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WO2001067011A1 - High efficiency refrigeration system - Google Patents

High efficiency refrigeration system Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001067011A1
WO2001067011A1 PCT/US2001/006551 US0106551W WO0167011A1 WO 2001067011 A1 WO2001067011 A1 WO 2001067011A1 US 0106551 W US0106551 W US 0106551W WO 0167011 A1 WO0167011 A1 WO 0167011A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
refrigerant
vortex tube
evaporator
vapor
compressor
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/006551
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Young I. Cho
Cheolho Bai
Original Assignee
Vai Holdings, Llc
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US09/517,922 external-priority patent/US6250086B1/en
Application filed by Vai Holdings, Llc filed Critical Vai Holdings, Llc
Priority to AU2001239966A priority Critical patent/AU2001239966A1/en
Publication of WO2001067011A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001067011A1/en

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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
    • 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
    • F25B41/00—Fluid-circulation arrangements
    • 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
    • F25B2309/00—Gas cycle refrigeration machines
    • F25B2309/06—Compression machines, plants or systems characterised by the refrigerant being carbon dioxide
    • 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
    • F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
    • F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
    • F25B2341/0011—Ejectors with the cooled primary flow at reduced or low pressure
    • 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
    • F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
    • F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
    • F25B2341/0012—Ejectors with the cooled primary flow at high pressure
    • 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
    • F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
    • F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
    • F25B2341/0014—Ejectors with a high pressure hot primary flow from a compressor discharge
    • 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
    • F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
    • F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
    • F25B2341/0015—Ejectors not being used as compression device using two or more ejectors
    • 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
    • F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
    • F25B2400/23—Separators
    • 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
    • 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
    • F25B9/02—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point using Joule-Thompson effect; using vortex effect
    • F25B9/04—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point using Joule-Thompson effect; using vortex effect using vortex effect

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a high efficiency refrigeration system and, more specifically, to a refrigeration system utilizing one or more vortex tubes for increasing the overall efficiency of a refrigeration system.
  • a refrigeration system typically consists of four major components connected together via a conduit (preferably copper tubing) to form a closed loop system.
  • the four major components are a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator.
  • a refrigerant will have its pressure either increased or decreased and its temperature either increased or decreased by the four components as it circulates therethrough.
  • the refrigerant is continuously cycled through the refrigeration system.
  • the main steps in the refrigeration cycle are compression of the refrigerant by the compressor, heat rejection of the refrigerant in the condenser, throttling of the refrigerant in the expansion device, and heat absorption of the refrigerant in the evaporator.
  • the compressor provides the energy to keep the refrigerant moving within the conduits and through the major components This process is sometimes referred to as a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
  • the vapor-compression ref ⁇ geration cycle is used in air conditioning systems, which cool and dehumidify air in a living space, in a moving vehicle (e g , automobile, airplane, train, etc ), ref ⁇ gerators and heat pumps
  • the refrigerant enters the compressor as saturated vapor and is compressed to a very high pressure
  • the temperature of the ref ⁇ gerant increases during this compression step
  • the refrigerant leaves the compressor as superheated vapor and enters the condenser
  • a typical condenser comp ⁇ ses a single conduit formed into a serpentine-like shape so that a plurality of rows of conduit is formed parallel to each other Metal fins or other aids are usually attached to the serpentine conduit in order to increase the transfer of heat between the refrigerant passing through the condenser and the ambient air Heat is rejected from the superheated vapor as it passes through the condenser and the refrigerant exits the condenser as saturated liquid
  • the expansion device reduces the pressure of the saturated liquid thereby turning it into a saturated liquid-vapor mixture, which is throttled to the evaporator
  • the temperature of the refrigerant drops below the temperature of the ambient air as it goes through the expansion device
  • the refrigerant enters the evaporator as a low quality saturated mixture comprised of approximately 20% vapor and 80% liquid ("Quality" is defined as the mass fraction of vapor in the liquid-vapor mixture )
  • the evaporator physically resembles the serpentine-shaped conduit of the condenser Ideally, the ref ⁇ gerant completely evaporates by absorbing heat from the refrigerated space and leaves the evaporator as saturated vapor at the suction pressure of the compressor and reenters the compressor thereby completing the cycle
  • EER energy- efficiency ratio
  • the ref ⁇ geration cycle has an EER of approximately 30 (kw/kw)
  • the present invention is designed to increase the efficiency of a refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump system by increasing the efficiency of the ref ⁇ geration cycle
  • the increase in the efficiency is achieved by assisting in the conversion of the refrigerant from vapor to liquid at specific points in the refrigeration cycle
