US1098002A

US1098002A - Cooling-tower.

Info

Publication number: US1098002A
Application number: US72328612A
Authority: US
Inventors: William R Wilson
Original assignee: ALBERGER PUMP AND CONDENSER Co
Current assignee: ALBERGER PUMP AND CONDENSER Co
Priority date: 1912-10-01
Filing date: 1912-10-01
Publication date: 1914-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 1931-05-26

Description

W. R. WILSON. COOLING TOWER.

PPLIGATION FILED 0GT.1. 1912.

1 ,098,002, Patented May 26, 1914.

Z/Lfnsaes V k COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPH Co., WASHINGTON. D, c.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

WILLIAM R. WILSON, 0F YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ALBERGER PUMP AN D CONDENSER COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OIF YORK.

COOLING-TOWER.

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Application med october 1, 1912.

Patented May 2o, 1914. Serial No. 723,286.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cooling- Towers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing. I

My present invention relates to certaln new and useful improvements in cooling towers, and more particularly to that class of cooling towers in which air is circulated by means of one or more fans through the spaces of an interior filling over which the water to be cooled is spread out so as to present an extended surface to the ascending air, or to a cooling tower in which a natural draft is set up in the stack by the ascending heated air and vapor.

The object of the invention is to enable a cooling tower to be easily converted from a forced draft tower to a natural draft tower or from a natural draft tower to a forced draft tower.

It consists essentially in means for easily and quickly providing the necessary opening at the bottom of the tower for the admission ywhich 1s vertically `movable and is arranged of air in order to enable the apparatus to operate under a natural draft, and also for closing this opening in order to allow it t0 operate under a forced draft; and it also consists in numerous details and peculiarities in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention; Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved convertible cooling tower, a portion thereof being broken away, and certain parts, especially those contiguous to the base, being shown in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail of the means for providing a water-seal in connection with certain parts of the apparatus.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

l denotes an elevated stack of the ordinary construction, surmounting the tower proper 5. This is provided with a filling (not shown) over which the Water to be cooled is spread out so as to present a large surface to the ascending air. The circulation of the air through the tower may obviously mit a free opening for the air. `be any suitable number of piers be by a forced draft or a natural draft. lWhen a forced draft is used a fan or fans, vas at 2, are mounted on a horizontal shaft 3 placed below the filling in the lower portion yof the tower casing Said fan shaft will be actuated by means of a motor or some .other outside power. The water to be cooled falls through the tower from above land is caught below by the liquid basin or reservoir 4 from which -it is removed. Said reservoir 4 has an overflow 17 in order that a constant level of the water may be maintained. When the tower is to operate under a natural draft it is necessary to infcrease largely .the air inlet at the bottom of the tower, since the openings through the fan or fans at 2 are not suiicient to admit the necessary quantity of air.

The basev 5 of the .fixed portion ofthe tower casing on which the stack l is mounted, is itself-mounted on piers or supports 6 4and placed at a sufficient height above the :water level carried in the basin 4, which basin forms apart o-f the foundation, to ad- There may 6, suflicient,

the tower.

of course, to efleetually support or cylinder,

7 indicates a sleeve, ring,

in the lower portion of the can be raised finorder to permit 'of a free ,opening at the 4base of the tower for the free operation of the natural draft. When the ring 7 is thus raised it will be contained within 4the lower portion of the casing 5, as indicated in Fig. l.y From this position it is susceptible of vbeing lowered so that it will drop below the bottom of the casing 5 into a position alongside of the supporting piers 6, and within the same, with its loweredge submerged below the level of the water in the basin 4, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus forming a water-seal. Near the top of the lring 7 it is provided on the outside with a horizontal liange 8 which, when the ring is dropped into its -lower position, is adapted to rest upon a corresponding horizontal flange 9 at the bottom and on the inside of the fixed lower portion 5 of the tower casing. When the flange 8 is thus resting on the flange 9 it will be obvious, by referring to Fig. 2, that the upper edge of the ring 7 will form with the side of the casing 5, an

annular channel 10 which will be filled by ioo the water falling through the tower and thus the oint at the top of the ring willlbe water-sealed. It will thus be observed that when the ring is in the position for the tower to operate under a forced draft said ring 7 will be water-sealed at top and bottom, so' that no air can enter the lower end of the casing 5, and the fan or fans will thus have an opportunity to do their best work. But when the ring is raised into its top position the water-seals are both automatically broken andthe ring is lifted entirely out of the way soI that a large opening, is anorded by the interior of the ring 7 through' which' the air coming between the piers 6 will ascend so that a natural draft can be enecti'vely created by the ascending heated air and vapor. l

kThe ring Z is raised and lowered by means of a vertical hydraulic cylinder 11 containing a piston 12 which is strongly secured centrally to the ring Toby means of diagonal rods 153' or other similar suitable openwork construction that will'enable the piston 12" to be rigidly attached' to the ring 'Z and yet will not obstruct the passage of the air through the ring 7 when the natural draft operation is in progress. The cylinder 11 is entered by a pipe 14 conveying fluid pressure' of anylrin'd' and controlled by atwoway valve 15 havingr an operating handle 16. |The valve 15 allows pressure to enter the cylinder 11 through the pipe 14 and thus elevate the piston 12 and the ring 7. When it is desired to lower the ring 7 the valve 15' will be operated by the handle 16 so asV to cut oft' the pressure from the pipe 14v and allow such pressure as may be in said pipe and also in the cylinder 11 and under piston 12 to exhaust through a proper exhaust opening in said valve 15.

