Aero-refrigeration tower with passage for bypassing a humidification device in a mixed module of the tower

Abstract

An air-cooling tower comprising an air intake unit, a dry unit and a mixed unit between the intake unit and the dry unit, with the units being adjacent, with the intake unit being configured to draw outside air and transfer it to the mixed unit, at least one passage of humidification of discharged air passing through at least one humidification device of the mixed unit. At least one passage as a by-pass separate from said at least one passage of humidification passes through the mixed unit outside of the space occupied by the at least one humidification device and connecting the air intake unit to the dry unit, the at least one passage as a by-pass being partitioned with respect to the at least one passage of humidification and to the at least one humidification device.

1 . Hybrid air-cooling tower comprising an air intake unit, a dry unit and at least one humidification device, the dry unit being adjacent to the humidification device, the air intake unit being configured to draw outside air and transfer it to the humidification device, at least one passage of humidification of transferred air passing through the humidification device, wherein the humidification device is included in a mixed unit, at least one passage as a by-pass separate from said at least one passage of humidification passing through the mixed unit outside of the space occupied by said at least one humidification device, said at least one passage as a by-pass being partitioned with respect to said at least one passage of humidification and to said at least one humidification device, with the at least one passage as a by-pass being configured to direct the air transferred by the air intake unit to the dry unit without passing through the humidification device. 
     
     
         2 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one passage as a by-pass connects the air intake unit to the dry unit. 
     
     
         3 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 2 , wherein said at least one passage of humidification opens into the dry unit after having passed through said at least one humidification device, with the mixed unit comprising a first enclosure integrating said at least one humidification device and said at least one passage of humidification and a second enclosure passed through by said at least one passage as a by-pass causing the air intake unit to communicate with the dry unit. 
     
     
         4 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 3 , wherein the first and second enclosures are separated by a wall, said wall being vertical in a vertical position of the air-cooling tower. 
     
     
         5 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 3 , wherein the air intake unit is a ventilation unit that comprises at least one freewheel drawing outside air and discharging it to the mixed unit, said at least one passage as a by-pass being arranged above said at least one freewheel in a vertical position of the air-cooling tower. 
     
     
         6 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 5 , wherein the ventilation unit integrates inside of it the freewheel drawing outside air and discharging the air on the same side of the freewheel, with the ventilation unit being passed through by at least one drawing passage of outside air and by at least one discharging passage of air opening into said at least one passage of humidification, said at least one drawing passage and discharging passage extending substantially parallel to one another by being partitioned in relation to one another. 
     
     
         7 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 4 , wherein said at least one passage as a by-pass communicates with the air intake unit through at least one element for closing off, an opening of said at least one element for closing off being adjusted between at least one open position and one closed position. 
     
     
         8 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 7 , wherein said at least one element for closing off is adjustable in the intermediate positions between the opening and closing positions. 
     
     
         9 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 8 , wherein said at least one element for closing off is associated with a motor assembly for its adjustment in position. 
     
     
         10 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the dry unit comprises a dry battery. 
     
     
         11 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 10 , wherein said at least one passage as a by-pass opens through several openings on the dry battery, at least one opening that opens between an upper face of said at least one humidification device of the mixed unit and a lower face of the dry battery of the dry unit. 
     
     
         12 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 11 , wherein said at least one humidification device of the mixed unit comprises a sprayed battery, a spraying device and a drop separator. 
     
     
         13 . Air-cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the air intake units, wet and dry are in the form of superimposed rectangle parallelepipeds. 
     
     
         14 . Method for refrigerating air in a hybrid air-cooling tower according to  claim 1 , with the air-cooling tower being configured to operate according to at least one wet operating mode and a dry mode, wherein a first flow of transferred air coming from an air intake unit passes through said at least one humidification device while a second flow of transferred air coming from the air intake unit traverse the mixed unit through the passage as a by-pass, with the flow rates of each one of the two flows able to be adjusted according to the wet or dry mode. 
     
     
         15 . Method according to  claim 14 , wherein air transferred by the air intake unit passes through the mixed unit without humidification treatment in order to penetrate into the dry unit. 
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 14  wherein said at least one passage as a by-pass connects the air intake unit to the dry unit, and wherein said at least one passage of humidification opens into the dry unit after having passed through said at least one humidification device, with the mixed unit comprising a first enclosure integrating said at least one humidification device and said at least one passage of humidification and a second enclosure passed through by said at least one passage as a by-pass causing the air intake unit to communicate with the dry unit, and wherein the first and second enclosures are separated by a wall, said wall being vertical in a vertical position of the air-cooling tower, and wherein said at least one passage as a by-pass communicates with the air intake unit through at least one element for closing off, an opening of said at least one element for closing off being adjusted between at least one open position and one closed position, and wherein the element for closing off is placed in one among of an open position, a closed position and an intermediate position. 
     
     
         17 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein the air-cooling tower operates according to a dry mode or a wet mode, said at least one humidification device of the mixed unit being inactive in the dry mode, with, for the dry mode, between 55% and 65% of the transferred air passing through said at least one passage as a by-pass and 35 to 45% passing through said at least one passage of humidification of the mixed unit with the passage as an inactive by-pass and, for the wet mode, 100% of the transferred air passing through said at least one passage of humidification of the mixed unit with said at least one active humidification device. 
     
     
         18 . Method according to  claim 17 , wherein the air-cooling tower operates according to an adiabatic mode for which 100% of the transferred air passes through said at least one passage of humidification of the mixed unit with said at least one inactive humidification device.