CN-116972554-B - Receiver for cooling system

CN116972554BCN 116972554 BCN116972554 BCN 116972554BCN-116972554-B

Abstract

The application discloses a receiver for a cooling system. The receiver of the cooling unit includes a cylindrical body having a cylindrical wall defining an interior cavity, a bottom wall formed with the cylindrical wall, and a top wall formed with the cylindrical wall. The receiver further includes an inlet disposed in the cylindrical body, an outlet disposed in the cylindrical body, a heater well disposed within the cylindrical body, and a heater positioned in the heater well to selectively heat a heat transfer fluid contained within the interior cavity of the cylindrical body. The heater well may be configured to extend horizontally along an axis coaxial with the axis of the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical body from the top wall to an adjacent bottom wall or adjacent to the bottom wall of the cylindrical body.

Inventors

LI QIANG
JIN MIN
MENG QIANG
HONG BO

Assignees

施耐德电气IT公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20190228

Claims (15)

1. A receiver of a cooling unit, the receiver comprising: A cylindrical body having a cylindrical wall defining an interior cavity, a bottom wall formed with the cylindrical wall, and a top wall formed with the cylindrical wall; an inlet disposed in the cylindrical body; An outlet disposed in the cylindrical body; A heater well positioned within the cylindrical body, and A heater positioned in the heater well to selectively heat a heat transfer fluid contained within the interior cavity of the cylindrical body, Wherein the heater well extends horizontally adjacent the bottom wall of the cylindrical body along an axis substantially perpendicular to an axis of the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical body, Wherein the heater is configured to be coupled to a controller, and Wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the heater in such a manner that when the cooling unit is on standby, the controller is configured to energize the heater to heat a heat transfer fluid contained within an interior cavity of a cylindrical body of the receiver, and when the cooling unit is operating, the controller is configured to de-energize the heater.
2. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the heater is a polymeric positive temperature coefficient heating element.
3. The receiver of claim 1, further comprising a strain relief plug configured to seal the heater well.
4. The receiver of claim 1, further comprising a heater wire connected to the heater, the heater wire configured to power the heater.
5. The receiver of claim 4, wherein the heater wire is connected to a controller configured to control operation of the heater.
6. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the inlet is disposed in the top wall and the outlet is disposed in the top wall.
7. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the heater well is completely enclosed by the cylindrical body.
8. A method of selectively heating a heat transfer fluid in a receiver of a cooling unit, the method comprising: Providing a receiver comprising a cylindrical body having a cylindrical wall defining an interior cavity, a bottom wall formed with the cylindrical wall, and a top wall formed with the cylindrical wall, an inlet disposed in the cylindrical body, an outlet disposed in the cylindrical body, and a heater well positioned within the cylindrical body; positioning a heater in the heater well, and Selectively energizing the heater to heat the heat transfer fluid contained in the receiver, Wherein said heater well extends horizontally adjacent said bottom wall of said cylindrical body along an axis substantially perpendicular to said cylindrical wall of said cylindrical body, Wherein the heater is configured to be coupled to a controller, and Wherein the method further comprises controlling operation of the heater in such a way that when the cooling unit is in standby, the controller is configured to energize the heater to heat a heat transfer fluid contained within the interior cavity of the cylindrical body of the receiver, and when the cooling unit is in operation, the controller is configured to de-energize the heater.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the heater is a polymeric positive temperature coefficient heating element.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising connecting the heater to a heater wire to power the heater.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising connecting the heater wire to the controller.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising sealing the heater well with a strain relief plug configured to seal the heater well.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the inlet is disposed in the top wall and the outlet is disposed in the top wall.
14. A cooling unit comprising: A housing; A compressor supported by the housing; A condenser supported by the housing and in fluid communication with the compressor, and A receiver supported by the housing and in fluid communication with the compressor and the condenser, the receiver comprising: a cylindrical body having a cylindrical wall defining an interior cavity, a bottom wall formed with the cylindrical wall, and a top wall formed with the cylindrical wall, An inlet provided in the cylindrical body, An outlet disposed in the cylindrical body, A heater well positioned within the cylindrical body, and A heater positioned in the heater well to selectively heat a heat transfer fluid contained within the interior cavity of the cylindrical body, Wherein the heater well extends horizontally adjacent the bottom wall of the cylindrical body along an axis substantially perpendicular to an axis of the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical body, Wherein the receiver further comprises a heater wire connected to the heater and configured to power the heater, the heater wire connected to a controller configured to control operation of the heater to selectively heat a heat transfer fluid contained within the interior cavity of the cylindrical body, and Wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the heater in such a manner that when the cooling unit is on standby, the controller is configured to energize the heater to heat a heat transfer fluid contained within an interior cavity of a cylindrical body of the receiver, and when the cooling unit is operating, the controller is configured to de-energize the heater.
15. The cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the receiver further comprises a strain relief plug configured to seal the heater well.

