US20040247500A1 - Temperature control system - Google Patents

Temperature control system Download PDF

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US20040247500A1
US20040247500A1 US10/488,147 US48814704A US2004247500A1 US 20040247500 A1 US20040247500 A1 US 20040247500A1 US 48814704 A US48814704 A US 48814704A US 2004247500 A1 US2004247500 A1 US 2004247500A1
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heat transfer
control system
temperature control
temperature
transfer fluid
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Robert Ashe
David Morris
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Ashe Morris Ltd
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Ashe Morris Ltd
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Assigned to ASHE MORRIS LTD reassignment ASHE MORRIS LTD ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MORRIS, DAVID, ASHE, ROBERT
Publication of US20040247500A1 publication Critical patent/US20040247500A1/en
Priority to US11/894,294 priority Critical patent/US7767156B2/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D23/00—Control of temperature
    • G05D23/19—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means
    • G05D23/1919—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means characterised by the type of controller
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
    • F28F27/00—Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus
    • F28F27/02—Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus for controlling the distribution of heat-exchange media between different channels

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  • the present invention relates to temperature control systems.
  • the invention relates to systems which provide improved temperature control leading to faster and more accurate temperature control which in turn can lead to more precise operations in many industries and to energy savings.
  • Temperature control is widely used in operations ranging from industrial reactions to air conditioning to heating and refrigeration systems. Some operations require more precise control than others, although all such operations involve high-energy consumption and energy savings would be advantageous.
  • the majority of systems rely on activation of the heat transfer system by a signal from the medium whose temperature is to be controlled and the response is to bring heat transfer elements into or out of operation depending upon the requirements of the medium.
  • the heat transfer element comprises a conduit through which a heat transfer fluid flows.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,879 relates to a reaction heat control mechanism in which the heat exchange area is regulated.
  • the regulation is achieved by varying the height of the heat transfer fluid in an external temperature control jacket which surrounds the reactor. Controlling the heat transfer area by this method requires a stable surface which is incompatible with the need to maintain high flows and high turbulence of heat transfer fluids. This leads to sluggish control response and reduced heat transfer capacity.
  • the quality of temperature control is dependant on how fast the temperature of the heat transfer surface can be raised and lowered. This in turn is dependant on the resistance to heat flow, the thermal gradient and how fast the heat transfer fluid can be delivered to the heat transfer surface.
  • PCT/EP02/04651 PCT/EP02/04646, PCT/EP02/04650 and PCT/EP02104648 we describe improved systems for the monitoring and control of physical and chemical reactions. These systems are concerned with the improved generation of calorimetric data to monitor a reaction and the use of the caloRimetric data to control the reaction.
  • PCT/EP02/04651 PCT/EP02/04646, PCT/EP02/04650 and PCT/EP02104648 we describe improved systems for the monitoring and control of physical and chemical reactions. These systems are concerned with the improved generation of calorimetric data to monitor a reaction and the use of the caloRimetric data to control the reaction.
  • the invention therefore provides a temperature control system which employs a control element containing a heat transfer fluid of variable area wherein the effective area of the control element is changed by opening and closing a bank of conduits which pass through the medium whose temperature is to be controlled in a cascade fashion, to allow or prevent flow of the heat transfer fluid into the conduits the conduits being opened and/or closed according to a signal from a temperature measuring device in the medium whose temperature is to be controlled.
  • the system of the present invention allows rapid reaction to temperature change and enables the temperature of the heat transfer surface to be raised and lowered rapidly.
  • the factors which influence the rate of heat transfer are:
  • the temperature control system should have the following characteristics:
  • a high temperature difference is preferably maintained between heat transfer fluid and the medium whose temperature is to be controlled.
  • the heat transfer fluid must always flow at a reasonable velocity.
  • the velocity will vary with coil size and conditions but it is preferred that it is greater than 0.1 m/s more preferably greater than 1 m/s. Lower velocities will give slower temperature control response.
  • the heat transfer equipment when used for batch processes or multi-purpose duties, should be capable of stable operation over a wide range of energy release/absorbtion rates. The range will vary according to the nature of the reaction. In the case of batch reactions a very wide operating range will be required.
  • the heat exchanger is made up of multiple elements. Each element typically consists of a pipe or coil. Below is a simplified method for calculating the size of an individual heat transfer coil element:
  • the first step is to decide on a nominal size for a given heat transfer coil in terms of heat carrying capacity Q (which is expressed in Wafts). For example a nominal capacity of 100 Watts might be selected for an individual coil.