  • a first vortex tube is placed between the expansion device and the evaporator in order to increase the percentage of refrigerant entering the evaporator as a liquid
  • a second vortex tube is placed between the evaporator and the compressor in order to increase the percentage of refrigerant entering the compressor as a vapor Since the heat absorption from the evaporator occurs through the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant, the increase in the percentage of the liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator increases the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle and reduces the size of the evaporator
  • the present invention increases the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is by placing a vortex tube in the serpentine tubing of the condenser
  • the vortex tube is placed approximately one-quarter of the way in from the inlet of the condenser where desuperheating is completed
  • the vortex tube produces liquid refrigerant and further increases the temperature of the vapor refrigerant thereby reducing the size of the condenser and decreasing the head pressure of the compressor
  • the compression ratio decreases, and the work required by the compressor is reduced, thus increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a typical refrigeration system
  • Figure 2 shows a temperature entropy diagram of the refrigeration system illustrated in Figure 1 ,
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention utilizing a vortex tube proximate the evaporator,
  • Figure 4A illustrates a side cut-away view of a conventional vortex tube
  • Figure 4B is a top cut-away view of the vortex tube shown in Figure 4A
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention utilizing a vortex tube in the condenser
  • Figure 6 is a picto ⁇ al representation of the phase change in the refrigerant in a condenser and vortex tube of the type used in the refrigeration system of Figure 5,
  • FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment of ref ⁇ geration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes two vortex tubes,
  • Figure 8 is a block diagram of the refrigeration system of Figure 7 in which the refrigerant vapor bypasses the evaporator and the liquid refrigerant bypasses the condenser,
  • FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a ref ⁇ geration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes a liquid/vapor separator and/or a third vortex tube,
  • FIG. 10A is a block diagram of another embodiment of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes two vortex tubes, one before the evaporator and one after the evaporator,
  • Figure 10B is a va ⁇ ation of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10A in which the liquid and vapor components from the first vortex tube is directed to the evaporator, and
  • Figure 10C is a variation of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10B in which the central outlet is connected to the inlet of the compressor ⁇ FT ⁇ II F ⁇ DFS ⁇ RIPTIQN OF THF PRFFFRRF ⁇ FMRODIMFNT
  • spe ⁇ fic terminology will be selected for the sake of clarity However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each spe ⁇ fic term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose
  • FIG. 1 A typical refrigeration system is illustrated in Figure 1
  • the ref ⁇ geration system includes a compressor 12, a condenser 14, an expansion device 16 and an evaporator 18
  • the various components are connected together via copper tubing 19
  • the ref ⁇ geration system is a closed loop system that circulates a refrigerant through the va ⁇ ous elements
  • refrigerant include R-12, R- 22, R-134A, R-410A, ammonia, carbon dioxide and natural gas
  • a refrigerant is continuously cycled through the ref ⁇ geration system
  • the main steps in the ref ⁇ geration cycle are compression of the ref ⁇ gerant by the compressor, heat rejection of the ref ⁇ gerant in the condenser, throttling of the ref ⁇ gerant in the expansion device, and heat absorption of the refrigerant in the evaporator
  • this process is referred to as the vapor compression ref ⁇ geration cycle
  • the temperature entropy curve of a typical refrigeration cycle is illustrated is Figure 2 Point 2 is where the refrigerant exists as a superheated vapor As the superheated vapor cools inside the condenser, the superheated vapor becomes a saturated vapor (point 2a) As heat transfer to the ambient air continues in the condenser, the ref ⁇
  • the effi ⁇ ency of a ref ⁇ geration cycle depends primarily on the heat absorption from the evaporator and the efficiency of the compressor
  • the former depends on the percentage of liquid in the liquid-vapor ref ⁇ gerant mixture before the evaporator, whereas the latter depends on the magnitude of the head or discharge pressure
  • the pressure of the refrigerant as it enters the compressor is referred to as the suction pressure level and the pressure of the ref ⁇ gerant as it leaves the compressor is referred to as the head pressure level
  • the head pressure can range from about 170 PSIG to about 450 PSIG
  • Compression ratio is the term used to express the pressure difference between the head pressure and the suction pressure Compression ratio is calculated by converting the head pressure and the suction pressure onto an absolute pressure scale and dividing the head pressure by the suction pressure
  • Compression ratio increases, the compressor efficiency drops thereby increasing energy consumption (In most cases, the energy is used by the electric motor that drives the compressor )
  • the temperature of the ref ⁇ gerant vapor increases to the point that oil for lub ⁇ cation may be overheated which may cause corrosion in the ref ⁇ geration system
  • An evaporator is made of a long coil or a se ⁇ es of heat transfer panels which absorb heat from a volume of air that is desired to be cooled In order to absorb heat from this ambient volume, the temperature of the ref ⁇ gerant must be lower than that of the volume
  • the ref ⁇ gerant exiting the expansion device consists of low quality vapor, which is approximately 20% vapor and 80% liquid
  • the liquid portion of the ref ⁇ gerant is used to absorb heat from the desired volume as the liquid ref ⁇ gerant evaporates inside the evaporator
  • the vapor portion of the refrigerant is not utilized to absorb heat from the ambient volume In other words, the vapor portion of the ref ⁇ gerant does not contribute to cooling the ambient volume and decreases the effi ⁇ ency of the refngeration cycle
