Anthony J Digiovanni

US Patent:

6854279, Feb 15, 2005

Filed:

Jun 9, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/457701

Inventors:

Anthony J. Digiovanni - Sewell NJ, US
Denis J. Colahan - Morton PA, US
Donald T. Knauss - Severna Park MD, US

Assignee:

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC

International Classification:

F25D017/06
F25D023/00

US Classification:

62 94, 62271

Abstract:

The present invention describes methods and apparatus for controlling the humidity of air supplied to cooling coils on a gas turbine powered ship through a dynamic desiccation system. The system passes supply air through a desiccant wheel, which dries and concomitantly heats the supply air. This supply air stream is then passed through a rotatable thermal wheel, wherein heat is transferred from the dry supply air to an exhaust-air mixture, thereby conditioning the supply air for delivery and circulation to a plurality of cooling-coil units in a plurality of compartments. The exhaust air from the compartments is first mixed with some of the treated supply air to lower the absolute humidity to a value needed for effective regeneration of the desiccant wheel. An evaporative cooler then conditions the exhaust-air mixture for effective cooling of the supply air in the thermal rotor, which also serves as an air preheater for desiccant regeneration. The exhaust-air mixture is then heated to the desiccant regeneration temperature by passing the preheated exhaust air through a heat exchanger supplied with gas-turbine waste heat.