U.S. patent number 3,877,244 [Application Number 05/368,756] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-15 for modular dry-air evaporative cooler.
Invention is credited to Leonard J. Di Peri.
United States Patent |
3,877,244 |
Di Peri |
April 15, 1975 |
Modular dry-air evaporative cooler
Abstract
Air conditioning apparatus for the sensible cooling of useable
air by the evaporative process at a cost of operation substantially
lower than that of mechanical refrigeration of the same
capabilities, and advantageously comprised of modular evaporator
and blower units and multiple stages thereof with the use of
substantially permanent inexpensive plastic materials conducive to
the efficient absorption of heat between separate columns of air,
one column subject to the evaporative cooling process with no
energy change, and the other column subject to the sensible cooling
process with a subtraction of energy from the useable air.
Inventors: |
Di Peri; Leonard J.
(Northridge, CA) |
Family
ID: |
23452599 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/368,756 |
Filed: |
June 11, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/314; 62/311;
165/180 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F
5/0007 (20130101); F28D 5/00 (20130101); F28F
13/185 (20130101); F24F 5/0035 (20130101); Y02B
30/54 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24F
5/00 (20060101); F28D 5/00 (20060101); F28d
005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/311,314,316
;165/180 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wye; William J.
Claims
I claim:
1. A dry-air evaporative cooler including: a pair of spaced side
members and a core means having opposite interfaces separating the
space between said members into two angularly related air passages
with wetting means at one interface engaging a primary evaporative
column of air and with the other interface engaging a secondary
sensible cooled column of air with heat transfer between said
opposite interfaces, the remaining two pairs of opposite sides
between said members being open therebetween for said angularly
related movement of said separate columns of air, and both said
separate columns of air being moveable through said two angularly
related passages coextensively between the said spaced members.
2. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the pair of spaced side members are of square configuration and
spaced dimensionally equal to said squareness.
3. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the core means is comprised of a multiplicity of spaced parallel
tubes extending between opposite end headers coextensively between
said pair of spaced side members.
4. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the core means is comprised of a multiplicity of spaced parallel
tubes extending between opposite end headers coextensively between
said spaced members and wherein the wetting means is at the
exterior interface of said tubes.
5. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the core means is comprised of spaced opposite end headers of
resiliently deformible material extending coextensively between
said spaced members in and between which spaced parallel tubes are
supported in friction fit openings.
6. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the core means is comprised of spaced opposite end headers of
elastomeric material extending coextensively between said spaced
members in and between which spaced parallel tubes are supported in
friction fit openings.
7. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the core means is comprised of a multiplicity of spaced parallel
tubes of plastic material extending between opposite end headers
coextensively between said spaced members.
8. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1, wherein
the core means is comprised of a multiplicity of spaced parallel
tubes of plastic material extending between opposite end headers
coextensively between said spaced members, and wherein the wetting
means is gauze wrapping at the exterior interfaces of said
tubes.
9. The dry-air evaporative cooler as set forth in claim 1, wherein
the core means is comprised of opposite end headers of elastomeric
material extending coextensively between said spaced members in and
between which spaced parallel tubes of plastic material are
supported in friction fit openings, and wherein the wetting means
is gauze wrapping at the exterior interfaces of said plastic
tubes.
10. A dry-air evaporative cooler including;
an evaporator module comprised of spaced members and a core means
having opposite interfaces separating the space between said
members into two angularly related air passages with wetting means
at one interface engaging a primary evaporative column of air and
with the other interface engaging a secondary sensible cooled
column of air with heat transfer between said opposite interfaces,
both said separate columns of air being moveable through said two
angularly related passages coextensively between the said spaced
members, and a pair of like blower modules and each comprising
means drawing air through one of said angularly related air
passages coextensively between said members.
11. The dry-air evaporative cooler combined of modules as set forth
in claim 10, wherein the members are of rectangular configuration,
and wherein the remaining two pairs of opposite sides between said
members are open therebetween for said angularly related movement
of said separate columns of air through said pair of like blower
modules respectively.
12. The dry-air evaporative cooler combined of modules as set forth
in claim 10, wherein the members are of squared configuration and
spaced dimensionally equal to said squareness, and wherein the
remaining two pairs of opposite sides between said members are open
therebetween for said angularly related movement of said separate
columns of air through said pair of like blower modules
respectively.
13. The dry-air evaporative cooler combined of modules as set forth
in claim 10, wherein the core means is comprised of a multiplicity
of spaced parallel tubes extending between opposite end headers
coextensively between said spaced members, wherein the members are
of rectangular configuration, and wherein the remaining two pairs
of opposite sides between said members are open therebetween for
said angularly related movement of said separate columns of air
through said pair of like blower modules respectively.
14. The dry-air evaporative cooler combined of modules as set forth
in claim 10, wherein the core means is comprised of a multiplicity
of spaced parallel tubes extending between opposite end headers
coextensively between said spaced members, wherein the members are
of squared configuration and spaced dimensionally equal to said
squareness, and wherein the remaining two pairs of opposite sides
between said members are open therebetween for said angularly
related movement of said separate columns of air through said pair
of like blower modules respectively.
15. A compound dry-air evaporative cooler including; a pair of
evaporator modules and each comprised of a core means having
opposite interfaces establishing two air passages with wetting
means at one interface engaging a primary evaporataive column of
air and with the other interface engaging a secondary sensible
cooled column of air with heat transfer between said opposite
interfaces, both said separate columns of air being moveable by
blower means through said two angularly related passages, and a
diffuser means dividing the secondary sensible cooled column of air
from one evaporator module and delivering separate primary and
secondary columns of air through the respectively complementary
passages therefor of the other evaporator module, thereby effecting
a second stage of sensible cooling with cooled dry evaporative
air.
16. The compound dry-air evaporator cooler as set forth in claim 15
wherein separate blower means moves the separate primary
evaporative columns of air through each of the pair of evaporator
modules respectively.
17. The compound dry-air evaporator cooler as set forth in claim 15
wherein separate blower means moves the secondary sensible cooled
column of air through the pair of evaporator modules.
18. The compound dry-air evaporator cooler as set forth in claim
15, wherein separate blower means moves the secondary sensible
cooled column of air through the pair of evaporator modules, and
wherein separate blower means moves the separate primary
evaporative columns of air through each of the pair of evaporator
modules respectively.
19. The compound dry-air evaporator cooler as set forth in claim 15
wherein the diffuser means comprises a full flow intake from said
one evaporator module and a restrictive outlet into at least one
passage of said other evaporator module.
20. A dry-air evaporator pre-cooler for mechanical refrigeration
means, and including; a core means having opposite interfaces
establishing two air passages with wetting means at one interface
engaging a primary evaporative column of air and with the other
interface engaging a secondary sensible cooled column of air with
heat transfer between said opposite interfaces, blower means moving
the primary evaporative column of air through said passage
therefor, and the mechanical refrigeration means having a condensor
and an air blower means with an intake drawing the secondary
sensible cooled column of air through said condensor from the
passage therefor, whereby said mechanical refrigeration condensor
operates with sensible cooled air at a substantially reduced intake
temperature.
21. The dry-air evaporative pre-cooler as set forth in claim 20
wherein the intake drawing of the secondary sensible cooled column
of air through the pre-cooler passage therefor is directed through
heat absorption means of said mechanical refrigeration means.
22. The dry-air evaporative pre-cooler as set forth in claim 20
wherein the intake drawing of the secondary sensible cooled column
of air through the pre-cooler passage therefor is directed through
sensible cooling means of said mechanical refrigeration means.
23. The dry-air evaporative pre-cooler as set forth in claim 20
wherein the intake drawing of the secondary sensible cooled column
of air through the pre-cooler passage therefor is directed through
both the sensible cooling means and said heat absorption means of
said mechanical refrigeration means.
Description
BACKGROUND
Reference is made to my U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,936 entitled DRY-AIR
EVAPORATIVE COOLER issued Nov. 2, 1965 wherein there is a
separation of air into two columns, one column subject to
evaporation and the other an isolated column of useful air subject
to sensible cooling. The unit construction and materials employed
in the fabrication of said patented cooler has limited use and is
not the least costly. As to use, said patented cooler and others of
the prior art are each of a determined capacity and require
specified design for specific installations. And as to materials of
construction, they have been fabricated of metals, reference being
made to the heat transfer tubes which are presumably metallic for
efficient heat transfer. However, as will be hereinafter disclosed,
the presumptive use of metals of high thermal conductivity is not
necessarily required in heat transfer means of the type under
consideration; and on the contrary it has been discovered that
efficient evaporative modules with sensible air passages are
advantageously fabricated of plastic materials which have lower
thermal conductivity as compared, for instance, with aluminum or
copper. Therefore and in accordance with this invention, I provide
modular components for the construction of air cooler installations
to specification as circumstances require, and of durable
inexpensive materials. With the present invention, there is economy
in both installation and operation, while satisfying the
temperature drop requirements as desired.
