Cooling tower with combination of wet curtain heat exchanger and air conditioner

Abstract

According to the wet curtain heat exchanger and air conditioner combined cooling tower, through switching of a three-stage heat exchange framework and an intelligent mode, full-working-condition efficient refrigeration is achieved, a cooling tower module is independently operated when the environment temperature is higher than 0 DEG C and lower than 12 DEG C and the relative humidity is lower than 80%, and energy is saved by 90% or above compared with a traditional air conditioner; when the environment temperature is higher than 12 DEG C, the wet curtain heat exchanger and the air conditioner combined cooling tower are linked, the COP reaches 5-18, and energy is saved by 20%-70% compared with national standard first-level energy efficiency equipment; a wet curtain heat exchanger performs primary cooling, an air conditioner evaporator surface air cooler performs secondary cryogenic cooling, and it is ensured that a cooling tower stably prepares cold water with the temperature smaller than or equal to 12 DEG C; the operation controller automatically switches modes based on temperature and humidity threshold values, and heat exchange energy consumption is reduced by fully utilizing natural cold sources in different seasons in the nature and even in different time periods in one day; the wet curtain heat exchanger, the air conditioner evaporator surface air cooler and the cooling tower share the draught fan, the airflow path is simplified, and equipment redundancy is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration technology, in particular to a cooling tower combining a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner. Background Art

[0002] As a key equipment for industrial circulating water cooling, cooling towers achieve efficient heat exchange through the principle of water evaporation and heat absorption, and their energy consumption is significantly lower than mechanical refrigeration. Traditional cooling towers (such as countercurrent and crossflow types) rely on the natural air dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature difference for heat exchange. The core structure includes a packing layer, a water distribution system, and a fan. However, its heat exchange efficiency is restricted by the natural environment temperature and humidity: when the air humidity is high (such as >80%), the evaporation capacity drops sharply, or when the temperature is high (such as >30°C), the sensible heat of the air is too high, and the pre-cooling air load is large, resulting in large fluctuations in the outlet water temperature and difficulty in preparing low-temperature cold water (such as ≤7°C).

[0003] To overcome this limitation, existing technologies have proposed combining air conditioners with cooling towers (e.g., "A Cooling Tower Combined with Air Conditioner" disclosed in patent document CN219531051U), which uses the air conditioner evaporator to pre-cool the air and improve cooling tower performance. However, this solution still has two major drawbacks:

[0004] 1. High energy consumption: When the ambient temperature is >30°C, the air conditioning module needs to run at full capacity to pre-cool the air. The power consumption far exceeds the natural heat exchange benefits, and the overall energy efficiency ratio (COP) is even lower than that of traditional air conditioners.

[0005] 2. Insufficient low-temperature preparation: The pre-cooling air temperature still fluctuates with the environment, making it difficult to stably output low-temperature cold water ≤7°C, limiting its application in scenarios such as data centers and precision manufacturing.

[0006] On the other hand, the wet curtain heat exchanger uses the principle of converting the sensible heat of water evaporation into latent heat, which can effectively cool down in low humidity environments (humidity <80%). However, its use alone cannot solve the failure problem in high humidity conditions, and it lacks a coordinated control mechanism with the refrigeration system.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a cooling system that can adapt to environmental changes and take into account both low-temperature preparation and high energy efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a cooling tower combining a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0009] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0010] The present invention provides a cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner, comprising an air conditioning combined cooling tower, the air inlet end of the air conditioning combined cooling tower is connected to the exhaust end of the wet curtain heat exchanger, the exhaust end of the air conditioning combined cooling tower and the air inlet end of the wet curtain heat exchanger are both connected to the external environment, and the air conditioning combined cooling tower and the wet curtain heat exchanger are both electrically connected to an operation controller.

[0011] Preferably, the air-conditioning combined cooling tower includes a cooling tower body, a cooling tower air inlet is provided on the lower side wall of the cooling tower body, a cooling tower exhaust port is provided on the top of the cooling tower body, a coil or filler and a cooling tower water circulation system are provided in the cooling tower body, and the coil or chilled water is coupled to the heat exchange equipment through a cooling tower auxiliary machine circulation pump.

