Patent Publication Number: US-2023159148-A1

Title: Steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Field of Invention 
     The present application relates to the field of marine outboard cooling technology, and more particularly to a steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system. 
     Description of Related Arts 
     At present, the marine outboard cooler is generally arranged at the sea chest. The outboard seawater enters the outboard cooler through the entrance at the bottom of the ship, and then is heated through performing heat exchange with the heat medium in the outboard cooler, and then rises to the exit at the upper portion of the outboard cooler due to the decrease in density for escaping, resulting in the restricted placement of the outboard cooler. Moreover, since the seawater needs to directly exchange heat with the outboard cooler, there is only one grille between the seawater and the outboard cooler, which causes the outboard cooler to be easily blocked by seawater pollutants, so that the heat exchange capacity of the outboard cooler is reduced. As a result, the equipment to be cooled in the cabin is prone to overheating accidents. In addition, the heat exchange between the existing outboard cooler and seawater is achieved by natural convection, so the heat exchange efficiency is low. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present application aims to solve at least one of technical problems existing in the prior art. 
     Therefore, the present application proposes a steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system, which is able to make full use of outboard space, so as to make the arrangement of the cooler more flexible, thus improving safety and reliability. 
     A steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system comprises a steam turbine, a cooler and a conformal heat exchanger, wherein:
     the steam turbine is connected with the cooler through a steam pipe;   the conformal heat exchanger comprises a casing, a lower cap located at a bottom of the casing, an upper cap located at a top of the casing, and multiple heat exchange tubes located within the casing, wherein the casing comprises an outer shell plate provided outside a hull plate, the outer shell plate and the hull plate define a seawater heat exchange chamber;   the upper cap has a cooling water intake chamber, the lower cap has a cooling water discharge chamber, a first end of each of the heat exchange tubes is communicated with the cooling water intake chamber, a second end of the each of the heat exchange tubes is communicated with the cooling water discharge chamber, the cooling water intake chamber is communicated with the cooler through a water intake pipe, the cooling water discharge chamber is communicated with the cooler through a water discharge pipe.   

     Preferably, a seawater entrance is provided on the outer shell plate near the lower cap, a seawater entrance grille is provided at the seawater entrance, a seawater exit is provided on the outer shell plate near the upper cap, a seawater exit grille is provided at the seawater exit. 
     Preferably, a ship shell is provided at a periphery of the hull plate, the hull plate and the ship shell form an outboard chamber, the conformal heat exchanger is provided within the outboard chamber. 
     Preferably, a water intake baffle is provided above the seawater entrance, and is provided between the outer shell plate and the ship shell. 
     Preferably, a fluidic device is provided within the outboard chamber and is corresponding to the seawater exit, the fluidic device is connected with the steam pipe through a steam exhaust pipe. 
     Preferably, the fluidic device comprises a nozzle, a suction port, a circulation pipe and a diffusion port, wherein the suction port and the diffusion port are connected with two ends of the circulation pipe respectively, the suction port is matched with the seawater exit of the seawater heat exchange chamber, an inlet of the nozzle is connected with the steam exhaust pipe, an outlet of the nozzle is provided within the suction port. 
     Preferably, the suction port is a conical cylinder with gradually decreasing diameter from a first end to a second end, the first end of the suction port is matched with the seawater exit, the second end of the suction port is connected with the circulation pipe; the diffusion port is a conical cylinder with gradually increasing diameter from a first end to a second end, the first end of the diffusion port is connected with the circulation pipe. 
     Preferably, a seawater barrier is provided above the diffusion port and is installed on an inner side wall of the ship shell. 
     Preferably, the lower cap comprises a low cap plate provided on an outer side wall of the hull plate, a bottom portion of the casing of the conformal heat exchanger is connected with the lower cap plate, the lower cap plate and the hull plate form the cooling water discharge chamber; the upper cap comprises an upper cap plate provided on the outer side wall of the hull plate, a top portion of the casing of the conformal heat exchanger is connected with the upper cap plate, the upper cap plate and the hull plate form the cooling water intake chamber. 
     Preferably, the hull plate is curved, the outer shell plate is curved which is matched with the hull plate, the heat exchange tubes are curved which are matched with the outer shell plate. 
     The above one or more technical solutions provided by the present application have at least one of technical effects as follows. 
     The steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system provided by the present application comprises a steam turbine, a cooler and a conformal heat exchanger, wherein the steam turbine is connected with the cooler through a steam pipe; the conformal heat exchanger comprises a casing, a lower cap, an upper cap and multiple heat exchange tubes, wherein the casing comprises an outer shell plate provided outside a hull plate, the outer shell plate and the hull plate define a seawater heat exchange chamber, so as to achieve circulation of the outboard seawater in the seawater heat exchange chamber; a first end of each of the heat exchange tubes is communicated with a cooling water intake chamber of the upper cap, the cooling water intake chamber is communicated with the cooler through a water intake pipe, a second end of the each of the heat exchange tubes is communicated with a cooling water discharge chamber of the lower cap, the cooling water discharge chamber is communicated with the cooler through a water discharge pipe. While working, the cooling water in the cooler enters the cooling water intake chamber through the water intake pipe, and then enters the heat exchange tubes through the cooling water intake chamber, and then is cooled through heat exchange with outboard seawater, and then enters the cooling water discharge chamber, and then returns to the cooler through the water discharge pipe, so as to cool steam exhaust discharged by the steam turbine. At the same time, the outboard seawater enters the seawater heat exchange chamber of the conformal heat exchanger, and then is heated by heat exchange with the cooling water in the heat exchange tubes, and then is discharged from the seawater heat exchange chamber. Therefore, the conformal heat exchanger and the ship shell of the steam-powered conformal cooling system provided by the present application form the conformal structure, so that the outboard seawater is able to flow at a shell side of the conformal heat exchange, the cooling water in the cooler is able to flow at a tube side of the conformal heat exchange, so as to cool the steam exhaust discharged by the steam turbine with the outboard seawater, which not only makes full use of the outboard space for making the arrangement position of the cooler on a hull more flexible, but also improves the safety and reliability of the heat exchange process of the system. 
     Some of additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be set forth in the following description, and some will be apparent from the following description, or learned by practice of the present application. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a structural schematic diagram of a steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application. 
         FIG.  2    is a structural schematic diagram of a fluidic device of the cooling system according to the above preferred embodiment of the present application. 
         FIG.  3    is a structural schematic diagram of a seawater entrance grille of the cooling system according to the above preferred embodiment of the present application. 
         FIG.  4    is a structural schematic diagram of a seawater exit grille of the cooling system according to the above preferred embodiment of the present application. 
     
    
    
     In the drawings, 
       1 : steam turbine;  2 : cooler; 
       3 : conformal heat exchanger;  31 : lower cap;  311 : cooling water discharge chamber;  312 : lower cap plate;  32 : upper cap;  321 : cooling water intake chamber;  322 : upper cap plate;  33 : heat exchange tube;  34 : hull plate;  35 : outer shell plate;  351 : seawater entrance grille;  352 : seawater exit grille;  36 : seawater heat exchange chamber; 
       4 : steam pipe;  5 : water intake pipe;  6 : water discharge pipe;  7 : ship shell;  8 : outboard chamber; 
       9 : fluidic device;  91 : nozzle;  92 : suction port;  93 : circulation pipe;  94 : diffusion port; 
       10 : water intake baffle;  11 : steam exhaust pipe;  12 : steam exhaust control valve;  13 : seawater barrier;  14 : baffle plate. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments as follows. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present application, but not to limit the protection scope of the present application. 
     In the description of the preferred embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that the terms “central”, “longitudinal”, “transverse”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside” and other indicated orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or component referred to must have a particular orientation, must be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore these terms should not be construed as a limitation of the present application. In addition, the terms “first”, “second”, “third” etc. are only used for descriptive purposes, and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. 
     In the description of the preferred embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms “connection” and “connected” should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it also may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it also may be a direct connection, an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application are able to be understood through specific situations. 
     In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the description that the first feature is provided “on” or “under” the second feature is the direct contact between the first feature and the second features. Also, the description that the first feature is provided “above” and “over” the second feature may mean that the first feature is higher than the second feature. The description that the first feature is provided “below” and “over” the second feature may mean that the first feature is lower than the second feature. 
     In the description of this specification, the terms, such as “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example,” “specific example,” and “some examples”, mean specific features, structures, or materials described in connection with the embodiments or examples are included in at least one example or embodiment of the present application. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the particular features, structures or materials described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as features of different embodiments or examples, without contradicting each other. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  4   , a steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application is illustrated, in which the direction of the arrow in the drawings indicates the flow direction of the liquid. The steam-powered outboard conformal cooling system comprises a steam turbine  1 , a cooler  2  and a conformal heat exchanger  3 , wherein the steam turbine  1  is connected with the cooler  2  through a steam pipe  4 , that is, the steam exhaust discharged from the steam turbine  1  is transmitted to the cooler  2  through the steam pipe  4  for heat exchange with cooling water in the cooler  2 , so as to cool the steam exhaust. 
