Optimization control method and device for controllable refrigerant amount and air conditioner
By adding a liquid receiver tank to the air conditioner and optimizing the control of the liquid receiver tank valve opening, compressor frequency, and electronic expansion valve opening, the problem of uneven refrigerant distribution under different operating conditions of the air conditioner was solved, and the system's energy efficiency ratio and stability were improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511216474.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-18
AI Technical Summary
Existing air conditioners have difficulty dynamically adjusting the total amount of refrigerant under different operating conditions, resulting in too much or too little refrigerant, which affects heat exchange efficiency and system stability.
By adding a liquid receiver tank to the air conditioner and using an optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity, the opening degree of the liquid receiver tank valve, the compressor frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve are dynamically adjusted to optimize the refrigerant circulation quantity, thereby minimizing system energy consumption and control operation costs.
It improves the energy efficiency ratio of the air conditioner at low loads, enhances the system's responsiveness and operational stability, and reduces energy consumption and the number of compressor start-stop cycles.
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Figure CN120969992A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the field of air conditioner control, and in particular to an optimal control method and device for controllable refrigerant quantity and an air conditioner. BACKGROUND
[0002] With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and the continuous improvement of the intelligent level of home appliances, intelligent home appliances are becoming more and more popular. Users can use an air conditioner for heating in winter to improve the indoor temperature, and can also use the air conditioner for cooling in summer to reduce the indoor temperature.
[0003] In related technologies, the flow rate and circulation path of the refrigerant mainly depend on the compressor, the throttling element (such as an electronic expansion valve), and the thermal state adjustment of the heat exchanger, and it is difficult to realize dynamic adjustment of the total refrigerant distribution. In some operating conditions (such as partial load, heat exchange imbalance, initial start, etc.), the system may have a local state of too much or too little refrigerant, affecting the heat exchange efficiency and system stability. SUMMARY
[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide an optimal control method and device for controllable refrigerant quantity and an air conditioner. By controlling the liquid storage tank valve, not only can the excess refrigerant be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid storage tank, reducing the effective circulating refrigerant quantity in the system and maintaining the optimal heat exchange point, but also the compressor can be operated at a high efficiency point for a long time, improving the low load section, thereby significantly improving the annual energy efficiency ratio of the system.
[0005] The present application provides an optimal control method for controllable refrigerant quantity, comprising: determining a target parameter based on the current operating state; the target parameter includes: the outlet temperature of the evaporator, the target superheat degree, the change amount of the opening degree of the liquid storage tank valve at two adjacent time points, and the operating power of each component in the air conditioner; inputting the target parameter into a control model to obtain a control parameter output by the control model; wherein the control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption and the cost of control action of the system under the premise of meeting the system operation requirements; the control parameter includes: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control amount of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
[0006] Optionally, the inputting the target parameter into the control model to obtain the control parameter output by the control model comprises: solving the objective function of the control model based on the target parameter to obtain the optimal combination of the control amount of the compressor frequency, the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, and the opening degree of the liquid storage tank valve under the premise of meeting the system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total energy consumption and the cost of control action of the system.
[0007] Optionally, the objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term characterizes comfort, the second reference term characterizes superheat, the third reference term characterizes system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term characterizes the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation; solving the objective function of the control model based on the objective parameters to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening, and liquid storage tank valve opening under the premise of meeting system operation requirements includes: calculating the values of the liquid storage tank valve opening, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening value of the electronic expansion valve when the objective function is minimized, based on the values of each reference term in the first, second, third, and fourth reference terms and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference term, to obtain the control parameters.
[0008] Optionally, the first reference item is calculated based on the difference between the indoor ambient temperature and the set temperature; the second reference item is calculated based on the difference between the superheat of the evaporator and the target superheat; the third reference item is calculated based on the operating power of each component in the system; and the fourth reference item is calculated based on the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times.
[0009] Optionally, the objective function is expressed by the following formula: in, i For all N The first control cycle i One control cycle; This is a control variable for the compressor's operating frequency. For the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, The valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank; The first reference item; This is the second reference item; The third reference item; For the fourth reference item, As a control smoothing factor used to prevent frequent fluctuations, This refers to the valve actuation cost term in continuous control. , These are the weighting coefficients; Indoor ambient temperature, To set the temperature, SHT The superheat of the evaporator. To achieve the desired level of popularity, This represents the total energy consumption of the system.