Description

Receiver for cooling system The present application is a divisional application of application No. 201910152109.X, entitled "receiver for cooling systems", having application date of 28, 2 nd year 2019. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of disclosure The technical field relates generally to cooling systems, and more particularly to a receiver for a cooling system including a heating element. 2. Discussion of the related Art An economical system for rejecting heat may combine different methods for transporting heat away from an indoor space (e.g., a computer room or a data center). For example, different carrier liquids and cooling devices may be used to facilitate heat exchange between the indoor space and the outdoor space. One example of a method for rejecting heat combines an air cooled Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) with a condenser, and is commonly referred to as an air cooled CRAC DX system. The "DX" designation stands for direct expansion (direct expansion) and refers to any system that uses refrigerant and evaporator coils to create a cooling effect. The refrigerant may be a chlorinated fluorocarbon or a halogenated chlorofluorocarbon or ammonia. Air-cooled CRAC units may be used in IT environments and are typically configured such that half of the components of the refrigeration cycle are in the CRAC and the remaining components are in the air-cooled condenser outdoors. Heat from the IT environment is "pumped" to the outdoor environment using a circulating flow of refrigerant. The compressor may be present in the CRAC unit or in the condenser. Free cooling refers to a cooling technique that uses a low outside air temperature to assist in the cooling operation. Air side free cooling introduces cool ambient air directly into an IT room or data center when atmospheric conditions allow. Water side free cooling uses an additional cooling coil containing glycol that circulates directly from the fluid cooler when atmospheric conditions allow. The free cooling process may be direct or indirect. Direct free cooling refers to a cooling technique that directly mixes air from an external environment (e.g., outdoors) with hot air from an internal environment (e.g., a room in a building). In contrast, indirect free cooling refers to a cooling technique that indirectly mixes air from the external environment with hot air from the internal environment. One example of indirect free cooling combines an air duct with an indirect air evaporative cooler. When the outside temperature is below the temperature set point of the IT ambient inlet air, the system uses the outside air as a heat carrier fluid to indirectly cool the data center air. The fan blows cool ambient air through the air-to-air heat exchanger, which in turn cools the hot data center air on the other side of the heat exchanger, thereby completely isolating the data center air from the ambient air. One or more heat rejection methods may be used to cool a computer room or data center environment. The primary difference between the methods of rejecting heat may be in the manner in which each collects heat and transfers the heat to the outside atmosphere. When combined, these differences can sometimes lead to one or more mechanical problems and increased energy consumption. Such DX cooling systems include a number of components, including a receiver, provided for storing a heat transfer fluid, such as an R-134a coolant, used in a cooling system for operating a DX condenser. The liquid receiver may be configured to store at least a portion of the coolant in accordance with fluctuating changes in pressure of the cooling system and may function to overflow the heat exchanger using an overflow valve. The relief valve acts to maintain a steady or minimum liquid pressure and/or temperature of the coolant in the cooling system. In one embodiment, the receiver collects coolant when the pressure in the DX cooling system is low. Therefore, it may be necessary to heat the coolant in the receiver to increase the suction pressure. In one embodiment, the heating tape may be applied to the outer surface of the receiver with a zipper tape. This known method in heating the receiver coolant is shown in fig. 1. As shown, the receiver 1 has a heating belt 2 mounted at the line of sight of the customer and the insulation around the receiver is required to be removed. There is a need for a more complex and efficient way to heat the coolant. Summary of the disclosure One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a receiver of a cooling unit. In one embodiment, the receiver includes a cylindrical body having a cylindrical wall defining an interior cavity, a bottom wall formed with the cylindrical wall, and a top wall formed with the cylindrical wall. The receiver further includes an inlet disposed in the cylindrical body, an outlet disposed in the cylindrical body, a heater well disposed within the cylindrical body, and a heater positioned in the heater well to selec