Heat Exchange System
A heat exchange system operating on a vapor compression cycle is capable of operating in both an air conditioning mode and a heat pump mode. The heat exchange system can include a parallel flow heat exchanger that operates as a condenser in one mode and as an evaporator in the other mode. The heat exchanger can include a first, second, and third fluid manifold, with fluid conduits connecting the first and second fluid manifolds, and with additional fluid conduits connecting the second and third fluid manifolds. The heat exchanger can be configured to transfer heat between a working fluid traveling through the fluid conduits and another fluid, such as an air flow passing over the fluid conduits.
The present invention relates to the field of vapor compression heat exchange systems, particularly for heating and cooling spaces.
SUMMARYIn some embodiments of the invention, a heat exchange system operating on a vapor compression cycle and capable of operating in both an air conditioning mode and a heat pump mode is provided. The heat exchange system can include, in at least some embodiments, a parallel flow heat exchanger that operates as a condenser in one mode and as an evaporator in the other mode. The heat exchanger can have a first, second, and third fluid manifold, with fluid conduits connecting the first and second fluid manifolds, and with additional fluid conduits connecting the second and third fluid manifolds. The heat exchanger can be configured to transfer heat between a working fluid traveling through the fluid conduits and another fluid, such as an air flow passing over the fluid conduits.
In at least some embodiments, the heat exchange system is configured so that the fluid conduits connecting the first and second manifolds and the fluid conduits connecting the second and third fluid manifold are fluidly in series with respect to the working fluid flow therethrough when the heat exchanger is operated as a condenser, and are fluidly in parallel with respect to the working fluid flow therethrough when the heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator.
In some embodiments the parallel flow heat exchanger includes a fluid flow distribution device within the second fluid manifold, wherein the fluid flow distribution device is operable to distribute a low pressure two-phase working fluid to a set of fluid conduits when the heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator, and is bypassed or substantially bypassed by the working fluid when the heat exchanger is operated as a condenser.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
When reference is made herein to the working fluid of the vapor compression system, it should be understood that the working fluid can consist of any fluid capable of being used in a vapor compression cycle, including but not limited to refrigerants (such as R12, R22, R134a, R410a, and the like), organic refrigerants, ammonia, and CO2.
In some applications, heat transferred to the working fluid can be transferred from another fluid such as air, water, coolant, exhaust gas, an organic refrigerant, and the like. Likewise, in some applications, the heat rejected from the working fluid can be transferred to another fluid such as air, water, coolant, exhaust gas, an organic refrigerant, and the like.
Referring to
In any case, the second fluid flow can flow over the fluid conduits 9 so as to be in a crossflow orientation to the first fluid flow, can flow over the fluid conduits 9 so as to be in a counterflow orientation to the first fluid flow, can flow over the fluid conduits 9 so as to be in a parallel flow orientation to the first fluid flow, or can flow over the fluid conduits in any combination thereof.
Referring again to
The illustrated heat exchanger 5 further comprises a port 10 opening to the first fluid manifold 6, a port 11 opening to the second fluid manifold 7, and a port 12 opening to the third fluid manifold 8. In some embodiments, the number of fluid conduits 9a can be equal to the number of fluid conduits 9b, while in other embodiments the number of fluid conduits 9a can be greater than or less than the number of fluid conduits 9b.
Still with reference to
Still with reference to
Within the heat exchanger 5 a first portion of the working fluid flows from manifold 7 to manifold 6 through the first plurality of fluid conduits 9a, while the remainder of the working fluid flows from manifold 7 to manifold 8 through the second plurality of fluid conduits 9b. The amount of fluid flowing through the plurality of fluid conduits 9a can be equal to, more than, or less than the amount of fluid flowing through the plurality of fluid conduits 9b. Heat is transferred into the working fluid as it flows through the tubes 9, thereby vaporizing at least some of the liquid portion of the working fluid to a vapor, and possibly partially superheating the vapor working fluid. The first portion of the working fluid exits the heat exchanger 5 through the port 10 and is rejoined by the remainder of the working fluid exiting the heat exchanger 5 through the port 12 and passing through the check valve 15. The recombined working fluid enters the 4-way valve 3 through port 28, where it is directed to exit the 4-way valve 3 through port 26, after which it enters the suction side of the compressor 2 in order to be compressed to a hot pressurized working fluid for repeating the above-described cycle.