  • the next step is to select a nominal temperature drop of the heat transfer fluid through the pipe.
  • a high temperature drop of the heat transfer fluid is associated with a low thermal mass of fluid in the pipe, which is desirable (since this will lose it's heat rapidly when a coil in a cascade system is shut off).
  • a nominal temperature drop of the heat transfer fluid might be taken as 1° C.
  • the mass flowrate of the heat transfer fluid can be calculated from the following formula:
  • the next step is to determine the diameter of the pipe. For this, a diameter is selected such that a tolerable pressure drop in the pipe is obtained. High pressure drops are preferred since these are associated with turbulence and rapid control response.
  • the heat transfer fluid flowrate m (kg.s ⁇ 1 ) can be estimated from a graph of flowrate versus pressure drop. In practice this step needs will be iterative since the true length (and hence total pressure drop) will not be known at this stage and a guessed value must be used.
  • A heat transfer area (m 2 )
  • the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) can be calculated or obtained from measured data.
  • the LMTD is calculated from the following:
  • LMTD [( T p ⁇ t si ) ⁇ ( T p ⁇ t so )]/ ln [( T p ⁇ t si )/( T p ⁇ t so )]
  • Tsi temperature of heat transfer fluid in
  • the length can be calculated using simple geometry.
  • the pressure drop should now be checked against the true length. If pressure drop is too high or too low, a new pipe diameter should be selected and the calculation repeated.
  • This information may then be used to determine the optimum diameter to length relationship of an individual coil whereby high turbulence is achieved without incurring excessive pressure drop of heat transfer fluid through the heat exchanger (as shown by a high Reynolds number).
  • the linear velocity of heat transfer fluid must be reasonably high (preferably >0.1 m.s ⁇ 1 ) in order to maintain satisfactory control response and a good overall heat transfer coefficient.
  • the pressure drop of heat transfer fluid flowing through the coil is from 0.1 to 20 bar.
  • optimum coil lengths will vary according to the temperature differences employed and the thermodynamic and physical characteristics of the system. Calculating optimal coil length is an iterative process.
  • a general-purpose device will be sized using conservative data based on fluids with low thermal conductivity and a low temperature difference between the reaction fluid and the heat transfer fluid. Each coil will have a limited operating range.
  • the system is such that the area of heat transfer may be varied according to the needs of the particular load. This may be conveniently accomplished by providing multiple heat transfer pipes each of which has a diameter and length relationship designed to provide a certain degree of heat transfer. In the preferred multiple pipe system, the pipes may be brought into and out of operation, as the needs of the system dictates.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a reaction vessel served with a single heat transfer coil (of specified diameter).
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a comparable reactor served with three heat transfer coils to provide variable heat transfer.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a reactor ( 1 ) containing a process fluid ( 2 ) and a cooling coil ( 3 ) which is three metres long. This system is capable of controlling temperature at energy liberation rates of between 72 and 260 Watts by varying the flow rate of the heat transfer fluid.
  • the reactor in FIG. 2 has an improved range of up to 780 watts.
  • the versatility has been increased by adding two more coils ( 4 ) and ( 5 ).
  • When one coil is operating the system can be controlled with heat generation in the range of 72 to 260 watts (as in the reactor of FIG. 1). With all three coils operating (at a nominal maximum flow) the system can be controlled with a high degree of accuracy with heat generation up to 780 watts.
  • Instrumentation is a key aspect of successful operation of the systems of the present invention. Accurate and sensitive instrumentation must be used for measuring temperatures and the rate of flow of the heat transfer fluid. Instruments must operate over a wide range of flows and this may be achieved by breaking up the coil system into separate modules operated by manifolds. This enables different coils to be brought into or out of operation, according to the needs of the system.
  • a second pair of temperature elements can be provided to monitor the specific process set point.
  • the arrangement uses two different types of measuring elements.
  • the main device is preferably an RTD, a 4 wire Pt100 RTD to ⁇ fraction (1/10) ⁇ th DIN standard being especially suitable.
  • the transmitter used to provide the 4-20 mA output signal is spanned to the minimum allowable for the transmitter (similarly any output signal type or temperature span could be used).
  • the temperature transmitter will be calibrated specifically at the process set point. Larger ranges will still give acceptable results, but reducing the span to the minimum possible offers improved accuracy and resolution. Thus this arrangement will provide an extremely accurate means of process temperature measurement.
