Modular Heat Exchange Tower With Split Basin Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling towers are labor-intensive and costly to assemble at job sites due to large components, particularly the cold water basin, which poses transportation challenges and quality control issues, necessitating a modular design for factory assembly and on-site installation.
Innovation Solution
A modular heat exchange tower design featuring dual pre-assembled water basins and smaller components that can be transported and assembled on-site, reducing labor costs and transportation challenges while maintaining high cooling capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a single cold water basin is used in conventional cooling towers, then the cooling capacity can be increased, but the size of the basin increases making transportation costly and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cold water basin is divided into multiple separate basins (first cold water basin and second cold water basin) that can be transported independently. Each basin serves a specific heat exchange section, allowing the tower to achieve high cooling capacity through multiple smaller units rather than one large basin, thus resolving the transportation difficulty while maintaining cooling performance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cooling tower components are assembled at the job site, then flexibility in installation is improved, but labor costs and assembly time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling tower components including the heat exchange sections and cold water basins are pre-assembled into integrated modules at the manufacturing plant before transportation. This preliminary assembly ensures proper alignment and connection readiness, allowing for rapid on-site installation by simply positioning and connecting the pre-assembled modules, thus reducing both labor costs and assembly time while maintaining installation flexibility.
3Device complexity
If a single large cold water basin is transported to the job site, then the number of components is reduced, but transportation costs and structural strength requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cold water basin system is segmented into multiple smaller basins that can be transported separately on standard vehicles. Each basin is designed to serve specific heat exchange sections, and the modular approach allows for optimized weight distribution and transportation planning. The total weight is distributed across multiple smaller units rather than concentrated in one large basin, reducing transportation costs and structural requirements.
4Manufacturing precision
If cooling towers are assembled with pre-assembled components at the factory, then quality control is improved, but the size and weight of transportable components are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling tower is divided into modular sections (first heat exchange section, second heat exchange section, etc.) with associated cold water basins that can be pre-assembled at the factory within manageable size and weight limits. Each module is manufactured with high quality control standards in the controlled factory environment, then transported and assembled on-site. This segmentation allows factory pre-assembly benefits to be realized while respecting transportation constraints.
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 reduces on-site assembly time, transportation costs, and safety concerns, allowing for larger cooling capacities with fewer components and improved quality control, enabling efficient and cost-effective installation of cooling towers.
Implementation Method 1
Cooling towers are heat exchangers of a type widely used to emanate low grade heat into the atmosphere... receive a relatively warm or hot fluid, and pass the fluid through the tower apparatus so that heat is extracted from the fluid by interaction with relatively cooler ambient air
Implementation Method 2
liquid of high temperature is cooled as it flows downwards through fill or packing and is brought into contact with air traveling upwards
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a modular heat exchange tower comprising a first module comprising a first basin disposed therein and a second module comprising a second basin disposed therein. The aforementioned modular heat exchange tower may also include heat exchange sections, which are disposed in the first module and the second module. The first module and the second module may be assembled prior to being transported to a job site and installed in the modular heat exchange tower.