Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6637504
-
Patent Number
6,637,504
-
Date Filed
Monday, May 13, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 28, 200320 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Bennett; Henry
- Duong; Tho V
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 165 95
- 165 119
- 165 303
- 210 300
- 210 301
- 210 308
- 210 312
- 210 313
- 210 181
- 210 182
- 210 167
- 210 4161
- 210 196
- 210 1951
-
International Classifications
- F28F1900
- C02F102
- C02F900
- B01D2100
- B01D2900
-
Abstract
An installation for recovering debris stopped by a filter at the inlet of a heat exchanger: a washing water manifold (36) at the outlet of the filter (11) feeds a separator (37) provided with an outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris to which is connected a hydro-ejector (50) which is connected to the outlet pipe (16) of the exchanger (19).
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an installation for recovering debris stopped by a filter at the inlet of a heat exchanger, for example a condenser.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, an installation for recovering debris stopped by a filter at the input of a heat exchanger is characterized in that a washing water manifold at the outlet of the filter feeds a separator provided with an outlet pipe for water free of debris to which is connected an ejector nozzle which is connected to the outlet pipe of the exchanger.
The separator is advantageously substantially vertical and includes a central strainer passing through the body of the separator which has in its bottom portion an axial outlet controlled by a valve.
The outlet pipe for water free of debris preferably extends radially relative to the body of the separator.
The hydro-ejector advantageously includes an inlet elbow through whose external wall passes an ejector nozzle whose external end is connected to the outlet of a pump and whose internal end is frustoconical with the smaller base of the frustum of the cone at the same end as the ejector nozzle; the smaller base of the frustum of the cone is in the transverse plane at which a convergent section and a divergent section join together and said divergent section is extended by a pipe connected to the outlet pipe of the exchanger; the aspiration side of the pump is connected to said pipe.
The outlet pipe for water free of debris and the separator are preferably connected by pipework.
The outlet pipe for water free of debris advantageously includes a check valve.
The body of the separator preferably includes a vent.
In a preferred embodiment the filter includes a filter member in the general form of a wheel extending transversely in the body of the filter and adapted to rotate about the axis thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
To explain the subject matter of the invention, an embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings is described next by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1
is a view in section showing a filter disposed on the inlet pipe of a heat exchanger;
FIG. 2
is a diagram showing an installation according to the invention; and
FIG. 3
is an enlarged view of the hydro-ejector from FIG.
2
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a filter
11
is inserted into an inlet pipe
10
, between successive upstream and downstream sections
10
A,
10
B thereof.
The filter
11
includes, in combination, in a filter body
12
, a filter member
13
, which has the general shape of a wheel, extends transversely in said filter body
12
and is adapted to rotate about the axis thereof and, disposed on the upstream side of said filter member
13
, an aspiration member
14
, which extends along a radius of the filter member
13
and to which an outlet pipe
15
is connected.
In practice, the filter body
12
advantageously takes the general form of a simple cylindrical shell whose diameter D
1
is much larger than that D
2
of the pipe
10
to which it is to be fitted, so that the diameter D
3
of the filter member
13
is at least slightly greater than the latter.
The shell constituting the filter body
12
in this way is usually provided at its ends with flanges
17
A,
17
B, which are welded to it, for example, and by means of which it can be fastened, for example by means of nuts and bolts, to flanges
18
A,
18
B provided in a similar manner at the ends of the sections
10
A,
10
B of the pipe
10
.
The filter member
13
projects cantilever-fashion into the filter body
12
and is in practice disposed at the end of a shaft
20
rotatably mounted in a hub
21
fastened to the filter body
12
.
In practice, the filter member
13
has a peripheral rim
22
which is internally connected to the shaft
20
by spokes
23
and whose outside, by virtue of a rack
25
and through an opening
26
in the filter body
12
, meshes with a drive wheel
27
disposed outside the filter body
12
and protected by a casing
28
.
To prevent the flow to be treated, which travels from left to right in the embodiment shown, as shown by the arrows F
1
in
FIG. 1
, short circuiting the filter member
13
, a seal is provided between the filter body
12
and the rim
22
of the filter member
13
; the seal is formed by an angle section
30
whose flange transverse to the overall axis is attached to the filter body
12
by means of an upstanding rim
31
thereon and directed radially towards said axis and whose other flange, which is elongate in the axial direction, is inserted in the rim
22
of the filter member
13
, in the vicinity of the latter.
