KR101172572B1 - Distributor and air conditioner including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a distributor disposed between a conduit through which a working fluid flows and a heat exchanger including a plurality of heat exchange pipes, the distributor distributing the working fluid, comprising: a distributor header connected to the conduit; And a plurality of distribution pipes connected between the distributor header and the heat exchange pipe. Here, the distributor satisfies at least one of the following formulas.

                 L / 8 ≤ N ≤ L / 4 ............... (1)

                √ (2 / N) × D1 ≤ D2 ≤ D3 ......... (2)

                 0.5 ≤ S2 / S1 ≤ 2.8 .............. (3)

Here, N is the number of distribution pipes, L is the number of stages of the heat exchange pipe forming a heat, D1 is the diameter of the conduit, D2 is the diameter of the distribution pipe, D3 is the diameter of the heat exchange pipe, S1 is the cross-sectional area of the conduit, S2 is It means the total cross-sectional area of the distribution pipe.

Refrigerant, heat exchanger, distributor, distribution pipe

Description

Dispenser and air conditioner including same {DISTRIBUTOR AND AIR CONDITIONER INCLUDING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a heat exchanger, and more particularly to a distributor for distributing a working fluid to the heat exchanger.

In general, a heat exchanger is a device for exchanging heat between an ambient air and a working fluid flowing inside. An air conditioner such as an air conditioner or heating system that maintains an indoor temperature at an appropriate temperature irrespective of the outside air temperature is used. Used.

In recent years, the cooling cycle and the heat pump cycle by implementing a single device, the popularity of the air-conditioning air conditioner (so-called heat pump) that can selectively perform the cooling and heating of the room has been increasing. Typically the heat pump includes an indoor unit including a heat exchanger, a compressor, an outdoor unit including a heat exchanger and an expander.

When used in the cooling mode, the indoor heat exchanger acts as an evaporator to evaporate the refrigerant in the low temperature low pressure liquid state to pass through to absorb the heat in the room to achieve the indoor cooling mechanism. The medium-temperature low-pressure refrigerant gas passed through the evaporator is converted into high-temperature and high-pressure gas through the compressor. In contrast, in the heating mode, the indoor heat exchanger acts as a condenser, so that hot and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant passes through the condenser while releasing heat into the room to form a heating mechanism for the room. That is, the outdoor unit is used as a condenser in summer, and used as an evaporator in winter.

A heat exchanger used in a conventional outdoor unit is composed of a plurality of circuits, and a distributor is used to distribute the refrigerant into the circuit. The distributor functions to deliver the refrigerant evenly to each circuit of the heat exchanger through the distribution pipe.

However, conventionally, a distributor and a distribution pipe for distributing a refrigerant to a heat exchanger have a problem of lowering the pressure of the refrigerant and degrading performance such as heat exchange capacity of the system.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, a distributor having a number of distribution pipes that can optimally distribute the refrigerant to the heat exchanger, the distributor having a size that can maximize the heat exchange performance by minimizing the pressure drop through the distribution pipe And an air conditioner including the same.

In order to achieve the above object, a distributor according to an embodiment of the present invention is a distributor for distributing the working fluid, which is installed between a conduit through which a working fluid flows and a plurality of heat exchange pipes, and is connected to the conduit. Distributor header; And a plurality of distribution pipes connected between the distributor header and the heat exchange pipe. Here, the distributor satisfies at least one of the following formulas.

                 L / 8 ≤ N ≤ L / 4 ............... (1)

                √ (2 / N) × D1 ≤ D2 ≤ D3 ......... (2)

                 0.5 ≤ S2 / S1 ≤ 2.8 .............. (3)

Here, N is the number of distribution pipes, L is the number of stages of the heat exchange pipe forming a heat, D1 is the diameter of the conduit, D2 is the diameter of the distribution pipe, D3 is the diameter of the heat exchange pipe, S1 is the cross-sectional area of the conduit, S2 is It means the total cross-sectional area of the distribution pipe.

In addition, the heat exchange pipes may be bent to form a plurality of rows and ends, and the number of the heat exchange pipes may be the same as the number of distribution pipes.

The distributor according to the embodiment of the present invention maximizes the heat exchange rate by connecting the heat exchangers with the optimal number of distribution pipes, and also optimizes the diameter of the distribution pipes, thereby reducing the pressure intensification and increasing the heat exchange capacity.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner including a distributor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the heat exchange pipe shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, an air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an indoor unit 10, an outdoor unit 20, an expander 30, and a compressor 40. Between the indoor unit 10 and the compressor 40 is provided a four-way valve 50 for switching the direction of the refrigerant in accordance with the cooling and heating modes. The indoor unit 10, the outdoor unit 20, the expander 30, and the compressor 40 are connected to the conduit 60 so that a refrigerant that is a working fluid flows.

