Internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of air conditioning system having alternative refrigerant applied thereto

Abstract

The present invention relates to an internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto for heat exchange between a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from an evaporator and a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant discharged from an condenser, the double-tube structure including: an inner pipe having a channel through which the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from the evaporator flows; and an outer pipe surrounding the inner pipe and having a channel through which high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant flows, wherein the inner pipe has a spiral groove forming a channel on an outer side thereof, and the spiral groove is a recessed groove for generating a vortex that increase a channel volume where high-temperature high-pressure liquid flows inward and reduces a vortex of flowing fluid.

Claims

1. An internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto for heat exchange between a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from an evaporator and a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant discharged from a condenser, the double-tube structure comprising: an inner pipe having a channel through which the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from the evaporator flows; and an outer pipe surrounding the inner pipe and having a channel through which high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant flows, wherein the inner pipe has a spiral groove forming a channel on an outer side thereof, wherein a recessed groove is formed on an outer surface of the spiral groove for generating a vortex, the recessed groove comprising: a single center portion protruded radially outward and formed along a direction of the spiral groove; and a left and a right slope inclined from the single center portion to left and right edges of the spiral groove, wherein each of the left and the right slopes has a groove shape and one of the left and the right slopes has a greater groove shape than the other, wherein an entire outer surface of the single center portion and the left and the right slopes is directly exposed to an inner surface of the outer pipe.

2. The internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto of claim 1, wherein the recessed groove is able to increase heat exchange performance between refrigerants according to channels of the inner pipe and the outer pipe according to a groove depth, a groove gap, a groove shape, and a direction of a spiral.

3. The internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto of claim 1, wherein the single center portion and the left and the right slopes are formed of a wave shape that is high at a center portion and becomes lower to the left and right.

4. The internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto of claim 1, wherein the recessed groove having a wave shape inward increases a channel volume where high-temperature high-pressure liquid flows and reduce a vortex of flowing liquid.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1 to 11 show an embodiment of an internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto according to the present invention, in which

(2) FIG. 1 is an entire perspective view showing a double tube according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is an entire exploded perspective view showing the double tube according to the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is an entire front view showing the double tube according to the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a combination of the double tube according to the present invention and inner/outer pipes, including an exemplary enlarged cross-sectional view of main parts;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side view showing a double tube for a heat exchanger according to the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6a is an exemplary cross-sectional view showing a side cross-section of a main part of a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape;

(8) FIG. 6b is an exemplary cross-sectional view showing a side cross-section of the main part of the double tube according to the present invention;

(9) FIG. 7a is an exemplary view showing a cross-section of the main part of the double tube having a fundamental spiral shape, in which a volume area of a channel through which a refrigerant flows is shown;

(10) FIG. 7b is an exemplary view showing a cross-section of the main part of the double tube, in which a volume area of a channel through which a refrigerant flows is shown;

(11) FIG. 8 is an operational exemplary view showing flow of a refrigerant in a double tube according to the present invention;

(12) FIG. 9a is an exemplary view of a comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape is performed;

(13) FIG. 9b is an exemplary view of a comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to double tube of the present invention is performed;

(14) FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of another comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape and a double tube of the present invention is performed;

(15) FIG. 11 is an exemplary table showing an internal heat exchanger test result according to a double-tube structure of the present invention;

(16) FIG. 12 is a test result graph showing data according to the exemplary table of FIG. 11;

(17) FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a common cooling/heating system of an air conditioning system of the related art; and

(18) FIG. 14 is a schematic state view showing a heat exchanger in stalled in the cooling/heating system of FIG. 13.

BEST MODE

(19) Hereafter, a preferable embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(20) The present invention is not limited to the following embodiment and may be achieved in various different ways, and the embodiment is provided to completely inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the present invention to completely describe the present invention.

(21) Hereafter, a preferable embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that same components are denoted by the same reference numerals even if they are shown in different drawings. Further, in the following description, it is to be noted that, when the functions of conventional elements and the detailed description of elements related with the present invention may make the gist of the present invention unclear, a detailed description of those elements will be omitted

(22) FIGS. 1 to 11 show an embodiment of an internal heat exchanger double-tube structure of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto according to the present invention.

