WO2013104838A1

WO2013104838A1 - Thermodynamic device for heating and/or air-conditioning a space

Info

Publication number: WO2013104838A1
Application number: PCT/FR2012/000554
Authority: WO
Inventors: Denis BEDELL
Original assignee: Bedell Denis
Priority date: 2011-12-29
Filing date: 2012-12-28
Publication date: 2013-07-18
Also published as: FR2985304A1; FR2985304B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a thermodynamic device (1, 10) for heating and/or air-conditioning a space, comprising a main cooling fluid circuit (2) provided with at least one compressor (3) arranged to increase the pressure and, consequently, the temperature of the cooling fluid in the gaseous state and one condenser (4) arranged to discharge, to an external circuit (5), at least part of the thermal energy absorbed by the cooling fluid which passes from the gaseous state to the liquid state. The invention is characterised in that the thermodynamic device (1, 10) is housed in a closed and sealed casing and in that it comprises an expansion chamber (6) which is disposed between the aforementioned condenser (4) and compressor (3) and which is arranged to expand the cooling fluid instantaneously such that it passes instantaneously from the high-pressure liquid state to a low-pressure gaseous state, said expansion chamber (6) being connected to a suction port (30) of the compressor (3) via a return duct (7) having a decreasing transverse dimension so as to gradually compress the previously expanded cooling fluid by heating same, such that the thermodynamic device (1, 10) operates independently, without an external source for collecting heat.

Description

THERMODYNAMIC DEVICE FOR HEATING AND / OR

CLIMATE A VOLUME

Technical area :

The present invention relates to a thermodynamic device for heating and / or conditioning a volume comprising a main refrigerant circuit provided with at least one compressor arranged to raise the pressure and consequently the temperature of said refrigerant in the gaseous state and a. condenser arranged to evacuate to an external circuit at. at least a portion of the thermal energy absorbed by said refrigerant which passes from the gaseous state to a liquid state.

PRIOR ART Heat pumps are widely known and are available in different versions depending on the nature of the external source of capture of useful heat energy: air (aerothermal), water (aquathermy), soil (geothermal energy). ) or others. They all operate on the same principle namely that the change in liquid / gaseous state of a refrigerant is used to produce thermal energy depending on whether the fluid is compressed under high pressure in the gaseous state and then expanded to the liquid state by means of a compressor and an expander respectively. The thermal energy absorbed by the refrigerant is used to heat and / or cool a room, an enclosure, a building or the like, via a condenser or heat exchanger in which the refrigerant transfers a portion of the refrigerant. thermal energy that it has absorbed directly or to a secondary fluid such as the water of a heating circuit or the brine of an air conditioning circuit.

Heat pumps generally comprise four main organs namely: a compressor driven by an electric motor which raises the pressure and therefore the temperature of the gaseous refrigerant by compressing it,

a condenser in which the high-pressure refrigerant releases its heat directly or indirectly to a secondary fluid and passes from the gaseous state to the liquid state,

a pressure reducing valve which reduces the pressure of the refrigerant in the liquid state, this regulator being generally connected to a reserve of refrigerant, and an evaporator which captures heat in an external source (air, water, soil, other) for passing the refrigerant from the liquid state to the gaseous state under low pressure and avoid icing of the suction port of the compressor.

The evaporator therefore requires a pump or a fan associated with a power supply and a control circuit, which have a negative impact on the total efficiency of the heat pump and its energy cost. The aerothermal version requires placing the fan or fans outside, which is not always possible either because of lack of space, or because of noise generated. Aquathermy and geothermal versions require vertical or horizontal drilling representing heavy and expensive earthworks, which are not always feasible or are difficult to achieve.

In all versions, it is necessary to have available an external source of thermal energy capture, which is a constraint for some applications where no external source capture n ^'is available or feasible. In the case where the use of a heat pump is not possible, the solution is to fall back on boilers or air conditioners using other technologies than that of heat pumps. An example is described in US Pat. No. 2,707,868, which discloses a conventional refrigeration device provided with a compressor followed by a condenser and an evaporator consisting of a finned heat exchanger communicating with an external source of air capture. or similar. This heat exchanger comprises a distributor and a collector connected in parallel to a plurality of evaporator tubes provided with heat transfer fins. These evaporator tubes have calibrated inlets for compressing the coolant to distribute it more evenly in the evaporator tubes. This device requires an external source of capture and therefore can not operate autonomously.

