US20190203992A1 - Systems and methods for purging a chiller system - Google Patents
Systems and methods for purging a chiller system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20190203992A1 US20190203992A1 US16/219,672 US201816219672A US2019203992A1 US 20190203992 A1 US20190203992 A1 US 20190203992A1 US 201816219672 A US201816219672 A US 201816219672A US 2019203992 A1 US2019203992 A1 US 2019203992A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- refrigerant
- purge
- fluid
- loop
- conduit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B43/00—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat
- F25B43/04—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat for withdrawing non-condensible gases
- F25B43/043—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat for withdrawing non-condensible gases for compression type systems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B21/00—Machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects
- F25B21/02—Machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B25/00—Machines, plants or systems, using a combination of modes of operation covered by two or more of the groups F25B1/00 - F25B23/00
- F25B25/005—Machines, plants or systems, using a combination of modes of operation covered by two or more of the groups F25B1/00 - F25B23/00 using primary and secondary systems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B40/00—Subcoolers, desuperheaters or superheaters
- F25B40/02—Subcoolers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B5/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity
- F25B5/04—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity arranged in series
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B1/00—Compression machines, plants or systems with non-reversible cycle
- F25B1/04—Compression machines, plants or systems with non-reversible cycle with compressor of rotary type
- F25B1/053—Compression machines, plants or systems with non-reversible cycle with compressor of rotary type of turbine type
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2321/00—Details of machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects
- F25B2321/02—Details of machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects using Peltier effects; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effects
- F25B2321/025—Removal of heat
- F25B2321/0252—Removal of heat by liquids or two-phase fluids
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2339/00—Details of evaporators; Details of condensers
- F25B2339/04—Details of condensers
- F25B2339/047—Water-cooled condensers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2600/00—Control issues
- F25B2600/02—Compressor control
- F25B2600/025—Compressor control by controlling speed
- F25B2600/0253—Compressor control by controlling speed with variable speed
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B9/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point
- F25B9/002—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point characterised by the refrigerant
- F25B9/008—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point characterised by the refrigerant the refrigerant being carbon dioxide
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B30/00—Energy efficient heating, ventilation or air conditioning [HVAC]
- Y02B30/70—Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
Definitions
- This application relates generally to purging systems for chiller systems.
- Chiller systems or vapor compression systems, utilize a working fluid, typically referred to as a refrigerant that changes phases between vapor, liquid, and combinations thereof in response to being subjected to different temperatures and pressures associated with operation of the vapor compression system.
- a working fluid typically referred to as a refrigerant that changes phases between vapor, liquid, and combinations thereof in response to being subjected to different temperatures and pressures associated with operation of the vapor compression system.
- NCG non-condensable gases
- ambient air may migrate into these low-pressure components, which may cause inefficiencies in the low-pressure chiller system. Accordingly, the low-pressure chiller system may be purged of the NCG to run more effectively.
- traditional purge systems used to remove the NCG may utilize additional refrigerant with medium or high global warming potential (GWP).
- GWP global warming potential
- a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a refrigerant loop configured to flow a refrigerant and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG).
- the purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant.
- the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid.
- the purge system also includes a thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid.
- a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in another embodiment, includes a refrigerant loop, a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop, an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid, a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a second cooling fluid, and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG).
- NCG non-condensable gases
- the purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to separate a mixture drawn from the condenser utilizing a first refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the evaporator and utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid.
- the mixture includes the NCG and a second refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the condenser.
- the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the second refrigerant flow of the mixture.
- the purge system also includes thermoelectric assemblies configured to remove thermal energy from the first refrigerant flow and the non-refrigerant fluid.
- a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in another embodiment, includes a refrigerant loop, a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop, an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid, a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with second cooling fluid, and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG).
- the purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant.
- the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a chilled fluid of a chilled fluid loop.
- the purge system also includes a thermoelectric assembly configured to chill the chilled fluid in conjunction with an intermediate fluid of an open fluid loop.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building that may utilize a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, (HVAC) system in a commercial setting, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an HVAC system, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 3 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 4 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 5 is a schematic of a thermoelectric assembly of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 6 is a schematic of a thermoelectric assembly of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 7 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 8 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 9 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 10 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 11 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 12 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 13 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure
- FIG. 14 is a schematic of an embodiment of a heat exchanger of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 15 is a schematic of an embodiment of a heat exchanger of the HVAC system of FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
- Embodiments of the present disclosure include a purge system that may improve an efficiency of purging in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
- HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
- an evaporator may draw in non-condensable gases (NCG) such as ambient air from the atmosphere due to a pressure differential between the evaporator and the atmosphere.
- NCG non-condensable gases
- the NCG may travel through the HVAC system to ultimately collect within the condenser.
- NCG may be detrimental to the overall performance of the HVAC system, and as such, should be removed.
- the presently-disclosed embodiments may efficiently purge the HVAC system of the NCG via the purge system.
- the purge system may pull a mixture of the NCG and refrigerant from the condenser.
- the purge system may then utilize a purge heat exchanger (e.g., a purge coil in a purge chamber) to decrease a temperature of, or remove heat from, the mixture to condense the refrigerant, thereby separating the refrigerant from the NCG due to the increase in density of the refrigerant as a byproduct of the refrigerant condensing.
- a purge heat exchanger e.g., a purge coil in a purge chamber
- the purge system may run a chilled fluid through the purge coil of the heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant and separate the mixture.
- the chilled fluid may be chilled via one or more thermoelectric assemblies.
- the chilled fluid may also be chilled via a secondary chilled fluid that was also chilled via thermoelectric assemblies.
- the purge heat exchanger may include two separate purge coils that may chill the mixture with separate chilled fluids.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an environment for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system 10 in a building 12 for a typical commercial setting.
- the HVAC system 10 may include a vapor compression system 14 that supplies a chilled liquid, which may be used to cool the building 12 .
- the HVAC system 10 may also include a boiler 16 to supply warm liquid to heat the building 12 and an air distribution system which circulates air through the building 12 .
- the air distribution system can also include an air return duct 18 , an air supply duct 20 , and/or an air handler 22 .
- the air handler 22 may include a heat exchanger that is connected to the boiler 16 and the vapor compression system 14 by conduits 24 .
- the heat exchanger in the air handler 22 may receive either heated liquid from the boiler 16 or chilled liquid from the vapor compression system 14 , depending on the mode of operation of the HVAC system 10 .
- the HVAC system 10 is shown with a separate air handler on each floor of building 12 , but in other embodiments, the HVAC system 10 may include air handlers 22 and/or other components that may be shared between or among floors.
- FIGS. 2 and 3 are embodiments of the vapor compression system 14 that can be used in the HVAC system 10 .
- the vapor compression system 14 may circulate a refrigerant through a circuit starting with a compressor 32 .
- the circuit may also include a condenser 34 , an expansion valve(s) or device(s) 36 , and a liquid chiller or an evaporator 38 .
- the vapor compression system 14 may further include a control panel 40 (e.g., controller) that has an analog to digital (A/D) converter 42 , a microprocessor 44 , a non-volatile memory 46 , and/or an interface board 48 .
- A/D analog to digital
- HFC hydrofluorocarbon
- R-410A R-407, R-134a
- HFO hydrofluoro-olefin
- “natural” refrigerants like ammonia (NH 3 ), R-717, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), R-744, or hydrocarbon based refrigerants, water vapor, refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP), or any other suitable refrigerant.
- GWP global warming potential
- the vapor compression system 14 may be configured to efficiently utilize refrigerants having a normal boiling point of about 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit or less) at one atmosphere of pressure, also referred to as low pressure refrigerants, versus a medium pressure refrigerant, such as R-134a.
- refrigerants having a normal boiling point of about 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit or less) at one atmosphere of pressure also referred to as low pressure refrigerants
- medium pressure refrigerant such as R-134a.
- “normal boiling point” may refer to a boiling point temperature measured at one atmosphere of pressure.
- the vapor compression system 14 may use one or more of a variable speed drive (VSDs) 52 , a motor 50 , the compressor 32 , the condenser 34 , the expansion valve or device 36 , and/or the evaporator 38 .
- the motor 50 may drive the compressor 32 and may be powered by a variable speed drive (VSD) 52 .
- the VSD 52 receives alternating current (AC) power having a particular fixed line voltage and fixed line frequency from an AC power source, and provides power having a variable voltage and frequency to the motor 50 .
- the motor 50 may be powered directly from an AC or direct current (DC) power source.
- the motor 50 may include any type of electric motor that can be powered by a VSD or directly from an AC or DC power source, such as a switched reluctance motor, an induction motor, an electronically commutated permanent magnet motor, or another suitable motor.
- the compressor 32 compresses a refrigerant vapor and delivers the vapor to the condenser 34 through a discharge passage.
- the compressor 32 may be a centrifugal compressor.
- the refrigerant vapor pumped by the compressor 32 to the condenser 34 may transfer heat to a cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) in the condenser 34 .
- the refrigerant vapor may condense to a refrigerant liquid in the condenser 34 as a result of thermal heat transfer with the cooling fluid.
- the refrigerant liquid from the condenser 34 may flow through the expansion device 36 , for the purposes of reducing the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant liquid, to the evaporator 38 .
- the condenser 34 is water cooled and includes a tube bundle 54 connected to a cooling tower 56 , which supplies the cooling fluid to the condenser.
- the refrigerant liquid delivered to the evaporator 38 may absorb heat from another cooling fluid, which may or may not be the same cooling fluid used in the condenser 34 .
- the refrigerant liquid in the evaporator 38 may undergo a phase change from the refrigerant liquid to a refrigerant vapor.
- the evaporator 38 may include a tube bundle 58 having a supply line 60 S and a return line 60 R connected to a cooling load 62 .
- the cooling fluid of the evaporator 38 enters the evaporator 38 via return line 60 R and exits the evaporator 38 via supply line 60 S.
- the evaporator 38 may reduce the temperature of the cooling fluid in the tube bundle 58 via thermal heat transfer with the refrigerant.
- the tube bundle 58 in the evaporator 38 can include a plurality of tubes and/or a plurality of tube bundles. In any case, the refrigerant vapor exits the evaporator 38 and returns to the compressor 32 by a suction line to complete the cycle.
- FIG. 4 is a schematic of the vapor compression system 14 with an intermediate circuit 64 incorporated between condenser 34 and the expansion device 36 .
- the intermediate circuit 64 may have an inlet line 68 that is directly fluidly connected to the condenser 34 .
- the inlet line 68 may be indirectly fluidly coupled to the condenser 34 .
- the inlet line 68 includes a first expansion device 66 positioned upstream of an intermediate vessel 70 .
- the intermediate vessel 70 may be a flash tank (e.g., a flash intercooler).
- the intermediate vessel 70 may be configured as a heat exchanger or a “surface economizer.” In the illustrated embodiment of FIG.
- the intermediate vessel 70 is used as a flash tank, and the first expansion device 66 is configured to lower the pressure of (e.g., expand) the refrigerant liquid received from the condenser 34 .
- the intermediate vessel 70 may be used to separate the vapor from the liquid received from the first expansion device 66 .
- the intermediate vessel 70 may provide for further expansion of the refrigerant liquid because of a pressure drop experienced by the refrigerant liquid when entering the intermediate vessel 70 (e.g., due to a rapid increase in volume experienced when entering the intermediate vessel 70 ).
- the vapor in the intermediate vessel 70 may be drawn by the compressor 32 through a suction line 74 of the compressor 32 , or through a centrifugal compressor. In other embodiments, the vapor in the intermediate vessel may be drawn to an intermediate stage of the compressor 32 (e.g., not the suction stage).
- the liquid that collects in the intermediate vessel 70 may be at a lower enthalpy than the refrigerant liquid exiting the condenser 34 because of the expansion in the expansion device 66 and/or the intermediate vessel 70 .
- the liquid from intermediate vessel 70 may then flow in line 72 through a second expansion device 36 to the evaporator 38 .
