Cooling system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional evaporative cooling systems are limited in their cooling effectiveness during hot and humid conditions, as their performance is dependent on ambient wet bulb temperature, making them impractical for prolonged periods of high humidity and high energy-consuming chiller systems necessary for supplementary cooling.
Innovation Solution
A multi-stage evaporative cooling system with interconnected heat exchange elements and cooling towers, where air is pre-cooled by secondary evaporative systems to reduce the wet bulb temperature, enhancing the cooling capacity of primary cooling towers and reducing reliance on conventional chillers during humid conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional evaporative cooling systems are used, then installation cost and operation cost are reduced, but cooling effectiveness is greatly reduced when ambient temperature and humidity are high
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple stages: a first evaporative cooling stage that pre-cools ambient air, and a second evaporative cooling stage that further cools the pre-cooled air. This segmentation allows each stage to operate within optimal temperature ranges, maintaining cooling effectiveness even when ambient conditions are hot and humid.
Solution Approach 2:
The first evaporative cooling system performs preliminary cooling of the ambient air before it enters the second evaporative cooling system. By pre-cooling the air in the first stage, the system reduces the inlet temperature to the second stage, thereby improving the overall cooling effectiveness and enabling the system to achieve lower outlet temperatures than a single-stage system could provide.
2Reliability
If conventional chiller systems are used, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but electricity consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses waste heat from the building or environment to drive the evaporative cooling process, eliminating the need for electricity-consuming compressors. The evaporative cooling towers utilize natural evaporation and condensation processes to cool water, which then cools the building through heat exchangers, providing cooling without significant electrical input.
Solution Approach 2:
The system exploits the phase transition of water from liquid to vapor during evaporation to absorb heat, and from vapor to liquid during condensation to release heat. These natural phase transitions provide the cooling effect without requiring mechanical compression, thereby avoiding high electricity consumption while maintaining effective cooling performance.
3Device complexity
If single-stage evaporative cooling is used, then system complexity is reduced, but cooling capacity is insufficient during humid conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple stages: a first evaporative cooling stage that pre-cools ambient air, and a second evaporative cooling stage that further cools the pre-cooled air. This segmentation allows each stage to operate within optimal temperature ranges, maintaining cooling effectiveness even when ambient conditions are hot and humid.
Solution Approach 2:
The first evaporative cooling system performs preliminary cooling of the ambient air before it enters the second evaporative cooling system. By pre-cooling the air in the first stage, the system reduces the inlet temperature to the second stage, thereby improving the overall cooling effectiveness and enabling the system to achieve lower outlet temperatures than a single-stage system could provide.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a steady supply of cold water, reducing electricity consumption by minimizing the need for conventional chiller operation, especially during humid days, and increasing the cooling capacity of evaporative systems.
Implementation Method 1
Because evaporative coolers use the latent heat of evaporation to cool process water
Implementation Method 2
Because evaporative coolers use the latent heat of evaporation to cool process water
Implementation Method 3
The water cooled by the chiller is then pumped to a heat exchanger that is positioned in the flow of the air supply to be cooled
Implementation Method 4
Many such chiller systems utilize cooling towers to provide a supply of cooled water to the condenser to absorb rejected heat
Implementation Method 5
The condenser is cooled by water or air
Data Source
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AI summary
An evaporative cooling system that can be used to cool fluid and to cool an air supply to a building. The air supply to a cooling tower in a first evaporative system also having a fluid pump and a heat exchange element is cooled by the heat exchange element of a second evaporative cooling system. As a result, the inlet air wet bulb temperature of the primary cooling tower will be reduced, enhancing the cooling capacity of the primary cooling tower.