     The conformal heat exchanger  3  comprises a casing, a lower cap  31  located at a bottom of the casing, an upper cap  32  located at a top of the casing, and multiple heat exchange tubes  33  located within the casing, wherein the casing comprises an outer shell plate  35  provided outside a hull plate  34 , the outer shell plate  35  and the hull plate  34  define a seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , that is, a part of the hull plate  34  is used as an inner shell plate of the conformal heat exchanger  3  to cooperate with the outer shell plate  35  to form a conformal structure. 
     The upper cap  32  has a cooling water intake chamber  321 , the lower cap  31  has a cooling water discharge chamber  311 , a first end of each of the heat exchange tubes  33  is communicated with the cooling water intake chamber  321 , a second end of the each of the heat exchange tubes  33  is communicated with the cooling water discharge chamber  311 . The cooling water intake chamber  321  is communicated with a cooling water outlet of the cooler  2  through a water intake pipe  5 , the cooling water discharge chamber  311  is communicated with a cooling water inlet of the cooler  2  through a water discharge pipe  6 . 
     While working, the cooling water in the cooler  2  enters the cooling water intake chamber  321  of the upper cap  32  through the water intake pipe  5 , and then enters the heat exchange tubes  33  through the cooling water intake chamber  321 , and then is cooled through heat exchange with outboard seawater, and then enters the cooling water discharge chamber  311  of the lower cap  31 , and then returns to the cooler  2  through the water discharge pipe  6 , so as to cool steam exhaust discharged by the steam turbine  1 . At the same time, the outboard seawater enters the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  of the conformal heat exchanger  3 , and then is heated by heat exchange with the cooling water in the heat exchange tubes  33 , and then is discharged from the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 . 
     Therefore, the conformal heat exchanger  3  and the hull plate  34  of the steam-powered conformal cooling system provided by the present application form the conformal structure, so that the outboard seawater is able to flow at a shell side of the conformal heat exchange  3 , the cooling water in the cooler  2  is able to flow at a tube side of the conformal heat exchange  3 , so as to cool the steam exhaust discharged by the steam turbine  1  with the outboard seawater, which not only makes full use of the outboard space for making the arrangement position of the cooler  2  on a hull more flexible, but also improves the safety and reliability of the heat exchange process of the system. 
     Specifically, the hull plate  34  is curved, the outer shell plate  35  is curved which is matched with the hull plate  34 , the heat exchange tubes  33  are curved which are matched with the outer shell plate  35 , that is, the heat exchange tubes  33  are curved from bottom to top. 
     Specifically, a ship shell  7  is provided at a periphery of the hull plate  34 , the hull plate  34  and the ship shell  7  form an outboard chamber  8 , the conformal heat exchanger  3  is provided within the outboard chamber  8 , that is, the conformal heat exchanger  3  is provided within the outboard chamber  8  which is defined by the hull plate  34  and the ship shell  7 , which is able to effectively protect the conformal heat exchanger  3  for further improving the safety and reliability of the heat exchange process of the system. 
     Preferably, a seawater entrance is provided on the outer shell plate  35  near the lower cap  31 , the seawater entrance is communicated with the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , a seawater entrance grille  351  is provided at the seawater entrance and has an angle of inclination for introducing the outboard seawater into the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 . A seawater exit is provided on the outer shell plate  35  near the upper cap  32 , the seawater exit is communicated with the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , a seawater exit grille  352  is provided at the seawater exit and has an angle of inclination for leading the outboard seawater out of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 . The outboard seawater enters the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  of the conformal heat exchanger  3  through the seawater entrance, and then is heated through heat exchange with the cooling water in the heat exchange tubes  33 , and then is discharged out of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  through the seawater exit. The seawater entrance grille  351  and the seawater exit grille  352  are able to protect the conformal heat exchanger  3  to effectively prevent pollutants from entering the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , so as to prevent the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  from being blocked by the pollutants, thereby further improving the safety and reliability of the system. 
     Since the seawater entrance is provided at a lower portion of the outer shell plate  35 , the seawater exit is provided at an upper portion of the outer shell plate  35 , the outboard seawater flows into the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  from a lower portion thereof and flows out of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  from an upper portion thereof. 
     Preferably, a water intake baffle  10  is provided above the seawater entrance, and is provided between the outer shell plate  35  and the ship shell  7 . The water intake baffle  10  cooperates with the seawater entrance grille  351  for facilitating introducing the outboard seawater into the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 . 
