DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a system for cooling a process fluid such as engine oil.
BACKGROUND
Heat exchangers are process equipments adapted for efficient heat transfer from one heat transfer fluid to another heat transfer fluid. Heat exchangers particularly comprise a shell and a plurality of tubes and are widely used in internal combustion engines for cooling a process fluid such as oil. The process fluid to be cooled is allowed to flow through the shell and a cooling fluid such as cooling water is allowed to flow through the plurality of tubes such that the cooling fluid extracts heat from the process fluid, thereby resulting in cooling of the process fluid.
However, in case of conventional heat exchangers, there is insufficient contact time between the process fluid and the exterior surface of the plurality of tubes, thereby resulting in inefficient extraction of heat from the process fluid.
Therefore, there is felt a need for an alternative system for extracting heat from a process fluid.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for extraction of heat from a process fluid.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a system for cooling a process fluid. The system comprises a shell, a plurality of tubes, a plurality of baffles and a plurality of perforated plates.
The process fluid is passed through the shell and a cooling fluid is passed through the plurality of tubes.
The plurality of tubes is disposed within the shell.
The plurality of baffles is disposed within the shell and is adapted to hold the plurality of tubes in a pre-determined position and define a path for the process fluid in the shell
In accordance with the present disclosure, each of the plurality of perforated plates is juxtaposed to at least one of the plurality of baffles for enhancing the retention time of the process fluid within said shell and to increase the heat transfer between the process fluid and the cooling fluid, thereby cooling the process fluid.
Each of the plurality of perforated plates can be parallel to at least one of the plurality of baffles.
The direction of flow of the process fluid can be counter-current to the direction of flow of the cooling fluid.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the perforations on the plurality of perforated plates can be in a circular and/or a zigzag form.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the system includes a pair of side cups disposed within the shell in a spaced-apart configuration for supporting said plurality of tubes.
A flange can be disposed on at least one of the side cups.
The system of the present disclosure is capable of cooling the process fluid to a temperature in the range of 40ºC to 90ºC.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A system for cooling a process fluid will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a partially cutout view depicting the internal details of a system for cooling a process fluid in accordance with the present disclosure; and
Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view of the system of Figure 1 along section line A-A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Conventional heat exchangers are not efficient in extracting heat from a process fluid such as engine oil, due to insufficient contact time between the process fluid and an exterior surface of a plurality of tubes. The present disclosure therefore provides a system for extracting heat from the process fluid so as to cool the process fluid to a desired temperature.
The system (100) of the present disclosure is illustrated with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2. The system (100) includes:
• a shell (12) is adapted for allowing the process fluid to pass through the shell (12) i.e. the process fluid enters the shell (12) through an inlet (12a) and exits the shell (12) through an outlet (12b);
• a plurality of tubes (30) is:
o disposed within the shell (12); and
o adapted for allowing a cooling fluid to pass therethrough;
• a plurality of baffles (40) is:
o disposed within the shell (12); and
o adapted for holding the plurality of tubes (30) in a pre-determined position and defining a path for the process fluid in the shell (12); and
• a plurality of perforated plates (60) is disposed within the shell (12) such that each of the plurality of perforated plates (60) is juxtaposed to at least one of the plurality of baffles (40) for enhancing the retention time of the process fluid within the shell (12), thereby increasing the heat transfer between the process fluid and the cooling fluid, to cool the process fluid.
Particularly, the perforated plates (60) facilitate in enhancing the retention time of the process fluid in the shell (12) due to which the contact time of the process fluid with an exterior surface (not shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2) of the plurality of tubes (30) is increased, thereby cooling the process fluid to a desired temperature.
The perforated plates (60) increase the pressure drop of the process fluid in the shell (12), thereby enhancing the retention time of the process fluid in the shell (12).
In accordance with the present disclosure, the retention time of the process fluid in the shell (12) increases with an increase in the pressure drop of the process fluid in the shell (12).
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pressure drop of the process fluid in the shell (12) can be in the range of 2 to 3 kg/cm2.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, 40 tubes (30) and 20 perforated plates (60) are disposed within the shell (12). However, any number of tubes (30) and perforated plates (60) may be used, depending on the requirement.
The plurality of baffles (40) disposed within the shell (12) facilitate in enhancing the turbulence of the process fluid in the shell (12).
In accordance an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of perforated plates (60) is disposed parallel to at least one of the plurality of baffles (40). However, the perforated plates (60) may be disposed in any manner, depending on the requirement.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the perforations on the plurality of perforated plates (60) can be least one of a circular and a zigzag form.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of perforated plates (60) is made of cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) steel material.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the direction (C) of the flow of the cooling fluid is depicted in Figure 1 i.e. the direction of flow of the process fluid is counter-current to the direction of flow of the cooling fluid.
The system (100) of the present disclosure includes a pair of side cups (10a and 10b) that is disposed within the shell (12) in a spaced-apart configuration for supporting the plurality of tubes (30).
The system (100) of the present disclosure includes a flange (70) that is disposed on at least one of the side cups (10a, 10b), to prevent leakage from the system (100). Specifically, the flange (70) is disposed on at least one of the side cup (10a, 10b) for achieving leak – proof configuration.
