U.S. patent application number 16/572309 was filed with the patent office on 2021-03-18 for passive split heat recovery system.
The applicant listed for this patent is MITEK HOLDINGS, INC.. Invention is credited to Marcus D'Arcy, Jared Smoot, Onieluan Tamunobere.
Application Number | 20210080128 16/572309 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004349053 |
Filed Date | 2021-03-18 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210080128 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
D'Arcy; Marcus ; et
al. |
March 18, 2021 |
PASSIVE SPLIT HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM
Abstract
A heat exchanger for exchanging heat between an inside airstream
flowing within an interior of a building structure and an outdoor
airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building structure
includes a heat pipe system comprising a refrigerant. A first heat
pipe assembly is installed within the interior of the building
structure such that heat is transferrable between the first heat
pipe assembly and the inside airstream flowing within the interior
of the building structure. A second heat pipe assembly is installed
outside of the interior of the building structure such that heat is
transferrable between the second heat pipe assembly and the outside
airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building
structure. The heat pipe system is configured such that the inside
airstream remains within the interior of the building structure and
the outside airstream remains outside of the interior of the
building structure.
Inventors: |
D'Arcy; Marcus; (Spring
Hill, FL) ; Tamunobere; Onieluan; (Apollo Beach,
FL) ; Smoot; Jared; (Tampa, FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MITEK HOLDINGS, INC. |
Omaha |
NE |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004349053 |
Appl. No.: |
16/572309 |
Filed: |
September 16, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/0275 20130101;
F24F 3/065 20130101; F24F 3/044 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 3/044 20060101
F24F003/044; F24F 3/06 20060101 F24F003/06; F28D 15/02 20060101
F28D015/02 |
Claims
1. A heat exchanger for exchanging heat between an inside airstream
flowing within the interior of a building structure and an outdoor
airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building
structure, the heat exchanger comprising: a heat pipe system
comprising a refrigerant, the heat pipe system including a first
heat pipe assembly and a second heat pipe assembly fluidly
connected to the first heat pipe assembly such that the refrigerant
can flow through the heat pipe system between the first heat pipe
assembly and the second heat pipe assembly, the first heat pipe
assembly being installed within the interior of the building
structure such that heat is transferrable between the first heat
pipe assembly and the inside airstream flowing within the interior
of the building structure, the second heat pipe assembly being
installed outside of the interior of the building structure such
that heat is transferrable between the second heat pipe assembly
and the outside airstream flowing outside of the interior of the
building structure; wherein the heat pipe system is configured such
that the inside airstream remains within the interior of the
building structure and the outside airstream remains outside of the
interior of the building structure.
2. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the
first and second heat pipe assemblies comprises a top header, a
bottom header, and a plurality of heat pipes extending vertically
to provide fluid communication between the respective top header
and the respective bottom header.
3. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2, wherein the top header
has a cross-sectional dimension of at least 3 inches (7.6 cm).
4. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 3, wherein the
cross-sectional dimension of the top header is greater than 3
inches (7.6 cm).
5. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2, wherein each of the
plurality of heat pipes has a cross-sectional dimension of at least
about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm).
6. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein the second
heat pipe assembly is installed in a housing mounted on top of the
building structure.
7. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 6, further comprising as
least one fan mounted on the housing for drawing the outside
airstream into the housing for transferring heat between the second
heat pipe assembly and the outside airstream.
8. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein the heat
exchanger is free of any valves, compressors, or pumps for
facilitating heat exchange whereby the heat exchanger is a passive
heat exchanger.
9. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein the heat pipe
system comprises a split heat exchanger.
10. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, in combination with
the building structure, wherein the building structure comprises a
data center configured to house computer systems.
