AIR-COOLED CONDENSER

CONDENSEUR REFROIDI A L'AIR

English Abstract

An air-cooled condenser (1) for the condensation of steam by means of air is described, said air-cooled condenser comprising a steam supply line (2), at least one upwardly directed pipe bundle (6), to which the steam to be condensed can be supplied, a condensate drain for the drainage of condensed steam and a fan (11) for the air transport to the pipe bundle (6). The pipe bundle (6) is arranged below the fan (11) in a sidewall (18) of the air-cooled condenser (1). Several pipe bundles (6) are thereby arranged in such a way that they form a jacket (13) in the form of a polygon extending in the plumb line, wherein said jacket is closed such that it forms an enclosure on all sides.

French Abstract

Un condenseur refroidi à l'air (1) pour la condensation de vapeurs à l'aide de l'air est décrit, ledit condenseur refroidi à l'air comprenant un conduit d'alimentation en vapeur (2), au moins un faisceau de tubes dirigés vers le haut (6), dans lequel la vapeur à condenser peut être alimentée, une purge de condensat pour la purge de la vapeur condensée et un ventilateur (11) pour le transport de l'air vers le faisceau de tubes (6). Le faisceau de tubes (6) est disposé sous le ventilateur (11) dans une paroi latérale (18) du condenseur refroidi à l'air (1). Plusieurs faisceaux de tubes (6) sont ainsi disposés de manière à former une enveloppe (13) sous la forme d'un polygone qui se prolonge verticalement, dans lequel ladite enveloppe est fermée de façon à former une enceinte de tous les côtés.

Claims

6
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. Air-cooled condenser (1) for the condensation of steam by means of air,
said
air-cooled condenser comprising:
a steam supply line (2),
directed pipe bundles (6), to which the steam to be condensed can be
supplied,
a condensate drain for the drainage of the condensed steam,
a fan (11) for the air transport to the pipe bundle (6),
said air-cooled condenser being characterized in that,
the pipe bundles (6) is arranged below the fan (11) in sidewalls (18) of the
air-cooled condenser (1), several sidewalls (18) forming a jacket (13) in the
form of
a polygon extending in a plumb line, wherein said jacket is closed such that
it forms
an enclosure on all sides, an area outside the pipe bundles (6) being
hermetically
sealed, said area comprising respective junctions of adjacent sidewalls (18),
and
respective top and bottom ends of the sidewalls (18).
2. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the
pipe
bundles (6) in a sidewall (18) is inclined towards the plumb line in an angle
range of
~30°.
3. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in
that the
steam to be condensed is guided using at least one riser duct (3) to an upper
distribution chamber (5) and from there to the pipe bundles (6).
4. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that an
independent riser duct is available for every pipe bundle (6).
5. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
characterized
in that an upwardly directed residual steam pipe (8) for the condensation of
residual

7
steam is provided from a condensate collection chamber (7) below one of the
pipe
bundles (6).
6. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that a
residual
steam drain (10) for the drainage of non-condensed residual steam is provided
at
the upper end of the residual steam pipe (8).
7. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
characterized
in that the fan (1) is provided with a diffuser (19).
8. Air-cooled condenser (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein
the
polygon of the jacket (13) has corners that are present in a rounded form,
thus
achieving a round or almost circular geometry of the jacket 13 in a top view
of the
air-cooled condenser 1.

Description

CA 02541503 2012-12-12
1
AIR-COOLED CONDENSER
[0001] The invention relates to an air-cooled condenser for the condensation
of
steam by means of air.
[0002] It is known that air-cooled condensers comprise pipe elements arranged
parallel to one another ¨ the so-called pipe bundles to which the steams to be
condensed is supplied. In doing so, every two rows of such pipe bundles are
usually
arranged in such a way that they are inclined against one another at an acute
angle
in a gabled form. In the lateral view they form a triangular contour, at the
base of
which a fan is provided for the supply of air to the pipe bundles. The fan
transports
air, which is cool in comparison to the steam, to the pipe bundles in such a
way that
a heat exchange takes place, by which steam can condense on the inner edge of
every pipe in the pipe bundle.
[0003] However, it has been seen that air-cooled condensers of such a
triangular
design and large cooling capacity have a large space requirement and also
require
a large installation height, which call for an expensive substructure. In
addition, the
difficulty in air-cooled condensers is to achieve a uniform distribution of
the steam
into every pipe bundle.
[0004] Therefore, the object underlying the invention is to create an air-
cooled
condenser, using which a large cooling capacity is economically feasible with
a
small space requirement and cost-effective design and with a uniform
distribution of
the steam into the pipe bundles.
According to the present invention, there is provided an air-cooled condenser
(1) for the condensation of steam by means of air, said air-cooled condenser
comprising:
a steam supply line (2),
directed pipe bundles (6), to which the steam to be condensed can be
supplied,
a condensate drain for the drainage of the condensed steam,
a fan (11) for the air transport to the pipe bundle (6),
said air-cooled condenser being characterized in that,

