Refrigeration systems and refrigeration equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration technology, and provides a refrigeration system and a refrigeration device. The refrigeration system includes: a first refrigeration branch, which is in multiple numbers and refrigerates multiple refrigeration demand terminals respectively, and each of the first refrigeration branches is provided with a liquid storage device; a second refrigeration branch, which performs refrigeration backup for the refrigeration demand terminals, and the liquid storage devices of all the first refrigeration branches are connected to at least one of the second refrigeration branches. Although the refrigeration system of the present invention is not provided with a liquid collector, the liquid storage device of the first refrigeration branch is connected to at least one second refrigeration branch, and thus no matter which first refrigeration branch fails, there is at least one second refrigeration branch that can replace the failed first refrigeration branch to ensure normal refrigeration of all refrigeration demand terminals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration technology, in particular to a refrigeration system and a refrigeration device. Background Art

[0002] See also Figure 1 In data centers or industrial refrigeration and other occasions, due to the high internal heat generation of the corresponding equipment, safe and stable refrigeration is required all year round. The refrigeration system is equipped with multiple parallel refrigeration branches, including working branches that operate under normal circumstances and backup branches that are shut down under normal circumstances.

[0003] Due to the complexity of the refrigeration demand terminals, in order to ensure that all working branches can provide liquid delivery to all refrigeration demand terminals at the same time, and in order that when a working branch fails, any backup branch can be filled into the refrigeration system to replace the failed working branch, a liquid collector is usually set up to connect the liquid delivery pipes of all working branches and backup branches to the liquid collector, and then connect the branch pipes from the liquid collector to the refrigeration demand terminal. The liquid collector needs to be equipped with a gas / liquid collecting pipe (after passing through the refrigeration demand terminal, the refrigerant is in gas and liquid states, and then the liquid collector contains both liquid and gas refrigerant), connect the return gas / liquid pipes of all refrigeration demand terminals, and then connect to the return gas / liquid pipes of each working branch and backup branch.

[0004] The problem with the refrigeration system of the prior art is that the liquid collector takes up a huge space; and the provision of the liquid collector increases the length of the pipes, which in turn requires more refrigerant to be injected into the refrigeration system, thereby increasing the cost of the refrigeration system. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art or related art.

[0006] One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration system and a refrigeration device to solve the problems caused by the arrangement of the liquid collector in the prior art.

[0007] In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a refrigeration system, comprising:

[0008] There are multiple first refrigeration branches, each of which cools multiple refrigeration demand terminals, and each of the first refrigeration branches is provided with a liquid storage device;

[0009] The second refrigeration branch performs refrigeration backup for the refrigeration demand terminal, and the liquid storage devices of all the first refrigeration branches are connected to at least one of the second refrigeration branches.

[0010] In one embodiment, the second refrigeration branch is provided with a liquid reservoir, the liquid reservoir of the first refrigeration branch is a first liquid reservoir, the liquid reservoir of the second refrigeration branch is a second liquid reservoir, and each of the second liquid reservoirs is connected to all of the first liquid reservoirs.

[0011] In one embodiment, among all the liquid reservoirs, adjacent liquid reservoirs are connected to each other through a first pipeline for liquid and a second pipeline for gas, and the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve.

[0012] In one embodiment, among all the liquid reservoirs, the adjacent liquid reservoirs and the liquid reservoirs located at both ends are connected to each other through a first pipeline for liquid and a second pipeline for gas, and the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with switch valves.

[0013] In one embodiment, each of the second liquid reservoirs is connected to all the first liquid reservoirs through a first pipeline for liquid and a second pipeline for gas, respectively, and the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve.

[0014] In one embodiment, two ends of the first pipeline are connected to the bottom of different liquid reservoirs, and two ends of the second pipeline are connected to the top of different liquid reservoirs.

[0015] In one embodiment, the positional relationship of all the liquid reservoirs satisfies that the liquid levels in all the liquid reservoirs are at the same height.