  • the element of the temperature measurement system is the part of the device which is in contact with the liquid. In the case of an RTD, its resistance will change in response to changing temperature. The response of an RTD is not linear.
  • the transmitter is the calibrated part of a measuring device and is used to linearise the output to the control system and convert the signal to an industry standard, usually 4-20 mA, but it could also be 1-5 V or 0-10V.
  • a thermocouple's response to a change in temperature is a varying voltage. Usually milli volts per ° C. A thermocouple transmitter will again convert this signal to an industry standard, again more often than not, 4-20 mA.
  • the term ‘element’ when describing a physical mechanical presence in the process e.g., a temperature element is located in the reactor and measures the temperature of the reactor contents.
  • the term ‘transmitter’ when describing aspects of temperature measurement relating to the control system e.g., a temperature transmitter is calibrated 0-100° C. and displays the contents temperature of the reactor.
  • thermocouples can respond much more rapidly to temperature fluctuations. For this reason a thermocouple is also used to monitor the process set point, a T type thermocouple being especially suited. Its transmitter will be similarly ranged to the RTD. However, as a T type thermocouple has an accuracy of only + or ⁇ 1° C., it will not be used to monitor the process temperature. Its function is to monitor the rate of change of the process temperature.
  • custom software is used to determine which process variable (temperature, or rate of change of temperature) is the most significant at any one instance in time.
  • valves ( 16 ) and ( 17 ) are control valves that regulate flow of heat transfer fluid to the heat transfer coils. The extent to which they are open is determined by a temperature output measure from the reactor (or vessel). With the process at idle, valve ( 18 ) is open and sufficient flow permitted to compensate for heat gain from the agitator. As load is applied to the process, valve ( 16 ) opens to permit the flow of more heat transfer fluid. When valve ( 16 ) is open beyond a pre-set point (or when flow rate dictates) valve ( 19 ) will open and valve ( 16 ) will close up slightly to compensate. As valve ( 16 ) approaches the top of its control range, valve ( 17 ) takes over. As valve ( 17 ) progressively opens the valves ( 18 ) to ( 24 ) are opened in a cascade fashion.
  • the heat transfer fluid is applied to the control equipment at constant pressure and temperature. In some cases temperature can also be varied where it is necessary to increase the operating range.
  • the rate at which heat can be transferred between the process fluid and the heat transfer fluid is dictated (in part) by the overall heat transfer coefficient (U).
  • U The larger the value of U, the smaller the heat transfer area required.
  • the U value may be calculated from three components.
  • the boundary layers are the stagnant layers of liquid either side of the coil wall.
  • high liquid velocities give better heat transfer.
  • liquids with good thermal conductivity give better heat transfer through the boundary layers.
  • Heat transfer mechanism across the coil wall is similar, except (unlike the boundary layers) the distance through which the heat has to conduct is fixed. Higher heat transfer rates are achieved where the coil material has high thermal conductivity. Higher heat transfer rates are also achieved where the coil material is thin.
  • a typical wall thickness would be 1 ⁇ 2 to 4 mm.
  • the material from which the coil is fabricated is not critical but they should be inert to the medium whose surface is to be controlled and have high thermal conductivity.
  • Example 1 illustrates the sizing an individual heat transfer coil such as that used in FIG. 1.
  • Examples 2 and 3 illustrate the sizing and use of multiple heat transfer coil systems. These two examples also employ the additional feature of also providing caloimetric data.
  • the batch reactor is prefilled with component B.
  • Component A is added slowly (alternatively the two components could be pumped continuously through the reactor in the desired ratios).
  • component B reacts immediately on contact with A.
  • the heat liberated is therefore proportional to the rate of addition (of A). If it is assumed that the addition rate is such that 0.001 kg/second of C is produced
  • reaction is also assumed to take place at constant temperature so that the heat load on the cooling fluid is also 1 kW.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a section through a typical heating/cooling coil such as coil ( 3 ) of FIG. 1 in the process fluid ( 2 ) through which flows the heat transfer fluid ( 25 ).
  • the boundary layer is shown at ( 26 ) and it is this boundary layer which is kept as thin as possible by ensuring turbulent flow in the heat transfer unit.
  • the heat transfer coil ( 3 ) controls the process temperature.
  • the temperature difference between the heat transfer fluid and the process fluid must be as high as possible, but not so great that boiling, burning or freezing occur on the pipe surface.
