A flash gas bypass system includes a separation assembly having an inlet configured to receive a refrigerant flow from an expansion valve. A bypass conduit is coupled to a first port of the separation assembly and configured to receive a first portion of the refrigerant flow via the first port, where the first portion of the refrigerant flow includes flash gas. A second port of the separation assembly is coupled to an outlet conduit in fluid communication with an evaporator. The outlet conduit is configured to receive the second portion of the refrigerant flow via the second port and direct the second portion of the refrigerant flow toward the evaporator, where the second portion of the refrigerant flow includes liquid refrigerant. A filter is configured to redirect droplets captured by the filter from the first portion of the refrigerant flow into the second portion of the refrigerant flow.

A heat exchanger module includes a skin condenser and a skin evaporator. The skin condenser includes an inner condenser plate, an outer condenser plate coupled to the inner condenser plate and a condenser tube channel formed on one of the inner condenser plate and/or the outer condenser plate. The evaporator includes an inner evaporator plate, an outer evaporator plate coupled to the inner evaporator plate, and an evaporator tube channel formed on one of the inner evaporator plate and/or the outer evaporator plate. The heat exchanger also includes an insulation layer extending between the inner condenser plate and the inner evaporator plate. Each of the plates that form the skin condenser and/or evaporator can be formed from different materials and/or have different material thicknesses to reduce heat transfer through the insulation layer from the condenser to the evaporator while also promoting heat transfer through natural convection with surrounding air.

A thermal management system for a vehicle includes an ejector, which includes a main refrigerant line connected to allow a refrigerant to sequentially circulate through a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, a first branch line which branches between the condenser and the evaporator of the main refrigerant line and which is connected to an inside of the nozzle of the ejector, a second branch line which branches between the evaporator and the compressor of the main refrigerant line and which is connected to an outside of the nozzle of the ejector, and a refrigerant increase line which is connected to an outlet of the ejector and which joins to the main refrigerant line through the compressor.

A thermal management system for a vehicle includes an ejector, which includes a main refrigerant line connected to allow a refrigerant to sequentially circulate through a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, a first branch line which branches between the condenser and the evaporator of the main refrigerant line and which is connected to an inside of the nozzle of the ejector, a second branch line which branches between the evaporator and the compressor of the main refrigerant line and which is connected to an outside of the nozzle of the ejector, and a refrigerant increase line which is connected to an outlet of the ejector and which joins to the main refrigerant line through the compressor.

A dehumidification system includes a compressor, a primary evaporator, a primary condenser, a secondary evaporator, a secondary condenser, a modulating valve, and an alternate condenser. The secondary evaporator receives an inlet airflow and outputs a first airflow to the primary evaporator. The primary evaporator receives the first airflow and outputs a second airflow to the secondary condenser. The secondary condenser receives the second airflow and outputs a third airflow to the primary condenser. The primary condenser receives the third airflow and outputs a dehumidified airflow. The compressor receives a flow of refrigerant from the primary evaporator and provides the flow of refrigerant to the modulating valve. The modulating valve directs the flow of refrigerant to the primary condenser and to the alternate condenser. The alternate condenser receives a portion of the flow of refrigerant for heat rejection, where the primary condenser receives the remaining portion of the flow of refrigerant.

A dehumidification system includes a compressor, a primary evaporator, a primary condenser, a secondary evaporator, a secondary condenser, a modulating valve, and an alternate condenser. The secondary evaporator receives an inlet airflow and outputs a first airflow to the primary evaporator. The primary evaporator receives the first airflow and outputs a second airflow to the secondary condenser. The secondary condenser receives the second airflow and outputs a third airflow to the primary condenser. The primary condenser receives the third airflow and outputs a dehumidified airflow. The compressor receives a flow of refrigerant from the primary evaporator and provides the flow of refrigerant to the modulating valve. The modulating valve directs the flow of refrigerant to the primary condenser and to the alternate condenser. The alternate condenser receives a portion of the flow of refrigerant for heat rejection, where the primary condenser receives the remaining portion of the flow of refrigerant.

There are provided a heat exchange apparatus and an air conditioner in which an occurrence of uneven refrigerant distribution of a heat exchanger is reduced such that heat exchange performance improves. The heat exchange apparatus includes: a heat-transfer pipe through which a refrigerant flows; a heat exchanger in which a plurality of the heat-transfer pipes are connected to one another; a distributor that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of heat-transfer pipes; an inflow pipe that causes the refrigerant to flow into the distributor; and a confluent pipe which is connected to an intermediate position of the inflow pipe and in which the refrigerant flowing through an inside thereof is to merge with the refrigerant flowing through an inside of the inflow pipe. A merging part between the inflow pipe and the confluent pipe is positioned in the vicinity of the distributor.

An object of the present invention is to allow uniform distribution of a refrigerant by a distributor. A refrigerant pipe includes a bent pipe formed in the shape of a curve and a downstream pipe connected to the downstream side of the bent pipe and formed to be linear. A distributor to distribute the refrigerant into a plurality of flow paths is connected to the downstream pipe on the downstream side. An inner wall on the inner peripheral side of the bent pipe being on the side of the curvature center of the curve is a grooved surface with a groove formed therein, and an inner wall on the outer peripheral side of the bent pipe being on the side opposite to the curvature center of the curve is a smooth surface.

A method for cooling air in an HVAC system includes moving refrigerant through a closed refrigeration circuit having, inter alia, an expansion device subsystem, which includes a full-load pathway and at least one partial-load pathway and a flow selector for directing refrigerant flow from the condenser to either the partial-load pathway or the full-load pathway. The method also involves directing refrigerant flow from the condenser to the full-load pathway when the refrigerant pressure is greater than or equal to a first preselected activation pressure and stepping down a refrigerant pressure with a set orifice and directing refrigerant flow from the condenser to the partial-load pathway when the refrigerant pressure is less than a second preselected activation pressure and stepping down a refrigerant pressure with a variable expansion device configured for partial loads. Refrigerant is delivered from the full-load pathway or partial-load pathway to the evaporator.

A distributor includes a main body. The main body includes a refrigerant inflow path, a plurality of refrigerant outflow paths, a distribution path communicating with the refrigerant inflow path and the plurality of refrigerant outflow paths, and a plurality of tapered paths each communicating between corresponding one of the plurality of refrigerant outflow paths and the distribution path. The tapered paths each have an inlet opening and an outlet opening, the inlet opening being larger than the outlet opening.