LOW-TEMPERATURE-SLUSH-FLUID PRODUCING APPARATUS

Abstract

A low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus capable of achieving an increased weight solidification rate of slush fluid is provided. A low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus includes a slush-fluid producing unit that includes a heat exchanger having a heat-transfer surface and disposed in a liquid-phase low-temperature fluid L stored in a container and scraping means for scraping a solid-phase low-temperature fluid formed on a surface of the heat-transfer surface; and a cryogenic-fluid generating unit for supplying into the interior of the heat-transfer surface a cryogenic fluid having a lower temperature than the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid L stored in the container. The low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus is configured so that the flow rate and temperature of the cryogenic fluid flowing into the interior of the heat-transfer surface and the rotational speed or reciprocating speed of the scraping means can be adjusted based on the particle size of the solid-phase low-temperature fluid scraped by the scraping means.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus for producing a low-temperature slush fluid (for example, slush hydrogen (a sorbet-like mixture of solid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen that has a higher density and therefore a larger stored cooling capacity than liquid hydrogen)).

BACKGROUND ART

One conventionally known apparatus for producing slush hydrogen is disclosed in Non-patent Document 1.

Non-patent Document 1:

D. E. Daney, “HYDROGEN SLUSH PRODUCTION WITH A LARGE AUGER” (U.S.), Advanced in Cryogenic Engineering, Vol. 35

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The slush-hydrogen producing apparatus disclosed in Non-patent Document 1 above, however, has limited capability in terms of reducing the particle size of solidified hydrogen; it has a problem in that the weight solidification rate of slush hydrogen (the proportion by weight of solidified hydrogen in liquid hydrogen) cannot be satisfactorily increased.

An object of the present invention, which has been made in light of the above circumstances, is to provide a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus capable of achieving an increased weight solidification rate of slush fluid.

To solve the above problem, the present invention employs the following solutions.

A low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to the present invention includes a slush-fluid producing unit that includes a heat exchanger having a heat-transfer surface and disposed in a liquid-phase low-temperature fluid stored in a container and scraping means for scraping a solid-phase low-temperature fluid formed on a surface of the heat-transfer surface; and a cryogenic-fluid generating unit for supplying into the interior of the heat-transfer surface a cryogenic fluid having a lower temperature than the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid stored in the container. The apparatus is configured so that the flow rate and temperature of the cryogenic fluid flowing into the interior of the heat-transfer surface and the rotational speed or reciprocating speed of the scraping means can be adjusted based on the particle size of the solid-phase low-temperature fluid scraped by the scraping means.

In this low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the particle size of particles 22 of a low-temperature fluid L scraped by a blade 13a of an auger (scraping means) 13 can be reduced (finer particles can be formed) by adjusting (controlling) the amount of heat generated by a heater 6, the degree of valve opening of a first valve 7, the degree of valve opening of a second valve 8, and the rotational speed of a drive motor 19, thereby increasing the weight solidification rate of slush fluid.

In addition, if such a slush fluid (slush hydrogen with an increased weight solidification rate) is charged (supplied) into, for example, a vehicle hydrogen storage tank installed in a vehicle that runs on hydrogen as a fuel, such as a fuel-cell powered vehicle or a hydrogen-fueled vehicle, it is possible to reduce evaporation of hydrogen in the vehicle hydrogen storage tank and to improve the utilization efficiency of hydrogen.

In the above low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus, more preferably, the scraping means is an auger, and a central shaft of the auger is connected to a drive shaft of a drive motor for driving the auger via a universal joint.

In such a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus, because heat transferred from the drive shaft of the drive motor to the central shaft of the auger is significantly reduced at the universal joint, it is possible to reduce heat intruding from the drive shaft of the drive motor into the central shaft of the auger.

In the above low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus, more preferably, the scraping means is an auger, the auger is configured so as to be rotatable relative to the heat-transfer surface, and both ends of a rotating shaft of the auger are borne by bearings.

In such a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus, the auger can be rotated in a stable manner, so that the particle size of the particles of the low-temperature fluid scraped by the auger can be kept substantially constant, and the production efficiency of the slush fluid can be improved.

A low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility according to the present invention includes the above low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus; transferring means for transferring a low-temperature slush fluid accumulated on the bottom of the container to another place; and a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank for storing the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means.

This low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility allows the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank to be filled with a low-temperature slush fluid with a high weight solidification rate, thus reducing vaporization (boil-off) of the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank.

More preferably, the above low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility is configured so that the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate.

In such a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility, for example, the particle size of the particles of the low-temperature fluid produced by the slush-fluid producing unit or the proportion of the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means to the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid are adjusted so that the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate.

This reduces the vaporization (boil-off) of the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank, thus prolonging the storage period.

