Apparatus and method for removing heat from tunnels

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for removing heat from a connecting tunnel. [Solution] The present invention relates to a heat removal device and method, preferably a device and method for removing heat from a connecting tunnel of a railway tunnel, wherein the heat to be removed is transferred to a heat sink, which can be placed outside the connecting tunnel, preferably inside the main tunnel of the railway tunnel, or in the ground surrounding the connecting tunnel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Technical Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a heat removal device, preferably a device for removing heat from a connecting shaft of a railway tunnel. Similarly, the present invention relates to a method for removing heat, preferably a method for removing heat from a connecting shaft of a railway tunnel, which method uses the device according to the present invention.

Background Art

[0002] (Background Art) In long, deep, mountain-crossing railway tunnels, for safety reasons, in German, the tunnel tube (main shaft, main line tunnel or working shaft) is connected to the cross shaft at specific intervals (usually at intervals of several hundred meters). Such cross shafts are usually also used for storing various tunnel working equipment, and are therefore referred to as "technical tunnels" (connecting shafts) in German. The equipment of tunnel working machinery includes, for example, transformers, emergency generators, switchboards, etc. These are usually electrically operated and generate waste heat. And this waste heat must be removed from the connecting shaft.

[0003] At the current technical level, through one or more ventilation systems, through ventilation ducts, on the one hand, fresh air is sucked from the main shaft and sent into the connecting shaft, and on the other hand, the heated air is guided from the connecting shaft into the main shaft. However, this well-known method is not optimal in that the air in the main shaft is contaminated with pollutants such as metal conductive overhead line wear powder and brake dust, and these impurities flow into the connecting shaft through the air exchange between the main shaft and the connecting shaft. In particular, this air pollution by metal conductive dust particles not only has an adverse effect on the equipment of electrically operated tunnel working machinery, but also increases the risk of explosion in the connecting shaft. The filter solution for improving this situation has not yet been said to be effective in alleviating this situation due to high maintenance costs and short service life.

[0004] Another problem with conventional solutions, particularly in terms of safety, is that the main tunnel and connecting tunnels are designed as separate fire zones. Therefore, the ventilation ducts of the ventilation system connecting these separate fire zones must be equipped with advanced fire protection technology. This creates a contradiction in the event of a fire, because while the fire protection elements are intended to effectively separate the fire zones, on the other hand, the tunnel work equipment must continue to function even in the event of a fire. Moreover, this equipment must be cooled.

[0005] Another problem arises, particularly in railway tunnels, where passing trains can cause pressure shocks that affect airflow and potentially damage components of the ventilation system.

[0006] Furthermore, the heat removal efficiency of the ventilation system described above is limited by the air temperature inside the tunnel. In this case, especially in long tunnels that penetrate mountainous areas (called "base tunnels" in German, or "mountain tunnels") or around tunnel openings in summer, the temperature can become very high, and the temperature difference between the air inside the connecting tunnel and the fresh outside air may not contribute much to cooling. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Therefore, based on the aforementioned drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks and to manufacture a device for removing heat, preferably a device for removing heat from connecting tunnels in railway tunnels, which effectively, efficiently, and safely remove heat from connecting tunnels without mixing the air in the connecting tunnels with the air in the main tunnels. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] (Summary of the present invention) According to the present invention, these objectives are achieved primarily by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments are derived from the dependent claims and this specification.

[0009] In particular, some of these objectives are This is achieved by a heat removal device, preferably a heat removal device from a connecting tunnel in a railway tunnel, and the heat removal device is At least one circulating air cooling device, At least one liquid-cooled cooler, At least one heatsink, A first cooling circuit, wherein the first cooling circuit connects at least one circulating air-cooled device and at least one liquid-cooled cooler in a manner that guides fluid to each other, A second cooling circuit, wherein the second cooling circuit connects at least one liquid-cooled cooler and at least one heat sink in a manner that guides fluid between them, Equipped with, The heat sink can be placed outside the connecting tunnel, preferably inside the main tunnel of the railway tunnel, or within the soil or rock (natural ground) surrounding the connecting tunnel. This is its distinguishing feature.

[0010] In this way, the tunnel work equipment is cooled, as before, within the connecting tunnel by convection using the air in the space, and the air in the space is cooled by at least one circulating air cooling device. Therefore, known or existing tunnel work equipment can also be cooled using the heat removal device according to the present invention. However, it is not excluded to redesign the tunnel work equipment to be cooled via an additional cooling circuit. In this case, at least one cooler can be connected to such a cooling circuit in place of, or in addition to, the first cooling circuit according to the present invention. Therefore, when designing new railway tunnels, the heat removal device according to the present invention can be planned, or it can be retrofitted to existing railway tunnels.

