Outdoor Unit Heat Sink Layout to Avoid Refrigerant Evaporation Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing outdoor units of refrigeration cycle apparatuses face challenges in heat dissipation of heat sinks, which can lead to increased temperatures and reduced cooling capacity due to the use of cooling pipes that cause refrigerant evaporation, thereby reducing the cooling capacity.
Innovation Solution
The outdoor unit design includes a heat sink positioned downstream of the outdoor heat exchanger in an air flow direction, with a heat transfer tube having distinct regions for gas-liquid and single-phase liquid refrigerant flow, optimizing air flow and refrigerant flow to reduce temperature rise and maintain cooling capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling pipe is used to cool the heat sink, then heat dissipation is improved, but cooling capacity is reduced due to refrigerant evaporation in the cooling pipe
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful function of the cooling pipe (causing refrigerant evaporation that reduces cooling capacity) while retaining the beneficial function of heat dissipation. By removing the cooling pipe and using natural convection currents in the air passage instead, the system eliminates the source of the problem while maintaining heat sink cooling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces air as an intermediary medium to transfer heat from the heat sink to the outdoor environment. The air passage serves as a mediator that enables heat dissipation through convection without requiring direct refrigerant contact, thus avoiding the refrigerant evaporation issue while maintaining effective cooling.
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 configuration effectively dissipates heat from the heat sink while minimizing the reduction in cooling capacity by optimizing air flow and refrigerant flow, ensuring efficient operation even under high outdoor temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
a heat sink disposed downstream of the outdoor heat exchanger in an air flow direction in the air passage and in contact with the control board
Implementation Method 2
an outdoor fan disposed in the air passage
Implementation Method 3
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in the casing and including fins and a heat transfer tube connected to the fins
Implementation Method 4
a first region in which gas refrigerant or two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant flows when the outdoor heat exchanger is used as a condenser
Implementation Method 5
evaporation of the refrigerant cools the evaporator
Implementation Method 6
a second region that is located downstream of the first region in a refrigerant flow direction and in which single-phase liquid refrigerant flows
Data Source
AI summary
An outdoor unit includes a casing including an air passage, an outdoor fan disposed in the air passage, a compressor disposed in the casing, an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in the casing and including fins and a heat transfer tube connected to the fins, a control board disposed in the casing and including a control unit that controls the compressor, and a heat sink disposed in the air passage in the casing and being in contact with the control board. The heat transfer tube of the outdoor heat exchanger includes a first region in which gas refrigerant or two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant flows when the outdoor heat exchanger is used as a condenser and a second region that is located downstream of the first region in a refrigerant flow direction and in which single-phase liquid refrigerant flows.