[0010] This application also provides an optimization control device for controllable refrigerant quantity, including: An acquisition module is used to determine target parameters based on the current operating status; the target parameters include: evaporator outlet temperature, target superheat, indoor ambient temperature, and operating power of each component in the air conditioner; a parameter generation module is used to input the target parameters into the control model to obtain the control parameters output by the control model; wherein, the control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption of the system and the cost of control actions while meeting the system operating requirements; the control parameters include: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
[0011] Optionally, the parameter generation module is specifically used to solve the objective function of the control model based on the target parameters, so as to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening, and liquid storage tank valve opening under the premise of meeting system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total system energy consumption and control action cost.
[0012] Optionally, the objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term characterizes comfort, the second reference term characterizes superheat, the third reference term characterizes system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term characterizes the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation; the parameter generation module is specifically used to calculate, based on the values of each reference term in the first, second, third, and fourth reference terms and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference term, the values of the valve opening of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening value of the electronic expansion valve when the objective function is minimized, to obtain the control parameters.
[0013] Optionally, the first reference item is calculated based on the difference between the indoor ambient temperature and the set temperature; the second reference item is calculated based on the difference between the superheat of the evaporator and the target superheat; the third reference item is calculated based on the operating power of each component in the system; and the fourth reference item is calculated based on the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times.
[0014] Optionally, the objective function is expressed by the following formula: in, i For all N The first control cycle i One control cycle; This is a control variable for the compressor's operating frequency. For the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, The valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank; The first reference item; This is the second reference item; The third reference item; For the fourth reference item, As a control smoothing factor used to prevent frequent fluctuations, This refers to the valve actuation cost term in continuous control. , These are the weighting coefficients; Indoor ambient temperature, To set the temperature, SHT The superheat of the evaporator. To achieve the desired level of popularity, This represents the total energy consumption of the system.
[0015] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program / instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity as described above.
[0016] This application also provides an electronic device, which can be an air conditioner, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the program, it implements the steps of the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity as described above.
[0017] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity as described above.
[0018] The method, apparatus, and air conditioner for optimizing controllable refrigerant quantity provided in this application first determine target parameters based on the current operating state. These target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve between two adjacent time points, and the operating power of each component within the air conditioner. Then, the target parameters are input into a control model to obtain the control parameters output by the model. The control model aims to minimize the total system energy consumption and the cost of control actions while meeting system operating requirements. The control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. Thus, by controlling the liquid receiver tank valve, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the effective circulating refrigerant quantity within the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point. This also allows the compressor to operate at a high-efficiency point for extended periods, improving performance during low-load periods, thereby significantly improving the system's annual energy efficiency ratio. Attached Figure Description
[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the operating principle of an air conditioner equipped with a liquid storage tank provided in this application; Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity provided in this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device provided in this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation
[0021] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0022] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.
[0023] The operating principle of the air conditioner involved in the embodiments of this application is described in detail below: like Figure 1As shown, the compressor compresses the refrigerant and delivers it through pipes to the condenser. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant releases heat in the condenser, transforming into a medium-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Then, the medium-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant is depressurized through a capillary tube (throttling unit) to become a low-temperature, low-pressure liquid refrigerant. This low-temperature, low-pressure liquid refrigerant is then delivered to the evaporator, where it evaporates into a gas, absorbing a large amount of heat during the evaporation process. Finally, the low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant in the evaporator is delivered to the compressor to participate in the next cycle. When the air conditioner is cooling, the outdoor unit's heat exchanger acts as the condenser, and the indoor unit's heat exchanger acts as the evaporator; conversely, when the air conditioner is heating, the outdoor unit's heat exchanger acts as the evaporator, and the indoor unit's heat exchanger acts as the condenser.
