Feb. 15, 1974 Austria /74 Feb. 15, 1974 Austria /74 5ll Int. Cl... B01F 3/04 52 U.S. C /111; 52/83; 261/DIG.

Transcription

1 United State Patent (19) Uhlirch et al. 54 COOLING TOWER AND WALL STRUCTURE THEREFOR 75 Inventor: urt Uhlirch; Hermann Lindhuber, both of Braunau, Autria 73) Aignee: Vereinigte Metallwerke Ramhofen-Berndorf Aktiengeellchaft, Ranhofen near Braumau, Autria 21 Appl. No.: 550, Filed: Feb. 14, 1975 (30) Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 15, 1974 Autria /74 Feb. 15, 1974 Autria /74 5ll Int. Cl... B01F 3/04 52 U.S. C /111; 52/83; 52/148; 52/224; 52/248; 52/630; 248/72; 261/DIG ) Field of Search /111, 112, DIG. 11; 52/62, 73, 63, 80, 83,224, 246, 248, 249, ,618, 620, 630,625, 671, 674, 245,247, 629, 148, 244, 336,675; 248/49, 58, 59, 63, 65, 72 (56) Reference Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 1,144,593 6/1915 Heier /72 X 1,302,544 5/1919 Hartburg /72 3,129,793 4/1964. Ferrell... 52/73 3,151,947 10/1964 Hating /630 X 3,304,351 2/1967 Sweeney... 52/224 X 3,422,883 1/1969 Daltry /DIG. 11 3,444,558 5/1969 Leitner... 52/630 X 3,618,277 11/1971 Water... 52/24S X 4. 2 G C S : & S. X Sk (11) 4,060,575 45) Nov. 29, ,637,193 1/1972 ugler et al /OIG, 11 3,648,990 3/1972 Stoker et al /111 X 3,892,094 7/1975 Spray... 52/80 X FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 2,154,530 2/1973 Germany /DIG. 11 2,232,399 1/1974 Germany /DIG. 11 2,232,400 1/1974 Germany /DIG ,020 10/1933 Germany /DIG. 11 2,109,174 9/1972 Germany /DIG. 11 1,183,193 3/1970 United ingdom /DIG. 11 Primary Examiner-Tim R. Mile Aitant Examiner-Richard L. Chiea Attorney, Agent, or Firm-arl F. Ro 57 ABSTRACT A hyperboloidal cooling tower ha a central pot from which i upended an upper horizontal ring centered on the pot. A network of cable trung from the upper ring define a generally hyperboloidal urface, with the cable cri-croing and the interection clamped to gether with clip. A plurality of corrugated aluminum plate i ecured inide the array of cable at the clip with the corrugation of the plate extending upwardly. The corrugation of each plate are pread to a greater and leer extent at different region along the plate together o that thee plate may form a uniform three dimenional hape. Each of the plate i ecured at it central region fixedly to at leat one clip and otherwie ecured to the clip via tringer which can lide on thee clip o a to allow thermal expanion of the plate relative to the cable network and relative to one an other. i 8 X X 8 X v a. k 2x S S 3 Claim, 8 Drawing Figure

2 U.S. Patent Nov. 29, 1977 Sheet 1 of 3 4,060,575 A/G / A/G 2 a 72 A. /7 MO SQ // a

3 U.S. Patent Nov. 29, 1977 Sheet 2 of 3 4,060,575

4 U.S. Patent Nov. 29, 1977 Sheet 3 of 3 4,060 N e. NNN A WANNA

5 1. COOLING TOWER AND WALL STRUCTURE THEREFOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The preent invention relate to a wall tructure and, more particularly, to a chimney-type or hyperbolic cooling tower having an improved wall tructure. BACGROUND OF THE INVENTION A power-generating plant often employ cooling tower in order to reduce the temperature of the cool ant ued in the plant. Thi coolant i uually water and the cooling tower i arranged to pa atmopheric air through the water o a to cool it by conduction and evaporation. In recent time the mechanical-draft type of tower ha been increaingly replaced by the o-called hyper bolic natural-draft tower. Thi latter tructure com prie a huge vertical tube or chimney often everal hundred feet high and more than a hundred feet in diameter. The tube ha the hape of a generally hyper boloidal body of revolution and ha a lower outwardly flared mouth paced above the ground. Between the lower edge of thi tower and the ground there i pro vided o-called fill through which the hot coolant i trickled. Air entering the tower through thi fill and paing over the water i heated conductively, imulta neouly cooling the water by evaporating ome of it. The heated air inide the tower then rie by convection and draw more air in through the fill. In thi manner convective flow draw a large quantity of air over the water to be cooled without the ue of any external en ergy. Typically uch a hyperbolic (alo known a para bolic) cooling tower i made of reinforced concrete. Such contruction i extremely expenive, and ha the further diadvantage that, becaue of it great weight, a very trong upporting tructure mut be provided. It ha alo been uggeted to ue flat metal plate welded to a frame, however thi arrangement ha the further diadvantage that, when teel i ued, it corrode o that it ervice life i relatively limited, and at the ame time the coniderable thermal expanion of the metal can lead to injuriou deformation of the tower tructure. Thi thermal-expanion problem i particularly aggra wated becaue the air preing upwardly through the interior of the tower i frequently very hot, in the neigh borhood of C, wherea the outide air i fre quently much colder, epecially at the top of the tower which may be a many a 400 feet above the ground. Furthermore when uch a tower i taken temporarily out of ue it cool quickly, thereby hrinking o that any latent defect in the tructure are continuouly aggra vated by the coniderable thermal hrinkage and expan ion that it i ubjected to. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It i therefore an object of the preent invention to provide an improved wall tructure. Another object i the proviion of an improved natu ral-draft cooling tower of the above-decribed general type. Yet another object i the proviion of uch a tower which can be inexpenively and rapidly contructed, but which at the ame time ha a long ervice life. 4,060, A further object i to provide a cooling tower which i not damaged by thermal expanion a decribed above, FIELD OF THE INVENTION Thee object are attained according to the preent invention in an arrangement wherein a plurality of cor rugated plate are ued to make up the wall, their corru gation being pread to greater and leer extent at different portion of the wall o that the plate may a ume a thick three-dimenional hape conforming to a ection of the paraboloidal or hyperboloidal urface of the wall tructure. The corrugation of thee plate in accordance with the invention are of trapezoidal ec tion and extend vertically. Thu at the narrowet wait of the hyperboloidal wall the corrugation will be at minimum pacing, wherea at the flared upper and lower end there will be a ubtantially greater pacing, with the region having a uniformly increaing pacing or pread. A cooling tower in accordance with the preent in vention ha an upright central pot defining a vertical axi and upending a horizontal upper ring which i centered on the axi. An array of cri-croing cable are connected between the ring and the ground and define a generally hyperboloidal urface therebetween. Clip are provided at the interection of the cri-cro ing cable and a plurality of corrugated metal plate a decribed above are provided ecured inide the array at the clip with thee plate lying on or parallel to the hyperboloidal urface with their corrugation horizon tally pread to greater and leer extent at different vertical region along the plate. In accordance with further feature of thi invention at leat ome of the clip at the interection are pro vided with mean allowing limited diplacement of the plate relative to the array of cable, the diplacement direction being generally parallel to thi array. Thu limited relative hifting of the plate relative to the cable and to one another i poible o a to allow the tructure readily to compenate for thermal expanion and external force, uch a wind. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other object, feature, and advan tage of the invention will become more readily appar ent from the following decription, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which: FIG. 1 i a vertical ection through the cooling tower according to the preent invention, largely in diagram matic form; FIG. 2 i a horizontal ection through a detail of the tower of FIG. 1; FIGS. 3-5 are vertical ection through detail of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 i a perpective diagrammatic view of a cool ing-tower liner; and FIGS. 7 and 8 are, repectively frontal and vertical ectional view of portion of the wall tructure of a cooling tower according to the preent invention. SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION A hown in FIG. 1 a natural-draft type of cooling tower i formed baically of a central vertical pot 1 defining an axi A and provided with upenion cable 2 from which i hung an upper ring 3 which i circular and centered on the axi A. An array 4 of galvanized teel cable form a hyperboloid centered on the axi A