  • Vortex tube 20 converts at least a portion of the ref ⁇ gerant vapor that exits the expansion device into liquid so that it can be used in the evaporator to absorb heat from the ambient volume
  • Vortex tubes are well-known in other areas of art but are not commonly found in ref ⁇ geration systems
  • the vortex tube 20 is a device which converts a flow of compressed gas into two streams - one stream hotter than and the other stream colder than the temperature of the gas supplied to the vortex tube
  • a vortex tube does not contain any moving parts
  • a high pressure gas stream is shown entering the vortex tube 20 tangentially at one end (i e , the inlet 22)
  • the high pressure gas stream produces a strong vortex flow in the tube 20
  • the vortex flow is similar in shape to a helix
  • the high pressure gas separates into two streams having different temperatures, one along the outer wall and one along the axis of the tube
  • the ⁇ rcumferential velo ⁇ ty is inversely proportional to the radial position
  • the pressure within a vortex tube is lowest at the center of the tube and increases to a maximum at the wall
  • the high pressure gas that enters a vortex tube will be the refrigerant in a ref ⁇ geration cycle Since vapor refrigerant is a compressible medium, the pressure distribution within the vortex tube causes a temperature difference between the inner and outer streams
  • the vortex tube 20 is preferably placed proximate the evaporator 18 In order to reduce manufactu ⁇ ng costs, the vortex tube 20 may be placed immediately before the evaporator 18 However, other positions of the vortex tube proximate the evaporator including a percentage of the distance from the inlet of the evaporator may be desirable
  • a condenser 14 in the ref ⁇ geration cycle is used to convert superheated refngerant vapor to liquid by rejecting heat to the surroundings
  • the condenser is a long heat transfer coil or se ⁇ es of heat rejecting panels similar in appearance to the evaporator Refer ⁇ ng again to Figure 1 , as ref ⁇ gerant enters the condenser 14, the superheated vapor first becomes saturated vapor in the approximately first quarter- section of the condenser, and the saturated vapor undergoes phase change in the remainder of the condenser at approximately constant pressure
  • the refrigerant temperature has to be raised well above that of the surroundings This is accomplished by raising the pressure of the ref ⁇ gerant vapor, a task that is done by the compressor 12 Since vapor temperature is closely related to vapor pressure, it is critically important that the condenser effi ⁇ ently rejects heat from the ref ⁇ gerant to the surroundings If the condenser 14 is not effi ⁇ ent, the compressor 12 has to further increase the head pressure in an attempt to assist the condenser in dumping heat to the surroundings
  • another embodiment of the present invention utilizes a vortex tube 29 in the condenser to convert saturated refrigerant vapor to liquid thus increasing the condenser's efficiency
  • the first approximately one- quarter of the condenser is represented by 14A and the remaining three-quarters of the condenser is represented by 14B
  • the vortex tube 29 is inserted approximately one-quarter of the way into the condenser (i e , at the point where the superheated vapor becomes saturated vapor in full or in part)
  • the vortex tube 29 in an existing condenser, manufacturing costs may be minimized
  • two separate condensers each about the respective size of condenser portions 14A and 14B, may be used
  • the size of the condenser in p ⁇ or art refrigeration systems is often chosen larger than necessary in order to ensure the exchange of heat
  • the present method allows the size of the condenser 14 to be reduced because the substantial amount of saturated ref ⁇ gerant vapor is converted to liquid by the vortex tube
  • the present invention allows the use of a smaller condenser than is the case without a vortex tube thereby redu ⁇ ng the size of air conditioning systems, refrigerators and heat pumps
  • a further embodiment of the present invention utilizes two vortex tubes, one before the evaporator and the second in the condenser, as illustrated in Figure 7
  • the vortex tubes operate in a similar fashion as described in a ref ⁇ geration system when only one vortex tube is used
  • the effi ⁇ ency of the ref ⁇ geration system illustrated in Figure 7 is greater than the effi ⁇ ency of the ref ⁇ geration illustrated in either Figure 3 or Figure 5
  • FIG. 8 illustrates a va ⁇ ation of the two vortex tube ref ⁇ geration systems illustrated in Figure 7 Instead of the vapor that exits vortex tube 20 being recombined with the liquid before entering the evaporator 18, a separate path for the vapor, bypassing the evaporator, is shown This va ⁇ ation should be slightly more efficient than recombining the liquid with the vapor because the vapor does not absorb any heat as it passes through the evaporator Accordingly, only liquid refngerant enters evaporator 18
  • a liquid/vapor separator 35 may be utilized before a ref ⁇ gerant enters the vortex tube 20 Liquid/vapor separators are known in other art areas
  • the liquid/vapor separator 35 ensures that only compressed vapor enters the vortex tube 20 Liquid from the liquid/vapor separator 35 is combined with the liquid that is output by vortex tube 20 and enters the evaporator 18 Any ref ⁇ gerant vapor that is still present bypasses the evaporator and is directed to the compressor 12
  • Vortex tube 31 separates the superheated ref ⁇ gerant into a hot vapor component and a cool vapor component
  • the hot vapor from vortex tube 31 is directed to condenser 14A
  • the output of condenser 14A is combined with the cool vapor output from vortex tube 31
  • the liquid refrigerant from vortex tube 29 bypasses condenser 14B
  • the liquid ref ⁇ gerant output from condenser 14B is mixed with the liquid refngerant output from vortex tube 29
  • This refrigeration system includes the compressor 12, the condenser 14, the expansion device 16, a first vortex tube 20, the evaporator 18, and a second vortex tube 21
  • the vapor refrigerant that is separated out by first vortex tube 20 is combined with the ref ⁇ gerant that exits evaporator 18 and is input into second vortex tube 21
  • FIG. 10B A variation of the ref ⁇ geration system of Figure 10A is shown in Figure 10B in which the vapor ref ⁇ gerant from the first vortex tube 20 is directed to the inlet of evaporator 18
  • the first vortex tube 20 has two inlets, a tangential inlet and a central inlet that communicates wit the vacuum that is created in the central core of the vortex tube.
