U.S. patent application number 10/297540 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-11 for ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device.
Invention is credited to Hashii, Takashi, Koike, Hideaki, Miyauchi, Masahiro, Yamaishi, Kazuhiko.
Application Number | 20030167790 10/297540 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18980239 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030167790 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Koike, Hideaki ; et
al. |
September 11, 2003 |
Ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
Abstract
There is provided an ammonia absorption type water
chilling/heating device in which a generator 22 generating by use
of heat source a high pressure ammonia gas 21 from an ammonia
aqueous solution 11, a rectifier 28 performing the gas-liquid
separation into the ammonia gas 21 and a dilute ammonia solution 9,
a condenser 23 condensing the ammonia gas 21 after separation, an
evaporator 24 utilizing the cooling action generated when
vaporizing an ammonia solution 94 after condensation, and an
absorber 25 making the ammonia gas 21 after vaporization to be
absorbed in an ammonia aqueous solution are successively disposed
from the top in the described order, so that the dilute ammonia
solution 9 is transferred by gravitation; and in the central
portions of these components, there is arranged a solution pipe 30
through which the ammonia aqueous solution 11 is compressively
transferred from the absorber 25 to the generator 22. Omission of a
rectifying tower and connection piping, and scale reduction of the
generator, absorber, etc., ascribable to the above described
constitution, make it possible to reduce the whole device in scale
and acquire the adaptability to a wide variety of heat sources.
Inventors: |
Koike, Hideaki; (Kanagawa,
JP) ; Yamaishi, Kazuhiko; (Kanagawa, JP) ;
Hashii, Takashi; (Kanagawa, JP) ; Miyauchi,
Masahiro; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Flynn Thiel
Boutell & Tanis
2026 Rambling Road
Kalamazoo
MI
49008-1699
US
|
Family ID: |
18980239 |
Appl. No.: |
10/297540 |
Filed: |
December 4, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
April 26, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP02/04198 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/476 ;
62/489 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 15/04 20130101;
F25B 33/00 20130101; F25B 2333/006 20130101; F25B 37/00 20130101;
Y02B 30/62 20130101; Y02A 30/27 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/476 ;
62/489 |
International
Class: |
F25B 015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 27, 2001 |
JP |
2001-132195 |
Claims
1. An ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device,
characterized in that: in the device, a generator 22 generating a
high pressure ammonia gas 21 from an ammonia aqueous solution 11 by
use of heat source, a rectifier 28 performing gas-liquid separation
into the ammonia gas 21 and a dilute ammonia solution 9, a
condenser 23 condensing the high pressure ammonia gas 21 after the
gas-liquid separation, an evaporator 24 utilizing the cooling
action generated in the reduced pressure vaporization of a high
pressure ammonia solution 94 after condensation, and an absorber 25
making the dilute ammonia solution 9 absorb the ammonia gas 21
after vaporization are successively disposed from the top, and in
the interior of these components a solution pipe 30, through which
the ammonia aqueous solution 11 is compressively transferred from
said absorber 25 to the generator 22, is arranged.
2. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that in the device the
generator 22 has a diffusion nozzle 44 at one end thereof, a number
of heat exchanger pipes 27 each made of a spiral corrugate pipe
having spiral grooves on the inner wall thereof are vertically
arranged, and the lower end opening of the heat exchanger pipe 27
is made to face onto the rectifier 28.
3. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that in the generator 22, a
plurality of stages of the heat exchanger pipes 27, made of spiral
corrugate pipes having the diffusion nozzle 44 at the outer end,
wound horizontally and vorticosely are arranged in a stacked
structure, the inner ends of these heat exchanger pipes 27 are
connected to the protective pipe 98 surrounding the solution pipe
30 placed around the center of said generator 22, and the lower end
opening of the protective pipe 98 is made to face onto the
rectifier 28.
4. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that a liquid preheater 31
surrounding the spiral solution pipe 30 is arranged under the
rectifier 28 and around the center of the condenser 23 so that the
solution pipe 30 in the liquid preheater 31 is warmed by the dilute
ammonia solution 9 separated by said rectifier 28.
5. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that a supercooler 95,
cooling the ammonia solution 94 in the condenser 23 to a
temperature not higher than the boiling point by utilizing the
low-temperature heat of the low pressure ammonia gas 21 vaporized
in the evaporator 24, is arranged between the condenser 23 and
evaporator 24 in such a manner as to face onto the condenser 23 and
evaporator 24.
6. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 5, characterized in that a sprinkler 36 is
arranged under the liquid preheater 31 in such a manner as to face
onto the top of the absorber, and the dilute ammonia solution 9
sprayed by the sprinkler 36 under a high pressure is made to be
vigorously stirred, be mixed with, and absorb the ammonia gas 21
being fed from the evaporator 24 to the absorber 25 and the ammonia
solution 94 being fed from the discharge opening 109 of the
evaporator 24.
7. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 5, characterized in that a sprinkler 36 is
arranged under the liquid preheater 31 in such a manner as to face
onto the top of the absorber, a suction pipe 110 inserted into the
ammonia aqueous solution 11 in the liquid pool 29 is connected in
such a manner as to face onto the jet holes of the sprinkler 36,
the dilute ammonia solution 9 sprayed by the sprinkler 36 under a
high pressure is made to be vigorously stirred, be mixed with, and
absorb the ammonia gas 21 being fed from the evaporator 24 to the
absorber 25 and the ammonia solution 94 being fed from the
discharge opening 109 of the evaporator 24; and simultaneously the
ammonia aqueous solution 11 is sucked up through the suction pipe
110 by the negative pressure generated when the dilute ammonia
solution 9 is sprayed under a high pressure by the sprinkler 36, to
be circulated in the absorber 25.
8. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that the generator outer
cylinder 40 constituting the generator 22, the rectifier outer
cylinder constituting the rectifier 28, a condenser outer cylinder
67 constituting the condenser 23, an evaporator outer cylinder 70
constituting the evaporator 24, and an absorber outer cylinder 76
constituting the absorber 25 are successively and vertically
arranged in a fixed and stacked structure; in the central portions
of these components, the solution pipe 30, through which the
ammonia aqueous solution 11, while being preheated through heat
exchange, is compressively transferred from the absorber 25 to the
generator 22, and the liquid preheater 31 are arranged; and a top
cover 41 is placed on the top of said generator outer cylinder
40.
