Refrigerator, installation including such a refrigerator and refrigeration process

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerator comprising, in a cycle circuit (60), a compression system (16), a cooling system (3, 4), and an expansion system (26) with at least one turbine (26) coupled to a compressor (26) of the refrigerator on either side of a common shaft (20), a housing (19) containing a first chamber (15) for the compressor (16), a second intermediate chamber for the shaft (20) mounted on a set of bearings, and a third chamber (24) for the turbine (26), the refrigerator (6) comprising a set of pressurized fluid circuits (11, 14) communicating with at least two cavities (14, 18) located in the second chamber to attenuate or cancel the axial force on the shaft (20), the end of the shaft (20) carrying the compressor (16) being provided with a housing (30) into which one end of a support is received (130) fixed, the shaft (20) being mounted for rotation relative to the support (130), the housing (30),the end of the support (130) delimiting with the bottom of the housing (30) a volume separate from the first chamber (15) configured to maintain in the housing (30) a pressure distinct from and lower than the pressure in the first chamber (15), the shaft 20 comprising an internal channel (120) having a first end opening into the housing (30) and a second end opening into a first cavity (11) offset along the shaft (20). Abbreviated figure: Fig. 1,

Claims

[Claim 11] cycle and the compressor compresses gas by generating a pressure difference between the pressures prevailing in the first chamber (15) and in the third chamber (4), this pressure difference producing a longitudinal force along the shaft (20), the process comprising a pressure regulation step in the bottom of the housing (30) and the cavities to generate an opposing longitudinal counter-force of the same or substantially equal intensity to limit the resulting axial force on the shaft. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises a step of maintaining in the housing (30) a pressure lower than the pressure in the first chamber (15).

Images