With continued reference to
In some embodiments, the heat exchanger 5 is an indoor heat exchanger configured to transfer heat between a refrigerant passing through the fluid conduits 9 and an air flow directed to enter a conditioned space, and the heat exchanger 16 is an outdoor heat exchanger configured to transfer heat between the outside ambient and a refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger 6, so that the first mode of operation of the heat exchange system 1 is an air conditioning mode and the second mode of operation of the heat exchange system 1 is a heat pump mode.
Although the heat exchanger 5 is shown in
In some embodiments, the webs 23 can be integral to the tube 22, such as by being formed by extruding the tube 22 along with the webs 23. In other embodiments, the webs 23 can be added to the tube 22 by forming the webs 23 out of a convoluted sheet, inserting the convoluted sheet into the tube 22, and brazing the crests of the convolutions to the inner walls of the tube 22 in order to form the webs. In some embodiments, the tube 22 can be formed from a single strip of material that is bent into the shape of the tube 22 and is sealed by welding, brazing, or any other suitable process. In other embodiments, the tube 22 can be formed from two or more strips of material that are bent and assembled to form the tube 22, the joints between the two or more strips being sealed by welding, brazing, or any other suitable process. In some embodiments, the webs 23 can be formed from a convoluted segment of one or more strips of material that partially or wholly comprise the tube 22.
The geometry of the flow channels 24 can vary depending at least in part upon the specific application or the construction methods used to form the tube 22 and webs 23. For example, and without limitation, the flow channels 24 can have a triangular, square, circular, oval, hexagonal, or other geometric shape.
The embodiment of
Turning now to
In some embodiments, the manifolds 6 and 8 can be constructed of a single header tube 18, the header tube 18 having a slot 21 to receive a baffle 19 separating the header 18 into a flow manifold 6 on one side of the baffle 19 and a flow manifold 8 on the other side of the baffle 19.
In some embodiments of the heat exchanger 5, such as the embodiment shown in
In some embodiments including a distribution tube 33 as described above, the holes 35 can be sized so that the pressure drop incurred by the working fluid as it passes from the volume 34 to the volume 36 is substantially greater than the pressure drop incurred by the working fluid as it travels through the volume 34. This will force the amount of the working fluid passing through each of the distribution holes 35 to be approximately equal, thereby ensuring an approximately uniform distribution of fluid flow to the fluid conduits 9. As is well-known in the art of parallel flow evaporative heat exchangers, the performance of such heat exchangers can be greatly improved by maximizing uniformity of the flow of fluid to each of the parallel conduits.
In some embodiments, the heat exchanger 5 can be of a construction and design as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,921,904 issued Apr. 12, 2011 and entitled “HEAT EXCHANGER AND METHOD”, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. One such an embodiment of a heat exchanger 5, illustrated in
Various alternatives to features, elements, and manners of operation of the present invention are described herein with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention. However, with the exception of features, elements, and manners of operation that are mutually exclusive of or are inconsistent with each embodiment described above, it should be noted that alternative features, elements, and manners of operation described with reference to one particular embodiment are applicable to the other embodiments.
Various alternatives to the certain features and elements of the present invention are described with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention. With the exception of features, elements, and manners of operation that are mutually exclusive of or are inconsistent with each embodiment described above, it should be noted that the alternative features, elements, and manners of operation described with reference to one particular embodiment are applicable to the other embodiments.
