JPWO2020195711A1 - Liquid separator, cooling system and gas-liquid separation method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid separator, a cooling system and a gas-liquid separation method capable of stably arranging a compressor on an upper part of a closed container.
It has a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored, a refrigerant inflow pipe that allows the refrigerant to flow into the closed space, and a refrigerant outflow pipe that allows the gas phase refrigerant in the space inside the closed container to flow out to the outside. The refrigerant inflow pipe and the refrigerant outflow pipe are connected from the upper part of the closed container toward the inside thereof, and the closed container is formed in a short cylinder shape whose height is relatively small with respect to the diameter.

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid separator, a cooling system and a gas-liquid separation method, which are mainly used in a cooling system and separate a liquid flowing from an evaporator to a compressor.

In a cooling system consisting of an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and an expansion valve, an accumulator serving as a liquid separator may be installed in front of the suction port of the compressor.
For example, the cooling system shown in Patent Document 1 includes an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and a pressure reducing expansion valve along the refrigerant flow path. The evaporator absorbs ambient heat by evaporating the liquid phase refrigerant. The compressor compresses the vapor phase refrigerant delivered from the evaporator. The condenser releases the heat of the refrigerant whose high pressure is increased by the compressor to condense the vapor phase refrigerant. The decompression expansion valve decompresses and expands the liquid phase refrigerant cooled by the condenser.
In this cooling system shown in Patent Document 1, a liquid separator for gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant after passing through the evaporator is provided on the upstream side of the compressor.

This liquid separator has a vertically elongated separation container as a whole. A refrigerant inflow pipe and a gas phase refrigerant outflow pipe are installed above the separation container. In addition, a liquid phase refrigerant outflow pipe is installed at the bottom of the separation container.
In this liquid separator, the refrigerant that has flowed into the inside through the refrigerant inflow pipe rotates in the circumferential direction along the inner wall of the liquid separator of the separation container, and the liquid-phase refrigerant and the gas-phase refrigerant are mixed. Is centrifuged.
After that, the gas phase refrigerant in the separation container is guided to the pressure reducing expansion valve via the upper gas phase refrigerant outflow pipe, and the liquid phase refrigerant in the separation container is guided to the evaporator via the lower liquid phase refrigerant outflow pipe. You will be guided.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 also shows a similar liquid separator.
Similar to Patent Document 1, the liquid separator disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a closed container formed vertically as a whole. At the bottom of the closed container, there is a first pipe that allows the gas-liquid two-phase fluid to flow into the closed container, a second pipe that discharges the gas in the closed container to the outside, and a second pipe that discharges the liquid in the closed container to the outside. 3 pipes are connected.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-172469 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-120028

In the cooling system shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the compressor is located above the accumulator, and the liquid phase refrigerant returns to the accumulator by gravity.
Therefore, the accumulator is long in the vertical direction, and when the compressor is arranged on the upper part of the accumulator, the upper part of the liquid separator is heavy and the center of gravity is high. As a result, the liquid separator becomes unstable, and it has been expected to provide new technology to improve this point.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid separator, a cooling system and a gas-liquid separation method capable of stably arranging a compressor on the upper part of a closed container.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The liquid separator according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored, a refrigerant inflow pipe for inflowing the refrigerant into the closed container, and a gas phase refrigerant in the space inside the closed container. It has a refrigerant outflow pipe that allows the outflow to the outside, and the refrigerant inflow pipe and the refrigerant outflow pipe are arranged from the upper part of the closed container toward the inside of the container, respectively, and the closed container is height relative to the diameter. Is configured to form a relatively small short tube.

A second aspect of the present invention is an evaporator that absorbs ambient heat by evaporating the liquid-phase refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path, a compressor that compresses the vapor-phase refrigerant, and a high pressure by the compressor. A cooling system including a condenser that releases the heat of the refrigerant to condense the gas-phase refrigerant and a decompression expansion valve that depressurizes and expands the liquid-phase refrigerant cooled by the condenser, and is on the upstream side of the compressor. Is provided with a liquid separator that separates the refrigerant after passing through the evaporator into gas and liquid, and the liquid separator has a cylindrical closed container in which the refrigerant is stored and a refrigerant in the space inside the closed container. The closed container has a refrigerant inflow pipe for inflowing the refrigerant and a refrigerant outflow pipe for flowing the refrigerant in the space inside the closed container to the outside, and the closed container has a short tubular shape whose height is relatively small with respect to the diameter. It is configured as follows.

