FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to an air-cooling system, more particularly, a system for pre-cooling of ambient air received in at least one air-cooled chiller assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This section is intended to provide information relating to the field of the invention and thus, any approach or functionality described below should not be assumed to be qualified as prior art merely by its inclusion in this section.

The Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system (herein after referred as HVAC system) is a conventionally known system employed to control the temperature of an indoor space. The HVAC system comprising at least one air-cooled chiller assembly, an air handling unit and a cooling medium circulating between the chiller assembly and the air handling unit for controlling temperature within an indoor space. The air handling unit allows heat exchange to take place between the cooling medium and the indoor air, thereby absorbing the heat within the indoor space and raising the temperature of the cooling medium. The cooling medium then flows to the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly, wherein the ambient air interacts with the heated cooling medium to expel the heat by heat transfer from the cooling medium to the ambient air. 'The cooling medium' refers to a fluid with heat absorbing capabilities. Although, the present disclosure describes the cooling medium as water, it may be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the cooling medium may include any other cooling medium, such as but not limited to, liquid medium, gas medium and the like.

An air-cooled chiller is an integral part of the Heating, Ventilation and Air- Conditioning (HVAC) system employed for controlling temperature of a cooling medium to cool the indoor space. In conventional air-cooled chiller assembly comprises one or more condenser members, one or more evaporator members, one or more compressor members, a plurality of blower fan. The plurality of blower fans is employed to generate an airflow through the one or more condenser units, to allow the cooling medium to dissipate heat to the external environment. The cooling medium can be any heat absorbing medium such as but not limited to water, air, or coolant gas. In operation, the cooling medium interacts with the air of the indoor space to be cooled by absorbing the heat of the air therein. The cooling medium is then circulated through the chiller assembly to dissipate the heat collected from the air of the indoor space to the external environment. The air-cooled chiller assembly is placed outdoors, wherein the temperature of the outdoor/ambient air is high, thereby reducing the rate of heat exchanger between the cooling medium and the ambient air. Thus, reducing the efficiency of the of the air-cooled chiller assembly and causing the air-cooled chillers to trip as well as fail to provide the appropriate cooling capacity. Further due to the outdoor placement of the air-cooled chiller assembly there is a tendency of the one or more members of the air-cooled chiller assembly to clog by dust particles, thereby increasing the consumption of electricity to power the air-cooled chiller assembly efficiently and further reduce the performance of the air-cooled chiller assembly as the rate of heat exchange between the cooling medium and the ambient air is reduced. Further, direct UV/sunlight rays on the one or more condenser members of the air-cooled chiller reduces the performance therein.

Accordingly, in light of the aforementioned drawbacks and several other inherent in the existing art, there is a well felt need to provide an improved aircooled chiller assembly with improved performance capabilities and anticlogging techniques, which could sustain high ambient temperatures and excess dust in the environment and further, reduce the cost of running and maintenance of the air-cooled chiller assembly. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This section is intended to introduce certain aspects of the system in a simplified form and is not intended to identify the key advantages or features of the present disclosure.

An aspect of the present invention relates to an air-cooling system [100] for pre-cooling ambient air, the air-cooling system comprising: - at least a first water supply system and at least a second water supply system for supplying water; - the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] adapted to receive water from at least one first water supply system or at least one second water supply system; and adapted to generate an airflow therethrough, wherein - at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] comprises one or more nozzles [124], wherein said one or more nozzles [124] produce mist of the water received from at least the first water supply system or second water supply system, wherein - the said mist of water size ranging 5 microns to 30 microns absorbs heat from the external ambient air prior to the external ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106]; - at least a water recirculation system for recirculating the mist of water to at least the second water supply system; and - one or more pumps [108] for supplying pressurized water from at least the first water supply system or at least the second water supply system to the one or more nozzles [124] at a pressure in the range of 50 bars to 150 bars; and - at least one electronic controller [144] for controlling the system therein.

