Patent Application
20190024957
The present invention relates to a vapor compression-type refrigerator having an air bleeding device which bleeds an uncondensed gas from a condenser and a method for controlling same.
In a cold heating apparatus using a refrigerant in which an operating pressure during an operation partially becomes a pressure of the atmospheric pressure or less in the apparatus, an uncondensed gas such as air enters the apparatus from a portion having the pressure of the atmospheric pressure or less, passes through a compressor or the like, and thereafter, stays in a condenser. If the uncondensed gas stays in the condenser, the uncondensed gas acts as a heat transfer resistance and the condensing performance of the refrigerant in the condenser is hindered, and the performance as the cold heating apparatus decreases. For this reason, the uncondensed gas is discharged from the condenser to the outside of the apparatus by an air bleeding device, and thus, normal performance is secured. In the air bleeding device, the uncondensed gas which is a gas mixed with a refrigerant gas is sucked into the air bleeding device, the mixed gas is cooled such that only the refrigerant is condensed, and the condensed refrigerant is returned into the refrigerator. Accordingly, the uncondensed gas is separated and accumulated, and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus by an exhaust pump or the like (refer to PTLs 1 and 2 below).
[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-50618
[PTL 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-38346
However, in order to condense and separate the refrigerant which Is sucked into the air bleeding device together with the uncondensed gas, a certain amount of cooling heat is required. As means for performing the cooling, there is a method for performing the cooling using a low-temperature medium such as a cold water or a refrigerant in the apparatus or a method for performing the cooling using an electric type cooing device. In a case where the low-temperature medium is used, the medium cooled by the refrigerator is heated, and thus, a loss in efficiency of a device occurs. In a case where the electric cooling is performed, constant power is consumed. Accordingly, in order to avoid consumption of unnecessary power, it is preferable to automatically operate the air bleeding device only when necessary.
In a water cooling type condenser, in order to detect a decrease in condensing performance, a difference between a saturation temperature and a cooling water temperature of the condenser is detected, and it is possible to monitor whether or not the temperature difference increases from a planned temperature difference. However, the condensing performance of the condenser is decreased due to contamination of a heat transfer surface (cooling water side), and thus, it is difficult to separate the decrease in the condensing performance from performance degradation caused by the uncondensed gas.
The present invention is made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vapor compression-type refrigerator capable of decreasing energy consumption as much as possible when the uncondensed gas is separated from the refrigerant so as to be discharged and a method for controlling same.
In order to achieve the above-described object, a vapor compression-type refrigerator and a method for controlling the same of the present invention adopts the following means.
That is, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vapor compression-type refrigerator, including: a compressor which compresses a refrigerant; a condenser which condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor; a cooling water heat transfer tube through which cooling water which performs heat exchange between the cooling water and the refrigerant in the condenser flows; an expansion valve which expands a liquid refrigerant introduced from the condenser; an evaporator which evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve; an air bleeding device which bleeds gas from the condenser, and includes a cooling unit which cools the gas so as to condense the condensed gas and a discharge unit which discharges an uncondensed gas, which is separated without being condensed by the cooling unit, to an outside; and a controller which controls the air bleeding device, in which the controller calculates a current temperature difference which is a difference between a current saturation temperature in the condenser and a current outlet temperature of the cooling water heat transfer tube, and a planned temperature difference which is a planned value, the controller calculates an increase in a temperature difference caused by current in-pipe contamination using information on an increase in a temperature difference which is caused by in-pipe contamination and is a difference between a saturation temperature in the condenser predetermined by assuming the in-pipe contamination of the cooling water heat transfer tube and an outlet temperature of the cooling water heat transfer tube, and in a case where an increase of the current temperature difference from the planned temperature difference is larger by a predetermined value or more than the increase in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination, the controller operates the air bleeding device.
It is considered that a decrease in condensing performance of the condenser is generated by heat transfer inhibition caused by in-pipe contamination in the cooling water heat transfer tube and heat transfer inhibition caused by staying of uncondensed gas in the condenser.