[0012] Preferably, the cooling tower water circulation system includes a first water collecting tank, which is arranged at the bottom of the cooling tower body. A first sprayer is provided on the top of the cooling tower body. The first water collecting tank and the first sprayer are connected through a first pipe, and a first circulation pump is provided on the first pipe.

[0013] Preferably, the air inlet of the cooling tower is provided with an air conditioner evaporator surface cooler, and the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler is connected to the air conditioner host.

[0014] Preferably, the cooling tower exhaust port is provided with a fan.

[0015] Preferably, the wet curtain heat exchanger includes a wet curtain heat exchanger body, a wet curtain heat exchanger air inlet is provided on one side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body, a wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port is provided on the other side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body, the wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port is connected to the cooling tower air inlet, and a porous wet curtain and a wet curtain heat exchanger water circulation system are provided in the wet curtain heat exchanger body.

[0016] Preferably, the wet curtain heat exchanger water circulation system includes a second water collecting tank, which is arranged at the bottom of the wet curtain heat exchanger body. A second sprayer is provided on the top of the wet curtain heat exchanger body. The second water collecting tank and the second sprayer are connected through a second pipe, and a second circulation pump is provided on the second pipe.

[0017] Preferably, both the first water collecting tank and the second water collecting tank are provided with a water make-up device.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has achieved the following beneficial technical effects:

[0019] 1. The present invention provides a cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner. Through a three-stage heat exchange architecture and intelligent mode switching, it achieves high-efficiency cooling in all working conditions. When the ambient temperature is above 0°C and below 12°C, and the relative humidity is below 80%, the cooling tower module operates independently, saving more than 90% energy compared with traditional air conditioners. When the ambient temperature is above 12°C, the wet curtain heat exchanger and the air conditioner are linked to form a cooling tower, with a COP of 5-18, saving 20%-70% energy compared with national standard first-level energy efficiency equipment.

[0020] 2. The present invention provides a cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner. The wet curtain heat exchanger performs primary cooling, and the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler performs secondary deep cooling, ensuring that the cooling tower stably prepares cold water ≤12°C.

[0021] 3. The present invention provides a cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner. The operation controller automatically switches modes based on temperature and humidity thresholds, making full use of natural cold sources in different seasons and even different times of the day to reduce heat exchange energy consumption.

[0022] 4. The present invention provides a cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner. The wet curtain heat exchanger, the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler and the cooling tower share a fan, which simplifies the air flow path and reduces equipment redundancy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a cooling tower embodiment 1 of the present invention, comprising a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wet curtain heat exchanger in Example 1;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of Example 2 of a cooling tower combining a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The serial numbers of the components herein, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish the objects described and do not have any order or technical meaning. The "connection" and "coupling" mentioned in this application, unless otherwise specified, include direct and indirect connections (couplings). In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0028] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, when a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediary. Furthermore, when a first feature is "above," "above," or "above" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. When a first feature is "below," "below," or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

[0029] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] The object of the present invention is to provide a cooling tower combining a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0031] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0032] Example 1:

[0033] This embodiment provides a cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner. Figure 1 As shown, it includes an air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1, the air inlet end of the air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1 is connected to the exhaust end of the wet curtain heat exchanger 2, the exhaust end of the air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1 and the air inlet end of the wet curtain heat exchanger 2 are both connected to the external environment, and the air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1 and the wet curtain heat exchanger 2 are both electrically connected to the operation controller 3.

[0034] The cooling tower provided in this embodiment, which is a combination of a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner, is composed of three major modules: a cooling tower module, an air conditioner module, and a wet curtain heat exchanger module. The operating modes of the above three modules are controlled by a system operation controller according to changes in the temperature and humidity of the natural environment; the three modules are responsible for solving technical problems under different working conditions, so as to achieve the purpose of fully utilizing unsaturated water vapor in the natural environment and low-temperature air in the natural environment to reduce refrigeration energy consumption.

