Reticular Cooling Tower Panel Structure for Dirty Water and Fast Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reticular panels for cooling towers are inefficient with dirty water, prone to clogging, require lengthy assembly, and generate noise due to water droplet impact on the cold water surface.
Innovation Solution
A reticular panel with wavy fins, protuberances, and constraint means like holes and pins, allowing efficient assembly and thermal exchange, reducing clogging and noise by providing slots for solid passage and obstacles for droplets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reticular panels with diagonal fins are assembled to make thermal exchange packs, then thermal exchange efficiency is improved, but the panels are prone to clogging when used with waters having high contents of suspended solids
Solution Approach 1:
The panel surface is segmented into multiple functional zones: reticular zones for thermal exchange, diagonal fins for directing water flow, and protuberances creating passage slots. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function while preventing clogging in the thermal exchange areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The protuberances act as intermediary elements that create passage slots between adjacent panels. These slots serve as intermediaries for suspended solids to pass through, preventing them from blocking the reticular zones where thermal exchange occurs.
2Reliability
If prior art reticular panels are assembled vertically or diagonally to make packs, then thermal exchange is achieved, but assembly time becomes long and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Constraint means (holes and pins) are pre-positioned on the panels during manufacturing. This preliminary action allows for quick alignment and assembly during installation, eliminating the need for complex on-site adjustments and significantly reducing assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
The reticular structure with inherent openings allows panels to be stacked and connected more easily. The porous nature of the reticular zones, combined with the constraint means, enables rapid assembly while maintaining thermal exchange functionality.
3Productivity
If water droplets are allowed to fall directly onto the cold water surface in the basin, then the cooling tower operates efficiently, but noise is generated that requires additional damping elements
Solution Approach 1:
The panel configuration with protuberances creates a three-dimensional structure with multiple levels. Water droplets encounter obstacles at different heights and angles, dissipating their energy through multiple small impacts rather than one large impact on the water surface, thereby reducing noise.
Solution Approach 2:
The protuberances and diagonal fins, which could be seen as obstacles reducing thermal exchange efficiency, actually serve to break up water droplet streams. This converts the potential harm of direct droplet impact (noise) into a beneficial effect by dispersing droplets and reducing impact noise without significantly compromising cooling efficiency.
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 panel achieves efficient thermal exchange with dirty water, prevents clogging, reduces assembly time, and minimizes noise without additional damping elements.
Implementation Method 1
The contact is as much deeper as wider is the surface of the water droplets contacted by air, namely the matter exchange surface. Therefore, these is a matter exchange from the water droplets, defining the dispersed phase, to the air defining the continuous phase, due to the humidification of air that is not saturated steam. In view of evaporation matter exchange, water gives energy to air in a substantially air isothermal way, but with heat transfer, i.e. cooling of water.
Implementation Method 2
water gives energy to air in a substantially air isothermal way, but with heat transfer, i.e. cooling of water
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
A reticular panel (1) for a cooling tower is disclosed, defining a longitudinal plane (1a) and a sagittal plane (1b) normal to the longitudinal plane (1a), crossing in a main axis (1c) and developed on the longitudinal plane (1a) in a corrugated mode, making fins (2) recurrent along the main axis (1c), arranged in two rows (1') symmetrical to said sagittal plane (1b), extending along corresponding secondary axes (2a) transversal to the main axis (1c) and mutually parallel, each row comprising at least a top crest (20) more spaced from the longitudinal plane (1a) in respect of the rest of the fin (2), wherein each 10 fin (2) comprises at least a blade (23) extending parallel to the secondary axis (2a) configured to increase the surface of thermal exchange of the panel (1).