The gas-liquid separation method according to the third aspect of the present invention includes a refrigerant inflow pipe that allows the refrigerant to flow into a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored, and a refrigerant outflow pipe that allows the refrigerant in the space inside the closed container to flow out. The closed container is formed so as to form a short tubular shape whose height is relatively small with respect to the diameter.

According to the present invention, the liquid separator can be held in a stable state even if a heavy compressor is arranged above the liquid separator.

It is a block diagram which shows the cooling system including the liquid separator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the cooling system including the liquid separator which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid separator which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the internal structure of the liquid separator shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation of the splash prevention plate provided in the liquid separator shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the splash prevention plate shown in FIG. 5A. It is a perspective view which shows the modification 1 of the splash prevention plate. It is a perspective view which shows the modification 2 of the splash prevention plate. It is sectional drawing which shows the liquid separator which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid separator which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the cooling system including the liquid separator which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

The liquid separator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The liquid separator 10 is located on the upstream side of the compressor 3 in the cooling system 1, and is provided for gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant after passing through the evaporator 2, for example.
The cooling system 1 includes an evaporator 2, a compressor 3, a condenser 4, and a pressure reducing expansion valve 5 along the refrigerant flow path 1A. The evaporator 2 absorbs ambient heat by evaporating the liquid phase refrigerant. The compressor compresses the gas phase refrigerant. The condenser 4 releases the heat of the refrigerant that has become high pressure by the compressor 3 to condense (or forcibly compress) the gas phase refrigerant. The pressure reducing expansion valve 5 expands the liquid phase refrigerant supplied from the condenser 4.

The liquid separator 10 located on the upstream side of the compressor 3 has a cylindrical closed container 11 in which the refrigerant C is stored. Inside the closed container 11, a refrigerant inflow pipe 12 for inflowing a gas phase medium or a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant and a refrigerant outflow pipe 13 for discharging the gas phase refrigerant in the closed container 11 to the outside are provided.

The refrigerant inflow pipe 12 and the refrigerant outflow pipe 13 are installed from the upper surface 11A of the closed container 11 toward the inside of the container 11B, respectively. The refrigerant inflow pipe 12 and the refrigerant outflow pipe 13 are arranged at the largest possible mutual spacing in the radial direction (R direction) of the closed container 11.
Further, the closed container 11 of the liquid separator 10 has a height h relatively small with respect to a diameter along the R direction, and is configured to have a short cylindrical shape as a whole.
In such a liquid separator 10, since the closed container 11 is formed in a short cylinder shape, even if a heavy compressor 3 is arranged on the upper surface 11A of the closed container 11, the upper part of the liquid separator 10 The liquid separator 10 can be held in a stable state without becoming heavy, that is, becoming a so-called top heavy.

In such a steam compression type cooling system 1, the vapor phase refrigerant which has absorbed heat H1 from the heat source by the evaporator 2 and evaporated is gas-liquid separated by the liquid separator 10 and then compressed by the compressor 3. , Is sent to the condenser 4. After that, the liquid-phase refrigerant condensed by heat radiating H2 to the cold heat source in the condenser 4 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure by the decompression expansion valve 5 and sent to the evaporator 2 again.
Here, the liquid-phase refrigerant may not be sufficiently evaporated in the evaporator 2 due to a decrease in the load of the heat source, a failure of the pressure reducing expansion valve 5, or the like, and may be supplied to the compressor 3 as a gas-liquid mixed flow. The phenomenon in which the liquid is supplied to the compressor 3 in this way is called a liquid bag. When the liquid is supplied to the compressor 3, the performance of the compressor 3 may be deteriorated or a failure may be caused. In order to prevent this, in the liquid separator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the liquid is separated from the gas-liquid mixed flow after passing through the evaporator 2, and only the gas is supplied to the compressor 3. There is.

