Falling film evaporator with refrigerant distribution system
AssigneeAmerican Standard Inc.
InventorsJon P. Hartfield, Duane F. Sanborn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Compression refrigeration apparatus for removing heat from a heat load using a falling film evaporator, operated with an azeotropic refrigerant and utilizing a spray tree distribution system that distributes a refrigerant film on a heat exchange surface by spraying liquid refrigerant onto a surface and allowing the refrigerant to drip onto the primary heat exchange surface. The apparatus allows for efficient recovery of lubricant deposited in the evaporator without redistributing the lubricant within the evaporator. In an alternative embodiment, liquid refrigerant is sprayed onto a mesh screen where it drips onto the primary heat exchange surface.
Claims10
An evaporator comprising:
- a pressure vessel having a refrigerant input and a refrigerant output;
- a body of evaporator tubes disposed within said pressure vessel;
- a liquid refrigerant distributor disposed within said pressure vessel for wetting the body of evaporator tubes by dripping refrigerant onto said body of evaporator tubes;
- a refrigerant level regulator for nominally maintaining the top surface of a body of liquid refrigerant within said pressure vessel at a nominal elevation;
- said body of evaporator tubes including an upper heat exchange surface located above said nominal elevation and a lower heat exchange surface located below said nominal elevation;
- the liquid refrigerant distributor dripping the upper heat exchange surface with a refrigerant taken from said refrigerant input, and immersing said lower heat exchange surface in a refrigerant taken from said refrigerant input;
- and
- wherein said liquid refrigerant distributor is adapted to maintain a body of liquid refrigerant within said pressure vessel at a substantially constant level during operation of said evaporator at its rated capacity without transporting a refrigerant from a body of liquid refrigerant in which said lower heat exchange surface is immersed into contact with said upper heat exchange surface.
An evaporator comprising:
- a pressure vessel having a refrigerant input and a refrigerant output;
- a body of evaporator tubes disposed within said pressure vessel;
- a liquid refrigerant distributor disposed within said pressure vessel for wetting the body of evaporator tubes by dripping refrigerant onto said body of evaporator tubes;
- wherein said liquid refrigerant distributor includes:
- a generally horizontal outer tube defined by a wall enclosing an outer lumen and having an interior surface interrupted by an axially extending slot through said wall running along a lower portion of said tube;
- and
- an inner tube positioned in said outer lumen and having an inner lumen, a liquid input port, and at least one orifice which communicates between said inner lumen and said outer lumen and is positioned to spray a liquid from said inner lumen onto said interior surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.