Aktiebolaget Carl Munters

Karl A Hallgren

The invention relates to a method and a device for preventing formation of mist by the discharge of moistened air from an evaporative cooler, primarily a cooling tower of the multi-layer type, comprising a contact body composed of a plurality of layers forming between themselves gaps passed by water to be cooled and atmospheric air which is moistened and heated by contact with the water in counter-current or cross-current flow. Under certain conditions as when the temperature of the atmospheric air is so low, when the moistened and heated air is discharged to the atmosphere and cooled to the low temperature of the latter, the moisture contained in the discharged air will be condensed and precipitated in the form of mist to the extent it exceeds the saturation point of the air. Such precipitation can be avoided by mixing the moistened air prior to its escape into the atmosphere with preheated dry air. The invention provides a novel method and device for producing such preheated dry air by causing part of the introduced atmospheric air to pass through gaps of the contact body shut off from the flow of water passing through the body, whereby this air is heated without change of its mositure content by heat exchange with the warm water flowing through adjacent gaps. The moist air current from the gaps wetted by the water flowing through them and the dry air current from the gaps not accessible to the water provided an air mixture which, even when discharged into the relatively cold atmospheric air and thereby cooled to the low temperature thereof, will not contain so much moisture that the saturation limit is surpassed and condensed vapor precipitated. Means are also disclosed to adjust the ratio of the gaps open to the water flow to the gaps shut off from said flow so as to reduce the number of dry gaps in which no cooling effect is produced to the minimum necessary for avoiding mist formation.

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Huddinge, Sweden

Karl A Hallgren