11. A condenser module for exchanging heat between an outdoor
airstream flowing outside of an interior of a building structure,
the condenser module comprising: a housing configured to be mounted
on a top of the building structure; and a heat pipe assembly
disposed in the housing, the heat pipe assembly being configured
for fluid connection to a heat pipe assembly disposed in the
interior of the building such that a refrigerant can flow between
the heat pipe assembly disposed in the housing and the heat pipe
assembly disposed in the interior of the building, the heat pipe
assembly disposed in the housing being configured to transfer heat
to the outside airstream flowing outside of the interior of the
building structure when the heat pipe assembly disposed in the
housing is fluidly connected to the heat pipe assembly disposed in
the interior of the building, the condenser module being free of
any valves, compressors, or pumps for facilitating heat
exchange.
12. A condenser module as set forth in claim 11, wherein the heat
pipe assembly comprises a top header, a bottom header, and a
plurality of heat pipes extending vertically to provide fluid
communication between the top header and the bottom header.
13. A condenser module as set forth in claim 12, wherein the top
header has a cross-sectional dimension of at least 3 inches (7.6
cm).
14. A condenser module as set forth in claim 13, wherein the
cross-sectional dimension of the top header is greater than 3
inches (7.6 cm).
15. A condenser module as set forth in claim 12, wherein each of
the plurality of heat pipes has a cross-sectional dimension of at
least about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm).
16. A condenser module as set forth in claim 11, wherein the heat
pipe assembly in the housing comprises a first heat pipe assembly,
the condenser module further comprising a second heat pipe assembly
disposed in the housing, the second heat pipe assembly being
arranged in parallel with the first heat pipe assembly.
17. A condenser module as set forth in claim 16, wherein each of
the first and second heat pipe assemblies comprises a top header, a
bottom header, and a plurality of heat pipes extending vertically
to provide fluid communication between the respective top header
and the respective bottom header.
18. A condenser module as set forth in claim 17, wherein each of
the first and second heat pipe assemblies comprises a vapor conduit
connected to the respective top header, and a liquid conduit
connected to the respective bottom header, the vapor conduit of the
first heat pipe assembly being connected to the vapor conduit of
the second heat pipe assembly, and the liquid conduit of the first
heat pipe assembly being connected to the liquid conduit of the
second heat pipe assembly such that a single vapor conduit section
and a single liquid conduit section extend from the housing for
connection to the heat pipe assembly disposed in the interior of
the building.
19. A condenser module for exchanging heat between an outdoor
airstream flowing outside of an interior of a building structure,
the condenser module comprising: a housing configured to be mounted
on a top of the building structure; and a heat pipe assembly
disposed in the housing, the heat pipe assembly being configured
for fluid connection to a heat pipe assembly disposed in the
interior of the building such that a refrigerant can flow between
the heat pipe assembly disposed in the housing and the heat pipe
assembly disposed in the interior of the building, the heat pipe
assembly disposed in the housing being configured to transfer heat
to the outside airstream flowing outside of the interior of the
building structure when the heat pipe assembly disposed in the
housing is fluidly connected to the heat pipe assembly disposed in
the interior of the building, the heat pipe assembly comprising a
top header, a bottom header, and a plurality of heat pipes
extending vertically to provide fluid communication between the top
header and the bottom header.
20. A condenser module as set forth in claim 19, wherein each of
the plurality of heat pipes has a cross-sectional dimension of at
least about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm).
Description
FIELD
[0001] This disclosure generally relates to a split heat recovery
system, and more particularly to condenser module for a split heat
recovery system.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Heat exchangers can be used in climate control systems to
transfer heat between warm and cool air streams. For example, a
heat exchanger can be used to provide heat recovery between warm
and cool air streams flowing through two different ducts (e.g.,
exhaust and supply) of the system. Split heat recovery systems are
used where the two air streams are not in close proximity and
therefore a single side-by-side heat exchanger cannot be positioned
to encounter both air streams.
[0003] Passive heat exchangers such as heat pipe systems are not
typically controlled in a fine-tuned manner to adjust the amount of
heat exchange provided. Rather, when a ventilation system is
designed, the passive characteristics of a heat pipe system are
chosen to provide the desired amount of heat exchange for a
system.
[0004] Data centers are buildings used to house computer systems.