9. The ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device
according to claim 1, characterized in that the generator outer
cylinder 40 constituting the generator 22, the rectifier outer
cylinder constituting the rectifier 28, a cooling water port 63 for
use in feeding and discharging the cooling water in the cooling
pipe 32 of the condenser 23, the condenser outer cylinder 67
constituting the condenser 23, the supercooler 95 cooling the
ammonia solution 94 to a temperature not higher than the boiling
point, cooled by the low pressure ammonia gas 21 vaporized in the
evaporator 24, and arranged between said condenser 23 and
evaporator 24 in such a manner as to face onto the condenser 23 and
evaporator 24, the cooling water port 63 for use in feeding and
discharging the cooling water for the supercooler 95, the
evaporator outer cylinder 70 constituting the evaporator 24, a
brine port 77 for use in feeding and discharging the brine for the
refrigerating pipe 34 of the evaporator 24, the absorber outer
cylinder 76 constituting the absorber 25, and the cooling water
port 63 for use in feeding and discharging the cooling water for
the cooling pipe 37 of the absorber 25, are successively and
vertically arranged in a fixed and stacked structure; in the
central portions of these components, the solution pipe 30, through
which the ammonia aqueous solution 11, while being preheated
through heat exchange, is compressively transferred from the
absorber 25 to the generator 22, and the liquid preheater 31 are
arranged; and a top cover 41 is placed on the top of said generator
outer cylinder 40.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an ammonia absorption type
water chilling/heating device which takes advantage of a variety of
exhaust heats such as the gas turbine exhaust heat, reciprocating
heat engine exhaust heat, fuel cell exhaust heat, solar electric
power generation exhaust heat, and excess steam of a boiler, as
well as geothermal power and hot dry rock, and which is applied to
a small-scale apparatus having a refrigerating capacity of the
order of not higher than several hundred kW.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Conventionally, an ammonia gas generating and rectifying
unit in an ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device in
steam boiling mode is constituted as shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, a
concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11 is fed into a
liquid-filling-up type generator 10, through a feed opening 20 for
concentrated ammonia aqueous solution arranged at an end portion of
the generator, by use of a pump not shown in the figure; a number
of heat exchangers 12 are arranged in the ammonia aqueous solution
11, a heat source such as steam and hot water is fed through a heat
source feed opening 13, and thereby vaporized ammonia gas 21 is
generated from the ammonia aqueous solution 11. The ammonia gas 21
and a simultaneously generated, small amount of water vapor go up
into a rectifying tower 16 arranged to be upright in the central
portion of the generator 10.
[0003] A plurality of shelves or a plurality of spiral shelves 17
each with a central opening are arranged in the interior of a
rectifying tower 16, where the coming up ammonia gas 21 and
moisture are separated by gravitation and density difference, and
the ammonia gas 21 thus rectified is delivered via an outlet 39 for
ammonia gas into a condenser not shown in the figure. The dilute
ammonia solution containing a trace amount of ammonia liquefied in
the shelves 17 flows down into a liquid pool 18 and is delivered to
an opening 15 for discharging dilute ammonia solution via a drain
pipe 19, and is transferred as a dilute ammonia solution to an
absorption liquid pump and the like.
[0004] There have been found the following problems in the
conventional ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating devices
as described above which uses an ammonia gas generator and a
rectifier.
[0005] (1) The rectifying tower 6 is arranged at an outlet of the
generator 10, and the gas-liquid separation is performed only by
use of the gravitation and density difference available when the
ammonia gas 21 going up by heating passes through the shelves 17
arranged in the interior of the rectifying tower 6, so that the
height of the generator 10 and that of the rectifying tower 6 are
great.
[0006] (2) There is a severe constraint in the temperature range of
the heat source fed to the generator 10; when the temperature range
deviates from the design point, the performance is drastically
degraded, and hence it has been difficult to take advantage of
various types of exhaust heat. Consequently, broad and rapid
response have been impossible to the variations in feed rate of
heat flow and temperature.
[0007] (3) A liquid-filling-up type generator 10 has a large
volume, so that the reserved amount of liquid is large, and
accordingly the start-up time and the response time to the heat
load variation are elongated.
[0008] (4) In a conventional absorption type water chilling/heating
device, the pressure vessels for an absorber, an evaporator, a
condenser, etc. are transversely mounted, and these vessels are
connected with pipes and valves in a complex manner, and
accordingly there have been problems that the device as a whole
becomes large in scale, there are a few components common to these
vessels, in addition there are caused fluidic losses in pipes and
valves, and furthermore the pipes are exposed outside the device
body.
[0009] (5) The dilute ammonia solution obtained from the opening 15
for discharging dilute ammonia solution passes through a liquid
preheater for liquid not shown in figure, subsequently is fed into
the absorber via a pressure reducing valve; the ammonia solution
entering the condenser is supercooled at the outlet of the
evaporator by the cooling effect of the ammonia gas, and the
absorber is imposed so large a heat load that it is large in
scale.
[0010] (6) The dilute ammonia solution is depressurized at the
upper side of the absorber, and subsequently absorbs the ammonia
gas, while coming down in a shower-like manner, on the droplet
surface; the droplet size is large and accordingly the gas
absorption surface area is small so that the absorber is large in
scale.
[0011] A first object of the present invention is the overall size
reduction of the device through omission of the rectifying tower
and the connecting pipes and through size reduction of the
generator, absorber, and the like, and the provision of an ammonia
absorption type water chilling/heating device which can adapt to a
variety of heat sources.
[0012] A second object of the present invention is to provide a
device which can achieve the effects of being adaptable to a
variety of temperature ranges and a variety of fluid flow ranges of
the heat source fluid; being responsive to the sharp time variation
of the heat source load; and being responsive to the time variation
of the cooling load, and other effects; through feeding a
nonazeotropic mixture solvent (ammonia aqueous solution) to the
inner wall surface of a heat exchanger pipe by using a heat
exchanger pipe, where only a low boiling point fluid (ammonia) is
vaporized to move into the central part of the heat exchanger pipe,
and a high boiling point fluid (water) moves along the inner wall
surface of the pipe, owing to the centrifugal force and surface
tension.
[0013] A third object of the present invention is to provide a
device in which the separation into the dilute ammonia solution and
the ammonia gas can be performed without fail; and subsequently to
the separation, the dilute ammonia solution exchanges its heat,
when the solution passes through the liquid preheater, effectively
with the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution passing through the
interior of the solution pipe so that the heat is transferred to
the cooler of the evaporator.
[0014] A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a
device in which the absorber can be reduced in scale, even when the
evaporator does not work to a full extent, by allowing the ammonia
aqueous solution to come down in excess into the absorber; and in
addition, when the evaporator works to a full extent, the absorber
can be reduced in size, by allowing the dilute solution to be
subjected to the heat exchange through the heat exchanger.
[0015] A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a
device in which the absorption of the ammonia gas can be promoted
as a result of upgrading the cooling effect through heat exchange
with the cooling water passing through the cooling pipe, by
spraying the dilute ammonia solution, subjected to the heat
exchange by means of the heat exchanger in the evaporator, to the
cooling pipe of the absorber.
