CN-122002765-A - Hydraulic free cooling water chiller with supercooling

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydraulic free cooling chiller with subcooling, in particular to a cooling system comprising a refrigeration circuit and a coolant circuit for cooling a working fluid to meet cooling requirements. The coolant loop is thermally coupled to the refrigeration loop. The free cooling circuit is in selective thermal communication with the refrigeration circuit and in selective thermal communication with the coolant circuit.

Inventors

• M. Grabang
• A. Guy

Assignees

• 开利公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251106

Priority Date

20241106

Claims (20)

1. 1. A cooling system, comprising: A refrigeration circuit; A coolant loop for cooling a working fluid to meet cooling requirements, the coolant loop being thermally coupled to the refrigeration loop, and A free cooling circuit in selective thermal communication with the refrigeration circuit and in selective thermal communication with the coolant circuit.
2. 2. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the refrigeration circuit includes a heat rejection heat exchanger and the free cooling circuit includes a first heat exchanger positioned directly adjacent to the heat rejection heat exchanger.
3. 3. The cooling system of claim 2, further comprising a fan operable to pass an air flow through the first heat exchanger and the heat rejection heat exchanger sequentially, the first heat exchanger being upstream of the heat rejection heat exchanger relative to the air flow.
4. 4. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the free cooling circuit includes a subcooling heat exchanger, and the free cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit at the subcooling heat exchanger.
5. 5. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein the first heat exchanger and the subcooling heat exchanger are arranged sequentially with respect to a flow of free cooling fluid within the free cooling circuit.
6. 6. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein the subcooling heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the heat rejection heat exchanger relative to a flow of refrigerant circulating through the refrigeration circuit.
7. 7. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein the free cooling circuit includes a main return conduit and a first free cooling bypass conduit arranged in parallel, the first free cooling bypass conduit fluidly connected to an inlet of the subcooling heat exchanger.
8. 8. The cooling system of claim 7, further comprising: a second free-cooling bypass conduit fluidly connecting the outlet of the subcooling heat exchanger to the main return conduit; a valve disposed in the main return conduit, and Another valve disposed within the second free-cooling bypass conduit.
9. 9. The cooling system of claim 8, wherein an inlet of the first free-cooling bypass conduit is fluidly connected to the main return conduit upstream of the valve and an outlet of the second free-cooling bypass conduit is fluidly connected to the main return conduit downstream of the valve.
10. 10. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the free cooling circuit includes a second heat exchanger at which the free cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the coolant circuit.
11. 11. A cooling system, comprising: A refrigeration circuit; a coolant loop thermally coupled to the refrigeration loop, and A free cooling circuit in selective fluid communication with the coolant circuit and in selective thermal communication with the refrigeration circuit.
12. 12. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the refrigeration circuit includes a heat absorption heat exchanger at which the coolant circuit is thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit.
13. 13. The cooling system of claim 12, wherein both the inlet of the free cooling circuit and the outlet of the free cooling circuit are fluidly connected to the coolant circuit upstream of the heat absorption heat exchanger.
14. 14. The cooling system of claim 13, further comprising at least one valve operable to control a flow of fluid from the coolant loop to the free cooling loop.
15. 15. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the refrigeration circuit includes a heat rejection heat exchanger and the free cooling circuit includes a first heat exchanger positioned directly adjacent the heat rejection heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger being arranged in series with the heat rejection heat exchanger relative to an air stream.
16. 16. The cooling system of claim 15, wherein the free cooling circuit includes a subcooling heat exchanger at which the free cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit, wherein the first heat exchanger and the subcooling heat exchanger are arranged sequentially with respect to a flow of fluid within the free cooling circuit.
17. 17. The cooling system of claim 16 wherein the free cooling circuit further comprises a first free cooling bypass conduit extending between and fluidly connecting an outlet of the first heat exchanger and an inlet of the subcooling heat exchanger.
18. 18. The cooling system of claim 17, wherein the free cooling circuit further comprises a second free cooling bypass conduit extending between and fluidly connecting the outlet of the subcooling heat exchanger and the inlet of the first heat exchanger.
19. 19. The cooling system of claim 18, wherein the free cooling circuit further comprises at least one valve operable to fluidly separate the free cooling circuit from the coolant circuit, wherein when the free cooling circuit is fluidly separated from the coolant circuit, the flow of fluid at the outlet of the subcooling heat exchanger is returned directly to the inlet of the first heat exchanger via the second free cooling bypass conduit.
20. 20. The cooling system of claim 18 wherein the free cooling circuit further comprises an auxiliary pump to circulate fluid between the first heat exchanger and the subcooling heat exchanger.

