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US 2026/0210594 A1Published application
Heat pump system having a separator to mitigate refrigerant maldistribution in a heat exchanger
AssigneeHanon Systems
InventorsMinwoong Kang, Evangelos S. Papoulis, Guglielmo Abate, Jongyeong Byun, Jim Tasiopoulos
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Abstract
A refrigerant circuit for a heat pump system and a method of operating the same are disclosed. The refrigerant circuit comprises a vapor injection compressor, one or more heat exchangers in fluid communication with the compressor, a liquid-gas separator, and one or more expansion elements. The heat pump system is configured to dynamically switch between a non-vapor injection mode and a vapor injection mode depending on operational conditions.
Claims20
A heat pump system, comprising:
- a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant flow in the heat pump system;
- one or more heat exchangers in fluid communication with the compressor;
- a plurality of expansion elements in fluid communication with the heat exchangers, each of the expansion elements selectively positionable between a closed position, an open position, and one or more intermediate positions between the closed and open positions;
- a separator disposed downstream of one of the expansion elements relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system and upstream of another one of the expansion elements relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system, the separator configured to separate the refrigerant flow into a vapor refrigerant flow and a liquid refrigerant flow;
- and
- a flow control member disposed downstream of the separator relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system, the flow control member selectively positionable between a first position and a second position, wherein the flow control member, in the first position, is configured to direct the vapor refrigerant flow to an injection side of the compressor when the heat pump system operates in a vapor injection mode, and wherein the flow control member, in the second position, is configured to direct the vapor refrigerant flow to a suction side of the compressor when the heat pump system operates in a non-vapor injection mode.
3 more elements
A heat pump system, comprising:
- a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant flow in the heat pump system;
- a first heat exchanger disposed downstream of the compressor relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system;
- a first expansion element disposed downstream of the first heat exchanger relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system, the first expansion element selectively positionable between a closed position, an open position, and one or more intermediate positions between the closed and open positions;
- a separator disposed downstream of the first expansion element relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system and configured to separate the refrigerant flow into a vapor refrigerant flow and a liquid refrigerant flow;
- a second expansion element disposed downstream of the separator relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system, the second expansion element selectively positionable between a closed position, an open position, and one or more intermediate positions between the closed and open positions;
- a second heat exchanger disposed downstream of the second expansion element relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system;
- and
- a flow control member disposed downstream of the separator relative to the refrigerant flow through the heat pump system, wherein the flow control member is selectively positionable to switch the heat pump system between a vapor injection mode and a non-vapor injection mode based on operational conditions of the heat pump system.
5 more elements
A method of operating a heat pump system, comprising:
- providing a heat pump system including:
- a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant flow;
- one or more heat exchangers in fluid communication with the compressor;
- one or more expansion elements in fluid communication with the heat exchangers, each of the expansion elements selectively positionable between a closed position, an open position, and one or more intermediate positions between the closed and open positions;
- a separator configured to separate the refrigerant flow into a vapor refrigerant flow and a liquid refrigerant flow;
- and
- a flow control member selectively positionable between a first position and a second position;
- and
- dynamically controlling a mode of operation of the heat pump system between a vapor injection mode and a non-vapor injection mode by selectively positioning the flow control member based on operational conditions of the heat pump system.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.