It follows from whatI haveV already said that it is of the highest importance to prevent the passage of air beneath the tower casing when the fans are in opera-tion. To make this somewhat clearer, it may be's'aid that the successful operation of a cooling towerv depends upon bringing the air into contact with thin films of water, which films are spread over the filling inthe tower. Part of the waterl is evaporated in this manner and practically all of the cooling effect is produced by this evaporation. When' the tower` is operating under forced draft oper'- ation, if a free opening were left at the base of the' tower practically all of the air would pass out through this opening and it would not pass through the cooling towery llingand thus come in Contact with the'fi'lm's Io'f water for 'producing the cooling effect. The reason that under these' circumstances the ai'rwould not pass through the filling is that the resistance through the 'lling would be greater than throughthe free opening at the base of the tower; hence, the necessity of closing the opening at the base of the tower when the latter i-s operating under forced draft conditions will be obvious.

Many changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made without exceeding the scope of my invention, and I reserve the liberty of making such variations in the detail of construction as may be necessary. I do not wish to be confined to the raising and .lowering of the movable ring by means of a fluid pressure'cylinder, inasmuch as the same object may bev accomplished by manifold other different lri-nds of mechanism'. Also the means for supplying water' pressure' to a hydraulic cylinder may vary within wide limits, since the pressu're may be takenv from any desired source, either the circulating system or otherwise. It will be found in the actual practice of my invention that many advantagesare' gained where a change can' be made quickly from a forced draft to a natural draft operation, inasmuch as the saving in power due to n'aturar draft operation can be obtainedA whenever a light load or favorable temperature and humidity conditions permit'. K

Having thus described my invention, what I claiin' new and desire tov secure by Let ters Patent, isz- 1. In a. cooling tower, the combination with the'` tower and its base which receives the water falling through' the tofwer,lvof a movable' ring in the lower part of the to'wer adapted to' be raised to' provide anl opening at the base of the tower for natural draft operation. y

2. The combination with a coo-ling tower, a water basin beneath, and a forced draft mechanism in the' tower, of an extension ring at thebase o ,f the tower for connecting the latter with the water basin during a forced draft operation and adaptedA to be lifted to provide a large opening at the base of the tower' for natural draft operation. y

3. The combinationwith Va cooling tower, a water basin beneath, and a forced; draft mechanism in the tower`,vof a movable ring in the lower portion of the tower concentric therewith and adapted 1to beI raised toI pro-L vid'e an opening at the base of the' tower for natural draft operation, and means for rais'- i'ng orlowering said ring. y

at. ,Thev combination with' cooling tower, a' reservoir beneath said tower containing liquid, means for supporting said tower above the reservoir, a movable ring in the lower part of the tower, and a fluid pressure cylinder for raising and' lowering the ring.

5. In a cooling tower, the combination of a tower, a liquid reservoir beneath it, means for supporting the tower above the reservoir, a movable' ringconcentric with the 1 tower and adapted to be raised and lowered so as to connect the tower with the liquid in the reservoir during a forced draft operaiis tion and to be lifted to leave an opening during the natural draft operation, and a hydraulic cylinder and piston, the latter connected to the ring, all arranged to operate in raising and lowering the ring, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a cooling tower, a liquid reservoir beneath it, piers supporting the tower above the reservoir, a movable ring in the lower part of the tower adapted to descend into the reservoir and to be raised into the tower above it, said ring having a flange engaging a iiange on the bottom oi the tower to provide a channel for a waterseal when the ring is lowered, and means for raising and lowering the ring.

7. The combination with a lcooling tower and a liquid reservoir beneath it, of piers supporting the tower above the reservoir, and a concentric ring in the lower part of the reservoir adapted to be raised and lowered, said ring having a flange coperating with the flange on the base of the tower when the ring is lowered to form a waterseal, and a fluid pressure cylinder and piston7 the latter connected centrally to the ring, all arranged to operate as specified.

8. The combination with a cooling tower, of a liquid reservoir beneath it, a movable ring in the lower part of the tower adapted to be raised or lowered, and means for watersealing the ring at top and bottom when lowered during the natural draft operation.

9. The combination with a cooling tower, of a movable ring in the lower portion thereof, and means for raising or lowering said ring, together with means for watersealing the ring at top and bottom when it is lowered.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

l/VILLIAM R. WILSON.

VJitnesses VM. R. BILLINGS, W. H. voN DRECLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.