CA 02541503 2012-12-12
2
the pipe bundles (6) is arranged below the fan (11) in sidewalls (18) of the
air-cooled condenser (1), several sidewalls (18) forming a jacket (13) in the
form of
a polygon extending in a plumb line, wherein said jacket is closed such that
it forms
an enclosure on all sides, an area outside the pipe bundles (6) being
hermetically
sealed, said area comprising respective junctions of adjacent sidewalls (18),
and
respective top and bottom ends of the sidewalls (18).
[0005]
Preferably, the object is attained by using an air-cooled condenser,
which comprises: a steam supply line, at least one upwardly directed pipe
bundle, to
which the steam to be condensed can be supplied, a condensate drain for the
drainage of the condensed steam, a fan for the air transport through the pipe
bundle, wherein the pipe bundle is arranged below the fan in a sidewall of the
air-
cooled condenser.
[0006]
The lateral arrangement of the pipe bundles in the sidewalls firstly
distinctly reduced the installation height of the air-cooled condenser.
Secondly, the
pipe bundle are no longer arranger at a large installation height, instead at
a
relatively low installation height, consequently enabling a lighter support
structure of
the entire air-cooled condenser, which is advantageous economically. In
addition,
the arrangement of the pipe bundles in the sidewalls of the air-cooled
condenser
ensures a larger available area for the pipe bundles than in the case of a
triangular
arrangement, in which only the sides of the triangle can be covered with pipe
bundles. It is thus possible to achieve a larger cooling capacity of the air-
cooled
condenser with a low space requirement. Preferably, the air-cooled condenser
(1) is
also characterized in that an independent riser duct is available for every
pipe
bundle (6).
[0007]
Preferably, according to another embodiment, several pipe bundles
are arranged in such a way that they form a jacket in the form of a polygon
extending in the plumb line, wherein said jacket is closed such that it forms
an
enclosure on all sides. This is advantageous since the entire curved surface
of the
jacket above the bottom can be used for the pipe bundles.
[0008]
According to another preferred embodiment, the pipe bundle in a
sidewall is inclined towards the plumb line in an angle range of 30 . Should
the
inclination have a negative value, for example -30 , the result is a funnel-
shaped
design of the air-cooled condenser, wherein the cross-sectional area at the
lower
end (bottom) is smaller than that at the upper end (top). This

CA 02541503 2012-03-14
2a
permits the installation of a fan, which has a larger diameter than the base
of the air-cooled
condenser. Thus a fan of the largest size possible can be provided in case of
a base of a
minimum size, consequently achieving the maximum cooling capacity of the air-
cooled
condenser. The required provisions for a stable design of the associated frame
structure are still
relatively few within this angle range of 30 , thus making it possible to
implement a frame
structure still more cost-effectively,
[00091 According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the steam
to be condensed is
transportable using a riser duct to an upper distribution chamber and from
there to at least one of
the pipe bundles. Such a design enables a better compensation of thermal
expansions due to
temperature differences between the riser duct and the pipe bundles than in
case of a design in
which the steam is supplied to the pipe bundles directiy without a riser duct.
The design, which
has a "U"-shape, can carry out larger deformations elastically.
[0010] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, at least
one upwardly
directed residual steam pipe for the condensation of residual steam is
provided from a
condensate collection chamber below one of the pipe bundles. The residual
steam pipe serves
for the separation of steam and inert gases.

