Compressed gas cooling apparatus

Abstract

A compressed gas cooling apparatus in which gas from an upstream compression stage enters an inlet section from an inlet opening and flows to a heat exchanger that cools the gas. The cooled gas then flows from the heat exchanger to the outlet section where the gas is discharged from an outlet opening. Pressure drop within the apparatus is decreased by providing the inlet and outlet sections with ever increasing and decreasing cross-sectional flow areas. In order to further decrease pressure drop due to a swirl within the gas flow imparted from the upstream compression stage, the inlet section is provided with first and second subsections wherein the cross-sectional flow area of the first subsection increases at lesser rate than the second subjection. Alternatively, or in addition, the inlet section can be provided with partitions to divide the gas flow into subflows in order to lessen pressure drop from swirl.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention provides a compressed gas cooling apparatus that can function as an intercooler or an after-cooler and that is used to cool a gas between or after a series of compression stages. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a cooling apparatus in which both the inlet and outlet have sections of ever-increasing and ever-decreasing area, respectively, to feed gas to and from a heat exchanger positioned between the inlet and the outlet. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such a cooling apparatus in which the ever-increasing section of the inlet is designed to further reduce pressure losses that occur due to the swirl in the gas flow imparted by the upstream compression stage introducing compressed gas into the cooling apparatus.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Large volumes of gas are compressed in a variety of industrial applications within compression systems having a series of stages with intercoolin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a compressed gas cooling apparatus that can be used as an intercooler or after-cooler in a cooling system. The apparatus includes an inlet section and an outlet section. The invention is designed to minimize pressure drop and separation of the gas flow from the inlet section walls, by gradually decreasing the velocity of the gas flow through the inlet section using a cross-sectional flow area that increases at a faster rate in the second inlet portion than the first inlet portion, and then increasing the velocity of the gas flow through the outlet section using a cross-sectional flow area that decreases towards the outlet. The invention also provides a gradual increase in the velocity of the gas flow through the outlet section to further reduce pressure drop.

Problems solved by technology

In air separation plants, these pressure losses must be compensated for by increased compression and therefore, increased power consumption.

What has not been appreciated, even in the publication discussed above, is that pressure losses also arise from the swirl induced into the flow entering inlet and outlet sections of the intercooler or other compressed gas cooling apparatus used in connection with a compressor.

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