System and method for dynamically determining refrigerant film thickness and dynamically controlling refrigerant film thickness at rolling-element bearing of an oil free chiller
AssigneeTrane International Inc.
InventorJay H. JOHNSON
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods are directed towards dynamically determining refrigerant film thickness at the rolling-element bearing and for dynamically controlling refrigerant film thickness at the rolling-element bearing. Further, an oil free chiller system is configured for dynamically determining refrigerant film thickness at the rolling-element bearing of the oil free chiller system, wherein the oil free chiller system is also configured for dynamically controlling refrigerant film thickness at the rolling-element bearing of the oil free chiller system.
Claims17
A computerized controller device for an oil free chiller configured for dynamically determining an actual refrigerant film thickness at a bearing of the oil free chiller during operation of the oil free chiller, and for controlling other components of the oil free chiller to change a refrigerant film thickness at the bearing or an operation of the oil free chiller, when the actual refrigerant film thickness is different from a threshold refrigerant film thickness.
A method for controlling a lubricant film thickness at a bearing of a motor, comprising:
- a computerized controller device determining a refrigerant fluid temperature at a bearing of a chiller;
- the computerized controller device determining a rotational speed of the bearing;
- the computerized controller device of the chiller determining an actual lubricant film thickness (hactual) based on the refrigerant fluid temperature and the rotational speed;
- the computerized controller device having a threshold lubricant film thickness information in a non-transitory computer-readable medium;
- and
- the computerized controller device comparing the threshold lubricant film thickness to the actual lubricant film thickness (hactual),
- wherein when the actual lubricant film thickness (hactual) is different from the threshold lubricant film thickness, the computerized controller device takes an action on the chiller to change the actual lubricant film thickness (hactual).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.