Refrigerant bypass solution
AssigneeSchneider Electric It Corporation
InventorHongwei Yang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems, methods, and computer-readable mediums are provided for improving the efficiency of a filter-type oil separator in a cooling system including a compressor that pumps a mixture of lubricating oil and refrigerant through the filter-type oil separator. The filter type oil separator is configured to receive a first portion of the mixture from the compressor, and a bypass line is configured to bypass a second portion of the mixture around the filter-type oil separator. The bypass line ensures a sufficient amount of oil is present in the compressor.
Claims20
A method for improving the efficiency of a filter-type oil separator, the method comprising:
- determining a gas flow rate;
- determining a correspondence between a number of revolutions per second of a compressor and the gas flow rate;
- determining a speed value based on the gas flow rate and the number of revolutions per second;
- compressing a mixture of refrigerant and lubricant at a speed corresponding to the speed value;
- responsive to compressing the mixture, providing a first portion of the mixture to a filter-type oil separator;
- responsive to compressing the mixture, providing a second portion of the mixture to a bypass line;
- and
- responsive to compressing the mixture, adjusting a bypass valve coupled to the bypass line based on the speed value.
A non-transitory, computer-readable medium containing thereon one or more instructions for operating a filter-type oil separator, the instructions instructing at least one processor to:
- determine a gas flow rate;
- determine a correspondence between a number of revolutions per second of a compressor and the gas flow rate;
- determine a speed value based on the gas flow rate and the number of revolutions per second;
- control the compressor to compress a mixture of refrigerant and lubricant at a speed corresponding to the speed value;
- responsive to controlling the compressor to compress the mixture, adjust a bypass valve coupled to a bypass line based on the speed value such that a first portion of the mixture is provided to the filter-type oil separator and a second portion of the mixture is provided to the bypass line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.