[0035] As an embodiment, the air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1 includes a cooling tower body 11, a cooling tower air inlet 12 is provided on the lower side wall of the cooling tower body 11, a cooling tower exhaust port 13 is provided on the top of the cooling tower body 11, and a coil 14 and a cooling tower water circulation system are provided in the cooling tower body 1, and the coil 14 is coupled to the heat exchange equipment 16 through a cooling tower auxiliary machine circulation pump 15.

[0036] The cooling tower body 11 in this application is not limited to a specific type, and can be a natural ventilation cooling tower, a mechanical ventilation cooling tower, a mixed ventilation cooling tower, a wet cooling tower, a dry cooling tower, a dry-wet cooling tower, a countercurrent cooling tower, a crossflow cooling tower, a mixed flow cooling tower, an open cooling tower, a closed cooling tower and the like. The cooling tower body 11 in this embodiment adopts a closed cooling tower.

[0037] As an embodiment, the cooling tower water circulation system includes a first water collecting tank 17, which is arranged at the bottom of the cooling tower body 11, and a first sprinkler 18 is provided at the top of the cooling tower body 11. The first water collecting tank 17 and the first sprinkler 18 are connected through a first pipe 19, and a first circulation pump 110 is provided on the first pipe 19.

[0038] Based on the above-mentioned cooling tower water circulation system, water evaporation heat exchange and temperature difference convection heat exchange are utilized, and natural cold source heat exchange is utilized to save energy. The so-called natural cold source refers to dry air (unsaturated water vapor) and low-temperature cold air in nature. When there is a natural cold source, the natural cold source can be directly utilized to exchange heat with the heat exchange equipment without starting a high-energy-consuming air-conditioning unit. The working process is as follows: natural dry air and low-temperature cold air enter the cooling tower, and the moist and hot air after heat exchange is discharged from the exhaust port of the cooling tower, thereby heat exchange cooling the medium in the coil 14.

[0039] As an embodiment, the cooling tower air inlet 12 is provided with an air conditioner evaporator surface cooler 111 , and the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler 111 is connected to the air conditioner main unit 112 .

[0040] When the temperature of natural air is high and the heat exchange of the cooling tower operated independently cannot meet the heat exchange needs of the heat exchange equipment, the air-conditioning unit is used as an auxiliary equipment to cool and dehumidify the natural air entering the cooling tower before sending it into the cooling tower. The hot and humid air after heat exchange in the cooling tower is discharged from the exhaust port of the cooling tower, thereby always and stably ensuring the dry and cold air required for heat exchange in the cooling tower.

[0041] As an embodiment, a fan 113 is provided at the cooling tower exhaust port 13, and the wet curtain heat exchanger, the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler and the cooling tower share the fan, thereby simplifying the air flow path and reducing equipment redundancy.

[0042] As an implementation method, Figure 1 As shown, a condensate recovery device 114 is provided below the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler 111. One end of the condensate recovery device 114 is connected to the water receiving tray 115 at the bottom of the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler 111, and the other end is connected to and communicated with the first water collection tank 17 of the cooling tower for recovering condensate and reducing the consumption of water for evaporation.

[0043] As an implementation method, Figure 2 As shown, the wet curtain heat exchanger 2 includes a wet curtain heat exchanger body 21, a wet curtain heat exchanger air inlet 22 is provided on one side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body 21, and a wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port 23 is provided on the other side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body 21. The wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port 23 is connected to the cooling tower air inlet 12, and a porous wet curtain 24 and a wet curtain heat exchanger water circulation system are provided in the wet curtain heat exchanger body 21.

[0044] As an embodiment, the water circulation system of the wet curtain heat exchanger includes a second water collecting tank 25, which is arranged at the bottom of the wet curtain heat exchanger body 21, and a second sprayer 26 is provided on the top of the wet curtain heat exchanger body 21. The second water collecting tank 25 and the second sprayer 26 are connected through a second pipe 27, and a second circulation pump 28 is provided on the second pipe 27.

[0045] By utilizing the dry air and low-temperature cold air in nature to exchange heat with the water flowing through the wet curtain heat exchanger, the sensible heat of the natural air entering the "air conditioning cooling tower" air conditioning evaporator surface cooler is reduced, thereby reducing the heat load of the air conditioner operation and reducing the heat exchange energy consumption of the system.

[0046] As an implementation method, both the first water collection tank and the second water collection tank are provided with a water replenisher 29 to replenish water consumption in a timely manner.

[0047] Example 2:

[0048] As a variation of Example 1, this embodiment provides another cooling tower that combines a wet curtain heat exchanger with an air conditioner, such as Figure 3As shown, the only difference is that the air-conditioning combined cooling tower 1 in this embodiment adopts an open cooling tower with fillers inside. Apart from this, the rest of the structure and working principle are the same as those in Example 1.

[0049] The present invention provides a cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner, and its working principle is: the heat exchange form of the cooling tower combined with the wet curtain heat exchanger and the air conditioner is divided into three stages, the first stage is the wet curtain heat exchange, which is to use the high-temperature unsaturated air and low-temperature cold air in the natural environment and the water flowing through the wet curtain to form water evaporation heat exchange under the action of the "air conditioning cooling tower" fan, thereby reducing the sensible heat of the air entering the evaporator surface cooler of the air conditioner module in the "air conditioning cooling tower". Under normal circumstances in my country, when the natural air temperature is 40°C, the relative humidity is generally between 20-30%. After heat exchange through the first-stage wet curtain heat exchanger, the sensible heat temperature of the air will be between 25-28°C. The second stage of heat exchange is the air conditioner heat exchange, which is to exchange the air after the first stage of heat exchange with the refrigerant in the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler coil. The air after the first stage of cooling is cooled and dehumidified again to prepare the dry cold air required for the third stage of heat exchange. Its heat exchange principle is convection heat exchange and temperature difference conduction heat exchange. This stage of heat exchange can achieve two purposes: one is to achieve heat recovery (recovering the energy in the low-temperature condensed water) and condensed water recovery through the condensation of the air conditioner evaporator, and the other is to prepare dry cold air for the third stage of heat exchange. The third stage of heat exchange is the cooling tower heat exchange. The heat exchange between the cooling tower and the heat exchange equipment is to exchange the dry cold air prepared in the second stage of heat exchange with the hot water after the heat exchange equipment. Its principle is convection heat exchange and evaporation heat exchange in the cooling tower.

[0050] The present invention manages its operating mode through an operating controller. The present invention has two operating modes. One operating mode is: when the natural temperature sensible heat is low and dry, and natural cold air is directly used to meet the heat exchange needs of the heat exchange equipment, the operating controller shuts down the wet curtain heat exchanger module and the air conditioner module, and independently operates the cooling tower module. This can achieve the use of natural cold sources to prepare the required cooling water. The second operating mode is: when the independent operation of the cooling tower module cannot meet the heat exchange needs of the heat exchange equipment, the operating controller automatically switches to the second operating mode, that is, simultaneously operates the wet curtain heat exchanger and the "air conditioner cooling tower" in the system to meet the cooling load required by the heat exchange equipment. In the second operating mode, the system can adjust the equipment load in a timely manner through frequency conversion technology and control technology according to the changes in heat load caused by changes in natural air temperature to save energy.

[0051] A cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner provided by the present invention has been put into trial operation in Changsha City, Hunan Province. The weather conditions there on July 20, 2024 were sunny with a light breeze. At 3 pm, the outdoor temperature was 37°C and the relative humidity was 40%. When the present invention is operated, its first-stage wet curtain heat exchanger can reduce the temperature of 37°C by 26-27°C, the second-stage air conditioner can reduce the temperature of 27°C to 5-7°C, and the third-stage cooling tower can reduce the water inlet temperature between 12-17°C to the water outlet temperature between 7-12°C. At this time, the energy consumption of the equipment is at least 20% lower than that of traditional air-conditioning equipment with a national standard first-level energy efficiency ratio of 3.5; at 0:00 at night, the temperature dropped to 28°C and the relative humidity was 70%. At this time, the energy consumption of the equipment is at least 40% lower than that of traditional air-conditioning equipment with a national standard first-level energy efficiency ratio of 3.5; the weather was sunny at 3:00 pm on November 15, the temperature was 25°C, and the relative humidity was 50%; when the present invention is operated, its first-stage wet curtain heat exchanger can cool the temperature of 25°C to 16-17°C, and the second-stage air conditioner will then reduce the temperature of 16-17°C to 5-7°C. The third-stage cooling tower can reduce the inlet water temperature between 12-17℃ to the outlet water temperature between 7-12℃. At this time, the energy consumption of the equipment is at least 50% lower than that of traditional air-conditioning equipment with a national standard first-level energy efficiency ratio of 3.5; at 0:00 at night, the temperature drops to 18℃ and the relative humidity is 70%. Its first-stage wet curtain heat exchanger can reduce the temperature of 18℃ by 12-13℃, the second-stage air conditioner can reduce the temperature of 12-13℃ to 5-7℃, and the third-stage cooling tower can reduce the inlet water temperature between 12-17℃ to the outlet water temperature between 7-12℃. At this time, the energy consumption of the equipment is at least 70% lower than that of traditional air-conditioning equipment with a national standard first-level energy efficiency ratio of 3.5.

[0052] The cooling tower provided by the present invention, which is a combination of a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner, can be widely used in scenes such as Class A ITC rooms, airport terminals, and high-speed rail stations.

[0053] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0054] It should be noted that the components mentioned in the above embodiments are all universal standard parts or components known to those skilled in the art, and their structures and principles can be known to those skilled in the art through technical manuals or conventional experimental methods.

[0055] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only intended to help understand the method and core concept of the present invention. At the same time, those skilled in the art will find that the specific implementation methods and application scopes may vary based on the concept of the present invention. In summary, the contents of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. A cooling tower combining a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner, including an air conditioner combined cooling tower, characterized in that: The air inlet end of the air-conditioning combined cooling tower is connected to the exhaust end of the wet curtain heat exchanger, the exhaust end of the air-conditioning combined cooling tower and the air inlet end of the wet curtain heat exchanger are both connected to the external environment, and the air-conditioning combined cooling tower and the wet curtain heat exchanger are both electrically connected to the operation controller.

2. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air-conditioning combined cooling tower includes a cooling tower body, a cooling tower air inlet is provided on the lower side wall of the cooling tower body, a cooling tower exhaust port is provided on the top of the cooling tower body, a coil or filler and a cooling tower water circulation system are provided in the cooling tower body, and the coil or chilled water is coupled to the heat exchange equipment through a cooling tower auxiliary machine circulation pump.

3. The cooling tower combined with the wet curtain heat exchanger and the air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cooling tower water circulation system includes a first water collecting tank, which is arranged at the bottom of the cooling tower body. A first sprayer is provided on the top of the cooling tower body. The first water collecting tank and the first sprayer are connected through a first pipe, and a first circulation pump is provided on the first pipe.

4. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that: An air conditioner evaporator surface cooler is provided at the air inlet of the cooling tower, and the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler is connected to the air conditioner host.

5. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cooling tower exhaust port is provided with a fan.

6. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 4, characterized in that: A condensate recovery device is provided below the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler. One end of the condensate recovery device is connected to the water receiving pan at the bottom of the air conditioner evaporator surface cooler, and the other end is connected to and communicated with the first water collecting tank.

7. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 3, characterized in that: The wet curtain heat exchanger includes a wet curtain heat exchanger body, a wet curtain heat exchanger air inlet is provided on one side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body, a wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port is provided on the other side of the wet curtain heat exchanger body, the wet curtain heat exchanger exhaust port is connected to the cooling tower air inlet, and a porous wet curtain and a wet curtain heat exchanger water circulation system are provided in the wet curtain heat exchanger body.

8. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 7, characterized in that: The water circulation system of the wet curtain heat exchanger includes a second water collection tank, which is arranged at the bottom of the wet curtain heat exchanger body. A second sprayer is provided on the top of the wet curtain heat exchanger body. The second water collection tank and the second sprayer are connected through a second pipe, and a second circulation pump is provided on the second pipe.

9. The cooling tower combined with a wet curtain heat exchanger and an air conditioner according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first water collecting tank and the second water collecting tank are both provided with a water make-up device.

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