A diversion device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a diversion device, comprising a manifold, one side of the manifold is connected to an inlet pipe, and the other side of the manifold is connected to a plurality of outlet pipes; an orifice plate is provided in the manifold, and the orifice plate is located between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe; a crescent-shaped eccentric hole is provided in the orifice plate, and a raised flow-guiding structure is provided on the side of the orifice plate facing the inlet pipe, and the flow-guiding structure is arranged concentrically with the orifice plate. The present invention provides a diversion device, wherein the eccentric orifice plate is installed between the manifold inlet pipe and the bottommost outlet pipe, and the eccentric orifice plate can increase the refrigerant flow rate and change the refrigerant flow direction; increasing the refrigerant flow rate can make more refrigerant flow to the top of the manifold, and avoid the refrigerant from being deposited in the middle of the manifold; changing the flow direction can adjust the amount of refrigerant separated at the bottom of the manifold, and by changing the opening area and opening angle of the orifice plate, the liquid separation device in the manifold can achieve different diversion effects, thereby adapting to wind speed distribution under different trends.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a diversion device. Background Art

[0002] The evaporator plays a crucial role in the entire air conditioning system, and its performance directly impacts the overall heat exchange performance of the system. During evaporator operation, the evaporative heat exchange inside the tubes and the wind speed distribution outside the tubes jointly influence the evaporator's performance. Currently, a splitter head or an in-manifold splitter (i.e., integrated splitter) is often used at the evaporator inlet to distribute flow between the evaporator's branches. However, these devices are difficult to install and expensive. In-manifold splitters are less expensive and easier to manufacture and install, and are therefore gradually replacing splitter heads in evaporator applications.

[0003] In order to address the uneven distribution of liquid in each branch, the emerging in-manifold liquid separation devices often introduce structures such as orifice plates or sleeves into the manifold to evenly mix and accelerate the two-phase refrigerant in the manifold, and then transport it to each branch for heat exchange in each flow path of the evaporator. For example, patent application number CN114322381 proposes a liquid separator, heat exchanger, and air conditioner, which use an accelerating orifice plate, and patent application number CN115773599 proposes a liquid separator and its application, which use a sleeve. Compared with the liquid separation head, its pressure drop is smaller and can significantly save costs. However, the in-manifold liquid separation device is currently mostly used in household air conditioners. The fan of the household air conditioner is installed on the side, which results in a more uniform wind speed distribution in the evaporator. Therefore, the distribution effect achieved by most in-manifold liquid separation devices is uniform diversion. However, when the liquid separation device in the header is used in heat exchange equipment such as a multi-split unit, since the fan of the multi-split unit is installed on the top and the air outlet is top outlet, its wind speed distribution shows an overall trend of "more on top and less on bottom". At this time, if you want to achieve the best heat exchange effect, the refrigerant distribution trend of each branch of the vertical header must also show a distribution trend of "more on top and less on bottom" to match the wind speed.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to propose a new header structure so that it can achieve a matching diversion effect when the heat exchanger is operating under external conditions of uneven wind speed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention proposes a diversion device, which has an eccentric orifice plate inside. The eccentric orifice plate is installed between the manifold inlet pipe and the bottom outlet pipe, which can increase the refrigerant flow rate and change the refrigerant flow direction; increasing the refrigerant flow rate can make more refrigerant flow to the top of the manifold, avoiding the refrigerant from being deposited in the middle of the manifold; changing the flow direction can adjust the amount of refrigerant separated at the bottom of the manifold, and by changing the opening area and opening angle of the orifice plate, the liquid separation device in the manifold can achieve different diversion effects, thereby adapting to wind speed distribution under different trends.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above problems is: a diversion device, which is special in that:

[0007] It includes a header, one side of which is connected to an inlet pipe, and the other side of which is connected to a plurality of outlet pipes;

[0008] A perforated plate is provided in the header, and the perforated plate is located between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe;

[0009] A crescent-shaped eccentric hole is provided in the orifice plate, and a protruding flow-guiding structure is provided on one side of the orifice plate facing the inlet pipe. The flow-guiding structure is concentrically arranged with the orifice plate.

[0010] The orifice plate has a crescent-shaped eccentric hole on one side. The crescent-shaped eccentric hole and the flow guide structure change the flow rate and flow direction of the refrigerant, thereby affecting the flow distribution of each branch outlet.

[0011] Furthermore, the diversion structure is a conical structure.

[0012] Furthermore, the size of the flow area A1 of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole is determined by the distance h between the top end of the orifice plate and the top end of the header and the inner diameter D of the header, and the relationship between them is as follows:

[0013]

[0014] Where a is the number of outlet pipes, m is the refrigerant mass flow rate, ρ m is the density of two-phase refrigerant, h is the distance between the top of the orifice plate and the top of the header, μ m is the kinematic viscosity of the two-phase refrigerant, and D is the inner diameter of the header.

