Air conditioning equipment, cooling towers and underground substations

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] FIELD OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention relate to air conditioning plants, cooling towers and underground substations. [Background technology]

[0002] Substations installed in urban areas are generally installed underground in buildings, and are called underground substations. These underground substations are important facilities for power transmission and distribution in urban areas, and the largest ones can be as large as 500kV. Because these underground substations supply power to major urban institutions, their outages could cause major disruptions.

[0003] Here, in the event of a volcanic eruption that could have an impact on urban areas, such as ash fall, the shutdown of substation facilities during an eruption of Mount Fuji, for example, could cause major disruption. For this reason, measures to deal with the eruption of Mount Fuji itself are being considered a major issue, and measures to deal with damage caused by ash fall due to the eruption are being considered as the main issue.

[0004] In an updated simulation of ashfall following a Mount Fuji eruption by the Cabinet Office's Central Disaster Prevention Council, it is predicted that ash will reach the Tokyo metropolitan area two hours after the eruption, and accumulate to a maximum depth of approximately 10 cm. The following three items are being considered as the main issues regarding the impact on power facilities: (1) Outage due to damage to the turbine of a thermal power plant (2) Ash adheres to insulators and transformers in power transmission equipment, causing insulation deterioration and damage. (3) Damage to main power transmission and substation facilities due to lava flows, etc.

[0005] In the above issues to be considered, underground substations, which are the key to supplying electricity to the metropolitan area, have been excluded from consideration because the substation equipment is installed underground and therefore would not be affected by ashfall.

[0006] However, the cooling equipment for underground substations in urban areas uses water to cool the heat generated by the transformers using rooftop cooling towers. Therefore, ash fall could cause the cooling towers to become inoperable, which could directly lead to the substation shutting down. Therefore, the same reliability as the three issues mentioned above is required for underground substations in urban areas as well. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-142089 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Cooling towers are designed to cool by drawing in outside air with a cooling fan, blowing it through a heat exchanger (cooler), and spraying water. When volcanic ash falls, it can enter the cooling tower through two points: the intake and exhaust ports. The ash can adhere to the fins of the heat exchanger, preventing air from passing through the heat exchanger and significantly reducing cooling capacity. Furthermore, when water is sprayed on the cooling tower, the ash can get inside the fins, causing the cooling tower to become inoperable. Furthermore, the ash that has gotten inside the fins can harden and solidify, causing corrosion and potentially making the cooling tower difficult to restore.

[0009] One way to prevent volcanic ash from entering the building is to install filters at the intakes. However, permanently installing filters at the cooling tower intakes to deal with ashfall, which can occur at any time, would result in a significant reduction in cooling capacity, as the amount of air sent to the cooling tower would decrease due to air pressure loss caused by the filters. Furthermore, permanently installing filters at the intakes would also cause problems, such as hindering routine equipment maintenance and significantly increasing the amount of cleaning work required to unclog the filters.

[0010] Even though it is a disaster prevention measure, in a situation where it is impossible to predict when an ashfall will occur, permanently installing filters to protect against ashfall poses the above-mentioned problems, making installation a major issue. On the other hand, it is possible to install filters after an eruption of Mount Fuji before the volcanic ash reaches the substation, but this would exacerbate the confusion caused by ashfall, such as the suspension of transportation networks, and it would be difficult to secure personnel to work at the substation, so it is expected that the filters will not be installed in time when the volcanic ash falls.

[0011] Similarly, measures to protect against damage from volcanic ash fall in the event of a volcanic eruption are also required for air conditioning equipment other than the cooling towers in the underground substations mentioned above. For example, measures to protect against damage from volcanic ash fall in the event of a volcanic eruption are also required for air conditioning equipment in hospitals and data centers that house a large number of electronic devices.