Data centers consume large amounts of power and as a result produce
large amounts of heat. Referring to FIG. 1, heat recovery to cool a
data center DC is conventionally accomplished by using a single
side-by-side heat exchanger HE that communicates with both the
closed loop air stream AS1 within the data center and the separate
outside air stream AS2. In order to have the outside air stream AS2
and the closed loop inside air steam AS1 both pass the heat
exchanger HE, either the outside air stream must be brought into
the data center DC through ducts extending into the data center, or
the closed loop air stream must be brought out of the data center
through ducts extending out of the data center. The heat recovery
system may also include additional components such as filters F,
fan arrays FA, and cooling coils CC to facilitate heat exchange.
This type of heat recovery system produces installation
complications, as special ductwork must be incorporated to
facilitate the heat exchange process. Alternatively, data center
heat recovery is conventionally performed using common air
conditioning systems that use a compressor to compress coolant to
be delivered to a condenser in combination with a pump for driving
the heat exchange. Heat recovery systems of this type consume large
amounts of energy.
SUMMARY
[0005] In one aspect, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between
an inside airstream flowing within an interior of a building
structure and an outdoor airstream flowing outside of the interior
of the building structure generally comprises a heat pipe system
comprising a refrigerant. The heat pipe system including a first
heat pipe assembly and a second heat pipe assembly fluidly
connected to the first heat pipe assembly such that the refrigerant
can flow through the heat pipe system between the first heat pipe
assembly and the second heat pipe assembly. The first heat pipe
assembly is installed within the interior of the building structure
such that heat is transferrable between the first heat pipe
assembly and the inside airstream flowing within the interior of
the building structure. The second heat pipe assembly is installed
outside of the interior of the building structure such that heat is
transferrable between the second heat pipe assembly and the outside
airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building
structure. The heat pipe system is configured such that the inside
airstream remains within the interior of the building structure and
the outside airstream remains outside of the interior of the
building structure.
[0006] In another aspect, a condenser module for exchanging heat
between an outdoor airstream flowing outside of an interior of a
building structure generally comprises a housing configured to be
mounted on a top of the building structure. A heat pipe assembly is
disposed in the housing. The heat pipe assembly is configured for
fluid connection to a heat pipe assembly disposed in the interior
of the building such that a refrigerant can flow between the heat
pipe assembly disposed in the housing and the heat pipe assembly
disposed in the interior of the building. The heat pipe assembly
disposed in the housing is configured to transfer heat to the
outside airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building
structure when the heat pipe assembly disposed in the housing is
fluidly connected to the heat pipe assembly disposed in the
interior of the building. The condenser module is free of any
valves, compressors, or pumps for facilitating heat exchange.
[0007] In still another aspect, a condenser module for exchanging
heat between an outdoor airstream flowing outside of an interior of
a building structure generally comprises a housing configured to be
mounted on a top of the building structure. A heat pipe assembly is
disposed in the housing. The heat pipe assembly is configured for
fluid connection to a heat pipe assembly disposed in the interior
of the building such that a refrigerant can flow between the heat
pipe assembly disposed in the housing and the heat pipe assembly
disposed in the interior of the building. The heat pipe assembly
disposed in the housing is configured to transfer heat to the
outside airstream flowing outside of the interior of the building
structure when the heat pipe assembly disposed in the housing is
fluidly connected to the heat pipe assembly disposed in the
interior of the building. The heat pipe assembly comprises a top
header, a bottom header, and a plurality of heat pipes extending
vertically to provide fluid communication between the top header
and the bottom header.
[0008] Other aspects will be in part apparent and in part pointed
out hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a prior art heat
exchanger for use in a data center;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective of a heat exchanger of the current
disclosure for use in a data center;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the heat exchanger of
the current disclosure;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a heat pipe system of
the heat exchanger;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective of a condenser module of the heat
exchanger;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the condenser
module;
[0015] FIG. 7 is an end view of the condenser module showing heat
pipe coils disposed within the condenser module;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a side view of the condenser module;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a top view of the condenser module;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a perspective of a heat exchanger of another
embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 11 is a perspective of a heat exchanger of another
embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a condenser module of
another embodiment; and
[0021] FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of the condenser module
of FIG. 12.