[0015] Furthermore, the two tips of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole are located on the same center line of the orifice plate, the distance between the two tips and the center of the orifice plate is r2, the angle between the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole and the two tips is θ, and the value range of θ is 120~145°.

[0016] Furthermore, the distance from the center of the orifice plate to the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole is equal to the radius of the bottom circle of the guide structure.

[0017] Furthermore, the included angle between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe of the diverter device is 180°.

[0018] Furthermore, on a horizontal plane based on the bottom of the orifice plate, the line connecting the midpoint of the arc on the right side of the orifice plate and the center of the manifold is line 1, and the line connecting the midpoint of the arc where the inlet pipe intersects the inner diameter of the manifold and the center of the manifold is line 2. The angle between line 1 and line 2 is α, and α ranges from 115 to 180 degrees. Because the orifice plate has a single-sided opening, the refrigerant's flow direction changes as it flows through the crescent-shaped eccentric hole of the orifice plate. Angle α determines the flow direction of the refrigerant after it flows through the orifice plate. The larger the angle α, the closer the refrigerant's flow direction is to the outlet pipe. This causes the flow rate distributed by the bottom outlet pipe to increase as α increases. By varying the size of angle α, the amount of liquid distributed to each outlet pipe can be changed, thereby achieving the effect of matching the wind speed.

[0019] Furthermore, the branches are named 1 to n from bottom to top according to the flow direction of the refrigerant in the header. The liquid phase flow rate of each outlet pipe is used as the dependent variable y of the objective function, and the number of each outlet pipe is used as the independent variable x of the objective function. Using the least squares method for linear regression, we can obtain the linear relationship between the liquid phase flow rate y of the outlet pipe and the x-th outlet pipe along the flow direction in the header. The slope of the formula is recorded as k. The larger the k, the greater the difference in liquid phase flow rate between adjacent branches and the stronger the non-uniformity of flow distribution between branches. Define α n is the normalized angle:

[0020] α n =α / 180°.

[0021] With slope k as the dependent variable of the objective function, normalized angle α n As the independent variable of the objective function, the least square method is used for nonlinear polynomial fitting to obtain the slope k and the normalized angle α n The relationship between them is:

[0022]

[0023] This formula can be used to predict α under different normalized angles. n The slope k.

[0024] Advantages of the present invention:

[0025] The present invention proposes a flow diversion device, featuring a novel manifold structure with an eccentric orifice plate installed between the manifold inlet and the bottommost outlet. This plate increases the refrigerant flow rate and redirects it. Increasing the flow rate allows more refrigerant to flow to the top of the manifold, preventing it from settling in the middle. Changing the flow direction adjusts the amount of refrigerant distributed at the bottom of the manifold. By varying the orifice plate's opening area and angle, the manifold's flow diversion device can achieve varying flow rates, adapting to varying wind speed distributions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the diversion device proposed in the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal flow of the diversion device;

[0028] Figure 3 It is a diagram of the refrigerant flow trace inside the diverter device;

[0029] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the orifice plate structure;

[0030] Figure 5 It is the top view and cross-sectional view of the orifice plate;

[0031] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the angle between the orifice plate and the inlet pipe (a, b, and c are orifice plates with angles of 180°, 150°, and 120°, respectively);

[0032] Figure 7 is the velocity vector diagram generated by different angles (a, b, and c are orifice plates with angles of 180°, 150°, and 120°, respectively);

[0033] Figure 8 It is the flow distribution diagram of each outlet of the header under different angles;

[0034] Figure 9 is the slope k and the normalized angle α n Relationship diagram;

[0035] Figure 10 It is the error analysis diagram.

[0036] Among them: 1 is the inlet pipe, 2 is the header structure, 3 is the orifice plate, 302 is the crescent-shaped eccentric hole, 301 is the diversion structure, and 4 is the outlet pipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the invention for which protection is claimed, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] See also Figure 1The present invention provides a flow diversion device comprising a manifold 2, one side of which is connected to an inlet pipe 1, and the other side of which is connected to a plurality of outlet pipes 4. In this embodiment, six outlet pipes 4 are selected. An orifice plate 3 is embedded within the manifold 2 and positioned between the inlet pipe 1 and the outlet pipes 4. The orifice plate 3 is provided with a crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302. The surface of the orifice plate 3 facing the inlet pipe 1 is provided with a raised flow guide structure 301, which is concentrically arranged with the orifice plate 3.