[0012] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an air conditioning system, a cooling tower, and an underground substation that can maintain stable operation even when ash falls due to the eruption of a volcano such as Mount Fuji, without causing a significant decrease in cooling capacity under normal circumstances. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The air conditioning equipment of the embodiment is an air conditioning equipment equipped with an air intake port for introducing outside air into a building, and includes a filter that can block volcanic ash and detachably covers the air intake port, a filter storage unit for storing the filter, and a movement mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the air intake port, the filter being composed of multiple divided filters, the filter storage unit having a door pocket-like structure that stores the multiple filters inside and is disposed adjacent to the air intake port, and the movement mechanism includes a rail along which the filter moves when pulled out of the filter storage unit. A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are generated between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake port. It is characterized by:

[0014] An embodiment of an air conditioning system is an air conditioning system that is located outdoors and includes a housing, a heat exchanger disposed within the housing, an intake port 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. The air conditioning system further includes a filter that can block volcanic ash and detachably covers the intake port, a filter storage unit for storing the filter, and a movement mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the intake port. The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, and the filter storage unit has a structure that stores the divided filters inside and is disposed adjacent to the intake port. The movement mechanism includes rails along which the filter moves when pulled out of the filter storage unit. A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are generated between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake port. It is characterized by:

[0015] A cooling tower according to an embodiment of the present invention is a cooling tower that is located outdoors and includes a housing, a heat exchanger disposed within the housing, an intake port 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. The cooling tower also includes a filter that detachably covers the intake port and is capable of blocking volcanic ash, a filter storage unit for storing the filter, and a movement mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the intake port. The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, and the filter storage unit has a structure that stores the divided filters inside and is disposed adjacent to the intake port. The movement mechanism includes rails along which the filter moves when pulled out of the filter storage unit. A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are generated between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake port. It is characterized by:

[0016] An underground substation according to an embodiment includes: a transforming facility at least a portion of which is provided underground within a building; and a cooling tower provided on the roof of the building for cooling the transforming facility, the cooling tower including: a housing; a heat exchanger provided within the housing; an intake port 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 that detachably covers the intake port and is capable of blocking volcanic ash; a filter storage unit for storing the filter; and a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the intake port, wherein the filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, the filter storage unit has a structure that stores the divided filters therein and is provided adjacent to the intake port, and the moving mechanism includes rails along which the filter moves when pulled out of the filter storage unit. A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are generated between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake port. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioning system, a cooling tower, and an underground substation that can maintain stable operation even when ash falls due to the eruption of a volcano such as Mount Fuji, without causing a significant decrease in cooling capacity under normal circumstances. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a cooling tower according to an embodiment, as viewed from the side. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the general configuration of the cooling tower of FIG. 1 as viewed from another side. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of an underground substation according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a main configuration of another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0020] In the following embodiments, examples of underground substations and cooling towers used at underground substations will be described, mainly in urban areas such as Tokyo, but the same can be applied to other air conditioning equipment.

[0021] As shown in Figure 4, an underground substation has transformer equipment 10, such as transformers and cooling water pumps, installed in the underground section 12 of a building 11, and a cooling tower 13, which is a heat exchanger for cooling the transformer equipment 10, installed on the rooftop section 14 of the building 11.

[0022] 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a schematic overall configuration of the above-mentioned cooling tower 13. As shown in Fig. 1 and 2, the cooling tower 13 has a housing 101 whose interior can be sealed airtight. This housing 101 is provided with a dry heat exchanger, a wet heat exchanger, a mechanism for supplying cooling water to the wet heat exchanger, and the like.

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

[0024] In this embodiment, air intake 102 is disposed so as to be located on the side surface of housing 101, and air exhaust 103 is disposed so as to be located on the top surface of housing 101. A volcanic ash guard 110 is provided above air intake 102 to reduce the amount of ash that enters air intake 102 from above in the event of ashfall. In this embodiment, volcanic ash guard 110 has a shape that protrudes laterally in the shape of an eave above air intake 102 from the side surface of housing 101. The shape of volcanic ash guard 110 is not limited to the shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and any shape may be used as long as it can reduce the amount of ash that enters air intake 102.

[0025] 3, a volcanic ash intrusion prevention mechanism 111 is provided at the location of the air inlet 102 to prevent volcanic ash from entering through the air inlet 102. This volcanic ash intrusion prevention mechanism 111 includes a filter 112 that detachably covers the air inlet 102, a filter storage unit 113 for storing the filter 112, and a movement mechanism 114 for moving the filter 112 in the filter storage unit 113 to a position that covers the air inlet 102. The filter 112 is capable of blocking volcanic ash.