In the case where the current temperature difference which is the difference between the current saturation temperature in the condenser and the current outlet temperature of the cooling water heat transfer tube is larger than the planned temperature difference which is the planned value, influences of both the in-pipe contamination and the staying of the uncondensed gas are reflected. Meanwhile, the increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination can be ascertained by a preliminary experiment in which the cooling water flows through the heat transfer tube, or the like. Accordingly, a value obtained by subtracting the increase in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination from the current temperature difference can be estimated as a decrease in the condensing performance caused by the staying of the uncondensed gas. Accordingly, in a case where the current temperature difference is larger than a sum of the planned temperature difference and the increase in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination, it is determined that the condensing performance is decreased by the staying of the uncondensed gas, and the air bleeding device is operated. Accordingly, it is possible to operate the air bleeding device only in the case where the uncondensed gas of a predetermined amount or more stays in the condenser, it is possible to suppress wasteful energy consumption, and thus, it is possible to realize the vapor compression-type refrigerator having the improved overall efficiency.
In addition, the saturation temperature of the condenser can be obtained from a pressure value obtained by a pressure sensor provided in the condenser.
Moreover, in the vapor compression-type refrigerator according to the aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a differential pressure sensor which detects a differential pressure between an inlet and an outlet of the cooling water heat transfer tube in the condenser, in which the increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is determined based on an increase of a current differential pressure obtained by the differential pressure sensor from the planned value.
The in-pipe contamination in the cooling water heat transfer tube is generated by deposits in the heat transfer tube, the deposits narrow a flow path in the heat transfer tube, and thus, the differential pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the cooling water heat transfer tube in the condenser is higher than the planned value. Accordingly, the in-pipe contamination temperature difference is determined based on the increased value in the differential pressure from the planned value, and thus, it is possible to accurately estimate the in-pipe contamination.
In addition, in the vapor compression-type refrigerator according to the aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a cooling water flow rate sensor which measures a flow rate of cooling water which flows through the cooling water heat transfer tube, in which the increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is determined based on the flow rate obtained by the cooling water flow rate sensor.
The increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is dependent on the differential pressure increase, and the differential pressure is dependent on the flow rate. Accordingly, the increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is determined based on the flow rate obtained by the cooling water flow rate sensor and the differential pressure. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately estimate the in-pipe contamination.
In addition, in the vapor compression-type refrigerator according to the aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator, further includes: a cold water heat transfer tube through which cold water which performs heat exchange between the cold water and the refrigerant in the evaporator flows; and a cold water flow rate sensor which measures a flow rate of the cold water flowing through the cold water heat transfer tube; a temperature sensor which measures inlet and outlet temperatures of the cold water in the cold water heat transfer tube; and a temperature sensor which measures inlet and outlet temperatures of the cooling water in the cooling water heat transfer tube, in which the controller calculates a flow rate of the cooling water which flows through the cooling water heat transfer tube from a heat balance, based on the cold water flow rate obtained by the cold water flow rate sensor, refrigerating capacity calculated from a cold water inlet/outlet temperature difference of the cold water heat transfer tube in the evaporator, power input to the compressor, and a cooling water inlet/outlet temperature difference of the cooling water heat transfer tube in the condenser, and the increase in the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is determined based on the cooling water flow rate.
In a case where the cooling water flow rate sensor for measuring the flow rate of the cooling water is not present, it is possible to calculate the cooling water flow rate from the heat balance, based on the cold water flow rate obtained by the cold water flow rate sensor, the cold water inlet/outlet temperature difference, the power input to the compressor, and the cooling water inlet/outlet temperature difference. Accordingly, the cooling water flow rate sensor is omitted, and thus, it is possible to reduce the cost.
Moreover, in a case where the cold water flow rate sensor is not prevent, it is possible to calculate the cold water flow rate using the differential pressure of the cold water and a loss factor of the cold water heat transfer tube.