The present invention provides the advantage of increasing the weight solidification rate of slush fluid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to the present invention, showing the entire production apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a relevant part of the low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

1: low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus

2: slush-fluid producing unit

3: cryogenic-fluid generating unit

10: container

11: heat-transfer surface

12: heat exchanger

13: auger (scraping means)

16: rotating shaft (central shaft)

17: bearing

18: bearing

19: drive motor

20: drive shaft

21: universal joint

L: liquid-phase low-temperature fluid

S: low-temperature slush fluid

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of a low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a “production apparatus”) according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an entire production apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the production apparatus 1 includes, as main components, a slush-fluid producing unit 2 for producing a low-temperature slush fluid (for example, slush hydrogen) and a cryogenic-fluid generating unit 3 for generating a cryogenic fluid (for example, gaseous helium at 13 K) to be supplied to the slush-fluid producing unit 2. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a relevant part of the slush-fluid producing unit 2.

The cryogenic-fluid generating unit 3 includes a cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4 and a flow-rate/temperature adjusting unit 5.

The cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4 stores a liquid-phase cryogenic fluid (for example, liquid helium at 4 K). The cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4 is connected (coupled) to a heat exchanger 12 of the slush-fluid producing unit 2 through a cryogenic-fluid supplying pipe 14.

The flow-rate/temperature adjusting unit 5 includes a heater 6 disposed somewhere along the cryogenic-fluid supplying pipe 14 to heat and gasify (vaporize) the liquid-phase cryogenic fluid supplied (pumped) from the cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4; a first valve 7 disposed in the cryogenic-fluid supplying pipe 14 upstream of the heater 6 to adjust the flow rate of the liquefied cryogenic fluid flowing from the cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4 to the heater 6; and a second valve 8 disposed in the cryogenic-fluid supplying pipe 14 downstream of the heater 6 to adjust the flow rate of a gaseous cryogenic fluid (for example, gaseous helium at 13 K) flowing from the heater 6 to the heat exchanger 12 of the slush-fluid producing unit 2.

The slush-fluid producing unit 2 includes a container 10 storing a liquid-phase low-temperature fluid (for example, liquid hydrogen at 13.8 K) L; the heat exchanger 12, which is disposed inside the container 10 and has a cylindrical heat-transfer surface 11; and an auger (scraping means) 13 for scraping (shaving) a solid-phase low-temperature fluid (for example, solid hydrogen), though not shown, formed on the surface of the heat-transfer surface 11.

The container 10 is accommodated in a thermally insulated vacuum vessel (not shown) in which a vacuum is maintained and which has a radiation-shielding plate (not shown), such as a copper plate, laminated on the inner surface thereof, so that heat intruding from the outside of the container 10 into the inside thereof can be reduced.

The cryogenic fluid (fluid having a lower temperature than the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid L stored in the container 10) generated by the cryogenic-fluid generating unit 3 is supplied into the heat exchanger 12. After the cryogenic fluid supplied into the heat exchanger 12 forms a solid-phase low-temperature fluid L on the surface of the heat-transfer surface 11 through heat exchange with the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid L stored in the container 10, the cryogenic fluid is temporarily stored in a storage tank (not shown) through a cryogenic-fluid return pipe 15, is liquefied by a liquefying unit (not shown), and is returned to the cryogenic-fluid storing tank 4 of the cryogenic-fluid generating unit 3.

Referring to FIG. 2, the auger 13 is a cylindrical member that includes a rotating shaft (central shaft) 16 whose ends are borne by bearings 17 and 18 and that is accommodated so as to be rotatable along the heat-transfer surface 11, having a blade 13a formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof (that is, the surface opposite the heat-transfer surface 11) spirally in the longitudinal direction.

In addition, the rotating shaft 16 is connected (coupled) to a drive shaft 20 (see FIG. 1) extending from a drive motor 19 (see FIG. 1) via a universal joint 21 so that, as the drive motor 19 rotates, the auger 13 rotates similarly along with that rotation (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 (clockwise as viewed from the top of FIG. 1)). The blade 13a of the auger 13 scrapes the solid-phase low-temperature fluid formed on the heat-transfer surface 11 to form particles 22 of the low-temperature fluid L (for example, particles of solid hydrogen), which fall onto the bottom of the container 10 and form a slush fluid (for example, slush hydrogen) S.

In addition, the heater 6, the first valve 7, the second valve 8, and the drive motor 19 are connected to a controller, though not shown, that controls the particle size of the particles 22 of the low-temperature fluid L (for example, particles of solid hydrogen) scraped by the blade 13a of the auger 13 to a desired size (for example, 1 to 10 μm).

In the production apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the particle size of the particles 22 of the low-temperature fluid L scraped by the blade 13a of the auger 13 can be reduced (finer particles can be formed) by adjusting (controlling) the amount of heat generated by the heater 6, the degree of valve opening of the first valve 7, the degree of valve opening of the second valve 8, and the rotational speed of the drive motor 19, thereby increasing the weight solidification rate (solidification rate) of the slush fluid.