Presentation of the invention

The present invention aims to provide a solution to the problems mentioned above by proposing a new generation of thermodynamic device or heat pump that can operate autonomously, that is to say without external source of capture thus without evaporator, only with a source electrical energy to power the compressor, this solution to reduce the cost of investment and operation of such a device, to make it versatile, easy to install in a small footprint, without prior work. Another object of the invention is to use a very small amount of refrigerant and to offer an ecological and economical device. Another object is also to reduce the size of such a thermodynamic device to make it mobile and easily removable.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a thermodynamic device of the kind indicated in the preamble, characterized in that it is housed in a closed and sealed box and in that it comprises a relaxation chamber disposed between said condenser and said compressor and arranged to instantly relax the refrigerant which instantly switches from the high pressure liquid state to a low pressure gaseous state, said expansion chamber being connected to a suction port of said compressor by a return duct whose section is degressive to gradually compress said previously relaxed refrigerant by heating it, so that said thermodynamic device operates autonomously, without external source of heat capture.

Preferably, said expansion chamber is provided with an inlet orifice having a diameter arranged to vaporize said refrigerant which arrives in the liquid state under high pressure, this inlet orifice being located on a first side of said chamber and an outlet orifice having a diameter greater than that of the inlet orifice, this outlet orifice being located on a second side of said chamber opposite said first side and lower than the inlet orifice .

In a preferred embodiment, the expansion chamber defines a transverse dimension at least three times greater than the diameter of the suction port of said compressor. Similarly, the return duct is connected to the outlet of said expansion chamber with a passage diameter at least twice greater than the diameter of the suction port of said compressor and the suction port of said compressor with a diameter of passage equal to the diameter of said suction port.

Advantageously, the expansion chamber is disposed above the return duct which itself consists of a coil disposed above the compressor.

The expansion chamber can be oriented in a substantially horizontal or vertical plane, and advantageously comprises an inclined bottom allowing gravity flow e direction of the compressor any oil residues of the compressor contained in said refrigerant.

The condenser may consist of a heat exchanger in the form of a coil preferably wrapped around the compressor so as to recovering by conduction part of the thermal energy produced by said compressor.

This thermodynamic device may comprise a control valve, disposed on the main circuit downstream of the compressor and upstream of the expansion chamber, to control its pressure of the refrigerant at the outlet of the compressor. Similarly, it may comprise a pressure switch arranged upstream of the control valve to control the operation of the compressor as a function of the pressure of the refrigerant.

In an alternative embodiment, the thermodynamic device according to the invention may comprise an additional refrigerant circuit connected in parallel to the main refrigerant circuit by means of three-way valves arranged to reverse the circulation of the refrigerant and make the device reversible. Heating Air Conditioning.

Brief description of the drawings:

The present invention and its advantages will appear better in the following description of two embodiments given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a thermodynamic device according to the invention in heating mode, and

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a thermodynamic device in heating / air conditioning reversible mode.

Illustrations of the invention and different ways of making it:

With reference to the figures, the thermodynamic device 1, 10 according to the invention as shown is an autonomous device for heating a volume, such as a local or similar, through a traditional central heating circuit or the like, without the need for an external source of heat capture. The superimposed and nested design of the theriodynamic device 1, as shown in the figures and explained below allows a concentration of the components in a small volume, compact and confined in a closed box and thermally insulated. This box can contain the calories released by the compressor which are advantageously absorbed by convection by the refrigerant favoring the autonomous operation of the device. The size of this box is comparable to a wall-mounted gas boiler. This box can be suspended on a wall, placed on a base, or carried by wheels to be mobile, since it only needs a power supply.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, the theraiodynamique device 1 comprises a main refrigerant circuit 2 provided with a compressor 3 arranged to raise the pressure and therefore the temperature of said refrigerant in the gaseous state, a condenser 4 connected to the discharge port 31 of the compressor 3 and arranged to evacuate the heat absorbed by said high-pressure refrigerant to an external circuit 5, such as a heating circuit, and an expansion chamber 6 disposed between the condenser 4 and the compressor 3 and arranged to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant by vaporizing it before it returns to the compressor 3 through the suction port 30.