[0016] In one embodiment, the height of the liquid outlet of the liquid storage device is higher than the height of the corresponding liquid inlet of the refrigeration demand end.

[0017] In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a refrigeration device, including a plurality of refrigeration demand terminals and the above-mentioned refrigeration system.

[0018] The technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages: although the refrigeration system of the present invention is not provided with a liquid collector, the liquid storage device of the first refrigeration branch is connected to at least one second refrigeration branch, and thus no matter which first refrigeration branch fails, there is at least one second refrigeration branch that can replace the failed first refrigeration branch, thereby ensuring normal refrigeration of all refrigeration demand terminals.

[0019] In addition to the technical problems solved by the present invention, the technical features of the technical solutions constituted, and the advantages brought about by the technical features of these technical solutions described above, other technical features of the present invention and the advantages brought about by these technical features will be further explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the components of a refrigeration system provided with a liquid collector;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the connection relationship of a refrigeration device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] In the figure: 001: liquid collector; 002: terminal cooling demand;

[0024] 1: solid line frame; 2: dotted line frame; 3: first pipeline; 4: second pipeline; 5: driving pump; 6: switching valve; 7: refrigeration demand end; 8: liquid storage tank. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following embodiments of the present invention are described in further detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0026] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this description, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. Moreover, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple", "multiple roots", and "multiple groups" mean two or more, and "several", "several roots", and "several groups" mean one or more.

[0028] See also Figure 2 According to an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigeration system is provided, comprising:

[0029] There are multiple first refrigeration branches, each of which cools multiple refrigeration demand terminals 7, and each first refrigeration branch is provided with a liquid storage device 8;

[0030] The second refrigeration branch performs refrigeration backup for the refrigeration demand terminal 7, and the liquid storage tanks 8 of all the first refrigeration branches are connected to at least one second refrigeration branch.

[0031] It should be noted that "the liquid reservoirs 8 of all first refrigeration branches are connected to at least one second refrigeration branch" means that a corresponding passage is provided between the liquid reservoir 8 of the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch, and the passage is disconnected under normal operation, and is connected only when the first refrigeration branch fails. The passage can be embodied in the form of a pipeline or in other forms.

[0032] Although this type of refrigeration system does not have a liquid collector, the liquid storage tank 8 of the first refrigeration branch is connected to at least one second refrigeration branch. Therefore, no matter which first refrigeration branch fails, there is at least one second refrigeration branch that can replace the failed first refrigeration branch to ensure normal refrigeration of all refrigeration demand terminals 7.

[0033] Figure 2 In the figure, there are three first cooling branches and one second cooling branch. Figure 2 This is only an example of a refrigeration system and does not constitute a limitation on the refrigeration system. The number of the first refrigeration branch and the number of the second refrigeration branch can be any.

[0034] For example, there are multiple first refrigeration branches and one second refrigeration branch. In order to ensure that the second refrigeration branch can serve as a backup for any first refrigeration branch, the second refrigeration branch is connected to the liquid storage tanks 8 of all first refrigeration branches. In this case, it is ensured that there is a backup branch when any first refrigeration branch fails, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigeration system is saved.

[0035] For another example, the number of first refrigeration branches and the number of second refrigeration branches are both multiple. In this case, the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch can be set one by one, and the principle of proximity is adopted, and the nearby second refrigeration branch is used as a backup branch of the first refrigeration branch that is closer, which facilitates the setting of the pipeline between the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch; each second refrigeration branch can also be connected to the liquid storage tank 8 of all first refrigeration branches, so that each first refrigeration branch has multiple backup branches, even if multiple first refrigeration branches fail at the same time, or even some second refrigeration branches fail, the refrigeration system can still work normally.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second refrigeration branch is also provided with a liquid reservoir 8. For the convenience of distinction, the liquid reservoir 8 of the first refrigeration branch is defined as the first liquid reservoir, and the liquid reservoir 8 of the second refrigeration branch is defined as the second liquid reservoir. At this time, the communication between the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch can be achieved through the communication between the first liquid reservoir and the second liquid reservoir.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each second liquid reservoir is connected to all first liquid reservoirs, so that each second refrigeration branch can back up all first refrigeration branches. The connection between the second liquid reservoir and the first liquid reservoir is not required to be direct. For example, the second liquid reservoir can also be connected to a distant first liquid reservoir through an adjacent first liquid reservoir. Three situations of the second refrigeration branch backup are given below. Of course, the following examples do not constitute a limitation on the second refrigeration branch backup method:

[0038] In the first case, among all the liquid reservoirs 8, the adjacent liquid reservoirs 8 are connected to each other through the first pipeline 3 for liquid and the second pipeline 4 for gas, and the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 are respectively provided with a switch valve 6. At this time, the second liquid reservoir on the far right is directly connected to the first liquid reservoir on the far right through the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4. As for other first liquid reservoirs, the second liquid reservoir is indirectly connected to them through the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 between the second liquid reservoir and the first liquid reservoir, and the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 between adjacent first liquid reservoirs, so that when other first refrigeration branches fail, the current second refrigeration branch can achieve a backup function.

[0039] In the second case, see Figure 2Among all the liquid reservoirs 8, the adjacent liquid reservoirs 8 and the liquid reservoirs 8 at both ends are connected to each other through the first liquid pipeline 3 and the second gas pipeline 4, and the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 are respectively provided with a switch valve 6. Figure 2 Only the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 between the two leftmost liquid reservoirs 8 are marked. Obviously, other adjacent liquid reservoirs 8, as well as the liquid reservoirs 8 at the leftmost and rightmost ends, are also connected through the first pipeline 3 represented by the solid line and the second pipeline 4 represented by the dashed line. In this case, since the liquid reservoirs 8 at both ends are connected through the first pipeline 3 for liquid and the second pipeline 4 for gas, when the leftmost first refrigeration branch fails, the rightmost second refrigeration branch can directly connect to the leftmost first refrigeration branch through the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4.

[0040] Figure 2 In the embodiment, all the connected liquid reservoirs 8 are equivalent to a liquid collector that also integrates the liquid reservoir function. However, by eliminating the separately provided liquid collector, the installation space of the refrigeration system can be saved. In addition, since the adjacent liquid reservoirs 8 and the liquid reservoirs 8 at both ends are connected through the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4, the length of the pipeline can be reduced, avoiding the need to inject more refrigerant into the refrigeration system, and saving the cost of the refrigeration system.

[0041] In the third case, each second liquid reservoir is connected to all first liquid reservoirs through the first liquid pipeline 3 and the second gas pipeline 4, and the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 are respectively provided with a switch valve 6. At this time, all second refrigeration branches can be backed up for any first refrigeration branch to ensure the normal operation of the refrigeration system.

[0042] That is, assuming that the refrigeration system has three first refrigeration branches and three second refrigeration branches, the relationship between the first refrigeration branches and the second refrigeration branches is: for the second liquid storage tank of any second refrigeration branch, it is simultaneously connected to the first liquid storage tanks of the other three first refrigeration branches.

[0043] In the above three situations, under normal working conditions, the switch valves 6 on the first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 are closed, so that the first refrigeration branch can normally refrigerate the corresponding refrigeration demand terminal 7. Only when some of the first refrigeration branches fail, the switch valves 6 on the corresponding first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 are opened, so that the second refrigeration branch is connected to the refrigeration system, ensuring normal refrigeration of all refrigeration demand terminals 7.

[0044] The type of the switch valve 6 is not limited, for example, it can be a stop valve, a solenoid valve, an electric valve, etc., or the switch valve 6 can also be replaced by a regulating valve, but the on-off effect of the regulating valve is not as good as that of the switch valve 6.