- the evaporator 38 when the vapor compression system 14 is in operation, the evaporator 38 may function at a pressure that is lower than the ambient pressure. As such, NCG may be drawn into the evaporator 38 and move through the compressor 32 to gather in the condenser 34 . These NCG may cause the vapor compression system 14 to operate inefficiently because the NCG may act as insulators preventing effective heat transfer from the refrigerant to the cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) within the condenser 34 . Accordingly, the vapor compression system 14 may include features to purge the vapor compression system 14 of the NCG.
- the cooling fluid e.g., water or air
- the vapor compression system 14 may include a purge system 80 to purge the vapor compression system 14 of NCG.
- the purge system 80 may purge the vapor compression system 14 at least in part by reducing a temperature of, or removing heat from, a mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor that is pulled from the condenser 34 , thereby condensing the refrigerant vapor and separating the refrigerant from the NCG.
- the purge system 80 may remove heat from the mixture via a chilled fluid, which may become chilled through utilization of one or more thermoelectric assemblies 82 , as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .
- Each thermoelectric assembly 82 may include a set of conductive plates, such as a hot side 84 and a cold side 86 , and a thermoelectric device 88 , such as a set of semiconductors.
- the conductive plates may be coupled to the thermoelectric device 88 via thermal paste.
- the thermoelectric device 88 may include a set of extrinsic, doped semiconductors with an electric imbalance, such as positive (P-type) or negative (N-type) semiconductors, which may carry positive or negative charges, respectively.
- P-type positive
- N-type negative
- thermoelectric assembly 82 may create a temperature difference, or a thermal gradient, between the cold side 86 and the hot side 84 , from an electrical energy difference. Further, higher temperature differences may decrease the heat removal capability of the thermoelectric assembly 82 , while smaller temperature differences may increase the heat removal capability of the thermoelectric assembly 82 .
- Each thermoelectric assembly 82 may utilize a power source 90 to induce an electrical power gradient within the thermoelectric assembly 82 .
- the power source 90 may be any suitable power source, such as a power grid, a battery, a solar panel, an electrical generator, a gas engine, the vapor compression system 14 , or any combination thereof.
- the thermoelectric assembly 82 may convert the electrical power gradient to a thermal gradient through a thermoelectric effect, or Peltier-Seebeck effect.
- the thermoelectric assemblies 82 may utilize the thermal gradient to absorb heat from fluid 92 flowing and/or disposed within a conduit 94 .
- the cold side 86 of the thermoelectric assembly 82 may be coupled to the conduit 94 via a heat sink 96 and/or heat paste 98 , which may conduct, or transfer, heat from the fluid 92 to the thermoelectric device 88 , thereby chilling the fluid 92 within the conduit 94 .
- the hot side 84 of the thermoelectric assembly 82 may be coupled to another heat sink 96 , which may be configured to remove heat from the hot side 84 .
- the thermoelectric assembly 82 may also include a fan 100 configured to draw ambient air 102 in through sides of the heat sink 96 and expel heated ambient air 102 to the surroundings. In this manner, the ambient air 102 may remove heat from the heat sink 96 as the fan 100 draws the ambient air 102 in through the heat sink 96 and forces the ambient air 102 in the form of heated air out of the thermoelectric assembly 82 with an increase in temperature.
- the hot side 84 of the thermoelectric assembly 82 may additionally, or in the alternative, be coupled to another conduit 94 with another fluid 92 , which may also be chilled some amount and configured to remove heat from the hot side 84 .
- another fluid 92 which may also be chilled some amount and configured to remove heat from the hot side 84 .
- a temperature of the cold side 86 may be reduced due to the fact that the hot side 84 may be chilled to some temperature below a temperature of the ambient air 102 .
- the heat-removal capabilities of the thermoelectric assembly 82 may be increased.
- the thermoelectric assembly 82 may include more than one set of the cold side 86 , the thermoelectric device 88 , and the hot side 84 .
- the conduit 94 may be coupled to a first cold side 86 , which is coupled to a first hot side 84 via a first thermoelectric device 88 .
- the first hot side 84 may additionally be coupled to a second cold side 86 , which is in turn coupled to a second hot side 84 via a second thermoelectric device 88 .
- the second hot side 84 may then be coupled to any suitable heat-removing system, such as heat sinks 96 , fans 100 , and/or conduits 94 as discussed above. Indeed, there may be any suitable number of sets of the cold side 86 , the thermoelectric device 88 , and the hot side 84 stacked within the thermoelectric assembly 82 .
- the vapor compression system 14 may include the purge system 80 , which is configured to remove NCG, such as ambient air, from the vapor compression system 14 .
- the purge system 80 may include one or more thermoelectric assemblies 82 , one or more pumps 110 , such as vacuum pumps, liquid pumps, and/or compressors one or more stop valves 112 , and a purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may further include one or more purge coils 116 in a purge chamber 118 .
- the conduits discussed in FIGS. 7-13 may be similar to the conduit 94 of FIGS. 5 and 6 .
- the vapor compression system 14 may utilize a controller 120 to control certain aspects of operation of the purge system 80 .
- the controller 120 may be any device employing a processor 122 (which may represent one or more processors), such as an application-specific processor.
- the controller 120 may also include a memory device 124 for storing instructions executable by the processor 122 to perform the methods and control actions described herein for the purge system 80 .
- the processor 122 may include one or more processing devices, and the memory device 124 may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media.
- machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by the processor 122 or by any general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor.
- the controller 120 may be communicatively coupled to one or more components of the purge system 80 through a communication system 126 .
- the communication system 126 may communicate through a wireless network (e.g., wireless local area networks [WLAN], wireless wide area networks [WWAN], near field communication [NFC]).
- the communication system 126 may communicate through a wired network (e.g., local area networks [LAN], wide area networks [WAN]).
- the controller 120 may communicate to a number of elements of the purge system 80 such as the pumps 110 , the thermoelectric assemblies 82 , the stop valves 112 , and other components.
- functions of the controller 120 and the control panel 40 ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) as described herein may be controlled through a single controller.
- the single controller may be the control panel 40 or the controller 120 .
- the chilled fluid may exchange heat with a mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG that has been pulled from the condenser 34 or from another part of the system.
- the NCG may be drawn into the evaporator 38 and travel through the vapor compression system 14 to accumulate in the condenser 34 .
- the NCG may accumulate in one or more portions of the condenser 34 . Accordingly, the mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant vapor may be pulled from the one or more portions of the condenser 34 .
- one or more portions in which the NCG accumulate may be substantially below a discharge baffle, near the middle of the condenser 34 , near an outlet of the condenser 34 , near a top of the condenser 34 , or any combination thereof.
- the NCG that have accumulated in the condenser 34 may be mixed with refrigerant vapor.
- the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture may be drawn through a conduit 128 into the purge chamber 118 of the purge heat exchanger 114 , which may be due at least in part to a temperature and/or pressure differential created by the chilled fluid passing through the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- a compressor 129 may be disposed along the conduit 128 . The compressor 129 may pump the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture from the condenser 34 into the purge chamber 118 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the compressor 129 is configured to increase a pressure of the mixture before the mixture enters the purge heat exchanger 114 . In this manner, the temperature at which the refrigerant vapor of the mixture condenses in the purge heat exchanger 114 is increased, thereby reducing a load on the purge system 80 .
- the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture will condense into refrigerant liquid and create a partial vacuum within the purge chamber 118 of the purge heat exchanger 114 , thereby drawing in more of the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture from the condenser 34 through the conduit 128 .
- the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture may be drawn through the conduit 128 and into the purge heat exchanger 114 due to the compressor 129 .
- the refrigerant liquid will gather in the bottom of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the NCG and other uncondensed refrigerant vapor will collect towards the top of the purge heat exchanger 114 , while the condensed refrigerant liquid will collect at the bottom of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- a liquid level of the refrigerant liquid within the purge heat exchanger 114 will rise.
- the refrigerant liquid will be drained through a conduit 130 to the condenser 34 , the evaporator 38 , or both, and the NCG will be pumped out of the purge heat exchanger 114 by a vacuum pump 132 through a conduit 134 .
- the vacuum pump 132 may then expel the NCG into the atmosphere.
- the NCG may be at a high pressure within the purge heat exchanger 114 relative to a pressure of the atmosphere due to the compressor 129 increasing a pressure of the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture prior to the mixture entering the purge heat exchanger 114 . Accordingly, due to the pressure differential between the NCG within the purge heat exchanger 114 and the atmosphere, the NCG may expelled into the atmosphere through a stop valve 112 of the conduit 134 without use of the vacuum pump 132 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may be disposed vertically above the condenser 34 and the evaporator 38 . In this manner, the refrigerant liquid may flow to the condenser 34 , the evaporator 38 , or both, due at least in part to the head pressure differential created by the height differential of the purge heat exchanger 114 relative to the condenser 34 and the evaporator 38 .
- the condenser 34 may be disposed vertically above the evaporator 38 , thereby allowing the refrigerant liquid to flow more easily to the evaporator 38 relative to the condenser 34 from the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may include one or more sensors 138 , which may include one or more temperature sensors, pressure sensors, liquid level sensors, ultrasonic sensors, or any combination thereof.
- one sensor 138 of the one or more sensors 138 may measure the liquid level of the refrigerant liquid within the purge heat exchanger 114 and send data regarding the liquid level to the controller 120 . If the liquid level is approaching, matching, and/or exceeding the predetermined liquid level threshold, the controller 120 may send a signal to one or more of the stop valves 112 to allow the refrigerant liquid to drain to the condenser 34 , the evaporator 38 , or both, as described above. Similarly, the controller 120 may send a signal to the pump 132 and/or one or more of the stop valves 112 to release the NCG through the pump 132 into the atmosphere.
- the controller 120 may determine whether there is a significant or predetermined amount of NCG within the condenser 34 before allowing the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture to enter the purge heat exchanger 114 , such as by activating one or more of the stop valves 112 .
- another sensor 138 of the one or more sensors 138 may measure one or more parameters related to a performance of the vapor compression system 14 and send data indicative of the one or more parameters to the controller 120 to analyze and process.
- the controller 120 may determine a performance level of the vapor compression system 14 based on the one or more parameters.
- the controller 120 may allow the condenser 34 to be purged as described above by opening an appropriate stop valve 112 and allowing the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor to flow to the purge heat exchanger 114 from the condenser 34 .
- the controller 120 may purge the condenser 34 as described above based on a predetermined schedule.
- one of the sensors 138 may measure a saturation temperature and an actual temperature within the condenser 34 and send data indicative of the saturation and actual temperatures to the controller 120 to analyze and process. The controller 120 may then determine whether the saturation temperature substantially matches the actual temperature. If the saturation temperature does not substantially match the actual temperature, the controller 120 may allow the condenser 34 to be purged as described above by opening an appropriate stop valve 112 and allowing the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor to flow to the purge heat exchanger 114 from the condenser 34 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may receive a chilled fluid that flows through the purge coil 116 to condense the refrigerant vapor pulled from the condenser 34 .
- the purge coil 116 may include internal and/or external fins configured to increase a rate of heat transfer between the purge coil 116 , the fluid within the purge coil 116 , and/or the fluid that is external to the purge coil 116 and internal to the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- FIGS. 7-13 depict embodiments of the purge system 80 used to chill the fluid flowing through the purge coil 116 . For example, as shown in FIG.
- the purge system 80 may include a closed fluid loop 160 configured to chill a fluid and flow the chilled fluid through the purge coil 116 to condense the refrigerant vapor within the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the fluid within closed fluid loop 160 may be a brine and/or a water/glycol mixture with a low freezing point.
- the closed fluid loop 160 may utilize a liquid pump 162 to pump the fluid through a conduit 164 and the purge coil 116 of the closed fluid loop 160 .
- the liquid pump 162 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump brine and/or a water/glycol mixture.
- multiple thermoelectric assemblies 82 may be coupled to the conduit 164 and configured to remove heat from the fluid as it flows through the conduit 164 , as described above in reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 . There may be any suitable number of thermal electric assemblies 82 coupled to the conduit 164 .
- the purge system 80 may utilize fluid from another source such as the cooling fluid of the cooling load 62 ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ).