     Preferably, a fluidic device  9  is provided within the outboard chamber  8  and is corresponding to the seawater exit. The fluidic device  9  is connected with the steam pipe  4  through a steam exhaust pipe  11 . A steam exhaust control valve  12  is provided on the steam exhaust pipe  11  for controlling the circulation status of the steam exhaust in the steam exhaust pipe  11 . The fluidic device  9  takes the steam exhaust discharged by the steam turbine  1  as the working fluid, sucks the seawater which flows out of the conformal heat exchanger  3  through the seawater exit and then discharges the seawater in an ejection manner. Therefore, the steam exhaust discharged from the steam turbine  1  is rationally utilized to realize the forced convection heat exchange between the conformal heat exchanger  3  and the outboard seawater, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency of the system. 
     Specifically, the fluidic device  9  comprises a nozzle  91 , a suction port  92 , a circulation pipe  93  and a diffusion port  94 , wherein the suction port  92  and the diffusion port  94  are connected with two ends of the circulation pipe  93  respectively, the suction port  92  is matched with the seawater exit of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , an inlet of the nozzle  91  is connected with the steam exhaust pipe  11 , an outlet of the nozzle  91  is provided within the suction port  92 . The working fluid of the fluidic device  9  is the steam exhaust from the steam pipe  4 , the sucked fluid is the heated outboard seawater which flows from the seawater exit of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , the temperature of the steam exhaust from the steam pipe  4  is about 50° C. After condensing into liquid water, the steam exhaust shrinks sharply in volume, so that a negative pressure area is formed at the outlet of the nozzle  91 , and the outboard seawater flowing from the seawater exit is introduced into the suction port  92 , and then under the action of turbulent diffusion, the outboard seawater introduced from the suction port  92  is mixed with the steam exhaust ejected from the nozzle  91  and then is ejected outside the fluidic device  9  through the diffusion port  94 , so as to improve the water discharge speed of the seawater exit of the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , so that the flow speed of the outboard seawater which passes through the seawater heat exchange chamber  36  is improved, thereby achieving the forced convection heat exchange between the conformal heat exchanger  3  and the outboard seawater. At the same time, the outboard seawater flowing out of the fluidic device  9  is also heated to a certain extent, so that the upward flow speed of the outboard seawater is increased due to the decrease in density. 
     Specifically, the suction port  92  is a conical cylinder with gradually decreasing diameter from a first end to a second end, the first end of the suction port  92  is matched with the seawater exit, the second end of the suction port  92  is connected with the circulation pipe  93 . This structure of the suction port  92  facilitates the introduction of the outboard seawater from the seawater exit into an interior of the suction port  92 . 
     Specifically, the diffusion port  94  is a conical cylinder with gradually increasing diameter from a first end to a second end, the first end of the diffusion port  94  is connected with the circulation pipe  93 , the second end of the diffusion port  94  has an inverted cone structure. This structure of the diffusion port  94  facilitates the discharge of the outboard seawater mixed with the steam exhaust which is ejected from the nozzle  91 . 
     Specifically, the fluidic device  9  is installed on an inner side wall of the ship shell  7  through a mounting bracket, so as to realize the installation and fixation of the fluidic device  9  inside the outboard chamber  8 . 
     Preferably, a seawater barrier  13  is provided above the diffusion port  94  and is installed on the inner side wall of the ship shell  7 , so as to facilitate the final discharge of the outboard seawater from the fluidic device  9  to the sea. 
     Preferably, multiple baffle plates  14  are provided within the casing of the conformal heat exchanger  3  and are arranged at staggered intervals along a lengthwise extending direction of the heat exchange tubes  33 , which is beneficial to guide the flow of outboard seawater inside the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 . 
     Preferably, the upper cap  32  comprises an upper cap plate  322  provided on an outer side wall of the hull plate  34 , a top portion of the casing of the conformal heat exchanger  3  is connected with the upper cap plate  322 , the upper cap plate  322  and the hull plate  34  form the cooling water intake chamber  321 , the cooling water intake chamber  321  is separate from the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , the first end of the each of the heat exchange tubes  33  passes through the upper cap plate  322  and is communicated with the cooling water intake chamber  321 . 
     Preferably, the lower cap  31  comprises a low cap plate  312  provided on the outer side wall of the hull plate  34 , a bottom portion of the casing of the conformal heat exchanger  3  is connected with the lower cap plate  312 , the lower cap plate  312  and the hull plate  34  form the cooling water discharge chamber  311 , the cooling water discharge chamber  311  is separate from the seawater heat exchange chamber  36 , the second end of the each of the heat exchange tubes  33  passes through the lower cap plate  312  and is communicated with the cooling water discharge chamber  311 . 
     The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application, but not to limit the present application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that various combinations, modifications or equivalent replacements are made to the technical solutions of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application, and should be included in the protective scope of the claims of the present application.