[0011] Preferably, a first liquid coolant flows through the first cooling circuit, which is cooled in a liquid-cooled cooler and supplied to at least one circulating air-cooled device, which cools the air in the space drawn in by the circulating air-cooled device via a heat exchanger. The cooled air in the space is then supplied again to the connecting shaft. As the first liquid coolant, water with or without additives such as antifreeze or corrosion inhibitors may be used. Alternatively, the coolant circuit of a cooler may be used as the first cooling circuit. In this case, the liquid coolant is supplied to the circulating air-cooled device and expands within the circulating air-cooled device, cooling the air in the space drawn in by the circulating air-cooled device via a heat exchanger.

[0012] According to the present invention, at least one cooler is liquid-cooled, and as a result, a second liquid coolant flows through a second cooling circuit. The use of a second liquid coolant allows the second cooling circuit to be configured in the form of piping with a significantly smaller cross-sectional area than conventional ventilation ducts. In particular, this enables fire protection separation for fire protection, for example, connecting shafts and tunnel pipes (main shafts), and fire protection areas connected to each other by the second cooling circuit. Water is particularly suitable as the second liquid coolant, with or without the addition of additives such as antifreeze. The first and second liquid coolants may be the same or different.

[0013] Furthermore, the use of the second cooling circuit and second liquid coolant according to the present invention minimizes or completely prevents air exchange between the connecting tunnel and the main tunnel, at least for the purpose of removing heat from the connecting tunnel. This reduces the risk of damage to electrically operated tunnel work equipment and the risk of explosion, as it reduces the intrusion of contaminants, particularly conductive metal dust. However, in addition to the apparatus according to the present invention, an additional ventilation system may be provided to ensure proper air exchange in the connecting tunnel, for example, when maintenance personnel are present.

[0014] Furthermore, the second cooling circuit is less susceptible to pressure surges caused by trains passing through the tunnel, and since the second cooling circuit does not transmit such pressure surges, at least one circulating air-cooled device, at least one liquid-cooled cooler, and at least one first cooling circuit are also similarly less susceptible to pressure surges. This resistance applies equally to the damage to the above-mentioned components due to pressure surges and to the impact of pressure surges on the cooling performance of the apparatus of the present invention.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the individual components of the apparatus can be designed to suit the expected limit temperature, particularly the expected temperature difference between the air temperature in the connecting shaft and the ambient temperature around the heat sink. By selecting a liquid coolant, adjusting the dimensions of the first and second cooling circuits, adjusting the pressure in the first and second cooling circuits, and adjusting other parameters, at least one circulating air cooling device and at least one liquid cooler can be adapted to the expected limit temperature, particularly the expected temperature difference between the air temperature in the connecting shaft and the ambient temperature around the heat sink. This ensures effective heat removal even under worst conditions.

[0016] By appropriately designing the heat removal device according to the present invention, the inflow of heat into the main tunnel of a railway tunnel can be optimized, or the inflow of heat can be avoided by placing at least one heat sink in the soil or rock surrounding the connecting tunnel. This reduces and avoids, or reduces or avoids, previously known problems caused by such additional heat inflow, such as the need for additional cooling of railway vehicles when passing through a heated main tunnel.

[0017] In a further advantageous embodiment, at least one heat sink of the heat removal device can be configured in the form of a radiant panel thermal device, which can preferably be placed inside the main tunnel of a railway tunnel. Such a radiant panel thermal device can be placed, for example, on the walkway or wall of the main tunnel, in which case, advantageously, this does not reduce the effective cross-sectional area of ​​the main tunnel. The area of ​​the radiant panel thermal device can be adjusted to ensure the desired heat dissipation at the ambient temperature present or expected in the main tunnel and to mitigate the aforementioned temperature rise problem of the main tunnel. In particular, the higher the temperature of the coolant in the second cooling circuit, the smaller the area required for the radiant panel thermal device. In this case, it should be noted that if the temperature is too high, there is a risk of damage to the walkway or tunnel wall. In this case, the temperature at which such damage occurs is mainly determined by the material of the walkway or tunnel wall. Furthermore, it should be noted that walkways are usually pedestrian-friendly, which also limits the maximum temperature of the walkway.