- the purge system 80 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 ( FIG. 1 ) through an open fluid loop 165 .
- the fluid may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture.
- a liquid pump 162 of the open fluid loop 165 may draw fluid from the supply line 60 S through a conduit 166 and supply the fluid to the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the fluid may be chilled via thermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to the conduit 166 and configured to remove heat from the fluid, as discussed above.
- the purge coil 116 may receive fluid that has been chilled via the thermoelectric assemblies 82 .
- the refrigerant vapor from the condenser 34 may condense within the purge chamber 118 .
- the fluid may be returned to the supply line 60 S. Indeed, the amount of fluid drawn from the supply line 60 S may be negligible relative to the overall mass flowrate of the fluid through the supply line 60 S.
- the fluid that is drawn from the supply line 60 S and routed to the purge coil 116 may be at a temperature that is lower than the ambient temperature due at least in part to the heat exchange process within the evaporator 38 described above. Therefore, the thermoelectric assemblies 82 may remove a reduced amount of heat from the fluid of the open fluid loop 165 for the fluid to be at an adequately low temperature to condense the refrigerant vapor within the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge system 80 may utilize chilled fluid from the closed fluid loop 160 and chilled fluid from the open fluid loop 165 , which may function similar to embodiments discussed in reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 , respectively.
- the closed fluid loop 160 may utilize the liquid pump 162 to flow the fluid through the conduit 168 and through the purge coil 116 .
- the thermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to the conduit 168 may remove heat from the fluid, thereby chilling the fluid.
- the fluid may be a brine, water, and/or a water/glycol mixture.
- the liquid pump 162 of the closed fluid loop 160 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump water, brine, and/or a water/glycol mixture.
- the purge system 80 may also include the open fluid loop 165 , which may utilize fluid from the cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 ( FIG. 1 ).
- the liquid pump 162 of the open fluid loop 165 may draw fluid from the supply line 60 S and pump the fluid through a conduit 170 to the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- thermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to the conduit 170 may remove heat from the fluid, thereby further chilling the fluid.
- the fluid drawn from the supply line 60 S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture.
- the liquid pump 162 of the open fluid loop 165 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively.
- the closed fluid loop 160 and the open fluid loop 165 may flow chilled fluid through the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may include two separate purge coils 116 , which may separately receive chilled fluid from separate fluid loops, such as from the closed fluid loop 160 and from the open fluid loop 165 , as discussed in further detail below in FIG. 14 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may include a single purge coil 116 that is configured to receive chilled fluid from separate fluid loops, such as from both the closed fluid loop 160 and the open fluid loop 165 , at separate times based on operation of one or more stop valves 112 , as discussed in further detail below in FIG. 15 . Additionally, or in the alternative, the purge coil 116 may receive a mixture of fluid from separate fluid loops based on operation of one or more stop valves 112 , also as discussed in further detail below in FIG. 15 . Particularly, the controller 120 may send one or more signals to the appropriate stop valves 112 to control the flow of chilled fluids through the purge heat exchanger 114 as discussed above.
- the purge system 80 may include a refrigerant loop 172 that is configured to flow chilled refrigerant through the purge coil 116 to condense the vapor refrigerant pulled from the condenser 34 .
- a liquid pump 162 of the refrigerant loop 172 that is configured to pump liquid refrigerant may pull liquid refrigerant from the evaporator 48 through a conduit 174 .
- the liquid refrigerant pulled from the evaporator 38 may include a portion of vapor refrigerant.
- the liquid pump 162 may pull a two-phase mixture of vapor refrigerant and liquid refrigerant from the evaporator 38 .
- the purge system 80 may include a flash tank, such as the intermediate vessel 70 ( FIG. 4 ), which is disposed along the conduit 174 between the liquid pump 162 and the evaporator 38 .
- the liquid refrigerant may be separated from the vapor refrigerant within the flash tank.
- the liquid refrigerant may be drawn from the flash tank by the liquid pump 162 along the conduit 174 , and the vapor refrigerant may be routed from the flash tank to an outlet side of the evaporator 38 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the refrigerant loop 172 may then pump the liquid refrigerant through the purge coil 116 and back to the evaporator 38 .
- the liquid refrigerant may traverse one or more portions of the conduit 174 to which thermoelectric assemblies 82 are coupled. Specifically, the thermoelectric assemblies 82 may remove heat from the liquid refrigerant as it flows through the conduit 174 , thereby chilling the liquid refrigerant to a subcooled state. In this manner, the refrigerant may remain in a liquid state as it flows through the purge coil 116 , transfers heat to the mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG, and flows back to the evaporator 38 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the refrigerant loop 172 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump refrigerant liquid.
- the purge system 80 may include the refrigerant loop 172 and the open fluid loop 165 which may both flow chilled fluid into the purge heat exchanger 114 to separate the mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG that is pulled from the condenser 34 by condensing refrigerant vapor of the mixture.
- the refrigerant loop 172 may function as described above in reference to FIG. 10
- the open fluid loop 165 may function as described above in reference to FIG. 9 .
- the refrigerant loop 172 and the open fluid loop 165 may flow chilled fluid through separate respective purge coils 116 in certain embodiments, or may flow chilled fluid through a single purge coil 116 .
- the purge coil 116 may receive a mixture of fluid from separate fluid loops based on operation of one or more stop valves 112 (shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 ). Specifically, the controller 120 may send one or more signals to the appropriate stop valves 112 to control the flow of chilled fluids through the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge system 80 may utilize adsorption chambers 180 to remove NCG from the vapor compression system 14 .
- the vacuum pump 132 may remove gases from the purge chamber 118 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the vacuum pump 132 may remove NCG and refrigerant vapor from the purge chamber 118 .
- the adsorption chambers 180 may remove a portion of refrigerant vapor drawn in by the vacuum pump 132 before expelling the NCG into the atmosphere.
- the vacuum pump 132 may pump the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor, or “mixture,” through a conduit 182 to one or more of the adsorption chambers 180 .
- the mixture may be passed through a modified material 184 of the adsorption chamber 180 , and the refrigerant vapor may be adsorbed, or attracted, into and/or onto the modified material 184 due to the properties of the modified material 184 and the refrigerant vapor.
- electrochemical properties may aid in adsorption as described herein.
- the NCG may not be adsorbed into the modified material 184 also due at least in part to the properties of the NCG and/or the modified material 184 . Accordingly, the NCG may pass through the modified material 184 and continue through an air outlet valve 186 to be expelled into the atmosphere.
- the modified material 184 may eventually become saturated with the refrigerant and may no longer efficiently adsorb additional refrigerant.
- heaters 188 such as immersion heaters, outer cable heaters, or band heaters, may be activated to provide thermal energy to the modified material 184 to heat the refrigerant.
- the heaters 188 will help the refrigerant overcome the bonds of the modified material 184 , such that the modified material 184 releases the refrigerant in a vapor state.
- the refrigerant vapor may have a high pressure relative to pressures within the evaporator 38 such that the refrigerant vapor flows to the evaporator 38 through a conduit 190 .
- the stop valves 112 may allow the mixture to flow to only certain adsorption chambers 180 at a time. In this manner, the adsorption chambers 180 may continuously receive and filter the mixture as described above.
- the controller 120 may control the stop valves 112 to allow the mixture to be filtered by one or more specific adsorption chambers 180 of the adsorption chambers 180 . Once the specific adsorption chamber 180 becomes saturated with the refrigerant, the controller 120 may stop flow of the mixture to the specific adsorption chamber 180 and allow the mixture to flow to a different adsorption chamber 180 .
- the controller 120 may activate the heater 188 associated with the specific adsorption chamber 180 to allow the refrigerant vapor to flow to the evaporator 38 as described above. Indeed, while the specific adsorption chamber 180 is being heated, the different adsorption chamber 180 may continue to filter the mixture. Once the specific adsorption chamber 180 is sufficiently unsaturated with the refrigerant, the controller 120 may once again activate one or more of the stop valves 112 to allow the mixture to flow the specific adsorption chamber 180 . To this end, the purge system 80 may include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or any other suitable number of individual adsorption chambers 180 to allow continuous filtration of the mixture.
- the purge system 80 may include the closed fluid loop 160 and an open intermediate fluid loop 200 , such as an open fluid loop.
- the closed fluid loop 160 may utilize the liquid pump 162 to flow a fluid, which may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, through a conduit 201 and the purge coil 116 .
- the liquid pump 162 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture.
- a first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill the fluid as discussed above.
- the chilled fluid may separate the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor by condensing the refrigerant vapor within the purge chamber 118 as discussed above.
- the cold side 86 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to the conduit 201 while the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to a conduit 202 configured to flow another chilled fluid.
- the conduit 202 which is coupled to the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a , may be part of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may draw a fluid, which may be water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof, from the supply line 60 S of the cooling load 62 ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) through a conduit 204 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 ( FIG. 1 ).
- the fluid pumped from the supply line 60 S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture and the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively.
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may then pump the fluid through a conduit 206 , to which a second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may be coupled.
- the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may remove heat from the fluid.
- the fluid of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may pass through the conduit 202 .
- the conduit 202 may be coupled to the hot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a . In this manner, as the fluid passes through the conduit 202 of the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b , the fluid may absorb some heat from the hot sides 84 of the thermoelectric assemblies 82 b.
- the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may utilize the chilled fluid flowing through the conduit 202 in place of a fan 100 ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ) to increase the capability of the second thermoelectric assemblies 82 a to chill the fluid in the closed fluid loop 160 to a lower temperature.
- the chilled fluid flowing through the conduit 202 may be at a lower temperature than ambient air, which the fan 100 may otherwise utilize to cool the hot side 84 . Therefore, by utilizing the chilled fluid within the conduit 202 , the temperature difference between the cold side 86 and the hot side 84 may be reduced, thereby increasing the heat transfer effectiveness of the purge system 80 .
- the fluid of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 flows through the conduit 202 to cool the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a , the fluid may flow to the return line 60 R via a conduit 208 to once again be chilled within the evaporator 38 as discussed above.
- the purge system 80 may utilize the refrigerant loop 172 to condense the refrigerant vapor within the purge heat exchanger and utilize the intermediate cooling fluid loop 200 to cool the thermoelectric assemblies 82 a that are used to cool the fluid in the refrigerant loop 172 that is chilling the purge coil 116 .
- the purge system 80 may utilize the refrigerant loop 172 to flow refrigerant from the evaporator 38 to the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 in order to separate the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor that is pulled from the condenser 34 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the refrigerant loop 172 may pump refrigerant from the evaporator 38 through a conduit 210 and through the purge coil 116 of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- a first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to the conduit 210 . Therefore, as the refrigerant flows through the conduit 210 to the purge coil 116 , the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill, or subcool, the refrigerant. Particularly, the thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill the refrigerant such that the refrigerant remains in a liquid state throughout the refrigerant loop 172 .
- the cold side 86 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to the conduit 210 while the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to a conduit 212 configured to flow another chilled fluid.
- the conduit 212 which is coupled to the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a , may be part of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may draw a fluid, which may be water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof, from the supply line 60 S of the cooling load 62 ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) through a conduit 214 .
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 ( FIG. 1 ).
- the fluid pumped from the supply line 60 S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture and the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively.
- the liquid pump 162 of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may then pump the fluid through a conduit 216 , to which a second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may be coupled.
- the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may remove heat from the fluid.
- the fluid of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 may pass through the conduit 212 .
- the conduit 212 may be coupled to the hot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a . In this manner, as the fluid of the intermediate fluid loop 200 passes through the conduit 212 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a , the fluid may absorb some heat from the hot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a.
- the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may utilize the chilled fluid flowing through the conduit 212 in place of the fan 100 ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ) to increase the heat removal capabilities of the second thermoelectric assemblies 82 a .
- the chilled fluid flowing through the conduit 212 may be at a lower temperature than ambient air, which the fan 100 may otherwise utilize to cool the hot side 84 . Therefore, by utilizing the chilled fluid within the conduit 212 , the temperature difference between the cold side 86 and the hot side 84 may be reduced, thereby increasing the heat transfer effectiveness of the purge system 80 .
