US1750750A - Cooling means for electrical and other apparatus - Google Patents

Description

F W- GAY March 18, 1930.

COOLING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL AND OTHER APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet l 'IHERMOSTHT" 10 INVENTOR FQAZER W GAY $41 2 ATTORNEY v F. W. GAY

March 18, 1930.;

COOLING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL AND OTHER APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FR AZER W. GA Y BY m @ETORNEY F. W. GAY

Mamh 18 1930.

COOLING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL AND OTHER APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVENTOR FRAZER W GAY ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFECE FRAZER W. GAY, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY Application filed April 20, 1928. Serial No. 271,478.

6 tion, more particularly, relates to a cooling radiator for electrical devices, whichradiator comprises means for absorbing heat from a part to be cooled and a volatile liquid for absorbing the heat from the first means and 10 for passing it to the atmospheric air. or other medium, through volatilization and condensation. The cooling apparatus of the invention is adapted for use in the arts generally as well as for electrical apparatus.

Heretofore a single body of oil has been used both for absorbing heat from a body to be cooled and for passing the heat on to the atmosphere. the surfaces of the container, or fins attached directly thereto, being used for radiating the heat to the atmosphere. Such an arrangement has a number of disadvantages which greatly reduce the efliciency I of the apparatus and impair its functions in transferring heat from the part to be cooled. One cause of impairment is the unpreventable leakage of oil through minute crevices in the container. This loss of heat radiation caused by leakage through a tiny crevice can be a great factor because oil, particularly when heated, will, through capillary attraction, travel over a considerable distance and extend over a great surface; and, because oil and dirt which it accumulates are not nearly as good conductors of heat as is metal, a very thin film will cut down radiation by a large percentage. Also such an oil film and its accumulated dirt arc unsightly.

Another disadvantage in the present form of radiating tank containers is that the tanks must be exposed to permit sufiicient contact with the air for efiicientradiation to take place and when exposed the chances of their being damaged is greatly increased. The damage can result not alone in small leakages such-as cover the surface of the tank with a layer of oil. but can result in the complete loss of the oil from the tank with consequent burning out of the coils or of necessary discontinuance of the use of the apparatus until the break can be repaired. And the exposed radiating tanks must be of heavy steel to be strong enough to withstand ordinary knocks. Another disadvantage is that the steel radiators will tend to rust and must be painted or coated from time to time to prevent rusting and must be cleaned when rusting does take place, and the apparatus must be taken out of operation for the tank to be drained before cleaning and painting can be done.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cooling apparatus, for electrical and other devices, in which the radiating surface do not have oil in contacttherewith and in which the possibility of leaking oil creeping to the radiating surfaces is minimized.

Another object of the invention is to provide an oil cooling apparatus in which the oil containing tanks can be placed in protected positions thereby lessening chances of injury, and permitting the use of lighter material for the tank walls.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cooling apparatus in which steel can be replaced by thin copper or other nonrusting but highly conductive metals for the radiating parts. The use of thin metal is permissible by reason of the fact that a puncture of the radiator will not permit escape of oil but only permits escape of a small body of volatile liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be clear from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention and of modified forms thereof and from the accompanying drawing used to illustrate the same; and the invention also consists in the apparatus and devices and combinations and arrangements of parts described in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation view, in part section, of preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation view showing in part an alternate embodiment of the invention Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are views taken along the lines 33, 4-4, 5-5, and 66, respectively, of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 7 is a vertical elevation in part section of a modification of the apparatus of Figure 1.

In all the above described views like reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawing the reference character 1 indicates a tank such as is used for enclosing a transformer and for holding about the transformer a body of oil 2 to a level indicated by the dotted line 3. Just below said level line 3 is an outlet pipe 4 which connects to an annular pipe or header 5 at an eccentric portion 5 thereon. Said annular header 5 is substantially rectangular in cross-section and has a central opening 6 which is divergent upwardly. From the bottom of said annular header 5 and near the inner edge thereof a plurality of pipes 7, 7 extend downwardly, to join a fiat circular bottom header 8. Said pipes 7, 7 are positioned close to one another, but space is left between adjacent ones for air to pass therebetween. A pipe 10 connects from the midpoint of said bottom header 8 to said tank 1 near the bottom thereof. Through the top of said annular header 5 and down to a short distance from the bottom wall thereof there extends a plurality of long vertical pipes 11, 11 each of which is entirely sealed and contains a volatile liquid 12 such as ether or alcohol or the like to a level about even with the top of said annular header 5. Said pipes 11, 11 are each sealed to the wall of said header 5 where it passes through to make an oil tight joint thereat, and said pipes 11, 11 are arranged in spaced apart relation in a number of annular.

