JP2012241963A - Gas-liquid separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas-liquid separator which improves separation efficiency of separating a gas-liquid two phase refrigerant into a gas phase refrigerant and a liquid phase refrigerant.SOLUTION: The gas-liquid separator is configured with a gas-liquid two phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1 through which the gas-liquid two phase refrigerant flows in, a gas phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 through which a separated gas phase refrigerant flows out, a liquid phase refrigerant outflow pipe 3 through which a separated liquid phase refrigerant flows out, a body container 4 into which these pipes are inserted, an eliminator 5 which captures droplets remaining in the separated gas phase refrigerant, and a droplet falling guide 6 which makes the captured droplets fall in a direction of a sidewall of a body portion 4b.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separator that separates a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant (gas-liquid mixed phase) used in a refrigeration cycle apparatus into a gas-phase refrigerant (gas) and a liquid-phase refrigerant (liquid).

  A gas-liquid separator used in a refrigeration cycle apparatus or the like separates droplets in a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant. As the separation method, there are mainly three methods of centrifugal force separation, gravity separation, and surface tension separation.

  A conventional gas-liquid separator by centrifugal separation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A shows a side view of a schematic configuration of the gas-liquid separator, and FIG. 6B shows a plan view thereof. 1 is a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe for allowing the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant to flow in, 2 is a gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe for allowing the separated gas-phase refrigerant to flow out, 3 is a liquid-phase refrigerant outflow for allowing the separated liquid-phase refrigerant to flow out Pipes and 4 are main body containers.

  More specifically, the main body container 4 includes a top portion 4a, a bottom portion 4c, and a hollow cylindrical body portion 4b that connects the top portion 4a and the bottom portion 4c. The gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1 is attached to the upper side surface of the body portion 4b through the inner wall surface in the tangential direction, and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flowing into the main body container 4 from the tangential direction of the body portion 4b is It becomes a swirl flow inside. The gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is inserted through the inner wall surface in the axial direction of the body portion 4b from the top 4a, and causes the gas-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant to flow out. The liquid-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 3 is attached to the lower side surface of the bottom portion 4c through the inner wall surface, and causes the liquid-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant to flow out.

  The operation of the gas-liquid separator that separates the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant into the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid-phase refrigerant will be described. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 6, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant is the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1. From the refrigerant discharge port 1a, it is guided to flow in the circumferential direction in the main body container 4 to form a swirling flow. The gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that flows while swirling in the main body container 4 in the circumferential direction is a gas-phase refrigerant having a low density on the inside and a liquid having a high density on the outside due to the difference in density between the gas and the liquid due to the centrifugal force of the swirling flow. Separated into phase refrigerant. When the refrigerant is separated into the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid-phase refrigerant, the gas-phase refrigerant having a low density is divided into the upper side and the liquid-phase refrigerant having a high density is divided into the lower side by gravity.

  In this way, the liquid-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-phase refrigerant descends and accumulates in the liquid reservoir region of the bottom 4c. The liquid refrigerant accumulated in the bottom 4c is taken into the liquid refrigerant outlet pipe 3 from the liquid refrigerant inlet 3a and flows out in the direction of the arrow through the liquid refrigerant outlet pipe 3. Further, the gas phase refrigerant separated from the liquid phase refrigerant rises in the body portion 4b. And the gaseous-phase refrigerant | coolant which rose to the top part 4a is taken in into the gaseous-phase refrigerant | coolant outflow pipe 2 from the gaseous-phase refrigerant | coolant inlet 2a, and flows out in the gaseous-phase refrigerant | coolant outflow pipe 2 in the arrow direction (for example, refer patent document 1).

JP 2004-176968 A

  By the way, in the gas phase refrigerant rising in the body portion 4b of the main body container 4, droplets that have not been separated by the centrifugal flow separation action of the swirling flow may remain. In order to capture the droplets remaining in the gas-phase refrigerant, a droplet capturing device 9 composed of a mesh member or the like is provided in the upper part of the main body container 4. Then, by allowing the gas phase refrigerant rising in the body portion 4b to pass through the droplet trapping device 9, droplets remaining in the gas phase refrigerant are trapped by the droplet trapping device 9, and the liquid in the bottom 4c It is made to descend to the reservoir area.