[0039] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 The crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302 on the orifice plate is designed to influence the flow distribution at each branch outlet by changing the refrigerant's flow rate and direction. Refrigerant enters the header 2 through inlet pipe 1. The header structure incorporates an embedded orifice plate, which is a unilateral eccentric orifice. When refrigerant flows through the orifice plate, the unilateral flow increases the refrigerant's flow rate and facilitates unilateral refrigerant flow. This increased refrigerant flow rate makes it more likely to flow into the upper portion of the diverter, resulting in an overall "more at the top, less at the bottom" distribution.

[0040] Specifically, see Figure 5 (b) The flow-guiding structure (301) is a conical structure.

[0041] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 5 The two tips of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302 are located on the same centerline of the orifice plate 3. The distance between the two tips and the center of the orifice plate 3 is r2. The radius r1 of the orifice plate 3 is equal to the inner diameter of the manifold. r2 and r1 together determine the flow area A1 of the crescent-shaped hole. The angle θ between the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302 and the two tips is 120-145°.

[0042] See also Figure 5 (b) The distance r3 from the center of the orifice plate 3 to the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302 is equal to the radius of the bottom circle of the guide structure 301. r3 can minimize the gap between the funnel-shaped guide structure and the orifice plate, reduce the impact of the refrigerant, and play a role in reducing the flow pressure drop.

[0043] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flow area A1 of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole 302 is determined by the distance h between the top of the orifice plate 3 and the top of the header 2 and the inner diameter D of the header 2. The relationship between them is as follows:

[0044]

[0045] Where a is the number of outlet pipes, m is the refrigerant mass flow rate, ρ mis the density of the two-phase refrigerant, h is the distance between the top of the orifice plate 3 and the top of the header 2, μ m is the kinematic viscosity of the two-phase refrigerant, and D is the inner diameter of the header 2.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the angle between the inlet pipe 1 and the outlet pipe 4 of the flow splitting device is 180°. If it is desired to change the refrigerant flow rate distributed by each outlet pipe, the refrigerant flow direction can be changed to adjust the liquid distribution amount of each branch to meet the needs of different wind speeds. The installation position of the eccentric orifice plate can play a role in adjusting the refrigerant flow direction.

[0047] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 6 On a horizontal plane based on the bottom of orifice plate 3, the line connecting the midpoint of the arc on the right side of orifice plate 3 and the center of header 2 is line 1, and the line connecting the midpoint of the arc where inlet pipe 1 intersects the inner diameter of header 2 and the center of header 2 is line 2. The angle between lines 1 and 2 is α, which ranges from 115 to 180 degrees. Because the orifice plate has a single-sided opening, the refrigerant's flow direction changes as it flows through the orifice plate. The angle α between the arc on the right side of the orifice plate and the inlet pipe determines the refrigerant's flow direction after passing through the orifice plate. The larger the angle α, the closer the refrigerant's flow direction is to the outlet pipe, which increases the flow rate distributed by the outlet pipe as α increases. By varying the angle α, the amount of liquid distributed to each outlet pipe can be varied, thereby achieving the effect of matching the wind speed.

[0048] The flow state produced by the orifice plate is as follows Figure 7 As shown in the figure, through simulation, it can be seen that the refrigerant enters the manifold structure 2 through the inlet pipe and then continues to flow upward. When flowing through the orifice plate 3, the flow area decreases and the refrigerant flow rate increases. At the same time, the orifice plate is a single-sided opening, and the refrigerant can only flow out of the orifice plate from one side of the opening. In the flow velocity diagram, the flow velocity is faster in areas with darker colors, and slower in areas with lighter colors. The flow velocity diagram shows that the refrigerant flow velocity through the orifice plate increases significantly, and the flow direction of the refrigerant changes accordingly. The larger the angle α, the closer the refrigerant will be to the right wall of the manifold after passing through the orifice plate. Since the outlets of each branch pipe are on the right side of the manifold, it will be easier for it to flow into the bottom branch pipe, thereby affecting the overall diversion effect of the diversion device. When facing different wind speeds, the overall diversion effect of the diversion device can be changed by adjusting the angle α between the orifice plate and the inlet pipe to match the wind speed.

[0049] Experiments were conducted on the flow distribution device at different angles. It was found that as the angle α between the orifice plate and the inlet pipe increases, the amount of liquid separated by the bottom branch pipe will increase accordingly. The flow distribution diagram between each outlet pipe and the angle is shown in the figure below. Figure 8As shown in the figure, as the angle α increases, the liquid distribution of the bottom branch gradually increases, and the overall flow distribution gradually tends to be uniform. It can be seen that the angle between the orifice plate and the inlet pipe can be adjusted to achieve the effect of adapting to different wind speeds.