As described above, in the liquid separator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the closed container 11 has a short cylindrical shape whose height (h) is relatively small with respect to the radial direction (R direction). It is formed. Therefore, the height of the entire cooling system can be lowered, and even if the heavy compressor 3 is arranged on the upper surface 11A of the closed container 11, the entire device can be installed in a stable state without becoming top heavy. can.
Further, in the liquid separator 10, the closed container 11 is formed in a short cylinder shape. Therefore, the refrigerant inflow pipe 12 and the refrigerant outflow pipe 13 can be arranged on the upper surface 11A of the closed container 11 at sufficient intervals in the radial direction (R direction).
As a result, in the liquid separator 10, the influence of the turbulence of the liquid level of the refrigerant caused by the inflow of the refrigerant from the refrigerant inflow pipe 12 into the closed container 11 extends to the refrigerant flowing out to the refrigerant outflow pipe 13. Can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid phase refrigerant in the closed container 11 from being wound up and flowing out from the refrigerant outflow pipe 13.

(First Embodiment)
The liquid separator 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.
The liquid separator 200 is installed in the cooling system F.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling system F includes the evaporator 100 in the middle of the refrigerant flow path (specifically, the pipeline) composed of the refrigerant flow paths 610, 620, 630, 640, and 650. , A liquid separator 200, a compressor 300, a condenser 400, and a pressure reducing expansion valve 500. The evaporator 100 absorbs the ambient heat H1 by evaporating the liquid phase refrigerant. The liquid separator 200 separates the refrigerant into gas and liquid. The compressor 300 compresses the gas phase refrigerant discharged from the liquid separator 200. The condenser 400 releases the heat of the refrigerant whose high pressure is increased by the compressor 300 to condense the vapor phase refrigerant. The pressure reducing expansion valve 500 decompresses and expands the liquid phase refrigerant cooled by the condenser 400.

The refrigerant supplied from the pressure reducing expansion valve 500 via the refrigerant flow path 650 absorbs heat H1 from the heat source in the evaporator 100 and evaporates. The evaporated vapor-phase refrigerant passes through the refrigerant flow path 610, the liquid separator 200, and the refrigerant flow path 620 in this order, and is sent to the compressor 300.
The vapor-phase refrigerant compressed to high temperature and high pressure by the compressor 300 is sent to the condenser 400 via the refrigerant flow path 630, dissipates heat H2 to a cold heat source, and condenses.
After that, the liquid phase refrigerant condensed in the condenser 400 moves to the pressure reducing expansion valve 500 through the refrigerant flow path 640 and is reduced to a predetermined pressure. After that, the liquid phase refrigerant is sent to the evaporator 100 again through the refrigerant flow path 650.

Here, the liquid separator 200 is arranged on the upstream side of the compressor 300 and has a role of preventing the liquid phase refrigerant from being sucked into the compressor 300.
Since the compressor 300 is designed to compress the gas phase refrigerant, it is known that if the liquid phase refrigerant is mixed in, it may lead to a failure (referred to as a liquid back phenomenon). Normally, the refrigerant completely evaporates in the evaporator 100 and becomes only a vapor phase refrigerant. However, in the evaporator 100, when a disturbance such as a decrease in heat load occurs, the refrigerant may not evaporate and a part of the liquid phase refrigerant may remain. In that case, this liquid phase refrigerant is sent to the refrigerant flow path 610. Therefore, the liquid separator 200 separates the liquid phase refrigerant contained in the refrigerant and supplies only the vapor phase refrigerant to the downstream compressor 300.

Unless there are restrictions on installation, it is preferable to construct the refrigerant flow path 620 while avoiding a structure having a reverse gradient with respect to the direction of gravity or a U-shaped structure. This is because if such a reverse gradient structure or U-shaped structure exists in the refrigerant flow path 620, the liquid phase refrigerant condensed in the refrigerant flow path 620 stays in the portion when the cooling system F is stopped. .. In this way, the liquid-phase refrigerant staying in the refrigerant flow path 620 is sucked into the compressor 300 together with the vapor-phase refrigerant when the cooling system F is started next time, so that the liquid separator 200 is installed. , There is a risk of causing a liquid back phenomenon in the compressor 300.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the liquid separator 200 located on the upstream side of the compressor 300 has a cylindrical housing 210 that serves as a closed container in which the refrigerant is stored. Inside the housing 210, a refrigerant inflow pipe 220 for flowing in a gas-phase refrigerant or a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant and a refrigerant outflow pipe 230 for flowing out the gas-phase refrigerant in the housing 210 to the outside are installed.