Description

Hydraulic free cooling water chiller with supercooling Technical Field Exemplary embodiments relate to cooling systems, and more particularly, to cooling systems capable of performing free cooling. Background Cooling systems are known for various purposes, such as for cooling of data centers. Such cooling systems may provide mechanical cooling using one or more refrigeration circuits. Furthermore, it is also known to supplement or replace mechanical cooling with free cooling (e.g. cooling of a coolant fluid by heat exchange with outside air). Some systems use a separate free cooling circuit with a cryogenic coolant fluid (such as ethylene glycol) that is then heat exchanged with a water circuit for providing cooling within a building (e.g., for a data center). The coil of the free cooling circuit may be arranged directly adjacent to the coil used when the cooling system is operating in mechanical mode. The coil used to perform free cooling is not activated when the system is operating in mechanical mode. Therefore, coils used to perform free cooling create air side drag that affects unit efficiency and capacity in mechanical mode. Disclosure of Invention According to one embodiment, a cooling system includes a refrigeration circuit and a coolant circuit for cooling a working fluid to meet a cooling demand. The coolant loop is thermally coupled to the refrigeration loop. The free cooling circuit is in selective thermal communication with the refrigeration circuit and in selective thermal communication with the coolant circuit. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, the refrigeration circuit includes a heat rejection heat exchanger, and the free cooling circuit includes a first heat exchanger positioned directly adjacent to the heat rejection heat exchanger. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or alternatively, in other embodiments, the fan may be operable to drive the air flow through the first heat exchanger and the heat rejection heat exchanger sequentially. The first heat exchanger is upstream of the heat rejection heat exchanger with respect to the air flow. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or alternatively, in other embodiments, the free cooling circuit includes a subcooling heat exchanger, and the free cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit at the subcooling heat exchanger. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, the first heat exchanger and the subcooling heat exchanger are arranged sequentially with respect to the flow of free cooling fluid within the free cooling circuit. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, the subcooling heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the heat rejection heat exchanger relative to the flow of refrigerant circulating through the refrigeration circuit. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, the free-cooling circuit includes a main return conduit and a first free-cooling bypass conduit arranged in parallel, the first free-cooling bypass conduit being fluidly connected to the inlet of the subcooling heat exchanger. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, a second free-cooling bypass conduit fluidly connects the outlet of the subcooling heat exchanger to the main return conduit, a valve is disposed within the main return conduit, and another valve is disposed within the second free-cooling bypass conduit. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in other embodiments, the inlet of the first free-cooling bypass conduit is fluidly connected to the main return conduit upstream of the valve, and the outlet of the second free-cooling bypass conduit is fluidly connected to the main return conduit downstream of the valve. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or alternatively, in other embodiments, the free cooling circuit includes a second heat exchanger, and the free cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the coolant circuit at the second heat exchanger. According to one embodiment, a cooling system includes a refrigeration circuit and a coolant circuit thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit. The free cooling circuit is disposed in selective fluid communication with the coolant circuit and is disposed in selective thermal communication with the refrigeration circuit. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or alternatively, in other embodiments, the refrigeration circuit includes a heat absorption heat exchanger, and the coolant circuit is thermally coupled to the refrigeration circuit at the heat absorption heat exchanger. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alter