In the example shown, the condenser 4 consists of a heat exchanger comprising a primary circuit 2a, forming part of the main circuit 2, in which the HP high-pressure refrigerant circulates from the compressor 3 which will pass from a gaseous state in a liquid state while losing its calories, and a secondary circuit or external circuit 5, in which circulates a heat transfer fluid such as the water of a heating circuit by means of a pump 50 and control valves 51. The fluids contained in the primary and secondary circuits of the heat exchanger circulate in the opposite direction, and the coil forming the heat exchanger is advantageously wound around the compressor 3 to recover thermal energy produced by said compressor 3 thereby increasing the temperature gradient of the fluids circulating in said exchanger. The invention differs from prior art by the presence ^of a particular 6 expansion chamber arranged on the return line 2b of the refrigerant in the high pressure HP in the liquid state, which replaces the expander and evaporator of conventional heat pumps. The refrigerant having evacuated part of its calories in the condenser 4 enters the return circuit 2b in the HP high pressure liquid state or it undergoes an instantaneous expansion in the expansion chamber 6, making it pass to a gaseous state. low pressure BP. This technical effect is obtained thanks to the particular configuration of the expansion chamber 6, the inlet orifice 60 has a diameter such that it instantly causes the vaporization of the refrigerant passing instantly from a liquid state to a state gaseous, and whose section SI or transverse dimension is greatly enlarged relative to the diameter of the conduits of the main circuit 2 and the suction port 30 of the compressor 3 to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant passing instantly from a high pressure HP at a low BP pressure. The inlet orifice 60 has in fact a very small diameter, such as an injection nozzle, this diameter being a function of the power of the compressor 3. The refrigerant returns in this gaseous state at low pressure BP in the compressor 3 by a return duct 7 whose section or transverse dimension is degressive to lead to the section or diameter of the suction port 30 of the compressor 3 having the effect of gradually compressing the previously relaxed refrigerant and therefore to heat it, without having need external source of capture.

The expansion chamber 6 thus defines a detent section or transverse dimension SI at least three times greater than the section or diameter S3 of the suction port 30 of the compressor 3 and the return duct 7 is connected to the expansion chamber 6. by a section or transverse dimension S2 at least twice as high at the section or diameter S3 of the suction port 30 of the compressor and ends with a section or diameter equal to the diameter S3 allowing the refrigerant to enter the compressor in the gaseous state only. The volume of the expansion chamber 6 is calculated as a function of the suction power of said compressor 3.

The expansion chamber 6 is disposed above the return duct 7 and can extend in a substantially horizontal plane as illustrated or in a vertical plane or other. It comprises a refrigerant inlet port 60 located on a first side of the chamber and an outlet 61 of the refrigerant located on a second side of the chamber, opposite the first side, the outlet orifice 61 being located lower than the inlet orifice 60. The inlet orifice 60 as explained above is calibrated to instantaneously vaporize the refrigerant which arrives in the high-pressure liquid state HP and the outlet orifice 61 has a diameter or a section S2 significantly greater than the diameter of the inlet orifice 60, determined in particular according to the flow rate of the compressor 3, and at least twice the section or the diameter S3 of the suction orifice 30 of the compressor 3. It further comprises an inclined bottom 62 in the direction of circulation of the refrigerant, allowing gravity flow towards the compressor 3 any oil residues from the compressor 3 and contents da ns the refrigerant.

The return duct 7 is in the form of a coil disposed below the expansion chamber 6 and above the compressor 3. It thus constitutes a ramp towards the compressor 3 for gravity flow of any residues of oil from the compressor 3 and contained in the refrigerant. In addition, it benefits by convection of the thermal energy released by said compressor 3 thus promoting the heating of the refrigerant in the gaseous state at low pressure BP before entering the compressor 3.