- the fluid of the open intermediate fluid loop 200 flows through the conduit 212 to cool the hot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a , the fluid may flow to the return line 60 R via a conduit 220 to once again be chilled within the evaporator 38 as discussed above.
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from more than one fluid loop, such as the closed fluid loop 160 , the open fluid loop 165 , and/or the refrigerant loop 172 . Particularly, the heat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from two separate fluid loops. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, as shown in FIG. 14 , the purge heat exchanger 114 may include a first purge coil 116 a , which may be part of a first fluid loop 222 a , and may also include a second purge coil 116 b , which may be part of a second fluid loop 222 b .
- the first and second fluid loops 222 a , 222 b may be part of the closed fluid loop 160 , the open fluid loop 165 , or the refrigerant loop 172 .
- the first purge coil 116 a and the first fluid loop 222 b may be separate from the second purge coil 116 b and the second fluid loop 222 .
- the controller 120 may operate one or more of the stop valves 112 to flow chilled fluid through the first fluid loop 222 a , the second fluid loop 222 a , or both, through the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may include a single purge coil 116 c , which may receive chilled fluid from the first fluid loop 222 a , the second fluid loop 222 b , or both.
- the single purge coil 116 c may be part of the first fluid loop 222 a , the second fluid loop 222 b , or both. That is, the controller 120 may operate the appropriate stop valves 112 to flow chilled fluid from the first fluid loop 222 a , the second fluid loop 222 b , or both as a mixture, through the single purge coil 116 c of the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- the purge heat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from two separate fluid loops, such as the first fluid loop 222 a and the second fluid loop 222 b .
- the first and second fluid loops 222 a , 222 b may flow different types of fluid.
- the first fluid loop 222 a may utilize water as a chilled fluid while the second fluid loop 222 b may utilize brine, refrigerant, or a water/glycol mixture.
- the water within the first fluid loop 222 a may have a first freezing temperature and the brine, refrigerant, or water/glycol mixture within the second fluid loop 222 b may have a second freezing temperature that is lower than the first freezing temperature. Accordingly, the fluid within the second fluid loop 222 b may be chilled to a lower temperature than the fluid with the first fluid loop 222 a before the fluids start to solidify, or freeze.
- the controller 120 may operate the stop valves 112 accordingly to only utilize the chilled fluid in either the first fluid loop 222 a , the second fluid loop 222 b , or both, depending on the type of chilled fluid and the amount of cooling that may be used to sufficiently condense the refrigerant vapor within the purge heat exchanger 114 .
- thermoelectric assemblies 82 may be utilized if the vapor compression system 14 is in operation or if the vapor compression system 14 is not in operation.
- the liquid pumps 162 and/or the vacuum pump 132 may be powered by one or more motors 240 , which may be any suitable motor.
- the controller 120 may control the liquid pump 162 and/or the vacuum pump 132 through communication with the one or more motors 240 .
- the controller 120 may operate the pumps 162 , 132 based on temperature and/or pressure data obtained from the one or more sensors 138 of the purge system 30 .
- the one or more motors 240 may receive power from the power source 90 .
- the controller 120 may control the amount of power sent from the power source 90 to the thermoelectric assemblies 82 to set an appropriate heat removal amount. For example, in some embodiments, the controller 120 may decrease the amount of power sent to the thermoelectric assemblies 82 to save in power costs or to decrease an amount of heat removal performed by the thermoelectric assemblies 82 .
- the present disclosure is directed to providing systems and methods for purging a low-pressure HVAC system (e.g., chiller system, vapor compression system) of NCG that may have entered during operation.
- a purge system may purge the HVAC system of NCG by utilizing a chilled fluid that has been chilled via thermoelectric assemblies.
- the disclosed embodiments enable the HVAC system to be purged of the NCG without using additional refrigerant, which may have a high GWP.
- additional refrigerant which may have a high GWP.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Other Air-Conditioning Systems (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Cleaning By Liquid Or Steam (AREA)
Abstract
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a refrigerant loop configured to flow a refrigerant and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG). The purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant. The purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a chilled fluid. The purge system also includes a thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the chilled fluid.
Description
- This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/611,412, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PURGING A CHILLER SYSTEM,” filed Dec. 28, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
- This application relates generally to purging systems for chiller systems.
- Chiller systems, or vapor compression systems, utilize a working fluid, typically referred to as a refrigerant that changes phases between vapor, liquid, and combinations thereof in response to being subjected to different temperatures and pressures associated with operation of the vapor compression system. In low-pressure chiller systems, some components of the low-pressure chiller systems operate at a lower pressure than the surrounding atmosphere. Due to the pressure differential, non-condensable gases (NCG) such as ambient air may migrate into these low-pressure components, which may cause inefficiencies in the low-pressure chiller system. Accordingly, the low-pressure chiller system may be purged of the NCG to run more effectively. However, traditional purge systems used to remove the NCG may utilize additional refrigerant with medium or high global warming potential (GWP).
- In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a refrigerant loop configured to flow a refrigerant and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG). The purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant. The purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid. The purge system also includes a thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid.
- In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a refrigerant loop, a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop, an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid, a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a second cooling fluid, and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG). The purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to separate a mixture drawn from the condenser utilizing a first refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the evaporator and utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid. The mixture includes the NCG and a second refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the condenser. The purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the second refrigerant flow of the mixture. The purge system also includes thermoelectric assemblies configured to remove thermal energy from the first refrigerant flow and the non-refrigerant fluid.
- In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a refrigerant loop, a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop, an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid, a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with second cooling fluid, and a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG). The purge system includes a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant. The purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a chilled fluid of a chilled fluid loop. The purge system also includes a thermoelectric assembly configured to chill the chilled fluid in conjunction with an intermediate fluid of an open fluid loop.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building that may utilize a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, (HVAC) system in a commercial setting, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an HVAC system, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 3 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 4 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 5 is a schematic of a thermoelectric assembly of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 6 is a schematic of a thermoelectric assembly of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 7 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 8 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 9 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 10 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 11 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 12 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 13 is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 14 is a schematic of an embodiment of a heat exchanger of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; and -
FIG. 15 is a schematic of an embodiment of a heat exchanger of the HVAC system ofFIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. - Embodiments of the present disclosure include a purge system that may improve an efficiency of purging in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. For example, in certain low-pressure HVAC systems an evaporator may draw in non-condensable gases (NCG) such as ambient air from the atmosphere due to a pressure differential between the evaporator and the atmosphere. The NCG may travel through the HVAC system to ultimately collect within the condenser. These NCG may be detrimental to the overall performance of the HVAC system, and as such, should be removed. Accordingly, the presently-disclosed embodiments may efficiently purge the HVAC system of the NCG via the purge system. For example, the purge system may pull a mixture of the NCG and refrigerant from the condenser. The purge system may then utilize a purge heat exchanger (e.g., a purge coil in a purge chamber) to decrease a temperature of, or remove heat from, the mixture to condense the refrigerant, thereby separating the refrigerant from the NCG due to the increase in density of the refrigerant as a byproduct of the refrigerant condensing. Particularly, the purge system may run a chilled fluid through the purge coil of the heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant and separate the mixture. In certain embodiments, the chilled fluid may be chilled via one or more thermoelectric assemblies. Further, in certain embodiments, the chilled fluid may also be chilled via a secondary chilled fluid that was also chilled via thermoelectric assemblies. In some embodiments, the purge heat exchanger may include two separate purge coils that may chill the mixture with separate chilled fluids.
- Turning now to the drawings,
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an environment for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)system 10 in abuilding 12 for a typical commercial setting. TheHVAC system 10 may include avapor compression system 14 that supplies a chilled liquid, which may be used to cool thebuilding 12. TheHVAC system 10 may also include aboiler 16 to supply warm liquid to heat thebuilding 12 and an air distribution system which circulates air through thebuilding 12. The air distribution system can also include anair return duct 18, anair supply duct 20, and/or anair handler 22. In some embodiments, theair handler 22 may include a heat exchanger that is connected to theboiler 16 and thevapor compression system 14 byconduits 24. The heat exchanger in theair handler 22 may receive either heated liquid from theboiler 16 or chilled liquid from thevapor compression system 14, depending on the mode of operation of theHVAC system 10. TheHVAC system 10 is shown with a separate air handler on each floor ofbuilding 12, but in other embodiments, theHVAC system 10 may includeair handlers 22 and/or other components that may be shared between or among floors. -
FIGS. 2 and 3 are embodiments of thevapor compression system 14 that can be used in theHVAC system 10. Thevapor compression system 14 may circulate a refrigerant through a circuit starting with acompressor 32. The circuit may also include acondenser 34, an expansion valve(s) or device(s) 36, and a liquid chiller or anevaporator 38. Thevapor compression system 14 may further include a control panel 40 (e.g., controller) that has an analog to digital (A/D)converter 42, amicroprocessor 44, a non-volatile memory 46, and/or aninterface board 48. - Some examples of fluids that may be used as refrigerants in the
vapor compression system 14 are hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) based refrigerants, for example, R-410A, R-407, R-134a, hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO), “natural” refrigerants like ammonia (NH3), R-717, carbon dioxide (CO2), R-744, or hydrocarbon based refrigerants, water vapor, refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP), or any other suitable refrigerant. In some embodiments, thevapor compression system 14 may be configured to efficiently utilize refrigerants having a normal boiling point of about 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit or less) at one atmosphere of pressure, also referred to as low pressure refrigerants, versus a medium pressure refrigerant, such as R-134a. As used herein, “normal boiling point” may refer to a boiling point temperature measured at one atmosphere of pressure. - In some embodiments, the
vapor compression system 14 may use one or more of a variable speed drive (VSDs) 52, amotor 50, thecompressor 32, thecondenser 34, the expansion valve ordevice 36, and/or theevaporator 38. Themotor 50 may drive thecompressor 32 and may be powered by a variable speed drive (VSD) 52. The VSD 52 receives alternating current (AC) power having a particular fixed line voltage and fixed line frequency from an AC power source, and provides power having a variable voltage and frequency to themotor 50. In other embodiments, themotor 50 may be powered directly from an AC or direct current (DC) power source. Themotor 50 may include any type of electric motor that can be powered by a VSD or directly from an AC or DC power source, such as a switched reluctance motor, an induction motor, an electronically commutated permanent magnet motor, or another suitable motor. - The
compressor 32 compresses a refrigerant vapor and delivers the vapor to thecondenser 34 through a discharge passage. In some embodiments, thecompressor 32 may be a centrifugal compressor. The refrigerant vapor pumped by thecompressor 32 to thecondenser 34 may transfer heat to a cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) in thecondenser 34. The refrigerant vapor may condense to a refrigerant liquid in thecondenser 34 as a result of thermal heat transfer with the cooling fluid. The refrigerant liquid from thecondenser 34 may flow through theexpansion device 36, for the purposes of reducing the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant liquid, to theevaporator 38. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 3 , thecondenser 34 is water cooled and includes atube bundle 54 connected to acooling tower 56, which supplies the cooling fluid to the condenser. - The refrigerant liquid delivered to the