[0050] Further processing of the experimental results and observation of the flow distribution diagrams at various angles revealed that the overall flow distribution at each angle showed a "more at the top and less at the bottom" flow distribution trend, and as the angle decreased, the difference between adjacent branches showed an increasing trend. According to the flow direction of the refrigerant in the header 2, the branches were named 1 to n from bottom to top, and the liquid flow rate of each outlet pipe 4 was used as the dependent variable y of the objective function, and the number of each outlet pipe 4 was used as the independent variable x of the objective function. Using the least squares method for linear regression, we can obtain a linear relationship between the liquid flow rate y of the outlet pipe 4 and the x-th outlet pipe 4 along the flow direction in the header 2. The slope is denoted as k. The larger the k value, the greater the difference in liquid flow rates between adjacent branches, and the stronger the non-uniformity of the flow distribution between branches. We define α as n is the normalized angle:

[0051] α n =α / 180°,

[0052] With α n As the horizontal coordinate, the slope k is the vertical coordinate, and the slope k can be obtained as the normalized angle α n The scatter plot of the change, such as Figure 9 shown.

[0053] With slope k as the dependent variable of the objective function, normalized angle α n As the independent variable of the objective function, the least square method is used for nonlinear polynomial fitting to obtain the slope k and the normalized angle α n The relationship between them is:

[0054]

[0055] This formula can be used to predict α under different normalized angles. n The slope k of the fitted formula was analyzed for errors, and it was found that the errors between the predicted values ​​and the actual values ​​were within ±25%.

[0056] In summary, the diversion device proposed in the present invention can cope with flow matching under uneven wind speeds. By changing the opening area and installation angle of the orifice plate inside the manifold structure, different flow distribution trends can be achieved, thereby meeting the needs under different wind speeds.

[0057] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention description and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied to other related system fields, are also included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A diversion device, characterized in that: It comprises a header (2), one side of the header (2) is connected to an inlet pipe (1), and the other side of the header (2) is connected to a plurality of outlet pipes (4); A perforated plate (3) is provided in the header (2), and the perforated plate (3) is located between the inlet pipe (1) and the outlet pipe (4); A crescent-shaped eccentric hole (302) is provided in the orifice plate (3); a protruding flow-guiding structure (301) is provided on a side of the orifice plate (3) facing the inlet pipe (1); the flow-guiding structure (301) is concentrically arranged with the orifice plate (3); The two tips of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole (302) are located on the same center line of the orifice plate (3). On a horizontal plane with the bottom of the orifice plate (3) as a reference, the line between the midpoint of the arc on the right side of the orifice plate (3) and the center of the header (2) is line 1, and the line between the midpoint of the arc intersecting the inner diameters of the inlet pipe (1) and the header (2) and the center of the header (2) is line 2. The angle between line 1 and line 2 is α, and α is 115 to 180 degrees. The angle α can determine the flow direction of the refrigerant after it flows through the orifice plate (3). The larger the angle α, the closer the flow direction of the refrigerant is to the outlet pipe, so that the flow rate allocated to the bottom outlet pipe (4) increases as α increases. According to the flow direction of the refrigerant in the header (2), each branch pipe is named 1 to n from bottom to top, and the liquid phase flow rate of each outlet pipe (4) is used as the target function dependent variable y, and the number of each outlet pipe (4) is used as the target function independent variable x. The least square method is used for linear regression to obtain a linear relationship between the liquid phase flow rate y of the outlet pipe (4) and the x-th outlet pipe (4) along the flow direction in the header (2). The slope is recorded as k. The larger the k value, the greater the difference in liquid phase flow rate between adjacent branches, and the stronger the non-uniformity of flow distribution between branches. Define α n is the normalized angle: α n ＝α / 180°， With slope k as the dependent variable of the objective function, normalized angle α n As the independent variable of the objective function, the least square method is used for nonlinear polynomial fitting to obtain the slope k and the normalized angle α n The relationship between them is: This formula predicts α under different normalized angles n The slope k.

2. A flow diversion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow-guiding structure (301) is a conical structure.

3. A diversion device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The size of the flow area A1 of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole (302) is determined by the distance h1 between the top end of the orifice plate (3) and the top end of the header (2) and the inner diameter D of the header (2), and the relationship between them is as follows: Where a is the number of outlet pipes, m is the refrigerant mass flow rate, ρ m is the density of the two-phase refrigerant, h1 is the distance between the top of the orifice plate (3) and the top of the header (2), μ m is the kinematic viscosity of the two-phase refrigerant, and D is the inner diameter of the header (2).

4. A diversion device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The distance between the two tips and the center of the orifice plate (3) is r2, and the angle between the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole (302) and the two tips is θ, and the value range of θ is 120-145°.

5. A diversion device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distance from the center of the orifice plate (3) to the midpoint of the inner edge of the crescent-shaped eccentric hole (302) is equal to the radius of the bottom circle of the guide structure (301).

6. A diversion device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The included angle between the inlet pipe (1) and the outlet pipe (4) of the diversion device is 180°.

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