  However, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that has been guided to flow in the circumferential direction in the main body container 4 from the refrigerant discharge port 1a of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1 and turned into a swirling flow And the inside flows upward while turning. For this reason, the upward flow of the gas-phase refrigerant passing through the droplet trapping device 9 becomes faster in the portion closer to the axial center where the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is inserted. For this reason, the liquid droplet captured by the liquid droplet capturing device 9 is taken in again by the high-speed gas-phase refrigerant close to the axial center, and the gas-phase refrigerant containing the liquid droplets is discharged from the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2. The inconvenience of spilling may occur.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prevents re-scattering of the droplets captured by the droplet capturing device, and converts the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant. An object of the present invention is to provide a gas-liquid separator with improved separation efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, a gas-liquid separator according to claim 1 of the present invention is a gas-liquid separator that separates a gas-liquid mixed phase into gas and liquid.
A main body container comprising a top, a bottom, and a hollow cylindrical body connecting the bottom, and
A gas-liquid mixed-phase inflow pipe that is attached to the upper side surface of the body part and flows into the main body container from the tangential direction of the body part to make a swirl flow;
A droplet trapping device that traps droplets remaining in the gas that is separated from the gas-liquid mixed phase and rises in the body portion by centrifugal force separation action of the swirling flow;
A droplet flow guide provided at a lower portion of the droplet trapping device, and causing the droplet trapped by the droplet trapping device to flow down toward the trunk side wall;
A gas outflow pipe that is inserted from the top in the axial direction of the barrel and that causes the separated gas to flow out;
And a liquid outflow pipe that is attached to a lower side surface of the bottom portion and allows the separated liquid to flow out.

  The gas-liquid separator according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned claim 1, the droplet trapping device and the droplet flow guide are connected using a connecting member in a vertical direction. To do.

  A gas-liquid separator according to claim 3 of the present invention is the eliminator having a plurality of openings or a plurality of slit-like openings in the above-described claim 1 or claim 2. It is characterized by being.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the gas-liquid separator according to the first or second aspect, wherein the droplet trapping device is a mesh made of a woven or knitted erosion-resistant thin wire such as stainless steel. It is a member.

  According to the present invention, in a gas-liquid separator that separates a gas-liquid mixed phase into a gas and a liquid, a main body container comprising a top, a bottom, and a hollow cylindrical body connecting between the top and bottom, and an upper side surface of the body The gas-liquid mixed-phase inflow pipe that is attached and flows into the main body container from the tangential direction of the body portion to form a swirling flow, and a centrifugal force separating action of the swirling flow. A droplet capturing device that captures droplets remaining in the gas that is separated from the mixed phase body and rises in the body, and the droplets that are provided below the droplet capturing device and captured by the droplet capturing device On the lower side surface of the bottom part, a liquid drop guide for causing the gas to flow in the direction of the body side wall, a gas outflow pipe that is inserted in the axial direction of the body part from the top part, and flows out the separated gas. Liquid that is attached and causes the separated liquid to flow out And the outflow pipe, the droplet remaining in the gas is not captured by the centrifugal force separation action of the swirling flow of the gas-liquid mixed phase, and the droplet remaining in the gas is captured by the droplet capturing device when passing through the droplet capturing device. Is done. The droplets captured by the droplet trapping device are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide provided at the lower part of the droplet trapping device, and promptly in the direction of the body wall where the upward flow is slow. It flows down and flows down the barrel side wall surface to the liquid storage area at the bottom. As a result, the liquid droplet captured by the liquid droplet capturing device is recaptured into the fast rising gas close to the axis, and there is no inconvenience that the gas containing the liquid flows out from the gas outflow pipe. The liquid droplets captured in (1) flow down to the liquid storage area at the bottom of the main body container. In this way, the droplets captured by the droplet trapping device are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide provided at the bottom of the droplet trapping device, and the barrel side wall having a slow upward flow It flows down quickly in the direction, flows down the body side wall surface, and flows down to the liquid storage area at the bottom, preventing re-scattering of the droplets captured by the droplet trapping device, and separating the gas-liquid mixed phase into gas and liquid Therefore, it is possible to provide a gas-liquid separator with improved separation efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic structure of Embodiment 1 of the gas-liquid separator which concerns on this invention is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The droplet flow guide of the gas-liquid separator shown in FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is the sectional side view of the AA direction. It is a bird's-eye view which shows the droplet flow guide of the gas-liquid separator shown in FIG. The schematic structure of Embodiment 2 of the gas-liquid separator which concerns on this invention is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The schematic structure of Embodiment 3 of the gas-liquid separator which concerns on this invention is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The schematic structure of the conventional gas-liquid separator is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In addition, the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as the conventional one.