The system (100) of the present disclosure also includes a separator plate (50) disposed within the shell (12) for holding the plurality of tubes (30) in a pre-determined position.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, the separator plate (50) can be a baffle.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of tubes (30), the pair of side cups (10a and 10b), and the flange (70) are made of stainless steel material.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of holes (72) is configured on the flange (70) to facilitate mounting of the plurality of the tubes (30) and the plurality of perforated plates (60) within the shell (30).
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process fluid includes but is not limited to engine oil.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cooling fluid includes but is not limited to water having a temperature in the range of 25ºC to 80ºC.
Further, referring to Figure 1, the plurality of tubes (30) is arranged along the concentric circular rings such that the plurality of tubes (30) disposed along a first circular ring (C1) are separated from the plurality of tubes (30) disposed along a second or adjacent circular ring (C2) by the plurality of perforated plates (60). Referring to Figure 2, the plurality of perforated plates (60) configure a saw tooth profile along the length of the plurality of tubes (30) and the plurality of baffles (40) is configured to define the vertex of the saw tooth profile.
The system (100) of the present disclosure is capable of cooling the process fluid to a temperature in the range of 40ºC to 90ºC.
The present disclosure is further described in light of the following experiment which are set forth for illustration purpose only and not to be construed for limiting the scope of the disclosure. The following experiment can be scaled up to industrial/commercial scale.
Experiment 1:
The experiment for cooling the process fluid was carried out in the system (100) comprising:
40 tubes of 6.35 mm diameter, 181 mm length and 0.25 mm thickness;
20 perforated plates of 42 mm diameter, 15.5 mm height and 1.5 mm thickness; and
9 baffle plates of 60 mm diameter and 1.5 mm thickness.
A process fluid, i.e. engine oil was passed through the shell at a temperature of 100ºC, at a pressure of 2.46 kg/cm2 and at the rate of 56 liters per minute (lpm). A cooling fluid, i.e. water was passed through the tubes at a temperature of 80ºC, at a pressure of 0.42 kg/cm2 and at the rate of 41 liters per minute (lpm). The direction of the flow of the engine oil was counter-current to the direction of the flow of water.
The perforated plates increased the pressure drop of the process fluid in the shell to 2.03 kg/cm2, thereby enhancing the retention of the process fluid in the shell due to which the temperature of the process fluid exiting the shell was reduced to 80ºC and the temperature of the water exiting the tubes was increased to 100ºC.
Experiment 2:
The experiment was carried out in the system (100), wherein the dimensions of the tubes, the perforated tubes and the baffles were used as illustrated in experiment 1.
A process fluid, i.e. engine oil was passed through the shell at a temperature of 120ºC, at a pressure of 3 kg/cm2 and at the rate of 57 liters per minute (lpm). A cooling fluid, i.e. water was passed through the tubes at a temperature of 90ºC, at a pressure of 1 kg/cm2 and at the rate of 50 liters per minute (lpm). The direction of the flow of the engine oil was counter-current to the direction of the flow of water.
The perforated plates increased the pressure drop of the process fluid in the shell to 2.71 kg/cm2, thereby enhancing the retention of the process fluid in the shell due to which the temperature of the process fluid exiting the shell was reduced to 90ºC and the temperature of the water exiting the tubes was increased to 120ºC.
TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a system that:
• enhances the retention time of a process fluid, particularly engine oil in a shell, thereby increasing the contact time of the process fluid with an exterior surface of a plurality of tubes; and
• cools the process fluid effectively.
The disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully revealed the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the invention to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the invention as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles of the present invention can be applied, it should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only. While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the particular features of this invention, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made, and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principle of the invention. These and other modifications in the nature of the invention or the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. ,CLAIMS:1. A system for cooling a process fluid, said system comprising:
• a shell adapted for allowing said process fluid to pass therethrough;
• a plurality of tubes disposed within said shell and adapted for allowing a cooling fluid to pass therethrough;
• a plurality of baffles disposed within said shell and adapted for holding said plurality of tubes in a pre-determined position and defining a path for said process fluid in said shell; and
• a plurality of perforated plates disposed within said shell such that each of said plurality of perforated plates is juxtaposed to at least one of said plurality of baffles for enhancing the retention time of said process fluid within said shell, thereby increasing the heat transfer between said process fluid and said cooling fluid to cool said process fluid.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of perforated plates is parallel to at least one of said plurality of baffles.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction of flow of said process fluid is counter-current to the direction of flow of said cooling fluid.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of perforated plates is made of cold rolled close annealed steel material.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the perforations on said plurality of perforated plates is in at least one of a circular and a zigzag form.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pair of side cups is disposed within said shell in a spaced-apart configuration for supporting said plurality of tubes.
7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein a flange is disposed on at least one said side cup.
8. The system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of tubes, said pair of side cups and said flange are made of stainless steel material.
9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said process fluid is oil, and said cooling fluid is water.
10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system is capable of cooling said process fluid to a temperature in the range of 40ºC to 90ºC.