The outdoor unit 20 includes a heat exchanger 21, a distributor 22 installed between the conduit 60 and the heat exchanger 21, and a blower fan 23 disposed above. The heat exchanger 21 includes a heat exchanger tube 24 arranged in a plurality of rows and stages, and a heat exchanger header 25 connected to one side of the heat exchanger tube 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the single heat exchange pipe 24 has a bundle structure that is bent to enlarge the contact area with the outside air. One end 241 of the heat exchange pipe 24 is connected to the heat exchanger header 25, and the other end 242 is connected to the distributor 22.

The distributor 22 consists of a distributor header 221 connected to the conduit 60 and a plurality of distribution tubes 222 branching from the distributor header 221. Each distribution pipe 222 is connected to the other end 242 of the heat exchange pipe 24.

The outdoor unit 10 described above is just for illustrative purposes, and the arrangement of the heat exchanger 21, the arrangement of the blower fan 23, and the like may be variously modified.

In the air conditioner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in the cooling mode, the gas refrigerant, which has become hot and high pressure by the compressor 40, is transferred to the heat exchanger 21 in the outdoor unit 20 through the conduit 60. The high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant is condensed in the heat exchanger 21 to form a low temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant. The condensed liquid refrigerant is depressurized by the expander 30 via the distributor 22 to form a low temperature and low pressure liquid refrigerant, and is then evaporated in the indoor unit 10 to be converted into a medium temperature and low pressure refrigerant gas while cooling the room. This refrigerant gas is again conveyed to the compressor 40. As described above, the circulation cycle of the refrigerant is performed in the cooling mode.

The above has been described when operating in the cooling mode, in the heating mode, the refrigerant circulates in the direction opposite to the circulation direction of the refrigerant in the cooling mode to achieve the heating of the room.

In the air conditioner 100 having the above configuration, the number N of the distribution pipes 222 satisfies the following equation (1).

L / 8 ≤ N ≤ L / 4 ..................... (1)

Here, L means the number of stages of the heat exchange pipe 24 forming a row.

In the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention, the heat exchanger 21 is composed of five rows and 40 stages, as shown in FIG. That is, the number of stages of the heat exchange piping 24 which comprises one row (vertical direction in FIG. 1) is 40 stages. Therefore, when said Formula (1) is applied, the number N of distribution pipes 222 is 5 or more and 10 or less. If the heat exchanger of five rows and 48 stages, the number (N) of the distribution pipes will be composed of six or more than 12.

When other conditions such as the width of the heat exchanger 21 and the number of heat of the heat exchange pipe 24 are constant, when the number of the distribution pipes 222 is less than L / 8, the refrigerant is more than the number of stages forming the heat exchanger 21. The number of inlets and outlets to enter becomes small, which in turn reduces the number of paths through which the refrigerant passes. Therefore, the length of the flow path of the heat exchange pipe 24 forming one flow path is long, and the refrigerant may be overheated. In addition, when the number of distribution pipes 222 exceeds L / 4, the number of the coolant flow paths increases, and thus the length of the heat exchange pipe 24 is shortened, thereby failing to secure a sufficient area for heat exchange.

3 is a view showing the heat exchange rate of the 48-stage heat exchanger with respect to the number of distribution pipes, Figure 4 is a view showing the heat exchange rate of the 40-stage heat exchanger with respect to the number of distribution pipes.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the number of distribution tubes 222 is less than 6 or more than 12, the 48-stage heat exchanger may confirm that the heat exchange rate decreases rapidly. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, when the number of distribution pipes 222 is less than 5 or more than 10, as shown in FIG. 4, the heat exchange rate may be rapidly reduced.

5 is a view showing diameters of conduits, distribution pipes, and heat exchange pipes. Referring to FIG. 5, when the diameter of the conduit 60 is D1, the diameter of the distribution pipe 222 is D2, and the diameter of the heat exchanger pipe 24 is D3, the diameter D2 of the distribution pipe 222 is as follows. Equation (2) is satisfied.

    √ (2 / N) × D1 ≤ D2 ≤ D3 ........................ (2)

That is, the diameter D2 of the distribution pipe 222 is formed to the diameter D3 of the heat exchange pipe 24 at the maximum, and the square root value of (2 / N) is the minimum at the diameter D1 of the conduit 60. Up to multiplied.