OBJECT(S) OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention relates to an air-cooling system to pre-cool ambient air received in at least one air-cooled chiller assembly. The air-cooling system comprising at least a first water supply system and at least a second water supply system for supplying water; the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] adapted to receive water from at least one first water supply system or at least one second water supply system; and adapted to generate an airflow therethrough, wherein at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] comprises one or more nozzles [124], wherein said one or more nozzles [124] produce mist of the water received from at least the first water supply system or second water supply system, wherein the said mist of water size ranging 5 microns to 30 microns absorbs heat from the external ambient air prior to the external ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106]; at least a water recirculation system for recirculating the mist of water to at least the second water supply system; and one or more pumps [108] for supplying pressurized water from at least the first water supply system or at least the second water supply system to the one or more nozzles [124] at a pressure in the range of 50 bars to 150 bars; and at least one electronic controller [144] for controlling the system therein, which enables efficient heat transfer between the cooling medium and the ambient air, thereby increasing the efficiency of the one or more air-cooled chiller assembly.

Another object of the present disclosure relates to a first and second water treatment system to filter the water for foreign particles which may clog the one or more nozzles of the of the air-cooling system.

Yet another object of the present disclosure relates to a water recirculation system for recirculating the mist of water and reduce the wastage of water.

Still another object of the present disclosure relates to an air screen filter for trapping water and filtering dust as to prevent the one or more condenser units from clogging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In order to explain the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application more clearly, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application. For those skilled in the art, without any creative work, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

FIG 1 shows a schematic diagram of an air-cooling system, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG 2 shows a schematic diagram of a first and second water supply system, in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or might address only one of the problems discussed above. Some of the problems discussed above might not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein. Exemplified embodiments of the present invention are described below, as illustrated in various drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings.

Some of the problems discussed above might not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein. Exemplified embodiments of the present invention are described below, as illustrated in various drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings.

The present invention relates to an air-cooling system [100] for precooling ambient air, the air-cooling system comprising: at least a first water supply system and at least a second water supply system for supplying water; the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] adapted to receive water from at least one first water supply system or at least one second water supply system; and adapted to generate an airflow therethrough, wherein at least one aircooled chiller assembly [106] comprises one or more nozzles [124], wherein said one or more nozzles [124] produce mist of the water received from at least the first water supply system or second water supply system, wherein the said mist of water size ranging 5 microns to 30 microns absorbs heat from the external ambient air prior to the external ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106]; at least a water recirculation system for recirculating the mist of water to at least the second water supply system; and one or more pumps [108] for supplying pressurized water from at least the first water supply system or at least the second water supply system to the one or more nozzles [124] at a pressure in the range of 50 bars to 150 bars; and at least one electronic controller [144] for controlling the system therein.

In another embodiment, the first water supply system comprises: at least one first water reservoir [110] for storing water; and a first water treatment system positioned downstream of the at least one first water reservoir.

In another embodiment, the first water treatment system comprises: at least one bio-chemical container [116] fluidly disposed downstream of the at least one side screen filter [114] to break calcium-based impurities in the water; and a first 2-stage water filter [118] fluidly disposed downstream of the at least one biochemical container [116]; at least one first scale preventer [120] fluidly disposed downstream of the at least one first 2-stage water filter [118] for removal of calcium-based impurities in the water; and at least one first water sterilizer [122] fluidly disposed downstream of the at least one first scale preventer [120],

In another embodiment, the first 2-stage water filter [128] comprises: a first filter [118a] having filter size in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns; and a second filter [118b] having filter size in the range of 5 micron to 20 microns.