The gas-liquid separator according to this embodiment separates droplets in a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant (gas-liquid mixed phase) used in a refrigeration cycle apparatus and the like to separate a gas-phase refrigerant (gas) and a liquid-phase refrigerant. It is a device that separates into (liquid) and adopts a centrifugal separation method.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of Embodiment 1 of a gas-liquid separator according to the present invention, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the gas-liquid separator includes a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe (gas-liquid mixed phase inflow pipe) 1 for allowing the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant to flow in, and a gas-phase refrigerant for allowing the separated gas-phase refrigerant to flow out. An outflow pipe (gas outflow pipe) 2, a liquid phase refrigerant outflow pipe (liquid outflow pipe) 3 for flowing out the separated liquid phase refrigerant, a main body container 4 into which these pipes are inserted, and the separated gas phase refrigerant remain. An eliminator (droplet trapping device) 5 that traps the droplets, a droplet flow guide 6 that causes the trapped droplets to flow down toward the side wall of the body 4b, and the like.

  The main body container 4 includes a top portion 4a, a bottom portion 4c, and a hollow cylindrical body portion 4b that connects the top portion 4a and the bottom portion 4c. The gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1 is attached to the upper side surface of the body portion 4b through the inner wall surface in the tangential direction, and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flowing into the main body container 4 from the tangential direction of the body portion 4b is It becomes a swirl flow inside. The eliminator 5 having a plurality of openings or a plurality of slit-like openings is a liquid remaining in the gas-phase refrigerant that is separated from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant and rises in the body 4b by centrifugal force separation action of the swirling flow. Capture drops. The liquid drop guide 6 is provided below the eliminator 5 and causes the liquid droplets captured by the eliminator 5 to flow down in the direction of the side wall of the body 4b.

  The gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is inserted through the inner wall surface in the axial direction from the top 4 a to the body 4 b, separated from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and passed through the droplet flow guide 6 and the eliminator 5. Let the phase refrigerant flow out. The liquid-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 3 is attached to the lower side surface of the bottom portion 4c through the inner wall surface, and separates the liquid-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant and accumulated in the liquid reservoir region of the bottom portion 4c.

  2A and 2B show a droplet flow guide of the gas-liquid separator, where FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional side view in the AA direction. FIG. 3 is a bird's-eye view showing the droplet flow guide.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of droplet flow guides 6 are disposed around the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 so as to be radially inclined (for example, 30 degrees) in the direction toward the side wall of the body portion 4b. . Then, the liquid droplet captured by the eliminator 5 is guided by the inclined surface to flow down in the direction of the side wall of the trunk 4b.

  The operation of separating the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant into the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid-phase refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. From the refrigerant discharge port 1a of the liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1, it flows into the main body container 4 in the circumferential direction (see the arrow), and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that flows in is guided and flows along the inner wall of the main body container 4, It becomes a swirl flow. Thus, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that flows while swirling the inner wall of the main body container 4 in the circumferential direction is a gas-phase refrigerant having a small density on the inside due to the centrifugal force of the swirling flow, Is separated into a liquid phase refrigerant having a high density. When the refrigerant is separated into the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid-phase refrigerant, the gas-phase refrigerant having a low density is divided into the upper side and the liquid-phase refrigerant having a high density is divided into the lower side by gravity.

