Systems and methods for leak management utilizing sub-barometric refrigerant conduit sleeves
AssigneeJohnson Controls Technology Company
InventorDouglas A. Kester
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A refrigerant leak management system includes a sleeve member having an inner surface, the sleeve member configured to be disposed over an outer surface of a length of a refrigerant conduit such that a gap is defined between the inner surface of the sleeve member and the outer surface of the refrigerant conduit. The refrigerant leak management system also includes a fluid moving device configured to fluidly couple to the gap and configured to maintain a sub-barometric pressure within the gap, and a sensor fluidly coupled to the gap and configured to detect a concentration of a leaked refrigerant in the gap.
Claims33
A refrigerant leak management system for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a sleeve member having an inner surface, the sleeve member configured to be disposed over an outer surface of a refrigerant conduit of the HVAC system such that a gap is defined between the inner surface of the sleeve member and the outer surface of the refrigerant conduit;
- a fluid moving device configured to fluidly couple to the gap and configured to maintain a sub-barometric pressure within the gap;
- and
- a sensor fluidly coupled to the gap and configured to detect a concentration of a leaked refrigerant in the gap.
A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a refrigerant conduit of a refrigeration circuit having an outer surface;
- a sleeve member configured to be disposed circumferentially around a length of the refrigerant conduit, wherein a gap is defined between an inner surface of the sleeve member and the outer surface of the refrigerant conduit;
- a fluid moving device fluidly coupled to the gap and configured to maintain a sub-barometric pressure within the gap;
- and
- a sensor fluidly coupled to the gap and configured to detect a concentration of a leaked refrigerant in the gap.
A method of operating a refrigerant leak management system of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building, the method comprising:
- operating a fluid moving device to maintain a sub-barometric pressure within a gap defined between an inner surface of a sleeve member and an outer surface of a refrigerant conduit of the HVAC system, wherein the sleeve member circumferentially surrounds a length of the refrigerant conduit;
- determining a concentration of a leaked refrigerant within the gap based on input from a sensor;
- and
- modifying operation of the HVAC system in response to determining that the concentration of the leaked refrigerant is greater than a predefined concentration threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.