In addition, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a vapor compression-type refrigerator, the vapor compression-type refrigerator including a compressor which compresses a refrigerant, a condenser which condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, a cooling water heat transfer tube through which cooling water which performs heat exchange between the cooling water and the refrigerant in the condenser flows, an expansion valve which expands a liquid refrigerant introduced from the condenser, an evaporator which evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve, and an air bleeding device which bleeds gas from the condenser, and includes a cooling unit which cools the gas so as to condense the condensed gas and a discharge unit which discharges an uncondensed gas, which is separated without being condensed by the cooling unit, to an outside, the method including: calculating a current temperature difference which is a difference between a current saturation temperature in the condenser and a current outlet temperature of the cooling water heat transfer tube, and a planned temperature difference which is a planned value; calculating an increase in a temperature difference caused by current in-pipe contamination using information on an increase in a temperature difference which is caused by in-pipe contamination and is a difference between a saturation temperature in the condenser predetermined by assuming the in-pipe contamination of the cooling water heat transfer tube and an outlet temperature of the cooling water heat transfer tube, and operating the air bleeding device in a case where an increase of the current temperature difference from the planned temperature difference is larger by a predetermined value or more than the increase in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination.
The air bleeding device and the cooling device are operated in only a case where the uncondensed gas of a predetermined amount or more stays in the condenser, and thus, it is possible to decrease energy consumption as much as possible when the uncondensed gas is separated from the refrigerant so as to be discharged.
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
For example, as the refrigerant, a low-pressure refrigerant such as HFO-1233zd(E) is used, and a pressure of a low-pressure portion such as the evaporator during the operation becomes the atmospheric pressure or less.
The turbo compressor 3 is a centrifugal compressor and is driven by an electric motor 11 whose rotational speed is controlled by an inverter. An output of the inverter is controlled by a controller (not shown). Input power W of the electric motor 11 is measured by a watt meter 13 and a measurement result is sent to the controller (not shown).
The turbo compressor 3 includes an impeller 3a which is rotated around a rotary shaft 3b. Rotational power is transmitted from the electric motor 11 to the rotary shaft 3b via a speed increasing gear 15.
For example, the condenser 5 is a shell and tube type heat exchanger.
A cooling water heat transfer tube 5a through which a cooling water for cooling the refrigerant flows is inserted into the condenser 12. A cooling water forward pipe 6a and a cooling water return pipe 6b are connected to the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a. The cooling water introduced to the condenser 5 via the cooling water forward pipe 6a is introduced to a cooling tower (not shown) via the cooling water return pipe 6b, heat of the cooling water is exhausted to the outside, and thereafter, the cooling water is introduced to the condenser 5 again via the cooling water forward pipe 6a.
In the cooling water forward pipe 22a, a cooling water pump 20 which feeds the cooling water, a cooling water flow rate sensor 22 which measures a cooling water flow rate GWC, and a cooling water inlet temperature sensor 24 which measures a cooling water inlet temperature TWCI are provided. In the cooling water return pipe 6b, a cooling water outlet temperature sensor 26 which measures a cooling water outlet temperature TWCO is provided. In addition, a cooling water differential pressure sensor 28 which measures a differential pressure PD between an inlet and an outlet of the cooling water is provided between the cooling water forward pipe 6a and a cooling water return pipe 6b.
A condenser pressure sensor 29 which measures a condenser pressure Pc of the refrigerant in the condenser 5 is provided in the condenser 5.
Measurement values of the sensors 23a, 23b, 24, and 25 are sent to the controller.
The expansion valve 7 is an electric expansion valve and an opening degree of the expansion valve 7 is set to a predetermined degree by the controller.
For example, the evaporator 9 is a shell and tube type heat exchanger.
