Box Cooler For Vessel Water Cooling System
Box Cooler for Vessel Water Cooling System
Working Principle
Heat Exchange Principle: Heat exchange is carried out by utilizing the temperature difference between seawater and circulating water inside the tube through the wall of the U-shaped tube bundle. Cooling seawater enters from the inlet grille of the sea tank, flows along the U-shaped tube bundle, cools the high temperature water inside the tube and then flows out from the outlet grille.
Circulation principle: when the ship is moving, the seawater realizes cooling effect through forced circulation, the forward power of the ship pushes the seawater to flow through the tube bundles rapidly, taking away the heat; when the ship is stationary, the seawater realizes cooling through natural convection, the hot seawater rises, the cold seawater falls, forming the natural convection cycle, and continuously cools the water in the tubes.
Structural features
U-tube bundle: it is the core part of the cooler, usually made of corrosion-resistant materials such as aluminum brass, which has good thermal conductivity and can effectively transfer the heat from the water inside the tubes to the seawater outside the tubes.
Sea box: used to accommodate U-shaped tube bundle, installed on the side of the ship, the sea box is equipped with water inlet and outlet grille, play a role in guiding the flow of seawater and prevent the entry of debris.
Frame: Generally made of steel or aluminum welded together, it is used to support and fix the U-tube bundle, which makes the overall structure of the cooler more stable, and also facilitates installation and maintenance.
Advantage
Efficient use of space: installed in the sea chest on the side of the ship, it does not need to occupy the internal space of the engine room, which saves valuable space for the ship's engine room, and is conducive to the layout and maintenance of the equipment in the engine room.
System Simplification: No secondary cooling water piping is required, which eliminates the need for seawater corrosion-resistant components such as cooling pumps, filters, valves, etc. This reduces the complexity of the system and the number of components, and lowers the design and operating cost of the entire cooling system.
Energy saving: Since there is no need for seawater pumps to drive seawater circulation, it relies on natural convection cooling when the ship is stationary, and realizes seawater forced circulation when the ship is moving by using the power of the ship's advancement, which saves energy consumption.
Strong water quality adaptability: it can operate in freshwater, brackish water, seawater and waters with different water quality such as ice, sand, water plants, mud and pollution, etc. It has strong environmental adaptability.
Low maintenance cost: the structure is relatively simple, without complex mechanical parts, and the tube bundles are made of corrosion-resistant materials or treated with special coatings, which require almost no maintenance, reducing the maintenance cost of the ship.
Application Scenario: It can be used for various cooling tasks on board, including cooling the main engine, auxiliary engine, bow thruster, as well as providing cooling service for air conditioning system, hydraulic system and so on.
