Heat exchanger for cooling electrical power apparatus

A fluid-to-air heat exchanger for cooling electrical power apparatus, comprising:

• a vertically elongated housing having side wall, top and bottom portions, said housing having a predetermined cross-sectional configuration defining first and second parallel sides and third and fourth parallel sides, said housing having air openings in the first and second sides with certain openings being located near the bottom portion for receiving outside air and certain openings being located near the top portion for exhausting air,
• a fluid-to-air tube core in said housing, said tube core having inlet and outlet means adapted for fluid flow communication with the electrical apparatus to be cooled, said tube core including a plurality of finned tubes vertically divided into upper and lower sections,
• air moving means in said housing, in the space between the upper and lower sections of said tube core, and operative for moving air vertically upward through said housing and tube core,
• sound dissipative muffler means in said housing, above said tube core and air moving means, and below said tube core and air moving means,
• and sound absorption means defining 90.degree. bends adjacent the openings in the housing.

A fluid-to-air heat exchanger for cooling the fluid of electrical power apparatus, comprising:

• a vertically elongated housing having top, bottom and side portions, said housing having a rectangular configuration in horizontal cross-section, including first and second long sides, and first and second shorter sides,
• said housing defining air openings on the first and second long sides, adjacent to the bottom portion for admitting air, and adjacent to the top portion for expelling air,
• sound absorbing means defining curved 90.degree. bends adjacent to the air openings for absorbing sound energy and for smoothly changing the direction of air between horizontal and vertical directions,
• a fluid-to-air finned tube core in said housing,
• said tube core being vertically divided into upper and lower portions to define a predetermined space therebetween, each of said upper and lower portions including first and second headers and a plurality of finned tubes which extend therebetween, said plurality of finned tubes each being bent to define a predetermined angle at its mid-point, said upper and lower portions being similarly oriented such that the bent finned tubes define nested V configurations having a predetermined orientation which extends between the first and second shorter sides of the housing,
• a pump in the bottom portion of said housing,
• piping means for interconnecting said upper and lower portions of the tube core and said pump including inlet means connected to the first header of the upper portion for receiving fluid from the electrical apparatus to be cooled, interconnecting means between the second headers of the upper and lower portions, interconnecting means between said first header of the lower portion and said pump, and outlet means on said pump for returning fluid to the electrical apparatus to be cooled, to cause parallel fluid flow between the headers of the upper portion, and parallel fluid flow between the headers of the lower portion,
• first and second axial fans disposed side-by-side in the space between the upper and lower portions of the tube core, one each over a leg portion of the V configuration of said upper and lower portions, said fans each having an electrical motor, shaft and airfoil fan blades, operative to move air vertically upward through the housing, said shaft of the fan motors being tilted from the vertical such that their fan planes intersect to define a V configuration which nests between the V configurations of the upper and lower portions of the tube core, to enable larger diameter fans to be accommodated and reduce the height dimension of the tube core, and including isolating means between the fans to prevent air recircuiting in the event of failure of one of the fans,
• and first and second sound dissipative muffler means in the housing, each including a plurality of spaced, upstanding baffle members,
• said first sound dissipative muffler means being disposed between the sound absorbing means which define the 90.degree. bends at the bottom portion of the housing and the lower portion of the tube core, with the baffle members being oriented such that the space between them extends between the first and second long sides of the housing,
• said second sound dissipative muffler means being disposed between the sound absorbing means which defines the 90.degree. bends at the top portion of the housing and the upper portion of the tube core, with the baffle members being oriented such that the space between them extends between the first and second long sides of the housing,
• and including sound absorbing means on at least certain of the inner walls of the housing.