Gas-liquid separation device and gas-liquid separation control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a gas-liquid separation device and a gas-liquid separation control method thereof, wherein the gas-liquid separation device comprises a plurality of adsorbers, wherein the adsorbers are provided with an adsorption air inlet pipe, an adsorption air outlet pipe and a saturation sensor; the adsorption air inlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air inlet control valve and an adsorption air inlet check valve, and the adsorption air outlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air outlet control valve and an adsorption air outlet check valve; a backflush device connected to the inlet end of the adsorption air outlet control valve; and a processor, which is in communication connection with the adsorption air inlet control valve, the adsorption air outlet control valve, the saturation sensor and the backflush device on each adsorber. The present invention arranges an adsorber between the air inlet of the gas-liquid separator and the air outlet of the evaporator to alternately perform adsorption separation and alternate regeneration, thereby improving the gas-liquid separation effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of refrigeration, and in particular, relates to a gas-liquid separation device and a gas-liquid separation control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In order to prevent the evaporator from carrying liquid and the liquid refrigerant from directly entering the refrigeration compressor, the existing refrigeration system, especially the large direct expansion liquid supply refrigeration system, usually sets a gas-liquid separator between the air intake of the refrigeration compressor and the air outlet of the evaporator. However, the refrigerant gas at the outlet of the evaporator carries refrigerant liquid and refrigeration lubricating oil. Therefore, the refrigerant gas (including refrigeration lubricating oil and refrigerant liquid) at the outlet of the evaporator needs to be separated from the gas and liquid. In addition to the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant, the refrigeration lubricating oil must be separated and returned to the refrigeration compressor. If the refrigeration lubricating oil is not returned to the refrigeration compressor in time, it will cause the refrigeration compressor to lack oil. In the prior art, the refrigerant gas at the outlet of the evaporator is directly input into the gas-liquid separator, and the refrigerant liquid is evaporated and separated, and then the remaining lubricating oil is sent back to the refrigeration compressor.

[0003] It can be seen that the gas-liquid separator has two main functions. One is to separate the gas and liquid of the refrigerant coming out of the evaporator before it enters the refrigeration compressor. The other is to allow the refrigeration lubricating oil separated from the refrigerant coming out of the evaporator to return to the refrigeration compressor.

[0004] Invention patent 201810148655.1 (publication date 2018.6.15) discloses a gas-liquid-oil separator for a fluorine refrigeration system, which has the functions of gas-liquid separation and oil return. In the gas-liquid separator, the refrigerant mixture directly enters the separation chamber of the gas-liquid separator. However, since the gas-liquid separator relies solely on internal gas-liquid separation, its separation effect is relatively poor. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problem that the gas-liquid separation effect of the gas-liquid separator in the prior art is poor, the present invention provides a gas-liquid separation device and a gas-liquid separation control method thereof. The device arranges an adsorber between the gas-liquid separator air inlet and the evaporator air outlet for alternate adsorption separation and alternate regeneration, thereby ensuring the gas-liquid separation effect.

[0006] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a gas-liquid separation device, comprising a gas-liquid separator, which has a shell of a separation chamber, a separation air inlet pipe located at the side of the shell, a separation air outlet pipe located at the top of the shell, and a separation liquid outlet pipe located at the bottom of the shell, wherein a heat exchange device is provided at the bottom of the separation chamber, and further comprises:

[0008] At least one adsorber, the adsorber comprising:

[0009] Adsorption inlet pipe, used to input gas containing liquid;

[0010] An adsorption gas outlet pipe is used to discharge the adsorbed gas to the gas inlet pipe of the gas-liquid separator;

[0011] Saturation sensor, used to monitor the saturation of the adsorbent in the adsorber;

[0012] The adsorption air inlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air inlet control valve and an adsorption air inlet check valve located at the inlet end of the adsorption air inlet control valve, and the adsorption air outlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air outlet control valve and an adsorption air outlet check valve located at the outlet end of the adsorption air outlet control valve;

[0013] a backflush device connected to the inlet end of the adsorption outlet control valve; and

[0014] A processor is communicatively connected with each adsorption inlet control valve, adsorption outlet control valve, saturation sensor and backflush device on the at least one adsorber.

[0015] The gas-liquid separation device adopts the above technical solution, by arranging at least one adsorber before the separation inlet pipe to pre-adsorb the liquid droplets in the gas. When the adsorbent saturation in the adsorber reaches the set maximum value, the adsorbent in the adsorber is heated by the backflush device to regenerate the adsorber for recycling.

[0016] Furthermore, the backflush device includes: an air supply source for providing backflush hot air; and a backflush control valve for controlling the opening or closing of the backflush channels of different adsorbers by the air supply source, and the backflush control valve is communicatively connected to the processor.

[0017] Furthermore, it also includes: a gas dryness detector for detecting the gas dryness in the separation gas pipe; a separation gas control valve, which is located at the outlet end of the gas dryness detector; the gas dryness detector, the separation gas control valve and the heat exchange device are respectively connected to the processor for communication.

[0018] The above limitation means that when the value detected by the gas dryness detector is lower than the set dryness value, the processor controls the heat exchange device to start working and heat the liquid in the gas-liquid separator. When the heating time reaches the set time, the heat exchange device is turned off and the residual heat is used to continue heating. At this time, the dryness of the gas is improved, and the separation gas outlet control valve can be opened to discharge the gas.

