Falling film evaporator for a vapor compression refrigeration chiller
First Claim
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1. A refrigeration system comprising:
- a refrigerant gas compressor;
a condenser, said condenser receiving compressed gas from said compressor and condensing said gas to the liquid state;
a first expansion device, said expansion device being downstream of said condenser and creating a two-phase mixture of refrigerant gas and liquid refrigerant; and
a falling film evaporator, said evaporator having a shell, a tube bundle, a vapor outlet and a refrigerant distributor, said vapor outlet being connected for flow to said compressor and the tubes of said tube bundle running horizontally in said shell, said refrigerant distributor being disposed above said tube bundle within said shell and receiving liquid refrigerant from said expansion device, said distributor depositing liquid refrigerant vertically downward, generally unassisted by pressure, onto the top of said tube bundle, said tube bundle having at least two tube sections and defining at least one vapor lane, said vapor lane being an essentially unobstructed flow path between said tube sections that is sized to facilitate the conduct of refrigerant gas out of the interior of said tube bundle to an exterior side thereof at a velocity and in a manner such that the flow of liquid refrigerant downward through said tube bundle and across said vapor lane is generally unaffected by the cross-flow of refrigerant vapor out of the interior of said tube bundle through said vapor lane.
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Abstract
A falling film evaporator for use in a vapor compression refrigeration chiller preferably employs a two-phase refrigerant distributor that overlies the tube bundle in the evaporator shell. The tube bundle defines at least one vapor lane which facilitates the conduct of refrigerant vapor from the interior of the tube bundle to the exterior thereof in a manner which does not substantially affect the vertically downward flow of liquid refrigerant through the tube bundle and across the vapor lane.
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Citations
64 Claims
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1. A refrigeration system comprising:
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a refrigerant gas compressor;
a condenser, said condenser receiving compressed gas from said compressor and condensing said gas to the liquid state;
a first expansion device, said expansion device being downstream of said condenser and creating a two-phase mixture of refrigerant gas and liquid refrigerant; and
a falling film evaporator, said evaporator having a shell, a tube bundle, a vapor outlet and a refrigerant distributor, said vapor outlet being connected for flow to said compressor and the tubes of said tube bundle running horizontally in said shell, said refrigerant distributor being disposed above said tube bundle within said shell and receiving liquid refrigerant from said expansion device, said distributor depositing liquid refrigerant vertically downward, generally unassisted by pressure, onto the top of said tube bundle, said tube bundle having at least two tube sections and defining at least one vapor lane, said vapor lane being an essentially unobstructed flow path between said tube sections that is sized to facilitate the conduct of refrigerant gas out of the interior of said tube bundle to an exterior side thereof at a velocity and in a manner such that the flow of liquid refrigerant downward through said tube bundle and across said vapor lane is generally unaffected by the cross-flow of refrigerant vapor out of the interior of said tube bundle through said vapor lane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A falling film evaporator for a vapor compression refrigeration system comprising:
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a shell, said shell having a vapor outlet;
a tube bundle, the tubes of said tube bundle running horizontally in said shell, said tube bundle having at least one vapor lane and at least two tube sections, said vapor lane being an essentially unobstructed flow path that is defined between said at least two tube sections through which refrigerant gas flows from the interior to an exterior side of said tube bundle and thence to said vapor outlet, said vapor lane being sized so that the flow of refrigerant gas therethrough to said exterior side of said tube bundle is at a velocity which generally does not disrupt the downward flow of liquid refrigerant through said tube bundle and across said vapor lane; and
a refrigerant distributor, said refrigerant distributor being mounted vertically above said tube bundle within said shell and depositing liquid refrigerant, in generally predictable and controlled quantities, onto the top of said tube bundle by force of gravity and generally unassisted by pressure so that said liquid refrigerant falls out of said distributor generally vertically downward onto the top of said tube bundle. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A method for managing vapor flow internal of a falling film evaporator which employs a two-phase refrigerant distributor and which is used in a vapor compression refrigeration system comprising the steps of:
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positioning said refrigerant distributor vertically above the tube bundle within the shell of said evaporator;
delivering a two-phase mixture of liquid refrigerant and refrigerant gas into said distributor;
flowing said two-phase refrigerant mixture internal of said distributor so that at least the liquid portion of said two-phase mixture is made available for distribution generally throughout the length and width thereof;
depositing, in a generally vertically downward direction and in relatively low-energy droplet form, the liquid refrigerant portion of said two-phase mixture across the portion of the top of said tube bundle that is overlain by said distributor;
flowing liquid refrigerant deposited onto the top of said tube bundle generally vertically downward therethrough;
defining at least one generally unobstructed vapor lane within said tube bundle that runs from the interior to an exterior side thereof, said vapor lane dividing said tube bundle generally into two tube sections and being sized to conduct refrigerant gas from the interior to an exterior side of said tube bundle at a velocity which generally does not disrupt the downward flow of liquid refrigerant through said tube bundle and across said vapor lane; and
flowing the refrigerant gas conducted via said vapor lane out of the interior of said tube bundle to the vapor outlet of said evaporator by a path that is generally unobstructed by said distributor. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification