Multi-Zone Heat Exchanger Design to Reduce Refrigeration Pressure Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigeration systems used in showcases, such as those in supermarkets, face inefficiencies in heat exchange due to long refrigerant pipe lengths, leading to significant cold air loss and increased power consumption, especially in high-temperature regions.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design with multiple sub-units and narrow pipes within an outer pipe, allowing for heat exchange in three distinct areas, including a main heat exchange part where the first fluid flows around narrow pipes and sub heat exchange parts where fluids exchange heat, reducing pressure loss and enhancing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a single heat exchange unit is used, then the device complexity is low, but the heat exchange rate is insufficient leading to high power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into three distinct heat exchange parts (first sub heat exchange part, main heat exchange part, and second sub heat exchange part) that are disposed in sequence within the outer pipe. Each part performs heat exchange independently, allowing the system to achieve high heat exchange efficiency without requiring a single overly complex unit, thus reducing overall power consumption while maintaining manageable device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple heat exchange parts and pipe structures are nested within each other. The first and second fluid pipes are disposed inside the outer pipe, and the main heat exchange part is positioned between the sub heat exchange parts. This nested arrangement maximizes heat exchange surface area within a compact structure, improving thermal efficiency without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Reliability
If long refrigerant pipes are used, then the device can cover larger areas, but pressure loss increases leading to reduced refrigeration capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant flow path is segmented into multiple sections corresponding to the three heat exchange parts. By dividing the single long pipe into multiple shorter sections with intermediate heat exchange points, the system reduces cumulative pressure loss while maintaining adequate refrigeration capacity across the showcase.
Solution Approach 2:
Heat exchange actions are performed preliminarily at multiple points along the refrigerant flow path rather than relying on a single endpoint exchange. The first sub heat exchange part performs preliminary heat exchange before the refrigerant reaches the main heat exchange part, reducing the temperature differential and pressure loss in subsequent sections.
3Productivity
If multiple narrow pipes are used in the main heat exchange part, then the heat exchange rate increases, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple narrow pipes are merged into a bundled structure within the main heat exchange part. This consolidation allows the system to achieve high heat exchange rates through collective surface area while simplifying manufacturing by treating the pipe bundle as a single assembly unit, thereby reducing individual pipe alignment precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes the parameter of pipe arrangement by positioning the narrow pipes in a specific configuration within the main heat exchange part. By optimizing the spacing and arrangement parameters, the system achieves high heat exchange efficiency while maintaining manufacturability with standard precision tolerances.
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 increases heat efficiency, reduces power consumption, and minimizes pressure loss by optimizing heat exchange across multiple zones within the heat exchanger, thereby maintaining refrigeration capacity and reducing energy usage.
Implementation Method 1
a first sub heat exchange part and a second sub heat exchange part which are disposed inside the outer pipe, and in which a second fluid flows around a first fluid pipe through which a first fluid flows; and a main heat exchange part which is disposed, inside the outer pipe, between the first sub heat exchange part and the second sub heat exchange part, and in which the first fluid flows around a plurality of narrow pipes through which the second fluid flows, thereby achieving heat exchange in three areas inside the heat exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger according to the present invention includes: an outer pipe; a first sub heat exchange part and a second sub heat exchange part which are disposed inside the outer pipe, and in which a second fluid flows around a first fluid pipe through which a first fluid flows; and a main heat exchange part which is disposed, inside the outer pipe, between the first sub heat exchange part and the second sub heat exchange part, and in which the first fluid flows around a plurality of narrow pipes through which the second fluid flows.