In addition, if such a slush fluid (slush hydrogen with an increased weight solidification rate) is charged (supplied) into, for example, a vehicle hydrogen storage tank installed in a vehicle that runs on hydrogen as a fuel, such as a fuel-cell powered vehicle or a hydrogen-fueled vehicle, it is possible to reduce evaporation of hydrogen in the vehicle hydrogen storage tank and to improve the utilization efficiency of hydrogen.

In addition, because the rotating shaft 16 of the auger 13 is connected (coupled) to the drive shaft 20 extending from the drive motor 19 via the universal joint 21, heat transferred from the drive shaft 20 extending from the drive motor 19 to the rotating shaft 16 of the auger 13 can be significantly reduced at the universal joint 21. This reduces the heat transferred from the drive motor 19 and the drive shaft 20 to the rotating shaft 16 and the auger 13.

In addition, because both ends of the rotating shaft 16 of the auger 13 are borne by the bearings 17 and 18, the auger 13 can be rotated in a stable manner, so that the particle size of the particles 22 of the low-temperature fluid L scraped by the blade 13a of the auger 13 can be kept substantially constant, and the production efficiency of the slush fluid can be improved.

Although the amount of heat generated by the heater 6, the degree of valve opening of the first valve 7, the degree of valve opening of the second valve 8, and the rotational speed of the drive motor 19 are adjusted (controlled) by the controller in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto; these adjustments may be manually performed.

In addition, although the auger 13 described in the above embodiment is configured so as to be rotatable along the heat-transfer surface 11, the present invention is not limited thereto; the auger 13 may be configured so as to be reciprocatable along the heat-transfer surface 11, that is, may be equipped with a reciprocating actuator or an ultrasonic vibrator instead of the drive motor 19.

More preferably, further provided is transferring means (not shown) for transferring the low-temperature slush fluid accumulated on the bottom of the container 10 to another place and a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank (not shown) for storing the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means.

This allows the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank to be filled with a low-temperature slush fluid with a high weight solidification rate, thus reducing vaporization (boil-off) of the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank.

In a more preferable configuration, the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate. This can be accomplished by adjusting the particle size of the particles 22 of the low-temperature fluid L produced by the slush-fluid producing unit 2 or by adjusting the proportion of the slush fluid S transferred by the transferring means to the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid L.

This reduces the vaporization (boil-off) of the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank, thus prolonging the storage period.

In addition, the term “low temperature” used in the present specification refers to −273° C. to minus several tens of degrees Celsius.

Claims

1. A low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus comprising:

a slush-fluid producing unit that includes a heat exchanger having a heat-transfer surface and disposed in a liquid-phase low-temperature fluid stored in a container and scraping means for scraping a solid-phase low-temperature fluid formed on a surface of the heat-transfer surface; and

a cryogenic-fluid generating unit for supplying into the interior of the heat-transfer surface a cryogenic fluid having a lower temperature than the liquid-phase low-temperature fluid stored in the container;

and being configured so that the flow rate and temperature of the cryogenic fluid flowing into the interior of the heat-transfer surface and the rotational speed or reciprocating speed of the scraping means can be adjusted based on the particle size of the solid-phase low-temperature fluid scraped by the scraping means.

2. The low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scraping means is an auger, and a central shaft of the auger is connected to a drive shaft of a drive motor for driving the auger via a universal joint.

3. The low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scraping means is an auger, the auger is configured so as to be rotatable relative to the heat-transfer surface, and both ends of a rotating shaft of the auger are borne by bearings.

4. A low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility comprising the low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 1; transferring means for transferring a low-temperature slush fluid accumulated on the bottom of the container to another place; and a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank for storing the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means.

5. The low-temperature-slush-fluid storing equipment according to claim 4, configured so that the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate.

6. The low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the scraping means is an auger, the auger is configured so as to be rotatable relative to the heat-transfer surface, and both ends of a rotating shaft of the auger are borne by bearings.

7. A low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility comprising the low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 2; transferring means for transferring a low-temperature slush fluid accumulated on the bottom of the container to another place; and a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank for storing the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means.

8. A low-temperature-slush-fluid storing facility comprising the low-temperature-slush-fluid producing apparatus according to claim 3; transferring means for transferring a low-temperature slush fluid accumulated on the bottom of the container to another place; and a low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank for storing the low-temperature slush fluid transferred by the transferring means.

9. The low-temperature-slush-fluid storing equipment according to claim 7, configured so that the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate.

10. The low-temperature-slush-fluid storing equipment according to claim 8, configured so that the low-temperature slush fluid stored in the low-temperature-slush-fluid storing tank has a desired weight solidification rate.