The construction and installation of prior art evaporate coolers
has been made according to specification requirements, with the
cooling capacity or cubic foot per minute capacity in mind. Also,
with ordinary simple evaporative units (not compound) the
temperature drop is not entirely predictable and not altogether
controllable. On the contrary, a wide range of predicted
controllability is aforded with mechanical refrigeration, but at
great expense both in high installation costs and high operation
costs. In fact, there is such a vast difference in the normal
capabilities of evaporative cooling as compared with mechanical
refrigeration cooling, that evaporative cooling is seldom if ever
considered for use where precisely controlled high temperature drop
with absolute humidity is a requirement. However, with the present
invention, predictably high temperature drop is controlled in a
dry-air evaporative cooler, utilizing separated columns of
evaporative cooled air and sensible cooled air passing separately
through modular cores with cooling compounded by utilizing multiple
stages. As will be described, a portion of the sensibly cooled air
from one state is directed through the evaporative chamber of
another stage that sensibly cools the remaining portion of air from
said one stage, with an efficient and predictable temperature drop
in each instance. The number of stages employed is determinative of
the total temperature drop, as circumstances require.
The economical fabrication of heat exchanger cores has been a
problem in the design of condensers and the like, and where high
pressures are employed the tubes extending through fluid handling
chambers must be pressure sealed at opposite headers. However,
evaporative coolers (not so with mechanical refrigerators) deal
with lower pressures wherein it is feasible to employ the press
fitting together of plastic and/or elastomeric parts and elements.
It is to this end, therefore, that it is an object of this
invention to employ a core structure fabricated of inexpensive
plastic materials that are conducive to cleanliness and which are
not adversely restrictive to the efficient heat transfer.
It is also an object of this invention to provide compatible
evaporator and blower modules that are adapted to be cooperatively
combined for the movement of separated columns of evaporative and
sensible cooled air. Firstly, it is an evaporative module that is
provided with a heat transfer core through which the two columns of
air pass in directions relative or normal to each other. Secondly,
it is a blower module that is provided with air pump means which
transports the air on a single axis therefrom. A characteristic
feature of the modules is their cubic configuration, preferably
square, and the total use of space within the confines of the side
walls thereof.
It is still another object of this invention to provide the
efficient heat transfer between two columns of air and especially
between a column of evaporatively cooled air and a column of
sensibly cooled air. It is the unobvious effect of efficient heat
absorption from the evaporative process when employing tubes of low
heat transfer capability through which sensibly cooled air is
passed. Since the most restrictive heat transfer rate is that into
the sensibly cooled air within the tube, the less restrictive heat
transfer rates through the tube core and between the wetted
exterior of the tubes and evaporative air are unobviously
non-restrictive. Therefore, it is in fact feasible to employ
inexpensive plastic tubes of relatively low thermal conductivity as
the heat exchange tubes of the cores as they are hereinafter
described.
DRAWINGS
The various objects and features of this invention will be fully
understood from the following detailed description of the typical
preferred form and application thereof, throughout which
description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical arrangement of components
comprising the cooperative combination of evaporator and blower
modules joined by a diffuser. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one
of the evaporative modules shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective
view of one of the blower modules shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an
exploded diagram of the modules arranged as shown in FIG. 1 and
separated in order to illustrate their individuality. FIG. 5 is an
elevational sectional view of the evaporator module taken as
indicated by line 5--5 on FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of
one of the tubes which characterizes the invention. FIG. 7 is an
enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by line 7--7
on FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an elevational sectional view of the blower
module taken as indicated by line 8--8 on FIG. 3, and FIG. 9 is a
perspective view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrates a second
embodiment of the invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The phenomenon of "evaporative" cooling is a well known effect, in
which process decrease in energy as a result of air temperature
decrease is regained in the form of moisture; the net result being
no change in energy. However, in a "sensible" cooling process there
is a change in energy (Enthalpy) by not admitting moisture; the net
result being a subtraction of energy from the air. The obvious
disadvantage of ordinary evaporative cooling is the addition of
moisture to the useful air, whereas the advantage of sensible
cooling is that there is no change in absolute humidity during the
cooling process of useful air. Reference is made to mechanical
refrigeration means normally employed in sensible cooling
processes, and all of which is to be compared with the dry-air
evaporative cooler which is the subject of said U.S. Pat. No.