[0016] A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a
device in which the ammonia gas and the ammonia solution can be
transferred to the absorber, while both being stirred vigorously to
be mixed together and for the ammonia gas to be absorbed, through
making the droplet size as small as possible by spraying under a
high pressure, without reducing the pressure, when the dilute
ammonia solution is sprayed by means of a sprinkler.
[0017] A seventh object of the present invention is to provide a
unit in which the circulation is performed without using an
instrument such as a pump, but by sucking up to spray the ammonia
aqueous solution in the absorber under favor of the negative
pressure generated when the dilute ammonia solution is sprayed by
means of a sprinkler.
[0018] An eighth object of the present invention is to provide a
device in which the safety against the break and leak of the
solution pipe can be improved by placing the solution pipe in the
center of the device body which pipe is used for compressive
transfer of the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution and is
subjected to the highest pressure.
[0019] The other objects and effects of the present invention will
be made clear by describing the best mode for carrying out the
present invention with reference to the specification and
drawings.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The present invention is an ammonia absorption type water
chilling/heating device characterized in that: the device is
constructed by arranging successively from the top the following
components: a generator 22 which generates a high pressure ammonia
gas 21 from an ammonia aqueous solution 11 under favor of the heat
source, a rectifier 28 which performs the gas-liquid separation
into the ammonia gas 21 and a dilute ammonia solution 9, a
condenser 23 which condenses the high pressure ammonia gas 21
having been subjected to the gas-liquid separation, an evaporator
24 which takes advantage of the cooling action produced when a high
pressure ammonia solution 94 is vaporized under reduced pressure
subsequently to the condensation, and an absorber 25 which makes
the dilute ammonia solution 9 absorb the ammonia gas 21 having been
vaporized; and by arranging a solution pipe 30, for compressive
transfer of the ammonia aqueous solution 11 from the absorber 25 to
the generator 22, in the interior of these components.
[0021] Additionally, the present invention can reduce the device in
scale as a whole, by omitting the connection piping connecting the
five processes through the following arrangement: a generator outer
cylinder constituting the generator, a rectifier outer cylinder
constituting the rectifier, a condenser outer cylinder constituting
the condenser, an evaporator outer cylinder constituting the
evaporator, and an absorber outer cylinder constituting the
absorber are successively and vertically superposed and fixed to
form a stacked structure; the solution pipe, for compressive
transfer of the ammonia aqueous solution from the absorber to the
generator, is arranged in the central parts of these components;
and a top cover 41 is placed on the top of the outer cylinder for
use in the generator. Additionally, common components grow in
number, and accordingly can be supplied inexpensively owing to the
mass productivity. Furthermore, there is no need to make the
thermal insulation work for the pipes and valves, and the fluidic
loss can also be reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall view of
a first Example of the ammonia absorption type water
chilling/heating device according to the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the specific examples for
a generator 22 and a rectifier 28 in FIG. 1;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the specific examples for
a rectifier 28 and a condenser 23 in FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the specific examples for
an evaporator 24 and a supercooler 95 in FIG. 1;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the specific examples for
an absorber 25 and liquid pool 29 in FIG. 1;
[0027] FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing one example of a heat
exchanger pipe 27 in FIG. 2;
[0028] FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another example of the
generator 22 according to the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 8 shows an example of a diffusion nozzle 44 in FIG. 7,
(a) being a front view and (b) a sectional view;
[0030] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for an ammonia gas
generating and rectifying unit in a conventional ammonia absorption
type water chilling/heating device;
[0031] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall view of
a second Example of the ammonia absorption type water
chilling/heating device according to the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the relevant part showing the
specific example for the generator 22 in FIG. 10;
[0033] FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing one example of the heat
exchanger pipe 27 in FIG. 10;
[0034] FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the relevant part showing the
specific examples for the rectifier 28 and condenser 23 in FIG.
10;
[0035] FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the specific examples of a
cooling pipe 32, refrigerating pipe 34, and cooling pipe 37 in FIG.
10;
[0036] FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the relevant part showing
another specific example of the generator 22 in FIG. 10;
[0037] FIG. 16 is a plan view of the heat exchanger pipe 27 in FIG.
15; and
[0038] FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a unit in which the
circulation of the ammonia aqueous solution in the absorber 25 in
FIG. 10 is performed under favor of the negative pressure generated
by a sprinkler 36.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0039] Description will be made below of a first Example of the
present invention on the basis of FIGS. 1 to 8.
[0040] In FIG. 1, a generator 22, a rectifier 28, a condenser 23,
an evaporator 24, an absorber 25 and a liquid pool 29 are all of
the cylindrical shapes with the same diameters; these components
are successively disposed in the described order, from top to
bottom, in a stacked structure so that these components work as an
ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device while an
ammonia aqueous solution 11 falls freely by gravitation.
[0041] More specifically, a liquid pool 29 equipped with a pump 38
is arranged at the lowermost end, and a solution pipe 30 connected
to the discharge opening of the pump 38, which pipe is used for
pumping to transfer the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11,
is made to extend straightforwardly up to the generator 22 arranged
on the top floor. In the generator 22, the solution pipe 30 is
connected, via a heat source flow 26 and a heat exchanger pipe 27,
to the rectifier 28. In the condenser 23, the dilute ammonia
solution 9 is introduced into a liquid preheater 31, while the
ammonia gas 21, on contact with a cooling pipe 32, turns into the
concentrated ammonia solution 94. The ammonia solution 94 is
sprayed into the evaporator 24, via an expansion valve 33.
Incidentally, the pump 38 may be arranged either inside or outside
the liquid pool 29.
[0042] In the evaporator 24, the dilute solution containing a trace
amount of ammonia is transferred, via the liquid preheater 31, to a
sprinkler 36 to be sprayed under a high pressure.
[0043] The ammonia gas 21, having been expanded and vaporized by
the expansion valve 33, cools the brine present in the interior of
a refrigerating pipe 34 installed in the evaporator 24, and
subsequently comes up again to cool a supercooler 95, resulting in
cooling the ammonia solution 94 in the condenser 23 to a
temperature not higher than the boiling point, and furthermore the
ammonia gas 21 is mixed with and absorbed in the sprayed dilute
ammonia solution 9, which solution, in the absorber 25, makes the
solution pipe 30 work as an absorption heat recovery device 96, and
releases the absorption heat on contact with the cooling pipe 37,
and is again made to return to the liquid pool 29.
[0044] More detailed description will be made of the specific
configuration of the generator 22 on the basis of FIG. 2.
[0045] A top cover 41 is placed on the top end of a generator round
outer cylinder 40 constituting the generator 22, and is fixed to
the generator outer cylinder 40 with screws through the flanges 48.
