阅读说明：本技术 带有连接到多个流捕集器的多个蒸汽喷射器的制冷系统 (Refrigeration system with multiple vapor ejectors connected to multiple flow traps ) 是由 祝用华 M·托尔基奥 于 2020-07-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种制冷系统,其具有：带有喷射器出口的蒸汽喷射器；以及连接到喷射器出口的被动流捕集器。(Disclosed is a refrigeration system having: a steam injector with an injector outlet; and a passive flow trap connected to the injector outlet.)

1. A refrigeration system comprising:

a steam injector with an injector outlet; and

a passive flow trap connected to the injector outlet.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the passive flow trap comprises an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the inlet-side descending portion is larger than the outlet-side ascending portion.

4. The system of claim 2, comprising a separator connected to an outlet side of the passive flow trap.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the passive flow trap is connected to a lower portion of the separator configured to store liquid refrigerant.

6. A refrigeration system comprising:

a plurality of steam injectors, each of the plurality of steam injectors including one of a plurality of injector outlets; and

a plurality of passive flow traps, one of the plurality of passive flow traps connected to each of the plurality of injector outlets.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of passive flow traps comprises an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein for at least one of the plurality of passive flow traps, the inlet-side descending portion is larger than the outlet-side ascending portion.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet side rises are the same for at least two of the plurality of passive flow traps.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet side riser is the same for each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet side rises are different for each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

12. The system of claim 7, comprising a separator connected to an outlet side of each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of passive flow traps are connected to a lower portion of the separator configured to store liquid refrigerant.

14. The system of claim 13, comprising an evaporator, wherein each of the plurality of steam injectors comprises one of a plurality of injector first inlets, each of the plurality of injector first inlets being connected to the evaporator.

15. The system of claim 14, comprising a plurality of shut-off valves, wherein each of the plurality of shut-off valves is connected between one of the plurality of injector first inlets and the evaporator.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the separator comprises a first outlet connected to an expansion device.

17. The system of claim 16, comprising a gas cooler, wherein each of the plurality of steam injectors comprises one of a plurality of injector second inlets, each of the plurality of injector second inlets being connected to the gas cooler.

18. The system of claim 17, comprising a compressor, wherein the separator comprises a second outlet connected to the compressor.

19. A method of directing flow in a refrigerant system, comprising:

directing a two-phase flow from each of a plurality of steam injectors into one of a plurality of passive flow traps;

directing the two-phase flow from each of the plurality of passive flow traps into a separator; and

preventing backflow from the separator from reaching each of the plurality of steam injectors with one of the plurality of passive flow traps.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of passive flow traps comprises an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

Technical Field

The disclosed embodiments relate to refrigeration systems, and more particularly, to refrigeration systems including multiple vapor ejectors and multiple flow traps (flow traps).

Background

Commercial Refrigeration Systems (CRS) represent a significant portion of the power load in a supermarket. The steam ejector is a converging-diverging device that provides pressure lift without power and thus serves to increase CRS efficiency. To meet different load conditions, parallel multiple ejector configurations (with the same or different sizes) may be installed in the CRS. However, when multiple injectors are operating simultaneously, there may be a risk of unstable operation, such as Reverse Flow (RF) due to different operating characteristics and output capabilities between injectors.

Disclosure of Invention

Disclosed is a refrigeration system, comprising: a steam injector with an injector outlet; and a passive flow trap connected to the injector outlet.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the above disclosed aspects, the passive flow trap includes an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as an alternative, the inlet side drop-down portion is larger than the outlet side rise-up portion.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the above disclosed aspects, the system includes a separator connected to an outlet side of the passive flow trap.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the above disclosed aspects, a passive flow trap is connected to a lower portion of the separator configured to store liquid refrigerant.

Disclosed is a refrigeration system including: a plurality of steam injectors, each of the plurality of steam injectors including one of a plurality of injector outlets; and a plurality of passive flow traps, one of the plurality of passive flow traps connected to each of the plurality of injector outlets.

In addition to one or more of the above-disclosed aspects or alternatively, each of the plurality of passive flow traps includes an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

In addition to one or more of the above-disclosed aspects or as an alternative, for at least one of the plurality of passive flow traps, the inlet side fall is larger than the outlet side rise.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as an alternative, the outlet-side riser is the same for at least two of the plurality of passive flow traps.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or alternatively, the outlet-side riser is the same for each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as an alternative, the outlet-side riser is different for each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the above disclosed aspects, the system includes a separator connected to an outlet side of each of the plurality of passive flow traps.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the above disclosed aspects, a plurality of passive flow traps are connected to a lower portion of the separator configured to store liquid refrigerant.

In addition or alternatively to one or more of the aspects disclosed above, the system includes an evaporator, wherein each of the plurality of steam injectors includes one of a plurality of injector first inlets, each of the plurality of injector first inlets being connected to the evaporator.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the aspects disclosed above, the system includes a plurality of shut-off valves, wherein each of the plurality of shut-off valves is connected between one of the plurality of injector first inlets and the evaporator.