evaporator 38 may absorb heat from another cooling fluid, which may or may not be the same cooling fluid used in thecondenser 34. The refrigerant liquid in theevaporator 38 may undergo a phase change from the refrigerant liquid to a refrigerant vapor. As shown in the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 3 , theevaporator 38 may include atube bundle 58 having asupply line 60S and areturn line 60R connected to acooling load 62. The cooling fluid of the evaporator 38 (e.g., water, ethylene glycol, calcium chloride brine, sodium chloride brine, or any other suitable fluid) enters theevaporator 38 viareturn line 60R and exits theevaporator 38 viasupply line 60S. Theevaporator 38 may reduce the temperature of the cooling fluid in thetube bundle 58 via thermal heat transfer with the refrigerant. Thetube bundle 58 in theevaporator 38 can include a plurality of tubes and/or a plurality of tube bundles. In any case, the refrigerant vapor exits theevaporator 38 and returns to thecompressor 32 by a suction line to complete the cycle. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic of thevapor compression system 14 with an intermediate circuit 64 incorporated betweencondenser 34 and theexpansion device 36. The intermediate circuit 64 may have aninlet line 68 that is directly fluidly connected to thecondenser 34. In other embodiments, theinlet line 68 may be indirectly fluidly coupled to thecondenser 34. As shown in the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 4 , theinlet line 68 includes a first expansion device 66 positioned upstream of an intermediate vessel 70. In some embodiments, the intermediate vessel 70 may be a flash tank (e.g., a flash intercooler). In other embodiments, the intermediate vessel 70 may be configured as a heat exchanger or a “surface economizer.” In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 4 , the intermediate vessel 70 is used as a flash tank, and the first expansion device 66 is configured to lower the pressure of (e.g., expand) the refrigerant liquid received from thecondenser 34. During the expansion process, a portion of the liquid may vaporize, and thus, the intermediate vessel 70 may be used to separate the vapor from the liquid received from the first expansion device 66. Additionally, the intermediate vessel 70 may provide for further expansion of the refrigerant liquid because of a pressure drop experienced by the refrigerant liquid when entering the intermediate vessel 70 (e.g., due to a rapid increase in volume experienced when entering the intermediate vessel 70). The vapor in the intermediate vessel 70 may be drawn by thecompressor 32 through a suction line 74 of thecompressor 32, or through a centrifugal compressor. In other embodiments, the vapor in the intermediate vessel may be drawn to an intermediate stage of the compressor 32 (e.g., not the suction stage). The liquid that collects in the intermediate vessel 70 may be at a lower enthalpy than the refrigerant liquid exiting thecondenser 34 because of the expansion in the expansion device 66 and/or the intermediate vessel 70. The liquid from intermediate vessel 70 may then flow inline 72 through asecond expansion device 36 to theevaporator 38. - In some embodiments, when the
vapor compression system 14 is in operation, theevaporator 38 may function at a pressure that is lower than the ambient pressure. As such, NCG may be drawn into theevaporator 38 and move through thecompressor 32 to gather in thecondenser 34. These NCG may cause thevapor compression system 14 to operate inefficiently because the NCG may act as insulators preventing effective heat transfer from the refrigerant to the cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) within thecondenser 34. Accordingly, thevapor compression system 14 may include features to purge thevapor compression system 14 of the NCG. - Particularly, the
vapor compression system 14 may include apurge system 80 to purge thevapor compression system 14 of NCG. As mentioned above, thepurge system 80 may purge thevapor compression system 14 at least in part by reducing a temperature of, or removing heat from, a mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor that is pulled from thecondenser 34, thereby condensing the refrigerant vapor and separating the refrigerant from the NCG. Specifically, thepurge system 80 may remove heat from the mixture via a chilled fluid, which may become chilled through utilization of one or morethermoelectric assemblies 82, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6 . Eachthermoelectric assembly 82 may include a set of conductive plates, such as ahot side 84 and acold side 86, and athermoelectric device 88, such as a set of semiconductors. The conductive plates may be coupled to thethermoelectric device 88 via thermal paste. Thethermoelectric device 88 may include a set of extrinsic, doped semiconductors with an electric imbalance, such as positive (P-type) or negative (N-type) semiconductors, which may carry positive or negative charges, respectively. For example, heat may be absorbed through thecold side 86, transferred through thethermoelectric device 88, and released through thehot side 84. Indeed, thethermoelectric assembly 82 may create a temperature difference, or a thermal gradient, between thecold side 86 and thehot side 84, from an electrical energy difference. Further, higher temperature differences may decrease the heat removal capability of thethermoelectric assembly 82, while smaller temperature differences may increase the heat removal capability of thethermoelectric assembly 82. Eachthermoelectric assembly 82 may utilize apower source 90 to induce an electrical power gradient within thethermoelectric assembly 82. Thepower source 90 may be any suitable power source, such as a power grid, a battery, a solar panel, an electrical generator, a gas engine, thevapor compression system 14, or any combination thereof. Thethermoelectric assembly 82 may convert the electrical power gradient to a thermal gradient through a thermoelectric effect, or Peltier-Seebeck effect. - The
thermoelectric assemblies 82 may utilize the thermal gradient to absorb heat fromfluid 92 flowing and/or disposed within aconduit 94. Thecold side 86 of thethermoelectric assembly 82 may be coupled to theconduit 94 via aheat sink 96 and/orheat paste 98, which may conduct, or transfer, heat from the fluid 92 to thethermoelectric device 88, thereby chilling the fluid 92 within theconduit 94. Further, thehot side 84 of thethermoelectric assembly 82 may be coupled to anotherheat sink 96, which may be configured to remove heat from thehot side 84. To this end, thethermoelectric assembly 82 may also include afan 100 configured to drawambient air 102 in through sides of theheat sink 96 and expel heatedambient air 102 to the surroundings. In this manner, theambient air 102 may remove heat from theheat sink 96 as thefan 100 draws theambient air 102 in through theheat sink 96 and forces theambient air 102 in the form of heated air out of thethermoelectric assembly 82 with an increase in temperature. - As discussed herein, in some embodiments, the
hot side 84 of thethermoelectric assembly 82 may additionally, or in the alternative, be coupled to anotherconduit 94 with another fluid 92, which may also be chilled some amount and configured to remove heat from thehot side 84. In this manner, a temperature of thecold side 86 may be reduced due to the fact that thehot side 84 may be chilled to some temperature below a temperature of theambient air 102. Indeed, due at least in part to the reduced temperatures and temperature differential of thecold side 86 and thehot side 84, the heat-removal capabilities of thethermoelectric assembly 82 may be increased. Further still, in some embodiments thethermoelectric assembly 82 may include more than one set of thecold side 86, thethermoelectric device 88, and thehot side 84. For example, theconduit 94 may be coupled to a firstcold side 86, which is coupled to a firsthot side 84 via a firstthermoelectric device 88. The firsthot side 84 may additionally be coupled to a secondcold side 86, which is in turn coupled to a secondhot side 84 via a secondthermoelectric device 88. The secondhot side 84 may then be coupled to any suitable heat-removing system, such asheat sinks 96,fans 100, and/orconduits 94 as discussed above. Indeed, there may be any suitable number of sets of thecold side 86, thethermoelectric device 88, and thehot side 84 stacked within thethermoelectric assembly 82. - As illustrated in
FIGS. 7-13 , thevapor compression system 14 may include thepurge system 80, which is configured to remove NCG, such as ambient air, from thevapor compression system 14. To this end, thepurge system 80 may include one or morethermoelectric assemblies 82, one ormore pumps 110, such as vacuum pumps, liquid pumps, and/or compressors one ormore stop valves 112, and apurge heat exchanger 114. Thepurge heat exchanger 114 may further include one or more purge coils 116 in apurge chamber 118. Further, it should be noted that the conduits discussed inFIGS. 7-13 may be similar to theconduit 94 ofFIGS. 5 and 6 . - Further, the
vapor compression system 14 may utilize acontroller 120 to control certain aspects of operation of thepurge system 80. Thecontroller 120 may be any device employing a processor 122 (which may represent one or more processors), such as an application-specific processor. Thecontroller 120 may also include amemory device 124 for storing instructions executable by theprocessor 122 to perform the methods and control actions described herein for thepurge system 80. Theprocessor 122 may include one or more processing devices, and thememory device 124 may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way of example, such machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by theprocessor 122 or by any general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. - To this end, the
controller 120 may be communicatively coupled to one or more components of thepurge system 80 through acommunication system 126. In some embodiments, thecommunication system 126 may communicate through a wireless network (e.g., wireless local area networks [WLAN], wireless wide area networks [WWAN], near field communication [NFC]). In some embodiments, thecommunication system 126 may communicate through a wired network (e.g., local area networks [LAN], wide area networks [WAN]). For example, as shown inFIGS. 7-13 , thecontroller 120 may communicate to a number of elements of thepurge system 80 such as thepumps 110, thethermoelectric assemblies 82, thestop valves 112, and other components. In some embodiments, functions of thecontroller 120 and the control panel 40 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ) as described herein may be controlled through a single controller. In some embodiments, the single controller may be thecontrol panel 40 or thecontroller 120. - As discussed in further detail below, as chilled fluid flows through the
purge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114, the chilled fluid may exchange heat with a mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG that has been pulled from thecondenser 34 or from another part of the system. As mentioned above, due to the low pressures of thevapor compression system 14 while in operation relative to ambient pressures, the NCG may be drawn into theevaporator 38 and travel through thevapor compression system 14 to accumulate in thecondenser 34. Specifically, the NCG may accumulate in one or more portions of thecondenser 34. Accordingly, the mixture of the NCG and the refrigerant vapor may be pulled from the one or more portions of thecondenser 34. Generally, during normal operation, one or more portions in which the NCG accumulate may be substantially below a discharge baffle, near the middle of thecondenser 34, near an outlet of thecondenser 34, near a top of thecondenser 34, or any combination thereof. - The NCG that have accumulated in the
condenser 34 may be mixed with refrigerant vapor. The NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture may be drawn through aconduit 128 into thepurge chamber 118 of thepurge heat exchanger 114, which may be due at least in part to a temperature and/or pressure differential created by the chilled fluid passing through thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. In some embodiments, acompressor 129 may be disposed along theconduit 128. Thecompressor 129 may pump the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture from thecondenser 34 into thepurge chamber 118 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Particularly, thecompressor 129 is configured to increase a pressure of the mixture before the mixture enters thepurge heat exchanger 114. In this manner, the temperature at which the refrigerant vapor of the mixture condenses in thepurge heat exchanger 114 is increased, thereby reducing a load on thepurge system 80. - As the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture comes into contact with the low temperature surface of the
purge coil 116, the refrigerant vapor will condense into refrigerant liquid and create a partial vacuum within thepurge chamber 118 of thepurge heat exchanger 114, thereby drawing in more of the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture from thecondenser 34 through theconduit 128. In some embodiments, as mentioned above, the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture may be drawn through theconduit 128 and into thepurge heat exchanger 114 due to thecompressor 129. Further, as the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture enters thepurge heat exchanger 114 and the refrigerant vapor condenses into refrigerant liquid, the refrigerant liquid will gather in the bottom of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Indeed, due at least partially to a density difference between the condensed refrigerant liquid and the NCG, the NCG and other uncondensed refrigerant vapor will collect towards the top of thepurge heat exchanger 114, while the condensed refrigerant liquid will collect at the bottom of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Accordingly, as more of the refrigerant vapor of the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture condenses within thepurge heat exchanger 114, a liquid level of the refrigerant liquid within thepurge heat exchanger 114 will rise. - Once the liquid level of the refrigerant liquid has reached a predetermined threshold in the
purge heat exchanger 114, the refrigerant liquid will be drained through aconduit 130 to thecondenser 34, theevaporator 38, or both, and the NCG will be pumped out of thepurge heat exchanger 114 by avacuum pump 132 through aconduit 134. Thevacuum pump 132 may then expel the NCG into the atmosphere. In some embodiments, the NCG may be at a high pressure within thepurge heat exchanger 114 relative to a pressure of the atmosphere due to thecompressor 129 increasing a pressure of the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture prior to the mixture entering thepurge heat exchanger 114. Accordingly, due to the pressure differential between the NCG within thepurge heat exchanger 114 and the atmosphere, the NCG may expelled into the atmosphere through astop valve 112 of theconduit 134 without use of thevacuum pump 132. - In some embodiments, the
