Air conditioning installation, cooling tower, and underground substation

Abstract

To provide an air conditioning installation and the like that can stably maintain operation without causing significant deterioration in cooling capacity at normal time even when ash falls because of eruption of a volcano such as Mount Fuji.SOLUTION: An air conditioning installation with a suction port for introducing outside air indoors includes: a filter detachably covering the suction port and capable of blocking volcanic ash; a filter storage part for storing the filter; and a movement mechanism for moving the filter stored in the filter storage part to a position covering the suction port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to air conditioning equipment, cooling towers, and underground substations.

Background Art

[0002] Substations installed in urban areas are generally often installed in the underground part of buildings and are called underground substations. Such underground substations are important facilities in the power transmission and distribution in urban areas, and there are even facilities of up to 500 kV class at the largest. Since such underground substations supply power to major institutions in urban areas, their stoppage may cause great chaos.

[0003] Here, the stoppage of power transmission equipment during a volcanic eruption that may affect ash fall in urban areas, for example, during the eruption of Mount Fuji, may cause great chaos. Therefore, the countermeasures against the eruption of Mount Fuji itself are being studied as a major issue, and the countermeasures against ash fall damage caused by the eruption are being studied as the main issue.

[0004] In the ash fall assumption simulation updated by the Central Disaster Prevention Council of the Cabinet Office for the eruption of Mount Fuji, it is predicted that ash will reach the capital region 2 hours after the eruption of Mount Fuji and will accumulate up to about 10 cm at most. The following three items are the main issues to be considered regarding the impact on power facilities. (1) Stoppage due to damage to the turbines of thermal power generation facilities (2) Insulation degradation and damage caused by ash adhering to insulators, transformers, etc. of power transmission facilities (3) Damage to backbone power transmission and transformation facilities due to lava flows, etc.

[0005] Among the above-mentioned issues to be considered, underground substations that are essential for supplying power in the capital region are excluded from the consideration from the perspective that there is no impact of ash fall because the power transformation facilities are installed underground.

[0006] However, the cooling equipment of underground substations in urban areas cools the heat generated by transformers with water in cooling towers installed on the roof. Therefore, it may fall into a state where the cooling tower cannot operate due to falling ash, which may directly lead to substation shutdown. Even in underground substations in urban areas, the same reliability as the above three research issues is required.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] The cooling tower has a structure in which outside air is sucked in by a cooling fan, blown to a heat exchanger (cooler), and cooled by spraying water. During ash fall, volcanic ash enters from two places, the intake and exhaust ports of the cooling tower, and ash adheres to the fin part of the heat exchanger, blocking the flow of air through the heat exchanger part and significantly reducing the cooling capacity. Furthermore, due to the water spraying operation, the falling ash enters the inside of the fins, not only causing the cooling tower to become inoperable, but also the falling ash that has entered the inside of the fins hardens and adheres, causing corrosion and potentially leading to a situation where it is difficult to recover the cooling tower.

[0009] Therefore, as a countermeasure against the intrusion of volcanic ash, it is conceivable to install a filter at the intake port or the like. However, constantly installing a filter at the intake port of the cooling tower against falling ash whose occurrence time is unknown will cause a significant reduction in the air supply volume to the cooling tower due to the pressure loss of the air by the filter, resulting in a significant reduction in cooling capacity as an issue. In addition, constantly installing a filter at the intake port will also cause problems such as interfering with daily equipment maintenance and significantly increasing the cleaning work for recovering the clogging of the filter.

[0010] Even in the case of disaster prevention measures, in a situation where it is impossible to predict when an event will occur, permanently installing a filter for volcanic ash prevention measures has the problems as described above and is a major issue regarding the installation method. On the other hand, it is also conceivable to install a filter after the eruption of Mount Fuji until the volcanic ash reaches the substation. However, due to disruptions such as the suspension of the transportation network caused by volcanic ash fall, the situation will be exacerbated, and it will be difficult to secure the personnel who can work at the substation. It is assumed that the filter installation will not be in time when volcanic ash is falling.