rows, the pipes in one row being, preferably, in staggered relation with respect to those in the adjacent rows. preferably positioned furtherout radially than the connection of said pipes'7-,'7

Within said annular header 5 and also outside it, on said pipes 11, 11 arearranged the annular plates or discs 13, 1 3, which have holes formed therein in annular rowsto fit over said pi cs 11, 11 and said annular plates 13, 13 are fixed, by brazing or welding'or otherwise, to said pipes 11, 11 to make good heat conducting contact therewith and to hold said plates in vertically spaced apart re lation with each other, both within and without said annular header 5. The central openings of said annular plates 13, 13 define a central passageway 14 which registers with said annular header 5.

Said tank 1 and headers 5 and 8 are prefer-.

ably made of heavy boiler iron, but said pipes 11 and annular plates 13, 13 are preferably of thin copper to give efficient, rapid cooling and to avoid rusting.

Said annular header 5, pipes 11, 11 and annularplates 13, 13.-through being securely attached together form a unitary, strong and rigid structure. Afan and fan motor 15,

Said pipes 11, 11 are supported by a cross bar 16 on said annular header 5, serves to draw a stream of air from beneath and drive it up through said central passageway 14, and a cover 17 resting on top of said annular plates 13, 13 serves to deflect air laterally between said plates 13, 13 when driven upwardly by said fan 15 and also when traveling up by convection. A sprinkler head 18 fed by a pipe 19 through a valve 20 serves to spray said pipes 11, 11 and said annular plates 13, 13 when temperatures are reached which require it. A thermostat 21 conventionallyshown, connects in series with an alarm bell 22, a motor 23, and current sup- - ply mains 24, 24, said bell 22 and motor 23 being provided with respective shunting switches 25 and 26. Said motor 23 is operatively mounted to the spindle 27 of said valve 20 for opening it when energized, and said valve 20 has also on its spindle 27 a hand wheel 28 for closing said valve 20 and for opening it when said motor 23is not used. Said thermostat 21 serves to close the circuit of said mains 24, 24 when a predetermined temperature is reached to either ring said bell 22 as an alarm or to operate said motor 23 to open said valve 20 to admit water to said sprinkler head 18 to cool off said pipes 11, 11 and said annular plates 13, 13. When said motor is shunted off by its switch 26 said alarm bell canbe left on to warn an operator so that he can turn the water on by hand when the temperature reaches the point at which said thermostat 21 closes the circuit.

' In the use and operation of the cooling apparatus above described for transferring heat pass upwardly through said central passa e- 1 ways 6 and 14 through actuation either y convection or by said fan 15. This current of air will turn and pass laterally through the spaces between said pipes 11, 11 and said annular plates 13, 13 and will absorb heat therefrom and from the vapors of the volatile liquid in said tubes 11, 11 whereby said vapors will be cooled. In this way the said volatile liquid is cooled to a temperature approximating that ofthe adjacent circulating air.- As the 'air passes from within said central passageway 14 past the inner rows of said pipes 11, 11 to and past the outer rows there of its temperature is raised to a point approximating that of the hot oil 2 as it leaves saidpipe 4 and enters the eccentric part 5' of said annular chamber 5.

In the arrangement described said tubes.

tend tolower the pressure at those points and as soon as the pressure above the volatile liquid is lowered then said volatile liquid would absorb heat from oil 2 and boil. The vapors produced by this boiling would move upwardly to the low pressure zones in upper parts of said tubes 11, 11 where it would condense and pass the heat to the walls of tubes 11, 11 and thence to the passing current of air. Said annular plates 13, 13 through their contact with said tubes 1.1, 11 will serve as heat radiating fins and aid in the transfer of heat to the surrounding and passing current of air.

It will be evident that the outer annular row will be the hottest ones of said tubes 11, 11 because they are the first ones to be struck by said oil 2 as it passes from tank 1 through pipes 4 to said annular header 5 and thence to said pipes 7, 7 and also because the current of air from said central passage 14 has contacted with and absorbed heat from the inner rows of tubes 11, 11 before it strikes the outer rows thereof. By this arrangement the air before it leaves the cooling apparatus of this invention can very nearly reach the temperature of the oil 2 as it passes from said tank 1 and said oil 2 before it leaves said cooling apparatus on its return to said tank 1 and can very nearly reach the temperature of the ambient air and if the apparatus is outdoors or in a building into which cool air is maintained the said oil 2 can be kept at an efliciently-low temperature.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, a tank 30 encloses a transformer 31 (conventionally shown) and holds a body of oil 32 to a level about at the top of said transformer. Just below the upper surface of said body of oil 32 a pipe 33 connects from said tank 30 and extends outwardly therefrom and then downwardly for a shortdistance where it connects with a transverse chamber 34 (see Fig. 3) from the bottom of which a pipe 35 connects to the top of a second transverse chamber 36 positioned below said chamber 34, from the bottom .of which latter in turn a pipe 37 connects back to the interior of said tank 30 (see Fig. 4). In the drawings only one each of said chambers34'and 36 are shown but it is to be'understood that either one each thereof or a multiplicity thereof can be positioned radially about said tank 30 with respective pipes 33, 33, 35, 35 and 37, 37 connecting to said tank as above described.

