AU2008261181A1

AU2008261181A1 - A containerised modular cooling tower assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2008261181A1
Application number: AU2008261181A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Alan Robert Loudon
Original assignee: Aggreko Generator Rentals Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Aggreko Generator Rentals Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-12-20
Filing date: 2008-12-22
Publication date: 2009-07-09

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "A CONTAINERISED MODULAR COOLING TOWER ASSEMBLY" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 TITLE: A CONTAINERISED MODULAR COOLING TOWER ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The apparatus of the present invention relates to cooling 5 towers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high capacity containerized modular cooling tower assembly capable of being shipped and transported by road, sea, air and rail and assembled quickly for temporary and permanent use. 10 2. General Background One use for cooling towers is to transfer heat from a liquid to the air. In essence, the liquid is cooled. Typically, the liquid has acquired heat in an industrial process or in an air conditioning or other commercial operation, and heat is required to be removed from the liquid so it can re 15 enter the process to again absorb heat. It is well known in the field that a conventional cooling tower comprises a layer of fill wherein a quantity of the water to be cooled is pumped in to be distributed over the fill so that air which is drawn from below and through the fill and is drawn out of the top of the tower serves to cool the water. There are many forms of these machines 20 on the market that are used and the systems can be categorized as Induced Draft, Forced Draft or Cross Flow Cooling Towers. Cooling Towers are available in all sizes and many of these units are constructed on site and installed as permanent fixtures. A number of patents deal with these technologies and some of these are as follows: US Patent No. 3,917,764 25 issued to Phelps, relates to a cooling tower with the film fill assembly being on an inclined principal plane rather than the horizontal plane in order to effectuate cooling, U.S. Patent No. 4,048,265 issued to Fordyce, relates to an apparatus for de-icing evaporative water cooling towers and permitting selective delivery of hot water from the upper distribution basin to the outer 30 margin of the tower for de-icing of the fill structure in order to maintain adequate air flow therethrough, U.S. Patent No. 4,386,946 issued to Wurz, the water cooling tower includes a cooling means and a suction fan further 2 including a water catching channel around the wall of the air outlet passage at the bottom of the channel to collect water separated lot and flowing along the air outlet passage channel, U.S. Patent No. 3,764,121 issued to Fordyce, entitled teaches a type of hyperbolic cooling tower having a fill assembly 5 structure between concrete hot water distribution and cold water basins n the tower shell adjacent the air inlet of the shell. U.S. Patent 4,781,869 Wiltz deals with a modular cooling tower system that utilizes a type of cooling tower that allows for the use of a greater quantity of water into the tower by introducing two layers of fill in the tower. 10 U.S. Patent No. 4,913,710 Reverdv assigned to the Baltimore Aircoil Company also deals with a modular system that describe a method and apparatus whereby a modular cooling tower assembly is provided that comprises at least one cooling tower modular having extendible legs that can be assembled together and comprise a common collection basin in which the 15 extended legs of the modules are standing. One problem with these cooling towers is the assembly time required to bring the unit into operation which necessitates specialized labour, and complex assembly. Another problem is that once these towers are assembled on site they are difficult to relocate as they need to be 20 disassembled to be repositioned. A further problem for large scale operation is the physical size of the units whereby shipping and transport requires the use of abnormal road transportation loads such as escorted vehicles. As well, when they need to be stored in the case of their use for rental purposes, a series of these units would take up a large and unnecessary 25 area of space. Also, the general structure of cooling towers as described in the prior art are flimsy with inherent lay down problems and they are not conductive to be located on a regular basis. As well site assembled units are utilized for long periods of time and require a less efficient type of fill to 30 reduce the necessity of cleaning. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a 3 high efficiency cooling tower modular in a containerized form that eliminates labour and assembly input on site and a method for transporting and operating quickly and effectively. A preferred object of the present invention is to provide a 5 modular cooling tower assembly where each cooling tower modular includes self supporting frames, base and lifting and locking lugs to make the delivery, installation and movement of such modules as quickly and efficiently as is possible. Another preferred object of the proposed invention is to provide 10 the smallest foot print and height per kilowatt of heat rejection. Another preferred object of the invention is to provide for a cooling tower assembly that is strong, robust and suitable for temporary use and can be provided by rental companies. Another preferred object of the invention is to provide 15 equipment which can be stored, stacked and transported quickly and effectively. Another preferred object of the invention is to provide the highest efficiency using maximum heat transfer area per cubic volume by the use of high efficiency fill material and a utility frame. 