  • the process media temperature is 30° C. (t p ).
  • the lowest temperature at which service fluid can be delivered to the system is 5° C. (to avoid freezing on the outer surface).
  • the service fluid inlet temperature (t si ) is 5° C.
  • the outlet temperature (t so ) is 15° C. [since (t si ⁇ t so ) is 10° C.]
  • the mass of the heat transfer fluid can be determined as follows:
  • Optimising coil geometry and the velocity of the heat transfer fluid is an iterative process. Low velocity of the heat transfer fluid through the heat exchange coil gives rise to poor control and measurement response. Low velocity also results in a large ratio of thermal mass of heat transfer fluid to heat load. This tends to magnify any errors of temperature measurement. High liquid velocity is desirable as it gives faster control response and a better ratio of thermal mass to heat load. As the velocity is increased however, the pressure drop through the coil gets higher.
  • the optimum coil will be long enough to give adequate heat transfer area without incurring an excessive pressure drop. If the diameter is too small, the pressure drop will be too high (due to high liquid velocity and long pipe length). If the diameter is too large, the liquid velocity will be too low.
  • the pressure drop of the heat transfer fluid is calculated as being 1.24 bar/m (based on synthetic heat transfer fluid).
  • A surface area of pipe (m 2 )
  • the surface area (A) required for control of the reaction is determined from the heat transfer capabilities of the pipe as follows:
  • LMTD [(T p ⁇ t si ) ⁇ (T p ⁇ t so )]/ln[(T p ⁇ t si )/(T p ⁇ t so )] (° C.) (log mean thermal difference between process and service fluids)
  • the linear velocity can also be calculated using the continuity equation as follows:
  • W volume flowrate (m 3 /s)
  • A cross sectional area of the pipe (m 2 )
  • a larger pipe diameter of 5 mm internal bore is therefore selected for the second iteration.
  • the pressure drop of the heat transfer fluid is 0.42 bar/m (based on a standard pressure drop calculation synthetic heat transfer fluid).
  • A surface area of pipe (m 2 )
  • the required area (A) is determined from the heat transfer capabilities of the pipe using the same formula
  • the 5 mm diameter coil therefore offers good linear velocities and a moderate pressure drop. Such a coil would therefore be useful for controlling the temperature of the reaction used for the purposes of this example.
  • the velocity is also well above the minimum preferred value (1 m/s).
  • the first column in Table 3 shows pressure drop (per metre of coil) through the coil for a given flow rate.
  • the second column gives the heating or cooling capacity of the coil based on the 10° C. temperature change.
  • the third and fourth columns give the volume flow rate and velocity of the liquid.
  • the last five columns give minimum coil lengths required for the quoted LMTD values.
  • the LMTD temperature values quoted at the top of these columns represent the log mean temperature difference between the heat transfer fluid and the process fluid.
  • a good general-purpose coil would be 5.9 metres in length. This would be capable of serving any of the duties contemplated in Table 3 where the required coil length was 5.9 metres or less. It would be suitable for a process load of 1.66 kW providing the difference in temperature between process and heat transfer fluid was at least 20° C. Under these conditions the pressure drop through the coil would be 5.9 bar.
  • the coil also offers adequate heat transfer area and reasonable control response at heat loads down to 0.46 kW. Although low velocities are tolerable the control system becomes increasingly sluggish with low flows. Also low velocities result in a large ratio of thermal mass (of heat transfer fluid) to heat load. This tends to magnify any errors of temperature measurement. High liquid velocity is therefore desirable as it gives faster control response and a better (lower) ratio of thermal mass (of the heat transfer fluid) to heat load.
  • Table 1 illustrates, a single coil has an optimum operating range. Although it is capable of controlling a range of heat transfer rates, it has its limitations. As Table 3 shows, at heat transfer rates above 1121 W, the pressure drop across the coil increases rapidly due to the need for increasingly longer pipes and higher pressure drops per meter of pipe length.
  • a coil 6.2 m long operating with an LMTD (log mean temperature difference between the process fluid and service fluid) of 10° C. has a nominal operating range of 457-1121 W. At maximum load, the pressure drop across the coil would be 1.55 bar. If this coil was to be used with a heat load of 1660 W under the same conditions, it would have to be 11.8 meters long and the corresponding pressure drop would be 11.8 bar. If, under the same conditions, the LMTD was reduced to 5° C., the pipe would need to be 23.6 meters long and the resulting pressure drop would be 23.6 bar.