  • the refrigerant that enters from the tangential inlet creates the vortex motion which eventually creates a vacuum inside the vortex tube.
  • the refrigerant, or component thereof that is separated out by the first vortex tube 20 is directed to the input of the evaporator 18.
  • the refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings.
  • the second vortex tube 21 only utilizes a single tangential inlet, i.e., the central inlet is effectively closed off.
  • the second vortex tube 21 also separates the refrigerant into a liquid component and a vapor component.
  • the vapor component from vortex tube 21 is directed to the compressor 12.
  • the liquid refrigerant from second vortex tube 21 is combined with the refrigerant that exits the expansion device 16 via conduit 55.
  • the liquid refrigerant that exits second vortex tube 21 will have suffi ⁇ ent velocity or pressure to be directed back to the inlet of the first vortex tube 20 This can be accomplished by using a two-inlet vortex tube for the first vortex tube 20.
  • a vacuum is created inside the first vortex tube as the vapor refrigerant is converted to the liquid refrigerant and this vacuum communicates with a first central inlet of the first vortex tube.
  • the volume of the refrigerant decreases by a factor of 10 to 100, depending on the type of refrigerants, as phase change occurs from vapor to liquid.
  • the vacuum inside the first vortex tube draws the liquid refrigerant exiting the second vortex tube without an additional pump.
  • the first vortex tube 20 acts as a pump.
  • Second vortex tube 21 also ensures that only vapor ref ⁇ gerant is returned to compressor 12, this also improves the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle
  • the volume of the vapor ref ⁇ gerant ente ⁇ ng the compressor is significantly reduced (by 20%-30% when compared with a refrigeration system that does not use vortex tubes), thus de ⁇ easing the compressor work and increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle
  • approximately 30%-40% is being recycled around the evaporator while approximately 70%-80% is fed back to the compressor Note though that 100% of the ref ⁇ gerant passes through the evaporator 18

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  • 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)
  • Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)

Abstract

An improved refrigeration system (10) utilizing one or more vortex tubes (20, 21, 29, 31). Vortex tubes (20, 21, 29, 31) produce liquid refrigerant from saturated-state vapor refrigerant in a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The efficiency of a refrigeration system (10) can be improved by placing vortex tubes before and after the evaporator.

Description

HIGH EFFICIENCY REFRIGERATION SYSTEM
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 09/517,922 filed 03 March 2000, and U.S. Application No. 09/535,126 filed 24 March 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a high efficiency refrigeration system and, more specifically, to a refrigeration system utilizing one or more vortex tubes for increasing the overall efficiency of a refrigeration system.
BACKGROUND OF THF INVENTION
A refrigeration system typically consists of four major components connected together via a conduit (preferably copper tubing) to form a closed loop system. The four major components are a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator. A refrigerant will have its pressure either increased or decreased and its temperature either increased or decreased by the four components as it circulates therethrough.
The refrigerant is continuously cycled through the refrigeration system. The main steps in the refrigeration cycle are compression of the refrigerant by the compressor, heat rejection of the refrigerant in the condenser, throttling of the refrigerant in the expansion device, and heat absorption of the refrigerant in the evaporator. The compressor provides the energy to keep the refrigerant moving within the conduits and through the major components This process is sometimes referred to as a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The vapor-compression refπgeration cycle is used in air conditioning systems, which cool and dehumidify air in a living space, in a moving vehicle (e g , automobile, airplane, train, etc ), refπgerators and heat pumps
During the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant enters the compressor as saturated vapor and is compressed to a very high pressure The temperature of the refπgerant increases during this compression step The refrigerant leaves the compressor as superheated vapor and enters the condenser A typical condenser compπses a single conduit formed into a serpentine-like shape so that a plurality of rows of conduit is formed parallel to each other Metal fins or other aids are usually attached to the serpentine conduit in order to increase the transfer of heat between the refrigerant passing through the condenser and the ambient air Heat is rejected from the superheated vapor as it passes through the condenser and the refrigerant exits the condenser as saturated liquid
The expansion device reduces the pressure of the saturated liquid thereby turning it into a saturated liquid-vapor mixture, which is throttled to the evaporator The temperature of the refrigerant drops below the temperature of the ambient air as it goes through the expansion device The refrigerant enters the evaporator as a low quality saturated mixture comprised of approximately 20% vapor and 80% liquid ("Quality" is defined as the mass fraction of vapor in the liquid-vapor mixture )
The evaporator physically resembles the serpentine-shaped conduit of the condenser Ideally, the refπgerant completely evaporates by absorbing heat from the refrigerated space and leaves the evaporator as saturated vapor at the suction pressure of the compressor and reenters the compressor thereby completing the cycle
The efficiency of a refπgeration cycle is traditionally described by an energy- efficiency ratio (EER) It is defined as the ratio of the heat absorption from an evaporator to the work done by a compressor
Heat absorption from evaporator
EER =
Work done by compressor
In a typical air conditioning system, the refπgeration cycle has an EER of approximately 30 (kw/kw)
SUMMARY OF THF INVFNTION