[0026] 3, the filter 112 is formed in the form of multiple (four in this embodiment) rectangular plates, and is configured to prevent the intrusion of volcanic ash using fibers, etc. In other words, it is configured to filter out volcanic ash particles with a particle size of, for example, several tens of microns.

[0027] The filter storage units 113 are provided adjacent to the air intake 102, side by side on both sides of the air intake 102, and have a door-like structure that can accommodate two filters 112 inside each. These filters 112 are normally stored in the filter storage units 113, and the air intake 102 is not covered by the filters 112. In the event of a volcanic eruption and anticipated ashfall, the filters 112 stored in the filter storage units 113 are pulled out, and the air intake 102 is set to be covered by the filters 112. The air intake 102 is structured so that the entirety is covered by the four filters 112 without any gaps. In this case, a sealant or the like may be provided to prevent gaps between the filters 112, etc.

[0028] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the movement mechanism 114 includes a pair of rails 114a provided above and below the air intake 102. The filter 112 housed in the filter storage unit 113 can be pulled out, inserted between the rails 114a, and moved within the rails 114a to a predetermined position covering the air intake 102. Note that the configurations of the filter storage unit 113 and the movement mechanism 114 are not limited to those described above and may be of any type. For example, the filter 112 may be moved electrically by a motor or the like.

[0029] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a volcanic ash guard 120 is provided above the exhaust port 103 so as to cover the upper part of the exhaust port 103. This volcanic ash guard 120 is composed of a roof 121 that covers the upper part of the exhaust port 103, an airflow control plate 122 that guides the airflow from the fan 104 to the side and discharges it downward, and a duct 123 with an opening facing downward. The shape of this volcanic ash guard 120 is not limited to that described above, and any shape may be used as long as it can prevent volcanic ash that falls due to gravity from the upper part of the exhaust port 103 from entering the exhaust port 103.

[0030] In addition, the air intake of a typical outdoor cooling tower is either a top-side intake or a side-side intake as in this embodiment, but in order to prevent volcanic ash from entering the cooling tower due to the gravitational force of falling ash, the air intake may also be a bottom-side intake.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since it is necessary to provide a filter storage section 113 or the like adjacent to and in the vicinity of the air intake 102, the opening area of ​​the air intake 102 may be limited due to space constraints, but if the intake opening rate is about 70% of the opening before installation, there will be no impact such as a lack of air volume.

[0032] In this embodiment having the above configuration, under normal circumstances, the filter 112 is not attached to the air intake 102, allowing for efficient cooling. Furthermore, in the event of a volcanic eruption, for example, an eruption of Mt. Fuji, the filter 112 can be installed by a small number of workers (for example, one person) in a short time (work time of about one hour or less) within the short time (estimated to be about two hours) between the eruption of Mt. Fuji and the arrival of volcanic ash at underground substations in the Tokyo metropolitan area. This significantly avoids the problem of reduced airflow due to permanent installation of the filter, as well as the risk of spending a lot of time and securing the necessary installation personnel to install the filter as a post-event response after the eruption of a volcano such as Mt. Fuji.

[0033] 3, an example in which filter housing sections 113 are provided on both sides of horizontally elongated air intake port 102 has been described, but the positional relationship between air intake port 102 and filter housing section 113 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, a structure in which filter housing section 113 is provided on one upper side of air intake port 102 may be used, or as shown in Fig. 6, a structure in which filter housing section 113 is provided on one lower side of air intake port 102 may be used.

[0034] 7 and 8, a structure may be adopted in which a filter storage section 113 is provided along the upper side of air intake port 102, or a structure may be adopted in which a filter storage section 113 is provided along the lower side of air intake port 102, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. Note that Figures 7 and 9 show a state in which filter 112 is stored in filter storage section 113, while Figures 8 and 10 show a state in which part of filter 112 is pulled out from inside filter storage section 113 to cover part of air intake port 102.