A cold water heat transfer tube 9a through which a cold water which performs heat exchange between the cold water and the refrigerant flows is inserted into the evaporator 9. A cold water forward pipe 10a and a cold water return pipe 10b are connected to the cold water heat transfer tube 9a. The cold water introduced to the evaporator 9 via the cold water forward pipe 10a is cooled to a rated temperature (for example, 7° C.) and is introduced to an external load (not shown) via the cold water return pipe 10b so as to supply a cold heat, and thereafter, the cold water is introduced to the evaporator 9 again via the cold water forward pipe 10a.
In the cold water forward pipe 10a, a cold water pump 30 which feeds the cold water, a cold water flow rate sensor 32 which measures a cold water flow rate GWW, and a cold water inlet temperature sensor 34 which measures a cold water inlet temperature TWEI are provided. In the cold water return pipe 10b, a cold water outlet temperature sensor 36 which measures a cold water outlet temperature TWEO is provided. In addition, a cold water differential pressure sensor 38 which measures a differential pressure PDe between an inlet and an outlet of the cold water is provided between the cold water forward pipe 10a and a cold water return pipe 10b.
Measurement values of the sensors 32, 34, 36, and 38 are sent to the controller.
An air bleeding device 40 is provided between the condenser 5 and the evaporator 9. An air bleeding pipe 42 for introducing the refrigerant (condensed gas) including an uncondensed gas from the condenser 5 is connected to the air bleeding device 40. Moreover, a liquid refrigerant pipe 44 through which the condensed liquid refrigerant is introduced to the evaporator 9 is connected to the air bleeding device 40. In addition, a discharge pipe 46 through which the uncondensed gas is discharged to the outside is connected to the air bleeding device 40, and an exhaust pump (discharge unit) 48 is provided in the discharge pipe 46. An operation of the exhaust pump 48 is controlled by the controller.
Moreover, as shown by an arrow 49, cold heat for cooling the refrigerant including the uncondensed gas introduced into the air bleeding device 40 is supplied to the air bleeding device 40. As a cooling unit for supplying the cold heat, there is a refrigerator having a refrigeration cycle different from that of the turbo refrigerator 1, means for supplying the cold water, means for supplying the refrigerant into the turbo refrigerator 1, cooling means such as a peltier element, or the like. An operation of the cooling unit is controlled by the controller (not shown).
The controller 1 performs a control relating to the operation of the turbo refrigerator 1, and for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a computer readable storage medium, or the like. In addition, for example, a series of processing for realizing various functions is stored in the storage medium or the like as a program form, and the CPU reads the program to a RAM or the like and executes information processing/calculation processing to realize the various functions. Moreover, the program may be installed in the ROM or other storage mediums in advance, may be supplied in a form stored in the computer readable storage medium, or may be distributed via wired or wireless communication means. The computer readable storage medium is a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like.
As described below, data for determining the operation of the air bleeding device 40 is stored in a storage unit 50.
The measurement values from the above-described sensors and the data from the storage unit 50 are input to an operation state calculation unit 52, and the operation state calculation unit 52 performs various calculations for determining the operation of the air bleeding device 40.
An operation state determination unit 54 performs determination of the operation of the air bleeding device from information obtained by the operation state calculation unit 52.
A control command unit 56 performs a command for starting or stopping the air bleeding device 40, based on an output from the operation state determination unit 54.
Next, a method for determining the starting or stopping of the air bleeding device 40 will be described with reference to
In
In addition, for example, in a case where the increase of the differential pressure PDc measured by the cooling water differential pressure sensor 28 from the planned value is 4 kPa, according to
First, as in Step S1, it is assumed that the turbo refrigerator 1 is normally operated. In this case, the air bleeding device 40 is stopped.
In addition, as in Step S2, the controller determines whether or not the following Expression is satisfied.
(TDact−TDsp)−ΔTDf>ΔTDset1 (1)
In Expression (1), TDact is a difference (measurement value) [° C.] between the saturation temperature of the condenser pressure Pc and the cooling water outlet temperature TWCO. Here, TDact=TCs−TWCO is established.