The present invention is designed to increase the efficiency of a refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump system by increasing the efficiency of the refπgeration cycle The increase in the efficiency is achieved by assisting in the conversion of the refrigerant from vapor to liquid at specific points in the refrigeration cycle In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a first vortex tube is placed between the expansion device and the evaporator in order to increase the percentage of refrigerant entering the evaporator as a liquid, and a second vortex tube is placed between the evaporator and the compressor in order to increase the percentage of refrigerant entering the compressor as a vapor Since the heat absorption from the evaporator occurs through the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant, the increase in the percentage of the liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator increases the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle and reduces the size of the evaporator
Another way the present invention increases the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is by placing a vortex tube in the serpentine tubing of the condenser In the preferred embodiment, the vortex tube is placed approximately one-quarter of the way in from the inlet of the condenser where desuperheating is completed Once again, the vortex tube produces liquid refrigerant and further increases the temperature of the vapor refrigerant thereby reducing the size of the condenser and decreasing the head pressure of the compressor As a result, the compression ratio decreases, and the work required by the compressor is reduced, thus increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle
RRIFF PFSHRIPTION OF THF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the pπnciples of the invention
In the drawings
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a typical refrigeration system,
Figure 2 shows a temperature entropy diagram of the refrigeration system illustrated in Figure 1 ,
Figure 3 is a block diagram of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention utilizing a vortex tube proximate the evaporator,
Figure 4A illustrates a side cut-away view of a conventional vortex tube, Figure 4B is a top cut-away view of the vortex tube shown in Figure 4A,
Figure 5 is a block diagram of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention utilizing a vortex tube in the condenser,
Figure 6 is a pictoπal representation of the phase change in the refrigerant in a condenser and vortex tube of the type used in the refrigeration system of Figure 5,
Figure 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment of refπgeration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes two vortex tubes,
Figure 8 is a block diagram of the refrigeration system of Figure 7 in which the refrigerant vapor bypasses the evaporator and the liquid refrigerant bypasses the condenser,
Figure 9 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a refπgeration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes a liquid/vapor separator and/or a third vortex tube,
Figure 10A is a block diagram of another embodiment of a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention which utilizes two vortex tubes, one before the evaporator and one after the evaporator,
Figure 10B is a vaπation of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10A in which the liquid and vapor components from the first vortex tube is directed to the evaporator, and
Figure 10C is a variation of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10B in which the central outlet is connected to the inlet of the compressor ΠFTΔII FΠ DFSΠRIPTIQN OF THF PRFFFRRFΠ FMRODIMFNT
In descπbing a preferred embodiment of the invention, speαfic terminology will be selected for the sake of clarity However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each speαfic term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which a refrigeration system in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at 10
A typical refrigeration system is illustrated in Figure 1 The refπgeration system includes a compressor 12, a condenser 14, an expansion device 16 and an evaporator 18 The various components are connected together via copper tubing 19
The refπgeration system is a closed loop system that circulates a refrigerant through the vaπous elements Some common types of refrigerant include R-12, R- 22, R-134A, R-410A, ammonia, carbon dioxide and natural gas A refrigerant is continuously cycled through the refπgeration system The main steps in the refπgeration cycle are compression of the refπgerant by the compressor, heat rejection of the refπgerant in the condenser, throttling of the refπgerant in the expansion device, and heat absorption of the refrigerant in the evaporator As indicated previously, this process is referred to as the vapor compression refπgeration cycle The temperature entropy curve of a typical refrigeration cycle is illustrated is Figure 2 Point 2 is where the refrigerant exists as a superheated vapor As the superheated vapor cools inside the condenser, the superheated vapor becomes a saturated vapor (point 2a) As heat transfer to the ambient air continues in the condenser, the refπgerant becomes a saturated liquid at point 3 After going through the expansion device, the refπgerant becomes a mixture of approximately 20% vapor and 80% liquid at point 4 As the refπgerant absorbs heat in the evaporator, the refrigerant becomes a saturated vapor at the suction pressure at point 1
The effiαency of a refπgeration cycle (and by analogy a heat pump cycle) depends primarily on the heat absorption from the evaporator and the efficiency of the compressor The former depends on the percentage of liquid in the liquid-vapor refπgerant mixture before the evaporator, whereas the latter depends on the magnitude of the head or discharge pressure The pressure of the refrigerant as it enters the compressor is referred to as the suction pressure level and the pressure of the refπgerant as it leaves the compressor is referred to as the head pressure level Depending on the type of refrigerant used, the head pressure can range from about 170 PSIG to about 450 PSIG
