Design and development of water cooling systems for thermoforming process

本项目将研究冷却塔和装饰性干燥剂壁的设计和开发，以冷却热成型设备的出口水。提出的解决方案旨在减少能源消耗，并最大限度地减少该过程对环境的影响。应用研究团队打算系统地研究开式和闭环水冷却方案的可能性，考虑到工艺和经济限制，包括资本和运营成本、环境影响（例如碳足迹）和工厂布局影响。热成型过程用水在一个闭环中冷却模具。热成型机的回水需要冷却，以便在加工过程中重复使用。传统的解决方案是使用冷水机组和冷却塔组合。然而，这种方法是昂贵的，而且对于一个相对较小的工厂来说，在一年中的大多数月份往往是“过度杀伤”。另一方面，风冷式冷水机使用环境空气从制冷剂回路中除去热量，在炎热的夏季是高能耗的。BN Progressive Products Ltd.希望与Sheridan College （PI: Dr. Amin Ghobeity， P.Eng）合作，完成一项可行性研究和分散式模块化冷却站的原型设计，以取代冷却器，并通过创新更环保的解决方案降低运营成本。

The design and development of a cooling tower and a decorative desiccant wall to cool the exit-water from thermoforming equipment will be studied in this project. The proposed solution aims to reduce energy consumption and minimize the environmental impact of the process. The applied research team intends to systematically examine the possibility of both open and closed loop water cooling options, considering process and economical constraints including the capital and operating cost, environmental impact (e.g. carbon footprint), and plant layout impacts. The thermoforming process uses water for mold cooling in a closed loop. The return water from the thermoforming machine needs to be chilled for reuse in the process. The traditional solution is to use a chiller and cooling tower combination. However, this method is costly, and for a relatively small plant, is often 'overkill' during most months of the year. On the other hand, the air-cooled chillers use ambient air to remove heat from the refrigerant circuit and are highly energy-intensive on hot summer days. BN Progressive Products Ltd. would like to partner with Sheridan College (PI: Dr. Amin Ghobeity, P.Eng.) to complete a feasibility study and prototyping decentralized, modular cooling stations to replace the chillers and reduce operation costs through the innovation of a more environmentally-friendly solution.