[0024] To address the technical issues of excessive or insufficient refrigerant in related technologies, such as... Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment adds a liquid receiver tank to the refrigerant circulation system of the air conditioner, and furthermore, uses the variable solenoid valve of the liquid receiver tank as a control parameter in the system. Simultaneously, this embodiment provides an optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity, which has the following advantages: 1. Partial load energy saving (the main source of improvement in annual energy consumption rate, APF) During light-load operation when the outside temperature is low or the user-set temperature is close to room temperature, traditional systems tend to have excessive refrigerant flow, leading to evaporator overcooling, compressor discharge overheating, frequent system start-ups and shutdowns, and an overall low COP (EER). The controllable refrigerant quantity optimization method provided in this application can partially open or close the receiver tank valve, temporarily "absorbing" excess refrigerant into the receiver tank. This reduces the effective circulating refrigerant quantity within the system, maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point (SHT ~5K, COND 2K). This allows the compressor to operate at its high-efficiency point for extended periods, increasing the EER by 10-15% during low-load periods, thereby significantly improving the annual APF.
[0025] 2. High load response capability (improves temperature control accuracy) When the outside temperature is high and the load suddenly increases, the evaporator is rapidly impacted by hot air. Traditional systems have long response times and large temperature control errors. The optimal control method for controllable refrigerant quantity provided in this application can quickly open the liquid receiver valve to release refrigerant into the main circulation under such circumstances, rapidly restoring sufficient liquid supply to the evaporator, reducing SHT fluctuations, and reducing high-frequency oscillations of the compressor. By rapidly adjusting the refrigerant circulation volume, dynamic response efficiency is improved, the number of compressor starts is reduced, and energy consumption is reduced by approximately 3-5%.
[0026] 3. Improve system stability and reduce unsteady-state energy consumption. Unstable operating conditions (such as after defrosting, uneven refrigerant distribution, and high-temperature exhaust protection) often lead to EER fluctuations. The receiver tank improves system robustness by dynamically adjusting the refrigerant distribution, reducing the frequency of these unsteady "inefficient intervals" and thus stabilizing the APF curve.
[0027] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, details the method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity provided in this application through specific embodiments and application scenarios.
[0028] like Figure 2 As shown in the embodiment of this application, an optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity is provided. This method may include the following steps 201 and 202: Step 201: Determine the target parameters based on the current operating status.
[0029] The target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid storage tank valve at two adjacent times, and the operating power of each component in the air conditioner.
[0030] Step 202: Input the target parameters into the control model to obtain the control parameters output by the control model.
[0031] The control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption and control action cost of the system while meeting the system operation requirements; the control parameters include: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
[0032] For example, in this embodiment of the application, the opening degree of the liquid storage tank control valve is... ∈[0,1] is used as a dynamic adjustment variable, and a mathematical control model is constructed. With parameters such as superheat (SHT), load estimation, and refrigerant demand as inputs, the optimal opening degree is solved.
[0033] Specifically, step 202 above may also include step 202a: Step 202a: Solve the objective function of the control model based on the target parameters to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency control quantity, electronic expansion valve opening degree, and liquid storage tank valve opening degree under the premise of meeting system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total system energy consumption and control action cost.
[0034] For example, the objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term is used to characterize comfort, the second reference term is used to characterize superheat, the third reference term is used to characterize system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term is used to characterize the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation.
[0035] Specifically, step 202a above may also include the following step 202a1: Step 202a1: Based on the values of each reference item in the first reference item, the second reference item, the third reference item, and the fourth reference item, and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference item, calculate the values of the valve opening of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve when the objective function takes the minimum value, and obtain the control parameters.
[0036] For example, the first reference item is calculated based on the difference between the indoor ambient temperature and the set temperature; the second reference item is calculated based on the difference between the superheat of the evaporator and the target superheat; the third reference item is calculated based on the operating power of each component in the system; and the fourth reference item is calculated based on the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times.
[0037] For example, the objective function is expressed by the following formula: in, i For all N The first control cycle i One control cycle; This is a control variable for the compressor's operating frequency. For the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, The valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank; The first reference item; This is the second reference item; The third reference item; For the fourth reference item, As a control smoothing factor used to prevent frequent fluctuations, This refers to the valve actuation cost term in continuous control. , These are the weighting coefficients; Indoor ambient temperature, To set the temperature, SHT The superheat of the evaporator. To achieve the desired level of popularity, This represents the total energy consumption of the system.
