. Even in an over-accumulation of ice the voids 105 appear between adjacent tubes 62 in array 120. In an additional embodiment, several sets of • 62-pair tubes are provided with 100 tube pairs as mentioned above with aisles 102 therebetween and 5 are closely paired with two adjacent tube pairs 100 to provide a plural tube array 120. These plural tube arrays 120 have wide aisles 128 between the adjacent arrays 128. In this layout configuration 126, the corridor width 102 and • 10 the width 103 would be approximately equal to the corridor width 102 and the width 103 of the third structure mentioned above. However, by more closely assembling the pairs 100, the additional tubes 62 would be provided to the arrangement 126, although it is recognized that the ice cylinders 92 of the adjacent tubes 62 of the coils 68 and 76 would be more prone to bypass. . The resulting design of the total capacity structure still provides a plurality ßL of corridors 102 and 128 for fluid flow, whose passage 128 once again provides a margin of safety against the inhibition of fluid flow in an over accumulation condition. of ice. In Figure 14, two pairs of adjacent circuits 68 and 76 have dividers 130 nested therebetween, which dividers 130 provide elongated or enlarged spacing spaces. These spaces 132 are considered Suitable for providing the thermal storage fluid flow through the circuits 68, 76 to accommodate acceptable water temperature or thermal storage fluid outlet temperature. The dividers or inserts 130 are typically of a material with a low thermal conductivity to inhibit ice bridging through said dividers 130. FIG. 15 illustrates the insertion of spacers 140 in the coils thus constructed with the separation of minus a pair of coils 68 and 76 adjacent by the separate 140, which are made of low conductivity materials such as plastic. Alternately hollow spacers or perforated spacers can be used to maintain the expanded gap. In addition, the hollow spacers 140 can be used as air ducts to draw air to the bottom 97 of the coil, or other fluid, for more vigorous agitation of the fluid. This last use of the separators is considered as particularly beneficial in a galvanized steel pipe assembly. In Figure 1, the illustrated control circuit allows the measurement of the inlet suction pressure or the inlet fluid temperature as a measure of a change in the state of ice production within the provisions 66 and 126. Figure 13, the change in the glycol of a single coil or the suction temperature in its total capacity of ice production decreases • dramatically with the present invention, which provides a parameter to be detected by a detector 46. Said detected signal 5 can be provided to control the device 50 to stop an additional ice buildup and maintain the corridor passages 102 and 128. Since only specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is clear • That which is not a limitation of the scope of the invention described herein.

Claims (16)

1. CLAIMS 1. A coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid to a thermal storage coil assembly having a housing with a fluid storage chamber, the thermal storage fluid in the chamber, means for coupling the assembly of the thermal storage coil and thermal storage fluid in the chamber to an external apparatus for the recovery of the stored thermal energy, means for transferring heat from the heat transfer fluid, and means for connecting the heat transfer means to the assembly of coil, the coil assembly is characterized in that it comprises: a plurality of heat transfer tubes, each of the tubes has a longitudinal axis, the tubes are coupled to the heat transfer means by the connection means for communication of the heat transfer fluid through the tubes; the heat transfer tubes are accommodated in a planned arrangement in the chamber for communication of the heat transfer fluid through the chamber to reduce the temperature of the thermal storage fluid and for the storage of thermal energy; ^^^ a? ^^^^ j ^^^^^ the planned arrangement of tubes is accommodated in a plurality of generally adjacent horizontal rows and • vertical columns, the layout has a cross-sectional width and a transverse height with the longitudinal axis 5, the adjacent rows and columns of the tubes cooperate to generally define first vertical corridors and horizontal corridors between the row and adjacent columns of tubes through of the width of the array, the adjacent columns of the tubes cooperate to define at least a first horizontal gap distance between the tubes of the axes of the adjacent vertical columns of the tubes in the cross section of the arrangement, and adjacent rows having at least one vertical gap space; the thermal storage fluid has a first fluid temperature; the heat transfer fluid is communicated through the tubes that operate to reduce the first The temperature of the thermal storage fluid at the second temperature for the solidification of at least a portion of the thermal storage fluid in each tube; at least a pair of adjacent columns of the tubes having a second space distance of 25 horizontal separation between the axes of a pair of adjacent tubes greater than the first distance of gap, at least a pair of tubes in the columns that • cooperate to define a second vertical corridor wider than the first vertical corridor to provide at least 5 a passage for vertical thermal storage fluid flow between at least a pair of columns of adjacent tubes in the arrangement in the bridge between the thermal storage fluid solidified through the first gap distance of the vertical columns • 10 tube.
2. 2. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid to a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a housing 15 with a fluid storage chamber, a thermal storage fluid in the chamber, wherein the vertical columns of the tubes in the arrangement are arranged in groups with at least two vertical columns of the tubes in each of the groups, each of the groups has a 20 third distance of gap between the axes of the adjacent vertical columns of the tubes in the group, the arrangement has at least two of the groups of vertical tube columns, the adjacent groups of at least two sets 25 of vertical columns of tubes having adjacent vertical columns of tubes near the adjacent group of tubes, the adjacent tube columns of the adjacent groups cooperate to define a fourth distance of gap between the axes of the adjacent adjacent columns 5 of the different groups of tubes, the fourth distance of gap is greater than the third distance of space of separation.
3. 3. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with an assembly of The thermal storage coil according to claim 2, characterized in that the second gap distance and the fourth gap distance are approximately equal.
4. 4. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the first distance j ^ k of gap and the third distance of space of separation are approximately equal.