The lower end of the generator outer cylinder 40 is fixed to the
condenser outer cylinder 67 of the condenser 23 with screws through
the flanges 48 with the partion plate 49 and the bottom plate 51
therebetween.
[0046] In the central part of the top cover 41, a heat source feed
pipe 42 is arranged, and the top end of the pipe is the heat source
feed opening 13, and a discharge opening 14 is arranged on a side
portion of the top cover 41.
[0047] A round inner cylinder 43 is housed in the interior of the
generator outer cylinder 40, with a heat insulating material 72
interposing therebetween except for the top clearance; in the
interior of the inner cylinder 43, a number of heat exchanger pipes
27 are arranged in such a way that the pipes are supported by the
top and bottom plates of the inner cylinder 43, and are arranged
vertically with clearances between the pipes. Incidentally, the
inner cylinder 43 is partitioned into several compartments with
supporting plates 46 having holes and arranged radially; in every
compartment, several hundred of thin heat exchanger pipes 27 are
housed, and hence, in total, one thousand thin heat exchanger pipes
27 or more are arranged. However, for the convenience of drawing,
the diameter of a heat exchanger pipe 27 is enlarged in relation to
the diameter of the inner cylinder 43, and the number of the pipes
is diminished.
[0048] The top ends of the heat exchanger pipes 27 protrude from
the upper side of the top plate of the inner cylinder 43, and every
protrusion is equipped with a diffusion nozzle 44 as shown in FIG.
6; a cover 54 is placed in the portion where the diffusion nozzles
44 are arranged for the purpose of forming a liquid pool chamber
55. Additionally, the bottom end of a heat exchanger pipe 27 has an
opening in the bottom plate of the inner cylinder 43.
[0049] The diffusion nozzle 44 is also referred to as a swirler,
and wicks or grooves are formed on the inner wall of the heat
exchanger pipe 27, so that the ammonia aqueous solution 11 is
sprayed into the heat exchanger pipe 27 through the diffusion
nozzle 44, and can be stably deposited on the wall surface.
[0050] The heat source is fed into the interior of the inner
cylinder 43, housing the heat exchanger pipes 27, from the lower
end of the heat source feed pipe 42; the heat source passes through
the clearances between the heat exchanger pipes 27 and a number of
holes provided on the supporting plate 46 having holes, then moves
from the discharge opening 47 arranged in an upper portion of the
inner cylinder 43 by passing through the clearance in contact with
the generator outer cylinder 40, and reaches the discharge opening
14 in a communicatively connected manner.
[0051] A blowoff section 56 is formed in the central part of the
partition plate 49, and the solution pipe 30 is communicatively
connected and fixed to the bottom side of the blowoff section 56;
the blowoff section 56 is communicatively connected to the liquid
pool chamber 55 via a communicative connection hole 57 and a
plurality of liquid delivering pipes 53 arranged around the heat
source feed pipe 42.
[0052] A plurality of diffusion nozzles 52 are arranged along the
periphery of the partition plate 49, which nozzles generate spiral
flow in the rectifier 28 formed by the partition plate 49, a bottom
plate 51, and the outer cylinder part associated with the bottom
plate 51. A plurality of vertical, gas passage pipes 50 are
arranged in the bottom plate 51 of the rectifier 28 in a vertically
penetrated manner, and the bottom plate 51 is communicatively
connected to the liquid fall opening 58 arranged around the
periphery of the solution pipe 30.
[0053] Detailed description will be made of the condenser 23 with
reference to FIG. 3.
[0054] As for a condenser outer cylinder 67 of the condenser 23, as
described above, the top end of the outer cylinder part of the
rectifier 28 is fixed through flanges 48 to the generator outer
cylinder 40; and the lower end is fixed through flanges 48 to the
evaporator outer cylinder 70 of the evaporator 24, sandwiching
between the flanges the outer cylinder part of the partition plate
61 in a supercooler 95.
[0055] In the central part of the condenser outer cylinder 67, the
solution pipe 30 is arranged vertically, and a number of fins 59
are radially arranged vertically both in the outer and in the inner
circumference of the solution pipe 30. The liquid preheater 31 is
arranged in such a manner as to wrap the outer circumference of the
fins 59, a heat insulating material 60 is arranged on the inner
wall of the liquid preheater 31 in such a way that a small
clearance is formed between the heat insulating material and the
fins 59.
[0056] In the interior of the condenser outer cylinder 67, a
plurality of stages of the spirally wound cooling pipe 32 are
arranged with mutual clearances between stages under favor of a
frame 66 for supporting the cooling pipes, and are connected to the
cooling water outlet 65 via a cooling water port 63.
[0057] In the partition plate 61 of the lower end of the condenser
outer cylinder 67, a plurality of expansion valves 33 are equipped
around the outer circumference in such a manner as to face to the
evaporator 24, and a number of supercoolers 95 are arranged inside
the expansion valves 33, in such a manner as to protrude both to
the bottom portion of the condenser 23 and to the top portion of
the evaporator 24 and penetrate the partition plate 61.
[0058] The pressure is high (for example, from 15 to 16 atm) above
the condenser 23 and low below the evaporator 24 (for example, from
3 to 5 atm), and hence the junction portion between the liquid
preheater 31 and the partition plate 61 is provided with an
intervening high pressure sealing material 62.
[0059] Detailed description will be made of the evaporator 24 with
reference to FIG. 4.
[0060] As for the evaporator outer cylinder 70 of the evaporator
24, as described above, the top end of the outer cylinder 70 is
fixed through flanges 48 to the condenser outer cylinder 67; and
the lower end is fixed through flanges 48 to the absorber outer
cylinder 76 of the absorber 25, sandwiching between the flanges the
partition plate 71.
[0061] In the central part of the evaporator outer cylinder 70, the
solution pipe 30 and a heat exchanger 35 around the outer
circumference of the pipe 30 are vertically arranged in
continuation from the condenser 23. Additionally, in the central
part of the partition plate 71, a partition cylinder 97 is
vertically placed in an integrated manner, with sufficient
clearance in relation to the heat exchanger 35. A sprinkler 36 is
arranged in the bottom portion of the heat exchanger 35 of the
evaporator 24, and the sprinkler 36 is so arranged that the dilute
ammonia solution 9 contained under a high pressure in the heat
exchanger 35 is jetted out downward. A nozzle valve adjustment rod
69, for use in adjusting the jet amount from the sprinkler 36,
protrudes outside the evaporator outer cylinder 70.
[0062] Furthermore, an electric liquid level meter 68 is equipped
on the inner wall of the heat exchanger 35 in order to detect the
liquid level of the dilute ammonia solution 9 pooled between the
heat exchanger 35 and the solution pipe 30, and the liquid level is
displayed to the outside.