The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A heat exchange system capable of operating both an air conditioning mode and a heat pump mode, comprising:
- a compressor operable to compress and circulate a refrigerant through the heat exchange system;
- an expansion device operable to expand the refrigerant from a high pressure liquid state to a low pressure two-phase state;
- a reversing valve operable to direct the flow of refrigerant through the heat exchange system, the reversing valve having a first port fluidly connected to an inlet of the compressor to direct the flow of refrigerant thereto, a second port fluidly connected to an outlet of the compressor to receive the flow of refrigerant therefrom, a third port, and a fourth port;
- a first fluid flow path extending between the third port of the reversing valve and a first port of the expansion device;
- a second fluid flow path extending between the fourth port of the reversing valve and a second port of the expansion device, the second fluid flow path including a first branch portion and a second branch portion arranged fluidly in parallel with the first branch portion; and
- a heat exchanger having a first plurality of fluid conduits and a second plurality of fluid conduits, wherein the first plurality of fluid conduits and the second plurality of fluid conduits provide parallel flow paths for refrigerant flowing along the first branch portion and wherein the first plurality of fluid conduits and the second plurality of fluid conduits provide a series flow path for refrigerant flowing along the second branch portion.
2. The heat exchange system of claim 1, wherein the flow of refrigerant is directed along the first branch portion but not the second branch portion when the heat exchange system is operating in the air conditioning mode and wherein the flow of refrigerant is directed along the second branch portion but not the first branch portion when the heat exchange system is operating in the heat pump mode.
3. The heat exchange system of claim 2, further comprising:
- at least one flow control device arranged along the first branch portion to allow the flow of refrigerant when the heat exchange system is operating in the air conditioning mode and to block the flow of refrigerant when the heat exchange system is operating in the heat pump mode; and
- at least one flow control device arranged along the second branch portion to block the flow of refrigerant when the heat exchange system is operating in the air conditioning mode and to allow the flow of refrigerant when the heat exchange system is operating in the heat pump mode.
4. The heat exchange system of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger comprises:
- a first fluid manifold arranged at an end of the heat exchanger;
- a second fluid manifold arranged at an end of the heat exchanger; and
- a third fluid manifold arranged at an end of the heat exchanger, wherein the first plurality of fluid conduits extend between the first fluid manifold and the second fluid manifold and wherein the second plurality of fluid conduits extend between the second fluid manifold and the third fluid manifold.
5. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a fluid port connected to the second fluid manifold, the flow of refrigerant passing through said fluid port when the heat exchange system is operating in the air conditioning mode but not when the heat exchange system is operating in the heat pump mode.
6. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the heat exchanger further comprises a fluid distributor arranged within the second fluid manifold and coupled to the fluid port connected to the second fluid manifold.
7. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first cylindrical header tube containing the first fluid manifold and the third fluid manifold, and a second cylindrical header tube containing the second fluid manifold.
8. The heat exchange system of claim 7, wherein the first fluid manifold and the third fluid manifold are separated by a baffle provided within the first cylindrical header tube.
9. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first fluid port connected to the first fluid manifold and a second fluid port connected to the third fluid manifold, wherein the second fluid port operates as an outlet port for the flow of refrigerant in both the air conditioning mode and the heat pump mode and wherein the first fluid port operates as an inlet port for the refrigerant in the heat pump mode and as an outlet port for the refrigerant in the air conditioning mode.
10. The heat exchange system of claim 9, wherein the heat exchanger further comprises a third fluid port connected to the second fluid manifold, the third fluid port operating as an inlet port for the refrigerant in the air conditioning mode.
11. The heat exchange system of claim 10, wherein the heat exchanger further comprises a fluid distributor arranged within the second fluid manifold and coupled to the third fluid port.
12. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the first fluid manifold and the third fluid manifold are arranged at the same end of the heat exchanger and wherein the second fluid manifold is arranged at an opposite end of the heat exchanger.
13. The heat exchange system of claim 4, wherein the first fluid manifold, the second fluid manifold, and the third fluid manifold are arranged at the same end of the heat exchanger.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 20, 2017
Publication Date: Jan 24, 2019
Inventors: Jerome Matter (Racine, WI), Gregory Kohler (Waterford, WI)
Application Number: 15/654,922