3,214,936 where there is a separation of air into refrigerated air
subject to evaporation of water and useful air in which there is no
humidity change, and wherein conventional construction and
materials are employed.
In accordance with the present invention it is the dry-air
evaporative principle that is employed, but with improvements
relating to efficiency coupled with economy, and to universal
applicability with controlled output of useful air. Efficiency and
economy is realized by fabrication of inexpensive but effective
materials, and controlled applicability is realized by the
cooperation of modules combined as may be required. It is the
volume of air to be processed which varies in requirement with each
installation and which is adapted to by the concept herein
disclosed.
Reference is made to Disclosure Document No. 014607, filed Nov. 6,
1972, and to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings herein, wherein heat
transfer tubes 10 of plastic material are advantageously employed.
It is the unobvious utility of material having low thermal
conductivity as related to that of the evaporative medium such as
water, which nevertheless produces this efficient and practical
sensible cooling system employing the evaporative cooling principle
in the primary cooling process.
The heat transfer tube 10 is a plastic evaporative cooler element
comprising a heat conductive wall 11, a material such as
polyvinylchloride known as PVC, with one side thereof in contact
with the evaporative medium, such as water, and with the other side
thereof in contact with the fluid to be cooled, such as the
sensible cooled useful air. It is the characteristic of this
invention that two columns of fluid are separated by the heat
conductive wall 11 having one side to receive the evaporative
medium and give up heat and the other side to receive or take up
heat. The heat conductive wall can be a plate or the like, in lieu
of a tube, and the evaporative outside is surfaced as for example
with gauze 12 as best illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawings. The
said other inside has interfacial contact with the air from which
heat is sensibly absorbed. It has been discovered that the use of
highly conductive and expensive materials in the fabrication of the
heat transfer wall 11 is quite unnecessary. In other words, the use
of metals such as copper and aluminum in no way enhances the
operation of the heat exchanger wall made thereof when employed in
an evaporative cooler of the type under consideration where the
heat conductivity differential at the water to material interface
is roughly a ratio of 450 to 1. Consider therefore, the
following:
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ELEMENTS
______________________________________ Aluminum 135.000 BTU/HR/Sq
Ft/.degree.F/Ft Water .330 " Air .160 " Water Vapor .137 "
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) .100 "
______________________________________
Operation of a conventional cooler with all aluminum tubing wrapped
with gauze moistened with water; will produce a 10.degree. to
15.degree. F. temperature drop in a 86.degree. day, with a
temperature drop of useful air of 0.4 to 0.5 of the difference
between the inlet and outlet dry-bulb temperatures. Operation of
the same cooler with plastic tube made according to this invention
of 3/4 inch 1/16 inch wall polyvinylchloride (PVC) irrigation pipe
also wrapped with gauze and moistened with water produced the same
10.degree. to 15.degree. temperature drop and same 0.4 to 0.5
difference between the inlet and outlet dry-bulb temperatures.
Aluminum tubing is costly, while polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic
tube is presently four times less expensive. The comparison with
copper tubing is far more favorable. Consequently, the use of pipe
or tubing made of polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic, now readily
available, presents new dimensions to the cost structure and
potential marketability or usefulness for this plastic fabrication
concept.
By way of analogy the following explains the phenomenon employed to
advantage herein: Consider the heat flow rate from air inside of a
tube, through the tube and then through a film of water and to the
evaporative water-air interface. This is roughly analogous to a
series of flow controlling valves; for example, wherein the first
valve is a quarter inch valve, the second is a ten inch valve and
the third is a one inch valve. The flow through the quarter inch
valve is at a maximum while the flow through the other two valves
hardly contributes to the resistance. With this analogy in mind,
substitute valves of thermal conductivity for the flow resistance
of each valve given as an example above and it can be readily
concluded that the choke in the heat transfer rate is from the air
inside of the tube, and this is the controlling factor. Therefore,
a superior heat conductivity of the tube is ridiculous and
unnecessary.
Referring now to the modules as they are illustrated individually
in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is a dry-air evaporative
module X and a blower module Y, the two of which are employed as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 9; in FIG. 1 as components of a multi-stage
cooler, and in FIG. 9 as components of a pre-cooler for a
mechanical refrigeration unit R. The modules X and Y are adapted to
be joined one to the other for flow of air therethrough, and they
are adapted to be coupled together by a plenum unit Z. The modules
X and Y are three dimensional squares, and the plenum unit Z is
dimensioned accordingly to receive and transport air between the
modules coextensively of the cross sections thereof and from the
open sides and/or open ends. Thus, the modules X and Y are adapted
to be placed and/or stacked side by side, end to end, and top to
bottom, dependent upon the augmentation required in order to
achieve the air delivery capacity desired.