[0063] Between the evaporator outer cylinder 70 and a partition
cylinder 97, a plurality of stages of the spirally wound
refrigerating pipe 34 are arranged with mutual clearances between
the stages under favor of a frame 66 for supporting the
refrigerating pipes, and both the ends of the refrigerating pipe 34
are connected to the brine port 77; a connection pipe 64 on the
outlet side is so connected that the brine is delivered against the
load, and a connection pipe 64 on the inlet side is so connected
that the brine heated by the load returns.
[0064] Incidentally, an ammonia solution 94 is pooled on the
partition plate 71, and hence the ammonia solution 94 is discharged
through a discharge opening 109 to a location near the sprinkler
36.
[0065] Detailed description will be made below of the absorber 25
and the liquid pool 29 with reference to FIG. 5.
[0066] As for the absorber outer cylinder 76 of the absorber 25, as
described above, the top end of the outer cylinder 76 is fixed
through flanges 48 to the evaporator outer cylinder 70; and the
lower end is fixed through flanges 48 to the liquid pool outer
cylinder 82 of the liquid pool 29.
[0067] In the central part of the evaporator outer cylinder 70, the
solution pipe 30 is vertically arranged in continuation from the
evaporator 24, and the absorption heat recovery device 96,
constituted by the radially equipped vertical fins, is arranged
around the outer circumference of the solution pipe 30.
[0068] In the interior of the absorber outer cylinder 76, a
plurality of stages of the spirally wound cooling pipe 37 are
arranged with mutual clearances between the stages under favor of a
frame 66 for supporting the cooling pipes, both ends of the cooling
pipe 37 are connected to the cooling water port 63, and the outlet
portion is connected to the cooling pipe 32 of the condenser 23,
while the inlet portion is connected to the cooling water inlet
75.
[0069] As for the liquid pool 29, the liquid pool outer cylinder 82
is fixed through the flanges 48 to the absorber outer cylinder 76
of the absorber 25, the pump 38 is put on the pedestal 92 placed in
the center of the bottom 83, together with a filter 78, and the
solution pipe 30 is connected to the pump 38. Additionally, a
liquid discharge pipe 81 in the bottom 83 is connected to the
outside via a valve (not shown in the figure).
[0070] The pump 38 is connected to a motor 80 emplaced on the
outside emplacement 93 via a shaft 79.
[0071] A liquid level meter 74 is vertically placed outside the
absorber 25 in such a manner as to extend from the evaporator 24 to
the liquid pool 29, and the liquid level meter 74 is
communicatively connected, at both ends thereof, to the interior of
the liquid pool outer cylinder 82 via communicative connection
holes 73.
[0072] In the next place, description will be made below of the
operation of the first Example according to the present
invention.
[0073] In FIG. 5, a concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11 of the
order of from 25 to 50% is fed inside the liquid pool outer
cylinder 82 of the liquid pool 29.
[0074] The fed ammonia aqueous solution 11 is sucked in and
compressively transferred to the solution pipe 30 by the pump 38.
Meanwhile, dust and the like are removed with the filter 78.
[0075] In FIG. 2, the ammonia aqueous solution 11 compressively
transferred is delivered, from the top end of the solution pipe 30,
to the blowoff section 56 in the generator 22, and furthermore
delivered to the liquid pool chamber 55 through the communicative
connection hole 57 and via the liquid delivering pipe 53. Then, the
solution 11 is fed into the heat exchanger pipes 27 through the
diffusion nozzles 44.
[0076] In the interior of the generator 22, the heat source fed
from the heat source feed opening 13 is fed into the interior of
the inner cylinder 43 housing the heat exchanger pipes 27 via the
heat source feed pipe 42, where the heat source exchanges heat and
is discharged from the discharge opening 14.
[0077] Consequently, the ammonia aqueous solution 11, delivered
from the liquid pool chamber 55 via the diffusion nozzles 44 to the
heat exchanger pipes 27, is atomized by the diffusion nozzles 44;
the droplets thus atomized hit the inner wall of the heat exchanger
pipe 27 owing to the centrifugal force, trapped by the wick on the
inner wall owing to the surface tention, and fall down from the
lower end as remaining to be liquid. The concentrated ammonia gas
21, which is not deposited to the inner wall, is discharged from
the lower end as remaining to be a circular mist flow 45.
[0078] More specifically, a nonazeotropic mixture refrigerant
(ammonia aqueous solution) is fed to the inner wall surface of the
heat exchanger pipe 27 through the diffusion nozzle 44 and the heat
exchanger pipe 27 where the circular flow is generated, only the
low boiling point fluid (ammonia) is vaporized and advected in the
center of the heat exchanger pipe 27, and the high boiling point
liquid (water) is advected along the inner wall of the pipe owing
to the centrifugal force and surface tension.
[0079] On the basis of the constitution as described above, the
following effects can be achieved: the effect of being adaptable to
various temperature ranges and various flow ranges of the heat
source fluid, the effect of being responsive to the sharp time
variation of the heat source load, the effect of being responsive
to the time variation of the cooling load, and other effects.
[0080] The mixture, composed of the dilute ammonia solution 9,
which has been discharged from the heat exchanger pipes 27 of the
generator 22 and contains a trace amount of ammonia, with the
concentrated (for example, 99.8%), high pressure ammonia gas 21, is
transferred to the rectifier 28 through the diffusion nozzles 52 on
the partition plate 49. The dilute ammonia solution 9 flows on the
bottom plate 51 and falls into the liquid fall opening 58, while
the high pressure ammonia gas 21 is exclusively separated, and
transferred to the condenser 23 through the gas passage pipes 50
with the circular flow being generated by the centrifugal force
produced by the diffusion nozzle 52.
[0081] In FIG. 3, the dilute ammonia solution 9 having fallen into
the liquid fall opening 58 is transferred to the heat exchanger 35
of the evaporator 24, while transferring its heat, when passing
through the liquid preheater 31, to the ammonia aqueous solution 11
passing through the interior of the solution pipe 30, through the
heat exchange under favor of the fin 59.
[0082] The high pressure ammonia gas 21 having passed through the
gas passage pipes 50 is condensed into the concentrated ammonia
solution 94 by exchanging the heat, when passing through the
cooling pipe 32 of the condenser 23, with the cooling water passing
through the cooling pipe 32, and is transferred to the expansion
valves 33.
[0083] In FIG. 4, the concentrated ammonia solution 94 is expanded
and vaporized by the expansion valve 33 into the ammonia gas 21,
which, when vaporized, cools the refrigerating pipe 34 of the
evaporator 24, then again comes up along the partition cylinder 97
and cools the supercooler 95 resulting in cooling the concentrated
ammonia solution 94 in the condenser 23 to a temperature not higher
than the boiling point, and again comes down along the heat
exchanger 35. Meanwhile, the brine in the refrigerating pipe 34 is
cooled and a low-temperature heat is delivered to the load.
[0084] The dilute ammonia solution 9 delivered from the liquid
preheater 31 is stored in the heat exchanger 35, where it is
subjected to the heat exchange with the ammonia gas 21 coming down
along the heat exchanger 35. The dilute ammonia solution 9, after
having been cooled, is sprayed from the sprinkler 36 under a high
pressure; the sprayed dilute ammonia solution 9 is vigorously
stirred, is mixed with, and absorbs the ammonia gas 21 coming down
and the ammonia solution 94 discharged from the discharge opening
109, and then is transferred to the absorber 25.
[0085] In FIG. 5, the dilute ammonia solution 9, having been
subjected to the heat exchange by the heat exchanger 35 of the
evaporator 24 in the preceding stage, is transferred into the
cooling pipe 37 in the absorber 25, while the dilute ammonia
solution 9 exchanges heat with the ammonia aqueous solution 11 in
the solution pipe 30 through the absorption heat recovery device
96, and furthermore exchanges heat with the cooling water passing
through the cooling pipe 37 to enhance the cooling effect, turning
into the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11 and falling into
the liquid pool outer cylinder 82 of the liquid pool 29 and being
stored there. Again, the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11
is compressively transferred by the pump 38.
[0086] The above described Example, as shown in FIG. 1, takes
advantage of the exhaust heat fed through the heat source feed
opening 13; when the exhaust heat alone is insufficient in amount,
combustion burners 84 for additional heating may be arranged in
such a manner as to face onto the heat exchanger pipes 27 within
the generator 22 to heat the exhaust heat from the heat source feed
opening 13 as shown in FIG. 7. Additionally, when no exhaust heat
is available, the combustion burners 84 alone may be used as the
heat source. On the inlet side of the heat exchanger pipe 27, for
example, such diffusion nozzles 44 as shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b)
are equipped to perform gas-liquid separation through forming
circular flow by a guide blade 91.
[0087] In FIG. 7, reference numerals 85, 86, and 87 denote a
partition plate, a bottom portion, and an evacuation fan,
respectively. Additionally, a hot water supply heat exchanger 88
may be arranged in such a manner as to face onto the heat source
feed opening 13 so that the water from a feed water pipe 90 is
heated by the hot water supply heat exchanger 88 and is taken out
from a warm water outlet 89.
[0088] In the next place, description will be made below of a
second Example of the present invention on the basis of FIGS. 10 to
17.
[0089] In FIG. 10, a generator 22, a rectifier 28, a condenser 23,
an evaporator 24, an absorber 25 and a liquid pool 29 are all of
the cylindrical shapes with the same diameters; the second Example
is nearly the same as the first Example in that: these components
are successively disposed in the described order, from top to
bottom, in a stacked structure so that these components work as an
ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating device while an
ammonia aqueous solution 11 falls freely by gravitation.
[0090] Description will be made of the general points in which the
second Example is different from the first Example, with reference
to FIG. 10, and subsequently description will be made of the
detailed points in which the second Example is different from the
first Example with reference to FIG. 11 and the subsequent figures.
Description is omitted of those sections which are the same in
structure as those of FIG. 1.
[0091] In FIG. 10, spiral corrugate pipes with inner-wall spiral
grooves are used for the vertical heat exchanger pipes 27 and the
central solution pipe 30 in the generator 22. Additionally, the
heat source feed opening 13 of the generator 22 and the discharge
opening 14 are arranged respectively at a lower and an upper
position on the side face of the generator outer cylinder 40.
[0092] The rectifier 28 is constituted with a vertical cylinder
plate 100 with holes having a top central opening and a bottom
central opening in such a manner as to form a vertical through-hole
and the metallic nets 101 vorticosely arranged around the plate 100
with holes.
[0093] The condenser 23, evaporator 24, and absorber 25 are, as
described later, different in piping configuration from the first
Example. Additionally, the cooling water ports 63 are of the
horizontal type and are interposed between sections in a stacked
structure.
[0094] The supercooler 95 is different from that in the first
Example in that the structure is of the spiral pipe structure; a
pair of the supercoolers 95 are disposed in such a manner as to
sandwich one of the horizontal cooling water ports 63 and occupy
the clearance associated with the upper and lower piping.
Additionally, a selector valve 104 is arranged at the cooling water
outlet 65 of the cooling water port 63 in the supercooler 95, and
the selection is made as follows: when the cooling water outlet
temperature (A) in the absorber 25 is higher than the cooling water
outlet temperature (B) in the supercooler 95, the selector valve
104 is connected to the cooling water inlet 75 of the condenser 23,
while when the cooling water outlet temperature (A) in the absorber
25 is not higher than the cooling water outlet temperature (B) in
the supercooler 95, the selector valve 104 is connected to the
cooling water outlet 65 of the condenser 23. Under favor of this
selection, even when the temperature of the cooling water fed from
the cooling tower 103 is varied largely, quick response to the
variation is possible without deteriorating a refrigerating
capacity, and accordingly the performance degradation caused by the
change of the seasons and the change in the weather can be
reduced.
[0095] In the second Example, the absorption heat recovery device
96 in the absorber 25 and the heat exchanger 35 in the evaporator
24, both found in the first Example, are eliminated.
[0096] Description will be made below of the more specific
constitution of the generator 22 with reference to FIGS. 11 and
12.
[0097] The solution pipe 30 in the center of the generator outer
cylinder 40 is covered with a protective pipe 98, a branching
device 99 is connected to the top of the protective pipe 98, the
top portion of the solution pipe 30 has openings in the interior of
the protective pipe 98, a plurality of the liquid delivering pipes
53 are radially connected to the branching device 99, and the
plurality of the liquid delivering pipes 53 are respectively made
to approach the liquid pool chamber 55. The vertical heat exchanger
pipes 27, each consisting of a plurality of members, are connected
to the liquid pool chamber 55. The heat exchanger pipe 27 is, as
shown in FIG. 12, constituted with a spiral corrugate pipe with
spiral grooves formed on the inner wall thereof and a diffusion
nozzle 44 on the top end thereof. Incidentally, the solution pipe
30 is also made of a spiral corrugate pipe with spiral grooves
formed on the inner wall thereof. The heat source feed opening 13
and the discharge opening 14 are respectively connected at a lower
position and an upper position on the side wall of the generator
outer cylinder 40.
[0098] As shown in FIG. 13, in the rectifier 28, a cylindrical body
is formed with an inner cylinder made of the plate 100 with holes,
a fleckless outer cylinder, a top plate, and a bottom plate; the
gas passage pipe 50 is formed by arranging a plurality of layers of
the metallic nets 101 wound vorticosely, for the purpose of
separating the water vapor from the ammonia gas 21, in the interior
of the cylindrical body; the top central opening and the bottom
central opening of the plate 100 with holes work as the liquid fall
opening 58; a gas passage 102 is formed by the path from the small
holes in the liquid fall opening 58 through the interior of the gas
passage pipes 50 to the periphery of the gas passage pipe, and the
gas passage 102 is communicatively connected to the condenser
23.
[0099] As shown in FIG. 13, in the condenser 23, the liquid
preheater 31 is arranged in the central part of the condenser outer
cylinder 67, and the spirally wound solution pipe 30 made of a
spiral corrugate pipe is housed in the interior of the liquid
preheater 31. The cooling pipe 32 is housed between the condenser
outer cylinder 67 and the liquid prehetaer 31, the cooling water
port 63 is arranged above the cooling pipe 32, and the supercoolers
95 are arranged beneath the cooling pipe 32 sandwiching the cooling
water port 63 serving as the partition plate 61. With the cooling
water port 63 as a boundary, the generator 22, rectifier 28,
condenser 23, etc. belong to the high pressure section above the
boundary, and hence the generator outer cylinder 40, condenser
outer cylinder 67, etc. are made of stainless steel so as to have
sufficient pressure resistance, while the evaporator outer cylinder
70, absorber outer cylinder 76, etc. at the low pressure section
are made of synthetic resins. Additionally, the high pressure
sealing material 62 is arranged in the joint between the partition
plate 61 and liquid preheater 31.
[0100] Description will be made below of the structure of the
cooling pipe 32 and cooling water port 63 with reference to FIG.
14. In the cooling water pool 63, there are formed a feed chamber
105 communicatively connected to the cooling water inlet 75, and a
discharge chamber 106 communicatively connected to the cooling
water outlet 65. The cooling pipe 32 is formed by winding, around
the liquid preheater 31, the spiral corrugate pipes in spirals with
different diameters similar to that used for the solution pipe 30,
in a such manner as to form a plurality of layers with the
prescribed clearances between the layers; more specifically, the
spiral cooling pipe 32a having the smallest diameter is arranged
around the outer circumference of the liquid preheater 31, the
cooling pipe 32b having the second smallest diameter is arranged
around the outer circumference of the pipe 32a, similarly and
successively the cooling pipes being arranged, and finally, the
cooling pipe 32n having the largest diameter is arranged on the
outermost portion. The lower ends of these cooling pipes, 32a, 32b,
. . . 32n, are respectively, via vertical pipes 107a, 107b, . . .
107n, made to approach the feed chamber 105, while the top ends of
the cooling pipes, 32a, 32b, . . . 32n, are respectively, via
vertical pipes 108a, 108b, . . . 108n, made to approach the
discharge chamber 106. Incidentally, for the convenience of
drawing, the diameter of the cooling pipe 32 is enlarged, and the
number of the cooling pipes is diminished.
[0101] As for the supercooler 95, vorticosely wound spiral
corrugate pipes are arranged both on the top side and bottom side
of the cooling water port 63 in such a manner as to sandwich
thereof; the cooling water is fed into the bottom side supercooler
95, made to pass through the top side supercooler 95, and then
discharged.
[0102] The expansion valve 33 is arranged to vertically penetrate
from the condenser 23 to the evaporator 24.
[0103] The piping structures in the refrigerating pipe 34 of the
evaporator 24 and the cooling pipe 37 of the absorber 25 are
similar to that of the cooling pipe 32 of the condenser 23,
described with reference to FIG. 14; either the refrigerating pipes
34 or the cooling pipes 37 are formed by winding spiral corrugate
pipes in spirals with different diameters to be arranged into a
plurality of layers with the prescribed clearances between the
layers. However, the brine port 77 is arranged under the
refrigerating pipe 34, so that it is connected to the lower end of
the refrigerating pipe 34 via a vertical pipe 108, and the top end
of the refrigerating pipe 34 is connected downward to the cooling
water port 63 via a vertical pipe 107. As for the cooling pipe 37,
similarly the cooling water port 63 is arranged under the cooling
pipe 37, so that it is connected to the lower end of the cooling
pipe 37 via the vertical pipe 108, and the top end of the cooling
pipe 37 is connected downward to the cooling water port 63 via a
vertical pipe 107.
[0104] The opening degree of the sprinkler 36 arranged at a top
portion of the absorber 25 can be adjusted at the lower end of the
liquid preheater 31, by means of an external adjustment mechanism
(not shown in the figure) similarly to the first Example.
[0105] As shown in FIG. 17, a suction pipe 110 is provided in such
a way that the suction pipe 110 is connected in such a manner as to
face onto the jet orifice of the sprinkler 36, and the lower end
opening of the suction pipe 110 is submerged in the liquid pool 29.
The ammonia aqueous solution 11 in the liquid pool 29 is sucked up,
by taking advantage of the negative pressure generated when the
dilute ammonia solution 9 is sprayed under a high pressure by means
of the sprinkler 36, and is sprayed into the interior of the
absorber 25; in this way, the ammonia solution is circulated
without using a mechanical device such as a pump.
[0106] Additionally, the pump 38 arranged in the neighborhood of
the liquid pool 29 may be placed either inside or outside the
liquid pool 29.
[0107] Reference numeral 103 denotes a cooling tower for use in
circulating the cooling water.
[0108] Description will be made below of the operation of the
second Example according to the present invention.
[0109] In FIG. 10, the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11 of
the order of from 25 to 50% in the liquid pool 29 is compressively
transferred to the generator 22 situated in the top end section,
through the solution pipe 30, by means of the pump 38; in the
generator 22, the concentrated ammonia aqueous solution 11 is
transferred to the liquid pool chamber 55 via the branching device
99 and the liquid delivering pipe 53, and then fed into the heat
exchanger pipe 27 via the diffusion nozzle 44.
[0110] The heat source is fed from the heat source feed opening 13
into the inner cylinder 43 in the generator 22, where the heat
source exchanges heat with the heat exchanger pipe 27 and then is
discharged from the discharge opening 14.
[0111] Accordingly, the fed ammonia aqueous solution 11 feeds the
nonazeotropic mixture refrigerant (ammonia aqueous solution) to the
inner wall surface, with spiral grooves, of the heat exchanger pipe
27 through the diffusion nozzle 44 and the heat exchanger pipe 27
where the circular flow is generated, and only the low boiling
point fluid (ammonia) is vaporized and advected in the center of
the heat exchanger pipe 27, and the high boiling point liquid
(water) is advected along the inner wall of the pipe owing to the
centrifugal force and surface tension.