5. 5. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the groups of vertical columns of tubes operate to provide blocks 25 segmented ice and the fourth separation space "- ^ * ^^ s ^ s? ^ * É * &% ^? ^ ^ & incorporates a vertical corridor in the bridging of thermal storage fluid solidified between columns • Adjacent verticals of the tubes in each group.
6. 6. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that each group has a vertical first column and a second vertical column of tubes, each group has a third space distance of • 10 separation between each of the first and second vertical columns of each group; the fourth distance of gap is provided between the adjacent group of tubes across the width of the arrangement.
7. 7. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises at least one head; Each tube in the chamber has a first end and a second end, at least one of the first and second ends is coupled to at least one head; the head has an inlet port and an outlet port coupled to means for heat transfer 25 through the connection means, The head operates to communicate the heat transfer fluid with the tube arrangement.
8. 8. The coil assembly for communication of a cooling fluid a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for transferring heat is a cooling cooler having a compressor with a discharge port providing a cooling fluid for the arrangement of tubes for reducing the temperature of thermal storage fluid, and an inlet port for receiving the cooling fluid from the tube arrangement at a reduced second suction pressure, means for detecting at least the cooling fluid temperature, compressor suction pressure, and cooler loading as an indicator of solidification of the thermal storage fluid for a capacity design in the thermal storage coil assembly.
9. 9. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a storage coil assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the arrangement has a plurality of vertical columns of tubes, the vertical columns are provided in three sets of vertical tubes, -^ ¡^ ^^^^^^^^^ * * ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ m ^^^^^^^^ & amp; ^^ the fourth separation space distance is approximately twenty-five percent larger than the third gap space distance
10. 10. The coil assembly for communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the tube arrangement is an arrangement of two circuits having a first fluid flow circuit and a second fluid flow circuit, the tubes of the arrangement are accommodated in alternating alignment of the first and second circuits in At least the vertical columns, the tubes in the layout usually have parallel axes; the heat transfer fluid in the first coil circuit flows in a first and forward direction, the heat transfer fluid in the second coil circuit flows in a second direction opposite the first direction, the opposite direction of flow in the adjacent tubes provide a generally more uniform solidification of the fluid in the tubes in the flow directions to provide a more uniform solidified thermal storage fluid in the tubes in the chamber.
11. 11. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with an assembly of • thermal storage coil according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the tubes 5 in the planned arrangement has a cross-sectional diameter of approximately two point fifty-four centimeters (one inch), each vertical column of the longitudinal axes of tubes define a reference plane, the adjacent planes of the adjacent columns of each pair of columns cooperate to define the first gap between the first and second adjacent reference plane, the first gap between the adjacent columns 15 is at least two and eight tenths of an inch between the adjacent pairs of columns; the second separation space is provided j ^ between the adjacent pairs of the vertical columns, each pair of columns has a pair of vertical planes near a 20 pair of vertical planes of adjacent pair of vertical planes, the adjacent planes cooperate to define the second space distance; the second space distance is at least ten percent greater in width than the first space. 25.
12. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly in accordance with • claim 11, characterized in that the second space distance can be extended over a range between 5 approximately five percent and fifty percent greater than the first space, the first space ranges between a range of two and eight tenths of an inch and four two tenths of an inch.
13. 13. The coil assembly for communication l | P 10 of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that each assembly has a first vertical column and a second vertical column of tubes, each set has a third distance of gap between the first and second vertical column of each group; the fourth separation phase distance is provided between the adjacent groups of tubes across the width of the arrangement; Each tube in the planned arrangement has a cross-sectional diameter of approximately two point fifty-four centimeters (one inch); each vertical column of the longitudinal axes of the tube defines a reference plane, the adjacent planes of the adjacent columns of each pair of columns cooperate to define the first space of separation between the first and second adjacent reference plane, the first space of spacing between adjacent columns 5 is at least two and eight tenths of an inch between the adjacent pairs of columns; the second separation space provided between the adjacent walls of the vertical columns, each pair of columns has a pair of planes • 10 verticals near a pair of vertical planes of an adjacent pair of vertical planes, the close planes cooperate to define the second space distance; the second space distance is at least ten percent greater in width than the first space.
14. 14. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 13, characterized in that each third gap is equivalent to the second distance of 20 space of separation, the second distance of gap may extend over a range between about five percent and fifty percent greater than the first distance of space, 25 the first space extends between a range of two and eight tenths of an inch and four and two tenths of an inch, the fourth space of separation extends over • a range of approximately ten percent and one hundred percent greater than the second distance of separation space.
15. 15. The coil assembly for the communication of a heat transfer fluid with a thermal storage coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises a cooling and cooling circuit.; • the cooling circuit has means for cooling a heat transfer fluid, means for connecting the refrigeration circuit to the thermal storage tank and the coil arrangement for transferring heat transfer fluid to the tank to cool the storage fluid and to return the heat transfer fluid to the refrigeration circuit, means for controlling the refrigeration circuit, means for detecting temperature and suction pressure of the heat transfer fluid returning to the refrigeration circuit, means for coupling the means detectors to the control means for controlling the cooling circuit and the heat transfer fluid communication with the tank.
16. 16. The coil assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that the detector means • and the control means operate to stop the flow of heat transfer fluid in the coils at a predetermined change to a heat transfer fluid temperature and line suction pressure to prevent further solidification of the thermal storage fluid to preserve at least the second space separating passageways for fluid flow and heat transfer within the arrangement.