[0019] Further, the heat exchange device comprises:

[0020] The heat exchange tube flows from bottom to top, the lowest point of the heat exchange tube is used as the heat source input port, and the highest point of the heat exchange tube is used as the heat source output port after exchanging heat;

[0021] The heat exchange control valve is used to control the opening or closing of the heat exchange device. The heat exchange control valve is arranged at the heat exchange source input port and is communicatively connected with the processor.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes:

[0023] A separation liquid outlet control valve, which is arranged on the separation liquid outlet pipe;

[0024] A liquid level sensor, used for monitoring the liquid level in the separation chamber;

[0025] A control unit is communicatively connected with the separated liquid control valve, the liquid level sensor and the heat exchange control valve respectively.

[0026] The above definition enables the control unit to control the working states of the liquid separation control valve and the heat exchange device when the liquid level monitored by the liquid level sensor is at different heights.

[0027] Furthermore, it also includes:

[0028] An ejection device, wherein the separation liquid outlet pipe is provided with a separation liquid outlet control valve, the outlet end of the separation liquid outlet control valve is connected to the ejection device, and the axial inlet end of the ejection device is connected to the air supply source, and an ejection control valve is provided between the axial inlet end of the ejection device and the air supply source;

[0029] The separated liquid control valve and the injection control valve are communicatively connected with the control unit.

[0030] Furthermore, the inlet end of the adsorption inlet pipe is connected to the evaporator outlet to obtain refrigerant gas, the gas supply source is the refrigerant gas from the oil separator outlet pipe, the heat exchange source comes from the liquid refrigerant from the condenser liquid outlet or the liquid receiver liquid outlet, and the axial outlet end of the ejector device and the outlet end of the separation gas outlet control valve are both connected to the suction port of the refrigeration compressor.

[0031] In a second aspect, the present application provides a gas-liquid separation control method for controlling a gas-liquid separation device to perform gas-liquid separation, wherein the at least one adsorber has only one first adsorber, and the method comprises executing the following steps by a processor:

[0032] During normal operation, the first backflush control valve is closed, the first adsorption air inlet control valve, the first adsorption air outlet control valve and the separation air outlet control valve are opened, and the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber. After the first adsorber adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0033] When the first saturation sensor detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber reaches a set maximum value, the first adsorption inlet control valve and the first adsorption outlet control valve are closed, and the first backflush control valve is opened to heat the adsorbent in the first adsorber;

[0034] When the first saturation sensor detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber reaches the set minimum value, the first backflush control valve is closed, and the first adsorption inlet control valve and the first adsorption outlet control valve are opened, so that the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber again, and after the first adsorber adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0035] This cycle is used to achieve gas-liquid separation.

[0036] In a third aspect, the present application provides a gas-liquid separation control method for controlling a gas-liquid separation device to perform gas-liquid separation, wherein the at least one adsorber includes a first adsorber and a second adsorber, and the method includes executing the following steps by a processor:

[0037] During normal operation, the first backflush control valve, the second backflush control valve, the second adsorption inlet control valve and the second adsorption outlet control valve are closed, and the first adsorption inlet control valve, the first adsorption outlet control valve and the separation outlet control valve are opened, and the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber, and after the first adsorber adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0038] When the first saturation sensor detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber reaches the set maximum value, the second adsorption air inlet control valve and the second adsorption air outlet control valve are opened, the second adsorber is operated, the first adsorption air inlet control valve and the first adsorption air outlet control valve are closed with a delay, the first adsorber stops operating, the first backflush control valve is opened, and the adsorbent in the first adsorber is heated;

[0039] During the heating process of the first adsorber, when the second saturation sensor detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the second adsorber reaches a set maximum value, the first adsorption air inlet control valve and the first adsorption air outlet control valve are opened, the first back-blowing control valve is closed, the first adsorber is operated, the second adsorption air inlet control valve and the second adsorption air outlet control valve are closed with a delay, the second adsorber stops operating, the second back-blowing control valve is opened, and the adsorbent in the second adsorber is heated;

[0040] During the heating process of the second adsorber, the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber, and after the first adsorber adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0041] This cycle is used to achieve gas-liquid separation.

[0042] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides parallel adsorbers to alternately adsorb the liquid component of the refrigerant before the mixture to be separated into gas, liquid and oil enters the separation inlet pipe of the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation, thereby increasing the dryness of the gas entering the gas-liquid separator. When the adsorber adsorption reaches saturation, the adsorber is heated by a backflush device so that the adsorber reaches a regeneration state for recycling. The parallel adsorption and separation and the alternate regeneration of the adsorbers can ensure the gas-liquid separation effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of one embodiment of the gas-liquid separation device of the present application;

[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the gas-liquid separation device of the present application.