TCs is a condenser pressure saturation temperature [° C.] and is given as a function of the condenser pressure Pc.
The cooling water outlet temperature TWCO is the measurement value measured by the cooling water outlet temperature sensor 26.
In Expression (1), TDsp is a difference (set value) [° C.] between the condenser saturation temperature and the cooling water outlet temperature under a normal state. Here, the normal state means that there is no uncondensed gas in the condenser 5 and the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a is free from the contamination.
TDsp is expressed by Expression TDsp=f(Qr), which is a function of a refrigerator load factor Qr (=Qact/Qsp). Here, Qact is a measured value [kW] of refrigerating capacity and Qsp is rated refrigerating capacity [kW].
In Expression (1), ΔTDf is the increase (set value) of the temperature difference of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a caused by the in-pipe contamination. Here, ΔTDf is expressed by Expression ΔTDf=f(ΔPDc).
ΔPDc means an increase of the cooling water pressure from a planned value and a differential pressure increase [kPa] between the inlet and the outlet of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a. ΔPDc is expressed by Expression ΔPDc=PDcact−PDcsp.
PDcact is a differential pressure [kPa] between the inlet and the outlet of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a measured by the cooling water differential pressure sensor 28.
PDcsp is a specification value [kPa] of a pressure loss of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a with respect to the flow rate and means a pressure loss in a state where the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a is free from the contamination. Accordingly, PDcsp is a function of the cooling water flow rate GWC [m3/h].
In Expression (1), ΔTDset1 is a set value by which it is determined that the operation of the air bleeding device 40 is required and is predetermined by a preliminary experiment or the like.
As understood from Expression (1), in a case where the increase in the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the influence (ΔTDf) of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a from the in-pipe contamination from the increase (TDact−TDsp) of the temperature difference between the condenser saturation temperature and the cooling water outlet temperature TWCO from the planned value is equal or more than ΔTDset1 which is the set value, it is determined that performance degradation caused by the uncondensed gas in the condenser 5 is large, and the air bleeding device 40 is operated.
Accordingly, in a case where Expression (1) is satisfied, the step proceeds to Step S3, and the controller starts the air bleeding device 40. In this case, power is supplied to the air bleeding device 40 at the first time.
In addition, as in Step S4, the controller determines whether or not the following Expression is satisfied.
(TDact−TDsp)−ΔTDf<ΔTDset2 (2)
If Expression (2) is satisfied, the controller stops the air bleeding device 40 (Step S5).
In addition, ΔTDset2 is set to a value which is smaller than ΔTDset1 by a predetermined temperature. Accordingly, as shown in
According to the present embodiment, the following effects are exerted.
It is focused that influences of both the in-pipe contamination and staying of the uncondensed gas are applied to the increase of the current temperature difference TDact which is the difference between the current saturation temperature in the condenser 5 and the current outlet temperature TWCO of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a, from the planned value.
Meanwhile, the increase ΔTDf of the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination can be ascertained by a preliminary experiment in which the cooling water flows through the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a, or the like.
Accordingly, a value obtained by subtracting the increase ΔTDf in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination from the difference between the current temperature difference TDact and the planned temperature difference TDsp can be estimated as a decrease in the condensing performance caused by the staying of the uncondensed gas.
Accordingly, in a case where the difference between the current temperature difference TDact and the planned temperature difference TDsp is larger by the predetermined value than the increase ΔTDf in the temperature difference caused by the current in-pipe contamination, it is determined that the condensing performance is decreased by the staying of the uncondensed gas, and the air bleeding device 40 is operated. Accordingly, it is possible to operate the air bleeding device 40 only in the case where the uncondensed gas of a predetermined amount or more stays in the condenser 5, it is possible to suppress wasteful energy consumption, and thus, it is possible to realize the turbo refrigerator 1 having the improved overall efficiency.