Compression ratio is the term used to express the pressure difference between the head pressure and the suction pressure Compression ratio is calculated by converting the head pressure and the suction pressure onto an absolute pressure scale and dividing the head pressure by the suction pressure When the compression ratio increases, the compressor efficiency drops thereby increasing energy consumption (In most cases, the energy is used by the electric motor that drives the compressor ) In addition, the temperature of the refπgerant vapor increases to the point that oil for lubπcation may be overheated which may cause corrosion in the refπgeration system
When a compressor runs at a high compression ratio, it no longer has the capability to keep a refrigerated space or living space at the designated temperature As the compressor efficiency drops, more electπαty is used for less refπgeration Furthermore, running the compressor at a high compression ratio increases the wear and tear on the compressor and decreases its operating life
An evaporator is made of a long coil or a seπes of heat transfer panels which absorb heat from a volume of air that is desired to be cooled In order to absorb heat from this ambient volume, the temperature of the refπgerant must be lower than that of the volume The refπgerant exiting the expansion device consists of low quality vapor, which is approximately 20% vapor and 80% liquid
The liquid portion of the refπgerant is used to absorb heat from the desired volume as the liquid refπgerant evaporates inside the evaporator The vapor portion of the refrigerant is not utilized to absorb heat from the ambient volume In other words, the vapor portion of the refπgerant does not contribute to cooling the ambient volume and decreases the effiαency of the refngeration cycle
Referπng to Figure 3, the present invention uses a vortex tube 20 between the expansion device 16 and the evaporator 18 Vortex tube 20 converts at least a portion of the refπgerant vapor that exits the expansion device into liquid so that it can be used in the evaporator to absorb heat from the ambient volume Vortex tubes are well-known in other areas of art but are not commonly found in refπgeration systems
As illustrated in Figure 4A, the vortex tube 20 is a device which converts a flow of compressed gas into two streams - one stream hotter than and the other stream colder than the temperature of the gas supplied to the vortex tube A vortex tube does not contain any moving parts
Referπng now to Figure 4B, a high pressure gas stream is shown entering the vortex tube 20 tangentially at one end (i e , the inlet 22) The high pressure gas stream produces a strong vortex flow in the tube 20 The vortex flow is similar in shape to a helix The high pressure gas separates into two streams having different temperatures, one along the outer wall and one along the axis of the tube In the outer stream, the αrcumferential veloαty is inversely proportional to the radial position The pressure within a vortex tube is lowest at the center of the tube and increases to a maximum at the wall
The high pressure gas that enters a vortex tube will be the refrigerant in a refπgeration cycle Since vapor refrigerant is a compressible medium, the pressure distribution within the vortex tube causes a temperature difference between the inner and outer streams
Referπng again to Figure 3, in the preferred embodiment, the vortex tube 20 is preferably placed proximate the evaporator 18 In order to reduce manufactuπng costs, the vortex tube 20 may be placed immediately before the evaporator 18 However, other positions of the vortex tube proximate the evaporator including a percentage of the distance from the inlet of the evaporator may be desirable
A condenser 14 in the refπgeration cycle is used to convert superheated refngerant vapor to liquid by rejecting heat to the surroundings The condenser is a long heat transfer coil or seπes of heat rejecting panels similar in appearance to the evaporator Referπng again to Figure 1 , as refπgerant enters the condenser 14, the superheated vapor first becomes saturated vapor in the approximately first quarter- section of the condenser, and the saturated vapor undergoes phase change in the remainder of the condenser at approximately constant pressure
Since the heat rejection from the condenser to the surroundings can occur only when the temperature of the refrigerant is greater than that of the surroundings, the refrigerant temperature has to be raised well above that of the surroundings This is accomplished by raising the pressure of the refπgerant vapor, a task that is done by the compressor 12 Since vapor temperature is closely related to vapor pressure, it is critically important that the condenser effiαently rejects heat from the refπgerant to the surroundings If the condenser 14 is not effiαent, the compressor 12 has to further increase the head pressure in an attempt to assist the condenser in dumping heat to the surroundings
As illustrated in Figure 5, another embodiment of the present invention utilizes a vortex tube 29 in the condenser to convert saturated refrigerant vapor to liquid thus increasing the condenser's efficiency The first approximately one- quarter of the condenser is represented by 14A and the remaining three-quarters of the condenser is represented by 14B
Referπng to Figure 6, in the preferred embodiment the vortex tube 29 is inserted approximately one-quarter of the way into the condenser (i e , at the point where the superheated vapor becomes saturated vapor in full or in part) By inserting the vortex tube 29 in an existing condenser, manufacturing costs may be minimized However, for all intents and purposes two separate condensers, each about the respective size of condenser portions 14A and 14B, may be used
When a vortex tube 29 is placed approximately one-fourth of the way from the inlet of the condenser, the temperature of the refrigerant does not have to be raised well over that of the surroundings thus allowing the compressor to run at a lower head pressure than would be the case without the vortex tube 29
Since the refπgerant vapor becomes saturated liquid at the output of the condenser, the size of the condenser in pπor art refrigeration systems is often chosen larger than necessary in order to ensure the exchange of heat The present method allows the size of the condenser 14 to be reduced because the substantial amount of saturated refπgerant vapor is converted to liquid by the vortex tube The present invention allows the use of a smaller condenser than is the case without a vortex tube thereby reduαng the size of air conditioning systems, refrigerators and heat pumps