Of course, the resulting seal is interrupted locally at the location of the aspiration member
14
, and the required seal at this location is provided by a lip
32
carried by the aspiration member
14
.
The filter member
13
has a generally disc-shaped transverse filter element
35
between its rim
22
and its shaft
20
, in practice on the downstream side of its spokes
23
.
In practice, the spokes
23
of the filter member
13
divide the internal volume of its rim
22
into angular sectors.
Thus the internal volume of the rim
22
is transversely divided into a plurality of compartments.
Conjointly, the filter element
35
is itself divided into as many filter panels as there are compartments inside the rim
22
, with one filter panel for each compartment.
The shaft
20
of the resulting filter member
13
preferably has a suitable hydrodynamic profile on the downstream side and is inserted on the upstream side into the hub
21
that carries it, with appropriate bearings between it and the hub, and appropriately keyed to the hub
21
in the axial direction.
An appropriately hydrodynamically profiled fairing
45
is attached to the hub
21
on the upstream side.
To support it, the hub
21
is connected to the shell constituting the filter body
1
, on the one hand, by radial arms that extend at 120° in pairs and, on the other hand, by a box section which extends at 120° to the previously mentioned arms, constitutes an arm for the hub
21
, and forms the aspiration member
14
.
The box section forming the aspiration member
14
extends substantially vertically downward, and in elevation it has a triangular contour, occupying an angular sector of the filter member
13
.
At its base, i.e. substantially where it passes through the shell constituting the filter body
12
, the box section is connected to the associated evacuation pipe
15
.
The evacuation pipe
15
extends substantially radially and has a flange at its end, in the usual way, for connecting it by means of a valve
49
and a pipe to aspiration means specified below.
On the same side as the filter member
13
, the box section constituting the aspiration member
14
is substantially flush with the rim
22
and the spokes
23
of the filter member
13
, and its corresponding wall includes an opening
48
; the opening
48
has a globally quadrangular contour and is elongate in the manner of a buttonhole substantially along a radius of the filter member
13
.
In use, the filter member
13
is normally stationary and the valve
49
controlling the evacuation pipe
15
is closed.
The debris, detritus or items conveyed by the treated flow are stopped by the filter element
35
of the filter member
13
, to be more precise by its solid portions.
As and when they are stopped, they are stored in the compartments
29
provided for this purpose in the filter member
13
.
From time to time, or whenever necessary, the filter member
13
is driven in rotation by the drive wheel
27
and at the same time the valve
49
controlling the evacuation pipe
15
is opened, as a result of which the box section constituting the aspiration member
14
, which is then connected to the aspiration means, is subjected to an outwardly aspirated flow, as symbolized by the arrow F
3
in
FIG. 1
, and the portions of the filter element
35
of the filter member
13
that the aspiration member
14
successively passes are subjected to contraflow circulation as they pass the opening
48
therein, as symbolized by arrows F
4
in FIG.
1
.
As a general rule, this contraflow circulation through the filter element
35
detaches and carries off to a drain debris, detritus or items which, previously stopped by the filter element
35
, have until then been stored in the various compartments of the filter member
13
.
The filter element
35
is therefore cleaned systematically, one portion at a time.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, it can be seen that the pipe
10
is the water inlet pipe of the condenser
19
, connected to its inlet manifold
24
; the water then passes through the tubes
34
and from the outlet manifold
33
to the outlet pipe
16
.
As a general rule, the filter
11
is contraflow washed by the aspiration created by a siphon connected to the outlet pipe
16
; in this case the washing water is entrained by the head loss of the condenser, which is low, or even very low, e.g. a few meters head of water; because of this, the debris is transported to the downstream side of the condenser and discharged to the natural environment, if the condenser cooling circuit is an open circuit, or recycled, if the condenser cooling circuit is a closed circuit; discharge to the natural environment in the case of open circuit cooling is less and less tolerated; in the case of closed circuit cooling the concentration of debris increases and eventually blocks the filters.
The invention provides for periodic interception and discharging of the debris by means of a static system to compensate the excess head loss through the installation.
Referring to the
FIG. 2
diagram, it can be seen that a washing water manifold
36
at the outlet of the valve
49
directs the washing water into a static debris separator
37
; the separator
37
is substantially vertical and includes a central perforated strainer
46
passing through the body of the separator
37
and of cylindrical shape, for example; the lower portion of the body of the separator
37
includes an axial outlet
47
which is therefore in line with the interior of the strainer
46
, discharges to the open air and is controlled by a valve
40
.
