Refrigeration – With means preventing or handling atmospheric condensate...
Patent
1996-03-25
1998-02-10
Sollecito, John M.
Refrigeration
With means preventing or handling atmospheric condensate...
62404, 55269, 95189, F25D 2100
Patent
active
057156964
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention refers to an arrangement for reducing the humidity content of a gaseous medium, in particular air, including a cooling circuit. Conventional arrangements of this type are equipped with evaporators in which the gaseous medium is guided over a pipe coil conducting a coolant and is cooled down thereby so that part of the humidity content precipitates as condensate.
Such arrangements operate with poor efficiency and require very bulky, complex designs to meet their function, and because of the integrated configuration within the cooling circuit of a cooling plant can be maintained or repaired only in a very difficult manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the invention to create an arrangement of the above-stated type that operates at a high efficiency and has relatively smaller overall dimensions. A further object of the invention is the possibility of a simple dismantling of the arrangement and its separation from the remaining plant during maintenance works or repair.
These objects are attained in accordance with the invention by connecting the arrangement to a conventional cooling plant and by providing the arrangement with an evaporator that is formed as a hollow body and includes a pipe coil for conducting a coolant, such as e.g. freon, and a series of parallel ribs, preferably perpendicularly to the pipe coil, between which the gaseous medium is conducted in form of a gas stream in a first direction, with the hollow body being enclosed by an outer housing at formation of an intermediate space through which the gas stream is conducted in a second direction opposite to the first. Such a forced reversal of the direction of the gas stream promotes the condensation of the humidity contained in the gaseous medium and increases thereby the efficiency of the drying effect of the gas.
According to a further variation, a condensate separator may be arranged in the area of the intermediate space between the hollow body and the housing, and formed preferably by a ring-shaped assembly of e.g. corrosion-resistant steel fibers. Such a condensate separator retains the liquid droplets, e.g. water droplets, that precipitate in the gas stream, and absorbs a fraction of the humidity content from the gas flowing therethrough.
According to a further feature of the invention, a first condensate drain trap which is connected to the condensate separator may be arranged at the housing. Such a condensate drain trap collects the liquid separated from the condensate separator for conduction to a drain to thereby prevent a disadvantageous return flow of the precipitated liquid droplets in opposite direction back to the medium stream.
According to a further feature of the invention, a tubular opening with flanged connection is mounted to the housing for conducting the gas stream in the second direction opposite to the first. In this manner, the gas stream which already has passed through the evaporator in two directions can exit the evaporator again.
In view of a further advantageous feature of the invention, the housing is of tubular configuration, with one end being closed by a cover and the other end being configured in form of a flange which is closeable by an end piece or connectable to a heat exchanger. This realizes a simple construction which also allows attachment of components to further enhance the efficiency and enables a problem-free maintenance of the evaporator.
In accordance with a further variation, a gas/gas heat exchanger is provided which includes a tank surrounding a pipe assembly with ribs and having one end provided with a connection flange for attachment to the evaporator and another end exhibiting an air inlet port. An exchanger connected to the evaporator in this manner precools the gas stream to be dried and reheats the gas stream exiting the evaporator so that the evaporator has to cope only with a smaller temperature differential, and the gas flow which is of reduced humidity content exits the arrangement after being cooled down in a reheated
REFERENCES:
patent: 3678661 (1972-07-01), Davis
patent: 3818718 (1974-06-01), Freese
patent: 3861165 (1975-01-01), Hirano
Polenta Mario
Salvagno Mauro
Feiereisen Henry M.
Hiross International Corporation B.V.
Sollecito John M.
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