In another embodiment, the second water supply system comprises: at least one second water reservoir [134] for storing water received from the water recirculation system; and a second water treatment system positioned upstream of the at least one second water reservoir adapted to receive water from the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106],

In another embodiment, the water recirculation system comprising: at least one air screen filter [128] positioned at an air inlet of at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106]; at least one drain pan [132] positioned underneath the at least one air screen filter [128] adapted to collect mist of water generated by the one or more nozzles [124] thereof; a plurality of blower fans [130] of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly positioned at an air outlet [148] therein; and the one or more nozzle [124] of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] positioned proximal to the at least one air screen filter [128] such that the one or more nozzles [124] direct a mist of water towards external air being received therein.

In another embodiment, the at least one drain pan [132] is positioned upstream of the second water treatment system of the second water supply system, wherein the second water treatment system filters the collected mist of water from at least the drain pan [132] and recirculates the water to the at least one second water reservoir [134] through the second water treatment system.

In another embodiment, the second water treatment system [122] comprises: a second 2-stage water filter [138] fluidly disposed downstream of the at least one drain pan [132] and upstream of the one or more pumps [108],

In another embodiment, the at least one second scale preventer [140] for removal of calcium-based impurities in the water; and at least one second water sterilizer [142] to prevent bacterial growth.

In another embodiment, the at least one second scale preventer [140] is fluidically disposed downstream of the second 2-stage water filter [138]; and the at least one second water sterilizer [142] fluidically disposed downstream the at least one scale preventer [140] and upstream of the at least one second water reservoir [134],

In another embodiment, the second 2-stage water filter [138] comprises: a third filter [138a] having filter size in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns, and a fourth filter [138b] having filter size in the range of 5 micron to 20 microns.

In another embodiment, the at least one air screen filter [128] is made up of polyurethane foam of density in the range of 24kg/m3 to 32kg/m3 and cell size in the range of 25 Pores per inch to 35 Pores Per Inch.

In another embodiment, the first water treatment system optionally comprises a side screen filter fluidically disposed upstream of the at least one bio-chemical container for filter coarse particles.

In one embodiment of the present invention relates to an air-cooling system [100], wherein the air-cooling system [100] is adapted to pre-cool ambient air received in at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] by heat transfer between the said ambient air and mist of water generated by one of more nozzles [124],

ASSEMBLY FIG.l shows a schematic view of the air-cooling system [100], for precooling ambient air received in at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], FIG 2 shows a schematic diagram of the first and second water supply system [102, 104], illustrating the individual components therein. Fig 1, and 2 should be referred to in conjunction with each other, in order to clearly understand the concepts of the present disclosure. The air-cooling system [100] employed for pre-cooling ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], The air-cooling system [100], comprising a first water supply system, a second water supply system, at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] and at least one pump [108] for pre-cooling the ambient air received by the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106],

AIR-COOLED CHILLER ASSEMBLY

The at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] employed for dissipating heat of the cooling medium to cool the indoor space. The at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] employed to receive water from at least one first water supply system and/or at least one second water supply system and adapted to generate an airflow therethrough. The at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] comprising of one or more condenser members (not shown in figure), one or more evaporator members (not shown in figure), one or more compressor members (not shown in figure), a plurality of blower fan [130], one or more nozzles [124] and a water recirculation system. The plurality of blower fans [130] employed to generate an airflow through the air inlet of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], and to allow the cooling medium to dissipate heat through the air outlet of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] to the external environment. The cooling medium can be any heat absorbing medium such as but not limited to water, air, or coolant gas. The one or more nozzles [124] fluidically connected upstream of the one or more pumps [108], wherein said one or more nozzles [124] produce mist of the water received from at least the first water supply system and/or second water supply system. The one or more nozzles [124] positioned proximal to the at least one air screen filter of the water recirculation system such that the one or more nozzles [124] direct a mist of water towards the ambient air being received therein. The said mist of water absorbs heat from the external ambient air prior to the external ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], The mist of water generated by the one or more nozzles [124] flowing towards the ambient air flow is trapped and recirculated via the water recirculation system.