Within said tank 30 is an annular skirt shaped baffle 38 which connects to said tank 30 through an annular flange 39 along a line above the connection of pipe or pipes37, 37 and which extends downwardly to a line near but spaced apart from the bottom of said tank 30.

Said oil 32 when heated by said transformer 31, then, will flow by convection from its upper levels through said pipes 33, 33 chamber 34, 34, pipes 35, 35, chambers 36, 36 and back through respective pipes 37, 37 through the side of tank 30 within said baflie 38, thencedownwardly within the same and so under the bottom edge thereof to again come in thermal contact with said transformer 31.

For cooling said oil 32 as it passes outwardly from tank 30 from the upper levels therein through said pipes 33, chambers 34 and 36, and under said baflie 38 back to the main body the following means are provided.

Sealed through the outer wall 40 of said chamber 34 are the sealed pipes or tubes 41,41 whose inner ends extend close to the inner wall 42 of said chamber 34 and whose outer ends extend outwardly for a considerable distance beyond the outer wall 40. Said pipes 41, 41 i are inclined upwardly and outwardly and are arranged in a multiplicity of horizontal tiers or rows with the' pipes of one tier preferably staggered in relation to those of the next adjacent tier. Joined by brazing or welding to said pipes 40, 40 are amultiplicity of metal fins 43, 43 for increasing the effective radiation area of said pipes 41, 41. And said pipes 41, 41 are each provided with a body 44 of volatile liquid to the level of the juncture of said pipes 41, 41 with said wall 40. Inside said chamber 34 said pipes 41, 41 are provided with fins 43, 43 similar to fins 43, 43 for contact with the oil 32 as it flows thereby to increase the efiective conduction area of said pipes 41, 41 in said chamber 34.

In somewhat similar manner said chamber 36 is provided with a plurality of sealed pipes 45 but these latter in a given tier are arranged radially with respect to one another, and those in one tier are angularly arranged with respect to those in another tier; and each pipe 45 is provided with a body of volatile liquid 46. On the outside of said chamber 36 each of said pipes 45 is provided with a series of radiating discs 47, 47 and at the outer parts said pipes 45, 45 are preferably fiattened vertically to give them stream lines so that the air rising thereby will pass with a minimum of resistance.

Radiation pipes having fins 49, 49 and volatile liquid 50 are sealed into said tank 30 with their inner ends between the outer wall of said tank 30 and said baffle 38 and serve totransfer heat from the oil at this stage of its movement through the tank (see Fig 5).

Below said pipes 48, 48 are arranged aseries of radiating pipes 51, 51 whose inner ends are part of the wall of said tank 30 and which are each provided with a body of volatile liquid 52 and a series of radiating fins 53.

he or more air blowers or fans 54 is provided beneath said pipes 41, 45, 48 and 51 to drive streams of air thereby to conduct heat therefrom whereby a cooling operation is effected between said bodies 44, 46, 50 and 52 of volatile liquid, and said oil 32 to keep said transformer 31 at a predetermined temperature in the manner of the operation of the cooling apparatus of Figure 1, above described.

It is clear that variations, rearrangement and omissions can be made in the disposition of the parts of the cooling appartus described and that said pipes 11, 11 of Figure l and pipes 41, 45, I8 and 51 of Figure 2 can be fiattened to give stream lines thereto and to increase the proportional areas thereof with respect to their cross section in the manner of the flattening of said pipes 45, 45., In said device of Figure l as shown the following advantages are inherent: (1) The greatest radiation is in the hottest zone, that is at the outer annular row of pipes 11, 11 and said pipes in this outer row are made longer than those of the inner rows so that they will contact with a greater volume of air; (2) the heat from the transformer is passed for the most part to the upper levels of oil 2 and the lower levels of oil are relatively cool whereby there naturally results, (a) a continuous flow of cold oil over the surfaces of said transformer 3, and (b) a good hydrostatic head which keeps the oil 2 in constant dirculation at a rate to give optimum conduction of heatfrom the transformer to the cooling pipes 11, 11; and (3) bodies of volatile liquid separate from each other and each with its own volatilizing space are provided at points of difierent temperature along the path of travel of said body of oil 2 whereby each of said bodies of volatile liquid can volatilize at a pressure optimum to its particular temperature.