The in-pipe contamination in the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a is generated by deposits in the heat transfer tube, the deposits narrow a flow path in the heat transfer tube, and thus, the differential pressure PDc between the inlet and the outlet of the cooling water heat transfer tube 5a is higher than the planned value. Accordingly, the in-pipe contamination temperature difference ΔTDf is determined based on the differential pressure increase ΔPDc, and thus, it is possible to accurately estimate the in-pipe contamination.
The increase ΔTDf of the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is dependent on the increase ΔPDc from the planned differential pressure, and the differential pressure PDc is dependent on the cooling water flow rate GWC. Accordingly, the increase ΔTDf of the temperature difference caused by the in-pipe contamination is determined based on the cooling water flow rate GWC obtained by the cooling water flow rate sensor 22. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately estimate the in-pipe contamination.
Moreover, the present embodiment can be modified as follows.
In the present embodiment, the cooling water flow rate GWC is measured by the cooling water flow rate sensor 22. However, in a case where the cooling water flow rate sensor 22 is not present, the cooling water flow rate GWC can be estimated as follows.
The cooling water flow rate GWC is obtained by the following Expression from a heat balance of the entire turbo refrigerator 1 using the cold water flow rate sensor 32.
GWC=(W+Qact)/(TWCO−TWCI)×Cpcw×ρew (3)
Here, W is input power [kW] of the electric motor 11 measured by the watt meter 13. TWCO is the cooling water outlet temperature measured by the cooling water outlet temperature sensor 26 and TWCI is the cooling water inlet temperature measured by the cooling water inlet temperature sensor 24. Cpcw is a specific heat [kWh/kg° C.] of the cooling water and pcw is a specific weight [kg/m3] of the cooling water.
In Expression (3), Qact is the measured value [kW] of the refrigerating capacity and is expressed by the following Expression.
Qact=(TWEI−TWEO)×GWE×cpew×ρew (4)
Here, TWEI is the cold water inlet temperature measured by the cold water inlet temperature sensor 34 and TWEO is the cold water outlet temperature measured by the cold water outlet temperature sensor 36. GWE is the cold water flow rate measured by the cold water flow rate sensor 32, Cpew is a specific heat [kWh/Kg° C.] of the cold water, and pew is a specific weight [kg/m3] of the cold water.
In a case where the cooling water flow rate sensor for measuring the cooling water flow rate GWC is not present, it is possible to calculate the cooling water flow rate GWC from the heat balance by Expression (3), based on the cold water flow rate GWE obtained by the cold water flow rate sensor 32, the cold water inlet/outlet temperature difference (TWEI−TWEO), the power W input to the turbo compressor 3, and the cooling water inlet/outlet temperature difference (TWCI−TWCO). Accordingly, the cooling water flow rate sensor 22 is omitted, and thus, it is possible to reduce the cost.
Moreover, in a case where the cold water flow rate sensor 32 is not prevent, it is possible to calculate the cold water flow rate as the following Expression (5) using the differential pressure ΔPDe measured by the cold water differential pressure sensor 38 and a loss factor ξe of the cold water heat transfer tube 9a.
GWE=ξe×ΔPDe
1/2 (5)
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, for example, the turbo refrigerator 1 is described. However, the present invention can be applied to any refrigerator as long as it is vapor compression-type refrigerator.
1: turbo refrigerator (vapor compression-type refrigerator)
3: turbo compressor
3
a: impeller
3
b: rotary shaft
5: condenser
7: expansion valve
9: evaporator
11: electric motor
13: watt meter
20: cooling water pump
22: cooling water flow rate sensor
24: cooling water inlet temperature sensor
26: cooling water outlet temperature sensor
28: cooling water differential pressure sensor
30: cold water pump
32: cold water flow rate sensor
34: cold water inlet temperature sensor
36: cold water outlet temperature sensor
38: cold water differential pressure sensor
40: air bleeding device
48: exhaust pump (discharge unit)
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-044384 | Mar 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/009100 | 3/7/2017 | WO | 00 |
