WO2023207882A1

WO2023207882A1 - Sealing device for cooler and cooler

Info

Publication number: WO2023207882A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/090211
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jan Pieter Robert CORNE; Stephan GEERTS; Koen STANDAERT
Original assignee: Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2022-04-25
Filing date: 2023-04-24
Publication date: 2023-11-02
Also published as: FR3134885A3; CN217421647U; FR3134885B3

Abstract

A sealing device for a cooler and a cooler. The sealing device is provided between a cooler core(20) and a housing(101) and comprises two base plates(1) provided on both sides of the cooler core(20) respectively. A sealing assembly is provided near at least one end in a width direction of the base plate(1). The sealing assembly comprises a sealing strip(2) and a pressure plate(3), and the sealing strip(2) is fixed to the base plate(1) by the pressure plate(3). The sealing device provides a sealing between the cooler core and the housing in the cooler by the flexibility of the sealing assembly of the sealing device, ensuring that all the gas to be cooled can all be discharged after cooling through the cooler core of the cooler. Furthermore, the housing of the cooler can be machined without ensuring tolerances, which greatly reduces the difficulty and cost of machining the housing of the cooler.

Description

SEALING DEVICE FOR COOLER AND COOLER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of a fluid mechanical device, and in particular to a sealing device for a cooler and a cooler.

BACKGROUND ART

The cooler needs to ensure the sealing between a cooler core and a cooler housing, i.e., to ensure that all the gas to be cooled can all pass through the middle of the cooler core and not leak from the upper and lower surfaces of the cooler core. Generally, coolers are machined to control the tolerance of the inner cavity surface of the cooler housing to ensure that the gap between the cooler core and the inner cavity of the housing is sufficiently small to function as a seal after the cooler core has been pushed into the interior of the cooler housing. However, when the size of the cooler housing is too large, the gas will easily leak through the gap between the cooler core and the inner cavity of the housing, resulting in some of the gas to be cooled being discharged directly without cooling by the cooler core, thus resulting in poor sealing performance.

SUMMARY

In view of this, the present disclosed embodiment proposes a sealing assembly for a cooler and a cooler to solve the problem of leakage of the gas to be cooled and the difficulty of processing due to the large size of the cooler in the prior art.

On the one hand, the present disclosure provides a sealing device for a cooler, which is provided between a cooler core and a housing, comprising two base plates provided on both sides of the cooler core respectively. A sealing assembly is provided near at least one end in a width direction of the base plate. The sealing assembly comprises a sealing strip and a pressure plate, and the sealing strip is fixed to the base plate by the pressure plate.

In some embodiments, the two base plates are connected by a lead screw which is used to wrap the cooler core between the two base plates.

In some embodiments, two sealing assemblies are provided symmetrically at two ends along the width direction of the base plate.

In some embodiments, the sealing strip extends in the length direction of the base plate.

In some embodiments, an elastic gasket is provided on the pressure plate.

In some embodiments, the sealing strip is fixed between the pressure plate and the base plate by means of a first fastener.

In some embodiments, a first through-hole is provided on the base plate, and the first fastener passes through the first through-hole to secure the sealing strip.

In some embodiments, when there is a plurality of the first through-holes, the first through-holes are provided at intervals in the length direction of the base plate.

In some embodiments, at least one second through-hole is provided on a downward protruding portion at each end along the width direction of the base plate, and the lead screw is connected to the two base plates through the second through-hole.

In some embodiments, when there is a plurality of the second through-holes, the second through-holes are provided at intervals along the length direction of the base plate.

In some embodiments, when there is a plurality of the lead screws, the lead screws pass through the corresponding second through-holes and are provided parallel to each other.

In some embodiments, the lead screw is secured by means of a second fastener passing through the second through-hole.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a cooler comprising a housing, a cooler core and the sealing device as described in any one of the above technical solutions.

The embodiment of the present disclosure is able to achieve a sealing with the cooler core and the housing in the cooler through the retractability of the sealing assembly on the sealing device, ensuring that all the gases to be cooled can all be discharged after cooling through the cooler core of the cooler. Furthermore, the housing of the cooler does not need to be machined to ensure tolerances, which greatly reduces the difficulty and cost of machining the housing of the cooler and is easier to achieve in production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or prior art, the following is a brief description of the accompanying drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments or prior art. It is clear that the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some of the embodiments recorded in the present disclosure, and that other accompanying drawings may be obtained on the basis of these drawings for those of ordinary skill in the art without creative labour.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cooler of the presently disclosed embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the installation of a sealing device of the presently disclosed embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sealing device of the presently disclosed embodiment;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sealing device of the presently disclosed embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sealing device of the presently disclosed embodiment.