The refrigerant inflow pipe 220 and the refrigerant outflow pipe 230 are installed from the upper surface 210A of the housing 210 toward the inside of the container 210B. The refrigerant inflow pipe 220 and the refrigerant outflow pipe 230 are arranged at intervals in the radial direction (R direction) of the housing 210. The refrigerant inflow pipe 220 is connected to the refrigerant flow path 610 in which the vapor phase refrigerant or the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant from the evaporator 100 is guided. The refrigerant outflow pipe 230 is connected to a refrigerant flow path 620 that guides the vapor phase refrigerant to the compressor 300.
The gas-phase refrigerant or the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant after passing through the evaporator 100 flows into the housing 210 through the refrigerant inflow pipe 220, and the liquid-phase refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed flow reaches the bottom of the housing 210 by gravity. It falls and stays. On the other hand, the gas-phase refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed flow is sent to the compressor 300 through the refrigerant outflow pipe 230.

The housing 210 of the liquid separator 200 is configured such that the height h is relatively small with respect to the diameter along the R direction and the housing 210 has a short cylinder shape as a whole.
As described above, in the liquid separator 200, the housing 210 is formed in the shape of a short cylinder whose height h is relatively small with respect to the diameter in the R direction, so that the housing 210 is formed on the upper surface 210A of the housing 210. Even if the heavy compressor 300 is arranged, the compressor 300 can be held in a stable state.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, in the vapor compression type cooling system F as described above, the vapor phase refrigerant which has absorbed heat H1 from the heat source by the evaporator 2 and evaporated is compressed by the compressor 300 and becomes high temperature and high pressure. , Sent to condenser 400. After that, the liquid-phase refrigerant condensed by heat dissipation H2 to the cold heat source by the condenser 400 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure by the pressure reducing expansion valve 500, and is sent to the evaporator 100 again.

Below the inlet (opening for the liquid to flow into the liquid separator 200) 220A of the refrigerant inflow pipe 220, the air supplied through the refrigerant inflow pipe 220 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A and 5B. A mesh-shaped splash prevention plate 240 is installed to prevent the phase refrigerant C1 from blowing up the liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying in the housing 210.
In the housing 210, when the flow velocity of the gas phase refrigerant C1 supplied through the refrigerant inflow pipe 220 is large, even if the liquid phase refrigerant is not mixed in the refrigerant C1, the momentum of the vapor phase refrigerant C1 causes the housing 210 to have a high flow velocity. The liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying on the bottom surface may be blown up. In this case, the blown-up liquid phase refrigerant C2 may flow out from the outlet (opening for the liquid to flow out from the housing 210) 230A of the refrigerant outflow pipe 230.
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a mesh-shaped splash prevention plate 240 is installed below the refrigerant inflow pipe 220. The mesh-shaped splash prevention plate 240 mitigates the impact of the gas phase refrigerant C1 on the liquid surface of the liquid phase refrigerant C2, thereby preventing the liquid phase refrigerant C2 from being blown up.

As described above, in the liquid separator 200 according to the first embodiment, the housing 210 is formed in a short cylinder shape in which the height h is relatively small with respect to the radial direction (R direction). Even if a heavy compressor 300 is arranged on the upper surface 210A of the housing 210, the compressor 300 can be held in a stable state without becoming top heavy.
Further, in the liquid separator 200, since the housing 210 is formed in a short cylinder shape, the refrigerant inflow pipe 220 is provided on the upper surface 210A of the housing 210 at regular intervals in the radial direction (R direction). And the refrigerant outflow pipe 230 can be arranged.
As a result, in the liquid separator 200, the influence of the undulation (turbulence) of the liquid level of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 generated by the inflow of the refrigerant from the refrigerant inflow pipe 220 into the housing 210 extends to the refrigerant outflow pipe 230. To prevent. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid phase refrigerant C2 in the housing 210 from being blown up and flowing out from the refrigerant outflow pipe 230.

