Heat-driven vapor-compression system for air conditioning and refrigeration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vapor-compression systems for air-conditioning and refrigeration are energy-intensive, expensive to maintain due to compressor motor costs, and produce additional heat that counteracts cooling effects, leading to reduced efficiency and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A vapor-compression system utilizing a heat-driven 'burst compressor' and 'vapor pump' to pressurize refrigerant, reducing energy consumption by harnessing low- or no-cost heat sources, such as solar energy or waste heat, to power the compressor and pump, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing expenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a conventional compressor motor is used to pressurize refrigerant, then the refrigerant can be compressed and circulated through the system, but energy consumption increases and additional heat is produced that counteracts cooling effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional electric motor-driven mechanical compressor with a thermally-driven compressor that uses heat input to compress the refrigerant. This substitution eliminates the need for high-consumption electric motors while achieving the same compression function through thermal energy, directly resolving the contradiction between compressor power and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the energy input parameter from electrical energy to thermal energy. By using heat as the driving parameter instead of electrical power, the system achieves refrigeration while consuming less energy and avoiding the production of additional heat that would counteract the cooling effect.
2Power
If a conventional compressor motor is used, then the refrigerant can be pressurized, but maintenance costs increase due to motor wear and breakdown
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing the electric motor with a thermal-driven compression mechanism, the patent eliminates the moving electrical components that are prone to wear and breakdown. This substitution improves reliability by removing the parts that require maintenance, while still achieving the necessary compression power.
3Productivity
If conventional vapor-compression systems are used, then air-conditioning and refrigeration can be provided, but operational costs increase due to high energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the energy input parameter from high-consumption electrical energy to low-cost thermal energy. This parameter change maintains the cooling productivity while significantly reducing energy consumption and operational costs, as heat is either available from the environment or can be obtained at lower cost than electricity.
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 provides air-conditioning and refrigeration more efficiently and at lower costs by using heat to power the compressor, reducing the need for electricity or fuel, and minimizing unwanted heat production, thus improving overall system performance.
Implementation Method 1
A vapor-compression system uses heat to power a heat-driven 'burst compressor' that pressurizes refrigerant
Implementation Method 2
The vapor in the evaporator is at an operating pressure which allows it to boil to a gaseous state at a low temperature. When air from the space that is to be cooled is passed through the evaporator, the refrigerant in the evaporator boils from the heat of the air that is passing through the evaporator, thereby absorbing heat from that space
Implementation Method 3
The refrigerant carrying the heat is drawn into the compressor where it is put under a greater pressure and undergoes a phase change to heated gas, and is then pumped through the transport tubes to a condenser located in a different place, typically outdoors, where the previously absorbed heat is then released into the outside atmosphere and the gas condenses into a vapor under high pressure
Implementation Method 4
After the heat is released outdoors, the vaporous refrigerant is then forced through a throttling value where its operating pressure is reduced to a level where it boils at a lower temperature and is then recirculated back to the evaporator
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention reduce the amount of energy required to operate air-conditioners and refrigerators by providing a vapor-compression system that harnesses a low- or no-cost source of energy, namely, heat, and uses the harnessed heat to power a new kind of compressor, called a “burst compressor” and a new kind of pump, called a “vapor pump.” The heat-driven burst compressor pressurizes the refrigerant, while also providing “push and pull” vapor refrigerant to the vapor pump. The vapor pump, actuated by the high pressure refrigerant in gaseous form provided by the burst compressor, is configured to pump a combination of gaseous, vaporous and liquid refrigerant out of the receiver tank and inject that low pressure refrigerant mix into the burst compressor, where it is heated to change the state of the refrigerant to a heated, pressurized gas. Then the heated, pressurized gas is released in bursts into the other components of the vapor compression cycle. Thus, embodiments of the present invention use heat to provide cold. Because of this arrangement, vapor-compression systems constructed and arranged to operate according to embodiments of the present invention are able to provide air-conditioning and/or refrigeration much more efficiently and with much less expense than traditional vapor compression systems for air-conditioning and refrigeration.