[0011] Also, in the air conditioning equipment other than the cooling tower in the underground substation described above, it is similarly necessary to take measures against damage caused by volcanic ash fall due to volcanic eruptions. For example, air conditioning equipment in hospitals, air conditioning equipment in data centers that house a large number of electronic devices, etc. also require measures against damage caused by volcanic ash fall due to volcanic eruptions.

[0012] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioning equipment, a cooling tower, and an underground substation that can stably maintain operation even when volcanic ash falls due to an eruption of a volcano such as Mount Fuji without significantly reducing the cooling capacity during normal times.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0013] The air conditioning equipment of the embodiment is an air conditioning equipment provided with an air intake for introducing outside air into a building, and includes a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage unit for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position covering the air intake.

[0014] The air conditioning equipment according to the embodiment includes a housing, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, an air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, and an exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing. It is an air conditioning equipment arranged outdoors, and includes a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage part for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage part to a position covering the air intake. It is characterized by this.

[0015] The cooling tower according to the embodiment includes a housing, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, an air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, and an exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing. It is a cooling tower arranged outdoors, and includes a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage part for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage part to a position covering the air intake. It is characterized by this.

[0016] The underground substation according to the embodiment has a power transformation facility at least partially provided underground in a building, and a cooling tower provided on the roof of the building for cooling the power transformation facility. The cooling tower includes a housing, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, an air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, an exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing, a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage part for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage part to a position covering the air intake. It is characterized by this.

Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioning equipment, a cooling tower, and an underground substation that can stably maintain operation even when volcanic ash is generated due to an eruption of a volcano such as Mount Fuji, without significantly reducing the cooling capacity during normal times.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the air conditioning equipment, cooling tower, and underground substation according to the embodiment will be described in detail.

[0020] In the following embodiments, an example of an underground substation mainly provided in urban areas such as Tokyo and a cooling tower used in the underground substation will be described, but other air conditioning equipment can be applied in the same manner.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, in the underground substation, power transformation equipment 10 such as transformers and cooling water pumps is provided in the underground part 12 of the building 11, and a cooling tower 13, which is a heat exchanger for cooling the power transformation equipment 10, is provided on the rooftop part 14 of the building 11 or the like.

[0022] Figs. 1 and 2 are diagrams schematically showing the overall schematic configuration of the above-described cooling tower 13. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cooling tower 13 includes a housing 101 that can be hermetically closed inside. In this housing 101, a dry heat exchanger, a wet heat exchanger, a mechanism for supplying cooling water to the wet heat exchanger, and the like are provided.

[0023] In addition, the housing 101 is provided with an air intake 102 for taking in air from the outside, an exhaust port 103 for discharging the taken-in air, a fan 104 as a ventilation mechanism for forming an air flow between these, and the like.

[0024] In this embodiment, the air intake 102 is arranged to be located on the side surface of the housing 101, and the exhaust port 103 is arranged to be located on the upper surface of the housing 101. Above the air intake 102, a volcanic ash shield 110 is provided to reduce the amount of volcanic ash entering the air intake 102 from above when there is volcanic ash fallout. In this embodiment, the volcanic ash shield 110 has a shape that protrudes laterally in a roof-like shape from the side surface of the housing 101 at the upper part of the air intake 102. The shape of this volcanic ash shield 110 is not limited to the shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and any shape can be used as long as it can reduce the amount of volcanic ash entering the air intake 102.

[0025] Also, as shown in Fig. 3, at the part of the air intake 102, a volcanic ash entry prevention mechanism 111 for preventing the entry of volcanic ash from the air intake 102 is provided. This volcanic ash entry prevention mechanism 111 includes a filter 112 that detachably covers the air intake 102, a filter storage part 113 for storing the filter 112, and a moving mechanism 114 for moving the filter 112 in the filter storage part 113 to a position covering the air intake 102. The filter 112 can block volcanic ash.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, the filter 112 is formed in a plurality (four in this embodiment) of rectangular plate shapes and is configured to prevent the entry of volcanic ash by fibers or the like. That is, it is configured to be able to filter the assumed particle size of volcanic ash, for example, about several tens of microns.

[0027] The filter storage part 113 is provided on both sides of the intake port 102 adjacent to the intake port 102 with the intake port 102 sandwiched therebetween, has a structure like a pocket, and can accommodate two filters 112 therein respectively. These filters 112 are normally stored in the filter storage part 113, and the intake port 102 is in a state not covered by the filter 112. And when a volcanic eruption occurs and a situation where volcanic ash fall is expected occurs, the filter 112 stored in the filter storage part 113 is pulled out, and the intake port 102 is set to a state covered by the filter 112. Note that the entire intake port 102 has a structure that is covered without gaps by the four filters 112. In this case, a sealing material or the like may be provided so that no gaps are generated between the filters 112 or the like.

[0028] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the moving mechanism 114 includes a pair of rails 114a provided above and below the intake port 102. And the filter 112 stored in the filter storage part 113 can be pulled out, inserted between the rails 114a, and moved within the rails 114a to be moved to a predetermined position covering the intake port 102. Note that the configurations of the filter storage part 113 and the moving mechanism 114 are not limited to the above, and any configuration may be used. For example, it may be a configuration that moves the filter 112 electrically by a motor or the like.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, above the exhaust port 103, an ash shield 120 is provided to cover the upper part of the exhaust port 103. This ash shield 120 is composed of a roof 121 that covers the upper part of the exhaust port 103, an air flow control plate 122 that guides the air flow from the fan 104 to the side and discharges it downward, a duct 123 having an opening facing downward, and the like. The shape of this ash shield 120 is not limited to the above, and any shape may be used as long as it can suppress the entry of volcanic ash falling by gravity from the upper part of the exhaust port 103 into the exhaust port 103.

[0030] Note that the intake of a general outdoor cooling tower is either a top-side intake or a side-side intake structure as in this embodiment. However, in order to prevent volcanic ash from entering the cooling tower due to the influence of the gravity of the falling ash, the intake may be a bottom-side intake.

[0031] Also, in this embodiment, since it is necessary to provide a filter storage part 113 or the like adjacent to and in the vicinity of the intake port 102, the opening area of the intake port 102 may be limited in terms of space. However, if the intake opening ratio is about 70% with respect to the opening before installation, there will be no influence such as insufficient air volume.

[0032] In the present embodiment having the above configuration, during normal times, since the filter 112 is not attached to the intake port 102, cooling can be performed efficiently. Also, when a volcanic eruption or the like occurs, for example, when a volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji occurs, the installation of the filter 112 can be carried out by a small number of workers (for example, 1 person) in a short time (within about 1 hour of working time) within a short time (about 2 hours is assumed) from the occurrence of the volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji until the volcanic ash reaches the underground substation in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Therefore, the problem of air volume reduction due to the permanent installation of the filter and the risks such as a large amount of time and ensuring installation personnel for post-disaster response after a volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji or the like can be significantly avoided.

[0033] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the example in which the filter storage portions 113 are provided on both sides of the horizontally long intake port 102 has been described. However, the positional relationship between the intake port 102 and the filter storage portions 113 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a structure in which the filter storage portion 113 is provided at the upper part of one side of the intake port 102, or as shown in FIG. 6, a structure in which the filter storage portion 113 is provided at the lower part of one side of the intake port 102 may be used.

[0034] Further, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a structure in which the filter storage portion 113 is provided along the upper side of the intake port 102 may be used, or as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a structure in which the filter storage portion 113 is provided along the lower side of the intake port 102 may be used. Note that FIGS. 7 and 9 show a state in which the filter 112 is stored in the filter storage portion 113, and FIGS. 8 and 10 show a state in which a part of the filter 112 in the filter storage portion 113 is pulled out to cover a part of the intake port 102.

[0035] In the example shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in a part of the filter storage portion 113, the stored filter 112 can be pulled out downward, and the pulled-out filter 112 is moved left and right along a pair of rails 114a provided on the upper side and the lower side of the intake port 102. However, the configuration is not limited to this. Similar to a shutter provided in an opening such as a building, a rail may be provided so that the filter 112 in the filter storage portion 113 can be pulled out downward as it is in each part, and the filter 112 may be moved up and down along this rail. The same applies to the example shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0036] Furthermore, normally, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, a part of the intake port 102 may be covered with the filter 112, and when a volcanic eruption occurs, the filter 112 may be arranged in the empty part. In this case, the intake air volume from the intake port 102 during normal times slightly decreases, but by increasing the intake air volume of the part where the filter 112 is not arranged, the required intake air volume can be ensured.

[0037] In addition, by providing the above-described volcanic ash entry prevention mechanism 111 such as the filter 112, the filter storage unit 113, and the moving mechanism 114 in an air conditioning facility including an air intake for introducing outside air into a building and an air intake for introducing outside air into a housing provided with a heat exchanger, the same effects as those in the above-described case can be obtained.

[0038] As described above, some embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention and are also included in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0039] 10... Substation equipment, 11... Building, 12... Underground part, 13... Cooling tower, 14... Roof part, 101... Housing, 102... Air intake, 103... Exhaust port, 104... Fan, 110... Volcanic ash shield, 111... Volcanic ash entry prevention mechanism, 112... Filter, 113... Filter storage unit, 114... Moving mechanism, 114a... Rail, 120... Volcanic ash shield, 121... Roof, 122... Airflow control plate, 123... Duct.

Claims

1. An air conditioning equipment provided with an air intake for introducing outside air into a building, a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage part for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage part to a position covering the air intake, characterized in that it is provided with the above.

2. A housing, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, an air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, and an exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing, which is an air conditioning equipment disposed outdoors, a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage part for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage part to a position covering the air intake, characterized in that it is provided with the above.

3. The air conditioning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters characterized in that.

4. The air conditioning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the filter storage part is disposed adjacent to the air intake characterized in that.

5. The air conditioning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the moving mechanism is provided with a pair of rails disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake characterized in that.

6. A housing, a heat exchanger disposed within the housing, an air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, an exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing, and comprising a cooling tower disposed outdoors, a filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, a filter storage section for storing the filter, and a moving mechanism for moving the filter within the filter storage section to a position covering the air intake, characterized in that it comprises a cooling tower.

7. The cooling tower according to claim 6, wherein the filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters characterized in that it is a cooling tower.

8. The cooling tower according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the filter storage section is disposed adjacent to the air intake characterized in that it is a cooling tower.

9. The cooling tower according to claim 6 or 7, wherein volcanic ash shields for covering the upper part and preventing the entry of volcanic ash from above are disposed at the air intake and the exhaust port characterized in that it is a cooling tower.

10. The cooling tower according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the moving mechanism comprises a pair of rails disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake characterized in that it is a cooling tower.

11. Substation equipment at least part of which is provided underground in a building, and a cooling tower provided on the rooftop of the building for cooling the substation equipment, a housing, A heat exchanger disposed within the housing, An air intake for introducing outside air into the housing, An exhaust port for discharging the outside air after passing through the heat exchanger to the outside of the housing, A filter capable of blocking volcanic ash that detachably covers the air intake, A filter storage section for storing the filter, A moving mechanism for moving the filter within the filter storage section to a position covering the air intake, A cooling tower comprising: A subterranean substation, characterized by having the above.

12. The subterranean substation according to claim 11, wherein The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters. A subterranean substation, characterized by the above.

13. The subterranean substation according to claim 11 or 12, wherein The filter storage section is disposed adjacent to the air intake. A subterranean substation, characterized by the above.

14. The subterranean substation according to claim 11 or 12, wherein Ash guards for covering the upper part and preventing the entry of volcanic ash from above are disposed at the air intake and the exhaust port. A subterranean substation, characterized by the above.

15. The subterranean substation according to claim 11 or 12, wherein The moving mechanism includes a pair of rails disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake. A subterranean substation, characterized by the above.

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