Heat transfer system with phase change composition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10473366-B2
Application number	US-201515512378-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2015
Priority date	Sep 18, 2014
Publication date	Nov 12, 2019
Grant date	Nov 12, 2019

Abstract

A heat transfer system is disclosed that includes a heat exchanger comprising an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path through the heat exchanger between the inlet and the outlet. The system also includes a fluid circulation loop external to the heat exchanger connecting the outlet to the inlet. A phase change composition is disposed in the system flowing through the fluid circulation loop and the flow path through the heat exchanger. This the phase change composition includes a first PCM that is a plant or animal or paraffinic oil having a first melting point and a second PCM that is a plant or animal or paraffinic oil having a second melting point lower than the first melting point.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of transferring heat, comprising
flowing a phase change composition through a flow path in a heat exchanger between an inlet and an outlet of the heat exchanger, and a fluid circulation loop external to the heat exchanger connecting the outlet to the inlet;
wherein the phase change composition comprises a first PCM that is a plant or animal or paraffinic oil having a first melting point and a second PCM that is a plant or animal or paraffinic oil having a second melting point lower than the first melting point;
wherein a surface of the flow path through the heat exchanger in contact with the phase change composition has a temperature at or above the second melting point in a heat absorption mode, or has a temperature at or below the first melting point in a heat rejection mode;
wherein the heat absorption mode includes a first heat absorption phase change mode as successively larger portions of the second PCM melt, then a heat absorption non-phase changing mode as the temperature of both of the liquid second PCM and the still solid first PCM increases, and then a second heat absorption phase change mode as the melting point of the first PCM is reached and the first PCM begins to melt; wherein the heat rejection mode includes a first heat rejection phase change mode as successively larger portions of the first PCM solidify, then a heat rejection non-phase changing mode as the temperature of the solidified first PCM and the still liquid second PCM drops, and then a second heat rejection phase change mode as the solidification temperature of the second PCM is reached and the second PCM begins to solidify.

2. The heat transfer system of claim 1 , wherein the fluid circulation loop further comprises a reservoir for the phase change composition.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising operating a vapor compression refrigerant system in thermal communication with the flow path through the heat exchanger.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the flow path through the heat exchanger is in thermal communication with a conditioned fluid in the vapor compression refrigerant system.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the flow path through the heat exchanger is in thermal communication with a refrigerant in the vapor compression refrigerant system.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the flow path through the heat exchanger is in thermal communication with an evaporator in the vapor compression refrigerant system.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the flow path through the heat exchanger is in thermal communication with a condenser in the vapor compression refrigerant system.

Assignees

• Carrier Corp

Inventors

• Ma Zidu
• Rydkin Ivan
• Clough Warren
• Lombardo Mary Teresa

Classifications

• F28D20/02 Primary

  using latent heat · CPC title

• F25B25/005 Primary

  using primary and secondary systems · CPC title

• Y02E60/145

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• F25B41/31

  Expansion valves · CPC title

• F25B41/20

  Disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves (expansion valves F25B41/31) · CPC title