List of reference signs:

1 -base plate; 2 -sealing strip; 3 -pressure plate; 4 -elastic gasket; 5 -bolt; 6 -nut; 7 -lead screw; 10 -sealing device; 20 -cooler core; 30 -mounting plate; 100 -cooler; 101 -housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure will be given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present disclosure and not all of them. Based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative labour fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise defined, technical or scientific terms used in the present disclosure shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The words “first” , “second” and the like as used in the present disclosure do not indicate any order, number or importance, but are used only to distinguish between the different components. The words “including” or “comprising” and the like are intended to mean that the element or object preceding the word covers the element or object appearing after the word and its equivalent, without excluding other elements or objects. Similar words such as “connected” or “connecting” are not limited to physical or mechanical connections but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms “up” , “down” , “left" , “right” , etc. are used only to indicate a relative position relationship, and when the absolute position of the object being described is changed, then this relative position relationship may also be changed accordingly.

In order to keep the following description of embodiments of the present disclosure clear and concise, the present disclosure omits detailed descriptions of known functions and known components.

The first embodiment of the present disclosure provides a sealing device for a cooler, as shown in Fig. 1 which illustrates the structure of a cooler 100. The cooler 100 herein may be an interstage cooler in a centrifugal compressor, which serves to cool the high temperature air compressed by an upper stage head by means of cooling water before the air enters into a next stage head.

The cooler 100 here has a housing 101. As shown in Fig. 2, a cooler core 20 is provided inside the housing 101 of the cooler 100, and the gas to be cooled passes through the cooler core 20 inside the housing 101 in order to achieve cooling. Here, a sealing device 10 involved in embodiments of the present disclosure is provided between the housing 101 and the cooler core 20, which is provided between the cooler core 20 and the housing 101 of the cooler. The sealing device 10 here is used to seal the cooler core 20 of the cooler 100 in the housing 101 and to avoid that the gas to be cooled fails to pass through the cooler core 20 for cooling due to leakage from the gap between the cooler core 20 and the housing 101.

Continuing as shown in Fig. 2 and with reference to Fig. 3, the housing 101 here is sleeved outside the cooler core 20, and the housing 101 generally comprises at least two mounting plates 30 provided oppositely to each other, which are provided on each of the two end faces of the cooler core 20 respectively. As such, in the cooler 100, the sealing device 10 comprises two base plates 1 provided on both sides of the cooler core 20 respectively. Here, the base plates 1 may for example be provided on the upper and lower sides of the cooler core 20 respectively, and the base plates 1 are arranged along the length direction of the cooler core 20, with their length and width determined based on the length and width of the cooler core 20 to be arranged.

Further, the base plates 1 are provided on both sides of the cooler core 20 within the cooler 100, i.e., between the two mounting plates 30. Here, the two base plates 1 are provided parallel to each other. These two base plates 1 in combination with the two mounting plates 30 thus form a rectangular shaped cavity, thereby achieving a wrapped sealing of the cooler core 20 in the housing 101.

In the present disclosed embodiment, the base plates 1 are provided on the upper and lower sides of the cooler core 20 respectively. Here, the housing 101 of the cooler 100 does not need to be machined into a rectangular shape, and it only needs to be provided with two base plates 1 to cooperate with the sealing device 10, thus ensuring the tolerance of the inner cavity without having to be machined, greatly reducing the difficulty and cost of machining the housing 101 and cooler core 20 of the cooler 100 and making it easier to achieve in production.

Further, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the connection between the base plate 1 and the housing 101 of the cooler 100, and Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the connection between the base plate 1 and the mounting plate 30, wherein the base plate 1 located on the upper side and the base plate 1 located on the lower side have the same structure. A sealing assembly is provided near at least one end in the width direction of the base plate 1 to achieve the sealing between the base plate 1 and the housing 101 of the cooler 100. It is of course possible to provide two sealing assemblies symmetrically at both ends of the base plate 1 to facilitate the sealing in both directions.

The installation position of each sealing assembly near the end of the base plate 1 is determined based on the position of the connection of the base plate 1 to the mounting plate 30 of the housing 101. The sealing assembly here serves to enable sealing of the gap between the cooler core 20 and the housing 101 of the cooler 100 by means of the sealing assembly when the base plates 1 are provided on both sides of the cooler core 20 to achieve a wrapped sealing of the cooler core 20, thereby ensuring that the gas to be cooled not leaking out through the gap by means of the sealing device 10, further ensuring that all the gas to be cooled can be cooled entirely through the cooler core 20 without leakage through the gap between the cooler core 20 and the housing 101 of the cooler 100.

