Ductile Stainless Steel Refrigerant Pipe for Air Conditioner Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air conditioner refrigerant pipes made of copper face issues with scale accumulation, insufficient pressure resistance, vulnerability to vibration, high installation complexity, and high costs, while stainless steel pipes offer improved strength and corrosion resistance but are difficult to bend and install due to excessive hardness.
Innovation Solution
The use of ductile stainless steel pipes with a delta ferrite matrix structure of 1% or less, designed to match the ductility of copper pipes, allowing for improved workability, increased inner diameter for reduced pressure loss, and enhanced vibration absorption, while maintaining strength and corrosion resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If stainless steel pipes are used to replace copper pipes, then strength and corrosion resistance are improved, but ductility deteriorates making pipe bending and installation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the chemical composition parameters of the stainless steel pipe material. Specifically, it limits carbon content to 0.03% or less, chromium to 15-18%, nickel to 7-9%, and copper to 1-4%, while controlling grain size to 5.0-7.0. These parameter adjustments transform the material properties to achieve both high strength and improved ductility for easier installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system by combining multiple alloying elements (chromium, nickel, copper, manganese) in specific proportions within the stainless steel matrix. This composite approach at the material level produces a synergistic effect where the combination of elements provides both the required strength and the necessary ductility that cannot be achieved with single-element additions.
2Ease of operation
If copper pipes are used, then ductility and ease of installation are maintained, but pressure resistance and corrosion resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the material parameters by adopting a low-carbon austenitic stainless steel composition with specific element ratios. This parameter change achieves tensile strength of 480 MPa or more while maintaining elongation of 40% or more, providing both pressure resistance and installation ease simultaneously.
3Reliability
If pipe length is increased and bending is added to absorb vibration, then vibration absorption is improved, but installation space requirements increase and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of elongation to 40% or more, which provides superior ductility. This allows the pipe to be bent into vibration-absorbing configurations during installation without requiring excessive pipe length or complex routing, thereby reducing installation space requirements and simplifying the overall system configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner including an outdoor unit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a main expansion device, and a refrigerant pipe configured to connect the outdoor heat exchanger to the main expansion device; an indoor unit having an indoor heat exchanger; and a connection pipe configured to connect the outdoor unit to the indoor unit, wherein the air conditioner has refrigeration capacity of 2 kW to 7 kW, a R134a is used as the refrigerant, the refrigerant pipe is made of a ductile stainless steel material having a delta ferrite matrix structure of 1% or less on the basis of a grain area, and the refrigerant pipe includes a suction pipe that guides suction of a refrigerant into the compressor and has an outer diameter of 12.70 mm.