  The liquid-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-phase refrigerant falls and accumulates in the liquid reservoir region of the bottom 4c. The liquid refrigerant accumulated in the bottom 4c is taken into the liquid refrigerant outlet pipe 3 from the liquid refrigerant inlet 3a and flows out in the direction of the arrow through the liquid refrigerant outlet pipe 3.

  Then, the gas-phase refrigerant separated from the liquid-phase refrigerant rises in the body portion 4 b of the main body container 4. The gas-phase refrigerant rising in the body 4b passes through the droplet flow guide 6 and the eliminator 5, and when it rises to the top 4a, it is taken into the gas-phase refrigerant outlet pipe 2 from the gas-phase refrigerant inlet 2a and flows out of the gas-phase refrigerant. The pipe 2 flows out in the direction of the arrow.

  In addition, droplets remaining in the gas-phase refrigerant without being separated by the centrifugal force separation action of the swirling flow of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant are captured by the eliminator 5 when passing through the eliminator 5. The droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower part of the eliminator 5, and quickly flow down toward the side wall of the body 4b where the upward flow is slow. Then, it flows down the side wall surface of the body portion 4b and flows down to the liquid storage area of the bottom portion 4c. As a result, the liquid droplet captured by the eliminator 5 is re-taken into the fast-flowing gas-phase refrigerant close to the axial center, and the inconvenience that the gas-phase refrigerant containing the droplet flows out from the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is eliminated. The liquid droplets captured by the eliminator 5 flow down to the liquid storage area of the bottom 4c of the main body container 4.

In this way, the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower portion of the eliminator 5, and are directed toward the side wall of the body 4b where the upward flow is slow. The liquid quickly flows down and flows down to the liquid storage area of the bottom 4c through the side wall surface of the body 4b, thereby preventing re-scattering of the droplets captured by the eliminator 5, and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant is separated from the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid phase. It is possible to provide a gas-liquid separator with improved separation efficiency for separation into refrigerant.
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a gas-liquid separator according to a second embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

  In the gas-liquid separator of the first embodiment, the swirling flow of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant guided so as to flow into the main body container 4 in the circumferential direction from the refrigerant discharge port 1a of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1. The liquid droplets that are not separated by the centrifugal separation action and remain in the gas-phase refrigerant are captured by the eliminator 5 when passing through the eliminator 5. The droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower part of the eliminator 5 and quickly flow down toward the side of the body 4b where the upward flow is slow. Then, it flows down the side wall surface of the body portion 4b and flows down to the liquid storage area of the bottom portion 4c.

  As a result, the liquid droplet captured by the eliminator 5 is re-taken into the fast-flowing gas-phase refrigerant close to the axial center, and the inconvenience that the gas-phase refrigerant containing the droplet flows out from the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is eliminated. The droplets captured by the eliminator 5 flow down to the liquid storage area of the bottom 4c of the main body container 4, but in the gas-liquid separator of the second embodiment, the eliminator 5 and the droplet flow guide 6 are vertically connected. The connection body 7 is used for connection.

  As described above, also in the configuration of the second embodiment, the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 via the connecting body 7, and the cylinder having a slow upward flow is used. The liquid droplets quickly flow down in the direction of the side wall of the portion 4b and flow down to the liquid storage area of the bottom portion 4c through the side wall surface of the body portion 4b, so that the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 become a fast rising gas-phase refrigerant close to the axis. The inconvenience that the gas-phase refrigerant that has been taken in again and the droplets are contained flows out of the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is eliminated, and the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 flow down to the liquid reservoir region of the bottom 4c of the main body container 4.

In this way, the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 via the connecting body 7, and promptly in the direction of the side wall of the body 4b where the upward flow is slow. By flowing down and flowing down the body 4b side wall surface and flowing down to the liquid storage region of the bottom 4c, the droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are prevented from re-scattering, and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant is converted into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant. It is possible to provide a gas-liquid separator with improved separation efficiency.
(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of Embodiment 3 of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention, where (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

  In the gas-liquid separator of the first embodiment, the swirling flow of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant guided so as to flow into the main body container 4 in the circumferential direction from the refrigerant discharge port 1a of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inflow pipe 1. The liquid droplets that are not separated by the centrifugal separation action and remain in the gas-phase refrigerant are captured by the eliminator 5 when passing through the eliminator 5. The droplets captured by the eliminator 5 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower part of the eliminator 5 and quickly flow down toward the side of the body 4b where the upward flow is slow. Then, it flows down the side wall surface of the body portion 4b and flows down to the liquid storage area of the bottom portion 4c.

