Remote cooling system for charge-air cooled engines

• US 8,621,862 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2006
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wabtec Holding Corp (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Wabtec Holding Corp (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Sprenger, Michael W., Warnick, Matthew L.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HOANG M
• Application Number:
  US12/095,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20090314263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,589 Days
• Field of Search: 605/99, 606/04, 123/41.31, 123/41.51
• US Class Current: 60/599
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2005/105 Using two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/02 Intercooler
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0443 Layout of the coolant or refrigerant circuit
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 37/00 Engines characterised by provision of pumps driven at least for part of the time by exhaust
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

A remote cooling system (10) for cooling turbocharged compressed air from a charge-air cooled engine (12) which is placed within an enclosed environment. The cooling system (10) comprises a charge-air cooler (14) located a predetermined distance from the engine (12). The charge-air cooler (14) comprises a fluid receiver (16) which receives turbocharged air from the engine 12, an air-to-water heat exchanger (24) which cools the turbocharged air received from the fluid receiver (16), and a fluid return member (26) for returning cooled air to the engine (12). A secondary cooling device (34), located outside of the enclosed environment, provides heat transfer from the heat exchanger (24) within the charge-air cooler (14) to an external environment.

Claims

1. A remote cooling system for cooling turbocharged compressed air from a charge-air cooled engine, said cooling system comprising:

(a) a charge-air cooler located a predetermined distance from said engine, said charge-air cooler comprising;

(i) a fluid receiver which receives turbocharged air from said engine;

(ii) a heat exchanger which cools said turbocharged air received from said fluid receiver; and

(iii) a fluid return member which returns said cooled air from said charge-air cooler directly to said engine;

(b) a secondary cooling device to provide heat transfer of coolant received from said heat exchanger within said charge-air cooler to an external environment and for supplying cooled coolant directly to the charge-air cooler; and

(c) a cycling system associated with the secondary cooling device, said cycling system capable of cycling jacket water coolant through said engine and for providing heat transfer of the jacket water coolant exiting from the engine to the external environment,

wherein said engine is located in an enclosed building which prevents exposure of the engine to environmental elements and said secondary cooling means is located outside of said enclosed building.

2. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 wherein said fluid receiver comprises an inlet within said charge-air cooler, an outlet within said engine, and a tubular member in fluid communication with said charge-air cooler inlet and said engine outlet.

3. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 wherein said fluid return member comprises an outlet within said charge-air cooler, an inlet within said engine, and a tubular member in fluid communication with said charge-air cooler outlet and said engine inlet.

4. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 wherein said heat exchanger comprises an air-to-water cooling system.

5. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes mechanically expanded or balled into fins having similar hole geometry to provide a tube-to-fin connection.

6. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes mechanically expanded or balled into holes within the header to provide a tube-to-header connection.

7. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes joined to fins and a header utilizing a brazing process comprising a metal braze alloy based on a CuSnNiP system.

8. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 7 wherein said plurality of tubes are comprised of a brass alloy containing a small percentage of iron to cause said tube to become anneal resistant.

9. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system includes a fin core constructed according to one of a serpentine, square wave, corrugated fin, and oval tube arrangement.

10. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes having an end configuration, said plurality of tubes arranged in a predetermined staggered array, a header having a predetermined number of openings disposed in said predetermined staggered array corresponding to said plurality of tubes, and a securing system which secures an end of each of said plurality of tubes within a corresponding opening of said header.

11. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 4 wherein said air-to-water cooling system comprises a plurality of tubes having a predetermined end configuration, a header having a number of openings corresponding to said plurality of tubes such that said openings are disposed in an end-to-end array and wherein said predetermined end configurations touch, and a securing system which secures an end of each of said plurality of tubes into a corresponding one of each of said openings in said header.

12. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 wherein said secondary cooling device comprises a radiator mounted a predetermined distance from said charge-air cooler.

13. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 including an auxiliary pump for pumping cooled fluid from said secondary cooling device to said charge-air cooler.

14. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 1 wherein said engine comprises a high performance low emission air-to-air cooled engine.

15. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 14 wherein said engine comprises a Tier II engine.

16. A remote cooling system for cooling turbocharged compressed air from a charge-air cooled engine, said cooling system comprising:

(a) a charge-air cooler located a predetermined distance from said engine, said charge-air cooler comprising;

(i) a fluid receiver which receives turbocharged air from said engine;

(ii) an air-to-water heat exchanger which cools said turbocharged air received from said fluid receiver; and

(iii) a fluid return member which returns said cooled air from said charge-air cooler directly to said engine; and

(b) a secondary cooling device to provide heat transfer of coolant received from said heat exchanger within said charge-air cooler to an external environment and for supplying cooled coolant directly to the charge-air cooler,

wherein said engine is located in an enclosed building which prevents exposure of the engine to environmental elements and said secondary cooling device is located outside of said enclosed building.

17. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 16 wherein said engine comprises a high performance low emission air-to-air cooled engine.

19. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 16 including a cycling system associated with the secondary cooling device, said cycling system capable of cycling jacket water coolant through said engine and for providing heat transfer of the jacket water coolant exiting from the engine to the external environment.

18. A remote cooling system for cooling turbocharged compressed air from a charge-air cooled engine, said charge-air cooled engine located within an enclosed building which prevents exposure of the engine to environmental elements, said cooling system comprising:

(a) a charge-air cooler located a predetermined distance from said engine, said charge-air cooler comprising;

(i) a fluid receiver which receives turbocharged air from said engine, said fluid receiver comprising an inlet within said charge-air cooler, an outlet within said engine, and a tubular member in fluid communication with said charge-air cooler inlet and said engine outlet;

(ii) an air-to-water heat exchanger which cools said turbocharged air received from said fluid receiver; and

(iii) a fluid return member which returns said cooled air to said engine, said fluid return member comprising an outlet within said charge-air cooler, an inlet within said engine, and a tubular member in fluid communication with said charge-air cooler outlet and said engine inlet to return said cooled air from said charge-air cooler directly to said engine; and

(b) a secondary cooling device located outside of said enclosed building to provide heat transfer from said heat exchanger within said charge-air cooler to an external environment.

20. The remote cooling system as recited in claim 18 including a cycling system associated with the secondary cooling device, said cycling system capable of cycling jacket water coolant through said engine and for providing heat transfer of the jacket water coolant exiting from the engine to the external environment.