A further embodiment of the present invention utilizes two vortex tubes, one before the evaporator and the second in the condenser, as illustrated in Figure 7 The vortex tubes operate in a similar fashion as described in a refπgeration system when only one vortex tube is used However, the effiαency of the refπgeration system illustrated in Figure 7 is greater than the effiαency of the refπgeration illustrated in either Figure 3 or Figure 5
Figure 8 illustrates a vaπation of the two vortex tube refπgeration systems illustrated in Figure 7 Instead of the vapor that exits vortex tube 20 being recombined with the liquid before entering the evaporator 18, a separate path for the vapor, bypassing the evaporator, is shown This vaπation should be slightly more efficient than recombining the liquid with the vapor because the vapor does not absorb any heat as it passes through the evaporator Accordingly, only liquid refngerant enters evaporator 18
Referπng again to Figure 8, the liquid portion of the refrigerant is drawn off from vortex tube 29 and bypasses condenser 14B In this manner, the heat in the vapor refrigerant is rejected by condenser 14B Since there is very little heat stored in the refrigerant liquid, it does not need to be passed through condenser 14B
Referπng to Figure 9, another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated In this embodiment, a liquid/vapor separator 35 may be utilized before a refπgerant enters the vortex tube 20 Liquid/vapor separators are known in other art areas The liquid/vapor separator 35 ensures that only compressed vapor enters the vortex tube 20 Liquid from the liquid/vapor separator 35 is combined with the liquid that is output by vortex tube 20 and enters the evaporator 18 Any refπgerant vapor that is still present bypasses the evaporator and is directed to the compressor 12
Also illustrated in Figure 9 is another variation in which a third vortex tube 31 is inserted in a refπgeration system before condenser 14A Vortex tube 31 separates the superheated refπgerant into a hot vapor component and a cool vapor component The hot vapor from vortex tube 31 is directed to condenser 14A The output of condenser 14A is combined with the cool vapor output from vortex tube 31 The liquid refrigerant from vortex tube 29 bypasses condenser 14B The liquid refπgerant output from condenser 14B is mixed with the liquid refngerant output from vortex tube 29
The variations illustrated in Figure 9 (i e , a liquid/vapor separator and a third vortex tube proximate the condenser) may be used together or independently of each other
Referπng now to Figure 10A, another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated This refrigeration system includes the compressor 12, the condenser 14, the expansion device 16, a first vortex tube 20, the evaporator 18, and a second vortex tube 21 The vapor refrigerant that is separated out by first vortex tube 20 is combined with the refπgerant that exits evaporator 18 and is input into second vortex tube 21
A variation of the refπgeration system of Figure 10A is shown in Figure 10B in which the vapor refπgerant from the first vortex tube 20 is directed to the inlet of evaporator 18
The first vortex tube 20 has two inlets, a tangential inlet and a central inlet that communicates wit the vacuum that is created in the central core of the vortex tube. The refrigerant that enters from the tangential inlet creates the vortex motion which eventually creates a vacuum inside the vortex tube.
In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 10A and 10B, the refrigerant, or component thereof that is separated out by the first vortex tube 20 is directed to the input of the evaporator 18. In the evaporator 18, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings.
The second vortex tube 21 only utilizes a single tangential inlet, i.e., the central inlet is effectively closed off. The second vortex tube 21 also separates the refrigerant into a liquid component and a vapor component. The vapor component from vortex tube 21 is directed to the compressor 12. The liquid refrigerant from second vortex tube 21 is combined with the refrigerant that exits the expansion device 16 via conduit 55. The liquid refrigerant that exits second vortex tube 21 will have suffiαent velocity or pressure to be directed back to the inlet of the first vortex tube 20 This can be accomplished by using a two-inlet vortex tube for the first vortex tube 20. A vacuum is created inside the first vortex tube as the vapor refrigerant is converted to the liquid refrigerant and this vacuum communicates with a first central inlet of the first vortex tube. Note that the volume of the refrigerant decreases by a factor of 10 to 100, depending on the type of refrigerants, as phase change occurs from vapor to liquid. Hence, the vacuum inside the first vortex tube draws the liquid refrigerant exiting the second vortex tube without an additional pump. In other words, the first vortex tube 20 acts as a pump. In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 10A and 10B, an increase in the heat absorption is achieved as the liquid passes through evaporator 18, this results in an increase in effiαency of the refπgeration cycle Second vortex tube 21 also ensures that only vapor refπgerant is returned to compressor 12, this also improves the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle
Furthermore, the volume of the vapor refπgerant enteπng the compressor is significantly reduced (by 20%-30% when compared with a refrigeration system that does not use vortex tubes), thus deαeasing the compressor work and increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle Although the same volume of refrigerant is used in the present invention, approximately 30%-40% is being recycled around the evaporator while approximately 70%-80% is fed back to the compressor Note though that 100% of the refπgerant passes through the evaporator 18
Although this invention has been described and illustrated by reference to speαfic embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that vaπous changes and modifications may be made which clearly fall within the scope of this invention The present invention is intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims

Claims

We claim