[0022] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, a heat exchanger is generally
indicated at reference number 10. The heat exchanger 10 comprises a
heat pipe system 12 that is generally configured to exchange heat
between warm and cool air streams. As will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art, the heat pipe system 12 generally comprises one
or more thermally conductive tubes charged with refrigerant such
that the heat pipe system is configured to transfer heat between
warm and cool air streams by the refrigerant cyclically changing
phase from vapor to liquid and back to vapor. In one embodiment,
the heat exchanger 10 is generally configured to provide heat
recovery within a data center DC (FIG. 3). In the illustrated
embodiment, the heat exchanger 10 is configured to provide heat
recovery between an outside airstream OS passing outside of the
data center DC, and an inside airstream IS flowing within the data
center. In general, the outside air stream OS will comprise a
relatively cool airstream and the inside airstream IS will comprise
a relatively warm airstream. The heat exchanger 10 has a split
configuration whereby the airstreams OS, IS are not within ducts
that are disposed side-by-side within a ventilation system. Rather,
the outside airstream OS remains outside of the data center, and
the inside airstream IS remains inside of the data center. Thus,
the heat pipe system 12 is split so that the thermally conductive
tubes are positioned to encounter the separated airstreams. This
system allows for heat recovery to occur between the outside and
inside airstreams without having to construct complicated ductwork
to bring the outside airstream into the data center DC, or carry
the inside airstream out of the data center to bring the two
airstreams together. It is envisioned that the heat exchanger 10
can be used with building structures other than data centers
without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the illustrated heat pipe system
12 comprises an inside heat pipe subassembly 14 (broadly, a first
heat pipe subassembly) that is configured to be installed inside
the data center DC in thermal communication with an inside air
stream IS (e.g., return air) flowing through an inside duct ID, and
an outside heat pipe subassembly 16 (broadly, a second heat pipe
subassembly) that is configured to be installed outside of the data
center DC in thermal communication with an outside air stream OS
flowing through a housing 18 disposed outside of the data center.
In the illustrated embodiment, each of the heat pipe subassemblies
14, 16 includes a heat pipe portion that is configured to be
installed inside the respective airflow structure ID, 18. Thus, the
heat pipe portions of the subassemblies 14, 16 are configured to be
in direct thermal contact with the air streams OS, IS as the air
streams flow through the airflow structures ID, 18 along the
respective heat pipe portions. Heat pipe portions of the heat pipe
subassemblies 14, 16 could also be installed in a climate control
system in thermal communication with an air stream flowing through
an airflow structure in other ways without departing from the scope
of the invention. The inside duct ID may also include additional
air moving and/or heat exchanging components such as fans 19 and
cooling coils 21.
[0025] Each of the heat pipe subassemblies 14, 16 comprises a top
header 20, a bottom header 22, and a plurality of heat pipes 24
that extend vertically between the top and bottom headers. The heat
pipes 24 provide fluid communication between the respective top
header 20 and the respective bottom header 22. Other configurations
are also possible without departing from the scope of the
invention. Each of the top and bottom headers 20, 22 can comprise a
manifold having a main passage that is fluidly coupled to each of
the heat pipes 24. The top and bottom headers 20, 22 may be located
inside or outside of the respective airflow structures ID, 18. In
the illustrated embodiment, the headers 20, 22 are located inside
of the respective airflow structures ID, 18. In one or more
embodiments, the top header 20 has a cross-sectional dimension
(i.e., height) of at least 3 inches (7.6 cm). In one or more
embodiments, the cross-sectional dimension of the top header 20 is
greater than 3 inches (7.6 cm). The top header 20 could still have
other dimensions without departing from the scope of the
disclosure.