In Figure 7 is shown a modification of the apparatus of Figure 1 in which the tubes 11, 11 have been replaced by a cylinder 55 which makes thermal contact with said. annular header 5 and the oil 2'therein, and serves at that ortion above and outside annular heador 5 0th as a draft supporting chimney and as a radiation medium for transferring heat from said oil 2 to the surrounding air.

I claim 2' 1. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of different temperaturethereat; cooling means therefor in ther- ',mal contact therewith and comprising a plurality of bodies containing volatile liquid, each body being separate from the others and each having an individual volatilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said bodies being arranged along said points of-diiierent temperature.

2. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of difi'erent temperature thereat; cooling means therefor in thermal contact therewith and comprising a plurality of bodies containing volatile liquid, each body being separate from the others and each having an individual volatilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said bodies bemgarranged along said points of different temperature, with their respective volatilizing surfaces at said points of temperature.

3. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of difl'erent temperature thereat; cooling means therefor in thermal contact therewith and comprising a plurality of bodies containing volatile liquid, each body being separate from the others and each having an individual volatilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said bodies being arranged along said points of different temperature, with their respective volatilizing surfaces at. said points of temperature, and with their respective volatilizing and condensing chambers at points of different temperature.

4. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of diii'erent temperature thercat; cooling means therefor in thermal contact therewith and comprising a plurality of bodies containing volatile liquid, each body being separate from the others and each having an individual vol-utilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said bodies being arranged along said points of difi'erent temperature, with their respective volatilizing surfaces at said points of temperature, and with their respective volafilizing and condensing chamber at points of different temperature. those bodies having their volatilizing surfaces at the lower temperatures having their volatilizing and condensing chambers at correspondingly lower temperatures.

5. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of different temperature thereat; a'plurality of scaled tubes positioned at said points of different temperature, each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid with a volatilizing and condensing chamber above the surface of the liquid 6. In combination with a device to be cooled, having points of difierent temperature thcreat and having a radiating space thereabout having points of different temperature; a plurality of sealed tubes positioned at points of different temperature at said device to be cooled, each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid with a volatilizing and condensing chamber above the surface of the liquid, those tubes which are at lower temperature points at said device having their volatilizing and cooling chambers at corrcspondiuglower temperature points in said radiating space.

7. In combination with a device having a circulative fluid to be cooled and a radiation space about it, groups of sealed tubes arranged in thermal contact with said fluid along the line of circulation thereof. each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid and having a volatilizing and conmeaveo densing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said chambers being positioned in said radiation space.

8. In combination with a device having a circulative fluid to be cooled and a radiation space about it, groups of scaled tubes ar-.

ranged in thermal contact with said fluid along the line of circulation thereof, each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid and having a volatilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said chambers being positioned in said radiation space, and means for .circulating cooling air in a current about said chambers in direction contrary to that of the movement of said fluid to be cooled.

9. In combination with a device having a circulative fluid to be cooled and a radiation space about it, groups of sealed tubes arranged in thermal contact with said fluid along the line of circulation thereof, each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid and having a volatilizing and condensing chamber above the volatile liquid therein, said chambers being positioned in said radiation space, the levels of said bodies of volatile liquid being adjacent to the surface of said device.

10. In combination with a device having a circulative fiuid to be cooled and a radiation space about it, groups of sealed tubes arranged in thermal contact with said fluid along the line of circulation thereof, each of said tubes containing a body of volatile liquid and having a volatilizing and condensingchamber above the volatile liquid therein, said chambers being positioned in said radiation space, the levels of said bodies-of volatile liquid being adjacent to the limits of said fluid to be cooled.

11. A radiator in the form of a chimney comprising, a plurality of spaced annularly arranged tubes, a cover for said radiator ar ranged to close the top thereof and a bottom member for said radiator arranged to close the bottom thereof, whereby cooling medium is caused to enter the lower part of said radiator by passing inwardly between the lower portions of said tubes and to leave the upper part of said radiator by passing outwardly between the upper portions of said tubes.

12. A radiator in the form of a chimney comprising, a plurality of spaced annularly arranged tubes, a cover for said radiator arranged to close the top thereof and a bottom member for said radiator arranged to close the bottom thereof, whereby cooling medium is caused to enter the lower part of said radiator by passing inwardly between the lower portions at said tubes and to leave the upper art of said radiator by passing outwardly etween the upper portions of said tubes, and a tan positioned within said radiator intermediate the top and bottom thereof and

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