Installation and method for the production of cold and/or heat
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thermodynamic machines for producing cold and heat, such as Carnot machines, face inefficiencies due to irreversibilities during liquid/vapor state changes, and existing absorption, adsorption, or chemical reaction processes have lower efficiencies compared to ideal Carnot cycles.
Innovation Solution
A trithermal or quadrithermal thermodynamic installation is designed with a driving and receiving machine that includes evaporators, condensers, transfer cylinders, and phase separation devices, allowing for modified Carnot cycles with reduced irreversibilities and improved efficiency by utilizing a working fluid that undergoes liquid/vapor changes, enabling efficient production of cold and heat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a liquid/vapor change of state occurs in the Carnot cycle, then heat transfer efficiency between the machine and the environment is improved and exchange areas are reduced, but the reversible adiabatic steps require compression and expansion of two-phase liquid/vapor mixtures which prior art techniques are unable to perform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the compression and expansion processes into separate stages: first compressing/expanding the vapor phase, then handling the liquid phase separately. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized for its specific phase, avoiding the technical difficulty of directly compressing/expanding two-phase mixtures while maintaining the benefits of liquid/vapor state changes for heat transfer
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary saturated liquid state between the vapor compression/expansion processes. The working fluid is compressed to a saturated liquid state, then expanded back to vapor, serving as a mediator that enables efficient heat transfer through phase change while avoiding the complexity of direct two-phase compression/expansion
2Ease of manufacture
If approximating the Carnot cycle by isentropically compressing liquid and isentropically expanding superheated vapor, then the cycle can be implemented with available technology, but irreversibilities are introduced and efficiency is greatly degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermodynamic parameters during the cycle, specifically operating with saturated liquid and vapor states rather than isentropic compression of liquid and expansion of superheated vapor. This parameter change allows the use of available compression/expansion technology while minimizing irreversibilities by maintaining the working fluid at saturation points where phase change occurs, thereby preserving high cycle efficiency
3Adaptability or versatility
If absorption, adsorption, or chemical reaction methods are used for cold and heat production, then the function can be achieved using heat at high temperature as external energy source, but the efficiency (COP3 or COA3) is lower compared to ideal Carnot cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces absorption, adsorption, or chemical reaction methods with a mechanical thermodynamic cycle using compression and expansion of a working fluid. This substitution eliminates the need for chemical processes while achieving higher efficiency by operating closer to the ideal Carnot cycle, particularly through the use of liquid/vapor phase changes and saturated state transitions
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 installation achieves better coefficients of performance and amplification, significantly improving efficiency compared to prior art, with the ability to produce cold or heat at desired temperatures with reduced energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
When a liquid/vapor change of state occurs, heat is transferred between the machine and the environment with greater efficiency than if the working fluid remains in the gaseous state
Implementation Method 2
a transfer cylinder CTM that contains a transfer liquid LT in a lower portion and the working fluid GM in liquid and/or vapor form above the transfer liquid
Data Source
AI summary
An installation for the production of cold and/or heat has a driving and a receiving machine. The driving machine has means for circulating a working fluid GM, an evaporator EM, at least one transfer cylinder CTM that contains a transfer liquid LT in a lower part and the working fluid GM liquid and/or vapor form above the transfer liquid, a condenser CM, at least one device BSM for separating the liquid and vapor phases of the working fluid GM, and a device for compressing the working fluid GM to the liquid state. The receiving machine has means for circulating a working fluid GR, a condenser CR, at least one device BSR for compressing or expanding and separating the liquid and vapor phases of the working fluid GR, optionally a pressure reducer DR, an evaporator ER, and at least one transfer cylinder CTR that contains the transfer liquid LT in a lower portion and the working fluid GR in liquid and/or vapor form above the transfer liquid; the transfer cylinders CTR and CTM are connected by at least one pipe that can be blocked by actuators and in which only the transfer liquid LT can circulate.