Multistage Compressor Oil Return Path to Reduce Heat and Pressure Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multistage compression systems, returning oil from a high-stage compressor to a low-stage compressor's suction side leads to heat and pressure losses due to mixing high-temperature, high-pressure oil with low-pressure refrigerant, causing inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The oil return pipe is connected to a space below the motor in the container, and the oil is guided to collide with an insulator or other components before entering the oil reservoir, reducing heat and pressure losses by allowing the oil to be directed efficiently into the reservoir rather than mixing with refrigerant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the oil return pipe returns oil to the suction pipe of the low-stage compressor, then the oil is returned to the compressor, but heat loss and pressure loss occur due to mixing high-temperature oil with low-pressure refrigerant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful mixing process by providing a separate oil return path that bypasses the suction pipe. The oil return pipe connects directly to the compression chamber, allowing oil to be returned without mixing with the refrigerant in the suction line, thereby eliminating heat and pressure losses associated with such mixing.
Solution Approach 2:
The oil return pipe serves as an intermediary pathway that facilitates oil return to the compression chamber without requiring mixing with refrigerant. This intermediate structure allows oil to travel directly to its destination, avoiding the energy losses that would occur in the suction pipe environment.
2Temperature
If the oil return pipe is connected to the suction pipe, then oil can be returned to the compressor, but the high-temperature oil raises the temperature of the sucked refrigerant causing heat loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the source of heat loss by extracting the oil return path from the refrigerant suction path. By connecting the oil return pipe directly to the compression chamber, the high-temperature oil no longer contacts or mixes with the refrigerant, preventing the refrigerant temperature from rising and eliminating the associated heat loss.
3Stress or pressure
If the oil return pipe returns high-pressure oil to the low-pressure refrigerant, then oil is supplied to the compressor, but pressure loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The oil return pipe acts as an intermediary channel that allows high-pressure oil to be transported directly to the compression chamber without entering the low-pressure refrigerant environment. This separate pathway eliminates the pressure loss that would occur if high-pressure oil mixed with low-pressure refrigerant in the suction line.
Data Source
AI summary
A multistage compression system uses refrigerant and oil. The multistage compression system includes a low-stage compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a high-stage compressor that further compresses the refrigerant compressed by the low-stage compressor, and an oil return pipe that returns the oil discharged by the high-stage compressor or the oil in the high-stage compressor to the low-stage compressor. The low-stage compressor has a rotary compression part that compresses the refrigerant, a motor that drives the compression part, and a container housing the compression part and the motor. The motor is disposed above the compression part. The oil return pipe is connected to a space below the motor inside the container.