Spiral Shell Heat Exchanger for Uniform Refrigerant Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioners and heat exchangers face inefficiencies in heat transfer performance due to variations in refrigerant flow paths and heat exchange mechanisms, leading to suboptimal cooling and heating capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a shell-type heat exchanger with parallel-connected refrigerant tubes having spiral portions of different radii and turns, optimized to minimize flow path differences and enhance heat exchange efficiency, along with injection and discharge pipes that guide and distribute heat source fluid effectively within the shell.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If refrigerant tubes have different flow path lengths, then manufacturing is simpler, but heat exchange efficiency deteriorates due to non-uniform refrigerant flow distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the spiral refrigerant tubes, specifically setting the radius ratio between outer and inner tubes to 1.1-1.3 and the turn number ratio to 0.8-1.0, to minimize flow path length differences while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different spiral configurations to different regions - outer tubes have larger radii and more turns than inner tubes, creating localized variations that balance the overall flow path lengths across all tubes
2Volume of moving object
If heat exchanger size is reduced, then device compactness improves, but heat transfer performance deteriorates due to limited heat exchange area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses spiral-shaped refrigerant tubes instead of straight tubes, creating curved flow paths that increase the heat exchange area within a compact volume by utilizing three-dimensional spatial arrangement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent arranges multiple spiral refrigerant tubes in a nested configuration within the shell, with tubes of different radii concentrically positioned to maximize heat exchange area density in a compact space
3Productivity
If multiple refrigerant tubes are used, then heat exchange area increases, but device complexity increases due to multiple connections and arrangements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple refrigerant tubes into a single integrated heat exchanger assembly with unified support structures and coordinated spiral configurations, reducing the complexity of separate tube installations while maintaining large heat exchange area
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 improves heat transfer performance by ensuring uniform and efficient heat exchange between refrigerant and heat source fluid, maximizing cooling and heating efficiency while maintaining a compact and simple structure.
Implementation Method 1
heat exchange between refrigerant and heat source fluid
Implementation Method 2
heat transfer performance
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner and a heat exchanger therefor are provided. The heat exchanger may include a shell; an injection pipe to guide a heat source fluid to an inside of the shell; a first refrigerant tube formed with a first spiral tube; a second refrigerant tube formed with a second spiral tube having a radius larger than a radius of the first spiral tube; and a discharge pipe to which the heat source fluid heat-exchanged with a refrigerant is discharged. The first refrigerant tube and the second refrigerant tube may be connected in parallel, and the second spiral tube may have a larger pitch between turns and a smaller number of turns than the first spiral tube. The heat exchanger may provide a simple structure and a high heat-exchange performance.