The distributor 22 reduces the performance of the heat exchange system other than delivering the refrigerant uniformly through the distribution tube 222 to each heat exchange tube 24 of the heat exchanger 21. That is, since the distribution pipe 222 reduces the performance of the heat exchanger 21 by generating a pressure drop, it is necessary to minimize the pressure drop through the distribution pipe 222. The pressure drop is caused by the friction with the inner wall of the pipe as the refrigerant flows and the rapid diameter change of the flow path inside the pipe. In particular, when the refrigerant enters the distribution pipe 222 having a small diameter from the distributor header 221 having a large diameter and when entering the heat exchange pipe 24 having a large diameter from the distribution pipe 222 having a small diameter, By the pressure drops. Therefore, the pipe diameter of the distribution pipe 222 should be designed in a direction in which the influence of the pressure drop is less on both sides of the distribution pipe 222, the range is a range that satisfies the equation (2).

In addition, when the cross-sectional area of the conduit 60 is S1 and the total cross-sectional area of the distribution pipe 222 is S2, the ratio of the total cross-sectional area S2 of the distribution pipe 222 to the cross-sectional area S1 of the conduit 60 is ( R) has a value in the range of 0.5 to 2.8 (0.5 ≦ S2 / S1 ≦ 2.8). The pressure drop is reduced within the range of the cross-sectional area ratio R, thereby increasing the heat exchange capacity. That is, if the cross-sectional area ratio R is less than 0.5, the refrigerant velocity in the distribution pipe 222 increases rapidly, and at the same time, the resistance increases due to the decrease in the cross-sectional area, so that the flow rate of the refrigerant decreases, so that the heat exchange capacity decreases. In addition, when the cross-sectional area ratio R is larger than 2.8, a bottleneck occurs when the refrigerant enters the heat exchange pipe 24 from the distribution pipe 222, thereby decreasing the flow rate of the refrigerant, thereby lowering the heat exchange capacity.

6 shows the heat exchange capacity of a heat exchanger with respect to the ratio of the cross sectional area of the conduit and the distribution pipe. Referring to Figure 6, it can be seen that the heat exchange capacity of the heat exchanger 21 drops sharply in the range outside 0.5 to 2.8.

In the above, an embodiment in which the distributor is applied to the air conditioner has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the distributor can be applied not only to the air conditioner but also to any device in which the heat exchanger can be used.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Naturally, it belongs to the range of.

1 is a view schematically showing an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heat exchange pipe shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram showing the heat exchange rate of the 48 stage heat exchanger with respect to the number of distribution pipes.

4 is a diagram showing the heat exchange rate of the 40-stage heat exchanger with respect to the number of distribution pipes.

5 is a view showing diameters of conduits, distribution pipes, and heat exchange pipes.

6 shows the heat exchange capacity of a heat exchanger with respect to the ratio of the cross sectional area of the conduit and the distribution pipe.

Claims (5)

A dispenser is provided between a conduit through which working fluid flows and a heat exchanger including a plurality of heat exchange pipes to distribute the working fluid. A distributor header coupled to the conduit; And And a plurality of distribution pipes connected between the distributor header and the heat exchange pipe, and satisfying the following expression.                  L / 8 ≤ N ≤ L / 4                  0.5 ≤ S2 / S1 ≤ 2.8 Here, N is the number of distribution pipes, L is the number of stages of the heat exchange pipe forming a row, S1 is the cross-sectional area of the conduit, S2 means the total cross-sectional area of the distribution pipe. The method of claim 1, And the following formula is further satisfied when the diameter of the conduit is D1, the diameter of the distribution pipe is D2, and the diameter of the heat exchange pipe is D3.                  √ (2 / N) × D1 ≤ D2 ≤ D3 3. The method of claim 2, Each of the heat exchange pipes is formed to be bent to form a plurality of rows and the splitter, characterized in that the number of the heat exchange pipes and the number of the distribution pipe is the same. In the air conditioner including a heat exchanger having a plurality of heat exchange pipes, A distributor installed between the conduit through which the working fluid flows and the heat exchanger, The distributor includes a distributor header connected to the conduit and a plurality of distribution pipes connected between the distributor header and the heat exchange pipe, the air conditioner characterized by the following equation.                  L / 8 ≤ N ≤ L / 4                  0.5 ≤ S2 / S1 ≤ 2.8 Here, N is the number of distribution pipes, L is the number of stages of the heat exchange pipe forming a row, S1 is the cross-sectional area of the conduit, S2 means the total cross-sectional area of the distribution pipe. 5. The method of claim 4, When the diameter of the conduit D1, the diameter of the distribution pipe D2 and the diameter of the heat exchange pipe D3, the following equation is further satisfied.                  √ (2 / N) × D1 ≤ D2 ≤ D3

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