[0045] Description of the markings in the figure:

[0046] 1-top cover, 2-cylinder, 3-bottom cover, 4-separation air inlet pipe, 5-separation air outlet pipe, 61-oil suction pipe, 611-rigid connecting pipe, 612-flexible connecting pipe, 62-oil suction ball, 7-liquid level sensor, 8-injection device, 9-injection control valve, 10-separation liquid control valve, 11-separation liquid outlet pipe, 12-heat exchange pipe, 13-heat exchange control valve, 14-gas dryness detector, 15-separation air outlet control valve, 16-processor;

[0047] 17-first adsorber, 19-first adsorption inlet pipe, 21-first adsorption inlet control valve, 23-first adsorption inlet check valve, 25-first saturation sensor, 27-first adsorption outlet pipe, 29-first adsorption outlet control valve, 31-first adsorption outlet check valve, 33-first back-blowing control valve;

[0048] 18 - second adsorber, 20 - second adsorption inlet pipe, 22 - second adsorption inlet control valve, 24 - second adsorption inlet check valve, 26 - second saturation sensor, 28 - second adsorption outlet pipe, 30 - second adsorption outlet control valve, 32 - second adsorption outlet check valve, 34 - second back-blowing control valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In order to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art, the present invention is further described below in conjunction with embodiments and drawings. The contents mentioned in the implementation modes are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0050] like Figure 1As shown, a gas-liquid separation device includes a gas-liquid separator, a processor 16 and at least one adsorber, the gas-liquid separator includes a shell having a separation chamber and a separation air inlet pipe 4 located on the side of the shell, a separation air outlet pipe 5 located on the top of the shell and a separation liquid outlet pipe 11 located at the bottom of the shell, and a heat exchange device is provided at the bottom of the separation chamber for heating the liquid in the gas-liquid separator.

[0051] In the at least one adsorber, each adsorber is provided with an adsorption air inlet pipe at the bottom, an adsorption air outlet pipe at the top and a saturation sensor.

[0052] The adsorption inlet pipe is used to input gas containing liquid, where the liquid can be a liquefied component of a gaseous substance and a component that is difficult to gasify in the gas-liquid separation device (such as oil substances with a high boiling point). The adsorber contains an adsorbent that absorbs the liquid.

[0053] The adsorption gas outlet pipe is used to discharge the adsorbed gas to the gas inlet pipe of the gas-liquid separator, wherein most of the liquid is adsorbed in the adsorber.

[0054] Since the adsorbent has a certain limit in adsorbing liquid, the saturation of the adsorbent in the adsorber is monitored by a saturation sensor, which makes it convenient for the processor 16 to control the operation of the adsorber according to the saturation value.

[0055] The adsorption inlet pipe is provided with an adsorption inlet control valve and adsorption inlet check valves 23 and 24 located at the inlet end of the adsorption inlet control valve, and the adsorption outlet pipe is provided with an adsorption outlet control valve and adsorption outlet check valves 31 and 32 located at the outlet end of the adsorption outlet control valve. The above-mentioned adsorption inlet control valve and adsorption outlet control valve are used to control the opening and closing of the adsorption inlet pipe and the adsorption outlet pipe respectively, and the adsorption inlet check valves 31 and 32 prevent gas backflow.

[0056] The working principle is as follows: when the saturation sensor detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the adsorber has reached the set maximum value, the processor 16 controls the closing of the adsorption intake control valve, thereby stopping the operation of the corresponding adsorber. In order to reuse the adsorber, the adsorbent in the adsorber needs to be heated by a backflush device to reduce the saturation in the adsorber so that it can be regenerated for recycling.

[0057] The gas-liquid separator can be any device capable of achieving gas-liquid separation in the prior art.

[0058] For the backflush device, it mainly heats and backflushes the adsorbent in the saturated adsorber through heat flow, so that the adsorbed liquid in the adsorber is vaporized and sinks. Specifically, the backflush pressure formed by the air flow can make the oil substances in the adsorber sink, and the temperature of the heat flow can vaporize the vaporized liquid components, so that they enter the gas-liquid separator again through the adsorption outlet pipe.

[0059] A back-blowing device is provided herein, which includes an air supply source and back-blowing control valves 33 and 34. The air supply source is used to provide back-blowing hot air, and the outlet ends of the back-blowing control valves 33 and 34 are connected to the inlet ends of the adsorption outlet control valves, which are used to control the opening or closing of the back-blowing channels of different adsorbers by the air supply source, wherein the back-blowing control valves 33 and 34 are communicatively connected to the processor 16.

[0060] That is to say, each adsorber has an independent back-blowing control valve 33, 34 to control whether the gas supply source heats the adsorbent in the adsorber. In particular, when the adsorber reaches saturation, the corresponding back-blowing control valve 33, 34 is opened to heat the adsorbent in the adsorber. For the adsorber that has not reached saturation, the corresponding back-blowing control valve 33, 34 can be closed.

[0061] The gas-liquid separation device of the present application is suitable for situations where a mixture containing gas, liquid and oil needs to be separated. The working principle is explained below for gas-liquid separation of a mixture containing refrigerant gas, refrigerant liquid and lubricating oil output by an evaporator in a refrigeration system.

[0062] Due to the different number of adsorbers, although the specific control methods are different, the basic principles of the control methods are the same. Two different embodiments are given below to specifically illustrate the control method for gas-liquid separation.

[0063] Embodiment 1:

[0064] like Figure 2 As shown, the gas-liquid separation device in this embodiment includes only one adsorber, namely the first adsorber 17, the first adsorption inlet pipe 19 of the first adsorber 17 is connected to the air outlet of the evaporator, the first adsorption outlet pipe 27 is connected to the separation inlet pipe 4 of the gas-liquid separator, and the first adsorption outlet pipe 27 is also connected to the air supply source, and the air supply source comes from the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas of the oil separator outlet pipe.

[0065] A first saturation sensor 25 is provided on the first adsorber 17 , and a first backflush control valve 33 is provided between the gas supply source and the inlet end of the first adsorption outlet control valve 29 .