The evaporator module X involves a dry-air evaporative cooler C
that fully occupies the volumetric space between top and bottom
panels 15 and 16, and in practice there are corner legs 17 that
join the panels together in spaced parallel planes for receiving
and capturing the core C in working position therebetween. As best
illustrated in FIG. 5, the dry-air evaporative cooler core C
involves a multiplicity of the tubes 10 hereinabove described that
extend between headers 18 in which they are supportably sealed. The
headers 18 are identical panels perforated with openings 19 into
which the opposite end portion 20 of the tubes 10 are pressed. The
headers 18 are square panels of deformible material having top,
bottom and opposite side edges compressed within the confines of
the panels 15 and 16 and opposite side legs 17 when the core is
positioned. Accordingly, the core headers are made of a resiliently
compressible plastic or elastomeric material through which the
tubes 10 frictionally project with the compression fit assured by
the compressed confinement within the panels and legs. In practice,
the on-center spacing of tubes 10, vertically as well as
horizontally, is approximately two diameters; in which case there
is substantial diagonal clearance between tubes for the exterior
evaporative process when made damp by the application of water
thereover. Characteristically therefore, the dry-air evaporator
module X comprises closed top and bottom panels, and open sides and
open ends through which separate columns of air are free to be
transported. The primary cooling process involves evaporative
cooling over the exterior of the tubes 10 by air flowing
transversely over said tubes; and the secondary cooling process
involves sensible cooling within the interior of the tubes 10 by
air flowing longitudinally through said tubes.
Liquid distributing means B is provided to either wet the air or to
wet the tubes and which can vary as circumstances require. As
shown, the means B involves a liquid carrying conduit 21 disposed
above each vertical arrangement of tubes 10. The conduits 21 are
joined by a manifold 22 and they are perforated so as to discharge
downwardly onto the vertical arrangements of tubes. As shown, there
is a motor driven pump 23 that recirculates water from a pan or
sump 24 formed of the bottom panel 16, and there is a water level
controlled water supply means L to maintain water at the desired
level in said pan. With this arrangement the exterior of the
evaporative tubes 10 are kept constantly wetted.
The blower module Y involves an air pump means P of any suitable
type and preferably a centrifugal fan comprising a blower scroll 25
with opposite end openings 26 between which a barrel type blower
wheel 27 is disposed on a transverse horizontal shaft 28 about
which the rotor of a drive motor 29 driveably revolves said wheel.
It is to be understod that various blower and drive arrangements
can be employed, including axial flow of fans; any of which will
transport air longitudinally through the blower module Y which
forms an elongate tunnel having top and bottom panels 31 and 32 and
opposite side panels 33 also. In practice, when employing a
centrifugal blower having a scroll 25, the intake end 34 of the
module is entirely open into the interior chamber thereof, while
the discharge opening 35 of the scroll is substantially smaller in
cross section than the outlet end 36 of the module; in which case a
divergent passage member 37 couples said discharge opening with
said outlet end. Thus, the air delivered by the blower module Y is
blown from the entire cross sectional area thereof defined by the
panels 31, 32 and 33.
The evaporator module X is by itself ineffective to deliver useful
air and requires air transport means for relative transverse and
longitudinal air flow therethrough. The advantage of the modular
construction is for adaption to specifications relating to
refrigeration or cooling capacity, all of which is readily complied
with by employing multiple combinations of modules X and Y, or a
substitute air transport means for module Y as shown as a complete
mechanical refrigeration unit R in FIG. 9. In any case, separate
columns of evaporative cooled air and sensibly cooled useable air
are transported under low pressures through the modules X at right
angles to each other; primary air transversely therethrough for
evaporative cooling over the exterior of tubes 10, and secondary
air longitudinally therethrough for sensible cooling within the
interior of said tubes. In each instance the blower modules Y are
to be used in transporting the air as clearly shown in FIG. 1.