20 Another preferred object of the invention is to provide for cooling towers that can be placed above existing sump arrangements with minimum supports as the structure is self supporting minimizing down time and labour input. Another preferred object of the invention is to provide a cooling 25 tower assembly comprising a minimum of two modules with one module stacked on top of the other to provide at least 10 megawatts (nominal) of cooling. When more modules are added, the assembly that is formed can be positioned up against and adjacent to each other to create a high capacity configuration that takes up a small foot print of area, for example, when four 30 sets of modules are positioned side by side onto each other up to 40 megawatts of cooling can be created from a footprint of less than 90 square metres and a height of less than 10 metres that does not create visual 4 pollution. The requirement for such an application is necessary to the process, industrial, mining, petro chemical, hvac industries as they require regular maintenance to their existing cooling towers, cooling augmentation, 5 plant short falls, emergency shut downs and would suffer if a high capacity system was not readily available in timeous manner to eliminate or greatly reduce any of these events occurring. To provide for this, a cooling tower assembly must be available that can be easily transported by all forms of transport and that caters for high capacities of cooling and is strong, versatile 10 and can be assembled quickly to fit into a defined area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a stackable arrangement of a containerized cooling tower; 15 FIG. 2 is an internal detail of a containerized cooling tower; FIG. 3 is a conceptual 3D drawing of a cooling tower container; FIG. 4 is a utility frame arrangement of a containerized cooling tower; FIG. 5 is an internal structure of a containerized cooling tower; 20 FIG. 6 is a structural frame of a containerized cooling tower; FIG. 7 is a structural frame and a cooling tower assembly of a containerized cooling tower; FIG. 8 is a sump and air inlet detail of a containerized cooling tower; 25 FIG. 9 is a multi-cell arrangement of a containerized cooling tower. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 is a stack arrangement for shipping showing three units 1, including their respective water sumps 2. 30 Referring now to FIG. 2, this illustrates the internal cooling tower configuration, shows the fill material 3 which is positioned above the sump 4 and below the distribution system 5. The drift eliminator 6 is 5 positioned above the distribution system and is positioned by internal support structures (not shown). The motor 8 has direct drive to axial fan 9 and is mounted in the fan stack 10, and the fan guard 11 is placed on top of the fan stack 10. The air inlet louvers 12 are mounted on an external bracket (not 5 shown) and easily removable for use. Referring now to FIG. 3, this is a conceptual drawing structural frame 13 which is made of heavy gauged steel sections. Referring now to FIG. 4, this is a side view of a utility frame 14 with an open sump floor 14 used as a performance enhancer. Utility frame 10 15 is a gravity feed enhancer. The drawing further described shows water in at 16 and water out at 17 also air in at 18 and air out at 19. Referring now to FIG. 5, this shows internal structural members 20 which are made from heavy gauge structural steel with full supports 21 in the same material. The drift eliminators 6, the fill 3 and draft eliminator 15 structural supports shown at 22 are welded to the internal structural members 20. The water distribution system 23 consists of a series of distribution nozzles 24 connected to a branch pipe 25 which is connected to a main manifold 26. Referring now to FIG. 6, this shows an external structural frame 20 showing lifting lugs location 27 and locating pin location 28. The external heavy gauge structural steel frame 29 is all welded together to form the self supporting structure. Referring now to FIG. 7, this shows the galvanized steel cladding 30 attached by nuts and bolts (not shown) and welds to the external 25 frame 28. Referring now to FIG. 8, this is a photograph showing a prototype in operation with the sump 31 and sump connections 32. The unit is connected to a petro chemical process 33. Flexible hoses 34 feed the pumps by carrying the water to be cooled. 30 Referring now to FIG. 9, this is a plan view showing equipment layout with a multi-cell arrangement with up to 120 megawatts of cooling, showing fans 9, six sets of two 10 megawatt containerized units 35 and 36 6 are shown, the units 35 and 36 placed adjacent to each other with no gap leaving sufficient space of three (3) metres between the sets of two to allow for proper air flow 37. Aggreko pumps 38 are shown delivering cooled water to the process 39. The returned heated water from the process 40 is re 5 cooled. The provision of a respective sump for each cooling tower module, together with a respective drive/fan system for each module, produces a cooling tower system which has greater flexibility; is effectively self-contained and easier to assemble/de-mount/transport; can be easily 10 increased/decreased in size as demands change; and can selectively operate any/all of the installed towers within an installation as demands change. In addition, the system is easier to repair/maintain the individual tower modules if, eg., a failure should occur. The foregoing description and drawings explain and illustrate 15 the best known mode of the invention and those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A modular cooling tower assembly comprising at least one cooling tower module; the or each cooling tower module including two components: 5 the first component being an assembly that is (optionally) formed to the dimensions of a shipping container and houses the fan, drive, distribution and heat exchange system; and the second component being an assembly that is (optionally) formed to the dimensions and construction of a modified shipping container 10 and forming the base that supports the first component and contains the air intake inlet and water sump.

2. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: the or each of said cooling tower modules is formed of highly corrosive resistant components such as stainless steel , PVC and epoxy 15 coated steel.

3. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: the or each of said modules have direct drives for air movement with low noise axial fans, high efficiency, self cleaning, drift eliminators, foul free water distribution nozzles, direct fan drives, and 20 electrical switch gear control panel including variable speed drives for each motor.

4. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 3 and further comprises: air inlet towers with low pressure drop and sunlight deflection 25 capability to eliminate algae build up.

5. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: the water sump is provided with a generous capacity and achieves high volume retention capacity with a water treatment dosing package. 30

6. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: said assembly complies and is certificated with Lloyd's requirements for containerized equipment for lifting, shipping and stacking. 8

7. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 6 further comprising: universal container locks for the upper frame and sumps to be connected by use of universal container lock pins for either shipping 5 transportation, road or rail transportation or site assembly.

8. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 2, manufactured from heavy gauge structural steel members reinforced with structural gauge cross members with a stainless steel sump reinforced with heavy gauge structural members; 10 the cladding is galvanized steel, epoxy coated for corrosion protection; with a fan stack made of fiberglass.

9. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: said fill means comprise a series tray arrangement of PVC high 15 efficiency film packs glued together to form blocks then compartmentalized to be removed easily from the side of cooling tower with a removable frame arrangement.

10. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: a plurality of said cooling tower modules are combined in side 20 by-side relationship to form said cooling tower assembly.

11. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: no attachments are required to form a multi-cell configuration.

12. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 including: a utility frame which raises the unit increasing air inlet area 25 while maintaining structural strength.

13. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 12 wherein: said utility frame can be a stainless steel sump or mesh floor depending on the application and is manufactured from heavy gauge reinforced structural members and contain locking pins. 30

14. The modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 13 wherein: said utility frame can be easily transported and used for storage of the ancillary equipment used in the installation. 9

15. A method of operation of the modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1 wherein: the modules are loaded or side loaded onto a truck for transportation or lifted at a wharf or container depot for ongoing shipping or 5 transport by air, the modules being lifted and are locked in place by lifting lugs positioned at the top corners of the unit and container locking pins then delivered to site where they are off loaded by the same means and are positioned on a level surface with the sump being positioned first and/or utility frame and then the main body which is connected to the sump by the 10 container locking pins; and the unit is then connected to the power supply, pump and piping system and is ready for immediate use.

16. A method of transportation stacking for the modular cooling tower assembly of Claim 1, consistent with container shipping versatility, 15 whereby the sections can be placed on top of each other by means of container locking pins to a height of 80 feet.