WATER RECIRCULATION SYSTEM

The water recirculation system employed for recirculation of the mist of water to the at least the second water supply system. The water recirculation system comprises at least one air screen filter [128] and at least one drain pan [132], The at least one air screen filter [128] positioned at the air inlet of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], wherein the at least one air screen filter [128] is employed for trapping the mist of water for recirculating to the second water supply system. The at least one air screen filter [128] made up of polyurethane foam of density in the range of 24 kg/m3 to 32kg/m3 and cell size in the range of 25 Pores Per inch to 35 Pores Per inch. The at least one drain pan [132] positioned underneath the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], adapted to collect mist of water generated by the one or more nozzles [124], The at least one drain [132] fluidically connected upstream to the second treatment system of the second water supply system, wherein the second water treatment system filters the collected mist of water from the at least one drain pan [132] and recirculates the said water to the at least one second water reservoir [134], FIRST WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

The first water supply system fluidically connected to the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] via one or more pumps [108], wherein the first water supply system is employed for suppling and filtering the water for pre-cooling the ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], The first water supply system comprises at least one first water reservoir [110] and a first water treatment system fluidically connected downstream of the at least one first water reservoir [110], The at least one first water reservoir [110] for storing and supplying water to the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] of the air-cooling system [100] therein.

FIRST WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

The first water treatment system employed for treating and filtering water as to not clog the air-cooling system [100], wherein the first water treatment system comprises at least one bio-chemical container [116], a first 2- stagewater filter [118], at least one first scale preventer [120] and at least one first water sterilizer [122], The first water treatment system optionally comprises at least one side screen filter [114] positioned downstream the at least one first water reservoir [110], wherein the at least one side screen filter [114] employed to filter out the coarse particles from the water, wherein the coarse particles are bigger than 30 microns in size. Further, the at least one side screen filter [114] comprises an automatic backwash arrangement to remove the trapped coarse particles from the at least one side screen filter [114] without manual removal. The automatic backwash arrangement prevents the at least one side screen filter [114] from clogging. The at least one side screen filter [114] fluidically connected upstream to the at least one bio-chemical container [116], The bio-chemical container [116] comprising granules/crystals employed to break down calcium- based impurities present within the water and to prevent biological growth in the air-cooling system [100], The bio-chemical container [116] fluidically connected upstream to the first 2-stage filter [118], The first 2-stage filter [118] comprising a first filter [118a] fluidically connected to the second filter [118b], wherein the first filter [118a] adapted to filter water in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns and the second filter [118b] adapted to filter water in the range of the 5 microns to 20 microns. Although the present disclosure describes a first 2- stage water filter [118] to filter the water, it may be obvious to a person skilled in the art that other means of water filtration maybe employed, such as but not limited to, a single stage water filter, a three-stage water filter and the like. The at least one scale preventer [120] positioned downstream the second filter [118b] of the first 2-stage filter [118] and upstream of the at least one water sterilizer [122], wherein the at least one scale preventer [120] employed for breaking down and removing calcium-based impurities present within the water.

The at least one first scale preventer [120] being an electromagnetic type of scale preventer. The at least one first water sterilizer positioned downstream the at least one first scale preventer [122], wherein the at least one first water sterilizer [122] comprises of UV rays employed for sterilizing the water as to prevent biological growth within the air-cooling system [100] and is positioned upstream of the one or more pumps [108],

SECOND WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

The second water supply system fluidically connected to the at least one air cooled chiller assembly [106] via one or more pumps [108], wherein the second water supply system employed for suppling and filtering the recirculated water from the water recirculation system of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] for pre-cooling the ambient air entering the at least one aircooled chiller [106], The second water supply system comprises at least one second water reservoir [134] and a second water treatment system. The at least one second water reservoir [134] for storing and supplying water to the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106] of the air-cooling system [100],

SECOND WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

In one embodiment, the second water treatment system employed for treating and filtering recirculated water from the water recirculation system, wherein the second water treatment system is fluidically connected upstream of the at least one second water reservoir [134] and downstream at least one drain pan [132] of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], The second water treatment system comprises a second 2-stage filter, fluidically connected downstream to the at least one drain pan [132] and upstream of the at least one second water reservoir. The second 2-stage filter comprises a third filter [138a] fluidically connected to the fourth filter [138b], wherein the third filter [138a] adapted to filter water in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns and the fourth filter [138b] adapted to filter water in the range of the 5 microns to 20 microns. Although the present disclosure describes a second 2-stage water filter [118] to filter the water, it may be obvious to a person skilled in the art that other means of water filtration maybe employed, such as but not limited to, a single stage water filter, a three-stage water filter and the like.

