Modular Gray Water Heat Exchanger Assembly for Overflow and Clog Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat recovery devices for gray water are not capable of handling excess flow rates, leading to potential clogging and inefficient evacuation of gray water from sanitary installations, particularly in collective facilities.
Innovation Solution
A modular heat exchange assembly with multiple heat exchange modules connected in cascade for gray water flow and in series for sanitary cold water, featuring a network of hydraulic pipes and controlled connection means, including pinch valves, to manage increased flow rates and prevent clogging, allowing for efficient thermal energy recovery and cleaning operations without external energy sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a single heat exchanger is used for gray water recovery, then thermal performance is high, but the device cannot handle excess flow rates from increased numbers of dwellings
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange system is divided into multiple independent heat exchange modules (first module, second module, etc.), each capable of handling a portion of the total gray water flow. This segmentation allows the system to scale capacity by adding modules rather than replacing the entire system, directly resolving the contradiction between handling excess flow rates and adapting to varying dwelling numbers.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple heat exchange modules are connected in parallel to increase capacity, then flow rate capacity increases, but the system becomes complex and difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses self-regulating hydraulic connections between modules, where each module automatically receives the appropriate flow based on its capacity and the overall system demand. The modules serve themselves through passive hydraulic distribution without requiring complex external control mechanisms, thereby increasing capacity while minimizing control complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If gray water flow increases to accommodate more dwellings, then service coverage improves, but clogging and inefficient evacuation occur
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the heat exchange system into multiple modules with distributed flow paths, the system prevents concentration of flow problems in a single location. Each module handles a manageable portion of the flow, reducing the risk of clogging and maintaining evacuation efficiency even as total service coverage increases.
4Loss of energy
If a single large heat exchanger is used, then thermal performance is optimized, but maintenance and cleaning become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange system is segmented into multiple smaller modules that can be individually accessed, removed, and cleaned. This modular approach maintains overall thermal efficiency through the combined surface area of all modules while dramatically improving maintenance accessibility, as each module can be serviced independently without disrupting the entire system.
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 modular design optimizes gray water flow, concentrates fouling on upstream modules, maintains downstream modules clean and efficient, and enables remote unclogging and air bubble removal, ensuring continuous operation and effective thermal energy recovery in collective sanitary installations.
Implementation Method 1
This prior art recovery device recovers the heat from the gray water collected by a receiver, for example the receiver of a shower, by means of a plate heat exchanger 130
Implementation Method 2
Crossing the plate heat exchanger 130, the sanitary cold water is heated by the flow of gray water
Implementation Method 3
the flow of sanitary cold water passing through the plate heat exchanger 130 is heated by the gray water flow
Implementation Method 4
Sanitary cold water, at network pressure, is sent to the plate heat exchanger 130 at the first outlet 132 of the latter, causing a flow opposite to that of the normal flow of gray water in said exchanger
Implementation Method 5
the flow of sanitary cold water passing through the plate heat exchanger 130 from its first outlet 132 to its first inlet 131 flows into the sewer via branch 150
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~7
AI summary
The invention comprises a heat exchange assembly comprising a gray water distribution pipe (810), a collection pipe (820), a plurality of heat exchange modules (600) and an overflow pipe connecting the pipe gray water distribution and the collection pipe, downstream of the heat exchange modules. Each heat exchange module comprises: - a device for recovering thermal energy from the gray water flow, comprising a plate heat exchanger, - a first inlet (630) connected to the gray water distribution pipe ( 810), - a first outlet (640) connected to the collection pipe (820), - a second inlet and a second outlet connected to a sanitary cold water pipe. The heat exchange modules being mounted: - in parallel with the gray water distribution pipe, at the level of the first inlet, - in parallel with the collection pipe, at the level of the first outlet, - in series with the pipe of cold water.