Cooling system

Abstract

The present invention provides a cooling system (1), comprising a receiver tank (2), an evaporator (3), a compressor (4) and a gas cooler (5), wherein the receiver tank (2) comprises a fluid inlet (6), a liquid outlet (7) and a gas outlet (8); the evaporator (3) comprises an evaporator inlet (9) and an evaporator outlet (10), the compressor (4) comprises a compressor inlet (11) and a compressor outlet (12); the gas cooler (5) comprises a cooler inlet (13) and a cooler outlet (14); and the liquid outlet (7) of the receiver tank (2) is connected to the evaporator inlet (9) via a first conduit (15), the evaporator outlet (10) is connected to the compressor inlet (11) via a second conduit (16), the compressor outlet (12) is connected to the cooler inlet (13) via a third conduit (17), and the cooler outlet (14) is connected to the fluid inlet (6) of the receiver via a fourth conduit (18), wherein at least one of the first conduit (15) and the fourth conduit (18) comprises a pressure regulator (19,25), and the gas outlet (8) of the receiver tank is connected to the evaporator inlet (9) via a fifth conduit (20) and a gas flow regulator (21,22), such that a flow of liquid refrigerant in the first conduit (15) may be controlled by operating the gas flow regulator (21,22) during use.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to cooling systems, more particularly direct expansion cooling systems for CO2-refrigerant media.BACKGROUND[0002]Direct expansion (DX) cooling systems are a common refrigeration system using the vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.[0003]A typical prior art DX cooling system is shown in FIG. 1. In the DX cooling system, the pressure and temperature of the liquid refrigerant provided to an evaporator 3 is commonly controlled by use of an expansion valve 25, e.g. a modulating control valve or pressure regulator, arranged between a receiver tank 2 and the evaporator 3. An additional expansion valve 19 is required between a gas cooler 5 and the receiver tank 2 when the refrigerant is transcritical exiting the gas cooler 5, such that subcritical conditions are ensured in the receiver tank 2 to allow separation of the refrigerant into a gas and a liquid phase. In a transcritical DX cooling system the refrigerant is at subcritical ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The cooling system described in this patent text works by regulating the flow of gas and liquid refrigerant to control the temperature of the system. By adjusting the pressure in the receiver tank and the flow of gas refrigerant in a specific conduit, the system can effectively cool the system. The technical effect of the patent is to provide a more efficient and precise cooling system.

Problems solved by technology

Prior art DX cooling systems have various disadvantages with regards to the control of the cooling capacity, in particular when lower cooling capacities are required.

Images