1 A refrigeration system having a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator arranged in succession and connected via conduit in a closed loop in order to circulate refrigerant through the closed loop, the improvement comprising a first vortex tube placed in the closed loop after the expansion device and before the evaporator for converting at least a portion of the refrigerant vapor exiting the expansion device into liquid, and a second vortex tube placed in the closed loop after the evaporator and before the compressor for converting at least a portion of the refrigerant exiting the evaporator into vapor ensuring that only vapor refrigerant reaches the compressor
2 The refrigeration system of claim 1 wherein the first vortex tube is placed immediately before the inlet of the evaporator
3 The refrigeration system of claim 1 wherein the second vortex tube is placed immediately after the outlet of the evaporator
4 The refrigeration system of claim 1 , further comprising a conduit that connects an outlet of the first vortex tube to the inlet of the second vortex tube for allowing vapor refrigerant to bypass the evaporator
5 The refrigeration system of claim 4, further comprising a conduit that connects an outlet of the second vortex tube to the inlet of the first vortex tube for allowing liquid refrigerant separated by the second vortex tube to be separated further by the first vortex tube
6 The refrigeration system of claim 1 , further comprising a conduit that connects an outlet of the second vortex tube to the inlet of the first vortex tube for allowing liquid refrigerant separated by the second vortex tube to be separated further by the first vortex tube
7 A refrigeration system for actively changing the state of a refrigerant in order to provide cooling or heating, said refrigeration system comprising a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, said compressor having an inlet for introducing low-pressure vapor refrigerant and an outlet for discharging compressed high-pressure refrigerant, a condenser connected to said compressor via a first conduit, said conduit being capable of directing refrigerant through its interior, an expansion device connected to said condenser via a second conduit, a first vortex tube having an inlet that connects to said expansion device via a third conduit, said first vortex tube also having a low-temperature outlet and a high-temperature outlet, an evaporator connected to the low-temperature outlet of said first vortex tube via a fourth conduit, a second vortex tube having an inlet that connects to the outlet of said evaporator via a fifth conduit, said inlet of the second vortex tube also connected to said high-temperature outlet of the first vortex tube, via a sixth conduit, and the second vortex tube having a low-temperature outlet connected to said inlet of said first vortex tube via a seventh conduit, and the second vortex tube having a high-temperature outlet connected to said compressor via an eighth conduit thereby forming a closed loop system for circulating the refrigerant through said elements and conduits
8 The refrigeration system of claim 7, wherein said expansion device is a capillary tube for adjusting the pressure of the refrigerant that passes therethrough
9 The refrigeration system of claim 7, wherein said expansion device is an expansion valve for adjusting the pressure of the refrigerant that passes therethrough 10 The refrigeration system of claim 7, wherein said compressor comprises an electric motor
11 A refrigeration system for actively changing the state of a refrigerant in order to provide cooling or heating, said refrigeration system comprising a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, said compressor having an inlet for introducing low-pressure refrigerant and an outlet for discharging compressed high-pressure vapor refrigerant, a condenser for accepting the high-pressure vapor refrigerant output from the compressor, the condenser cooling the refrigerant vapor component until a majority is converted into a liquid, an expansion device connected to the condenser for accepting the refrigerant from the condenser, the expansion device throttling the refrigerant, a first vortex tube for accepting the refrigerant from the expansion device, the first vortex tube separating the refrigerant into a vapor component and a liquid component, an evaporator for accepting the liquid component from the first vortex tube, said evaporator facilitating the absorption of heat by the refrigerant as it flows therethrough, a second vortex tube for accepting the refrigerant output from the evaporator and the vapor component output from the first vortex tube, the second vortex tube separating the refrigerant into a vapor component and a liquid component, said liquid component of the second vortex tube being directed back to the inlet of said first vortex tube and said vapor component of the second vortex tube being directed back to the inlet of the compressor
12 A refrigeration system for actively changing the state of a refrigerant in order to provide cooling or heating, said refrigeration system comprising a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, said compressor having an inlet for introducing low-pressure refrigerant and an outlet for discharging compressed high-pressure vapor refrigerant, a condenser for accepting the high-pressure vapor refrigerant output from the compressor, the condenser cooling the refrigerant vapor component until a majority is converted into a liquid, an expansion device connected to the condenser for accepting the refrigerant from the condenser, the expansion device throttling the refrigerant, a first vortex tube having a tangential inlet for accepting the refrigerant from the expansion device, a central inlet that communicates with a vacuum created in the vortex tube and a single outlet, an evaporator for accepting the refrigerant that is output from the first vortex tube, said evaporator facilitating the absorption of heat by the refrigerant as it flows therethrough, a second vortex tube for accepting the refrigerant output from the evaporator, the second vortex tube separating the refrigerant into a vapor component and a liquid component, said liquid component of the second vortex tube being directed back to the central inlet of said first vortex tube and said vapor component of the second vortex tube being directed to the inlet of the compressor
PCT/US2001/006551 2000-03-03 2001-03-01 High efficiency refrigeration system WO2001067011A1 (en)

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