The invention concerns an equalization device, in particular in form of a tank, the housing of which comprises at least in one of its housing walls at least one inlet and one outlet for the filling and discharge respectively of fluid, and which may be filled with the fluid.
In plants of many different kinds in which liquids are circulated or conveyed as part of the system, containers such as tanks are provided as components that may be filled via inlets and discharged via outlets. The document DE 10 2012 000 221 A1, for example, describes tank-like containers with facilities for receiving and discharging liquid, which constitute components of a facility for degassing liquids. Liquid containers, such as tanks, with inlets and outlets may also be used as equalization elements to compensate for volume variations that occur during the operation of plants.
It is the object of the invention to provide an equalization device with a liquid container, such as a tank, that is characterized by particularly advantageous operating characteristics when used for the compensation of volume variations.
According to the invention, said object is met by an equalization device that exhibits the characteristics of claim 1 in its entirety.
According to the characterizing part of claim 1 the invention is distinguished by the fact that at least one equalization body is disposed inside the housing, wherein said equalization body is provided at least partially with an elastically flexible separating wall for delimiting its internal space, which is at least partially in pressure-equalizing connection with the environment by means of a passage through one of the housing walls.
Due to the fact that an equalization body is disposed inside the housing of the invention, wherein an elastically flexible separating wall encloses an internal space that is equal in pressure to the environment, said internal space is available as a flexible equalization space, the volume of which changes when, during operation of the tank, pressure is applied to the separating wall. This provides the advantageous possibility to operate the tank in a closed hydraulic system since the equalization function, which is available through volume changes of the internal space of the elastically flexible separating wall, remains intact even if completely filled. Since the tank can be operated in a closed hydraulic circuit there is no danger of introducing any contaminants from outside the tank into the fluid, nor is there any danger of contaminating the environment by fluid discharged from the tank.
The equalization device according to the invention may advantageously be realized in that the housing forms a closed container for the fluid retained in the housing, with the exception of passages such as for the respective inlet and outlet and the pressure-equalizing connection, wherein said container holds an additional fluid volume, which may for example be caused by an oscillating volume of the fluid and/or a volume increase due to a temperature increase of the fluid stored inside the housing, which at most corresponds to the displacement volume that is formed by the deformation of the separating wall of the respective equalization body in the direction of its internal space.
In particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments the elastically flexible separating wall of the equalization body is provided in form of a flexible accumulator bladder made from elastomeric material, the internal space of which is at least partially filled with a foam material.
The accumulator bladder may advantageously be filled with a foam material that is open-celled, highly porous and elastically flexible.
The arrangement may be implemented with particular advantage in that the accumulator bladder is disposed inside a protective housing to protect the accumulator bladder from pressure pulsations and pressure shocks, wherein said protective housing is provided at least partially with at least one passage for fluid to pass through.
In advantageous exemplary embodiments the flexible accumulator bladder is mounted rigidly, if necessary together with its protective housing, with its upper end, which faces an upper housing wall of the housing, under formation of the passage for a media exchange, in particular an air exchange between the inner volume of the accumulator bladder and the environment, via a mounting bracket to said upper housing wall.
The arrangement is advantageously such that the flexible bladder is spindle-shaped in its uncompressed state and protrudes vertically into the housing.
In exemplary embodiments in which the housing with its housing walls forms a rectangular-shaped storage tank, the flexible accumulator bladder may advantageously be disposed in a corner region of the housing that is at least partially untouched by the flow through the housing. The avoidance of a strong flow reduces not only the mechanical load on the equalization body through flow forces but also the danger of foam formation when the device is in operation.
It may be particularly advantageous to use a polymer polyol for the foam material which, when cured, forms flexible polyurethane (PU) foam, which is crosslinked by means of a crosslinking agent such as di glycol amine.
Particularly advantageous is the use of flexible polyurethane foam for an accumulator bladder that performs as equalization element, wherein said flexible polyurethane foam has, in its finished state, a thermal capacity of 20° C.>1 J/gK, preferably a value between 1.4 J/gK and 1.9 J/gK, at a flow resistance between 1400 and 3800 Ns/m3 as measure for the porosity of the foam material.
The invention will now be described in greater detail by way of an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing.
Shown are in:
The equalization body 14 is provided as elastically flexible separating wall with a flexible accumulator bladder 20 that is provided with a filling 22 that consists of foam material. The filling 22 provided in the equalization device according to the invention is an open-cell foam material that is highly porous and elastically flexible. The filling 22 used in the present example is flexible polyurethane foam. Nevertheless, other highly porous foam materials may also be used. As shown in
To obtain the flexible polyurethane foam, the insertion of the foam filling 22 may be implemented through a method in which the foam components are inserted as a free-flowing blend of polyols, catalysts and a crosslinking agent, such as di glycol amine, via channel 32 in connector 30. After curing of the cross-linked compound, the finished, flexible polyurethane foam, which is advantageously suitable for the equalization body of the equalization device according to the invention, has a thermal capacity of 20° C.>1 J/gK, preferably a value of 1.4 J/gK to 1.9 J/gK, wherein the flow resistance, which is a measure for the porosity of the foam material, is between 1400 and 3800 Ns/m3. As shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2017 006 305.2 | Jul 2017 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2018/067631 | 6/29/2018 | WO | 00 |