[0066] The first adsorption air inlet pipe 19 , the first adsorption air outlet pipe 27 , the first blowback control valve 33 , and the first saturation sensor 25 are all in communication connection with the processor 16 .

[0067] The control method for gas-liquid separation of the gas-liquid separation device in this embodiment is as follows:

[0068] (1) During normal operation, the first backflush control valve 33 is closed, the first adsorption inlet control valve 21, the first adsorption outlet control valve 29 and the separation outlet control valve 15 are opened, and the refrigerant gas containing the refrigerant liquid and the lubricating oil enters the first adsorber 17. After the first adsorber 17 adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0069] (2) When the first saturation sensor 25 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 reaches a set maximum value, the signal is transmitted to the processor 16, and the processor 16 sends a signal to close the first adsorption inlet control valve 21 and the first adsorption outlet control valve 29, and open the first backflush control valve 33, so that the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 is heated by the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas from the oil separator;

[0070] (3) When the first saturation sensor 25 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 reaches the regeneration or initial state or the saturation is lower than the set minimum value and can be reactivated, the first backflush control valve 33 is closed, and the first adsorption inlet control valve 21 and the first adsorption outlet control valve 29 are opened, so that the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber 17 again, and after the first adsorber 17 adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0071] By circulating the above steps (1) to (4), gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant gas from the evaporator is achieved.

[0072] Embodiment 2:

[0073] Continue to refer Figure 1 As shown, the gas-liquid separation device in this embodiment includes only two adsorbers, namely a first adsorber 17 and a second adsorber 18. The structure and connection relationship of the first adsorber 17 are the same as those in Example 1, and the structure and connection relationship of the second adsorber 18 are basically the same as those of the first adsorber 17, specifically: the second adsorption inlet pipe 20 of the second adsorber 18 is connected to the air outlet of the evaporator, the second adsorption outlet pipe 28 is connected to the separation inlet pipe 4 of the gas-liquid separator, and the first adsorption outlet pipe 27 is also connected to the air supply source, and the air supply source comes from the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas of the oil separator outlet pipe.

[0074] A second saturation sensor 26 is provided on the second adsorber 18 , and a second backflush control valve 34 is provided between the gas supply source and the inlet end of the second adsorption outlet control valve 30 .

[0075] The second adsorption air inlet pipe 20 , the second adsorption air outlet pipe 28 , the second blowback control valve 34 , and the second saturation sensor 26 are all connected to the processor 16 for communication.

[0076] The control method for gas-liquid separation of the gas-liquid separation device in this embodiment is as follows:

[0077] (1) During normal operation, the first back-blowing control valve 33, the second back-blowing control valve 34, the second adsorption inlet control valve 22 and the second adsorption outlet control valve 30 are closed, and the first adsorption inlet control valve 21, the first adsorption outlet control valve 29 and the separation outlet control valve 15 are opened, and the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber 17. After the first adsorber 17 adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation;

[0078] (2) When the first saturation sensor 25 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 reaches the set maximum value, the second adsorption air inlet control valve 22 and the second adsorption air outlet control valve 30 are opened, the second adsorber 18 is operated, the first adsorption air inlet control valve 21 and the first adsorption air outlet control valve 29 are closed with a delay, the first adsorber 17 stops operating, the first backflush control valve 33 is opened, and the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 is heated;

[0079] (3) During the heating process of the first adsorber 17, when the first saturation sensor 25 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 reaches the regeneration or initial state or the saturation is lower than the set minimum value and can be reactivated, and the second saturation sensor 26 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the second adsorber 18 reaches the set maximum value, the first adsorption air intake control valve 21 and the first adsorption air outlet control valve 29 are opened, the first backwash control valve 33 is closed, the first adsorber 17 is operated, the second adsorption air intake control valve 22 and the second adsorption air outlet control valve 30 are closed with a delayed delay, the second adsorber 18 stops operating, and the second backwash control valve 34 is opened to heat the adsorbent in the second adsorber 18;

[0080] If during the heating process, even if the first saturation sensor 25 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber 17 has not yet reached the regeneration or initial state or the saturation has dropped to the set minimum value, at this time, as long as the second saturation sensor 26 detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the second adsorber 18 has reached the set maximum value, the processor 16 can execute the above steps, that is, heating the adsorbent in the second adsorber 18 and operating the first adsorber 17.

[0081] (4) During the heating process of the second adsorber 18, the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber 17 again. After the first adsorber 17 adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation.

[0082] By circulating the above steps (1) to (4), gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant gas from the evaporator is achieved.

[0083] Since two adsorbers are provided in this embodiment, even when one of the adsorbers is saturated, the other adsorber can still operate normally and provide refrigerant gas to the gas-liquid separator.

[0084] It should be noted that, since the first adsorber 17 and the second adsorber 18 are symmetrically arranged, the above control method can also operate the second adsorber 18 first, and then operate the first adsorber 17 when the second adsorber 18 is saturated.

[0085] It is understood that although the above two embodiments 1 and 2 respectively describe the structure and control method of setting one adsorber and two adsorbers, those skilled in the art should understand that when the number of adsorbers is greater, the structure and control method can be predetermined.

[0086] The specific structure of the gas-liquid separator is described below:

[0087] As mentioned above, the gas-liquid separator includes a shell having a separation chamber, a separation air inlet pipe 4, a separation air outlet pipe 5, a separation liquid outlet pipe 11 and a heat exchange device for providing heat.

