Liquid Phase Change Cooling System with Active Cloud Point Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling and heating transfer systems rely on specific heat capacity and refrigerants, which are costly and inefficient, especially over long distances, as they lose effectiveness due to temperature and environmental conditions, leading to significant losses in cooling or heating capacity.
Innovation Solution
The use of liquid phase change systems with active adjustment of cloud point temperatures through membrane-based processes, employing Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) and Upper Critical Solution Temperature (UCST) reagents to maintain or adjust the temperature of the working fluid, allowing for efficient cooling and heating transfer independent of ambient conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specific heat coolant or refrigerant is used for cooling transfer, then cooling capacity is provided at the source, but cooling capacity is lost during transport due to temperature equilibration with surroundings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs phase change materials that undergo solid-liquid phase transitions at specific temperatures. The PCM absorbs latent heat during melting and releases it during freezing, maintaining a constant temperature plateau during phase change. This prevents temperature equilibration with surroundings during transport, preserving cooling capacity without continuous energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes changes in physical parameters of the working fluid, specifically leveraging the latent heat of fusion during phase transitions. By operating at the phase change temperature point, the system maintains thermal energy during transport independent of ambient temperature variations, fundamentally changing how thermal energy is stored and transported.
2Length of moving object
If transport distance is increased, then broader cooling coverage is achieved, but cooling effectiveness decreases due to heat gain from surroundings
Solution Approach 1:
Phase change materials maintain a constant temperature during phase transition regardless of heat exchange with surroundings. This creates a thermal buffer that preserves cooling effectiveness over extended transport distances, as the PCM absorbs or releases latent heat to counteract environmental heat gain or loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the harmful effect of heat exchange with surroundings into a beneficial self-regulating mechanism. As the PCM undergoes phase change, it automatically absorbs excess heat from surroundings during melting or releases heat during freezing, transforming thermal interference into a stabilizing feedback mechanism that maintains cooling effectiveness.
3Reliability
If refrigerant flow rate is increased to maintain cooling capacity over distance, then cooling delivery is improved, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The phase change mechanism provides high-density energy storage in a compact form. The latent heat of fusion allows substantial thermal energy to be stored in a small volume of PCM, eliminating the need for large-volume refrigerant circulation systems and complex flow control mechanisms required in conventional long-distance cooling systems.
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 approach enhances the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of cooling and heating transfer by maintaining the cooling or heating capacity over distance, reducing the need for large refrigerant volumes and insulated piping, and minimizing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
a refrigerant is employed where the refrigerant boils on the side requiring cooling and condenses on the side supplying the cooling
Implementation Method 2
The working fluid may be frozen or melted
Implementation Method 3
membrane-based processes
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention pertains to systems, methods, and compositions for liquid phase change, including for active cloud point, e.g., critical solution temperature, adjustment and heating or cooling, e.g., refrigeration, cycles. In some embodiments heat is absorbed, released or both due to phase changes in a liquid system. Advantageously, the phase changes may be controlled by controlling the ingredients or amounts of certain components of the liquid system. Advantages may include lower capital expenditures, lower operating expenses, or both for a diverse and wide range of heating and cooling applications. Such applications include, for example, cooling of data centers, cooled transportation of goods, refrigeration, heat pumps, extractions, ocean thermal energy conversion, and de-icing of roads to name just a few.