RU2467243C2 - Condensate trap - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: machine building.

SUBSTANCE: invention refers to devices for automatic removal of condensate from heat-consuming units, where water vapour is used as heating heat carrier, and can be used in various fields. Condensate trap includes housing with inlet and outlet channels, throttling element made in the form of discs with holes, which are arranged in the housing in series and coaxially, dirt separator located between inlet channel and throttling element; in addition, flow-accumulating capacity connected to the inlet channel is installed.

EFFECT: invention is aimed at solution of the following task: provision of effective operation of condensate trap at considerable fluctuations of flow rate and pressure of the incoming condensate.

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Description

The invention relates to means for automatically removing condensate from heat-consuming devices, where water vapor is used as a heating medium, and can be used in various fields of technology.

Of the known types of steam traps, the simplest are retaining washers with a central hole [1]. They have no moving parts and provide continuous drainage of condensate. Their disadvantage is the frequent clogging of the passage opening at low flow rates of the condensate, since the hole must be small in diameter. Clogging of the bore leads to the termination of the operation of the steam trap.

Known steam trap with a throttling element made in the form of a conical hole with helical grooves [2]. This trap is equipped with a dirt trap, the presence of which reduces the likelihood of clogging of channels for condensate passage. The disadvantage of the steam trap is its relatively complicated design design. It is practically difficult to adjust the position of the throttle body to provide the necessary throughput of the steam trap. This is especially evident at low condensate flow rates when it is required to set a small gap between the conical rod and the walls of the housing.

The closest in technical essence to the present invention is a steam trap containing a housing with inlet and outlet channels, a throttling element made in the form of disks with holes sequentially and coaxially placed in the housing, a dirt separator located between the inlet channel and the throttling element [3] is a prototype. The known steam trap is less time-consuming to manufacture and more convenient to maintain.

The disadvantage of this trap is its relatively low susceptibility to variable flow and pressure of the condensate entering the inlet channel. Our studies (Pechenegov Yu.Ya., Bogatenko R.V., Kosov A.V. et al. / Characteristics of throttle type steam traps // Industrial Energy, 2009, No. 7, pp. 42-44) showed that the steam trap is efficient works in limited intervals of condensate flow and pressure. For example, at condensate flow rates significantly exceeding the nominal value, the steam trap “does not have time” to let in the incoming condensate. In this case, in the upstream heat consuming apparatus, part of the heat transfer surface is filled with condensate and the heat capacity of the apparatus decreases. At low condensate flow rates lower than the nominal value, the steam trap together with the condensate can release span steam.

The change in the flow rate and pressure of the condensate at the outlet of the heat-consuming apparatus is due to the variability of its heat load, which during operation can repeatedly change from maximum to minimum. Variable modes of operation are characteristic of many industrial heat consuming devices.

The present invention is aimed at solving the problem of ensuring the efficient operation of the steam trap with significant fluctuations in the flow rate and pressure of the incoming condensate.

The problem is solved in that in a steam trap containing a housing with inlet and outlet channels, a throttling element made in the form of disks with holes sequentially and coaxially placed in the housing, a dirt separator located between the inlet channel and the throttling element, a flow-accumulating tank is additionally installed, connected to the inlet.

In contrast to the known device, additional installation of the tank allows to achieve the solution of the task. With a variable flow rate of condensate, it fills the tank in periods with high flow and is removed from the tank in periods with low flow. The volume of the tank contains the amount of condensate equal to the maximum difference of the condensate entering the steam trap in the time interval with the flow rate increased with respect to the time average and the condensate allowed for during this interval by the steam trap. In this case, the steam trap constantly works in the region of allowable fluctuations in the flow rate and pressure of the condensate to be passed through. Part of the surface of the heat transfer in the heat consuming apparatus does not occur. The passage of passing steam through the steam trap is also excluded.

A comparative analysis of the proposed technical solution with the prototype [3] and other known steam traps [1, 2] shows that the claimed device meets the criteria of "novelty" and "significant differences".

Figure 1 shows a sectional view of a steam trap.

The steam trap contains a housing 1 with inlet 2 and outlet 3 channels, a throttling element 4, which includes disks 5 with holes 6. The dirt separator is made in the form of a cup 7. A container 8 is adjacent to the inlet channel 2.

A condensate drain allows condensate to pass through with an uneven heat load of an upstream heat consuming apparatus and works as follows.

With large condensate flow rates coming from the heat consuming apparatus exceeding the capacity of the throttling element 4, the condensate fills the reservoir 8. The volume of the condenser 8 contains the amount of condensate equal to the difference received from the heat consuming apparatus and passed by the steam trap during the maximum heat load of the apparatus. In the subsequent time interval, when the heat load of the upstream heat consuming apparatus decreases and the flow rate of the incoming condensate becomes less than the capacity of the throttling element 4, the tank 8 is completely or partially freed from condensate. After that, the tank 8 is ready for filling with condensate with a further new increase in the heat load of the upstream heat consuming apparatus. Thus, during the operating cycle of the upstream heat-consuming apparatus having a variable heat load schedule, the steam trap continuously passes the condensate with an average flow rate per cycle. The presence of capacity 8 allows you to exclude the gulf of a part of the heat transfer surface of the upstream apparatus at its maximum thermal loads and the passage of steam by the steam trap at minimum thermal loads. The flow rates of condensate entering the steam trap under conditions of maximum and minimum heat load of the apparatus can differ by an order of magnitude or more.

Using the proposed device provides, compared with existing devices, the following advantages:

- self-regulation of the operation of the steam trap is carried out with a time-varying thermal load of the upstream heat consuming apparatus;

- during the period of increased heat loads of the apparatus, when the condensate flow is large, there is no condensate filling of a part of the heat transfer surface of the apparatus and, for this reason, its performance is reduced;

- in the period of reduced heat loads of the apparatus, when the condensate flow is small, the passage of steam by the steam trap does not occur.

Information sources

1. Golubkov B.N., Danilov O.L., Zosimovsky L.V. et al. Thermotechnical equipment and heat supply for industrial enterprises / Ed. B.N. Golubkova. - 2nd ed., Revised. - M .: Energy, 1979.P.418.

2. Yakadin A.I. Condensation economy of industrial enterprises. Ed. 3rd, rev. and add. - M .: Energy, 1973. P.127.

3. Patent for utility model No. 66476 of the Russian Federation. Bull. No. 25 dated 09/10/2007.

Claims (1)

A steam trap comprising a housing with inlet and outlet channels, a throttling element made in the form of disks with holes sequentially placed in the housing, a dirt separator located between the inlet channel and the throttling element, characterized in that a flow-accumulating tank connected to the inlet is additionally installed.