[0038] For example, in this embodiment of the application, by adding a liquid receiver tank, the system acquires a dynamic refrigerant buffering capability, enabling dynamic distribution of refrigerant quality between the main system and the liquid receiver tank. This constitutes a new fourth degree of freedom, alongside compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening, and fan speed. The valve opening of the liquid receiver tank determines the instantaneous total amount of circulating refrigerant in the system, thereby affecting the evaporator liquid supply status, superheat, exhaust temperature, return gas pressure, etc.
[0039] For example, in the embodiments of this application, the influence of various control parameters on the system, such as the control quantity of the compressor frequency, the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, and the opening degree of the liquid storage tank valve, can be minimized by adjusting the control quantity of the compressor frequency, the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, and the opening degree of the liquid storage tank valve.
[0040] For example, the objective function described above consists of four parts: 1. The cost of comfort: This part is used in the control system to keep the indoor temperature as close as possible to the user's set value; when comfort is the priority (such as in home appliances), the weight... Large; when energy conservation is a priority (such as in data center server rooms), the settings can be lowered. .
[0041] 2. Superheat optimization (evaporator heat exchange efficiency): For example, the ideal superheat of the system is typically 5-7K. If the superheat is too low, the refrigerant will not evaporate completely, and the liquid will flow back into the compressor, resulting in low efficiency and easy damage. If the superheat is too high, the evaporator will not supply enough liquid, and the heat exchange efficiency will decrease. Therefore, the controller needs to... Adjust the total amount of refrigerant to bring the superheat to the optimal range.
[0042] 3. Energy consumption For example, the total energy consumption of the above system can be calculated from the operating power of each component, including the compressor operating power, fan power, etc. The optimization objective of the above objective function includes: minimizing energy consumption and maximizing APF / EER. Weights A trade-off between comfort and energy efficiency.
[0043] 4. Smoothness of valve operation For example, This represents the change in the opening degree of the liquid storage tank valve between two adjacent moments. This part is to prevent the liquid storage tank valve from frequently opening and closing, avoid drastic fluctuations in the refrigerant volume, and ensure system stability and valve life. The higher the value, the smoother the valve operation.
[0044] For example, Table 1 below shows the experimental comparison results under typical operating conditions:
[0045] Table 1 For example, as shown in Table 1 above, the control method in this application embodiment not only has low power consumption and low superheat, but also fewer compressor start-stop cycles. The controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control method provided in this application embodiment can avoid overcooling (light load) caused by excessive refrigerant, avoid high exhaust temperature (heavy load) caused by insufficient liquid supply, and achieve stable operation, fewer compressor start-stop cycles, and less system oscillation.
[0046] The controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control method provided in this application first determines target parameters based on the current operating state. These target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve between two adjacent time points, and the operating power of each component within the air conditioner. Then, the target parameters are input into a control model to obtain the control parameters output by the model. The control model aims to minimize the total system energy consumption and the cost of control actions while meeting system operating requirements. The control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. Thus, by controlling the liquid receiver tank valve, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the effective circulating refrigerant quantity within the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point. This also allows the compressor to operate at a high efficiency point for extended periods, improving low-load operation and significantly increasing the system's annual energy efficiency ratio.
[0047] It should be noted that the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control method provided in this application embodiment can be executed by a controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device, or a control module within that device for executing the optimization control method. This application embodiment uses the example of a controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device executing the optimization control method to illustrate the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device provided in this application embodiment.
[0048] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control methods shown in the accompanying drawings are all illustrated by way of example with reference to one of the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. In specific implementation, the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control methods shown in the accompanying drawings of the above methods can also be implemented in conjunction with any other accompanying drawings shown in the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.
[0049] The following describes the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device provided in this application. The controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control method described below can be referred to in correspondence with the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control method described above.
[0050] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, it specifically includes: The acquisition module 301 is used to determine target parameters based on the current operating state; the target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the indoor ambient temperature, and the operating power of each component in the air conditioner; the parameter generation module 302 is used to input the target parameters into the control model to obtain the control parameters output by the control model; wherein, the control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption of the system and the cost of control actions while meeting the system operating requirements; the control parameters include: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
[0051] Optionally, the parameter generation module 302 is specifically used to solve the objective function of the control model based on the target parameters, so as to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening degree and liquid storage tank valve opening degree under the premise of meeting the system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total system energy consumption and control action cost.
[0052] Optionally, the objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term characterizes comfort, the second reference term characterizes superheat, the third reference term characterizes system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term characterizes the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation; the parameter generation module 302 is specifically used to calculate, based on the values of each reference term in the first, second, third, and fourth reference terms and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference term, the values of the valve opening of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening value of the electronic expansion valve when the objective function is minimized, to obtain the control parameters.
[0053] Optionally, the first reference item is calculated based on the difference between the indoor ambient temperature and the set temperature; the second reference item is calculated based on the difference between the superheat of the evaporator and the target superheat; the third reference item is calculated based on the operating power of each component in the system; and the fourth reference item is calculated based on the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times.
[0054] Optionally, the objective function is expressed by the following formula: in, i For all N The first control cycle i One control cycle; This is a control variable for the compressor's operating frequency. For the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, The valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank; The first reference item; This is the second reference item; The third reference item; For the fourth reference item, As a control smoothing factor used to prevent frequent fluctuations, This refers to the valve actuation cost term in continuous control. , These are the weighting coefficients; Indoor ambient temperature, To set the temperature, SHT The superheat of the evaporator. To achieve the desired level of popularity, This represents the total energy consumption of the system.
[0055] The controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device provided in this application first determines target parameters based on the current operating state. These target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve between two adjacent time points, and the operating power of each component within the air conditioner. Then, the target parameters are input into a control model to obtain the control parameters output by the model. The control model aims to minimize the total system energy consumption and the cost of control actions while meeting system operating requirements. The control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. Thus, by controlling the liquid receiver tank valve, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the effective circulating refrigerant quantity within the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point. This also allows the compressor to operate at a high efficiency point for extended periods, improving performance during low-load periods, thereby significantly improving the system's annual energy efficiency ratio.
[0056] Figure 4 This example illustrates a schematic diagram of the physical structure of an electronic device, which can be the aforementioned air conditioner, such as... Figure 4As shown, the electronic device may include: a processor 410, a communication interface 420, a memory 430, and a communication bus 440. The processor 410, communication interface 420, and memory 430 communicate with each other via the communication bus 440. The processor 410 can call logic instructions in the memory 430 to execute an optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity. This method includes: first, determining target parameters based on the current operating state; the target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve between two adjacent times, and the operating power of each component within the air conditioner; then, inputting the target parameters into a control model to obtain control parameters output by the control model; wherein the control model is used to minimize the total system energy consumption and the cost of control actions while meeting system operating requirements; the control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. In this way, by controlling the valve of the liquid receiver tank, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the amount of effective circulating refrigerant in the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point. It can also enable the compressor to operate at a high efficiency point for a long time, improving the low load range, thereby significantly improving the system's annual energy efficiency ratio.
[0057] Furthermore, the logical instructions in the aforementioned memory 430 can be implemented as software functional units and, when sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.
[0058] On the other hand, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can execute the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity provided by the above methods. The method includes: first, determining target parameters based on the current operating state; the target parameters include: the outlet temperature of the evaporator, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver valve at two adjacent times, and the operating power of each component in the air conditioner; then, inputting the target parameters into a control model to obtain control parameters output by the control model; wherein, the control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption of the system and the cost of control actions while meeting the system operating requirements; the control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. In this way, by controlling the valve of the liquid receiver tank, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the amount of effective circulating refrigerant in the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point. It can also enable the compressor to operate at a high efficiency point for a long time, improving the low load range, thereby significantly improving the system's annual energy efficiency ratio.
[0059] Furthermore, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the aforementioned methods for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity. This method includes: first, determining target parameters based on the current operating state; the target parameters include: the evaporator outlet temperature, the target superheat, the change in the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve between two adjacent times, and the operating power of each component within the air conditioner; then, inputting the target parameters into a control model to obtain control parameters output by the control model; wherein the control model is used to minimize the total system energy consumption and the cost of control actions while meeting system operating requirements; the control parameters include: the opening of the liquid receiver tank valve, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. Thus, by controlling the liquid receiver tank valve, excess refrigerant can be temporarily "absorbed" into the liquid receiver tank, reducing the effective circulating refrigerant quantity within the system and maintaining it at the optimal heat exchange point; it also allows the compressor to operate at a high-efficiency point for extended periods, improving the low-load range, thereby significantly improving the system's annual energy efficiency ratio.