  • the range of a coil can be increased by varying the inlet temperature (t si ), there are limitations. If the temperature difference (t si ⁇ t so ) is reduced, the system becomes progressively less accurate due to limitations of the temperature measuring devices. If the temperature difference (t si ⁇ t so ) is expanded too far, there is a risk of freezing the process fluid (or surface boiling or heat damage where heat is being absorbed by the process fluid).
  • the 5 mm diameter coil illustrated in Table 1 gives a turn down ratio of approximately 2.5 (1121/457). If the temperature difference across the coil (t si ⁇ t so ) was increased from 10° C. to 20° C., the turn down ratio could be increased to 5.
  • An alternative method of increasing the operating range of the system is to use multiple coils in a cascade fashion which provide a variable area heat transfer surface. Such a system is illustrated by the following
  • Example 2 illustrates, the design of variable area heat transfer systems employing multiple coil systems such as that illustrated in FIG. 2.
  • Example 2 addresses the fact that a reactor might be required to handle exothermic reactions which generate heat in the range of 500 to 15,000 W. A range of this size exceeds the operating capabilities of the single heat transfer coil system illustrated in 1. Such a reactor can however be effectively operated using multiple coils as illustrated in this example (in this example identical coils each 11.8 m long are used) in a cascade fashion. With one coil operating with the heat transfer fluid at 1.7 m/s, a heat load of 457 W will give a temperature rise in service fluid (t si ⁇ t so ) of 10° C. If, under the same conditions the velocity of the heat transfer fluid is increased to 6.1 m/second the capacity rises to 1,660 W (see 3).
  • the capacity is 3,320 W. By adding coils in this manner ever greater heat loads can be measured. If, for example, ten coils are used at the maximum flow, the capacity is 16,600 W. This system therefore offers a turndown ratio of approximately 36 (16,600/457). Accordingly, by varying the velocity of the fluid and the number of coils, the heat capacity can be measured with a high degree of accuracy over a wide range.
  • the devices described so far have turndown capacities of up 36. In practice, a turndown of 1000 or more may be desirable. This could be important with a batch reaction where the end point needs to be identified with precision. Alternatively, high turndown would be useful for process operations that switch from batch to continuous operation. In other cases, the same piece of equipment might be used on multiple applications of widely varying energy release (or absorption) rates. Whilst the device previously described has considerable use it has its limitation for this type of application, because an impractical number of coils would be needed. Therefore an alternative embodiment of the invention uses a plurality of coils for varying surface area as illustrated in Table 3.
  • Table 4 sets out the heat transfer capacities of a series of coils of varying diameter and length.
  • TABLE 4 Coil diameter Coil length range Operating range (mm) (m) (W) 1 0.13-0.6 4-22 2 0.9-2.3 40-141 3 1.9-4.7 118-429 4 3.0-7.8 249-913 5 4.4-11.8 457-1660
  • the LMTD is taken as 10° C. and (t si ⁇ t so ) as 10° C.
  • the extremes of the ranges set out in columns two and three of Table 4 represent the calculated values for minimum and maximum flow of the heat transfer fluid.
  • Minimum flow is that which results in a pressure drop (of service fluid) of 0.1 bar.m ⁇ 1 and maximum flow that which results in a pressure drop (of service fluid) 1 bar.m ⁇ 1 .
  • This combination of coil diameters and lengths provides a system capable of very high turndown rations.
  • a six coil reactor can be designed to operate at less than 4 W and up to 5000 W.
  • Table 5 shows the cumulative capacity of 6 coils of varying diameter.
  • TABLE 5 Cumulative Coil diameter Coil range range Coil number (mm) (W) (W) 1 1 mm 4-22 4-22 2 1 mm 4-22 4-44 3 2 mm 40-141 4-185 4 3 mm 118-429 4-614 5 5 mm 457-1660 4-2274 6 5 mm 457-1660 4-3934
  • Each coil is sized for the maximum length shown in Table 4.
  • the nominal turndown ratio of the six coils is 984.
  • valve 2001 which provides a valve for the control of the delivery of fluids to two or more conduits in a cascade fashion wherein the valve has multiple outlet ports operating in a cascade wherein the outlet ports are opened and/or closed according to a signal expressing the requirement for fluid in the conduits.