Further, in the liquid separator 200, by providing a mesh-shaped splash prevention plate 240 below the inflow port 220A of the refrigerant inflow pipe 220, the momentum of the vapor phase refrigerant C1 colliding with the liquid surface is alleviated. Prevents the liquid level of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 from waving. This also makes it possible to prevent the liquid phase refrigerant C2 in the housing 210 from flowing out from the outlet 230A of the refrigerant outflow pipe 230.

Further, in the liquid separator 200, there is no complicated structure that causes a large pressure loss in the flow path of the gas phase refrigerant from the refrigerant inflow pipe 220 to the refrigerant outflow pipe 230. As a result, in the liquid separator 200, the so-called liquid back phenomenon to the compressor 300 (due to the droplets of the refrigerant flowing through the flow path with kinetic energy) while suppressing the pressure loss during the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant. , Damage to the conduit and equipment of the cooling system) can be prevented.

(Modification example 1)
In the above embodiment, a mesh-shaped plate is used as the splash prevention plate 240, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as the splash prevention plate 240, a plate having a large number of through holes 240a as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a plate having a plurality of holes such as punching metal may be used.

(Modification 2)
Further, as the splash prevention plate 240, a net-like body formed by entwining a plurality of fibers 240b as shown in FIG. 7, for example, a metal scrubbing brush processed into a flat shape may be used.

(Second Embodiment)
The liquid separator 200'according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The difference in configuration of the liquid separator 200'according to the second embodiment from the liquid separator 200 according to the first embodiment is that a liquid intrusion prevention plate 250 is provided below the outlet of the refrigerant outflow pipe 230. ..

In the liquid separator 200'shown in the second embodiment, when the flow velocity of the gas phase refrigerant C1 is large, the force for blowing up the liquid phase refrigerant C2 stored in the housing 210 is strong, and the splash prevention plate 240 alone is sufficient. There is a risk that the prevention of splashing will be insufficient. Therefore, in the liquid separator 200', in addition to providing the splash prevention plate 240 below the inflow port (outlet toward the liquid separator 200') 220A of the refrigerant inflow pipe 220, the outlet of the refrigerant outflow pipe 230 (outlet). A liquid intrusion prevention plate 250 for preventing inhalation of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 is provided below 230A (the port through which the liquid flows from the liquid separator 200').

As a result, in the liquid separator 200'shown in the second embodiment, by adding the liquid intrusion prevention plate 240 below the refrigerant inflow pipe 220, the droplets of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 are sucked into the refrigerant outflow pipe 230. This can be prevented and the liquid separation function can be improved.
The liquid intrusion prevention plate 240 includes, in addition to a normal plate, a mesh-shaped plate shown in FIG. 5B, a plate having a large number of through holes shown in FIG. 6, or a plurality of plates shown in FIG. A net-like body (or cotton-like body) formed by entwining fibers can also be used.

(Third Embodiment)
The liquid separator 200 "according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The liquid level sensor 260, the maintenance valve 270, and the control unit 700 are different in the configuration from the liquid separators 200 and 200'shown in the first and second embodiments of the liquid separator 200 "shown in the third embodiment. It is at the point where.

In the normal operation of the cooling system, the gaseous refrigerant is completely sent from the outlet of the evaporator 100, and the liquid phase refrigerant is transferred from the evaporator 100 to the liquid separator 200 only when the operation becomes unstable due to the disturbance. Will be sent to. At this time, the liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying in the housing 210 due to the unstable operation gradually evaporates during the subsequent normal operation to become the gas phase refrigerant C1, and the retention is eliminated.

However, if unstable operation occurs continuously, it is expected that the amount of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying in the housing 210 of the liquid separator 200 will gradually increase.
Therefore, in the liquid separator 200 ”shown in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the liquid level sensor 260 for monitoring the amount of liquid of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying in the housing 210 is mounted on the housing. It is attached to 210.
If the liquid level of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 staying in the housing 210 is higher than the position of the splash prevention plate 240, the splash prevention plate 240 will not function and the liquid separation function may be significantly reduced. is expected.
In this case, the liquid phase refrigerant C2 may flow out from the refrigerant outflow pipe 230 and cause liquid back, so it is necessary to stop the compressor 300.

