Gas leakage management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat pump systems face inefficiencies and complexity in preventing the leakage of flammable refrigerants into heating or cooling circuits due to pressure differences, leading to potential flammability and environmental concerns, which current double-walled heat exchangers and separation methods fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A device with a cylindrical gas separator and integrated additional heater is used in the secondary circuit of a heat pump, employing a tangential influx and centrifugal separation to isolate flammable gases, while an additional heater with heating devices promotes efficient heat transfer and prevents gas adherence to surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If double-walled heat exchangers are used to prevent refrigerant leakage, then safety is improved, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates due to material insulation and air gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the safety function from the heat exchanger structure by adding a separate refrigerant separator and safety valve system. This allows the heat exchanger to focus on heat transfer efficiency while the separate system handles refrigerant leakage prevention, resolving the contradiction between safety and heat transfer efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary refrigerant separator system between the primary refrigerant circuit and the secondary heat transfer circuit. This intermediary component captures and removes refrigerant before it can contaminate the heat transfer medium, enabling safe operation without requiring double-walled heat exchangers that would compromise heat transfer efficiency.
2Reliability
If refrigerant separator and safety valve are added to the heating circuit, then refrigerant leakage prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant separator is designed to automatically separate and remove refrigerant from the heat transfer medium using density differences and centrifugal forces. The system serves itself by continuously monitoring and removing contaminants without requiring complex external control systems, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If quick vents and membrane separators are used for gas-air mixture separation, then refrigerant discharge safety is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a simple, cost-effective refrigerant separator design that can be easily replaced or maintained. Rather than using complex membrane separators or quick vents, the system employs a straightforward separation mechanism that achieves the required safety function at lower cost and complexity, aligning with the principle of using simpler, more maintainable components.
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
This solution effectively manages refrigerant leakage without significant effort or damage, enhancing efficiency and safety by utilizing centrifugal separation and forced convection for flammable gas removal and heat transfer in heat pump systems.
Implementation Method 1
a heat carrier flow with gas bubbles contained therein is pressed against the outer wall of an upper part of a cylindrical housing by centrifugal forces, whereby the gas bubbles reach a center of the flow
Implementation Method 2
an additional heater with heating devices promotes efficient heat transfer and prevents gas adherence to surfaces
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
Device and method for the secondary circuit of a heat pump, the primary circuit of which comprises a refrigeration circuit with a flammable or hazardous refrigerant and whose operating pressure is higher than the pressure of the secondary circuit, further comprising an auxiliary heater in the secondary circuit downstream of the heat exchanger in this line, wherein the auxiliary heater has a vertical, cylindrical housing, the cylindrical housing having an upper part and a lower part, a tangential inlet for a liquid flow is arranged in the upper part of the cylindrical housing, a central opening is provided at the upper end of the upper part of the cylindrical housing, a gas separator is sealedly fixed to this central opening, the gas separator is connected to at least one gas outlet, and flow-through heating elements are provided in the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the auxiliary heater.A vent for a liquid flow is arranged at the lower end of the lower part of the cylindrical housing.