High-precision control system and method for shipborne cryogenic flash freezing of aquatic product using liquid nitrogen

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11519656-B2
Application number	US-202016817227-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2020
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

A high-precision control system and method for shipborne cryogenic flash freezing of an aquatic product using liquid nitrogen is described. The system may include a main control system, a display unit, a liquid nitrogen supply system, a valve control unit, an acquisition unit, and a power unit. A flash freezing process is divided into four stages: a precooling stage, a flash freezing stage, a deep freezing stage, and a thermal insulation stage. Different cooling rates and flash freezing times are used for different stages, where a cooling rate is used in the flash freezing stage is the highest, a cooling rate used in the deep freezing stage is next, a cooling rate used in the precooling stage is the lowest, and an ambient temperature in a device is kept stable in the thermal insulation stage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for supplying liquid nitrogen for shipborne cryogenic flash freezing of an aquatic product using liquid nitrogen, comprising:
a main control system;
a display unit;
a liquid nitrogen supply system;
a valve control unit;
an acquisition unit; and
a power unit, wherein:
the main control system is configured to control the valve control unit, the liquid nitrogen supply system, the acquisition unit, and the power unit, and integrates a liquid nitrogen flash freezing process database system for an aquatic product, via matching of parameters of the valve control unit, the liquid nitrogen supply system, the acquisition unit, and the power unit when aquatic products of different categories and different specifications are flash frozen by using the liquid nitrogen;
the display unit is configured to display and set multiple parameters of a control system and a real-time running status of the control system;
the acquisition unit includes temperature sensors, wherein a temperature sensor A is configured to measure an internal ambient temperature of a flash freezing device, and a temperature sensor B is configured to measure a core temperature of a flash-frozen aquatic product;
the liquid nitrogen supply system includes a liquid nitrogen storage tank system and a pipeline system, wherein the liquid nitrogen storage tank system includes multiple horizontal storage tanks connected in parallel, and the storage tanks are separately disposed on a deck and in a steering engine room based on existing space of a fishing ship;
the pipeline system includes a liquid nitrogen filling pipeline, a liquid nitrogen pressurization pipeline, a liquid nitrogen supply pipeline, and a release and exhaust pipeline;
each horizontal storage tank is connected to a liquid nitrogen filling pipeline, a liquid nitrogen supply pipeline, a release and exhaust pipeline, and a liquid nitrogen pressurization pipeline; an electric liquid filling stop valve is disposed on the liquid nitrogen filling pipeline close to an outlet of the horizontal storage tank;
a safety valve A, a safety valve B, a pressure valve, and a discharge valve are disposed on the release and exhaust pipeline close to the outlet of the horizontal storage tank, and a pressure setpoint of the safety valve B is higher than a pressure setpoint of the safety valve A, but is lower than an upper pressure limit of the horizontal storage tank;
an electric liquid nitrogen supply stop valve is disposed on the liquid nitrogen supply pipeline close to the outlet of the horizontal storage tank;
pressurized liquid outlet valves, a pressurizer, a pressure regulating valve, and pressurized liquid return valves are disposed on the liquid nitrogen pressurization pipeline;
at least two of the horizontal storage tanks share the pressurizer and the pressure regulating valve;
an upper electric stop valve needs to be mounted on a liquid nitrogen supply pipeline on the deck, and a lower electric stop valve is mounted on a liquid nitrogen supply pipeline in a cabin before the liquid nitrogen supply pipeline on the deck joins the liquid nitrogen supply pipeline in the cabin, and the joining liquid nitrogen supply pipeline is connected to the valve control unit,
the valve control unit includes a liquid nitrogen filter, a pressure transmitter, a safety valve, an electric ball valve, a combined low-temperature solenoid valve, and a liquid nitrogen spraying system, and is configured to precisely adjust a flow of liquid nitrogen, wherein the safety valve is configured to monitor a pressure inside a liquid nitrogen tube, and automatically relieve pressure when a value of the pressure inside the liquid nitrogen tube is greater than a safety pressure value set for the safety valve;
the electric ball valve is a stop valve, and controls connection and disconnection of the liquid nitrogen tube, and the combined low-temperature solenoid valve combines a small-diameter switch valve, an intermediate-diameter switch valve, and a large-diameter switch valve, controls an open-close time proportion of a switch valve by means of a pulse width modulation (PWM) wave duty cycle, and equivalently simulates a size of an opening of a valve port of the switch valve, and
the power unit is configured to control an exhaust fan and a circulation fan.

2. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the pressurized liquid outlet valves, the pressurizer, the pressure regulating valve, and the pressurized liquid return valves are sequentially connected, and then the pressurized liquid outlet valves and the pressurized liquid return valves are connected to the horizontal storage tanks, to regulate a liquid nitrogen pressure inside each horizontal storage tank to a needed setpoint, to ensure that the valve control unit functions; and
a separate liquid collection tray is disposed at a bottom part of each horizontal storage tank, to collect leaked liquid nitrogen, thereby preventing the leaked liquid nitrogen from affecting safety of a ship body.

3. The control system according to claim 2 , wherein a control method is implemented by the control system, the method comprising:
placing a to-be-frozen aquatic product inside a liquid nitrogen flash freezing device, selecting a corresponding liquid nitrogen flash freezing process in database system, and pressing an automatic button on an interface of a display unit, to start to flash freeze the aquatic product by using liquid nitrogen, wherein
a flash freezing process is divided into four stages: a precooling stage, a flash freezing stage, a deep freezing stage, and a thermal insulation stage, and different cooling rates and flash freezing times are used for different stages, wherein a cooling rate used in the flash freezing stage is the highest, a cooling rate used in the deep freezing stage comes the second, a cooling rate used in the precooling stage is the lowest, and an ambient temperature in the device is kept stable in the thermal insulation stage.

4. The control system according to claim 3 , wherein, within the control method implemented by the system:
the precooling stage includes steps of: a main control system sends an instruction to a valve control unit; the valve control unit starts working, and finally nebulizes and sprays liquid nitrogen onto the inside of the liquid nitrogen flash freezing device by using a liquid nitrogen spraying system; an internal temperature of the liquid nitrogen flash freezing device decreases, and when the internal temperature of the device decreases to a setpoint A1, the device enters a thermal insulation mode, and the valve control unit stops working; the aquatic product absorbs a large amount of cold energy in the flash freezing process, the internal temperature of the device increases, the valve control unit starts working again, and when the internal temperature of the device decreases to the setpoint A1 again, the device enters the thermal insulation mode again, and the valve control unit stops working; when a core temperature of the flash-frozen aquatic product reaches A, the precooling stage is completed, and the device enters the flash freezing stage;
the flash freezing stage includes steps of: the main control system sends an instruction to the valve control unit, the valve control unit works, the internal temperature of the liquid nitrogen flash freezing device continues to decrease, and when the internal temperature of the device decreases to a setpoint B1, the device enters the thermal insulation mode, and the valve control unit stops working; the aquatic product absorbs a large amount of cold energy in the flash freezing process, the internal temperature of the device increases, the valve control unit starts working again, and when the internal temperature of the device decreases to the setpoint B1 again, the device enters t

Assignees

• Ocean Research Center Of Zhoushan Zhejiang Univ
• Univ Zhejiang

Inventors

• Cai Yong
• Liu Shuo
• Yang Zhijian
• Jiang Kaiyou
• Lin Wanglin
• Zhang Yu
• Chen Lei
• Sun Zhiyong
• Ding Fan
• Zhang Bo
• Qiao Kai
• Wang Hao

Classifications

• F25D2700/06

  Sensors detecting the presence of a product · CPC title

• F25D29/001

  for cryogenic fluid systems · CPC title

• A23B4/09

  with direct contact between the food and the chemical, e.g. liquid N2, at cryogenic temperature · CPC title

• F25D3/11 Primary

  with conveyors carrying articles to be cooled through the cooling space · CPC title

• B63B35/24

  Fish holds · CPC title