In another embodiment, the second water treatment system employed for treating and filtering recirculated water from the water recirculation system, wherein the second water treatment system is fluidically connected upstream of the at least one second water reservoir [134] and downstream at least one drain pan [132] of the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106], The second water treatment system comprises a second 2-stage filter. The at least 2-stage filter [138] fluidically connected downstream to the at least one drain pan [132] comprises a third filter [138a] fluidically connected to the fourth filter [138b], wherein the third filter [138a] adapted to filter water in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns and the fourth filter [138b] adapted to filter water in the range of the 5 microns to 20 microns. Although the present disclosure describes a second 2-stage water filter [118] to filter the water, it may be obvious to a person skilled in the art that other means of water filtration maybe employed, such as but not limited to, a single stage water filter, a three-stage water filter and the like. The at least one second scale preventer [140] positioned downstream the fourth filter [138b] of the second 2-stage filter [138] and upstream of the at least one second water sterilizer [142], wherein the at least one second scale preventer [140] employed for breaking down and removing calcium-based impurities present within the water. The at least one second scale preventer [140] of the air-cooling system [100] being an electromagnetic type of scale preventer. The at least one second water sterilizer [142] air-cooling system [100] positioned downstream the at least one second scale preventer [140] air-cooling system [100], wherein the at least one second water sterilizer [142] comprises of UV rays employed for sterilizing the water as to prevent biological growth within the air- cooling system [100] and is positioned upstream of the one or more pumps [108],

PUMPS

The one or more pumps [108] employed for supplying pressurized water from at least first water supply system and/or at least the second water supply system to the one or more nozzles at a pressure in the range of 50 bars to 150 bars. The said pressure generates a fine mist of water through the one or more nozzles [124] in range of 5 microns to 30 microns. The said fine mist of water absorbs heat from the external ambient air prior to the external ambient air entering the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly [106],

With such an arrangement the disclosed air-cooling system pre-cool the ambient air being received by the at least one air-cooled chiller assembly. As the temperature difference between the ambient air and the cooling medium, there is a high rate of heat exchange therein. This reduces the energy consumption of the chiller assembly, further enhances the cooling capacity. Further, the at least one air screen filter protects the at least one chiller assembly from dust, further increasing the service life and reducing the maintenance requirements. With the water recirculation system there is minimum water consumption to pre-cool the air, which saves cost substantially.

ELECTRONIC CONTROLLER

An electronic controller [144] is provided to control the operation of the system [100] automatically. The electronic controller [140] controls the flow of water by controlling at least one pump [108], thereby forming a mist of water through the one or more nozzles [124], The electronic controller [144] is a PLC based controller.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described hereinabove, it should be understood that various changes, adaptations, and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. LIST OF COMPONENTS

100 - Air-cooling system

106 - Air-cooled chiller assembly

108 - Pumps

110 - First water reservoir

114 - Side screen filter

116 - Bio-chemical container

118 - First 2-stage water filter

118a - First filter member

118b - Second Filter member

120 - scale preventer

122 - water sterilizer

124 - Nozzles

126 - Water recirculation system

128 - Air screen filter

130 - Blower fans

132 - Drain pan

134 - Second water reservoir

138 - Second 2-stage water filter

138a - Third filter

138b - Fourth filter

140 - Second scale preventer

142 - Second water sterilizer

144 - Electronic Controller