In addition or alternatively to one or more of the aspects disclosed above, the separator includes a first outlet connected to the expansion device.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the aspects disclosed above, the system includes a gas cooler, wherein each of the plurality of steam injectors includes one of a plurality of injector second inlets, each of the plurality of injector second inlets being connected to the gas cooler.

In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the aspects disclosed above, the system includes a compressor, wherein the separator includes a second outlet connected to the compressor.

A method of directing flow in a refrigerant system is disclosed, comprising: directing a two-phase flow from each of a plurality of steam injectors into one of a plurality of passive flow traps; directing a two-phase flow from each of a plurality of passive flow traps into a separator; and preventing backflow from the separator from reaching each of the plurality of steam injectors with one of the plurality of passive flow traps.

In addition to one or more of the above-disclosed aspects or alternatively, each of the plurality of passive flow traps includes an inlet side drop, a central bend, and an outlet side rise, thereby defining a U-shape.

Drawings

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and is not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements.

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a refrigerant system according to an embodiment; and

fig. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of directing flow in a refrigerant system, according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Turning to fig. 1, the disclosed embodiments provide a configuration for a refrigeration system (system) 100 with multiple vapor ejectors 110 in which backflow from the separator 120 is minimized. The plurality of steam injectors 110 are shown to include three injectors 110a-110c, each with one of the plurality of injector outlets 115, such that three outlets 115a-115c are shown. Each of the injector outlets 115 is connected to one of a plurality of passive flow traps 118, such that three passive flow traps 118a-118c are shown. Although sets of three features, such as three steam injectors 110 and passive flow traps 118, are shown and disclosed herein, the present disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the number of features that may fall within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims.

Each of the passive flow traps 118 includes an inlet side descender (relative to gravity) 120, a center bend 122, and an outlet side ascender (relative to gravity) 124 to define a U-shape. Thus, three inlet side descenders 120a-120c, three central bends 122a-122c, and three outlet side ascenders 124a-124c are shown. A separator 125 is connected to the outlet side riser 124 of each of the passive flow traps 118. More specifically, the passive flow catcher 118 is connected to a lower portion 130 of the separator 125 that typically contains accumulated liquid refrigerant 135.

The height span of each of the outlet side rises 124a-124c may be the same distance or different distances for each of the plurality of steam injectors 110. If the outlet pressure of the respective one of the steam injectors 110 is lower than the pressure at the separator 120, there will typically be at least some liquid stored in one of the passive flow traps 118. This fluid in the trap 118 prevents backflow. That is, in such cases, the passive flow traps 118 each act as a pressure buffer to avoid reverse flow from the separator 125. According to the hydrostatic pressure theory, the static pressure provided by the U-shape may be estimated by p = ρ gh, where ρ, g, and h are the density of the liquid refrigerant, the gravitational constant, and the height of the outlet side riser, respectively. As long as the pressure difference between the ejector outlet and the separator is below this value, a counter flow is avoided.

As further shown, the system 100 includes an expansion device 137 and an evaporator 140, both of which are schematically illustrated. Each of the plurality of steam injectors 110 includes one of the plurality of injector first inlets 145, such that three of the injector first inlets 145a-145c are shown. Each of the ejector first inlets 145 is connected to the evaporator 140. Further, each of the plurality of shut-off valves 150 is connected between the evaporator 140 and one of the injector first inlets 145, such that three shut-off valves 150a-150c are shown.

The system further includes a gas cooler 155, shown schematically. Each of the plurality of steam injectors 110 includes one of the plurality of injector second inlets 160 such that three of the injector second inlets 160a-160c are shown. Each of the ejector second inlets 160 is connected to the gas cooler 155. The separator 125 includes a first outlet 170 connected to the evaporator and a second outlet 175 connected to a compressor 180 of the system 100.

Turning to fig. 2, a method of directing flow in the system 100 is shown in a flow chart. As shown in block 510, the method includes directing a two-phase flow from each of the plurality of steam injectors 110 into one of the plurality of passive flow traps 118. As shown in block 520, the method includes directing a two-phase flow from each of the plurality of passive flow traps 118 into the separator 125. As shown in block 530, the method includes preventing separator backflow to each of the plurality of steam injectors 110 with one of the plurality of passive flow traps 118.

The above disclosed embodiments provide a system 100 that mitigates the possibility of reverse flow from the separator 125 to the plurality of steam injectors 110. The system 100 may improve the operating efficiency associated with utilizing a multiple injector configuration while minimizing the risk of reverse flow.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Those skilled in the art will understand that various exemplary embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, each having certain features in certain embodiments, but the disclosure is not so limited. Rather, the disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, permutations, combinations, sub-combinations, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the disclosure may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.