  • valves can be designed to provide the same control characteristics as a conventional control valve for each of its multiple outlet ports and as such can be used to replace multiple conventional valves with a single multi-port flow valve having a single means of activation requiring one control signal only as opposed to multiple valves and actuators and at least one control signal per control valve.
  • the multi-port flow control valve can therefore be constructed to operate either with a linear or rotary action.
  • the number of outlet ports will depend on the number of individual flows, which need to be independently controlled. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, 6 connections for heat transfer coils are shown, but the valve of the present invention can be designed for use with any number of coils.
  • By modulating the multi-port flow control valve the effective heat transfer area in the reactor can be varied.
  • the maximum number of outlet ports on this type of valve is limited only by the physical constraints of the construction.
  • FIG. 5 shows a multi-port flow control valve which can be used with the present invention in which ( 27 ) is the inlet port for heat transfer fluid, ( 28 to 33 ) are the outlet ports, ( 34 ) is the plunger.
  • the Figure shows the plunger position with outlet port ( 28 ) open, outlet port ( 29 ) partially open and outlet ports ( 30 to 33 ) closed.
  • ( 35 ) is the seal between the heat transfer fluid and hydraulic fluid employed in the actuator shaft ( 36 ) and ( 37 ) is the actuator piston whose position is determined by a bi-direction variable speed hydraulic pump ( 38 ) which drives the shaft up and down the valve body to open and close the outlet ports.
  • the arrows in FIG. 5 show the flow of the heat transfer fluid.
  • FIG. 6 shows various options for the valve orifices ( 39 to 42 ) of the valve ports ( 28 to 33 ) of FIG. 5.
  • 39 to 42 A) is the plan view of the orifices and
  • 39 to 42 B) shows the same orifices in section view.
  • the port openings on the valve may overlap, whilst in others the port openings may open in separate discreet steps.
  • the invention can be used in any system requiring temperature control. It is however particularly useful for improving the operation of commercial chemical and physical reaction systems. It can however also be used to provide considerably smaller reaction systems with comparable commercial throughput. For example the invention enables reduction of reactor size by a factor of 10 and, in some instances, a factor of 100 or greater. In particular it can be applied to current commercial
  • the combination of ability to vary the area of the heat transfer surface and the use of turbulent plug flow in the heat transfer fluid enables the creation of a high thermal gradient between the heat transfer fluid and the medium whose temperature is to be controlled. This, in turn enables a fast and accurate response to fluctuations in the temperature of the medium allowing rapid response and the ability to maintain highly accurate temperature control.
  • These systems enable the LMTD to be maintained stable and constant at high levels.
  • the LMTD should be as high as possible and we prefer that it be greater than 1° C., preferably greater than 10° C., more preferably greater than 20° C. even more preferably greater than 100° C.
  • the LMTD that can be attained depends upon the temperature of the medium that is to be controlled.
  • the optimum flow of the heat transfer fluid will depend upon the system including the nature of the fluid however, it is preferred that the fluid flows with a Reynolds number greater than 2000.
  • high linear velocities in the pipe should be maintained of greater than 0.1 m/s, more preferably greater than 1 m/s or even more preferably greater than 3 m/s. This is important with small-bore pipes as a high Reynolds number may be difficult to achieve.
  • the techniques of the present invention may be used in any systems employing temperature control. Any industrial process in which heat is absorbed or released during physical or chemical change may be controlled by these techniques.
  • the techniques may be used to control the temperature of reactors, crystallisers, evaporators, driers, fermenters, stills, vapourisers and gas evaporators.
  • the techniques may also be used in industrial and domestic processes requiring a controlled temperature, such as in liquid heating and cooling systems and storage and transportation of solids, liquids and gasses.
  • the techniques of the present invention may also be used in utlities such as heating and ventillation systems, air conditioning and chilling and refrigeration.

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US20090107391A1 (en) * 2007-10-31 2009-04-30 Textron Inc. Combined State Of Charge Meter And Fuel Gauge
US20120107181A1 (en) * 2009-06-05 2012-05-03 Cedillo Isaiah E Apparatus for synthesizing oligonucleotides and methods of use
TWI408524B (zh) * 2008-11-12 2013-09-11 Ckd Corp 溫度控制裝置
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ATE330269T1 (de) 2006-07-15
US7767156B2 (en) 2010-08-03
GB0121375D0 (en) 2001-10-24
WO2003021370A1 (en) 2003-03-13
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CN100403201C (zh) 2008-07-16
EP1423762A1 (en) 2004-06-02

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