[0088] Generally speaking, the gas outlet of the gas-liquid separator is connected to the air intake of the refrigeration compressor, and the liquid outlet can also be connected to the refrigeration compressor for oil return.

[0089] The separation of gas and liquid is mainly completed in the separation chamber of the shell through the heat exchange device. The separation inlet pipe 4 is arranged on the upper side wall of the shell, which is used to obtain the refrigerant gas (including a small amount of refrigerant droplets and refrigeration lubricating oil) discharged from the adsorber. The outlet pipe is arranged on the top of the shell, which is used to discharge the refrigerant gas to the refrigeration compressor, and the separation liquid outlet pipe 11 is arranged at the bottom of the shell, which is used to discharge the refrigerant liquid or lubricating oil to the refrigeration compressor when necessary.

[0090] In the prior art, a U-shaped tube is arranged in the middle and upper part of the separation chamber, and the openings at both ends of the U-shaped tube are as vertically upward as possible, and the separation outlet pipe 5 extends downward into the separation chamber to the liquid surface of the refrigerant to be separated into gas and liquid, and at the same time, the lower end of the separation outlet pipe 5 is connected to one end of the U-shaped tube.

[0091] In the comparative documents of the background technology, the bottom of the U-shaped tube absorbs the lubricating oil on the refrigerant liquid surface through an oil suction hose that can float on the refrigerant liquid surface. Considering the problem that the oil suction hose is easy to bend and affects the oil absorption, especially the oil suction hose has the risk of falling off under the impact of the airflow inside the gas-liquid separator. The present application limits the oil suction hose to a movable oil suction pipe 61, and at the same time, the end of the oil suction pipe 61 is connected to an oil suction ball 62, and the lubricating oil is absorbed by the oil suction ball 62. The oil suction ball 62 has an oil receiving port, and the lubricating oil absorbed by the oil suction ball 62 enters the oil suction pipe 61 through the oil receiving port. Under the suction action of the refrigeration compressor, the lubricating oil is sent to the refrigeration compressor through the U-shaped tube.

[0092] It should be noted that the oil-absorbing ball 62 is not limited to being provided only one. If the refrigerant liquid level range is relatively wide, multiple oil-absorbing balls 62 may be provided to simultaneously absorb the lubricating oil on the liquid surface.

[0093] Meanwhile, the oil-absorbing ball 62 is not necessarily a sphere, and any oil-absorbing device that can absorb the lubricating oil to the oil receiving port (for example, by utilizing capillary action) can meet the requirements of this application.

[0094] After the refrigerant mixture is separated into gas and liquid, the refrigerant gas enters from the other end of the U-tube and is then pumped away by the compressor.

[0095] For a vertical gas-liquid separator, the shell includes a vertical cylinder 2 in the middle and a top cover 1 and a bottom cover 3 at the upper and lower ends. However, in the prior art, the cylinder 2 is cylindrical, and the top cover 1 and the bottom cover 3 are generally designed to be hemispherical. However, the pressure resistance of this structure is not good enough. The present application limits the top cover 1 and the bottom cover 3 to an elliptical structure, which can improve the pressure bearing capacity of the shell of the gas-liquid separator.

[0096] As defined above, there are actually two solutions. The first is to maintain the cylindrical structure of the barrel 2, and design the top cover 1 and the bottom cover 3 to be an elliptical structure with the long axis extending in the vertical direction. The second is that the cross-section of the barrel 2 is an ellipse. At this time, whether the long axis of the top cover 1 and the bottom cover 3 is in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, it can be ensured that the top cover 1 and the bottom cover 3 are an elliptical structure. This embodiment selects the first method.

[0097] For the separation air inlet pipe 4, the preferred embodiment is to enter the separation chamber obliquely downward along the side wall of the shell, so as to avoid the refrigerant airflow entering the separation chamber from impacting the refrigerant liquid. At the same time, the air inlet direction of the separation air inlet pipe 4 is at an angle of 80° to 85° with the vertical direction, ensuring that the refrigerant airflow entering the separation chamber enters downward in a spiral manner along the inner wall of the shell. This process utilizes the centrifugal force to improve the gas-liquid separation effect.

[0098] For the separated air outlet pipe 5, a tubular glass sight glass can be provided on the air outlet pipe extending to the outside of the shell to visually observe the dryness of the refrigerant gas in the air outlet pipe. For example, if the dryness of the refrigerant gas from the air outlet pipe to the compressor is very high, it will be difficult to find misty droplets on the surface of the tubular glass sight glass.

[0099] For similar purposes, a sight glass can be provided on the side wall of the cylinder 2 to observe the liquid level in the gas-liquid separator, or a liquid level sensor 7 can be provided in the chamber to display the monitored liquid level as a percentage or an absolute value on an electronic screen.

[0100] In order to improve the service life and oil suction effect of the oil suction pipe 61, the present application also makes the following specific improvements to the oil suction pipe 61: the oil suction pipe 61 includes a rigid connecting pipe 611 and a flexible connecting pipe 612. The upper end of the rigid connecting pipe 611 is welded and connected to the bottom of the U-shaped pipe, and the welding position of the oil suction pipe 61 and the U-shaped pipe is preferably flush with the inner wall of the U-shaped pipe. The flexible connecting pipe 612 is made of a relatively hard material to prevent it from being easily bent under the action of buoyancy. The upper end of the flexible connecting pipe 612 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the rigid connecting pipe 611, and the lower end is fixedly connected to the oil receiving port of the oil suction ball 62.

