Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims priority to Korean Application 10-2010-00013919, filed in Korea on Feb. 16, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field
A chiller is provided.
2. Background
Chillers are known. However, they suffer from various disadvantages.
Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:
Description will now be given in detail for embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Generally, a chiller (cooling apparatus) may be categorized as a water-cooled chiller or an air-cooled chiller according to a radiation method of a heat transfer medium. The water cooled chiller radiates heat by spraying a heat transfer medium from a cooling tower, whereas the air cooled chiller radiates heat by contacting a heat exchanger where air flows through a heat transfer medium.
In the water-cooled chiller, high-temperature cooling water heated by being heat-exchanged with an indoor space is radiated outside, and then is heat-exchanged with ambient air. Through these processes, cooling water is cooled to a low temperature, and then re-used for cooling. The heat transfer medium can be cooled to room temperature using minimum energy in correspondence to temperature changes of ambient air. However, a hermetic evaporation type cooling tower requires a tank that stores cooling water to be sprayed, a water tank that collects the sprayed cooling water, and a pump, thus requiring a complicated structure. Further, because a source of cooling water to be sprayed is required, an installation place is limited. In a case that the water to be supplied is of a bad quality or an installation place is inferior due to, for example, dust, exhaust fumes, and/or salt, corrosion or scales may occur in the apparatus pipes. This may require regular repair.
On the other hand, the air-cooled chiller does not require a tank that stores water to be sprayed, a tank that stores the sprayed water, or a pump, because water is not sprayed onto a heat exchanger. As a result, corrosion or scales due to spraying do not occur at the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the air-cooled chiller may be repaired more simply than the water-cooled chiller. Further, because the air-cooled chiller requires no pump to supply cooling water, power consumption may be reduced.
As shown in
In the air-cooled chiller of
In contrast to the water-cooled chiller which radiates heat using a cooling tower, the air-cooled chiller does not require a cooling tower and connection pipes. Accordingly, the air-cooled chiller is advantageous with respect to an installation area and an installation cost. However, since ambient air is used as a heat source, the air-cooled chiller has to be installed on a rooftop of a building or on the ground and has to radiate through a condenser. Accordingly, when the ambient air has a high temperature, radiation is not smoothly performed. This may lower a condensing efficiency, and thus, degrade performance.
Hereinafter, a chiller, which may be referred to as a “hybrid type” chiller, according an embodiment will be explained in more detail.
A partition wall 106 configured to horizontally partition an inside of the case 102 may be installed in the case 102. An inner space of the case 102 may be divided by the partition wall 106 into a radiation space 110 and a cooling space 120. A blowing opening 112 may be formed at an upper portion of the radiation space 110, and a blower or blowing fan 114 may be installed in the blowing opening 112. The blower 114 may be configured to blow ambient air to a condenser 130 to be later explained, or to suck the ambient air from the condenser 130. The blower 114 may form a stream of ambient air on a surface of the condenser 130.
The condenser 130 may be installed below the blower 114 and may extend in parallel thereto, and may constitute a cooling cycle apparatus together with an evaporator 132, an expansion device 134, and a compressor 136 installed in the cooling space 120. A refrigerant may flow in the condenser 130, and circulates through the expansion device 134, the evaporator 132, and the compressor 136.
A cooling water inlet 132a and a cooling water outlet 132b may be respectively, formed at the evaporator 132, and cooling water used to perform a cooling operation may be introduced into or discharged from the evaporator 132. The introduced cooling water may be cooled through heat exchange with a refrigerant cooled in the evaporator 132, and then supplied to a space requiring cooling or a cooling operation. Because the refrigerant and the cooling water flow through additional channels in the evaporator 132, they may not be mixed with each other but introduced into or discharged from the evaporator independently.
Water may be stored at a lower part of the radiation space 110, and a pump 140 that pumps the stored water may be installed below the radiation space 140. The water pumped through the pump 140 may be supplied to a plurality of spray nozzles 144, for example, four spray nozzles, as shown in
The spray nozzles 144 may be implemented as atomization nozzles to spray water in the form of minute liquid drops. Atomized water may be easily evaporated from a surface of the condenser 130, and may absorb, from the refrigerant, heat by an amount corresponding to the evaporated amount. This may enhance a heat exchange performance. Because heat exchange performance is enhanced due to the spray nozzles 144, a size of each of the condenser and the blower may be reduced, and thus, an entire size of the chiller may be reduced.
The water sprayed to the condenser 130 may be collected to or at a lower part of the radiation space 110 along a surface of the condenser 130. During this process, some of the water may be evaporated and discharged outside. Accordingly, as a usage time of the chiller becomes longer, the level of the water stored at a lower part of the radiation space 110 decreases. If the water level becomes too low, water supply to the condenser 130 may not be smoothly performed. Accordingly, the water has to be periodically supplemented.
For this, a water supply pipe 150 may be penetratingly installed on a side wall of the radiation space 110. The water supply pipe 150 may be connected to an external water source, such as a water supply facility, and may be configured to supplement water when a water level is low. An ON/OFF valve 152 may be installed near an end of the water supply pipe 150, thereby controlling water supply through the water supply pipe 150. The water supply may be manually performed by a manager through periodic checks. Alternatively, the water supply may be automatically performed as shown in
With this embodiment, the cooling water is cooled by being heat-exchanged with a refrigerant, and a refrigerant having a high temperature may be cooled by using water at or in the radiation space. Accordingly, even if an installation space of the chiller has temperature changes, the entire performance of the chiller is scarcely influenced. More specifically, in the conventional hermetic evaporation type chiller which directly heat-exchanges cooling water with ambient air, the cooling water having undergone a heat exchange process has a large temperature difference according to an ambient air temperature. On the other hand, in this embodiment, a high-temperature refrigerant passing through the condenser may be cooled by being heat-exchanged with indoor air and a water supply source. Accordingly, even if the chiller is installed indoors, radiation may be smoothly performed at the condenser.
The water sprayed on the surface of the condenser may be evaporated by ambient air supplied by the blower, thereby enhancing a heat exchange performance. This water evaporation may be accelerated when the ambient air has a high temperature. Accordingly, a radiation performance of the chiller may be scarcely influenced by changes in ambient air.
The conventional cooling tower has a limited installation space because a large amount of cooling water has to be delivered to a place where the cooling tower is installed, generally, a rooftop of a building. However, in this embodiment, the cooling tower may be installed in a mechanical room, which may enhance a degree of freedom.
In the embodiment of
Referring to
Likewise, the second case 220 may include the aforementioned evaporator 132, the expansion device 134 and the compressor 136, and is configured to serve as one cooling unit or device.
Two connection pipes 242a and 242b may be provided to constitute a cooling cycle apparatus with the condenser 130, the evaporator 132, the expansion device 134, and the compressor 136. The connection pipes 242a and 242b may connect an inlet and an outlet of the condenser 130 inside the first case 210 to an outlet of the compressor 136 and an inlet of the expansion device 134 inside the second case 220, respectively.
With this configuration, the first and second cases 210, 220 of this embodiment may be disposed in the same space or in different spaces. For example, in summer when an ambient air temperature is high, as shown in
With this installation configuration, the second case including the evaporator may be arranged at or in a low temperature region, thereby minimizing loss of cool air to be transferred to cooling water to high-temperature ambient air. This may enhance the efficiency of the chiller. Further, a refrigerant having a smaller flow amount than cooling water may circulate between the first and second cases. This requires no pipes having a large capacity different from a case in which cooling water directly circulates. Accordingly, the chiller may be easily installed even in a small space.
Embodiments disclosed herein provide a chiller capable of enhancing heat efficiency.
Embodiments disclosed herein provide a chiller that may include a case; a vapor compression type cycle apparatus installed in the case, and including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger that heat-exchange with a heat transfer medium to cool; a circulation apparatus configured to circulate the heat transfer medium via the second heat exchanger; a blower configured to supply ambient air to the first heat exchanger; and a liquid spray device configured to spray liquid to the first heat exchanger.
With the disclosed embodiments, not only ambient air, but also sprayed liquid may be heat-exchanged at the first heat exchanger. This may allow a larger amount of heat to be exchanged on a same surface of the heat exchanger. The sprayed liquid may be evaporated from the surface of the heat exchanger, and latent heat generated during this evaporation process may be supplied from the heat exchanger. This may enhance a heat-exchanging efficiency. With this configuration, even if ambient air has a high temperature, heat exchange may be smoothly performed at the first heat exchanger. This may enhance a cooling performance and an apparatus efficiency, and may reduce a size of the heat exchanger, thereby enhance an installation characteristic of the chiller.
The vapor compression type cycle apparatus according to embodiments disclosed herein may include a condenser that serves as the first heat exchanger, an evaporator that serves as the second heat exchanger, and a compressor and an expansion device disposed between the condenser and the evaporator, respectively.
The liquid spray device may be configured to spray liquid to the condenser between the blower and the condenser. The liquid to be sprayed may be water.
The liquid spray device may include one or more spray nozzles disposed between the blower and the condenser; a liquid reservoir provided on a bottom surface of the case; and a pump configured to forcibly transfer liquid stored in the liquid reservoir into the one or more spray nozzles. The liquid sprayed to the condenser may drop to the liquid reservoir provided on the bottom surface of the case, and the liquid collected into the liquid reservoir may be re-supplied to the spray nozzle through the pump, thus to be circulated.
The chiller according to embodiments disclosed herein may further include a liquid supplying device configured to supply liquid to the liquid reservoir. The liquid supplying device may compliment liquid lost during a circulation process, and may include a level sensing device that senses a level of liquid, and an ON/OFF valve. The liquid supplying device may be configured to open and close the ON/OFF valve according to a level detected by the level sensing device.
According to another embodiment disclosed herein, there is provided a chiller that may include a radiation unit or device including a condenser configured to radiate heat outside, a blower configured to supply ambient air to the condenser, a liquid spray device configured to spray liquid to the condenser, and a first case configured to accommodate therein the condenser, the blower, and the liquid spray device; a cooling unit or device including an evaporator configured to absorb heat from cooling water, a cooling water circulation apparatus configured to circulate cooling water via the evaporator, and a second case configured to accommodate therein the evaporator and the cooling water circulation apparatus; and a vapor compression type cycle apparatus including the condenser of the radiation unit or device, the evaporator of the cooling unit or device, and an expansion unit or device and a compressor installed at one side of the first and second cases. Refrigerant pipes may be connected between the first and second cases.
The vapor compression type cycle apparatus may be accommodated in two cases in a distributed manner, and may be connected to each other by the refrigerant pipes. This may allow the radiation unit and the cooling unit to be installed at different positions, which may enhance a degree of freedom. For instance, the radiation unit may be installed at or in an outdoor room, and the cooling unit may be installed at or in an indoor room having a relatively lower temperature. This may allow a peripheral temperature of the evaporator to be relatively low, which may enhance the efficiency of the chiller. The first and second cases may be connected to each other by the refrigerant pipes. Accordingly, an installation area may be significantly reduced when compared with a case in which pipes for cooling water are connected to and between the first and second cases.
The chiller according to embodiments disclosed herein may have a minimized installation area, and high efficiency due to enhanced radiation performance.
Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2010-00013919 | Feb 2010 | KR | national |