CONDENSER ARRANGEMENT FOR AN AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Abstract

A condenser arrangement for an air conditioning system may include at least one pipe wall composed of a metal, e.g., aluminium. A protective layer may be disposed on the at least one pipe wall. The protective layer may have a composition including 40 to 90 mass % zinc oxide (ZnO). The protective layer may additionally include a polymer binding agent and/or an additive.

Claims

1. A condenser arrangement for an air conditioning system, comprising: at least one pipe wall composed of a metal; and a protective layer disposed on the at least one pipe wall, wherein the protective layer has a composition including 40-90 mass % zinc oxide.

2. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the zinc oxide is doped with at least one of magnesium ions and copper ions.

3. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the zinc oxide includes an organic zinc compound.

4. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the composition of the protective layer further includes 10 to 50 mass % of a polymer binding agent for surface sealing.

5. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the composition of the protective layer further includes up to 10 mass % of at least one additive.

6. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is configured as an organic-inorganic hybrid layer.

7. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer includes a sol-gel layer.

8. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer has a layer thickness of 0.5 m to 20 m.

9. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the zinc oxide of the protective layer has a particle size of <10 m.

10. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is disposed onto the at least one pipe wall via at least one of a dipping technique and a plasma technique.

11. An air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, comprising: a compressor; and a condenser arrangement cooperating with the compressor, the condenser arrangement including: at least one pipe wall composed of an aluminium material; and a protective layer disposed on the at least one pipe wall, the protective layer composed of a material including 40-90 mass % of zinc oxide, wherein the zinc oxide includes an organic zinc compound.

12. A motor vehicle, comprising: an air conditioning system including a compressor and a condenser arrangement cooperating with the compressor, wherein the condenser arrangement includes: at least one pipe wall composed of an aluminium material; and a protective layer disposed on the at least one pipe wall, the protective layer composed of a material including 40-90 mass % of zinc oxide and 10 to 50 mass % of a polymer binding agent to facilitate surface sealing, wherein the zinc oxide includes at least one of zinc oxide doped with magnesium ions and zinc oxide doped with copper ions.

13. The motor vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the zinc oxide further includes zinc pyrithione.

14. The motor vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the material of the protective layer further includes up to 10 mass % of at least one additive.

15. The air conditioning system according to claim 11, wherein the material of the protective layer further includes 10 to 50 mass % of a polymer binding agent to facilitate surface sealing.

16. The air conditioning system according to claim 15, wherein the polymer binding agent includes at least one of polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylate and polyepoxy.

17. The air conditioning system according to claim 11, wherein the organic zinc compound includes zinc pyrithione.

18. The air conditioning system according to claim 11, wherein the zinc oxide further includes at least one of zinc oxide doped with a magnesium ion and zinc oxide doped with a copper ion.

19. The condenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the metal includes aluminium.

20. The condenser arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the organic zinc compound includes zinc pyrithione.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Preferred example embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained further in the following description. The drawings show as follows:

[0027] The FIGURE illustrates a diagrammatic view of a condenser arrangement according to an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The single FIGURE illustrates in a rough diagrammatic illustration an example of a condenser arrangement 1 according to the invention, for an air conditioning system. A pipe wall 3 of a metal such as e.g. aluminium serves as a dividing wall between two fluid ducts 2a, 2b, wherein the first fluid duct 2a is flowed through by a cooling agent K and the second fluid duct 2b is flowed through by the medium M which is to be cooled, typically air. Through thermal interaction between cooling agent K and medium M which is to be cooled through the pipe wall 3, heat is extracted from the medium M and is delivered to the cooling agent K, wherein the liquid coolant K can evaporate. Water vapour contained in the medium M can condense during this process and can be precipitated to water on the side 4 of the pipe wall 3 facing the second fluid duct 2b. Therefore, on this side 4 of the pipe wall 3 a protective layer 5 is applied for the simultaneous protection from corrosion, for prevention of the colonisation of microorganisms and for hyrophilization, which for example can have a layer thickness of 0.5 m to 20 m. The protective layer 5 can be applied by means of a plasma- or dipping method onto the side 4 of the pipe wall 3 facing the medium M which is to be cooled, therefore typically air.

[0029] The protective layer 5 has zinc oxide (ZnO) as central component, which forms 40-90 mass % of the protective layer 5. A further 10 to 50 mass % can be formed by a polymer binding agentthus, for example, polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylate, polyepoxy , which may serve for the sealing of the pipe wall 3. The hydrophilicity of the protective layer resulting through the combination of the polymer binding agent with the filler zinc oxide makes provision that the water precipitating through condensation does not deposit itself in drop form on the pipe walls, but rather a thin and homogenous liquid film forms. Therefore, the condensed water can be discharged particularly quickly from the pipe wall surface.

[0030] The antibacterial effect of the protective layer can be further intensified in a variant of the example, in which the zinc oxide present in the protective coating is doped with magnesium ions and/or copper ions. In order to achieve the same effect or to intensify this again, alternatively or respectively also an organic zinc compound, such as for example zinc pyrithione, can be additionally introduced into the zinc oxide.

[0031] Finally, also up to 10 mass % of further additives can be provided in the protective layer 5. Such an additive may be, for instance, a further suitable biocide. However, a wetting agent, a pigment, a dye or a suitable inhibitor for the prevention of corrosion also come into consideration.

[0032] In a variant of the example, the protective layer can also be configured as an organic-inorganic hybrid layer. The term hybrid layer includes here all those layers in which the layer-forming network has both organic and also inorganic components. Composite networks and interpenetrating networks are also explicitly included.

[0033] In a further variant, the protective coating can comprise a sol-gel layer, which was produced by means of a so-called sol-gel process and comprises inorganic or hybrid polymer layer systems. For the production of the sol-gel layer, the sols used as coating solutions are firstly applied onto the substrate surface. During the entire coating process and the drying of the sol, the hydrolysis- and condensation reactions of the precursor molecules which are used then lead to the desired solid layer being formed from the sol particles via a gel-like intermediate state.