Combined cooling tower and maintenance method for combined cooling tower

Abstract

To provide a combined cooling tower with improved maintainability, capable of integrally managing combined cooling towers during management of a plurality combined cooling tower, and a maintenance method for a combined cooling tower.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a combined cooling tower for cooling liquid, in which two or more cooling towers are connected to each other, and no partition is provided at the boundary between one of the two or more combined cooling towers and another adjacent cooling tower.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a linked cooling tower and a maintenance method for the linked cooling tower. [Background technology]

[0002] Cooling towers lower the water temperature by dropping cooling water into an airflow and evaporating some of the water that comes into contact with the air. The treated water to be cooled flows down the surface of the filler material inside the cooling tower and comes into direct contact with outside air drawn into the tower by an exhaust fan. The treated water comes into contact with outside air as it flows along the surface of the filler material. The filler material allows the treated water to come into efficient contact with outside air, evaporating some of the treated water and lowering the temperature of the remaining treated water.

[0003] A cooling tower is basically composed of a tower body, a fan, one or more fillers, and a water tank. Depending on the required cooling capacity, a cooling tower with a large capacity is selected, or multiple cooling towers are selected according to the required cooling capacity. Generally, a cooling tower is basically composed of a cell, which is the smallest unit that can be operated, and includes a tower body, a fan, one or more fillers, and a water tank. Depending on the required cooling capacity, a cooling tower composed of a single cell that satisfies the required cooling capacity is selected, or a cooling tower in which multiple cells are connected to meet the required cooling capacity is selected.

[0004] Cooling tower manufacturers present their products in a catalog with model numbers according to cooling performance, etc. Cooling tower users select products from this catalog and may install multiple cooling towers of the same model number in conjunction with each other depending on the required cooling capacity, cooling tower installation conditions, and site conditions. There is also a type of cooling tower in which cells, the smallest unit capable of operating as a cooling tower, are connected together within a single tower body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-40672 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Conventionally, in the case of a cooling tower with multiple fans inside the tower body, the internal space is partitioned for each fan, which makes it difficult to maintain. The same problem also exists in the case of linked cooling towers, which are multiple cooling towers connected together. In the case of a cooling tower with multiple connected cells, the space for each cell is partitioned, and when replacing the filler material, the outer panels of each cell must be removed, resulting in poor maintenance.

[0007] In cooling towers with multiple connected cells, abnormalities cannot be judged as a whole connected cooling tower, and each cell is monitored independently. For example, insufficient performance due to scale deposition in the filler occurs in each cell. Therefore, abnormality judgment corresponding to insufficient performance is also performed for each cell, and the connected cooling towers cannot be managed as a whole.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is to provide a linked cooling tower and a maintenance method for a linked cooling tower, which can manage the linked cooling towers as a whole and improve maintainability in managing a cooling tower having a plurality of linked cells. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a linked cooling tower which is a cooling tower for cooling liquid, characterized in that two or more cells, which are the smallest operable units, are linked together, and there is no partition at the boundary between one of the two or more linked cooling towers and another adjacent cooling tower. With this linked cooling tower, since there are no partitions between two or more adjacent cooling towers, work such as replacing and cleaning the filler can be performed from one cooling tower, thereby improving maintainability.

[0010] In addition, according to one embodiment of the linked cooling tower of the present invention for solving the above problem, the filler provided in the cooling tower is separable. With this linked cooling tower, the filler can be divided, and some of the filler can be removed depending on the working space inside the tower body, making it possible to access areas required for maintenance and facilitating tasks such as filling material replacement and cleaning, thereby improving maintainability.

[0011] In addition, according to one embodiment of the linked cooling tower of the present invention for solving the above problems, it is characterized by comprising an abnormality judgment unit that judges abnormalities in the filling material of the cooling tower and the exhaust fan. According to this linked cooling tower, the operation of two or more linked cooling towers can be managed in an integrated manner, which allows the overall optimization of the operating conditions of the linked cooling towers, rather than the partial optimization of the operating conditions of one cooling tower.

[0012] In addition, a maintenance method for linked cooling towers to solve the above problems is a maintenance method for linked cooling towers comprising one cooling tower and another adjacent cooling tower, characterized in that it comprises a step of performing maintenance on the other cooling tower from a manhole of the one cooling tower. According to this method for maintaining linked cooling towers, a method is provided that allows free access from one cooling tower to another and allows integrated maintenance of linked cooling towers. This allows the maintenance of linked cooling towers to be performed as a single unit, making the maintenance work more efficient. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, in the management of a cooling tower in which a plurality of cells are connected, the connected cooling towers can be managed as a whole, thereby improving maintainability. In addition, a connected cooling tower and a maintenance method for the connected cooling towers can be provided, which can efficiently manage the cleaning frequency, the timing of replacing the filler, and the like as a whole connected cooling tower. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a linked cooling tower according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an abnormality determination unit of the linked cooling tower of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the function of an abnormality determination unit of the linked cooling tower of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the linked cooling tower and the maintenance method for the linked cooling tower according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The linked cooling towers and the maintenance methods for linked cooling towers described in the embodiments are merely examples for the purpose of explaining the cooling towers and filler material according to the present invention, and are not limited thereto.

[0016] In this specification, the term "treated water" refers to water that is to be cooled in a cooling tower, and refers to water that is received from outside the cooling tower, cooled in the cooling tower, and then circulated outside the cooling tower again as cooling water. An exhaust fan is a blower that creates an air flow by drawing in the air inside the tower, taking in outside air from an air intake port provided in the tower body, while exhausting the air inside the tower to the outside.

[0017] The main uses of cooling towers are not particularly limited as long as they are devices for cooling liquids, but examples include cooling cooling water for air conditioning, cooling lubricating oil for production processes, and cooling water for furnace bodies.

[0018] (First embodiment) A linked cooling tower 10 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the structure of a linked cooling tower according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a linked cooling tower having a configuration in which two cooling towers are linked. The description of a linked cooling tower having a configuration in which three or more cooling towers are linked shall be replaced with the description of a linked cooling tower having a configuration in which two cooling towers are linked.

[0019] A cooling tower is a device for cooling the treated water itself by bringing the treated water into contact with air, causing a part of the treated water to evaporate and the heat of vaporization. In the linked cooling tower 10 of the first embodiment, the treated water flows down into the filler 21 and reaches the water tank 14. Outside air flowing in from the air inlets 16a and 16b provided on the side of the linked cooling tower is sucked into the tower and drawn into the space below the filler 21. The outside air then changes its flow direction to the exhaust fan 15, passes through the filler 21, and is exhausted from the exhaust port 12.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, the linked cooling tower 10 is composed of one cooling tower 10a and another cooling tower 10b adjacent to each other. The cooling tower 10a includes a tower body 11a and an exhaust port 12a. An exhaust fan 15a and a filler 21a are provided inside the tower body 11a. An intake port 16a for taking in outside air is provided on the side of the tower body 11a. The cooling tower 10b includes a tower body 11b and an exhaust port 12b. An exhaust fan 15b and a filler 21b are provided inside the tower body 11b. An intake port 16b for taking in outside air is provided on the side of the tower body 11b. The cooling towers 10a, 10b share a water tank 14 and a water supply pipe 31.

[0021] Louvers 17a and 17b are installed at the intakes 16a and 16b on the side of the tower bodies 11a and 11b. The louvers 17a and 17b adjust the flow direction of the introduced outside air, allowing the outside air to pass evenly through the sides of the packing materials 21a and 21b. The louvers 17a and 17b can also prevent foreign objects of a certain size or larger from entering from the outside.

[0022] The water supply pipe 31 is a pipe for introducing treated water supplied from the outside into the linked cooling tower. A plurality of sprinklers 13 are provided at predetermined intervals in the tower interior of the water supply pipe 31. The treated water introduced from the water supply pipe 31 falls from the sprinklers 13 into the tower.

[0023] The tower bodies 11a and 11b are the casings of the linked cooling towers. The shape of the casing is rectangular. The linked cooling tower 10 links the cooling towers 10a and 10b. The cooling tower 10a is provided with a support structure 18a that supports the exhaust fan 15a, the water supply pipe 31, and the filler material 21a. Similarly, the cooling tower 10b is provided with a support structure 18b that supports the exhaust fan 15b, the water supply pipe 31, and the filler material 21b. Support structural members 18a, 18b for the cooling towers 10a, 10b are provided adjacent to each other on the side where the cooling towers 10a, 10b are adjacent to each other. The support structures 18a and 18b are made up of beams and columns for structurally supporting the exhaust fans 15a and 15b, the water supply pipe 31, and the fillers 21a and 21b. No walls or partitions are attached to the support structures 18a and 18b. Therefore, the cooling tower 10a can be easily accessed from the cooling tower 10b, and the space required for maintenance is secured so that the cooling tower 10b can be easily accessed from the cooling tower 10a and vice versa.

[0024] Exhaust ports 12a and 12b are formed in the central upper portion of the cooling towers 10a and 10b. Exhaust fans 15a and 15b are installed in the exhaust ports 12a and 12b. Exhaust ports 12a, 12b are outlets for discharging outside air drawn into linked cooling tower 10 by exhaust fans 15a, 15b to the outside of the cooling tower. A water supply pipe 31 that supplies treated water to 10A is disposed below exhaust fans 15a, 15b. Fillers 21a, 21b are provided below water supply pipe 31. A water tank 14 that receives treated water is provided below fillers 21a, 21b.

[0025] In addition, an eliminator capable of removing water droplets contained in the air accompanying the exhaust flow may be installed between the fillers 21a, 21b and the exhaust ports 12a, 12b. By installing the eliminator, treated water contained in the air that has passed through the fillers 21a, 21b can be collected and the treated water can be prevented from flowing out from the exhaust ports 12a, 12b.

[0026] In the linked cooling tower 10, the cooling towers 10a and 10b are managed as a whole. For example, even if scale accumulates on the filler 21a of the cooling tower 10a and pressure loss increases, the load caused by the pressure loss is borne by the exhaust fans 15a and 15b in common, not only the exhaust fan 15a. Therefore, if the cooling capacity of the linked cooling tower 10 is equal to or higher than a certain level, the cooling towers 10a and 10b can be considered as a whole when it comes to the timing of maintenance. As a result, since there is no partition between the cooling towers 10a and 10b, repair and replacement of the filler is facilitated, and in addition to the effect of improving maintainability, the cooling towers 10a and 10b can be considered as a whole for the maintenance schedule, and the maintenance plan can be rationalized.

[0027] (filling material) The fillers 21a and 21b are composed of multiple sheet-like members (not shown). The sheet-like members have an uneven surface structure, such as a honeycomb plate or corrugated plastic, which increases the specific surface area, which is the ratio of the surface area of ​​the sheet-like members to the volume of the filler. By having such unevenness on the surface of the sheet-like members, the contact area between the treated water and the air can be increased, thereby increasing the cooling efficiency, so the value of this specific surface area is also an index of the cooling capacity of the cooling tower.

[0028] The fillers 21a and 21b are usually in a sheet shape from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of contact between the treated water and the outside air, but may be in a prismatic shape, etc. The fillers 21a and 21b are generally made of synthetic resin, typically rigid polyvinyl chloride, or metal, and are molded into various shapes. The fillers 21a and 21b may be formed integrally as a whole, or may be formed by arranging a plurality of unit fillers in the horizontal or vertical direction.

[0029] (Exhaust fan) The exhaust fans 15a and 15b are components for forming an air flow inside the linked cooling tower 10. As shown by the black arrows in Fig. 1, when the exhaust fans 15a and 15b are driven, the air inside the cooling towers 10a and 10b is exhausted from the exhaust ports 12a and 12b, and outside air flows in from the intake ports 16a and 16b. The outside air flows in through the fillers 21a and 21b to the exhaust ports 12a and 12b.

[0030] The driving unit for driving the exhaust fans 15a, 15b may be, for example, a motor. The driving unit is not particularly limited as long as it drives the exhaust fans 15a, 15b, but may be, for example, a unit that can variably manage the rotation speed of the fan using an inverter or the like. Since the cooling capacity can be adjusted according to the outside air wet-bulb temperature and the treated water temperature, there is an effect of reducing power consumption.

[0031] Second embodiment The structure of the linked cooling tower 10 according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the linked cooling tower of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The fillers 21a, 21b are configured to be divisible. By making the fillers of the divided units of the fillers 21a, 21b into a size that allows them to be freely moved between the cooling towers 10a, 10b without interfering with the beam members and column members of the support structural members 18a, 18b, improvement in maintainability can be expected.

[0032] 2 is a schematic diagram of the abnormality judgment unit of the linked cooling tower of the present invention. The current value and voltage value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b are sent to the abnormality judgment unit 41. In addition, the pressure value is sent to the abnormality judgment unit 41 from a pressure gauge provided in the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31. Upon receiving the current value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31, the abnormality judgment unit 41 processes the data to manage the linked cooling tower.

[0033] The load state of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a and 15b can be known from the current value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a and 15b. Generally, in constant speed operation, as the load on exhaust fans 15a, 15b increases, the drive speed decreases and the current increases, and as the load decreases, the drive speed increases to near synchronous speed and the current decreases. If the current flowing through the drive section increases excessively, the drive section will generate heat, causing the temperature to rise and ultimately damaging the drive section. Here, the state in which the exhaust fans 15a, 15b of the cooling towers 10a, 10b are operating steadily means, specifically, a state in which the fillers 21a, 21b are free of scale buildup and in a healthy state, so that the pressure loss of the air passing through the fillers 21a, 21b is close to the numerical value based on the design data for the fillers 21a, 21b.

[0034] When scale accumulates in the fillers 21a and 21b, the pressure loss of the air passing through the fillers 21a and 21b increases, and the load on the exhaust fans 15a and 15b increases. When the load on the exhaust fans 15a and 15b increases, the current value of the drive unit tends to increase.

[0035] A pressure gauge provided in the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 measures the differential pressure between this space and the outside air. That is, it indicates the degree of pressure loss of the air passing through the fillers 21a, 21b. Therefore, the degree of scale accumulation in the fillers 21a, 21b can be monitored by an increase in the value of the pressure gauge provided in the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31.

[0036] If the load on exhaust fans 15a, 15b increases, the current value of the drive unit tends to rise, and the value of the pressure gauge installed in the space between exhaust fans 15a, 15b and water supply pipe 31 tends to rise, it is estimated that the pressure loss of the air passing through fillers 21a, 21b has increased. When scale accumulates on the fillers 21a and 21b, By monitoring the current value of the drive unit of exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the value of the pressure gauge installed in the space between exhaust fans 15a, 15b and water supply pipe 31, it is possible to know when it is time to perform maintenance on filling materials 21a, 21b and the drive units of exhaust fans 15a, 15b.

[0037] The driving parts of exhaust fans 15a, 15b are each equipped with a current and voltage detection part. Regarding the pressure gauge provided in the space between exhaust fans 15a, 15b and water supply pipe 31, one pressure gauge may be provided in linked cooling tower 10 consisting of cooling towers 10a, 10b. Since there is no partition in the space between exhaust fans 15a, 15b and water supply pipe 31 in linked cooling tower 10, the value indicated by the pressure gauge indicates the differential pressure between the space between exhaust fans 15a, 15b and water supply pipe 31 and the outside air, except for momentary fluctuations in the local flow around the pressure gauge.

[0038] The operating state of each of the exhaust fans 15a and 15b can also be monitored from the current value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a and 15b. For example, if an abnormal current value is detected in the exhaust fan 15a, it can be assumed that a problem such as clogging has occurred in the filler 21a provided in the cooling tower 10a. Furthermore, if an abnormal current value is detected only in exhaust fan 15a, and there is no particular change in the value indicated by the pressure gauge, it can be assumed that a malfunction has occurred in exhaust fan 15a itself.

[0039] (Abnormality Judgment Department) 3 is a diagram showing the function of the abnormality determination unit of the linked cooling tower monitoring device of the present invention. The abnormality determination unit 41 includes a data receiving unit 411, a memory unit 412, a calculation unit 413, and a display unit 414. The data receiving unit 411 receives the current value and voltage value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b, and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31. The transmission and reception of data of the current value and voltage value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b, and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 between the data receiving unit 411 and the data receiving unit 411 may be wired or wireless.

[0040] The data receiving unit 411 sends the received data on the current value and voltage value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 to the memory unit 412. The memory unit 412 stores the data on the current value and voltage value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31. The memory unit 412 also stores data on the current value and voltage value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 in a normal operating state as reference values ​​for monitoring. The data on the current value and voltage value of the driving part of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b, which indicate the operating state, and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 may be set as reference values ​​with a certain width as boundary values ​​that are within the range of normal values.

[0041] For example, when scale and the like accumulates in the fillers 21a, 21b and the pressure loss of the air passing through the fillers 21a, 21b increases, the current value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b increases, but the pressure value in the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 tends to rise. Therefore, from data on the current value of the drive units of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value in the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31, it is possible to detect or predict the clogging state of the fillers 21a, 21b.

[0042] The calculation unit 413 compares the data of the current value and voltage value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 received by the memory unit 412 with reference values ​​for monitoring the current value and voltage value of the drive unit of the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the pressure value of the space between the exhaust fans 15a, 15b and the water supply pipe 31 in a normal operating state, which are stored in the memory unit 412. If the comparison result is within the range of the reference values, information indicating normal operation is passed to the display unit 414. If the comparison result is outside the reference values, an alarm indicating an abnormal operation is passed to the display unit 414. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10... linked cooling tower, 10a, 10b... cooling tower, 11a, 11b... tower body, 12a, 12b... exhaust port, 13... sprinkler system, 14... water tank, 15a, 15b... exhaust fan, 16a, 16b... air intake port, 17a, 17b... louver, 18a, 18b... supporting structure material, 21a, 21b... filling material, 31... water supply pipe, 32... drain pipe, 41... abnormality determination unit, 411... data receiving unit, 412... memory unit, 413... calculation unit, 414... Display section

Claims

1. 1. A cooling tower for cooling a liquid, comprising: Two or more cells, the smallest unit that can be operated, are connected together. The cooling tower is characterized in that there is no partition at the boundary between one of the two or more connected cooling towers and the adjacent other cooling tower. Connected cooling tower.

2. The cooling tower is characterized in that the filler provided therein is separable.

2. The coupled cooling tower of claim 1.

3. The cooling tower is characterized in that it is characterized by comprising an abnormality determination unit that determines an abnormality in the exhaust fan of the cooling tower.

3. The coupled cooling tower according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A maintenance method for a linked cooling tower including one cooling tower and another adjacent cooling tower, comprising: The cooling tower is provided with a manhole for performing maintenance on the other cooling tower. How to maintain a connected cooling tower

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