Variable orifice for a chiller

A chiller unit for a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) system, comprising:

• a refrigerant circuit, comprising:
• a compressor, a condenser, a first expansion device, an economizer, a second expansion device, and an evaporator fluidly connected within a closed circuit;
• a working fluid that flows through the refrigerant circuit, the working fluid flowing in series through the condenser, the first expansion device, the economizer, the second expansion device, and the evaporator;
• and
• a bypass segment of the refrigerant circuit fluidly connected to the refrigerant circuit, wherein a portion of the working fluid is provided from the refrigerant circuit to the bypass segment, the portion of the working fluid being provided from a location in the refrigerant circuit disposed between the condenser and the evaporator with respect to flow of the working fluid, flowing through the bypass segment in a flow enabled state, and being provided to a location in the refrigerant circuit disposed between the economizer and the evaporator with respect to flow of the working fluid,
• wherein a conduit of the bypass segment has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of a conduit between the economizer and the evaporator such that a flowrate of the working fluid through the conduit of the bypass segment is different than a flowrate of the working fluid through the conduit between the economizer and the evaporator, and
• wherein the conduit of the bypass segment is joined with a conduit between the economizer and the evaporator, an angle other than 90° being formed between the conduit of the bypass segment and the conduit between the economizer and the evaporator, wherein a vortical flow is induced at the location in the refrigerant circuit disposed between the economizer and the evaporator.

A method, comprising:

• compressing a working fluid with a compressor;
• directing the working fluid in series from the compressor to a condenser and directing the working fluid in series from the condenser to an evaporator within a closed circuit;
• diverting a portion of the working fluid from the condenser to a bypass conduit, the bypass conduit having an inlet and an outlet each respectively disposed between the condenser and the evaporator downstream of the condenser and upstream of the evaporator, the outlet being relatively closer to the evaporator than the inlet, wherein the bypass conduit has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of a conduit between the condenser and the evaporator such that a flowrate of the working fluid through the bypass conduit is different than a flowrate of a non-diverted portion of the working fluid flowing through the conduit between the condenser and the evaporator;
• and
• inducing a vortical flow in the working fluid at the outlet of the bypass conduit by rejoining the portion of the working fluid with the non-diverted portion of the working fluid as the non-diverted portion of the working fluid is flowing from the condenser to the evaporator.