[0101] In the present application, in order to better detect the dryness in the separation exhaust pipe, the tubular glass sight glass can be replaced with a gas dryness detector 14, which is used to detect the gas dryness in the separation outlet pipe 5. It can be determined whether the refrigerant discharged from the gas-liquid separator is qualified. A separation outlet control valve 15 is set at the outlet end of the gas dryness detector 14.

[0102] Preferably, the distance between the gas dryness detector 14 and the separated gas outlet control valve 15 is not less than 10 to 20 times the nominal diameter of the separated gas outlet pipe 5 .

[0103] The gas dryness detector 14 , the separated gas control valve 15 and the heat exchange device are respectively connected to the processor 16 for communication.

[0104] The gas dryness detector 14 sends the detected dryness value to the processor 16. When the processor 16 determines that the dryness value is lower than the set dryness value, it means that the dryness of the refrigerant gas discharged from the gas-liquid separator is insufficient. Therefore, the processor 16 sends a signal to control the heat exchange device to start working, heating the liquid in the gas-liquid separator, thereby increasing the dryness of the refrigerant gas. The separation gas outlet control valve 15 can then be opened to discharge the refrigerant gas to the refrigeration compressor.

[0105] In order to further improve the dryness of the refrigerant gas sent to the refrigeration compressor through the separation outlet pipe 5, it can be considered to provide a throttling expansion valve on the refrigeration outlet pipe to further reduce the pressure and gasify the refrigerant gas through the action of the throttling expansion valve.

[0106] In order to prevent the heat exchange device from heating the refrigerant liquid for a long time, the heating time can be limited to a set time, and then the heat exchange device can be turned off and the residual heat can be used to continue heating as long as the dryness of the refrigerant gas meets the requirements.

[0107] As for the heat exchange device, it is mainly used to heat the refrigerant liquid, thereby causing the refrigerant liquid to evaporate and separate, such as using an electric heating device. The present application adopts the following heat exchange device, which specifically includes:

[0108] The heat exchange tube 12 flows from bottom to top, and the lowest point of the heat exchange tube 12 serves as the heat source input port, and the highest point of the heat exchange tube 12 serves as the output port after heat exchange. Here, the room temperature liquid refrigerant from the condenser outlet or the liquid receiver outlet is selected as the heat source.

[0109] The heat exchange tube 12 can be raised in a spiral or in a bent manner.

[0110] A heat exchange control valve 13 is provided at the inlet end of the heat exchange tube 12 for controlling the opening or closing of the heat exchange device. The heat exchange control valve 13 is communicatively connected with the processor 16 .

[0111] The working principle of the heat exchange device is as follows: when necessary, open the heat exchange control valve 13, and the room temperature liquid refrigerant from the condenser outlet or the liquid receiver outlet enters from the lowest point of the heat exchange tube 12, transfers heat to the low-temperature refrigerant liquid outside the heating tube in the heat exchange tube 12, and then flows out from the highest point of the heat exchange tube 12, obtaining a liquid refrigerant with a lower temperature than when entering the heat exchange tube 12.

[0112] When the refrigerant liquid in the gas-liquid separator is completely evaporated, only the lubricating oil is left and deposited at the bottom of the separation chamber. In order to return the lubricating oil to the refrigeration compressor, a separation liquid outlet control valve 10 is provided on the separation liquid outlet pipe 11.

[0113] Taking into account that the liquid level of the refrigerant gas-liquid mixture in the separation chamber is not stable, in the prior art, if the liquid level exceeds the air suction port of the U-tube, the refrigerant liquid will directly enter the U-tube, and the gas-liquid separation function will be lost. Therefore, the refrigerant liquid level is not allowed to exceed the air suction port position of the U-tube. However, considering the range of movement of the oil suction pipe 61, the highest position of the refrigerant liquid level cannot approach the air suction port of the U-tube, which will cause the oil suction ball 62 to float too high and the oil suction pipe 61 to bend too much, affecting the stability of the interface. Therefore, the highest height of the refrigerant liquid level can only be located in a certain range below the air suction port and cannot exceed a certain value, which is defined here as the first preset value H1.

[0114] At the same time, in order to ensure that the oil-absorbing ball 62 can effectively absorb the lubricating oil on the refrigerant liquid surface, the minimum height of the refrigerant liquid surface cannot be lower than a certain value, which is defined as the second preset value H2.

[0115] From the above analysis, it can be seen that in order to control the liquid level between H1 and H2, a control unit (not shown in the figure) needs to be set, and the control unit needs to be connected to the separation liquid control valve 10 and the liquid level sensor 7 for communication. When the liquid level monitored by the liquid level sensor 7 is greater than the first preset value, the separation liquid control valve 10 is opened to release the refrigerant liquid in the separation chamber. When the liquid level monitored by the liquid level sensor 7 is less than the second preset value, the separation liquid control valve 10 needs to be closed to allow the refrigerant gas-liquid mixture in the separation chamber to continue to accumulate.

[0116] However, when the air inlet pipe cannot provide the refrigerant gas-liquid mixture to the separation chamber, if the liquid level monitored by the liquid level sensor 7 is less than the second preset value, it is not enough to simply close the separation liquid control valve 10 (the refrigerant gas-liquid mixture in the separation chamber cannot be stored). As the refrigerant gas-liquid mixture continues to separate into gas and liquid, the liquid level will continue to decrease. When the liquid level is lower than a certain value, which is defined as the third preset value H3, in order to prevent the heat exchange device from continuing to heat or even dry burning, it is possible to consider stopping the heat exchange device. At this time, the heat exchange device and the control unit also need to be communicated.