[0026] The vertical heat pipes 24 individually and collectively
comprise heat pipe portions received in the respective airflow
structure ID, 18. In one or more embodiments, the vertical heat
pipes 24 extend along an entirety of a height of the respective
structure ID, 18 and are spaced apart along a width of the
respective duct. Two or more heat pipe subassemblies can also be
vertically stacked inside the airflow structure ID, 18 in some
embodiments. In certain embodiments, the vertical heat pipes 24
have a height that is greater than about 36 inches (about 91 cm),
such as greater than about 40 inches (about 102 cm), greater than
about 45 inches (about 114 cm), greater than about 50 inches (about
127 cm), greater than about 55 inches (about 140 cm), greater than
about 60 inches (about 152.4 cm), greater than about 65 inches
(about 165 cm), greater than about 70 inches (about 178 cm), about
75 inches (about 191 cm), etc. The heat pipes can also have other
heights in one or more embodiments. In certain embodiments, each
heat pipe 24 can have cross-sectional dimension (i.e., diameter) of
between about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) and about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm). In one
or more embodiments, each heat pipe 24 has a diameter of at least
about 1/4 inches (0.6 inches). In one or more embodiments, each
heat pipe 24 has a diameter of about 1/2 inches (1.3 inches).
Accordingly, the air streams IS, OS can flow through gaps between
the heat pipes 24 as they flow through the respective airflow
structures ID, 18. Referring to FIG. 4, only a single row of
vertical heat pipes 24 is shown in the illustrated embodiment. In
other embodiments, however, a plurality of rows of heat pipes can
be spaced apart in the direction of air flow through the respective
airflow structure ID, 18. In certain embodiments, the vertical heat
pipes in a plurality of rows of heat pipes can be offset from one
another along the width of the duct. Additional rows of vertical
heat pipes can be fluidly coupled to the same headers 20, 22 or to
different headers (e.g., there can be a dedicated header for each
row of heat pipes or for a set of two or more rows of heat pipes).
In one or more embodiments, heat transfer fins (not shown) extend
along the width of each airflow structure ID, 18 at spaced apart
locations along the height of each duct such that the respective
airstream IS, OS can flow through the gaps between the fins.
Suitably, each fin can comprise a thin strip of thermally
conductive material that is thermally and physically connected to
one or more vertical heat pipes 24 in the respective airflow
structure ID, 18 to transfer heat between the respective heat pipes
and the respective air stream IS, OS.
[0027] The heat pipe system 12 is charged with a refrigerant that
is suitable for the temperature range of the climate control system
in which the heat exchanger 10 is installed. Referring again to
FIGS. 3 and 4, the inside heat pipe subassembly 14 is fluidly
connected to the outside heat pipe subassembly 16 such that the
refrigerant can flow through the heat pipe system 12 between the
heat pipe subassemblies. More specifically, the illustrated heat
pipe system 12 comprises a vapor conduit 30 that provides fluid
communication between the top headers 20 of the heat pipe
subassemblies 14, 16 and a liquid conduit 32 that provides fluid
communication between the bottom headers 22 of the heat pipe
subassemblies. The heat pipe system 12 thus defines a continuous
refrigerant flow loop extending from the top header 20 of the
inside heat pipe subassembly 14 in series through vapor conduit 30,
the top header of the outside heat pipe subassembly 16, the heat
pipes 24 of the outside heat pipe subassembly, the bottom header 22
of the outside heat pipe subassembly, the liquid conduit 32, the
bottom header of the inside heat pipe subassembly, the heat pipes
of the inside heat pipe subassembly, and back to the top header of
the inside subassembly. Although the continuous refrigerant flow
loop was described as proceeding in a clockwise direction through
the passaging depicted in FIG. 4, it will be understood that the
refrigerant can also flow in the opposite direction.