  As a result, the liquid droplet captured by the eliminator 5 is re-taken into the fast-flowing gas-phase refrigerant close to the axial center, and the inconvenience that the gas-phase refrigerant containing the droplet flows out from the gas-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 is eliminated. The liquid droplets captured by the eliminator 5 flow down to the liquid storage area of the bottom 4c of the main body container 4. However, in the gas-liquid separator of the third embodiment, the liquid droplet separator is made of stainless steel or the like. A mesh member 8 made of woven or knitted erodible thin wire is used.

  Thus, also in the configuration of the third embodiment, the droplets captured by the mesh member 8 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower portion of the mesh member 8, The liquid droplet trapped by the mesh member 8 quickly rises close to the axial center by quickly flowing down in the direction of the side wall of the barrel portion 4b having a slow upward flow and flowing down the side wall surface of the barrel portion 4b to the liquid storage region of the bottom portion 4c. The inconvenience that the gaseous refrigerant containing the droplets flows out of the gaseous-phase refrigerant outflow pipe 2 without being taken in again by the flowing gas-phase refrigerant is eliminated, and the droplets captured by the mesh member 8 are collected in the bottom 4c of the main body container 4. Flows down to the reservoir area.

  In this way, the droplets captured by the mesh member 8 are guided by gravity on the inclined surface of the droplet flow guide 6 provided at the lower portion of the mesh member 8, and the side wall of the body portion 4b having a slow upward flow. Quickly flowing in the direction and flowing down the side wall surface of the body portion 4b to the liquid storage region of the bottom portion 4c, thereby preventing re-scattering of the droplets captured by the mesh member 8, and the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant is converted into a gas-phase refrigerant. It is possible to provide a gas-liquid separator with improved separation efficiency for separation into a liquid phase refrigerant.

  In addition, although it demonstrated in embodiment using an eliminator and a mesh member as a droplet capture device, the same effect can be acquired even if it uses a demister as a droplet capture device.

1 Gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant inlet pipe (gas-liquid mixed-phase inlet pipe)
2 Gas-phase refrigerant outlet pipe (gas outlet pipe)
3 Liquid refrigerant outlet pipe (liquid outlet pipe)
4 Body Container 4a Top 4b Body 4c Bottom 5 Eliminator (Droplet Capture Device)
6 Droplet guide 7 Connection body 8 Mesh member (droplet trapping device)
9 Droplet trapping device

Claims (4)

In a gas-liquid separator that separates a gas-liquid mixture into gas and liquid,
A main body container comprising a top, a bottom, and a hollow cylindrical body connecting the bottom, and
A gas-liquid mixed-phase inflow pipe that is attached to the upper side surface of the body part and flows into the main body container from the tangential direction of the body part to make a swirl flow;
A droplet trapping device that traps droplets remaining in the gas that is separated from the gas-liquid mixed phase and rises in the body portion by centrifugal force separation action of the swirling flow;
A droplet flow guide provided at a lower portion of the droplet trapping device, and causing the droplet trapped by the droplet trapping device to flow down toward the trunk side wall;
A gas outflow pipe that is inserted from the top in the axial direction of the barrel and that causes the separated gas to flow out;
A gas-liquid separator, comprising: a liquid outflow pipe that is attached to a lower side surface of the bottom portion and causes the separated liquid to flow out.   The gas-liquid separator according to claim 1, wherein the droplet trapping device and the droplet flow-down guide are connected using a connecting member in a vertical direction.   The gas-liquid separator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the droplet trapping device is an eliminator having a plurality of openings or a plurality of slit-shaped openings.   3. The gas-liquid separator according to claim 1, wherein the droplet trapping device is a mesh member made of a woven or knitted erosion-resistant thin wire such as stainless steel.

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