Specifically, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in conjunction with the Fig. 5, the sealing assembly comprises a sealing strip 2, a pressure plate 3 and a first fastener. The sealing strip 2 herein is provided extending along the length direction of the base plate 1 with a certain stretch or elasticity, which may be a rubber adhesive strip, preferably a fluororubber strip. The pressure plate 3 herein may be a metal plate made of stainless steel. The pressure plate 3 is used to press the sealing strip 2 on the base plate 1 in order to prevent the sealing strip 2 from moving. Here, the sealing strip may be fixed between the pressure plate 3 and the base plate 1 by means of the first fastener.

Further, in order to fix the sealing assembly at the end of the base plate 1 along the width direction, a first through-hole is provided at a position close to the end of the base plate 1, the sealing strip 2 is provided at a position on the outer face of the base plate 1 corresponding to the first through-hole, and the pressure plate 3 is provided on the sealing strip 2. As such, by means of the first fastener passing in turn through the pressure plate 3, the sealing strip 2 and the first through-hole, so that the sealing strip 2 is fixed near the end of the base plate 1, where the first fastener may, for example, be a combination of a bolt 5 and a nut 6.

On the premise of ensuring the alignment of the position between the first fastener and the first through-hole, the sealing strip 2 is pressed by means of the pressure plate 3 and the base plate 1, and is fixed by means of, for example, the bolt 5 passing through the first through-hole and in conjunction with the nut 6.

Further, a plurality of the first through-holes may be used for fixing the sealing strip 2. When there is a plurality of the first through-holes, the plurality of the first through-holes are provided at intervals along the length direction of the base plate 1.

In this way, on the base plate 1 by, for example, the simple stainless steel metal plate and the rubber sealing strip as a match, and then through a bolt and nut fixation for installation, making the sealing device 10 easy to manufacture and low price.

Further, it is possible to provide an elastic gasket 4 on the pressure plate 3. The elastic gasket 4 here may be used to adjust the degree of pressing the sealing strip 2, thus facilitating a tighter fixing of the sealing strip 2 on the base plate 1, for example by means of the interplay of the first fastener, the elastic gasket 4 and the pressure plate 3, preventing wear during the fixing and making less noise.

Further, two base plates 1 are provided on both sides of the cooler core 20 of the cooler 100 respectively. In order to provide two base plates 1 relatively parallel to each other between the two mounting plates 30 of the housing 101 so as to achieving a wrapped sealing of the cooler core 20 by combining the two mounting plates 30, and in order to adjust the distance between these two base plates 1 so as to adjust for sealing according to the different dimensions of the cooler core 20, at least one lead screw 7 is provided between the two base plates 1. Here, the two base plates 1 are connected by the lead screw 7, which is used to wrap the cooler core 20 between the two base plates 1.

Specifically, for the purpose of wrapping the cooler core 20 and adjusting the distance between two base plates 1 by means of the lead screw 7, at least one second through-hole is provided on each of downward protruding portions at two ends of the base plate 1 along the width direction. Each of the second through-holes corresponds to one lead screw 7, and the lead screw 7 passes through the second through-hole on the base plate 1 of each base plate 1, so that the two opposite base plates 1 of each cooler core 20 may be connected through the lead screw 7, and the distance between the two opposite base plates 1 may be adjusted by the movement of the base plates 1 relative to the lead screw 7. As such, on the one hand, the distance between the two base plates 1 may be adjusted according to the different dimensions of the cooler core 20. On the other hand, it is also possible to achieve opposite squeeze on the cooler core 20 through the two base plates 1 after installing the cooler core 20. That is, by adjusting the movement of the base plate 1 in relation to the lead screw 7, the two base plates 1 on both sides of the cooler core 20 move in opposite directions so as to form a squeeze on the cooler core 20 and to achieve a sealing with the housing 101 of the cooler 100 by means of the sealing strip 2.

Further, in order to fix two opposite base plates 1 more closely, a plurality of the second through-holes may be provided. When there is a plurality of the second through-holes, the plurality of the second through-holes are provided at intervals along the length direction of the base plate 1.

When there is a plurality of the second through-holes, the two base plates 1 are connected to each other by a plurality of the lead screws 7, a plurality of the lead screws 7 are arranged parallel to each other.

In addition, a second fastener may be provided on the lead screw 7, which cooperates with the second through-hole to fix the lead screw 7 to form a squeeze on the cooler core 20 after the relative position between the lead screw 7 and the base plate 1 has been adjusted. The second fastener here may also be selected as a nut.

Thus, by mounting the base plate 1 directly on the outside of the cooler core 20, the sealing action is achieved by the squeeze between the sealing assembly, located near the end of the base plate 1 in the width direction, and the housing 101 of the cooler 100, so that the sealing between the cooler core 20 and the housing 101 of the cooler 100 is achieved through the retractability of the sealing strip 2, ensuring that all the gas to be cooled can all be discharged after cooling through the cooler core 20. It is easy to install and also requires no additional design or changes to the cooler core 20 of the cooler.