[0028] As will be explained in further detail below, the heat pipe
system 12 is configured so that the inside heat pipe subassembly 14
functions as an evaporator (e.g., an evaporator heat pipe
subassembly) that is configured to evaporate liquid refrigerant
while the outside heat pipe subassembly 16 functions as a condenser
(e.g., a condenser heat pipe subassembly) that is configured to
condense refrigerant vapor. As will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art, the heat pipe system 12 is configured to transfer heat
from the warmer of the air streams IS to the cooler of the air
streams OS as the refrigerant in the heat pipe system 12 flows
between the evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14 and the condenser
heat pipe subassembly 16. In instances such as when the heat pipe
system 12 is installed in a data center, heat from the warm air
stream IS is absorbed by evaporation of the refrigerant in the
evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14, thereby cooling the warm air
stream and warming the refrigerant. The warm, evaporated
refrigerant flows through the top header 20 of the evaporator heat
pipe subassembly 14 and through the vapor conduit 30 to the
condenser heat pipe subassembly 16. In the condenser heat pipe
subassembly 16, the cool air stream OS flows along the heat pipes
24 and condenses the warm refrigerant vapor. Condensation of the
refrigerant transfers heat to the cool air stream OS, thereby
warming the air stream and cooling the refrigerant. The cool,
condensed refrigerant flows along the liquid conduit 32 back to the
evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14. This heat recovery cycle can,
in certain embodiments, continue passively in a closed loop. This
occurs in part because of the outside air being cooler than the
inside air within the data center.
[0029] In the illustrated embodiment, the evaporator subassembly 14
is located below the condenser subassembly 16 so that at least a
portion of the vapor conduit 30 and the liquid conduit 32 must each
extend generally vertically or inclined to connect the
subassemblies. Accordingly, in the illustrated heat pipe system 12,
refrigerant flow between the subassemblies is gravity-assisted
(e.g., by orienting the liquid conduit 32 to slope toward the
evaporator subassembly 14). In the illustrated embodiment, the heat
pipe system 12 is free of any valves, pump, or compressors to drive
the refrigerant flow through the heat pipe system. Thus, the heat
pipe system 12 is entirely passive. The larger size of the top
header 20 facilitates passive operation of the system by preventing
pressure drop across the header which could otherwise occur with a
conventional smaller header size. This also produces a more
reliable heat pipe system as there are less components which may be
subject to failure or malfunction over time. However, a pump could
be used in certain embodiments without departing from the scope of
the disclosure.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 5-9, a condenser module is generally
indicated at 40. The condenser module comprises housing 18 that is
configured, in certain embodiments, to sit on a rooftop of a
building structure such as a data center, and at least one
condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 for transferring heat from the
outside airstreams OS to the inside airstream IS. The housing 18 is
generally hollow and provides a frame for the condenser module 40
for mounting the condenser module on the building structure. In the
illustrated embodiment, an outer portion 42 of the housing 18 is
formed generally in the shape of a rectangular prism. The outer
portion 42 is open along its sides to provide airflow access to an
inner portion 44 of the housing 18. The inner portion 44 of the
housing 18 is formed generally in the shape of an upside down
triangular prism. A mesh cover 46 is disposed over opposite open
sides of the inner portion 44 covering the open sides. The inner
portion 44 houses the condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 whereby
the subassemblies are positioned generally at the open sides of the
inner portion. The upside down triangular prism shape of the inner
portion 44 facilitates positioning the condenser heat pipe
subassemblies 16 at an angle which reduces the overall height of
the housing 18 and allows for less material to be used in making
the housing. In the illustrated embodiment, the condenser heat pipe
subassemblies 16 are angled such that the bottom of each
subassembly is located closer to a midline of the housing 18 than
the top of the subassembly. This generally points the condenser
heat pipe subassemblies 16 downward, which along with the
surrounding housing 18, helps to shield the subassemblies from the
outside elements. The inner portion 44 of the housing 18 also
mounts fans 48 on a top of the housing. The fans 48 are operable to
draw the ambient outside air through the condenser module 40 for
heat exchange. For example, the fans 48 may be controlled by a
controller (not shown) to regulate the amount of air that is drawn
into the condenser module 40 to control the amount of heat transfer
that occurs. The fans 48 are received in openings in the top of the
inner portion 44 of the housing 18. In the illustrated embodiment,
there are two fans 48 mounted on the housing 18. However, any
number of fans can be used and the location and arrangement of the
fans can be other than shown without departing from the scope of
the disclosure. The mesh covers 46 provide protection to the
condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 while permitting the outside
air to be drawn into the condenser module 40 and across the
subassemblies. Holes 50 may be provided in the outer portion 42 of
the housing 18 to receive arms of a device (not shown) for lifting
the condenser module 40.