Under the outlet
47
is a container
38
for collecting debris, for example a perforated basket.
The lower portion of the separator body
37
is provided with a radial washing water outlet pipe
39
connected to an ejector nozzle
50
; the water leaving the pipe
39
is free of debris, of course.
The hydro ejector nozzle
50
, which can be seen better in
FIG. 3
, has an inlet elbow
52
through whose external wall passes an ejector nozzle
51
whose external end is connected to the outlet of a pump
42
and whose internal end is frustoconical, the smaller base of the frustum of the cone being at the end of the ejector nozzle; the smaller base is in the transverse plane at which a convergent section
53
and a divergent section
54
join together; the divergent section
54
is extended into a pipe
55
whose diameter is equal to that of the inlet of the elbow
52
connected to the outlet pipe
39
for water free of debris; the pipe
55
is connected to the outlet pipe
16
of the condenser
19
.
The aspiration side of the pump
42
is connected to the pipe
55
.
The separator
37
and the outlet pipe
39
for water free of debris are connected to the separator
37
by pipework
41
to supply it with recycled water.
The strainer
46
is long and the radial speed component is therefore small compared to the axial component: thus debris is pushed toward the back of the strainer, which is therefore self-cleaning.
There is a vent
44
at the top of the separator
37
.
The installation for recovering debris can of course be shared by several filters.
The filter concerned is contraflow washed by opening its valve
49
and starting rotation of the filter.
The pump
42
is switched on; the ejector nozzle
51
increases the flow of washing water from which the debris has been removed by the separator
37
.
When washing is finished, the pump
42
and the rotation of the filter are stopped and the valve
49
is closed.
The separator
37
is emptied by opening the vent
44
and the evacuation valve
40
at the bottom of the body of the separator
37
; a check valve
56
on the outlet pipe
39
isolates the separator
37
from the downstream water pressure; the water on the outside of the strainer
46
contraflow washes the strainer when the separator
37
is emptied; the water and debris drop into the basket
38
, in which the debris is drained.
When the separator
37
is empty, the evacuation valve
40
is closed and the separator
37
is refilled via the pipework
41
; the vent
44
is closed when the separator is full.
The installation is then ready for a new cycle.
Of course, if the capacity of the separator
37
is high, given the quantity of debris to be treated, the operation of discharging the debris need not be done each time that the filters are washed.
The simplicity of the installation is evident.
The pump
42
is a constant flowrate pump and runs only during the washing operation.
Claims
- 1. An installation for recovering debris stopped by a filter at the inlet of a heat exchanger, characterized in that a washing water manifold (36) at the outlet of the filter (11) feeds a separator (37) provided with an outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris to which is connected hydro-ejector nozzle (50) which is connected to the outlet pipe (16) of the exchanger (19).
- 2. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the separator (37) is substantially vertical and includes a central strainer (46) passing through the body of the separator (37) which has in its bottom portion an axial outlet (47) controlled by a valve (40).
- 3. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris extends radially relative to the body of the separator (37).
- 4. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the hydro-ejector (50) includes an inlet elbow (52) through whose external wall passes an ejector nozzle (51) whose external end is connected to the outlet of a pump (42) and whose internal end is frustoconical with the smaller base of the frustum of the cone at the same end as the ejector nozzle (51).
- 5. An installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the smaller base of the frustum of the cone is in the transverse plane at which a convergent section (53) and a divergent section (54) join together and said divergent section (54) is extended by a pipe (55) connected to the outlet pipe (16) of the exchanger (19).
- 6. An installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the aspiration side of the pump (42) is connected to said pipe (55).
- 7. An installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris and the body of the separator (37) are connected by pipework (41).
- 8. An installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris includes a check valve (56).
- 9. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the body of the separator (37) includes a vent (44).
- 10. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the filter (11) includes a filter member (13) in the general form of a wheel extending transversely in the body of the filter and adapted to rotate about the axis thereof.
- 11. An installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris and the body of the separator (37) are connected by pipework (41).
- 12. An installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the outlet pipe (39) for water free of debris extends radially relative to the body of the separator (37).
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
01 06254 |
May 2001 |
FR |
|
US Referenced Citations (7)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
26 13 835 |
Oct 1976 |
DE |
3428428 |
Feb 1985 |
DE |
1 098 158 |
May 2001 |
EP |
358175795 |
Oct 1983 |
JP |