Therefore, in the liquid separator 200 of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the value of the liquid level sensor 260 of the liquid separator 200 is monitored, and the liquid level of the liquid phase refrigerant C2 exceeds the limit value. In this case, a control unit 700 for stopping the entire cooling system F'including the compressor 300 is provided.
Then, in the liquid separator 200 "of the third embodiment, after the cooling system F'is stopped, the maintenance valve 270 at the lower part of the housing 210 is opened and the retained liquid phase refrigerant C2 is discharged to return to the normal state. can do.
The maintenance valve 270 may be opened and closed manually by an operator, or may be opened and closed by a drive means operated by a separately provided control unit 700.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within a range not deviating from the gist of the present invention are also included.

The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-55600 filed in Japan on March 22, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention is mainly used in a cooling system and can be applied to a liquid separator for separating a liquid flowing from an evaporator into a compressor, a cooling system and a gas-liquid separation method, and a compressor having a weight on the upper part of the liquid separator. Even if it is arranged, the liquid separator can be held in a stable state. ..

1 Cooling system 1A Refrigerant flow path 2 Evaporator 3 Compressor 4 Condenser 5 Decompression expansion valve 10 Liquid separator 11 Closed container 12 Refrigerant inflow pipe 13 Refrigerant outflow pipe 100 Evaporator 200 Liquid separator 200'Liquid separator 200 "Liquid Separator 210 Housing 240 Splash prevention plate 250 Liquid intrusion prevention plate 260 Liquid level sensor 270 Maintenance valve 300 Compressor 400 Condenser 500 Decompression expansion valve 610 Refrigerant flow path 620 Refrigerant flow path 630 Refrigerant flow path 640 Liquid tube 650 Liquid tube 700 Control unit C Refrigerant C1 Gas phase refrigerant C2 Liquid phase refrigerant F Cooling cycle F'Cooling cycle R Radial direction

Claims (10)

It has a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored, a refrigerant inflow pipe that allows the refrigerant to flow into the closed container, and a refrigerant outflow pipe that allows the refrigerant that has flowed into the space inside the closed container to flow out to the outside.
The refrigerant inflow pipe and the refrigerant outflow pipe are arranged from the upper part of the closed container toward the inside of the container, respectively.
The closed container is a liquid separator having a short cylinder shape whose height is relatively small with respect to its diameter. The liquid separator according to claim 1, wherein a splash prevention plate for preventing splashes of the refrigerant is installed near the outlet of the refrigerant inflow pipe located in the closed container. The liquid separator according to claim 2, wherein the splash prevention plate is composed of a mesh-shaped plate body. The liquid separator according to claim 2, wherein the splash prevention plate is composed of a plate having a large number of through holes. The liquid separator according to claim 2, wherein the splash prevention plate is composed of a net-like body formed by entwining a plurality of fibers. The liquid separator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further provided with a liquid intrusion prevention plate for preventing the intrusion of the liquid phase refrigerant in the closed container near the inlet of the refrigerant outflow pipe. The closed container is provided with a liquid level sensor that detects the liquid level of the liquid phase refrigerant and a control unit that stops the entire apparatus when the detected value of the liquid level sensor exceeds a predetermined limit value. The liquid separator according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The liquid separator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a discharge valve for discharging the liquid phase refrigerant is provided in the lower part of the closed container. Along the refrigerant flow path, an evaporator that absorbs ambient heat by evaporating the liquid-phase refrigerant, a compressor that compresses the vapor-phase refrigerant, and a compressor that releases the heat of the refrigerant that has become high pressure by the compressor. A cooling system including a condenser that condenses a gas-phase refrigerant and a decompression expansion valve that depressurizes and expands the liquid-phase refrigerant cooled by the condenser.
On the upstream side of the compressor, a liquid separator for gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant after passing through the evaporator is provided.
The liquid separator includes a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored, a refrigerant inflow pipe for flowing the refrigerant into the closed space, and a refrigerant outflow pipe for causing the refrigerant in the space in the closed container to flow out to the outside. A cooling system that has a closed container and is configured to form a short cylinder whose height is relatively small with respect to its diameter. A refrigerant inflow pipe that allows the refrigerant to flow in and a refrigerant outflow pipe that allows the refrigerant in the space inside the closed container to flow out to the outside are connected to a tubular closed container in which the refrigerant is stored.
A gas-liquid separation method in which the closed container is formed into a short cylinder whose height is relatively small with respect to its diameter.

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