[0117] When the refrigerant liquid in the separation chamber is completely evaporated, the electric heating device is no longer needed for heating, and the lubricating oil originally floating on the refrigerant will sink to the bottom. The problem at this time is how to judge whether the refrigerant liquid has been completely evaporated.

[0118] Considering that if there is still refrigerant liquid evaporating, the suction pressure and suction temperature of the separation outlet pipe 5 or the refrigeration compressor are basically stable. If there is no evaporated refrigerant gas entering the separation outlet pipe 5 or the refrigeration compressor, the suction pressure of the separation outlet pipe 5 or the refrigeration compressor will be significantly reduced. In this way, it can be judged that the refrigerant liquid has been basically evaporated.

[0119] Based on this principle, the present application provides the following embodiments to solve the above problems:

[0120] A pressure sensor is set in the separation outlet pipe 5 to obtain the pressure value in the outlet pipe, and the control unit performs corresponding operations according to whether the pressure value of the pressure sensor is less than a certain limit, and this limit is defined as the preset pressure value. Since the refrigerant liquid is basically evaporated, only lubricating oil is left at the bottom of the separation chamber. Therefore, when the oil absorption ball 62 cannot absorb the lubricating oil, the control unit can control the separation liquid control valve 10 to open and send the remaining lubricating oil back to the refrigeration compressor.

[0121] In order to accelerate the rapid discharge of the lubricating oil in the gas-liquid separator to the refrigeration compressor, an ejection device 8 can be added. The axial inlet end of the ejection device 8 can share the same evaporator outlet as the air supply source as the back-blowing device, and an ejection control valve 9 is arranged between the axial inlet end of the ejection device 8 and the air supply source, and the ejection vertical inlet is connected to the outlet end of the separation liquid control valve 10. By opening the separation liquid control valve 10, the lubricating oil can be discharged under the negative pressure formed by the air supply source. The ejection control valve 9 is connected to the control unit in communication. When the corresponding ejection condition is reached, the control unit can control whether to introduce the hot gas source into the ejection device 8 to discharge the lubricating oil.

[0122] In this way, when the refrigerant is basically evaporated and the lubricating oil in the gas-liquid separator needs to be discharged, that is, when the pressure value of the pressure sensor is less than the preset pressure value, the control unit can open the injection control valve 9, allowing the refrigerant gas from the oil separator outlet pipe to flow through the injection device 8 at high speed to form a negative pressure, and delay opening of the separation liquid control valve 10. The lubricating oil in the separation chamber (including the refrigerant liquid that has not been evaporated) enters the injection device 8 from the separation liquid pipe 11 at the lowest point of the bottom cover 3, and under the action of the suction negative pressure of the refrigeration compressor, it returns to the refrigeration compressor together with the refrigerant gas from the oil separator outlet pipe.

[0123] When the liquid level detected by the liquid level sensor 7 is greater than the first preset value, the control unit can use the same control method to return the excess refrigerant liquid to the refrigeration compressor through the ejection device 8.

[0124] As a further optimization, considering that the refrigerant airflow will stir the refrigerant liquid in the separation chamber after entering the separation chamber, it can be considered to provide an annular plate on the inner wall of the shell at a liquid level height above the first preset value, and the annular plate can prevent the stirred refrigerant liquid from moving upward from the inner wall of the shell.

[0125] Specifically, the annular plate is preferably arranged 100 mm to 150 mm above the first preset value, the outer end surface of the annular plate is welded to the inner wall of the shell, and the width of the annular plate is preferably 10% to 20% of the diameter of the cylinder 2.

[0126] The above is a detailed introduction to a gas-liquid separation device and a gas-liquid separation control method provided by the present application. The description of the specific embodiment is only used to help understand the method and its core idea of ​​the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, without departing from the principles of the present application, several improvements and modifications can be made to the present application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A gas-liquid separation device, comprising a gas-liquid separator, the gas-liquid separator having a shell of a separation chamber, a separation air inlet pipe (4) located at the side of the shell, a separation air outlet pipe (5) located at the top of the shell, and a separation liquid outlet pipe (11) located at the bottom of the shell, wherein a heat exchange device is provided at the bottom of the separation chamber, characterized in that: Also includes: At least one adsorber, the adsorber comprising: Adsorption air inlet pipe (19, 20), used for inputting gas containing liquid; An adsorption gas outlet pipe (27, 28) for discharging the adsorbed gas to the gas inlet pipe of the gas-liquid separator; A saturation sensor (25, 26) for monitoring the saturation of the adsorbent in the adsorber; The adsorption air inlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air inlet control valve and an adsorption air inlet check valve located at the inlet end of the adsorption air inlet control valve, and the adsorption air outlet pipe is provided with an adsorption air outlet control valve and an adsorption air outlet check valve located at the outlet end of the adsorption air outlet control valve; A backflush device connected to the inlet end of the adsorption outlet control valve (29, 30); and A processor (16) is communicatively connected to each adsorption inlet control valve (21, 22), the adsorption outlet control valve (29, 30), the saturation sensor (25, 26) and the backflush device on the at least one adsorber; The backflush device comprises: An air supply source, used for providing back-blowing hot air; and backflush control valves (33, 34) for controlling the opening or closing of backflush channels of different adsorbers by a gas supply source, wherein the backflush control valves (33, 34) are communicatively connected to the processor (16); The adsorbent in the adsorber is heated by a backflush device, so that the saturation of the adsorbent in the adsorber is reduced, so that the adsorbent is regenerated for recycling; The backwash pressure formed by the airflow causes the oil in the adsorber to sink, while the temperature of the heat flow vaporizes the liquid components that can be vaporized, and then they enter the gas-liquid separator again through the adsorption outlet pipe; The gas supply source is the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas from the oil separator outlet pipe.

2. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A gas quality detector (14) for detecting the quality of the gas in the separated gas pipe (5); A separated gas outlet control valve (15) located at the outlet end of the gas dryness detector (14); The gas dryness detector (14), the separated gas outlet control valve (15) and the heat exchange device are respectively connected to the processor (16) for communication.

3. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The heat exchange device comprises: A heat exchange tube (12) flowing from bottom to top, wherein the lowest point of the heat exchange tube (12) serves as a heat exchange source input port, and the highest point of the heat exchange tube (12) serves as an output port after heat exchange; The heat exchange control valve (13) is used to control the opening or closing of the heat exchange device, and the heat exchange control valve (13) is arranged at the heat exchange source input port and is communicatively connected to the processor (16).

4. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: A separated liquid outlet control valve (10), which is arranged on the separated liquid outlet pipe (11); A liquid level sensor (7) for monitoring the liquid level in the separation chamber; A control unit, the control unit being communicatively connected to the separated liquid control valve (10), the liquid level sensor (7) and the heat exchange control valve (13) respectively.

5. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: An ejection device (8), wherein the separation liquid outlet pipe (11) is provided with a separation liquid outlet control valve (10), the outlet end of the separation liquid outlet control valve (10) is connected to the ejection device (8), and the axial inlet end of the ejection device (8) is connected to an air supply source, and an ejection control valve (9) is provided between the axial inlet end of the ejection device (8) and the air supply source; The separated liquid control valve (10) and the ejection control valve (9) are communicatively connected to the control unit.

6. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The inlet end of the adsorption air inlet pipe is connected to the air outlet of the evaporator to obtain refrigerant gas, the air supply source is the refrigerant gas of the oil separator air outlet pipe, the heat exchange source comes from the liquid refrigerant of the condenser liquid outlet or the liquid receiver liquid outlet, and the axial outlet end of the ejector device (8) and the outlet end of the separation air outlet control valve (15) are both connected to the air intake port of the refrigeration compressor.

7. A gas-liquid separation control method for performing gas-liquid separation on the gas-liquid separation device of claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one adsorber has only one first adsorber (17), and the method comprises executing the following steps by a processor (16): During normal operation, the first backflush control valve (33) is closed, the first adsorption inlet control valve (21), the first adsorption outlet control valve (29) and the separation outlet control valve (15) are opened, and the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber (17), and after the first adsorber (17) adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation; When the first saturation sensor (25) detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber (17) reaches a set maximum value, the first adsorption inlet control valve (21) and the first adsorption outlet control valve (29) are closed, and the first backflush control valve (33) is opened to heat the adsorbent in the first adsorber (17); When the first saturation sensor (25) detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber (17) reaches a set minimum value, the first backflush control valve (33) is closed, and the first adsorption inlet control valve (21) and the first adsorption outlet control valve (29) are opened, so that the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber (17) again, and after the first adsorber (17) adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation; This cycle is used to achieve gas-liquid separation.

8. A gas-liquid separation control method for performing gas-liquid separation on the gas-liquid separation device of claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one adsorber comprises a first adsorber (17) and a second adsorber (18), and the method comprises executing the following steps by a processor (16): During normal operation, the first backflush control valve (33), the second backflush control valve (34), the second adsorption air inlet control valve (22) and the second adsorption air outlet control valve (30) are closed, and the first adsorption air inlet control valve (21), the first adsorption air outlet control valve (29) and the separation air outlet control valve (15) are opened, and the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber (17), and after the first adsorber (17) adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation; When the first saturation sensor (25) detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the first adsorber (17) reaches a set maximum value, the second adsorption air inlet control valve (22) and the second adsorption air outlet control valve (30) are opened, the second adsorber (18) is operated, the first adsorption air inlet control valve (21) and the first adsorption air outlet control valve (29) are closed with a time delay, the first adsorber (17) stops operating, and the first backflush control valve (33) is opened to heat the adsorbent in the first adsorber (17); During the heating process of the first adsorber (17), when the second saturation sensor (26) detects that the saturation of the adsorbent in the second adsorber (18) reaches a set maximum value, the first adsorption air inlet control valve (21) and the first adsorption air outlet control valve (29) are opened, the first back-blowing control valve (33) is closed, the first adsorber (17) is operated, the second adsorption air inlet control valve (22) and the second adsorption air outlet control valve (30) are closed with a time delay, the second adsorber (18) stops operating, the second back-blowing control valve (34) is opened, and the adsorbent in the second adsorber (18) is heated; During the heating process of the second adsorber (18), the refrigerant gas from the evaporator enters the first adsorber (17), and after the first adsorber (17) adsorbs the liquid droplets, the refrigerant gas is sent to the gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separation; This cycle achieves gas-liquid separation.

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