(23) Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIG. 12, an internal heat exchanger double-tube 100 of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto according to the present invention, which is a double-tube structure for heat exchange between a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 4 and a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the condenser s, includes an inner pipe 110 and an outer pipe 120 coupled to surround the inner pipe 120.

(24) The inner pipe 110 has a channel 111 through which the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 4 flows.

(25) The outer pipe 120 has a channel 121 that surrounds the inner pipe 110 and through which a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the condenser 2 flows.

(26) The inner pipe 110 has a spiral groove 112 to form a channel on the outer side and the spiral groove 112 is a recessed groove for generating a vortex in the longitudinal direction.

(27) That is, the spiral groove 112 is a recessed groove having a vortex shape such as “”, thereby being increasing the channel volume of a place where high-temperature high-pressure liquid flows and applying a vortex to the flowing liquid. Accordingly, a vortex is generated in a refrigerant flowing through the channel by the recessed groove for generating a vortex.

(28) Referring to FIGS. 6a and 6b, a spiral groove 11a formed on a common inner pipe of the related art is about 1.9 mm deep, but the spiral groove 112 of the present invention may be deeper, about 2.17 mm.

(29) Further, referring to FIGS. 7a and 7b, in comparison to the channel between an outer pipe and an inner pipe combined in a common double tube, the spiral groove 11a formed on the inner pipe 11 having a fundamental spiral shape has a ratio of about 18.48 of the volume (area) to the depth of the spiral groove, but the spiral groove 112 of the double tube according to the present invention has a ratio of about 20.59 of the volume (area) to the depth with the inner side wider and deeper. Accordingly, the volume (area) of the place where high-temperature high-pressure fluid flows can be made larger and a recessed shape for generating a vortex is added to the spiral groove, whereby the volume efficiency of the channel can be maximized.

(30) That is, the largest heat exchange occurs at the space in which a high-temperature high-pressure fluid flows, so the larger the channel volume (area), the better it is. Accordingly, it is preferable to increase the volume to the fundamental spiral groove and to give a spiral recessed groove such that flow can spirally flow. Accordingly, a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant can maximally exchange heat with low-temperature low-pressure gas for predetermined time and under predetermined pressure throughout a predetermined length, thereby being able to increase heat exchange efficiency.

(31) In other words, as a recessed groove for generating a vortex according to the spiral groove 112 of the inner pipe 110, it is preferable to give a volume ratio to make the inside of the spiral groove deeper such that a high-pressure side heat exchange area can be increased.

(32) Accordingly, it is preferable for the spiral groove 112 to have a recessed groove structure for generating a vortex having a volume ratio considering a groove depth, a groove gap (pitch), a groove shape, and the direction of a spiral so that heat exchange performance between refrigerant according to the channels of the inner pipe 110 and the outer pipe 120 can be improved.

(33) Referring to FIG. 5, the spiral groove 112, which is a recessed groove for generating a vortex, may be configured such that a center portion 112a is high and wave-shaped slopes 112b and 112c are formed from the center portion 112a to the left and right edges in the inside cross-section.

(34) Further, any one of the slopes 112b and 112c is formed in a deeper groove shape, so vertex effect of the refrigerant flowing through the channel can be maximized.

(35) Hereafter, the operation effect according to the internal heat exchanger double-tube 100 of an air conditioning system having an alternative refrigerant applied thereto according to the present invention is described with reference to the configuration described above.

(36) FIG. 8 is an operational exemplary view showing flow of a refrigerant in a double tube according to the present invention, FIG. 9a is an exemplary view of a comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape is performed, FIG. 9b is an exemplary view of a comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to double tube of the present invention is performed, and FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of another comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape and a double tube of the present invention is performed.

(37) First, a high-temperature high-pressure liquid-state refrigerant discharge from the condenser 2 flows into the outer pipe 120 through an inlet pipe 101. The refrigerant flowing in the outer pipe 120 flows through several spiral channels 121 between the outer pipe 120 and the inner pipe 110 and then moves to the expansion valve 3 through an outlet pipe 102.