[0060] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.
[0061] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.
[0062] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.
Claims
1. A method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity, characterized in that, Applied to air conditioners, wherein the air conditioner is provided with a liquid storage tank for storing refrigerant; The method includes: The target parameters are determined based on the current operating status; the target parameters include: the outlet temperature of the evaporator, the target superheat, the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times, and the operating power of each component in the air conditioner; The target parameters are input into the control model to obtain the control parameters output by the control model; The control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption and control action cost of the system while meeting the system operation requirements; the control parameters include: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
2. The method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of inputting the target parameters into the control model to obtain the control parameters output by the control model includes: The objective function of the control model is solved based on the target parameters to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency control, electronic expansion valve opening, and liquid tank valve opening, under the premise of meeting system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total system energy consumption and control action cost.
3. The method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity according to claim 2, characterized in that, The objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term is used to characterize comfort, the second reference term is used to characterize superheat, the third reference term is used to characterize system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term is used to characterize the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation. The objective function of the control model based on the target parameters is solved to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening, and liquid receiver valve opening, under the premise of meeting system operating requirements, including: Based on the values of each of the first, second, third, and fourth reference items and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference item, the values of the valve opening of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve are calculated when the objective function is minimized, thus obtaining the control parameters.
4. The method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first reference item is calculated based on the difference between the indoor ambient temperature and the set temperature; the second reference item is calculated based on the difference between the superheat of the evaporator and the target superheat; the third reference item is calculated based on the operating power of each component in the system; and the fourth reference item is calculated based on the change in the valve opening of the liquid storage tank at two adjacent times.
5. The method for optimizing the controllable refrigerant quantity according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The objective function is expressed by the following formula: in, i For all N The first control cycle i One control cycle; This is a control variable for the compressor's operating frequency. For the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve, The valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank; The first reference item; This is the second reference item; The third reference item; For the fourth reference item, As a control smoothing factor used to prevent frequent fluctuations, This refers to the valve actuation cost term in continuous control. , These are the weighting coefficients; Indoor ambient temperature, To set the temperature, SHT The superheat of the evaporator. To achieve the desired level of popularity, This represents the total energy consumption of the system.
6. A controllable refrigerant quantity optimization control device, characterized in that, Applied to air conditioners, wherein the air conditioner is provided with a liquid storage tank for storing refrigerant; The device includes: The acquisition module is used to determine target parameters based on the current operating status; the target parameters include: evaporator outlet temperature, target superheat, indoor ambient temperature, and operating power of each component in the air conditioner; The parameter generation module is used to input the target parameters into the control model and obtain the control parameters output by the control model. The control model is used to minimize the total energy consumption and control action cost of the system while meeting the system operation requirements; the control parameters include: the valve opening degree of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The parameter generation module is specifically used to solve the objective function of the control model based on the target parameters, so as to obtain the optimal combination of compressor frequency, electronic expansion valve opening, and liquid storage tank valve opening under the premise of meeting the system operation requirements, so as to minimize the total system energy consumption and control action cost.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The objective function includes: a first reference term, a second reference term, a third reference term, and a fourth reference term; the first reference term is used to characterize comfort, the second reference term is used to characterize superheat, the third reference term is used to characterize system energy consumption, and the fourth reference term is used to characterize the smoothness of the liquid storage tank valve operation. The parameter generation module is specifically used to calculate the control parameters based on the values of each reference item in the first reference item, the second reference item, the third reference item, and the fourth reference item, and the weights used to characterize the importance of each reference item, when the objective function takes the minimum value, such that the valve opening of the liquid storage tank, the control quantity of the compressor operating frequency, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve are obtained.
9. An air conditioner, characterized in that, It includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program to implement the steps of the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.
10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the optimization control method for controllable refrigerant quantity as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.