Compressor lubrication supply system and compressor thereof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Compressors using low global warming potential refrigerants face challenges with lubricants becoming less effective due to high refrigerant dissolution, leading to inadequate lubrication and viscosity issues.
Innovation Solution
A lubricant supply system that includes a lubricant tank, pathway, and refrigeration system with a heater and cooler, utilizing a separate refrigeration circuit to heat and cool the lubricant, reducing refrigerant saturation and maintaining suitable viscosity by controlling temperature and refrigerant concentration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If low global warming potential refrigerants are used in compressors, then environmental impact is reduced, but lubricant effectiveness deteriorates due to high refrigerant dissolution
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the temperature parameter of the lubricant to control refrigerant solubility. By heating the lubricant in the lubricant tank, the system reduces refrigerant saturation, thereby maintaining lubricant effectiveness while continuing to use environmentally friendly refrigerants.
Solution Approach 2:
The lubricant is pre-heated in the lubricant tank before being supplied to the bearings. This preliminary heating action prevents excessive refrigerant dissolution from occurring in the first place, ensuring lubricant effectiveness is maintained before the lubricant reaches the bearing surfaces.
2Reliability
If lubricant temperature is increased to reduce refrigerant saturation, then lubricant effectiveness is improved, but viscosity control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates temperature sensors and control mechanisms that monitor lubricant temperature and adjust heating/cooling accordingly. This feedback control ensures the lubricant reaches the optimal temperature range for effectiveness while maintaining proper viscosity, preventing both overheating and insufficient heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The lubricant temperature is made dynamic rather than static. The system adjusts lubricant temperature based on operating conditions, providing higher temperatures when refrigerant saturation is high and lower temperatures when viscosity control is critical, thereby resolving the contradiction between effectiveness and viscosity control.
3Temperature
If a separate lubricant refrigeration system is implemented, then lubricant temperature control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The separate lubricant refrigeration system serves multiple functions: it heats the lubricant to reduce refrigerant saturation, cools the lubricant to control viscosity, and provides temperature regulation based on operating conditions. This multi-functionality justifies the additional system complexity by addressing multiple lubricant management challenges simultaneously.
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 system effectively supplies lubricant with reduced refrigerant saturation and optimal viscosity, ensuring efficient lubrication of compressor bearings while minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
The lubricant heater is configured to heat the lubricant to increase a temperature of the lubricant in the lubricant tank
Implementation Method 2
The lubricant cooler is configured to cool the lubricant flowing through the lubricant pathway with the second working fluid
Implementation Method 3
The lubricant cooler is configured to cool the lubricant flowing through the lubricant pathway with the second working fluid
Implementation Method 4
The lubricant refrigeration system includes a second working fluid including a refrigerant
Data Source
AI summary
A lubricant supply system is for a compressor that compresses a first working fluid in a heat transfer circuit. The lubricant supply system includes a lubricant tank, a lubricant pathway for supplying lubricant from the lubricant tank to one or more bearings of the compressor, and a lubricant refrigeration system with a lubricant heater and a lubricant cooler. The lubricant heater configured to heat the lubricant discharged from the one or more bearings and the lubricant cooler configured to cool the lubricant flowing through the lubricant pathway. A method of lubricating a compressor includes heating the lubricant, directing the lubricant from a lubricant tank through a lubricant pathway to one or more bearings of the compressor, and cooling the lubricant passing through the lubricant pathway.