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 2, 4, and 7, there are two condenser heat
pipe subassemblies 16 housed within the housing 18 of the condenser
module 40. The two subassemblies 16 are arranged in parallel with
each other so that the outside air streams OS that contact both
subassemblies 16 will each be at the ambient outside temperature.
Therefore, heat exchange is maximized across both of the
subassemblies 16. In particular, the parallel arrangement provides
increased performance over an arrangement which places condenser
heat pipe subassemblies in series because in a series arrangement
the outside airstream is tempered by the initial heat pipe assembly
reducing the effectiveness of the subsequent heat pipe assemblies
which will receive a progressively more and more tempered
airstream. However, by placing the condenser heat pipe
subassemblies 16 in parallel, neither of the subassemblies receives
tempered air. Thus, the temperature difference is maximized which
increases the heat recovery capability of the system. In the
illustrated embodiment, there are two subassemblies 16 in parallel.
However, there could be any number of heat pipe subassemblies
arranged in parallel in the housing 18 without departing from the
scope of the disclosure.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 2, a heat exchanger 10 is shown
incorporating three condenser modules 40 connected to evaporator
heat pipe assemblies 14 disposed within the interior of a building
structure BS. In the illustrated embodiment, there are two
condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 in each condenser module 40.
Therefore, a first condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 in each
condenser module 40 is connected by liquid and vapor conduits 32,
30 to a top evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14t, and a second
condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 is connected by liquid and vapor
conduits 32, 30 to a bottom evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14b.
The top and bottom evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14t, 14b are
arranged in a stacked configuration and may be disposed within a
duct inside of the building structure BS. In the illustrated
embodiment, each evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14t, 14b includes
three heat pipe sections arranged in series within the duct. Each
heat pipe section is connected to a respective condenser heat pipe
subassembly 16 in one of the condenser modules 40. Therefore, each
heat recovery circuit includes one condenser coil and one
evaporator coil. It will be understood that the evaporator heat
pipe subassemblies 14 could have other configurations without
departing from the scope of the disclosure.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 10, a heat exchanger 10' is shown
including two condenser modules 40 connected to each other in
series and connected to evaporator heat pipe assemblies 14 disposed
within the interior of a building structure BS. In the illustrated
embodiment, there are two condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 in
each condenser module 40. Therefore, a first heat pipe subassembly
16 of a first condenser module 40A is connected to a first heat
pipe subassembly of a second condenser module 40B, and a second
heat pipe subassembly 16 of the first condenser module 40A is
connected to a second heat pipe subassembly 16 of a the second
condenser module 40B. Further, the first condenser heat pipe
subassembly 16 of the second condenser module 40B is connected by
liquid and vapor conduits 32, 30 to a top evaporator heat pipe
subassembly 14t, and the second condenser heat pipe subassembly 16
of the second condenser module 40B is connected by liquid and vapor
conduits to a bottom evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14b. The top
and bottom evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14t, 14b are arranged
in a stacked configuration and may be disposed within a duct in the
inside of the building structure BS. In the illustrated embodiment,
each evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14t, 14b includes three heat
pipe sections arranged in series within the duct. The heat pipe
sections of the top evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14t are
connected to the first condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 in the
second condenser module 40B, and the heat pipe section of the
bottom evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14b are connected to the
second condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 in the second condenser
module 40B. Each of the vapor conduits 30 and liquid conduits 32
have three branch sections 56, 58, respectively, that connect the
vapor and liquid conduits to the three heat pipe sections in the
evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14. Therefore, each heat
recovery circuit includes one condenser coil and three evaporator
coils. To achieve the same overall heat recovery performance as a
similar system where the evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14 does
not have a stacked configuration (such as the arrangement shown in
FIG. 11), the coils of the condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 of
this embodiment may be sized to be twice as long as the condenser
coils used with the non-stacked evaporator coil assembly. It will
be understood that the evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14 could
have other configurations without departing from the scope of the
disclosure. For example, any number of heat pipe sections could be
used in the evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14 used in
connection with the condenser modules 40 in this embodiment. To
this effect, if the evaporator heat pipe subassemblies 14 include
only one heat pipe section then the vapor and liquid conduits 30,
32 will not include branch sections. Similarly, if the evaporator
heat pipe subassemblies 14 include two or more than three heat pipe
sections then the vapor and liquid conduits 30, 32 will have a
corresponding number of branch sections 56, 58 to properly connect
the condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 to the evaporator heat
pipe subassemblies.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 11, a heat exchanger 10'' is shown
including one condenser module 40 connected to an evaporator heat
pipe subassembly 14 disposed within the interior of a building
structure BS. In the illustrated embodiment, there are two
condenser heat pipe subassemblies 16 in the condenser module 40.