purge heat exchanger 114 may be disposed vertically above thecondenser 34 and theevaporator 38. In this manner, the refrigerant liquid may flow to thecondenser 34, theevaporator 38, or both, due at least in part to the head pressure differential created by the height differential of thepurge heat exchanger 114 relative to thecondenser 34 and theevaporator 38. In some embodiments, thecondenser 34 may be disposed vertically above theevaporator 38, thereby allowing the refrigerant liquid to flow more easily to theevaporator 38 relative to thecondenser 34 from thepurge heat exchanger 114. - In some embodiments, the
purge heat exchanger 114 may include one ormore sensors 138, which may include one or more temperature sensors, pressure sensors, liquid level sensors, ultrasonic sensors, or any combination thereof. For example, onesensor 138 of the one ormore sensors 138 may measure the liquid level of the refrigerant liquid within thepurge heat exchanger 114 and send data regarding the liquid level to thecontroller 120. If the liquid level is approaching, matching, and/or exceeding the predetermined liquid level threshold, thecontroller 120 may send a signal to one or more of thestop valves 112 to allow the refrigerant liquid to drain to thecondenser 34, theevaporator 38, or both, as described above. Similarly, thecontroller 120 may send a signal to thepump 132 and/or one or more of thestop valves 112 to release the NCG through thepump 132 into the atmosphere. - In some embodiments, the
controller 120 may determine whether there is a significant or predetermined amount of NCG within thecondenser 34 before allowing the NCG and refrigerant vapor mixture to enter thepurge heat exchanger 114, such as by activating one or more of thestop valves 112. To determine whether there is a significant or predetermined amount of NCG within thecondenser 34, anothersensor 138 of the one ormore sensors 138 may measure one or more parameters related to a performance of thevapor compression system 14 and send data indicative of the one or more parameters to thecontroller 120 to analyze and process. Specifically, thecontroller 120 may determine a performance level of thevapor compression system 14 based on the one or more parameters. If thecontroller 120 determines that the performance level of thevapor compression system 14 is below a predetermined threshold, thecontroller 120 may allow thecondenser 34 to be purged as described above by opening anappropriate stop valve 112 and allowing the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor to flow to thepurge heat exchanger 114 from thecondenser 34. In some embodiments, thecontroller 120 may purge thecondenser 34 as described above based on a predetermined schedule. - Additionally, or in the alternative, one of the
sensors 138 may measure a saturation temperature and an actual temperature within thecondenser 34 and send data indicative of the saturation and actual temperatures to thecontroller 120 to analyze and process. Thecontroller 120 may then determine whether the saturation temperature substantially matches the actual temperature. If the saturation temperature does not substantially match the actual temperature, thecontroller 120 may allow thecondenser 34 to be purged as described above by opening anappropriate stop valve 112 and allowing the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor to flow to thepurge heat exchanger 114 from thecondenser 34. - As discussed herein, the
purge heat exchanger 114 may receive a chilled fluid that flows through thepurge coil 116 to condense the refrigerant vapor pulled from thecondenser 34. In some embodiments, thepurge coil 116 may include internal and/or external fins configured to increase a rate of heat transfer between thepurge coil 116, the fluid within thepurge coil 116, and/or the fluid that is external to thepurge coil 116 and internal to thepurge heat exchanger 114.FIGS. 7-13 depict embodiments of thepurge system 80 used to chill the fluid flowing through thepurge coil 116. For example, as shown inFIG. 7 , thepurge system 80 may include aclosed fluid loop 160 configured to chill a fluid and flow the chilled fluid through thepurge coil 116 to condense the refrigerant vapor within thepurge heat exchanger 114. Particularly, the fluid withinclosed fluid loop 160 may be a brine and/or a water/glycol mixture with a low freezing point. - The
closed fluid loop 160 may utilize aliquid pump 162 to pump the fluid through aconduit 164 and thepurge coil 116 of theclosed fluid loop 160. Indeed, theliquid pump 162 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump brine and/or a water/glycol mixture. Further, as shown in the figure, multiplethermoelectric assemblies 82 may be coupled to theconduit 164 and configured to remove heat from the fluid as it flows through theconduit 164, as described above in reference toFIGS. 5 and 6 . There may be any suitable number of thermalelectric assemblies 82 coupled to theconduit 164. - In certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 8 , thepurge system 80 may utilize fluid from another source such as the cooling fluid of the cooling load 62 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ). In other words, thepurge system 80 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 (FIG. 1 ) through anopen fluid loop 165. In certain embodiments, the fluid may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture. Particularly, aliquid pump 162 of theopen fluid loop 165 may draw fluid from thesupply line 60S through aconduit 166 and supply the fluid to thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. As the fluid flows through theconduit 166 to thepurge coil 116, the fluid may be chilled viathermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to theconduit 166 and configured to remove heat from the fluid, as discussed above. In this manner, thepurge coil 116 may receive fluid that has been chilled via thethermoelectric assemblies 82. As the chilled fluid flows through thepurge coil 116, the refrigerant vapor from thecondenser 34 may condense within thepurge chamber 118. After flowing through thepurge coil 116, the fluid may be returned to thesupply line 60S. Indeed, the amount of fluid drawn from thesupply line 60S may be negligible relative to the overall mass flowrate of the fluid through thesupply line 60S. Further, the fluid that is drawn from thesupply line 60S and routed to thepurge coil 116 may be at a temperature that is lower than the ambient temperature due at least in part to the heat exchange process within theevaporator 38 described above. Therefore, thethermoelectric assemblies 82 may remove a reduced amount of heat from the fluid of theopen fluid loop 165 for the fluid to be at an adequately low temperature to condense the refrigerant vapor within thepurge heat exchanger 114. - In certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 9 , thepurge system 80 may utilize chilled fluid from theclosed fluid loop 160 and chilled fluid from theopen fluid loop 165, which may function similar to embodiments discussed in reference toFIGS. 7 and 8 , respectively. Particularly, theclosed fluid loop 160 may utilize theliquid pump 162 to flow the fluid through theconduit 168 and through thepurge coil 116. As the fluid flows through theconduit 168, thethermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to theconduit 168 may remove heat from the fluid, thereby chilling the fluid. Indeed, the fluid may be a brine, water, and/or a water/glycol mixture. Accordingly, theliquid pump 162 of theclosed fluid loop 160 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump water, brine, and/or a water/glycol mixture. - The
purge system 80, as shown in the embodiment ofFIG. 9 , may also include theopen fluid loop 165, which may utilize fluid from the cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 (FIG. 1 ). Particularly, theliquid pump 162 of theopen fluid loop 165 may draw fluid from thesupply line 60S and pump the fluid through aconduit 170 to thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. As the fluid flows through theconduit 170 to thepurge coil 116,thermoelectric assemblies 82 that are coupled to theconduit 170 may remove heat from the fluid, thereby further chilling the fluid. In certain embodiments, the fluid drawn from thesupply line 60S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture. Accordingly, in such embodiments, theliquid pump 162 of theopen fluid loop 165 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively. - As discussed above, the
closed fluid loop 160 and theopen fluid loop 165 may flow chilled fluid through thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Specifically, in certain embodiments, thepurge heat exchanger 114 may include two separate purge coils 116, which may separately receive chilled fluid from separate fluid loops, such as from theclosed fluid loop 160 and from theopen fluid loop 165, as discussed in further detail below inFIG. 14 . Further, as discussed in further detail below, thepurge heat exchanger 114 may include asingle purge coil 116 that is configured to receive chilled fluid from separate fluid loops, such as from both theclosed fluid loop 160 and theopen fluid loop 165, at separate times based on operation of one ormore stop valves 112, as discussed in further detail below inFIG. 15 . Additionally, or in the alternative, thepurge coil 116 may receive a mixture of fluid from separate fluid loops based on operation of one ormore stop valves 112, also as discussed in further detail below inFIG. 15 . Particularly, thecontroller 120 may send one or more signals to theappropriate stop valves 112 to control the flow of chilled fluids through thepurge heat exchanger 114 as discussed above. - In certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 10 , thepurge system 80 may include arefrigerant loop 172 that is configured to flow chilled refrigerant through thepurge coil 116 to condense the vapor refrigerant pulled from thecondenser 34. Particularly, aliquid pump 162 of therefrigerant loop 172 that is configured to pump liquid refrigerant may pull liquid refrigerant from theevaporator 48 through aconduit 174. In some embodiments, the liquid refrigerant pulled from theevaporator 38 may include a portion of vapor refrigerant. In other words, theliquid pump 162 may pull a two-phase mixture of vapor refrigerant and liquid refrigerant from theevaporator 38. Accordingly, in some embodiments, thepurge system 80 may include a flash tank, such as the intermediate vessel 70 (FIG. 4 ), which is disposed along theconduit 174 between theliquid pump 162 and theevaporator 38. To this end, the liquid refrigerant may be separated from the vapor refrigerant within the flash tank. The liquid refrigerant may be drawn from the flash tank by theliquid pump 162 along theconduit 174, and the vapor refrigerant may be routed from the flash tank to an outlet side of theevaporator 38. Theliquid pump 162 of therefrigerant loop 172 may then pump the liquid refrigerant through thepurge coil 116 and back to theevaporator 38. Before reaching thepurge coil 116, the liquid refrigerant may traverse one or more portions of theconduit 174 to whichthermoelectric assemblies 82 are coupled. Specifically, thethermoelectric assemblies 82 may remove heat from the liquid refrigerant as it flows through theconduit 174, thereby chilling the liquid refrigerant to a subcooled state. In this manner, the refrigerant may remain in a liquid state as it flows through thepurge coil 116, transfers heat to the mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG, and flows back to theevaporator 38. Indeed, theliquid pump 162 of therefrigerant loop 172 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump refrigerant liquid. - Further, in certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 11 , thepurge system 80 may include therefrigerant loop 172 and theopen fluid loop 165 which may both flow chilled fluid into thepurge heat exchanger 114 to separate the mixture of refrigerant vapor and NCG that is pulled from thecondenser 34 by condensing refrigerant vapor of the mixture. Indeed, therefrigerant loop 172 may function as described above in reference toFIG. 10 , and theopen fluid loop 165 may function as described above in reference toFIG. 9 . Further, also as discussed above, therefrigerant loop 172 and theopen fluid loop 165 may flow chilled fluid through separate respective purge coils 116 in certain embodiments, or may flow chilled fluid through asingle purge coil 116. Particularly, thepurge coil 116 may receive a mixture of fluid from separate fluid loops based on operation of one or more stop valves 112 (shown inFIGS. 14 and 15 ). Specifically, thecontroller 120 may send one or more signals to theappropriate stop valves 112 to control the flow of chilled fluids through thepurge heat exchanger 114. - Further, in all of the embodiments discussed herein, the
purge system 80 may utilizeadsorption chambers 180 to remove NCG from thevapor compression system 14. For example, as discussed above, thevacuum pump 132 may remove gases from thepurge chamber 118 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Particularly, in certain embodiments, thevacuum pump 132 may remove NCG and refrigerant vapor from thepurge chamber 118. Accordingly, theadsorption chambers 180 may remove a portion of refrigerant vapor drawn in by thevacuum pump 132 before expelling the NCG into the atmosphere. To illustrate, thevacuum pump 132 may pump the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor, or “mixture,” through aconduit 182 to one or more of theadsorption chambers 180. As the mixture traverses through one of theadsorption chambers 180, the mixture may be passed through a modifiedmaterial 184 of theadsorption chamber 180, and the refrigerant vapor may be adsorbed, or attracted, into and/or onto the modifiedmaterial 184 due to the properties of the modifiedmaterial 184 and the refrigerant vapor. For example, electrochemical properties may aid in adsorption as described herein. Further, as the mixture traverses through theadsorption chamber 180, the NCG may not be adsorbed into the modifiedmaterial 184 also due at least in part to the properties of the NCG and/or the modifiedmaterial 184. Accordingly, the NCG may pass through the modifiedmaterial 184 and continue through anair outlet valve 186 to be expelled into the atmosphere. - As the modified
material 184 adsorbs the refrigerant, the modifiedmaterial 184 may eventually become saturated with the refrigerant and may no longer efficiently adsorb additional refrigerant. Accordingly,heaters 188, such as immersion heaters, outer cable heaters, or band heaters, may be activated to provide thermal energy to the modifiedmaterial 184 to heat the refrigerant. In this manner, theheaters 188 will help the refrigerant overcome the bonds of the modifiedmaterial 184, such that the modifiedmaterial 184 releases the refrigerant in a vapor state. Once released from the modifiedmaterial 184, the refrigerant vapor may have a high pressure relative to pressures within theevaporator 38 such that the refrigerant vapor flows to theevaporator 38 through aconduit 190. - In some embodiments, the
