Temperature control system and method TDSF plus

A method of maintaining relatively level steady state temperature control of a thermal load with a two-phase medium, using relatively low energy expenditure, comprising the steps of:

• compressing the two-phase medium to a hot pressured gaseous state;
• processing a portion of the hot pressured gaseous state of the two-phase medium to a cooled expanded flow;
• mixing the hot pressured gaseous state of the two-phase medium and the cooled expanded two-phase medium to provide an output at a selected temperature level for controlling the thermal load;
• diverting the output from the thermal load into an ambient temperature evaporator path;
• controllably cooling the diverted output from the thermal load in the ambient temperature evaporator path in response to expansion control signals;
• exchanging thermal energy between an ambient medium and the controllably diverted output;
• sensing the two-phase medium temperature after the exchanged thermal energy and controlling the cooling responsively to the thermal load;
• and
• returning the two-phase medium exchanged heat with the ambient medium to the compressor input.

A temperature control system of a type in which a predetermined flow of highly compressed two-phase refrigerant is divided into a hot gas phase for primary flow modulation and the differential portion of the predetermined flow is provided as a cooled expanded phase, and the primary flow modulation portion of the predetermined flow and the differential portion of the predetermined flow are then recombined into a mixture of selected temperature to be applied to a thermal load, wherein the temperature control system comprises:

• a compressor receiving the two-phase refrigerant as an input and providing a compressed hot gas output;
• a thermal capacitor comprising a sink of temperature stable liquid and at least one internal heat exchanger element having an input receiving the compressed hot gas output from the compressor, the thermal capacitor liquid reaching a stable elevated temperature after initiation of the compressor operation;
• the at least one internal heat exchanger element providing a first output;
• a proportional flow regulator in a first path coupled to the first output of the at least one internal heat exchanger element, the proportional flow regulator providing a modulated primary flow rate that determines the differential flow rate of the cooled expanded phase and a consequent temperature of the mixture;
• and
• a control system coupled to the proportional flow regulator and generating a separate heating command to open the proportional flow regulator fully to heat the thermal load rapidly.

A method of controlling the temperature of a thermal load by employing a fluid constituting a temperature stable liquid sink, comprising the steps of:

• pressurizing a gas having a two-phase pressure/temperature characteristic to a high pressure, high temperature state;
• interchanging thermal energy with the liquid sink by flowing the pressurized gas flow in a first direction through the liquid sink to raise the temperature thereof to form a reservoir of thermal energy in the thermal sink;
• withdrawing a first flow of pressurized gas, after the interchange in the first direction, from the thermal sink;
• providing, from the withdrawn first flow, a mixture of flow-modulated pressurized gas and a divided cooled and expanded flow extracted as the differential after flow modulation from the first flow to provide a temperature control output mixture in thermal energy exchange with the thermal load;
• and
• selectively switching the output mixture from the thermal load (1) to be repressurized or (2) to be directed through the liquid sink in a second direction to exchange thermal energy therewith in a rapid heatup path before repressurization.