6 3 between the ring 3 and the ground where the cable of the network 4 are attached at 5. Cooling arrangement 6 are provided at the bae of the arrangement. The network 4 i formed of generally vertically ex tending cable 8 and cri-croing generally helically extending cable 7. Thee cable 7 and 8 are connected at their interection by clip 12 ecured by mean of bolt 12' and erving to upport via H-ection block 11 corrugated plate 9. A hown in FIGS. 2-8 thee plate 9 have corrugation of trapezoidal ection and thee corrugation extend generally vertically. Each plate 9 ha it corrugation extending generally vertically and i mounted on everal horizontal tring er 10 having notched-out end 17 adapted to fit in groove 16 on the holder block 11. Thee tringer 10 are of U-ection, open downwardly. The plate 9 are carried on the inide of the cable array 4 o that the cooling tower formed thereby ha a mooth interior, with the cable network 4 being viible on the outide. The tower i contructed by ecuring the beam 10 to the holder 11 and thereafter fitting the plate 9 to them and riveting them in place. FIG. 6 how how the cor rugation at the lower broader end of the tower are pread more widely than at the top. Each plate 9 i held at everal location by it tring er 10 on block 11' which tightly clamp the inner flange of tringer 10 a hown in FIG. 3. Mot of the block 11 however a hown in FIG. 4 allow relative diplacement of the beam 10 and, hence, the plate 9 relative to the repective clip 12. Other clip 11" are provided a hown in FIG. 5 which receive a pair of uch tringer 10 open toward each other and flanking the horizontal gap between the upper and lower end of two adjoining plate 9. An L-ection edge trip 20 i provided on the upper plate 9 and a Z-ection trip 19 on the lower ection 9, with the two being riveted together to the upper plate 9 o a to permit limited vertical diplacement of the two relative to each other. All of the part except for the plate 9 may be made of iron or teel. The tringer 10 may alo be of T, I, or other cro ection. FIG. 8 how how the plate 9, which each extend over everal cable 7 and everal cable 8, are ecured at liding joint 14 and 15 and at their central region at fixed joint 13. We claim: 1. In a cooling tower having an upwardly open chim ney for inducing a flow of air therethrough and pro vided with mean for upplying a cooling liquid thereto, 4,060, a tructure forming aid chimney, aid tructure com priing: an upright pot defining an axi; a horizontal upper ring upended from aid pot and centered on aid axi; an array of cable hanging from aid ring and defining thereunder a generally hyperboloidal urface cen tered on aid axi, aid cable croing one another at interection; a plurality of clip each ecured to aid cable at a repective interection; a plurality of metal plate having vertical corruga tion of generally trapezoidal ection; and repective rigid tringer each ecured to a plurality of aid clip and extending acro the width of each of aid plate and fatened thereto, aid tringer ecuring each plate to aid array by aid clip o that each plate lie on aid urface with it corruga tion horizontally pread to greater and leer ex tent at different vertical region along the plate. 2. In a cooling tower having an upwardly open chim ney for inducing a flow of air therethrough and pro vided with mean for upplying a cooling liquid thereto, a tructure forming aid chimney, aid tructure com priing: an upright pot defining an axi; a horizontal upper ring upended from aid pot and centered on aid axi; an array of cable hanging from aid ring and defining thereunder a generally hyperboloidal urface cen tered on aid axi, aid cable croing one another at interection; a plurality of clip each ecured to aid cable at a repective interection; and a plurality of metal plate having vertical corruga tion, each plate being ecured to aid array by aid clip o a to lie on aid urface with it corruga tion horizontally pread to greater and leer ex tent at different vertical region along the plate, each plate having and being mounted on a plurality of rigid tringer each ecured to aid array at a plurality of uch clip, at leat ome of aid clip being each provided with an H-haped block, the repective tringer being lidable in aid block. 3. The tower defined in claim 2 wherein at leat ome of aid clip are provided with mean for tightly ecur ing aid tringer and other are provided with mean permitting relative diplacement of the repective tringer and aid clip, aid plate each further provided with horizontally extending edge trip