stop valves 112 may allow the mixture to flow to onlycertain adsorption chambers 180 at a time. In this manner, theadsorption chambers 180 may continuously receive and filter the mixture as described above. For example, thecontroller 120 may control thestop valves 112 to allow the mixture to be filtered by one or morespecific adsorption chambers 180 of theadsorption chambers 180. Once thespecific adsorption chamber 180 becomes saturated with the refrigerant, thecontroller 120 may stop flow of the mixture to thespecific adsorption chamber 180 and allow the mixture to flow to adifferent adsorption chamber 180. Once thecontroller 120 has stopped flow to thespecific adsorption chamber 180, the controller may activate theheater 188 associated with thespecific adsorption chamber 180 to allow the refrigerant vapor to flow to theevaporator 38 as described above. Indeed, while thespecific adsorption chamber 180 is being heated, thedifferent adsorption chamber 180 may continue to filter the mixture. Once thespecific adsorption chamber 180 is sufficiently unsaturated with the refrigerant, thecontroller 120 may once again activate one or more of thestop valves 112 to allow the mixture to flow thespecific adsorption chamber 180. To this end, thepurge system 80 may include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or any other suitable number ofindividual adsorption chambers 180 to allow continuous filtration of the mixture. - Further, in certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 12 , thepurge system 80 may include theclosed fluid loop 160 and an open intermediatefluid loop 200, such as an open fluid loop. Particularly, theclosed fluid loop 160 may utilize theliquid pump 162 to flow a fluid, which may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, through aconduit 201 and thepurge coil 116. Indeed, theliquid pump 162 may be a modified pump that is configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture. As theliquid pump 162 pumps the fluid of theclosed fluid loop 160 through theconduit 201, a first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill the fluid as discussed above. In this manner, as the chilled fluid of theclosed fluid loop 160 flows through thepurge coil 116, the chilled fluid may separate the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor by condensing the refrigerant vapor within thepurge chamber 118 as discussed above. - Further, it should be noted that the
cold side 86 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to theconduit 201 while thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to aconduit 202 configured to flow another chilled fluid. Specifically, theconduit 202, which is coupled to thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a, may be part of the open intermediatefluid loop 200. - To illustrate, the
liquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may draw a fluid, which may be water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof, from thesupply line 60S of the cooling load 62 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ) through aconduit 204. Particularly, in certain embodiments, theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 (FIG. 1 ). Indeed, the fluid pumped from thesupply line 60S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture and theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively. Theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may then pump the fluid through aconduit 206, to which a second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may be coupled. As the fluid of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 passes through theconduit 206, the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may remove heat from the fluid. After passing through theconduit 206, the fluid of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may pass through theconduit 202. Particularly, as mentioned above, theconduit 202 may be coupled to thehot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a. In this manner, as the fluid passes through theconduit 202 of the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b, the fluid may absorb some heat from thehot sides 84 of the thermoelectric assemblies 82 b. - Indeed, the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may utilize the chilled fluid flowing through the
conduit 202 in place of a fan 100 (FIGS. 4 and 5 ) to increase the capability of the second thermoelectric assemblies 82 a to chill the fluid in theclosed fluid loop 160 to a lower temperature. For example, the chilled fluid flowing through theconduit 202 may be at a lower temperature than ambient air, which thefan 100 may otherwise utilize to cool thehot side 84. Therefore, by utilizing the chilled fluid within theconduit 202, the temperature difference between thecold side 86 and thehot side 84 may be reduced, thereby increasing the heat transfer effectiveness of thepurge system 80. - After the fluid of the open intermediate
fluid loop 200 flows through theconduit 202 to cool thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a, the fluid may flow to thereturn line 60R via aconduit 208 to once again be chilled within theevaporator 38 as discussed above. - In certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 13 , thepurge system 80 may utilize therefrigerant loop 172 to condense the refrigerant vapor within the purge heat exchanger and utilize the intermediatecooling fluid loop 200 to cool the thermoelectric assemblies 82 a that are used to cool the fluid in therefrigerant loop 172 that is chilling thepurge coil 116. For example, as discussed previously inFIG. 10 , thepurge system 80 may utilize therefrigerant loop 172 to flow refrigerant from theevaporator 38 to thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114 in order to separate the mixture of NCG and refrigerant vapor that is pulled from thecondenser 34. - For example, the
liquid pump 162 of therefrigerant loop 172 may pump refrigerant from theevaporator 38 through aconduit 210 and through thepurge coil 116 of thepurge heat exchanger 114. Further, as shown, a first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to theconduit 210. Therefore, as the refrigerant flows through theconduit 210 to thepurge coil 116, the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill, or subcool, the refrigerant. Particularly, the thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may chill the refrigerant such that the refrigerant remains in a liquid state throughout therefrigerant loop 172. - Further, it should be noted that the
cold side 86 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to theconduit 210 while thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may be coupled to aconduit 212 configured to flow another chilled fluid. Specifically, theconduit 212, which is coupled to thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a, may be part of the open intermediatefluid loop 200. - To illustrate, the
liquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may draw a fluid, which may be water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof, from thesupply line 60S of the cooling load 62 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ) through aconduit 214. Particularly, in certain embodiments, theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may utilize fluid from a cooling system of a building, such as the building 12 (FIG. 1 ). Indeed, the fluid pumped from thesupply line 60S may be water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture and theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may be configured to pump water, brine, or a water/glycol mixture, respectively. Theliquid pump 162 of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may then pump the fluid through aconduit 216, to which a second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may be coupled. As the fluid of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 passes through theconduit 216, the second set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 b may remove heat from the fluid. After passing through theconduit 216, the fluid of the open intermediatefluid loop 200 may pass through theconduit 212. Particularly, as mentioned above, theconduit 212 may be coupled to thehot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a. In this manner, as the fluid of theintermediate fluid loop 200 passes through theconduit 212 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a, the fluid may absorb some heat from thehot sides 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a. - Indeed, the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a may utilize the chilled fluid flowing through the
conduit 212 in place of the fan 100 (FIGS. 4 and 5 ) to increase the heat removal capabilities of the second thermoelectric assemblies 82 a. For example, the chilled fluid flowing through theconduit 212 may be at a lower temperature than ambient air, which thefan 100 may otherwise utilize to cool thehot side 84. Therefore, by utilizing the chilled fluid within theconduit 212, the temperature difference between thecold side 86 and thehot side 84 may be reduced, thereby increasing the heat transfer effectiveness of thepurge system 80. - After the fluid of the open intermediate
fluid loop 200 flows through theconduit 212 to cool thehot side 84 of the first set of thermoelectric assemblies 82 a, the fluid may flow to thereturn line 60R via aconduit 220 to once again be chilled within theevaporator 38 as discussed above. - As discussed above, the
purge heat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from more than one fluid loop, such as theclosed fluid loop 160, theopen fluid loop 165, and/or therefrigerant loop 172. Particularly, theheat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from two separate fluid loops. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, as shown inFIG. 14 , thepurge heat exchanger 114 may include a first purge coil 116 a, which may be part of a first fluid loop 222 a, and may also include a second purge coil 116 b, which may be part of a second fluid loop 222 b. Indeed, in certain embodiments, the first and second fluid loops 222 a, 222 b may be part of theclosed fluid loop 160, theopen fluid loop 165, or therefrigerant loop 172. Particularly, in the illustrated embodiment, the first purge coil 116 a and the first fluid loop 222 b may be separate from the second purge coil 116 b and the second fluid loop 222. In such embodiments, thecontroller 120 may operate one or more of thestop valves 112 to flow chilled fluid through the first fluid loop 222 a, the second fluid loop 222 a, or both, through thepurge heat exchanger 114. - Further, in certain embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 15 , thepurge heat exchanger 114 may include a single purge coil 116 c, which may receive chilled fluid from the first fluid loop 222 a, the second fluid loop 222 b, or both. Indeed, the single purge coil 116 c may be part of the first fluid loop 222 a, the second fluid loop 222 b, or both. That is, thecontroller 120 may operate theappropriate stop valves 112 to flow chilled fluid from the first fluid loop 222 a, the second fluid loop 222 b, or both as a mixture, through the single purge coil 116 c of thepurge heat exchanger 114. - Indeed, as discussed above in reference to
FIGS. 14 and 15 , thepurge heat exchanger 114 may receive chilled fluid from two separate fluid loops, such as the first fluid loop 222 a and the second fluid loop 222 b. In certain embodiments, the first and second fluid loops 222 a, 222 b may flow different types of fluid. For example, the first fluid loop 222 a may utilize water as a chilled fluid while the second fluid loop 222 b may utilize brine, refrigerant, or a water/glycol mixture. In such embodiments, the water within the first fluid loop 222 a may have a first freezing temperature and the brine, refrigerant, or water/glycol mixture within the second fluid loop 222 b may have a second freezing temperature that is lower than the first freezing temperature. Accordingly, the fluid within the second fluid loop 222 b may be chilled to a lower temperature than the fluid with the first fluid loop 222 a before the fluids start to solidify, or freeze. Therefore, in certain embodiments, thecontroller 120 may operate thestop valves 112 accordingly to only utilize the chilled fluid in either the first fluid loop 222 a, the second fluid loop 222 b, or both, depending on the type of chilled fluid and the amount of cooling that may be used to sufficiently condense the refrigerant vapor within thepurge heat exchanger 114. - Further, it should be noted that embodiments discussed herein with respect to
FIG. 7-13 , specifically thethermoelectric assemblies 82 may be utilized if thevapor compression system 14 is in operation or if thevapor compression system 14 is not in operation. Yet further, as shown inFIGS. 7-13 , in some embodiments, the liquid pumps 162 and/or thevacuum pump 132 may be powered by one ormore motors 240, which may be any suitable motor. In some embodiments, thecontroller 120 may control theliquid pump 162 and/or thevacuum pump 132 through communication with the one ormore motors 240. Particularly, thecontroller 120 may operate thepumps more sensors 138 of the purge system 30. In some embodiments, the one ormore motors 240 may receive power from thepower source 90. Moreover, in some embodiments, thecontroller 120 may control the amount of power sent from thepower source 90 to thethermoelectric assemblies 82 to set an appropriate heat removal amount. For example, in some embodiments, thecontroller 120 may decrease the amount of power sent to thethermoelectric assemblies 82 to save in power costs or to decrease an amount of heat removal performed by thethermoelectric assemblies 82. - Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to providing systems and methods for purging a low-pressure HVAC system (e.g., chiller system, vapor compression system) of NCG that may have entered during operation. Specifically, a purge system may purge the HVAC system of NCG by utilizing a chilled fluid that has been chilled via thermoelectric assemblies. The disclosed embodiments enable the HVAC system to be purged of the NCG without using additional refrigerant, which may have a high GWP. Moreover, it should also be understood that features of any of the embodiments discussed herein may be combined with any other embodiments or features discussed herein.
- While only certain features and embodiments have been illustrated and described, many modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters (e.g., temperatures, pressures, etc.), mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited in the claims. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention. Furthermore, in an effort to provide a concise description of the exemplary embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not have been described (i.e., those unrelated to the presently contemplated best mode of carrying out the invention, or those unrelated to enabling the claimed invention). It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation specific decisions may be made. Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure, without undue experimentation.
Claims (25)
1. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
a refrigerant loop configured to flow a refrigerant; and
a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG), the purge system comprising:
a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture comprising the NCG and the refrigerant, wherein the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid; and
a thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid.
2. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein the non-refrigerant fluid comprises water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof.
3. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein the purge system comprises a closed fluid loop configured to flow the non-refrigerant fluid through a conduit and a purge coil of the purge heat exchanger, and wherein the thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the conduit and configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid as the non-refrigerant fluid flows through the conduit.
4. The HVAC system of claim 1 , comprising:
a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate the refrigerant through the refrigerant loop;
an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid; and
a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a second cooling fluid.