[0018] In another implementation variation, at least one heat sink could be designed in the form of a probe. This probe could be placed in the soil or rock surrounding the connecting tunnel. Thus, because the heat removal device does not provide a connection between the connecting tunnel and the main tunnel, on the one hand, there is no connection between the respective fire zones, and on the other hand, the cross section of the main tunnel remains unaffected by the heat sink. This further simplifies the additional equipment required in existing railway tunnels, and the main tunnel does not overheat because heat from the connecting tunnel is not supplied to the main tunnel of the railway tunnel.

[0019] As an advantageous approach, at least one liquid cooler can be connected to multiple heatsinks using a second cooling circuit to guide fluid to them. These can be connected in series or in parallel. Such a combination of multiple heatsinks and one liquid cooler increases the flexibility of the heatsink design and the maximum heat dissipation. The multiple heatsinks may consist only of heatsinks of the same type or of different types.

[0020] Similarly advantageously, a plurality of circulation type air cooling devices can be connected in a form that guides fluid to one liquid cooling type cooler using a first cooling circuit. At this time, these can be connected in series or in parallel with each other. This enables the spatial dispersion of a plurality of circulation type air cooling devices in the connecting adit, making it possible to optimize the heat removal device of the present invention so that the heat generated therein can be appropriately removed.

[0021] In an additional embodiment, from the perspective of redundancy, a plurality of heat removal devices can be combined with each other, and as a result, even if an individual heat removal device fails, continuous heat removal can be ensured. From such a redundancy perspective, a plurality of devices for removing heat that function independently are provided. However, it is also conceivable that a single heat removal device is designed with redundant individual components. That is, it includes one or both of a plurality of liquid-cooled heat engines and a plurality of liquid-cooled circulation type air cooling devices, and these liquid-cooled heat engines and liquid-cooled circulation type air cooling devices can be connected to each other by a common first cooling circuit. In this regard, the failure probability of individual components can be considered as a criterion in the redundancy design.

[0022] Furthermore, some of the above-mentioned objectives are achieved by a method for removing heat, preferably a method for removing heat from the connecting adit of a railway tunnel. In this case, the device according to the present invention for removing heat is used.

[0023] From the following description of the preferred embodiments described as examples in the drawings, further details of the present invention will become apparent. In this specification, suggestions and proposals regarding further advantages of the present invention and how the subject matter according to the present invention can be modified or improved within the scope of the claims can be understood.

[0024] In particular, a heat removal device, preferably a device for removing heat from the connecting adit of a railway tunnel, is shown in this specification, but it should be noted that the device according to the present invention is not limited to this suitable application and is also suitable for other types of tunnels, such as road traffic tunnels.

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a railway tunnel. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a heat removal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a heat removal device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4a] FIG. 4a shows a schematic view of a heat removal device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4b] FIG. 4b shows a schematic view of a heat removal device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0027] (Preferred Embodiment of the Present Invention) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a railway tunnel 1 having two main shafts 3, 3' (or working shafts), which are connected to each other by connecting shafts 2, 2'. The main shafts 3, 3' and the connecting shafts 2, 2' are surrounded by soil and rock 4 (natural ground). The connecting shafts house various tunnel working equipment facilities such as transformers, emergency generators, switchboards, etc. (not shown). These tunnel working equipment facilities are electrically operated, and thus waste heat that must be removed from the connecting shafts is generated.

[0028] Figure 2 schematically shows a heat removal device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The tunnel work equipment 7 generates waste heat, which is released into the connecting tunnel 2 and heats the connecting tunnel 2. The circulating air cooling device 11 draws in the heated air in the space and removes its heat, that is, it cools the air in the space. The cooled air in the space is then supplied again to the connecting tunnel 2, and thus cools the tunnel work equipment 7 by convection. For this purpose, a first liquid coolant is supplied to the circulating air cooling device 11 via a first cooling circuit 14, and the heat absorbed from the air in the space within the circulating air cooling device 11 is dissipated to a liquid cooling device 12. The liquid-cooled cooler 12, on the other hand, removes heat from the first liquid coolant in the first cooling circuit 14 by the compression and expansion of the coolant held in the coolant circuit 19 of the liquid-cooled cooler 12, and dissipates this heat to the second cooling circuit 15, which contains the second liquid coolant. The second cooling circuit is connected in such a way that it guides fluid to a heat sink 13a outside the connecting shaft 2, through which the heat removed by the liquid-cooled cooler 12 is released. In the described embodiment, the heat sink 13a is designed as a radiant panel thermal device, which dissipates heat to its surroundings, in particular to the air in the space within the walkway 5 and the main shaft 3.

