Evaporative cooling of a heat exchanger in a compressor system

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to an air cooled heat exchanger with an evaporative cooling pad positioned upstream thereof to humidify and cool ambient air flowing into the heat exchanger. A water manifold is positioned proximate a top side of the evaporative cooling pad and a water tank is positioned proximate a bottom side of the evaporative cooling pad. The water manifold is operable for supplying water to the evaporative cooling pad at the top side and the water tank is operable for receiving water discharged from the evaporative cooling pad at the bottom side thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A heat exchanger system comprising:
 an air cooled heat exchanger;   an evaporative cooling pad positioned upstream of the air cooled heat exchanger;   a water manifold positioned proximate a top side of the evaporative cooling pad;   a water tank positioned proximate a bottom side of the evaporative cooling pad;   wherein the water manifold is operable for supplying water to the evaporative cooling pad at the top side and the water tank is operable for receiving water discharged from the evaporative cooling pad at the bottom side thereof.   
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1  further comprising a pump operable for pumping water from the water tank to the water manifold. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2  further comprising a transfer conduit in fluid communication between the tank and the pump. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2  further comprising a water supply conduit in fluid communication between the pump and the water manifold. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the water manifold includes a plurality of outlet holes projected across the top side of the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1  further comprising a water distributer positioned between the water manifold and the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger of  claim 6 , wherein the water distributor includes a mesh material layer to disperse the water across a width of the top of the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the water includes a mixture of one or more liquids. 
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein a compressor is in fluid communication with the air cooled heat exchanger. 
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein compressed fluid and/or oil discharged from the air compressor is cooled in the heat exchanger with the cooled humidified ambient air and through evaporation of excess water carried by the humidified ambient air. 
     
     
         11 . A compressor system comprising:
 a fluid compressor operable for compressing a working fluid;   an air cooled heat exchanger operable for cooling the working fluid and/or a lubricant discharged from the compressor;   an evaporative cooling pad positioned upstream of the heat exchanger operable for humidifying ambient air prior to entering the heat exchanger; and   a water supply apparatus configured to provide water to the evaporative cooling pad.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the water supply apparatus includes a water manifold positioned proximate a top wall of the evaporative cooling pad, the water manifold having a plurality of outlet ports for discharging a plurality of water streams along a width thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the water supply apparatus includes a water distributer positioned between the water manifold and the evaporative cooling pad to disperse the plurality of water streams across a width of the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  further comprising a discharge manifold positioned adjacent a bottom wall of the evaporative cooling pad, the discharge manifold operable for collecting water flowing from the evaporative cooling pad and discharging the water into a water holding tank. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11  further comprising a pump in fluid communication with the tank and the water manifold, the pump operable for pumping water from the tank to the water distributer. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a second heat exchanger configured to receive ambient cooling air. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the second heat exchanger is positioned upstream of the evaporative cooling pad, in parallel with the heat exchanger or downstream of the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger is one of an aftercooler, an intercooler, or an oil cooler. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the water supply apparatus is configured to supply water condensate discharged from the aftercooler. 
     
     
         20 . A method comprising:
 flowing compressed air discharged from an air compressor to an air cooled heat exchanger;   humidifying ambient air upstream of the air cooled heat exchanger, wherein the humidifying includes cooling the ambient air by passing the ambient through an evaporative cooling pad; and   exchanging heat between the compressed air and the cooled humidified ambient air within the air cooled heat exchanger.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising supplying water to the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the supplying includes recycling water from a water tank operable to receive non-evaporated water discharged from the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the supplying includes recycling condensate water discharged from an aftercooler and supplying the condensate water to the evaporative cooling pad. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the water includes a mixture of one or more additional liquid compositions. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the humidifying further includes entraining excess water with a flow of the cooled ambient air and evaporating the excess water within the air cooled heat exchanger.