Secondary-Loop Air Conditioning Purge and Strainer Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air-conditioning systems with secondary loops face issues with contamination by foreign matter and air, leading to potential failures during operation, necessitating effective removal methods before system activation.
Innovation Solution
The air-conditioning apparatus incorporates a controller for performing an air purge operation and foreign matter removal, utilizing a heat medium relay unit with pumps, heat exchangers, and switching devices to manage the flow of a non-toxic heat medium like water or brine, ensuring the system is free from contaminants before operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a secondary loop system with heat medium (water or brine) is used for air-conditioning, then safety is improved by eliminating harmful refrigerants from interior spaces, but the system becomes susceptible to contamination by foreign matter and air during construction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary air purge and foreign matter removal operations before the air-conditioning system begins normal operation. The controller automatically executes these preparatory steps to eliminate air and contaminants from the heat medium circuit, ensuring the system starts with a clean, reliable environment. This preliminary action prevents future operational failures while maintaining the safety benefits of the secondary loop system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors and controllers that monitor the heat medium circuit for air pockets and foreign matter contamination. Based on feedback from these sensors, the controller automatically activates air purge operations and foreign matter removal mechanisms, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains reliability by detecting and correcting contamination issues as they arise.
2Reliability
If air purge operation and foreign matter removal are implemented, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional control operations
Solution Approach 1:
The controller automatically performs air purge and foreign matter removal operations without requiring manual intervention or complex external control systems. The system self-diagnoses contamination conditions and self-corrects by executing predetermined purge sequences, thereby improving reliability while minimizing the added complexity through automation rather than manual procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The air purge operation and foreign matter removal functions are merged into a single integrated control routine within the existing controller. Rather than adding separate control systems, the patent combines multiple contamination removal functions into one unified control process, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive reliability improvements.
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 effectively removes air and foreign matter from the secondary loop, preventing system failures and ensuring safe, reliable operation by integrating an air purge and foreign matter removal mode, enhancing the system's reliability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a heat medium circulating in a secondary loop... a plurality of use-side heat exchangers that exchange heat between air and heat carriers
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of pumps that send and circulate the heat carriers, which are heated or cooled by the plurality of inter-heat-carrier heat exchangers
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Provided are: a refrigerant circuit A in which a compressor 10 for compressing heat source-side refrigerant, a first refrigerant channel switching device 11 for switching a circulation path of the heat source-side refrigerant, a heat source side heat exchanger 12 for performing heat exchange of the heat source-side refrigerant, an expansion device 16 for adjusting a pressure of the heat source-side refrigerant, and intermediate heat exchangers 15 for performing heat exchange between the heat source-side refrigerant and a heat medium different from the heat source-side refrigerant are connected by pipes; a heat medium circuit B in which pumps 21 for circulating the heat medium to be used for the heat exchange performed by the intermediate heat exchangers 15, a use-side heat exchanger 26 for performing heat exchange between the heat medium and air in an air-conditioned space, and channel switching devices 22 and 23 for switching passages of the heat medium heated or cooled to the use-side heat exchanger 26 are connected by pipes, and the heat medium circuit B including a strainer 42 configured to capture foreign matter contained in the heat medium; and a heat medium relay unit control device 52 configured to perform a foreign matter removal operation of causing the strainer 42 to capture foreign matter contained in the heat medium circuit B during construction of the heat medium circuit B.