A second embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a cooler, as shown in Fig. 1, comprising the housing 101, the cooler core 20 and the sealing device 10. The sealing device 10 comprises two base plates 1 provided on both sides of the cooler core 20. The sealing assembly is provided near at least one end along the width direction of the base plate 1. The sealing assembly comprises the sealing strip 2 and the pressure plate 3, and the sealing strip 2 is fixed to the base plate 1 by the pressure plate 3.

The sealing device of the cooler involved in the present disclosed embodiment may be installed directly outside the cooler core of the cooler, and the sealing action may be achieved by providing a squeeze between the sealing assembly and the housing of the cooler. As such, the sealing device of the cooler using the present disclosed embodiment is installed and removed as follows:

(1) Clamping the sealing strip 2 using the pressure plate 3 and the base plate 1, while ensuring that all the first through holes (i.e., bolt hole positions) are aligned;

(2) securing the pressure plate 3, the base plate 1 and the sealing strip 2 using the bolts 5, the nuts 6 and the elastic gasket 4;

(3) repeating the operations of steps (2) and (3) above, attaching the sealing strip 2 to both sides of the two base plates 1;

(4) placing both the base plates 1 on the upper and lower sides of the cooler core 20 respectively;

(5) connecting and placing both the base plates 1 on the upper and lower sides of the cooler core 20 using the lead screw 7 and the nut, thus completing the process of mounting the base plates 1;

The disassembly process of the sealing device of the external cooler may, of course, be completed quickly in accordance with the reverse order of the installation.

The embodiment of the present disclosure is able to achieve a sealing between the base plate and the cooler core and the housing in the cooler through the retractability of the sealing assembly in the sealing device, ensuring that all the gases to be cooled can all be discharged after cooling through the cooler core of the cooler. Furthermore, the housing of the cooler does not need to be machined to ensure tolerances, which greatly reduces the difficulty and cost of machining the housing of the cooler and is easier to achieve in terms of production.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and an illustration of the technical principles applied. It should be understood by those skill in the art that the scope of the disclosure covered by the present disclosure is not limited to technical solutions resulting from a particular combination of the above technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions resulting from any combination of the above technical features or their equivalents without departing from the above conception of the disclosure. For example, the above features are interchangeable with (but not limited to) technical features disclosed in the present disclosure that have similar functions.

In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order. Multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous in certain environments. Again, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present subject matter has been described using language specific to structural features and/or method logical actions, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the particular features or actions described above. Rather, the particular features and actions described above are merely exemplary forms of the implementation of the claims.

The foregoing provides a detailed description of multiple embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific embodiments, and a person skill in the art is capable of making a variety of variations and modifications to the embodiments based on the ideas of the present disclosure, all of which should fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present disclosure.

Claims

A sealing device for a cooler, which is provided between a cooler core and a housing, characterized in that it comprises two base plates provided on both sides of the cooler core respectively, a sealing assembly is provided near at least one end in a width direction of the base plate, and the sealing assembly comprises a elastic sealing strip and a pressure plate, wherein the elastic sealing strip is fixed to the base plate by the pressure plate, and the elastic sealing strip extends in a length direction of the base plate and abuts against the housing, so that the sealing assembly fits against the housing.
The sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two base plates are connected to each other by means of a lead screw which is used to wrap the cooler core between the two base plates.
The sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that two sealing assemblies are provided symmetrically at two ends along the width direction of the base plates.
The sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that an elastic gasket is provided on the pressure plate.
The sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing strip is fixed between the pressure plate and the base plate by means of a first fastener.
The sealing device according to claim 5, characterized in that a first through-hole is provided on the base plate, and the first fastener passes through the first through-hole to secure the sealing strip.
The sealing device according to claim 6, characterized in that when there is a plurality of the first through-holes, the first through-holes are provided at intervals along the length direction of the base plate.
The sealing device according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one second through-hole is provided on a downward protruding portion at each end along the width direction of the base plate, and the lead screw is connected to the two base plates through the second through-hole.
The sealing device according to claim 8, characterized in that when there is a plurality of the second through-holes, the second through-holes are provided at intervals along the length direction of the base plate.
The sealing device according to claim 9, characterized in that when there is a plurality of the lead screws, the lead screws pass through the corresponding second through-holes and are provided parallel to each other.
The sealing device according to claim 8, characterized in that the lead screw is secured by means of a second fastener passing through the second through-hole.
A cooler comprising a housing, a cooler core and the sealing device according to any one of claims 1-11.