CA 02541503 2006-03-31
3
[0011] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, a residual
steam drain for the
drainage of the insert gases including the non-condensed residual steam is
provided at the upper
end of the residual steam pipe.
[0012] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the area
outside the pipe
bundles is hermetically sealed. This ensures that the air transported by the
fan only flows through
the pipe bundles.
[0013] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the fan is
provided with a
diffuser. This enables an increase in the degree of efficiency of the fan.
[0014] In the following the invention is explained in more detail on the basis
of embodiments
iliustrated in the drawing. The figures schematically illustrate:
Fig. 1 a front-view of a first embodiment of the inventive air-cooled
condenser;
Fig. 2 a horizontal cross-section of the first embodiment, shown in figure 1,
of the inventive air-
condenser along the line A-A; and
Fig. 3 a perspective view of a second embodiment of the inventive air-cooled
condenser.
[0015] As is apparent from fig. 1 and fig. 2, steam is supplied to the
inventive air-cooled
condenser 1 using a supply line 2. The steam thereby flows upwards by means of
one or more
riser ducts 3 and is distributed using distribution lines 4 into a respective
distribution chamber 5. It
should be pointed out that only one riser duct is illustrated in fig. 2. The
distribution lines are
indicated only schematically in fig. 2; they can be further expanded or
divided into several lines
toward the distribution chamber 5.
[0016] The distribution chambers 5 are arranged in the upper region of the air-
cooled condenser.
Below the distribution chambers 5, pipe bundles are arranged, which are
indicated schematically
using the reference numeral 6. 1, 2 or more pipe bundles can be provided to
each sidewall 18
corresponding to the diameter of the fan. The hot steam in the pipe bundles
condenses due to the
heat exchange with the air flowing past the pipes.
[0017] The liquid condensed in the pipe bundles flows downwards along the pipe
walls and is
collected in a condensate collection chamber 7, which is arranged below a pipe
bundle.

CA 02541503 2006-03-31
4
From the condensate collection chamber 7, a condensate drain 20 flows outwards
away from the
air-cooled condenser.
[0018] The remaining residual steam and also the inert gases are guided
upwards into a residual
steam pipe 8 from the condensate collection chamber 7. The pipe bundle 6 thus
represents a
primary part, while the residual steam pipe 8 forms the secondary part.
Furthermore, it is evident
that the secondary part 8 can also be embodied as a pipe bundle.
[0019] The air stream 12 flows around the secondary part 8 just as the primary
part 6, thus
enabling the condensation of one more portion of the residual steam in the
secondary part 8. This
portion flows back into the condensate collection chamber 7 while the non-
condensed portion
including the inert gases arrives at the upper end of the secondary part 8
into a residual steam
chamber 9. From there residual steam and inert gases are discharged from the
air-cooled
condenser 1 using a residual steam line 10, which is illustrated schematically
as a dashed line in
fig. 1.
[0020] A secondary part 8 can be provided in every pipe bundle of the air-
cooled condenser 1. An
air-cooled condenser thus also comprises several residual steam chambers 9,
from which
residual steam is discharged outwards. It is expedient to couple the residual
steam lines 10 to
one another, which depart from the respective residual steam chambers 9.
[0021) In the air-cooled condenser 1 illustrated in fig. 1 and fig. 2, the
pipe bundles are arranged
in the sidewalls 18. Several sidewalls thereby form a jacket 13 in the form of
a polygon extending
in the plumb line and illustrated in the figures in the form of a hexagon,
wherein said jacket is
closed such that it forms an enclosure on all sides. The previously described
arrangement for a
sidewall 18 is repeated in the sidewalls adjoining thereto, so as to achieve a
symmetrical design
of the air-cooled condenser 1. A uniform air passage through all the sidewalls
can thus be
achieved by means of the fan 11. The previously described polygon design of
the jacket 13 can
also be changed in such a way that the corners are present in a rounded form,
thus achieving a
round or almost circular geometry of the jacket 13 in the top view of the air-
cooled condenser 1.
This can be advantageous for a uniform through-flow of the pipe bundles 6.
[0022] In order to increase the suction effect of the fan 11, the latter can
be provided with a
diffuser 19.
[0023] A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig. 3. It
schematically illustrates a
hexagonal air-cooled condenser 1, which however has no riser duct for the
supply of steam,

CA 02541503 2006-03-31
unlike the first embodiment. Here, the steam is directly supplied into the
upper region of the air-
cooled condenser, where it can arrive from the distribution chambers 5 to the
pipe bundles (not
illustrated here). This can be advantageous if a steam supply line from an
industrial unit
connected upstream is already present in the upper region of an air-cooled
condenser, as a result
of which a diversion of the steam in the lower region of the air-cooled
condenser 1 would only
represent an unnecessary circuitous route.

Representative Drawing