On the return circuit 2b, the temperature of the refrigerant is regulated by a control valve 8 which makes it possible to vary the pressure of the refrigerant at the outlet of the refrigerant. compressor 3 and thus avoid icing of the refrigerant at the inlet of the expansion chamber 6. The more the control valve 8 is closed and the higher the temperature of the refrigerant is high because its pressure at the outlet of the compressor 3 is high. Safety pressure switches 9a and 9b are respectively provided upstream of the regulating valve 8 and on the expansion chamber 6 or downstream of the latter to control the high pressure HP and low pressure LP BP thresholds of the refrigerant and act on the operation 3. In particular, to prevent thermal runaway of such a thermodynamic device, the pressure switch 9a will stop the compressor 3 as soon as a determined threshold of high pressure HP will be reached by the refrigerant. This thermodynamic device can be supplemented by temperature sensors and other control and / or safety devices in accordance with the practices in thermodynamics. It can be controlled by an electronic management unit comprising for example a room thermostat. Figure 2 illustrates a reversible version of the thermodynamic device 10 according to the invention for working in air conditioner mode by reversing the flow direction of the refrigerant. To do this, it comprises the same constituent elements of the thermodynamic device of the previous example identified with the same reference numbers, supplemented by an additional refrigerant circuit 20 connected in parallel on the main circuit 2 by means of three-way valves. 21, 22, 23. A first three-way valve 21 is disposed on the return circuit 2b upstream of the expansion chamber 6 to divert the refrigerant to a first bypass circuit 20a which shunts the expansion chamber 6 and which is connected between the outlet of the condenser 4 and the inlet of the return duct 7. A second three-way valve 22 is disposed between the expansion chamber 6 and the return duct 7 to divert the refrigerant towards a second bypass circuit 20b which shunts the return duct 7 and which is connected between the outlet orifice 61 of the expansion chamber 6 and the inlet of the condenser 4 to exchange with an external circuit 5 It can be a refrigeration or air conditioning circuit. And the third three-way valve 23 is disposed between the discharge port 31 of the compressor 3 and the inlet of the condenser 4 to divert the refrigerant to a third bypass circuit 20c to shunt the condenser 4 and which is connected between the discharge port 31 of the compressor 3 and the inlet port 60 of the expansion chamber 6. When the fluid refrigerant leaves the compressor 3 through the discharge port 31 in gaseous state compressed HP high pressure and heated, it is sent into the expansion chamber 6 by the third bypass circuit 23 where it is instantly expanded and cooled for enter the condenser 4 in the gaseous state at low pressure BP by the second bypass circuit 20b. When it leaves the condenser 4 where it has warmed it is directed to the return duct 7 by the first bypass circuit 20a. In this return duct 7, it is gradually compressed while remaining in the gaseous state before entering the compressor 3 through the suction port 30 where it can be compressed again in the gaseous state to be charged in calories. Thus, by circulating the refrigerant in the opposite direction as in the previous example, the cooling of the refrigerant is used to cool or refrigerate a volume, a room or the like.

Possibilities of industrial application: The constituent elements of the thermodynamic device according to the invention such as the expansion chamber 6 and the return duct 7 are preferably made of a very good heat conducting metal and offering a very high resistance to temperature and at pressure (up to 40 bar), such as copper, stainless steel or the like, it being specified that copper offers an excellent quality / price ratio. These constituent elements can be made in one piece or in several pieces assembled by any appropriate method according to the constraints to which said elements must resist.

The compressor 3 is advantageously a commercial compressor with fixed speed or variable speed of rotation according to the inverter technology. In this case, the control valve 8 is not necessary since it is replaced by the frequency regulator of the inverter compressor.

The refrigerant used is chosen according to the intended application and the regulations in force. The volume of refrigerant necessary for the operation of a thermodynamic device developing for example 4kWh of power is of the order of 200g against 1.5kg in a conventional heat pump, 7.5 times less. The coefficient of performance (COP), which corresponds to the number of kWh produced for lkwh consumed, reaches the COP of conventional heat pumps ie a COP of between 3 and 4.

