Heat Exchanger with Phase Change Unit for Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger systems have low heat exchange efficiency and complex structures due to the need for multiple heat exchanges between refrigerants and heat transfer media, which complicates the process and reduces effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design incorporating a phase change unit with separate liquid and gas phase spaces, utilizing a permeable membrane to facilitate efficient phase changes and heat transfer, allowing the heat transfer medium to absorb and release latent heat while exchanging heat with a heat exchange object in a single cycle, thereby simplifying the structure and enhancing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If heat is exchanged between refrigerant and heat transfer medium by evaporating refrigerant, and then heat is exchanged between cooled heat transfer medium and air in a separate heat exchanger, then heat transfer occurs in two stages, but heat exchange efficiency becomes low and structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the refrigerant evaporation function and heat transfer medium cooling function into a single integrated heat exchanger structure. The refrigerant evaporates directly in the heat exchanger while simultaneously cooling the heat transfer medium, eliminating the need for a separate evaporation chamber and reducing structural complexity while improving heat exchange efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: serving as both the refrigerant evaporation space and the heat transfer medium cooling space. This multi-functional design allows the same structure to accomplish what previously required two separate components, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If a permeable membrane is added to separate liquid phase space from gas phase space, then phase change control is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a permeable membrane as a porous material to separate the liquid phase space from the gas phase space. This porous structure allows selective passage of refrigerant vapor while maintaining phase separation, providing reliable phase change control without requiring complex mechanical separation devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The permeable membrane acts as an intermediary element between the liquid refrigerant and gas phase. It facilitates controlled phase change by allowing vapor to pass through while maintaining distinct liquid and gas regions, achieving reliable phase separation with a simple membrane structure rather than complex partitioning mechanisms.
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 design significantly improves heat exchange efficiency by allowing the heat transfer medium to function as both a phase-change medium and a heat exchange medium in a single cycle, reducing structural complexity and enhancing operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
When a portion of the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase that is accommodated in the liquid phase space gasifies, the temperature of the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase falls
Implementation Method 2
the heat transfer medium serves as both a medium that absorbs and releases latent heat by changing phase
Implementation Method 3
when a portion of the heat transfer medium in the gas phase that is accommodated in the gas phase space liquefies, the temperature of the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase rises
Implementation Method 4
the heat transfer medium serves as both a medium that absorbs and releases latent heat by changing phase
Implementation Method 5
the phase change unit includes a permeable membrane that separates the liquid phase space from the gas phase space and through which the heat transfer medium in the gas phase passes
Implementation Method 6
At the heat exchange unit, heat is exchanged between the heat transfer medium and the heat exchange object
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger comprising: a heat exchange unit that exchanges heat between a heat transfer medium and a heat exchange object; a phase change unit, which comprises a liquid phase space that accommodates the heat transfer medium in a liquid phase state, and a gas phase space that accommodates the heat transfer medium in a gas phase state, the heat transfer medium being capable of moving into and out of the gas phase space; and a first channel along which the heat transfer medium is moved from the phase change unit to the heat exchange unit, wherein the heat exchanger is configured such that a saturated vapor pressure at a temperature of the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase flowing into the phase change unit differs from a pressure of the heat transfer medium in the gas phase in the gas phase space.