Heat-Recovery Chiller Condensate Sump for Refrigerant Counterflow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerant chillers face inefficiencies in heat recovery due to adverse refrigerant flow between main and heat-recovery condensers, leading to pressure differentials that reduce system performance.
Innovation Solution
A heat-recovery chiller system with a liquid seal or gas trap between the condensers, a condensate sump with an internal weir, and a refrigerant flow path that minimizes pressure differential, ensuring unidirectional flow and debris collection, along with a biased heat exchanger tube bundle to facilitate efficient heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a heat-recovery condenser is activated while the main condenser is deactivated, then heat recovery function is improved, but adverse refrigerant flow between condensers occurs causing pressure differential issues
Solution Approach 1:
A liquid seal device is introduced as an intermediary component between the main condenser and heat-recovery condenser. This liquid seal acts as a mediator that allows the heat-recovery condenser to be activated while preventing adverse refrigerant flow from the inactive main condenser, thus resolving the pressure differential issue while maintaining heat recovery efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful counterflow of gaseous refrigerant is extracted or removed from the system by using the liquid seal to block the pathway. The liquid seal selectively allows desired refrigerant flow to the heat-recovery condenser while taking out or preventing the harmful backflow from the inactive main condenser
2Stress or pressure
If gaseous refrigerant flows from the inactive main condenser to the active heat-recovery condenser, then pressure differential increases, but liquid refrigerant backs up into the heat-recovery condenser shell reducing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid seal serves as an intermediary that manages pressure differential by allowing controlled refrigerant flow while preventing liquid backup. It mediates between the pressure conditions in both condensers, enabling the system to handle pressure differences without performance degradation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances heat recovery efficiency by preventing counterflow and pressure drops, maintaining system performance and reliability, and providing a reliable source of liquid refrigerant for motor cooling while collecting debris.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid seal or gas trap between the outlets of the two condensers
Implementation Method 2
a second condenser or heat-recovery condenser... heat from the heat-recovery condenser can be used for driving the external process
Implementation Method 3
an evaporator provides a cooling effect
Implementation Method 4
a refrigerant compressor for compressing refrigerant
Data Source
AI summary
A chiller includes a main condenser that has a refrigerant condensate sump with an internal weir or standpipe that maintains at least a minimum liquid seal between the outlets of the main condenser and a heat-recovery condenser. The main condenser is used for normal cooling operation, and the heat-recovery condenser is for supplying an external process with heat that would otherwise be wasted. In addition to providing a liquid seal, the sump and weir combination provides a reliable source of liquid refrigerant to cool the chiller's compressor motor and creates a trap for collecting foreign particles that might exit either of the chiller's two condensers.