[0112] In FIG. 13, the high concentration, high pressure ammonia
gas 21 discharged from the generator 22 and the dilute ammonia
solution 9 are transferred to the rectifier 28. The dilute ammonia
solution 9 flows on the top plate of the gas passage pipe 50, falls
into the liquid fall opening 58; the high pressure ammonia gas 21
and the water vapor pass through the plate 100 with holes and then
pass through the metallic nets 101 in the gas passage pipe 50, and
the water vapor becomes water droplets on contact with the metallic
nets 101 to fall into the liquid fall opening 58, while only the
high pressure ammonia gas 21 is transferred to the condenser 23 via
the gas passage 102.
[0113] In FIG. 10, the dilute ammonia solution 9 having fallen into
the liquid fall opening 58 passes through the liquid preheater 31,
when exchanging heat with and transferring heat to the concentrated
ammonia aqueous solution 11 passing through the interior of the
solution pipe 30, and is transferred to the sprinkler 36 in the
evaporator 24.
[0114] The ammonia gas 21 fed into the condenser 23 passes through
the cooling pipe 32 of the condenser 23, when exchanging heat with
the cooling water flowing in the cooling pipe 32, and is condensed
to become the concentrated ammonia solution 94 of the order of
99.8%, which is collected at the bottom of the condenser 23 and
further cooled to a temperature not higher than the boiling point
by the supercooler 95.
[0115] The ammonia solution 94 is expanded and vaporized by the
expansion valve 33 situated between the condenser 23 and the
evaporator 24, and becomes the low pressure ammonia gas 21; the low
pressure ammonia gas 21 cools the refrigerating pipe 34 of the
evaporator 24, again comes up to cool the supercooler 95 to a
temperature not higher than the boiling point, and is transferred
to the absorber 25 via the partition cylinder 97. Meanwhile, the
brine in the refrigerating pipe 34 is cooled and low-temperature
heat is delivered to the load. The ammonia solution 94 collected at
the bottom of the evaporator 24 is discharged from the discharge
opening 109 in the partition cylinder 97 to the neighborhood of the
sprinkler 36.
[0116] The dilute ammonia solution 9 transferred from the liquid
preheater 31 is sprayed from the sprinkler 36 under a high
pressure; the sprayed dilute ammonia solution 9 is vigorously
stirred, is mixed with, and absorbs the ammonia gas 21 coming down
along the partition cylinder 97 in the evaporator 24 and the
ammonia solution 94 discharged from the discharge opening 109, and
then is transferred to the absorber 25.
[0117] In the cooling pipe 37 in the absorber 25, the dilute
ammonia solution 9 thus transferred to the absorber 25 exchanges
heat with the cooling water passing through the cooling pipe 37 to
enhance the cooling effect, and becomes the concentrated ammonia
aqueous solution 11, falling into the liquid pool 29 and being
stored there. The stored ammonia aqueous solution 11 is sucked up
through the suction pipe 110, by taking advantage of the negative
pressure generated when the dilute ammonia solution 9 is sprayed
under a high pressure by means of the sprinkler 36, and is sprayed
into the interior of the absorber 25; in this way, the ammonia
solution is circulated.
[0118] Then, the ammonia aqueous solution 11 is again compressively
transferred by the pump 38.
[0119] In the generator 22 either in the first or in the second
Example, the heat exchanger pipe 27 is of the vertical type.
Consequently, the Example shown in FIG. 2 uses one thousand heat
exchanger pipes 27 or more, and the Example shown in FIG. 11 also
uses two hundred heat exchanger pipes 27 or more.
[0120] In this connection, the number of the heat exchanger pipes
27 can be reduced to several tens by forming the heat exchanger
pipes 27 in vorticose shapes as shown in FIGS. 15 and 6. In more
detail, the solution pipe 30 is arranged in the central portion of
the protective pipe 98, the top end of the solution pipe 30 is
connected to the branching device 99, the liquid delivering pipes
53 are horizontally and radially connected to the branching device
99, and furthermore the liquid delivering pipes 53 are arranged
along the inside of the generator outer cylinder 40 in such a
manner as to vertically point downward. The outer end of the heat
exchanger pipe 27 wound vorticosely as a pyrethrum coil is
connected to the vertical portion of the liquid delivering pipe 53
via the diffusion nozzle 44, and the inner end is connected to the
protective pipe 98. The joints between the heat exchange pipe 27
and the protective pipe 98 are arranged with an interval of 180
degrees, as reference numerals 27a and 27b show, in the vorticose
heat exchanger pipe 27. The joint between the inner end of the heat
exchanger pipe 27 and the protective pipe 98 is directed from the
heat exchanger pipe 27 along the tangential line tangential to the
inner wall of the protective pipe 98, so that the jetted ammonia
aqueous solution 11 more effectively generates circular flow within
the protective pipe 98.
[0121] In the above described Examples, the pressure vessels which
constitute the individual processes of absorption refrigeration
cycle the generator 22, namely, the rectifier 28, condenser 23,
evaporator 24, absorber 25 and liquid pool 29 are successively
disposed vertically in a stacked structure, so that the connection
piping connecting the five processes is omitted and the whole
devices are reduced in scale. Additionally, the individual stages
can be constituted using common components so that the number of
the component types is reduced, and accordingly the components can
be supplied inexpensively owing to the mass productivity.
Furthermore, there is no need to make the thermal insulation work
for the pipes and valves, and the fluidic loss can also be
reduced.
[0122] The safety against the break and leak of the solution pipe
30 is improved, by placing the solution pipe 30, subjected to the
highest pressure, in the center of the device body.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0123] As above, the ammonia absorption type water chilling/heating
device of the present invention is suitable for the case where are
utilized various types of exhaust heats, which have hitherto been
discarded uselessly, such as the gas turbine exhaust heat,
reciprocating heat engine exhaust heat, fuel cell exhaust heat,
solar electric power generation exhaust heat, and excess steam of a
boiler, or for the case where are utilized a wide variety of heat
sources such as geothermal power and hot dry rock which have
hitherto been difficult to utilize effectively. The water
chilling/heating device of the present invention is suitable as a
water chilling/heating device, having a refrigerating capacity of
the order of not higher than several hundred kW, to be used in an
establishment, which has a relatively large demand for chilling and
heating, such as a condominium, a hospital, a factory, a building,
a restaurant, an office, a store, and a sports gym. When a
refrigeration load exceeds a single device capacity, a plurality of
the devices can be operated in parallel to accommodate a demand up
to several times the single device capacity. Additionally, the
total weight of the device can be suppressed to be of the order of
one ton, and hence the device is transportable, so that the device
is suitably installed in a ship and a vehicle equipped with
refrigeration facilities.
* * * * *