Refrigeration plant with refrigerant evaporator arrangement and process for parallel air and battery contact cooling

• US 9,897,356 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanon Systems (Hahn & Co. Auto Holdings Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hanon Systems (Hahn & Co. Auto Holdings Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Graaf, Marc, Emmerich, Andreas, Kster, Stephan, Girmscheid, Felix, Heyl, Peter, Prinz, Dominik
• Primary Examiner(s): Ma, Kun Kai
• Application Number:
  US13/303,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20120125032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,281 Days
• Field of Search: 622592, 62117, 62525, 62504, 62199, 62200, 62511, 62217
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00278 for the battery arrangement of batteries B60R16/04
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/323 characterised by comprising auxiliary or multiple systems, e.g. plurality of evaporators, or by involving auxiliary cooling devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00307 Component temperature regulation using a liquid flow
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 41/22 between evaporator and compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 5/02 arranged in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/617 for achieving uniformity or desired distribution of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6551 Surfaces specially adapted for heat dissipation or radiation, e.g. fins or coatings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6569 Fluids undergoing a liquid-gas phase change or transition, e.g. evaporation or condensation heat pipes H01M10/6552
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A refrigeration plant with refrigerant evaporator arrangement and process for parallel air and battery contact cooling. The refrigeration plant includes a refrigerant evaporator arrangement for parallel air and battery contact cooling, having with a refrigerant compressor and a condenser An evaporator with an assigned controllable expansion member for air cooling and an evaporator as a battery contact cooler with an assigned controllable expansion member for battery cooling are provided. A throttling member is located between the evaporator and the tap of the assigned controllable expansion member.

Claims

1. A refrigeration plant having a refrigerant evaporator arrangement for parallel air and battery contact cooling comprising:

a refrigerant compressor;

a condenser in fluid communication with the refrigerant compressor;

a first expansion member disposed between the condenser and a first evaporator for air cooling;

a single second expansion member disposed between the condenser and a second evaporator for battery cooling, wherein the second evaporator includes a plurality of single evaporators arranged in parallel; and

a fixed throttling member disposed between the single second evaporator and a tap of the second expansion member, the fixed throttling member having a cross-sectional area, wherein the cross-sectional area through the fixed throttling member is constant over an instantaneous period of time to effect a pressure loss occurring as a refrigerant flows through the second evaporator;

wherein a first portion of the refrigerant flows through the first expansion member and a second portion of the refrigerant flows through the second expansion member, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant flows from the second expansion member to the second evaporator and from the second evaporator to the fixed throttling member, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant flows through each of the plurality of single evaporators of the second evaporator to the fixed throttling member effecting an approximately homogenous temperature distribution across a surface of the second evaporator, and wherein at least the second portion of the refrigerant flowing from the second evaporator to the fixed throttling member is in a diphase state.

2. The refrigeration plant according to claim 1, wherein a liquid separator is disposed upstream from the second evaporator.

3. The refrigeration plant according to claim 2, wherein the liquid separator is a centrifugal separator.

4. The refrigeration plant according to claim 1, wherein the first portion of the refrigerant, after flowing through the first expansion member, has an evaporation pressure lower than the second portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the second expansion member.

5. The refrigeration plant according to claim 4, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant, after flowing through the second expansion member, has the evaporation pressure higher than the first portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the first expansion member.

6. The refrigeration plant according to claim 5, wherein the evaporation pressure of the second portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the second evaporator and the fixed throttling member is equal to the evaporation pressure of the first portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the first evaporator.

7. The refrigeration plant according to claim 1, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant flow has the pressure loss of 1.0 to 2.0 bars while flowing through the second evaporator and the fixed throttling member.

8. The refrigeration plant according to claim 7, wherein the pressure loss of 0.5 bars occurs as the second portion of the refrigerant flows through the fixed throttling member.

9. The refrigeration plant according to claim 1, wherein the second evaporator contacts and is in heat exchange relationship with a battery.

10. The refrigeration plant according to claim 9, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant is impounded in the second evaporator, resulting in a homogeneous distribution of the second portion of the refrigerant in the second evaporator.

11. The refrigeration plant according to claim 10, wherein a throttling of the second portion of the refrigerant downstream of the second evaporator causes the impounding of the second portion of the refrigerant in the second evaporator.

12. A refrigeration plant having a refrigerant evaporator arrangement for parallel air and battery contact cooling comprising:

a refrigerant compressor;

a condenser in fluid communication with the refrigerant compressor;

a first expansion member disposed between the condenser and a first evaporator for air cooling;

a second expansion member disposed between the condenser and a second evaporator for battery cooling, wherein the second evaporator includes a plurality of single evaporators arranged in parallel; and

a fixed throttling member disposed between the second evaporator and a tap of the second expansion member, the fixed throttling member having a cross-sectional area, wherein the cross-sectional area through the fixed throttling member is constant over an instantaneous period of time to effect pressure loss occurring as a refrigerant flows through the second evaporator;

wherein a first portion of the refrigerant flows through the first expansion member and a second portion of the refrigerant flows through the second expansion member, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant flows from the second expansion member to the plurality of single evaporators and from the plurality of single evaporators to the fixed throttling member, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant flows through each of the plurality of single evaporators of the second evaporator to the fixed throttling member effecting an approximately homogenous temperature distribution across a surface of the second evaporator, and wherein at least the second portion of the refrigerant flowing from the plurality of single evaporators to the fixed throttling member is in a diphase state;

wherein the first portion of the refrigerant, after flowing through the first expansion member, has an evaporation pressure lower than the second portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the second expansion member, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant, after flowing through the second expansion member, has the evaporation pressure higher than the first portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the first expansion member, and wherein the second portion of the refrigerant, after flowing through the second evaporator and the throttling member, has the same evaporation pressure as the first portion of the refrigerant after flowing through the first evaporator.

13. The refrigeration plant according to claim 12, wherein a liquid separator is disposed upstream from the second evaporator.