5. The HVAC system of claim 4 , wherein the non-refrigerant fluid comprises a portion of the first cooling fluid, wherein the purge system comprises an open fluid loop configured to draw the non-refrigerant fluid from a flow path flowing the first cooling fluid, flow the non-refrigerant fluid through a conduit and a purge coil of the purge heat exchanger, and return the non-refrigerant fluid to the flow path, and wherein the thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the conduit and is configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid as the non-refrigerant fluid flows through the conduit.
6. The HVAC system of claim 4 , wherein the non-refrigerant fluid comprises a first non-refrigerant fluid and the thermoelectric assembly is a first thermoelectric assembly, wherein the purge heat exchanger is also configured to separate the mixture utilizing a second non-refrigerant fluid separate from the first non-refrigerant fluid, and wherein the purge system comprises a second thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the second non-refrigerant fluid.
7. The HVAC system of claim 6 , wherein the purge system comprises a closed fluid loop configured to flow the first non-refrigerant fluid through a first conduit and a purge coil of the purge heat exchanger, wherein the first thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the first conduit and configured to remove heat from the first non-refrigerant fluid as the first non-refrigerant fluid flows through the first conduit, wherein the second non-refrigerant fluid comprises a portion of the first cooling fluid, wherein the purge system comprises an open fluid loop configured to draw the second non-refrigerant fluid from a flow path flowing the first cooling fluid, flow the second non-refrigerant fluid through a second conduit and the purge coil of the purge heat exchanger, and return the second non-refrigerant fluid to the flow path, and wherein the second thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the second conduit and configured to remove heat from the second non-refrigerant fluid as the second non-refrigerant fluid flows through the second conduit.
8. The HVAC system of claim 7 , wherein the purge coil comprises a first purge coil and a second purge coil, wherein the closed fluid loop comprises the first purge coil, and wherein the open fluid loop comprises the second purge coil.
9. The HVAC system of claim 7 , wherein the purge coil comprises a single purge coil, wherein the closed fluid loop comprises the single purge coil, and wherein the open fluid loop comprises the single purge coil.
10. The HVAC system of claim 4 , comprising a pump configured to draw the mixture from the condenser, increase a pressure of the mixture, and deliver the mixture to the purge heat exchanger.
11. The HVAC system of claim 1 , comprising a vacuum pump coupled to the purge heat exchanger, wherein the vacuum pump is configured to pump gas from the purge heat exchanger.
12. The HVAC system of claim 11 , wherein the vacuum pump is configured to pump the mixture from the purge heat exchanger to an adsorption chamber configured to separate the NCG from the refrigerant.
13. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:
a refrigerant loop;
a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop;
an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid;
a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a second cooling fluid; and
a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG), the purge system comprising:
a purge heat exchanger configured to separate a mixture drawn from the condenser utilizing a first refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the evaporator and utilizing a non-refrigerant fluid, wherein the mixture comprises the NCG and a second refrigerant flow of the refrigerant drawn from the condenser, and wherein the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the second refrigerant flow of the mixture; and
thermoelectric assemblies configured to remove thermal energy from the first refrigerant flow and the non-refrigerant fluid.
14. The HVAC system of claim 13 , wherein the non-refrigerant fluid comprises a portion of the first cooling fluid and the purge system comprises:
a purge refrigerant loop configured to flow the first refrigerant flow and comprising:
a first conduit and purge coils of the purge heat exchanger; and
an open fluid loop configured to flow the non-refrigerant fluid and comprising:
a second conduit and the purge coils of the purge heat exchanger.
15. The HVAC system of claim 14 , wherein the thermoelectric assemblies comprise a first thermoelectric assembly and a second thermoelectric assembly, wherein the first thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the first conduit and is configured to remove heat from first refrigerant flow, and wherein the second thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the second conduit and is configured to remove heat from the non-refrigerant fluid.
16. The HVAC system of claim 14 , wherein the purge refrigerant loop comprises a refrigerant pump configured to pump the first refrigerant flow through the purge refrigerant loop, and wherein the open fluid loop comprises a non-refrigerant liquid pump configured to pump the non-refrigerant fluid through the open fluid loop.
17. The HVAC system of claim 14 , wherein the purge coils comprise a first purge coil and a second purge coil, wherein the purge refrigerant loop comprises the first purge coil, and wherein the open fluid loop comprises the second purge coil.
18. The HVAC system of claim 14 , wherein the purge coils comprise a single purge coil, wherein the purge refrigerant loop comprises the single purge coil, and wherein the open fluid loop comprises the single purge coil.
19. The HVAC system of claim 13 , wherein the non-refrigerant fluid comprises water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof.
20. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
a refrigerant loop;
a compressor disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to circulate refrigerant through the refrigerant loop;
an evaporator disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a first cooling fluid;
a condenser disposed along the refrigerant loop and configured to place the refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with a second cooling fluid; and
a purge system configured to purge the HVAC system of non-condensable gases (NCG), the purge system comprising:
a purge heat exchanger configured to receive a mixture comprising the NCG and the refrigerant, wherein the purge heat exchanger is configured to separate the NCG of the mixture from the refrigerant of the mixture utilizing a chilled fluid of a chilled fluid loop; and
a thermoelectric assembly configured to chill the chilled fluid in conjunction with an intermediate fluid of an open fluid loop.
21. The HVAC system of claim 20 , wherein the thermoelectric assembly is a first thermoelectric assembly, and wherein the purge system comprises a second thermoelectric assembly configured to remove heat from the intermediate fluid of the open fluid loop.
22. The HVAC system of claim 20 , wherein the chilled fluid loop is a closed fluid loop, and wherein the chilled fluid of the chilled fluid loop is a non-refrigerant fluid.
23. The HVAC system of claim 20 , wherein the chilled fluid comprises water, brine, a water/glycol mixture, or a combination thereof.
24. The HVAC system of claim 20 , wherein the chilled fluid of the chilled fluid loop comprises refrigerant drawn from the evaporator.
25. The HVAC system of claim 20 , wherein the chilled fluid loop comprises a first conduit and a purge coil of the purge heat exchanger, wherein the open fluid loop comprises a second conduit, wherein the thermoelectric assembly is coupled to the first conduit at a first side of the thermoelectric assembly and is coupled to the second conduit at a second side of the thermoelectric assembly, wherein the thermoelectric assembly is configured to absorb heat from the chilled fluid via the first side of the thermoelectric assembly, and wherein the intermediate fluid is configured to absorb heat from the second side of the thermoelectric assembly.
Priority Applications (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US16/219,672 US20190203992A1 (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-13 | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system |
CN201880088520.9A CN111684215A (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-27 | System and method for cleaning a chiller system |
EP18837096.9A EP3732407A1 (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-27 | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system |
KR1020207021019A KR20200100781A (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-27 | Systems and methods for purging chiller systems |
JP2020535977A JP2021508812A (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-27 | Systems and methods for purging chiller systems |
PCT/US2018/067705 WO2019133723A1 (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-27 | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201762611412P | 2017-12-28 | 2017-12-28 | |
US16/219,672 US20190203992A1 (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-13 | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20190203992A1 true US20190203992A1 (en) | 2019-07-04 |
Family
ID=67059448
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/219,672 Abandoned US20190203992A1 (en) | 2017-12-28 | 2018-12-13 | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20190203992A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP3732407A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2021508812A (en) |
KR (1) | KR20200100781A (en) |
CN (1) | CN111684215A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2019133723A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11162720B2 (en) * | 2015-08-11 | 2021-11-02 | Trane International Inc. | Refrigerant recovery and repurposing |
WO2021221806A1 (en) * | 2020-04-30 | 2021-11-04 | Danfoss A/S | System and method for cooling power electronics of refrigerant compressors |
US11320184B2 (en) * | 2019-09-30 | 2022-05-03 | Trane International Inc. | HVACR system using environmentally-friendly refrigerant with purge |
WO2023225930A1 (en) * | 2022-05-26 | 2023-11-30 | Danfoss A/S | Valve arrangement for refrigerant compressor |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN112444008A (en) * | 2020-12-21 | 2021-03-05 | 广东纽恩泰新能源科技发展有限公司 | Fluorine system solar heat exchanger, series heat pump system and control method |
Family Cites Families (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN1114037A (en) * | 1994-05-04 | 1995-12-27 | 俄罗斯冰箱有限责任公司 | Method for cooling object with series connecting temperature different battery group |
US5806322A (en) * | 1997-04-07 | 1998-09-15 | York International | Refrigerant recovery method |
DE102013021177A1 (en) * | 2013-12-17 | 2015-06-18 | Alessandro Plog | Thermoelectric subcooler |
ES2933906T3 (en) * | 2014-10-29 | 2023-02-14 | Carrier Corp | Vapor compression system with a thermoelectric purge unit |
CN106322805B (en) * | 2015-07-10 | 2020-11-17 | 开利公司 | Refrigeration system and purification method thereof |
JP6682301B2 (en) * | 2016-03-08 | 2020-04-15 | 三菱重工サーマルシステムズ株式会社 | Vapor compression refrigerator and control method thereof |
JP6644619B2 (en) * | 2016-03-31 | 2020-02-12 | 三菱重工サーマルシステムズ株式会社 | Bleeding device, refrigerator provided with the same, and method of controlling bleeding device |
-
2018
- 2018-12-13 US US16/219,672 patent/US20190203992A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2018-12-27 EP EP18837096.9A patent/EP3732407A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2018-12-27 CN CN201880088520.9A patent/CN111684215A/en active Pending
- 2018-12-27 KR KR1020207021019A patent/KR20200100781A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2018-12-27 JP JP2020535977A patent/JP2021508812A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2018-12-27 WO PCT/US2018/067705 patent/WO2019133723A1/en unknown
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11162720B2 (en) * | 2015-08-11 | 2021-11-02 | Trane International Inc. | Refrigerant recovery and repurposing |
US11976858B2 (en) | 2015-08-11 | 2024-05-07 | Trane International Inc. | Refrigerant recovery and repurposing |
US11320184B2 (en) * | 2019-09-30 | 2022-05-03 | Trane International Inc. | HVACR system using environmentally-friendly refrigerant with purge |
WO2021221806A1 (en) * | 2020-04-30 | 2021-11-04 | Danfoss A/S | System and method for cooling power electronics of refrigerant compressors |
CN115210513A (en) * | 2020-04-30 | 2022-10-18 | 丹佛斯公司 | System and method for cooling power electronics of a refrigerant compressor |
US20230087561A1 (en) * | 2020-04-30 | 2023-03-23 | Danfoss A/S | System and method for cooling power electronics of refrigerant compressors |
US12050036B2 (en) * | 2020-04-30 | 2024-07-30 | Danfoss A/S | System and method for cooling power electronics of refrigerant compressors |
WO2023225930A1 (en) * | 2022-05-26 | 2023-11-30 | Danfoss A/S | Valve arrangement for refrigerant compressor |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
KR20200100781A (en) | 2020-08-26 |
EP3732407A1 (en) | 2020-11-04 |
JP2021508812A (en) | 2021-03-11 |
WO2019133723A1 (en) | 2019-07-04 |
CN111684215A (en) | 2020-09-18 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20200355413A1 (en) | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system | |
US20190203992A1 (en) | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system | |
US10508843B2 (en) | Heat exchanger with water box | |
US10458687B2 (en) | Vapor compression system | |
KR101995219B1 (en) | Method for operating a chiller | |
EP3732410A1 (en) | A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, and a method of operating a vapor compression system | |
US12050042B2 (en) | Condenser arrangement for a chiller | |
US20200041181A1 (en) | Systems and methods for purging a chiller system | |
US20220333834A1 (en) | Chiller system with multiple compressors | |
WO2019073395A1 (en) | A heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (hvac&r) system having an evaporator with a mesh eliminator assembly, and a method of constructing a mesh eliminator assembly | |
WO2024076711A1 (en) | Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration system with heating and cooling operations | |
EP3999792A1 (en) | Series flow chiller system |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: JOHNSON CONTROLS TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, MICHIGAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MONTEITH, MACCRAE WILLIAM;REEL/FRAME:048053/0743 Effective date: 20181211 |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |