Linear Compressor Muffler Design for Refrigerant Pressure Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing linear compressors face efficiency issues due to reduced refrigerant pressure, leading to decreased cooling power and refrigerant accommodation, especially when piston speed increases, causing the suction valve to open at the wrong time and allowing refrigerant to flow backward.
Innovation Solution
A linear compressor design featuring a muffler with variable flow tubes and through-holes that increase refrigerant pressure, ensuring a larger amount of refrigerant is accommodated and compressed, and includes a piston connected to a linear motor for improved suction valve responsiveness and refrigerant flow management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the piston speed is increased to enhance cooling power, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the refrigerant pressure decreases causing the suction valve to open at the wrong time and refrigerant to flow backward
Solution Approach 1:
A muffler is introduced as an intermediary component between the suction valve and the compression chamber. The muffler maintains refrigerant pressure by providing a buffer volume, preventing pressure drops that would cause premature suction valve closure. This allows the piston to operate at higher speeds without compromising valve timing accuracy, thus resolving the contradiction between cooling power and reliability.
2Productivity
If the piston speed is increased to improve cooling efficiency, then the compression rate is enhanced, but the refrigerant accommodation amount decreases due to pressure loss
Solution Approach 1:
The muffler is positioned to receive refrigerant before it enters the compression chamber, allowing the refrigerant to be pre-compressed and pressurized in advance. This preliminary action ensures that sufficient refrigerant is accumulated at the required pressure level before the compression stroke begins, maintaining refrigerant accommodation amount even at higher piston speeds.
3Device complexity
If a traditional muffler design is used, then the structure is simple, but the refrigerant pressure is reduced leading to decreased compressor efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention modifies the muffler's geometric parameters, specifically increasing the volume of the buffer chamber and optimizing the inlet/outlet dimensions. These parameter changes enable the muffler to maintain higher refrigerant pressure without significantly increasing structural complexity, thereby improving compressor efficiency while keeping the design practical.
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 cooling power and efficiency by maintaining higher refrigerant pressure, ensuring sufficient refrigerant in the compression chamber, even at increased piston speeds, and allows for a more compact compressor size, increasing internal storage space in refrigerators.
Implementation Method 1
a permanent magnet is driven to linearly reciprocate by a mutual electromagnetic force between the permanent magnet and the inner (or outer) stator
Implementation Method 2
a muffler, the shape of which is variable, so that a pressure of the refrigerant is increased
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a linear compressor and a refrigerator including the same. A linear compressor according to the spirit of the present disclosure includes a shell, a cylinder, a piston and a muffler. And the muffler includes a plurality of flow tubes extending in a flow direction of the refrigerant, and a plurality of through-holes passing through at least one of the plurality of flow tubes.