[0045] The first pipeline 3 and the second pipeline 4 can be used to circulate liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant (or gaseous and liquid refrigerants) respectively. Figure 2 The two ends of the first pipeline 3 are connected to the bottoms of different liquid reservoirs 8, and the two ends of the second pipeline 4 are connected to the tops of different liquid reservoirs 8. Therefore, the setting of the first pipeline 3 can ensure that no noise is generated when the liquid refrigerant flows between different liquid reservoirs 8 (if the liquid refrigerant falls from the top of the liquid reservoir 8, noise will be caused by the impact of the refrigerant). The setting of the second pipeline 4 can facilitate the circulation of the gaseous refrigerant at the top of the liquid reservoir 8.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present invention, all liquid storage tanks 8 are at the same height, or all liquid storage tanks 8 have a set height difference, so that the liquid levels in all liquid storage tanks are at the same height, thereby ensuring that the amount of refrigerant in all participating refrigeration branches (the first refrigeration branch without any obstacles, and the second refrigeration branch participating as a backup branch) is as close as possible, thereby ensuring uniform refrigeration for all refrigeration terminal needs.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the height of the liquid outlet of the liquid reservoir 8 is higher than the height of the liquid inlet of the corresponding refrigeration demand terminal 7. Then, the refrigerant can flow from the liquid reservoir 8 to the refrigeration demand terminal 7 under the action of gravity. Of course, there may be no special requirements for the heights of the liquid reservoir 8 and the refrigeration demand terminal 7, and the drive pump 5 may be set in the first refrigeration branch or the second refrigeration branch, or the drive pump 5 may be set only in the first refrigeration branch, and the position of the drive pump 5 satisfies that: when the second refrigeration branch is connected to the liquid reservoir 8 of the first refrigeration branch, the drive pump 5 can also drive the refrigerant to circulate in the backup second refrigeration branch.

[0048] The communication between the liquid storage tank 8 and the refrigeration demand terminal 7 includes two situations:

[0049] In the first case, the refrigeration demand terminal 7 is provided with a terminal heat exchanger, and the refrigerant in the liquid storage tank 8 flows into the terminal heat exchanger, and heat exchange is performed on the refrigeration demand terminal 7 through the terminal heat exchanger to reduce the temperature of the refrigeration demand terminal 7.

[0050] In the second case, the refrigerant in the liquid storage tank 8 directly flows into the body of the refrigeration demand terminal 7, and then directly reduces the temperature of the refrigeration demand terminal 7 through the refrigerant.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant may be an evaporative refrigerant, and when the evaporative refrigerant is delivered to the refrigeration demand terminal 7 (including the refrigeration demand terminal 7 body, or the terminal heat exchanger), the evaporative refrigerant undergoes a phase change and absorbs the heat of the refrigeration demand terminal 7. Among them, the evaporative refrigerant may be selected such as Freon, carbon dioxide, etc. Among them, carbon dioxide has the advantages of high pressure, small loss along the pipeline, good fluidity, safety and environmental protection, and the use of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant can improve the refrigeration effect during natural cooling. During natural cooling, there is no need to turn on the compressor in the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch to save energy. Of course, the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch can also adopt natural refrigeration, and no compressor is set in the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first refrigeration branch and the second refrigeration branch may use the same components. Taking the first refrigeration branch as an example, it may include a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element and a liquid storage device 8, etc., which are sequentially connected along the refrigerant flow direction. Figure 2 In the figure, the solid frame 1 is provided with an operating module, that is, including the compressor, condenser, throttling element, etc. of the first refrigeration branch that are not drawn. The dotted frame 2 is provided with a backup module, that is, including the compressor, condenser, throttling element, etc. of the second refrigeration branch that are not drawn. The failure of the first refrigeration branch mainly refers to the failure of other components or pipelines in the solid frame 1 except the liquid reservoir 8, so as to ensure that when the backup module in the dotted frame 2 is connected to the liquid reservoir 8 of the faulty branch, a refrigeration circuit can be formed between the backup module in the dotted frame 2, the liquid reservoir 8 of the faulty branch, and the refrigeration demand terminal 7.

[0053] In addition, the driving pump 5 in the first refrigeration branch can also be set in the solid line frame 1, and the driving pump 5 in the second refrigeration branch can also be set in the dotted line frame 2. Then, when the driving pump 5 in the first refrigeration branch fails, normal refrigeration of the refrigeration demand terminal 7 can also be achieved by connecting to the backup second refrigeration branch.

[0054] Among them, the liquid reservoir 8 may include a high-pressure liquid reservoir and a low-pressure liquid reservoir which are arranged in sequence. The low-pressure liquid reservoir ensures that the compressor does not inhale liquid, avoids damage caused by liquid hammer in the compressor, and avoids the throttling element from increasing overheating losses by using superheat control. In addition, by setting a high-pressure liquid reservoir, the stability of the first refrigeration branch can be guaranteed, so as to obtain a refrigerant that meets the requirements in the low-pressure liquid reservoir. And, when a high-pressure liquid reservoir and a low-pressure liquid reservoir are provided at the same time, an expansion valve may be provided between the high-pressure liquid reservoir and the low-pressure liquid reservoir. When passing through the expansion valve, the refrigerant is depressurized and cooled, so that a low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant is obtained in the low-pressure liquid reservoir. Of course, it is also possible to only provide the above-mentioned low-pressure liquid reservoir without providing a high-pressure liquid reservoir.

[0055] When the first refrigeration branch is provided with both a high-pressure liquid reservoir and a low-pressure liquid reservoir, each second refrigeration branch is connected to the low-pressure liquid reservoirs of all first refrigeration branches. For example, when there are three first refrigeration branches and one second refrigeration branch, the second refrigeration branch is connected to the low-pressure liquid reservoirs on the three first refrigeration branches at the same time.

[0056] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigeration device is provided. Please refer to Figure 2 , including multiple refrigeration demand terminals 7, and also including a refrigeration system. Among them, the first refrigeration branch of the refrigeration system provides cooling for the refrigeration demand terminal 7, and then the first refrigeration branch is connected to the refrigeration demand terminal 7 (the refrigeration demand terminal 7 body, or the terminal heat exchanger).

[0057] Figure 2 In the figure, the ellipsis set at the solid box 1 indicates that the number of operating modules is not limited by the figure; by the same token, the ellipsis corresponding to the dotted box 2 and the cooling demand terminal 7 respectively means that the number of backup modules and the cooling demand terminal 7 is also not limited.

[0058] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, but not to limit the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various combinations, modifications or equivalent substitutions of the technical solutions of the present invention do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigeration system, characterized in that: include: There are multiple first refrigeration branches, each of which cools multiple refrigeration demand terminals, and each of the first refrigeration branches is provided with a liquid storage device; The second refrigeration branch performs refrigeration backup for the refrigeration demand terminal, and the liquid reservoirs of all the first refrigeration branches are connected to at least one of the second refrigeration branches; the second refrigeration branch is provided with a liquid reservoir, the liquid reservoir of the first refrigeration branch is a first liquid reservoir, and the liquid reservoir of the second refrigeration branch is a second liquid reservoir, and each of the second liquid reservoirs is connected to all the first liquid reservoirs; among all the liquid reservoirs, the adjacent liquid reservoirs, and the liquid reservoirs at both ends are respectively connected through the first liquid pipeline and the second gas pipeline, and the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve; Each of the second liquid reservoirs is connected to all the first liquid reservoirs through a first pipeline for liquid and a second pipeline for gas, and the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve.

2. The refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two ends of the first pipeline are connected to the bottom of different liquid reservoirs, and the two ends of the second pipeline are connected to the top of different liquid reservoirs.

3. The refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positional relationship of all the liquid reservoirs satisfies that the liquid levels in all the liquid reservoirs are at the same height.

4. The refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the liquid outlet of the liquid storage device is higher than the height of the corresponding air inlet at the end of the refrigeration demand.

5. A refrigeration device, comprising a plurality of refrigeration demand terminals, characterized in that: Also includes the refrigeration system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images