[0035] 7 and 8 show a configuration in which the filter 112 stored in part of the filter storage section 113 can be pulled out downward, and the pulled-out filter 112 can be moved left and right along a pair of rails 114a provided above and below the air intake 102. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and rails can be provided in each section of the filter storage section 113 that allow the filter 112 to be pulled out downward as is, like a shutter provided at an opening in a building, etc., and the filter 112 can be moved up and down along the rails. The same applies to the examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0036] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 8 and 10, under normal circumstances, a portion of intake port 102 may be covered with filter 112, and in the event of a volcanic eruption, filter 112 may be placed in the open portion. In this case, the amount of air intake from intake port 102 under normal circumstances will decrease slightly, but the amount of air intake in the portion where filter 112 is not placed will increase, ensuring the required amount of air intake.

[0037] In addition, by providing a volcanic ash intrusion prevention mechanism 111, such as the filter 112, filter storage section 113, and moving mechanism 114, to an air conditioning system equipped with an intake port for introducing outside air into a building or an intake port for introducing outside air into a housing in which a heat exchanger is installed, the same effect as that described above can be obtained.

[0038] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

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

Claims

1. An air conditioning system equipped with an air intake for introducing outside air into a building, a filter that can block volcanic ash and that detachably covers the air intake; a filter storage section for storing the filter; a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the air intake port; Equipped with The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, The filter storage section has a structure for storing the divided filters therein, and is disposed adjacent to the air intake port, the moving mechanism includes a rail along which the filter moves when pulled out from the filter storage section, A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are formed between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake. An air conditioning system characterized by:

2. The housing and a heat exchanger disposed within the housing; an air intake port 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; An air conditioning system that is installed outdoors and includes: a filter that can block volcanic ash and that detachably covers the air intake; a filter storage section for storing the filter; a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the air intake port; Equipped with The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, The filter storage section has a structure for storing the divided filters therein, and is disposed adjacent to the air intake port, the moving mechanism includes a rail along which the filter moves when pulled out from the filter storage section, A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are formed between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake. An air conditioning system characterized by:

3. The air conditioning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, In the movement mechanism, the rails are a pair, and each of the pair of rails is disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake port. An air conditioning system characterized by:

4. The housing and a heat exchanger disposed within the housing; an air intake port 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 cooling tower located outdoors, comprising: a filter that can block volcanic ash and that detachably covers the air intake; a filter storage section for storing the filter; a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the air intake port; Equipped with The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, The filter storage section has a structure for storing the divided filters therein, and is disposed adjacent to the air intake port, the moving mechanism includes a rail along which the filter moves when pulled out from the filter storage section, A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are formed between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake. A cooling tower characterized by:

5. 5. The cooling tower of claim 4, The intake and exhaust ports are provided with volcanic ash guards that cover the tops and prevent volcanic ash from entering from above. A cooling tower characterized by:

6. The cooling tower according to claim 4 or 5, In the movement mechanism, the rails are a pair, and each of the pair of rails is disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake port. A cooling tower characterized by:

7. a substation facility at least partly located underground within the building; A cooling tower provided on the roof of the building for cooling the substation equipment, The housing and a heat exchanger disposed within the housing; an air intake port 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 that can block volcanic ash and that detachably covers the air intake; a filter storage section for storing the filter; a moving mechanism for moving the filter in the filter storage unit to a position that covers the air intake port; a cooling tower comprising: and The filter is composed of a plurality of divided filters, The filter storage section has a structure for storing the divided filters therein, and is disposed adjacent to the air intake port, the moving mechanism includes a rail along which the filter moves when pulled out from the filter storage section, A sealing material is provided so that no gaps are formed between the filters when the filters are moved to a position covering the air intake. An underground substation characterized by:

8. 8. An underground substation according to claim 7, The intake and exhaust ports are provided with volcanic ash guards that cover the tops and prevent volcanic ash from entering from above. An underground substation characterized by:

9. 9. An underground substation according to claim 7 or 8, In the movement mechanism, the rails are a pair, and each of the pair of rails is disposed along the upper and lower parts of the air intake port. An underground substation characterized by:

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