(38) Further, a low-temperature low-pressure gas-state refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 4 passes through a channel 111 in the inner pipe 110, in which the refrigerant that has passed through the inner pipe 110 and the refrigerant that has passed through the outer pipe 120 exchange heat with each other.

(39) Thereafter, the refrigerant that has passed through the inner pipe 110 flows into the compressor 1.

(40) According to the internal heat exchanger double tube 100, the amount of heat transfer between the low-temperature low-pressure gas-state refrigerant flowing through the inner pipe 110 and the high-temperature high-pressure liquid-state refrigerant flowing through the outer pipe 120 has a large influence on the performance of the internal heat exchanger double tube 100.

(41) That is, as for the outer pipe 120, a refrigerant spirally flows through a spiral channel 121, but as for the inner pipe 110, a refrigerant flows straight through a channel 112, in which heat exchange can occur.

(42) The spiral groove according to the present invention is a recessed groove having a vortex shape maximizing volume efficiency, so high-temperature heat can be reduced as quickly and much as possible through heat circulation between low temperature and high temperature.

(43) The result according to an experiment program of the double tube according to the present invention is described hereafter.

(44) FIG. 9a is an exemplary view of a comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape and a double tube of the present invention is performed, in which temperature and pressure changes when low-temperature low-pressure of gas at 11° C. and high-temperature high-pressure fluid at 45° C. passes through a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape are shown first at the upper portion.

(45) FIG. 9b shows temperature and pressure changes when low-temperature low-pressure of gas at 11° C. and high-temperature high-pressure fluid at 45° C. passes through a double tube and high-temperature high-pressure fluid at 45° C. passes through a double tube having a spiral groove according to the present invention, from which it can be seen that the temperature of the high-temperature high-pressure fluid dropped about −2.597° C. and the pressure thereof dropped −0.1101 bar. Further, it can be seen that the temperature of the w-temperature low-pressure of gas increased 4.525° C. and the pressure thereof dropped −32.7 mbar.

(46) FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of another comparative experiment program in which heat exchange according to a double tube having a fundamental spiral shape and a double tube of the present invention is performed, in which a heat transfer coefficient and a heat exchange rate are high at the inside of the spiral groove of an inner pipe, as the blue color is less at the inside the groove in the test program. It can also be seen from this test program that as it goes from blue to red, the heat exchange rate increases.

(47) In other words, in an air conditioning system necessarily requiring an alternative refrigerant to improve the performance, the system performance is reduced because the alternative refrigerant is lower in latent heat of evaporation than the existing refrigerant, but an internal heat exchanger generating heat exchange between low pressure and high pressure can offset the reduction of performance. It may be a very important factor that can improve heat exchange performance between a refrigerant flowing through an outer pipe and a refrigerant flowing through the inner pipe in a spiral groove structure of a double tube for increasing heat exchange performance.

(48) FIG. 11 is an exemplary table showing an internal heat exchanger test result according to a double-tube structure of the present invention and FIG. 12 is a test result graph showing data according to the exemplary table of FIG. 11.

(49) Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, as for thermal efficiency average (heat exchange rate), the heat exchange rate of the third sample is better than that of a base sample from the table and graph.

(50) Data closest to a base sample value is required to obtain high pressure and thermal equilibrium is less than 1% and should not exceed reference 1%, but 0% is best data.

(51) As a result, three conditions of thermal efficiency average, high pressure, and thermal equilibrium are data that have largest influence on thermal efficiency and it can be seen that the third sample of the present invention that is the most suitable for the three conditions has best thermal efficiency in all terms.

(52) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the performance of an internal heat exchanger by increasing heat exchange efficiency by about 0.8% in the internal heat exchanger having reference 505W, a double-tube length of 600 mm, a heat exchange length of 480 mm by the recessed groove for generating a vortex according to the spiral groove of a double tube.

(53) Although the present invention was described above with reference to preferable embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and may be changed and modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from an equivalent range of the spirit of the present invention and claims to be described below.