Referring now to the plenum unit Z, separation of sensibly cooled
air from the delivery end of an evaporator module X into two
columns of air is provided for. This plenum unit can vary widely in
design and configuration and requires in its broadest sense an
inlet 40 and a pair of outlets 41 and 42. The plenum structure is
shown as involving top and bottom panels 43 and 44 coplanar with
the top and bottom panels of modules X and Y to establish
imperforate continuations thereof, and imperforate side panels 45
that extend continuously between the side panels of said modules.
In practice, the plenum is extended laterally beyond and
coextensively over the intake side of the module X into which it
delivers said proportion of sensibly cooled air. The function of
inlet 40 is to receive the total sensibly cooled air delivered by
an evaporator module X; the function of outlet 41 is to deliver a
determined portion of said total sensibly cooled air into a second
stage evaporator module X for subsequent sensible cooling; and the
function of outlet 42 is to deliver a determined portion of said
total sensibly cooled air into said second stage evaporator module
X for subsequent evaporative cooling. The divisible portions of air
delivered to outlets 41 and 42 can vary as circumstances require
dependent upon volume and temperature drop requirements in each
instance. For example, a plenum unit Z providing for substantially
equal distribution is shown in FIG. 1 wherein the cross sectional
area of outlet 42 represented by the dotted lines is 50 percent of
the full cross sectional area of outlet 41 represented by dotted
lines. Consequently, 50 percent of the total flow of sensibly
cooled air represented by arrow a is diverted and discharged as
evaporatively cooled air as represented by the arrow b. The primary
air that is evaporatively cooled moves transversely through the
modules X in each instance, and as represented by the arrow c is
the first stage of cooling.
Referring now to compound cooler combinations shown as a typical
embodiment in FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is a separate blower
module Y provided for each individual cooling process represented
by the arrows a, b and c. As shown, the blower modules Y are
suction blowers which draw the proportionate columns of air as
described, the sensibly cooled useful air being delivered from a
blower module Y along arrow a, the divisible evaporative air being
delivered from a blower module Y along arrow b, and the solely
evaporative air being delivered from a blower module Y along arrow
c. The evaporatively cooled air is discharged to atmosphere in each
instance. It will be seen that the staging or compounding of
evaporative refrigeration utilizing sensibly cooled air can be
repeated in order to achieve the temperature drop required in the
sensibly cooled useful air delivered along the arrow a.
Referring now to FIG. 9 of the drawings, the mechanical
refrigeration unit R is represented as a complete and operable
commercially available unit, commonly designated as an "air
conditioner." Such a unit R is normally electrically powered and
involves a compressor, an expansion means and evaporator for heat
absorption, and a condensor means for liquifying the refrigerant
for recycling into the compressor etc. Unit R provides for the air
transport required in the movement of sensibly cooled air through
the tubes 10 of evaporator module X, which then cooperatively
combines with the unit R as a pre-cooler. Again however, the blower
module Y is employed to transport transverse evaporatively cooled
air over the tubes 10. This combination provides for the economic
feasibility of pre-cooling air conditioning condensors, so that the
condensor performs as though it were exposed to a lower ambient
temperature day. For example, a 100.degree. day would be reduced to
an 85.degree. day, and this allows the condensor to reject 30
percent to 50 percent more heat. Collectively, this innovation is
proposed for incorporation throughout metrorpolitian areas, in
which case the power stations would not see the effects of heat
storm peak air conditioning demands, thus providing energy
conservation calculated to reduce the temperature of make up air at
the rate of about 1/10th the horse power presently required by
mechanical refrigeration. This saving in electrical power would
obviate the "brown and black out" problems. The electrical energy
capacity previously held in reserve for heat storm periods can then
be used productively for other purposes, new growth requirements,
etc.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that a most practical and
yet less expensive cooling is provided in which the evaporative
medium is separated from the fluid being cooled, and that this
process and apparatus made in accordance therewith is useful for
purposes other than the cooling of air. Further, energy costs for
lowering air temperature makes feasible the pre-cooling of air
conditioning condensors and the like, and to the end that there is
a substantial conservation of energy. The panels of the evaporative
module X are imperforate for the single height combinations shown,
it being understood that multi-unit height combinations of modules
X are made with open frame-like panel members 15 and/or 16; in this
way establishing a single air column c-b subject to a blower means.
Unobviously, there is an energy change in the primary evaporatively
cooled air c-b, due to the absorption of heat from the sensible
cooled air; and it is this semi-cooled air which is discharged
separately and isolated from the sensibly cooled useful air.
Having described only typical preferred forms and applications of
my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the
specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself
any modifications or variations that may appear to those skilled in
the art:
* * * * *