[0029] Figure 3 shows a heat removal device 10 of a second embodiment according to the present invention. Cooling of the air in the space of the connecting tunnel 2 and heat removal from the circulating air cooling equipment 11 to the liquid cooling machine 12 are performed in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in Figure 2. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the heat sink 13b is positioned in the surrounding ground 4 and is designed as a probe to remove the heat supplied to the heat sink 13b from the liquid cooling machine 12 via the second cooling circuit 15 into the surrounding ground 4. In this way, the main tunnel 3 is not further heated. Under certain circumstances, the ground 4 may be at a lower temperature than the inside of the main tunnel 3, resulting in a larger temperature difference with respect to the temperature of the second coolant. As a result, the heat removal efficiency is improved.

[0030] Figure 4a schematically shows a third embodiment according to the present invention. Here, a first cooling circuit 14 connects a plurality of circulating air-cooled devices 11, 11', and 11'' in such a way that fluid is introduced to a liquid-cooled cooler 12. The individual circulating air-cooled devices 11, 11', and 11'' are dispersed within a connecting shaft (not shown) to achieve uniform cooling of the air in the space. However, it is also conceivable to place some of the circulating air-cooling equipment 11, 11', and 11” near the tunnel work equipment (specific equipment exhibiting high heat dissipation capacity or a narrow permissible operating range with respect to operating temperature). Bypasses 17, 17', and 17” allow for bypassing some of the circulating air-cooling equipment 11, 11', and 11”. This is particularly advantageous in the event of failure of individual circulating air-cooling equipment and further allows for maintenance of individual circulating air-cooling equipment while the entire heat removal system 10 is in operation without shutting it down. For this purpose, bypasses 17, 17', and 17” are provided with corresponding switching devices (not shown).

[0031] Figure 4b schematically shows a fourth embodiment according to the present invention. Here, the liquid-cooled cooler 12 is connected in such a way that fluid is directed to a plurality of heat sinks 13, 13', 13'' using a second cooling circuit 15. In this way, the maximum amount of heat dissipated by the second cooling circuit 15 or the cooler 12 can be increased. Bypasses 18, 18', 18'' allow for bypassing some of the heat sinks 13, 13', 13''. This is particularly advantageous in the event of a defect in an individual heat sink or for maintenance of the heat sinks while the heat removal device 10 is in operation. For this purpose, the bypasses 18, 18', 18'' are equipped with corresponding switching devices (not shown).

Claims

1. A heat removal device (10), preferably a device (10) for removing heat from a connecting tunnel (2) of a railway tunnel (1), - At least one circulating air cooling device (11) and - At least one liquid-cooled cooler (12) and - At least one heatsink (13) and - At least one first cooling circuit (14), wherein the first cooling circuit (14) connects at least one of the circulating air-cooled devices (11) and at least one of the liquid-cooled coolers (12) in a manner that guides fluid to each other, - A second cooling circuit (15) wherein the second cooling circuit (15) connects at least one of the liquid-cooled coolers (12) and at least one of the heat sinks (13) in a manner that guides fluid to each other, In the heat removal device (10) comprising, The heat sink (13) can be placed outside the connecting tunnel (2), preferably inside the main tunnel (3) of the railway tunnel (1), or inside the ground (4) surrounding the connecting tunnel (2). A heat removal device (10) characterized by the following features.

2. The apparatus (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the individual components (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of the apparatus (10) can be designed to suit the expected limit temperature, in particular the expected temperature difference between the air temperature in the connecting shaft (2) and the temperature around the heat sink (13).

3. The apparatus (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat sink (13) can be configured in the form of a radiant panel heat device (13a), and the radiant panel heat device (13a) can preferably be placed inside the main shaft (3) of the railway tunnel (1).

4. The apparatus (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the heat sink (13) can be designed in the form of a probe, and the probe (13b) can be placed in the ground (4) surrounding the connecting shaft (2).

5. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one of the liquid-cooled coolers (12) can be connected in a manner that guides fluid to a plurality of heat sinks (13, 13', 13'', ...) using the second cooling circuit (15).

6. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that multiple circulating air cooling devices (11, 11', 11'', ...) can be connected in such a way that fluid is introduced to a single liquid cooling device (12) using the first cooling circuit (14).

7. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a plurality of heat removal devices (10) can be combined with one another in the sense of redundancy.

8. A method for removing heat, preferably a method for removing heat from a connecting tunnel (2) of a railway tunnel (1), wherein a heat removal device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used.

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