It is clear from this description that the invention achieves the goals, namely a self-contained thermodynamic device, compact, powerful, secure and quiet, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for heating and / or air conditioning for any type application. It can thus be installed everywhere without constraint. It can also serve as auxiliary heating for domestic use, but also for professional use such as for example to accelerate the drying of a concrete slab. The thermodynamic device according to the invention can be proposed both new for sale and after-sales service to transform the heat pumps already in service. In this regard, the thermodynamic device according to the invention can of course replace conventional heat pumps without much modification.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described but extends to any modification and variation obvious to a person skilled in the art while remaining within the scope of protection defined in the appended claims.

Claims

claims

Thermodynamic device (1, 10) for heating and / or cooling a volume comprising a main refrigerant circuit (2) provided with at least one compressor (3) arranged to raise the pressure and consequently the temperature of said refrigerant in the gaseous state and a condenser (4) arranged to discharge to an external circuit (5) at least a portion of the thermal energy absorbed by said refrigerant which passes from the gaseous state to a liquid state, characterized in that said thermodynamic device (1, 10) is housed in a sealed and sealed box and in that it comprises an expansion chamber (6) arranged between said condenser (4) ^' and said compressor (3) and arranged for instantaneously relax the refrigerant which instantly switches from the high pressure liquid state to a gaseous state at low pressure, said expansion chamber (6) being connected to a suction port (30) of said compressor (3) by a condenser uit retour (7) whose transverse dimension is degressive for progressively compressing said previously relaxed refrigerant by heating it, so that said thermodynamic device (1, 10) operates autonomously, without external source of heat capture.

2. thermodynamic device according to claim 1, characterized in that said expansion chamber (6) is provided with an inlet orifice (60) having a diameter arranged to instantaneously vaporize said refrigerant which arrives in the liquid state under high pressure, said inlet port being located on a first side of said chamber, and an outlet port (61) having a diameter greater than that of the inlet port (60), said outlet port being located on a second side of said chamber, opposite said first side and lower than the inlet port (60).

3. thermodynamic device according to claim 2, characterized in that said expansion chamber (6) defines a detent section or transverse dimension (S) at least three times greater than the section or diameter (S3) of the suction port (30) of said compressor (3).

4. thermodynamic device according to claim 2, characterized in that said return duct (7) is connected to the outlet orifice (61) of said expansion chamber

(6) with a passage section or transverse dimension (S2) at least twice greater than the section or the diameter (S3) of the suction port (30) of said compressor (3) and the orifice of suction (30) of said compressor (3) with a passage section or a diameter equal to the section or diameter (S3) of said suction port (30).

5. thermodynamic device according to claim 1, characterized in that said expansion chamber (6) is disposed above said return duct (7) and in that said return duct (7) consists of a coil disposed above said compressor (3).

6. thermodynamic device according to claim 5, characterized in that said expansion chamber (6) is oriented in a substantially horizontal plane.

7. thermodynamic device according to claim 6, characterized in that said expansion chamber (6) comprises an inclined bottom (62) towards said compressor (3) allowing the flow by gravity towards said compressor any oil residues compressor contained in said refrigerant.

8. thermodynamic device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said condenser (4) consists of a heat exchanger in the form of a coil wound around said compressor (3) so as to recover by conduction a portion of the thermal energy produced by said compressor.

9. Thermodynamic device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a control valve (8) disposed on said main circuit (2) closed downstream of said compressor (3) and upstream of said expansion chamber (6). said valve being arranged to control the pressure of said refrigerant fluid at the outlet of said compressor (3).

10. Thermodynamic device according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises a pressure switch (9a) arranged upstream of said control valve (8) arranged to control the operation of said compressor (3) as a function of. the pressure of said refrigerant.

Thermodynamic device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an additional refrigerant circuit (20) connected in parallel to the main refrigerant circuit (2) by means of three-way valves ( 21, 22, 23) arranged to reverse the flow of said refrigerant and make the reversible heating / cooling device.