Method of operating air cooler

Abstract

To provide a method of operating an air cooler that can easily prevent excessive condensation of circulation water.SOLUTION: A method of operating an air cooler is for operating an air cooler including: a filler through which air passes; a water supply device for feeding water to the filler from above; a water receiving member arranged below the filler; a collection vessel into which water from the water receiving member flows; makeup water supply means for supplying makeup water to the collection vessel; and a circulation pump for sending water in the collection vessel to the water supply device. When a condensation level of water circulating in the air cooler is at or above a reference value, the circulation pump is stopped for a prescribed time and water in the collection vessel is made to overflow, after which the circulation pump is re-operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operating method of an air cooling device for cooling air, and more particularly to an operating method of an air cooling device for cooling air by permeating air through a gas-permeable filling material and supplying water to the filling material, and cooling the air by the heat of vaporization of the water. [Background technology]

[0002] An air cooling device is used in which air is passed through a gas-permeable filling material and water is supplied to the filling material, and the air is cooled by the heat of vaporization of the water (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Fig. 2 shows the air cooling device described in Patent Document 1, which is an auxiliary cooling device for a condenser used to cool the air sucked into a condenser 3 of an air-cooled chiller. The condenser 3 is placed inside a case 2 of an outdoor unit 1 of an air conditioner or a refrigerator. A fan 4 is provided to ventilate the condenser 3. The front of the case 2 is an open opening, and the condenser 3 is placed in this open opening. The auxiliary cooling device is intended to cool the air taken in by the condenser 3.

[0004] This cooling device 10 has a filler 11 arranged so as to face the front surface of the air-cooled condenser 3. This filler 11 has a predetermined thickness in the flow direction of the suction air. Water is supplied to the filler 11 from above by a water supply device 12, and the water flowing out from the bottom of the filler 11 is collected by a water receiving member 13, a flow path 14, and a collection container 15.

[0005] The water collected in the collection container 15 is sent to the water supply device 12 via piping 17 by a circulation pump 16. The water supplied from the water supply device 12 to the filler 11 comes into contact with the air while flowing through the filler 11 and evaporates, and the air is cooled by the heat of evaporation.

[0006] The filler 11 is made up of a plurality of corrugated sheets arranged in a layered manner with spaces between them, with air passages being formed between the adjacent corrugated sheets.

[0007] The recovery container 15 is provided with a float valve device (ball tap) 20 having a float 19, and makeup water is replenished so that the water level in the water recovery container 15 reaches a specified water level.

[0008] Fig. 3 shows the air cooling device of Patent Document 2. The air cooling device in Fig. 3 has the same configuration as the air cooling device in Fig. 2, except that an overblow pipe 18 is connected to a collection container 15.

[0009] When the water level in the recovery container 15 rises above the valve closing water level of the float valve device 20 (the water level at which the float 19 rises and the valve closes), the water in the recovery container 15 overflows from the upper end 18a of the overblow pipe 18.

[0010] 3, one end of the overblow pipe 18 is connected to the bottom of the collection container 15 and rises upward along the collection container 15. The upper end 18a is located slightly above the valve closing water level in the collection container 15 and opens to the side. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-104589 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-236370 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] In the above-mentioned conventional air cooling device, when the device is operated continuously, the salt concentration of the circulating water circulating through the recovery container 15, the pump 16, the piping 17, and the packing material 11 gradually increases and becomes over-concentrated, which may cause scale to precipitate in the packing material 11, etc.

[0013] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for operating an air cooling device that can easily prevent overconcentration of circulating water. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] The method for operating an air cooling device of the present invention is a method for operating an air cooling device having a filler material through which air permeates, a water supply device that flows water into the filler material from above, a water receiving member arranged below the filler material, a recovery container into which water from the water receiving member flows, a make-up water supply means that supplies make-up water to the recovery container, and a circulation pump that sends the water in the recovery container to the water supply device, and is characterized in that when the concentration of the water circulating through the air cooling device becomes equal to or higher than a reference value, the circulation pump is stopped for a predetermined time, water is overblowed from the recovery container, and then the circulation pump is controlled to be restarted.

[0015] In one aspect of the invention, the make-up water supply means comprises a float valve arrangement.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the enrichment degree is determined by electrical conductivity.

[0017] In one aspect of the present invention, an electric conductivity meter for measuring electric conductivity is provided in the water receiving member or in a flow path between the water receiving member and the recovery container.

[0018] In one aspect of the present invention, an electric conductivity meter for measuring electric conductivity is provided in the collection vessel, and the circulating pump is controlled based on a value obtained by multiplying the measured electric conductivity by a coefficient.

[0019] In one aspect of the present invention, the air cooling device is an auxiliary cooling device for a condenser, and the amount of evaporation in the air cooling device is calculated from the operating time of the condenser, and the rate of increase in the concentration is calculated based on this, and the circulation pump is controlled based on this. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the method for operating the air cooling device of the present invention, it is possible to easily prevent the circulating water from becoming over-concentrated. In the present invention, make-up water is supplied to the circulating water to prevent the circulating water from becoming over-concentrated, but since a solenoid valve for supplying this make-up water is not required, the equipment cost is low.

[0021] According to one aspect of the present invention, even in an auxiliary cooling device for a condenser where the evaporation rate in the circulating water is higher than that in a cooling tower and where the daily evaporation rate changes significantly, it is possible to suppress scale deposition without wasting water. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air cooling device used in the method according to the embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional air cooling device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional air cooling device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an example of an air cooling device to which the method of operating an air cooling device of the present invention is applied.

[0024] In this air cooling device, an overblow pipe 18 is provided in the recovery container 15. An upper end 18a of the overblow pipe 18 is located slightly above the closing water level of the float valve device 20 of the recovery container 15, and is open to the side.

[0025] Instead of the overblow pipe 18, an overblow outlet (overflow port) may be provided in the recovery container 15.

[0026] In this embodiment, an electrical conductivity meter 31 for measuring the electrical conductivity of water flowing through the water receiving member 13 is provided in the water receiving member 13. Also, a controller 32 is provided for controlling the circulating pump 16 based on the electrical conductivity detected by the electrical conductivity meter 31. The other configuration is the same as in Fig. 2, and the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

[0027] In this embodiment, when the electrical conductivity detected by the electrical conductivity meter 31 becomes higher than a preset reference value and the circulating water is on the verge of overconcentration, a portion of the circulating water is overblowed to introduce makeup water into the recovery container 15.

[0028] In order to overblow a portion of the circulating water, the circulation pump 16 is temporarily stopped. This stops the water supply from the collection container 15 to the pipe 17. Even after the circulation pump 16 is stopped, the water falling from the filler 11 continues to flow into the collection container 15 for a while, causing the water level in the collection container 15 to rise, and the water in the collection container 15 flows out (overblows) from the overblow pipe 18.

[0029] Since the circulation pump 16 is stopped, the flow rate of the water falling from the filler 11 gradually decreases. After a predetermined time has elapsed since the circulation pump 16 was stopped, the circulation pump 16 is restarted. This restarts the supply of water from the collection container 15 to the water supply device 12. At the beginning of the restart of this pump, the inflow rate of the water falling from the filler 11 is small, so the water level in the collection container 15 drops as the circulation pump 16 is restarted. When the water level in the collection container 15 falls below the opening water level of the float valve device 20, the float valve device 20 opens, makeup water is supplied into the collection container 15, the salt concentration of the circulating water decreases, and overconcentration is prevented.

[0030] As makeup water flows in, the water level in the recovery container 15 rises, the float valve device 20 closes, and the system enters a steady-state operation state. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to use a solenoid valve in the makeup water supply mechanism to prevent overconcentration.

[0031] The reference value of the electrical conductivity is preferably a value selected from the range of 1 to 10 times, and particularly 2 to 6 times, the electrical conductivity of the makeup water. It is also preferable that the electrical conductivity of the water in the recovery container 15 is reduced to 2 times or less, and particularly 1.5 times or less, the electrical conductivity of the makeup water by a single operation of stopping and restarting the circulation pump 16.

[0032] Since the amount of evaporation is large relative to the amount of water retained, it is desirable to measure the electrical conductivity at least once an hour, and it is even more desirable to measure it continuously.

[0033] 1, the electrical conductivity meter 31 is installed in the water receiving member 13, but it may be installed in the flow path 14. Since the water receiving member 13 and the flow path 14 have the highest electrical conductivity in the water circulation path, it is preferable to install the electrical conductivity meter 31 in the water receiving member 13 or the flow path 14.

[0034] However, the electrical conductivity meter may be installed in the collection container 15. Since the water in the collection container 15 is diluted with makeup water, the electrical conductivity of the water in the collection container 15 is lower than the electrical conductivity of the water in the water receiving member 13 and the flow path 14. Therefore, when controlling ON / OFF of the circulation pump 16 based on the electrical conductivity of the water in the collection container 15, it is preferable to compare a value obtained by multiplying the electrical conductivity detected in the collection container 15 by a coefficient with the reference value. This coefficient is a value calculated by measuring the electrical conductivity in the water receiving member 13 or the flow path 14 and the collection container 15 in advance, respectively, and calculating it as [electrical conductivity of the water receiving member 13 or the flow path 14] / [electrical conductivity of the collection container 15]. It is preferable to use the average value of values ​​calculated by measuring multiple times at different measurement times.

[0035] In the above explanation, over-concentration is judged based on the measured electrical conductivity, but in the case where the air cooling device is an auxiliary cooling device for the condenser of an air-cooled chiller as shown in the figure, the amount of evaporation may be estimated from the operating time of the air-cooled chiller and the concentration increase rate, which is the rate at which the concentration level is increasing, may be calculated to estimate over-concentration.

[0036] Evaporation rate (m 3 / h) is the absolute humidity difference (m 3 / m 3 ) x (Air supply volume of air-cooled chiller (m 3 / h) is used to estimate the time.

[0037] The concentration rate (times / h) is expressed as the evaporation rate (m 3 / h) / Amount of water held (m3 )" is calculated.

[0038] For example, if the concentration increase rate is +1x / h and the circulation pump is stopped when the concentration factor reaches 6x, it will initially take (6-1) / 1=5 hours for the concentration factor to increase from 1x to 6x.

[0039] If the circulation pump is stopped until half of the stored water volume has been replaced, the concentration factor after replacement will be 6 x 0.5 + 1 x 0.5 = 3.5 times.

[0040] It will take 6-3.5=2.5 hours for 3.5 times the amount of water to become 6 times larger again.

[0041] That is, by stopping the circulation pump every 2.5 hours until half of the retained water volume is replaced, the concentration can be maintained in the range of 3.5 to 6.0 times. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Outdoor unit 2 Cases 3. Condenser 4 Fans 10 Cooling device 11 Filling material 12 Water supply equipment 13 Water receiving member 14 Flow Path 15 Collection container 16 Circulation pump 17 Water supply pipe 18 Overblow pipe 18a top end 19 Float 20 Float valve device 31 Electrical Conductivity Meter 32 Controller

Claims

1. a filler material through which air can pass, a water supply device that causes water to flow from above into the filler material, a water receiving member disposed below the filler material, a recovery container into which water from the water receiving member flows, and makeup water supply means that supplies makeup water to the recovery container, a circulation pump for supplying the water in the recovery container to the water supply device; A method for operating an air cooling system comprising: The method for operating an air cooling device is characterized in that, when the concentration of water circulating through the air cooling device reaches or exceeds a reference value, the circulation pump is stopped for a predetermined period of time, water is overflowed from the recovery container, and then the circulation pump is restarted.

2. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said make-up water supply means comprises a float valve device.

3. 3. The method for operating an air cooling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the concentration is determined by electrical conductivity.

4. 4. The method for operating an air cooling device according to claim 3, further comprising providing an electric conductivity meter in said water receiving member or in a flow path between said water receiving member and said recovery vessel.

5. 4. The method for operating an air cooling device according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of: providing an electric conductivity meter for measuring electric conductivity in said recovery vessel; and controlling said circulating pump based on a value obtained by multiplying the measured electric conductivity by a coefficient.

6. The air cooling device is an auxiliary cooling device for a condenser; 3. The method for operating an air cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: calculating an amount of evaporation in the air cooling device from an operation time of the condenser; calculating a rate of increase in concentration based on the amount of evaporation; and controlling the circulating pump based on the rate of increase.

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