Each condenser heat pipe subassembly 16 includes a vapor conduit 30
and a liquid conduit 32. The vapor conduits 30 of the condenser
heat pipe subassemblies 16 are connected to each other, and the
liquid conduits 32 of the subassemblies are connected to each other
so that a single vapor conduit section 60 and a single liquid
conduit section 62 extends between the condenser module 40 and the
evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14 in the building structure BS.
In the illustrated embodiment, the single vapor conduit section 60
and single liquid conduit section 62 each branch into the three
separate vapor and conduit sections 64, 66, respectively, for
supplying fluid to the three heat pipe sections of the evaporator
heat pipe subassembly 14. Therefore, the heat recovery circuit
includes two condenser coil and three evaporator coils. It will be
understood that there could be any number of evaporator heat pipe
sections used in connection with the condenser module 40 in this
embodiment. For example, if the evaporator heat pipe subassembly 14
included only one heat pipe section then the single vapor conduit
section 60 and the single liquid conduit section 62 will connect
directly to the single heat pipe section of the evaporator heat
pipe subassembly.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, a condenser module of another
embodiment is generally indicated at 140. The condenser module 140
is similar to the condenser module 40 and thus like parts are given
the same reference number plus 100. The condenser module 140
operates in substantially the same manner as the condenser module
40 of the first embodiment except as otherwise provided herein. In
particular, the condenser module 140 includes a housing 118
configured to sit on a rooftop of a building structure such as a
data center, and at least one condenser heat pipe subassembly 116
for transferring heat from an outside airstream to an inside
airstream within the building structure. The housing 118 is
generally hollow and provides a frame for the condenser module 140
for mounting the condenser module on the building structure. In the
illustrated embodiment, the housing 18 has a generally rectangular
prism shape. However, the housing 118 could have any shape without
departing from the scope of the disclosure. In the illustrated
embodiment, the housing 118 has openings 143 along three sides to
provide airflow access to an inner portion 144 of the housing 118.
Shutters 146 may be disposed over the openings 143 to control the
amount of airflow that enters the housing 118. The inner portion
144 of the housing 118 houses the condenser heat pipe subassemblies
116 whereby the subassemblies are positioned generally at the
openings 143. In the illustrated embodiment, there are three
condenser heat pipe subassemblies 116 for each of the openings 143
and the subassemblies are oriented generally vertically within the
housing 118. The housing 118 also mounts fans 148 on a top of the
housing. The fans 148 are operable to draw the ambient outside air
through the condenser module 140 for heat exchange. In the
illustrated embodiment, there are two fans 148 mounted on the
housing 118. However, any number of fans can be used and the
location and arrangement of the fans can be other than shown
without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The shutters
146 provide protection to the condenser heat pipe subassemblies 116
while permitting the outside air to be drawn into the condenser
module 40 and across the subassemblies.
[0036] When introducing elements of the present invention or the
preferred embodiment (s) thereof, the articles "a", "an", "the" and
"said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the
elements. The terms "comprising", "including" and "having" are
intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional
elements other than the listed elements.
[0037] In view of the above, it will be seen that the several
objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous
results attained.
[0038] As various changes could be made in the above products and
methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is
intended that all matter contained in the above description shall
be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *