LOW PRESSURE CONDENSER INLET BAFFLES

BACKGROUND

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for condenser construction and inlet baffle placement in HVAC&R systems.

[0002] Vapor compression systems utilize a working fluid, typically referred to as a refrigerant, which changes phases between vapor, liquid, and combinations thereof in response to being subjected to different temperatures and pressures associated with operation of the vapor compression system. Certain vapor compression systems include a condenser having an inlet baffle for distributing a refrigerant gas on top of a tube bundle disposed in a lower portion of a shell of the condenser. The condenser enables fluid flowing through tubes of the tube bundle to exchange thermal energy with and condense the falling refrigerant gas into a refrigerant liquid. Unfortunately, the condenser of certain vapor compression systems may restrict flow of the refrigerant gas during distribution, thus causing pressure drop which lowers an operational efficiency of the condenser.

SUMMARY

[0003] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system includes a condenser configured to condense a low pressure refrigerant gas into a low pressure refrigerant liquid. The condenser includes a shell defining an interior space that includes an interior height and an interior length, and a refrigerant inlet configured to enable the low pressure refrigerant gas to enter the shell. The refrigerant inlet includes an inlet pipe traversing from an outside of the shell to the interior space. The inlet pipe includes an inlet pipe inner diameter. Additionally, the refrigerant inlet includes a bell mouth tapered outward from the inlet pipe and into the interior space of the shell. The condenser also includes a refrigerant inlet baffle configured to distribute the low pressure refrigerant gas along a portion of the interior length of the shell. An upper surface of the refrigerant inlet baffle is vertically spaced from a bottom edge of the bell mouth by an upper layout height. Additionally, a bottom surface of the refrigerant inlet baffle is vertically spaced from a bottom inner surface of the shell by a lower layout height. The upper layout height is greater than 0.25 of the inlet pipe inner diameter.

[0004] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of designing a condenser for a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system includes determining, via a processor of a computing device, an inner diameter of an inlet pipe of a refrigerant inlet of the condenser, such that a target flowrate of low pressure refrigerant gas is configured to travel though the refrigerant inlet and into the condenser. Additionally, the method includes multiplying, via the processor, the inner diameter of the inlet pipe by a design parameter. The design parameter is a value between 0.25 and 0.50. Further, the method includes determining, via the processor, an upper layout height defined between a bottom edge of the refrigerant inlet and an upper edge of an inlet baffle for the condenser based on the multiplication.

[0005] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system includes a condenser configured to condense a low pressure refrigerant gas into a low pressure refrigerant liquid, wherein the condenser includes a shell defining an interior space that comprises an interior height and an interior length and a refrigerant inlet configured to direct the low pressure refrigerant gas into the shell. The refrigerant inlet includes an inlet pipe extending from an outside of the shell to the interior space, wherein the inlet pipe comprises an inlet pipe inner diameter and a diffuser coupled to the inlet pipe and tapered outward from the inlet pipe and into the interior space of the shell. The condenser further includes a refrigerant inlet baffle configured to distribute the low pressure refrigerant gas along a portion of the interior length of the shell, wherein an upper surface of the refrigerant inlet baffle is vertically spaced from a bottom edge of the diffuser by an upper layout height, and wherein the upper layout height is greater than 0.25 of the inlet pipe inner diameter.

[0006] Other features and advantages of the present application will be apparent from the following, more detailed description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the application.

DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building that may utilize a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system in a commercial setting, in accordance with the present techniques;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vapor compression system, in accordance with the present techniques;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vapor compression system, in accordance with the present techniques;

[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vapor compression system, in accordance with the present techniques;

[0011] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a condenser of the vapor compression system having an inlet baffle placement arrangement for reducing or minimizing a pressure drop within the condenser, in accordance with the present techniques;

[0012] FIG. 6 is a partial axial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the condenser having the baffle placement, in accordance with the present techniques; and [0013] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) screen overlay for a modeled condenser portion of the vapor compression system, in accordance with the present techniques.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present disclosure is directed to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems and systems and methods for condenser construction and inlet baffle placement in HVAC&R systems. In general, HVAC&R systems include a closed refrigeration circuit having a condenser configured to condense, or cool, a refrigerant therein to enable the HVAC&R system to condition an interior space. By employing a condenser with an optimized refrigerant inlet baffle placement, the HVAC&R system may employ a low pressure refrigerant without an accompanying pressure drop to enhance condenser performance as compared to traditional condensers. For example, as discussed in more detail below, an embodiment of a condenser of the present disclosure includes a refrigerant inlet having an inlet pipe and a bell mouth tapered outward from the inlet pipe and into an interior space of a shell of the condenser. Thus, during operation, a low pressure refrigerant gas enters the refrigerant inlet of the condenser and contacts a refrigerant inlet baffle that distributes the low pressure refrigerant gas on to a tube bundle disposed underneath the refrigerant inlet baffle.

[0015] The present disclosure recognizes an important balance between pressure drop of the low pressure refrigerant and tube layout room for the tube bundle beneath the refrigerant inlet baffle. For example, when a greater vertical space (e.g., upper layout height) is provided between the refrigerant inlet (e.g., and more particularly, the bell mouth of the refrigerant inlet) and the refrigerant inlet baffle, a reduction or minimization in pressure drop within the condenser is obtained. Alternatively, by decreasing the vertical space between the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant inlet baffle, a greater amount of tube layout room is available to install a larger tube bundle beneath the refrigerant inlet baffle (e.g., lower layout height), thus increasing an ability of the condenser to exchange heat across the tube bundle. As such, an optimized refrigerant inlet baffle placement that balances pressure drop and tube layout room is obtained in the present embodiments when the vertical space between the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant inlet baffle is approximately between 0.25 to 0.50 of an inner diameter of the inlet pipe, as discussed in more detail below.

[0016] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an environment for a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system 10 in a building 12 for a typical commercial setting. The HVAC&R system 10 may include a vapor compression system 14 that supplies a chilled liquid, which may be used to cool the building 12. The HVAC&R system 10 may also include a boiler 16 to supply warm liquid to heat the building 12 and an air distribution system which circulates air through the building 12. The air distribution system can also include an air return duct 18, an air supply duct 20, and/or an air handler 22. In some embodiments, the air handler 22 may include a heat exchanger that is connected to the boiler 16 and the vapor compression system 14 by conduits 24. The heat exchanger in the air handler 22 may receive either heated liquid from the boiler 16 or chilled liquid from the vapor compression system 14, depending on the mode of operation of the HVAC&R system 10. The HVAC&R system 10 is shown with a separate air handler on each floor of building 12, but in other embodiments, the HVAC&R system 10 may include air handlers 22 and/or other components that may be shared between or among floors.

[0017] FIGS. 2 and 3 are embodiments of the vapor compression system 14 that can be used in the HVAC&R system 10. The vapor compression system 14 may circulate a refrigerant through a circuit starting with a compressor 32. The circuit may also include a condenser 34, an expansion valve(s) or device(s) 36, and a liquid chiller or an evaporator 38. The vapor compression system 14 may further include a control panel 40 that has an analog to digital (AID) converter 42, a microprocessor 44, a non-volatile memory 46, and/or an interface board 48. [0018] Some examples of fluids that may be used as refrigerants in the vapor compression system 14 are hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) based refrigerants, for example, R- 41 OA, R-407, R-134a, hydrofluoro olefin (HFO), "natural" refrigerants like ammonia (NH3), R-717, carbon dioxide (C02), R-744, or hydrocarbon based refrigerants, water vapor, or any other suitable refrigerant. In some embodiments, the vapor compression system 14 may be configured to efficiently utilize refrigerants having a normal boiling point of about 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) at one atmosphere of pressure, also referred to as low pressure refrigerants, versus a medium pressure refrigerant, such as R-134a. As used herein, "normal boiling point" may refer to a boiling point temperature measured at one atmosphere of pressure.

[0019] In some embodiments, the vapor compression system 14 may use one or more of a variable speed drive (VSDs) 52, a motor 50, the compressor 32, the condenser 34, the expansion valve or device 36, and/or the evaporator 38. The motor 50 may drive the compressor 32 and may be powered by a variable speed drive (VSD) 52. The VSD 52 receives alternating current (AC) power having a particular fixed line voltage and fixed line frequency from an AC power source, and provides power having a variable voltage and frequency to the motor 50. In other embodiments, the motor 50 may be powered directly from an AC or direct current (DC) power source. The motor 50 may include any type of electric motor that can be powered by a VSD or directly from an AC or DC power source, such as a switched reluctance motor, an induction motor, an electronically commutated permanent magnet motor, or another suitable motor.

[0020] The compressor 32 compresses a refrigerant vapor and delivers the vapor to the condenser 34 through a discharge passage. In some embodiments, the compressor 32 may be a centrifugal compressor. The refrigerant vapor delivered by the compressor 32 to the condenser 34 may transfer heat to a cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) in the condenser 34. The refrigerant vapor may condense to a refrigerant liquid in the condenser 34 as a result of thermal heat transfer with the cooling fluid. The liquid refrigerant from the condenser 34 may flow through the expansion device 36 to the evaporator 38. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, the condenser 34 is water cooled and includes a tube bundle 54 connected to a cooling tower 56, which supplies the cooling fluid to the condenser 34.

[0021] The liquid refrigerant delivered to the evaporator 38 may absorb heat from another cooling fluid, which may or may not be the same cooling fluid used in the condenser 34. The liquid refrigerant in the evaporator 38 may undergo a phase change from the liquid refrigerant to a refrigerant vapor. As shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, the evaporator 38 may include a tube bundle 58 having a supply line 60S and a return line 60R connected to a cooling load 62. The cooling fluid of the evaporator 38 (e.g., water, ethylene glycol, calcium chloride brine, sodium chloride brine, or any other suitable fluid) enters the evaporator 38 via return line 60R and exits the evaporator 38 via supply line 60S. The evaporator 38 may reduce the temperature of the cooling fluid in the tube bundle 58 via thermal heat transfer with the refrigerant. The tube bundle 58 in the evaporator 38 can include a plurality of tubes and/or a plurality of tube bundles. In any case, the vapor refrigerant exits the evaporator 38 and returns to the compressor 32 by a suction line to complete the cycle.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the vapor compression system 14 with an intermediate circuit 64 incorporated between condenser 34 and the expansion device 36. The intermediate circuit 64 may have an inlet line 68 that is directly fluidly connected to the condenser 34. In other embodiments, the inlet line 68 may be indirectly fluidly coupled to the condenser 34. As shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4, the inlet line 68 includes a first expansion device 66 positioned upstream of an intermediate vessel 70. In some embodiments, the intermediate vessel 70 may be a flash tank (e.g., a flash intercooler). In other embodiments, the intermediate vessel 70 may be configured as a heat exchanger or a "surface economizer." In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4, the intermediate vessel 70 is used as a flash tank, and the first expansion device 66 is configured to lower the pressure of (e.g., expand) the liquid refrigerant received from the condenser 34. During the expansion process, a portion of the liquid may vaporize, and thus, the intermediate vessel 70 may be used to separate the vapor from the liquid received from the first expansion device 66. Additionally, the intermediate vessel 70 may provide for further expansion of the liquid refrigerant because of a pressure drop experienced by the liquid refrigerant when entering the intermediate vessel 70 (e.g., due to a rapid increase in volume experienced when entering the intermediate vessel 70). The vapor in the intermediate vessel 70 may be drawn by the compressor 32 through a suction line 74 of the compressor 32. In other embodiments, the vapor in the intermediate vessel may be drawn to an intermediate stage of the compressor 32 (e.g., not the suction stage). The liquid that collects in the intermediate vessel 70 may be at a lower enthalpy than the liquid refrigerant exiting the condenser 34 because of the expansion in the expansion device 66 and/or the intermediate vessel 70. The liquid from intermediate vessel 70 may then flow in line 72 through a second expansion device 36 to the evaporator 38.

[0023] With the above understanding of the HVAC&R system 10 in mind, FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the condenser 34 having a baffle placement 100 (e.g., optimized refrigerant inlet baffle placement) for an inlet baffle 102 to optimize operation of the condenser 34. In some embodiments, the inlet baffle 102 may be a diffuser. In some embodiments, the inlet baffle 102 may be formed of cast iron. Further, the inlet baffle 102 may be formed utilizing a pattern, such as a cast. As shown, the condenser 34 includes a shell 104 (e.g., cylindrical shell) having a tube bundle 106 disposed therein. The tube bundle 106 includes a plurality of tubes 108 (e.g., heat exchange tubes) that enable a cooling fluid to flow therethrough. For example, to direct tube-side flow, a first water box 110 is secured to a first tubesheet 112 at a first end 114 of the shell 104, and a second water box 116 is secured to a second tubesheet 118 at second end 120 of the shell 104. As such, the condenser 34 supplies a cooling fluid 130 (e.g., cool water) through an inlet 132 of a lower chamber 134 of the first water box 110. Then, the cooling fluid 130 is directed through a lower portion of the tubes 108 for a first pass through the shell 104. Additionally, the cooling fluid 130 is directed by the second water box 116 into an upper portion of the tubes 108 for a second pass through the shell 104, and is directed out of the shell 104 through an outlet 138 of a second chamber 140 of the first water box 110 (e.g., as warmed water). While the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 5 shows the condenser 34 as having two passes for the cooling fluid 130, it should be recognized that, in other embodiments, the condenser 34 may be configured to direct the cooling fluid 130 using any suitable number of passes (e.g., one, two, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more passes).

[0024] Moreover, to enable shell-side flow of a low pressure refrigerant gas 150 into the condenser 34, the shell 104 includes a refrigerant inlet 152. In some embodiments, the refrigerant inlet 152 is centrally positioned relative to the opposed ends 114 and 120 of the shell 104. However, in other embodiments, the refrigerant inlet 152 may be non- centrally positioned relative to the opposed ends 114 and 120 of the shell 104, similar to an illustrated refrigerant outlet 154. As illustrated, the refrigerant inlet 152 includes an inlet pipe 160 fluidly coupled to or integrally formed with a bell mouth 162. In some embodiments, the bell mouth 162 may be a diffuser. For example, the bell mouth 162 may be a component that is positioned within the shell 104 separate from the inlet pipe 160, and the inlet pipe 160 and bell mouth 162 may be subsequently coupled to one another. Additionally, the inlet baffle 102 is disposed beneath the bell mouth 162 of the refrigerant inlet 152, and above the tube bundle 106. Thus, during operation, the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 travels into the shell 104 via the inlet pipe 160, is directed by the bell mouth 162 along the inlet baffle 102, and travels across the inlet baffle 102 for distribution across the tube bundle 106. The tubes 108 of the tube bundle 106 thus enable a transfer of thermal energy to the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 to condense the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 into a low pressure refrigerant liquid 164, which trickles down through the tube bundle 106 and out of the refrigerant outlet 154 on its way to the expansion device 36.

[0025] The baffle placement 100 discussed herein is employed to vertically position the inlet baffle 102 within the shell 104 of the condenser to reduce pressure drop within the condenser 34, while providing sufficient or desired space for the tube bundle 106. For example, an upper layout height 166 is defined between an upper surface 168 of the inlet baffle 102 and a bottom edge 170 of the bell mouth 162. Additionally, a lower layout height 172 is defined between a bottom surface 174 of the inlet baffle 102 and a bottom inner surface 176 of the shell 104. As such, an interior space 180 within the shell 104 (e.g., including an interior height 182 and an interior length 184) is at least partially vertically bisected by the inlet baffle 102.

[0026] The upper layout height 166 is utilized by the condenser 34 to distribute the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 along at least a portion of the interior length 184 of the shell. As such, increasing the upper layout height 166 (e.g., by placing the inlet baffle 102 lower within the shell 104) decreases a pressure drop for the condenser 34 (e.g., by increasing a pressure recovery). Alternatively, decreasing the upper layout height 166 increases the pressure drop within the condenser 34 (e.g., by decreasing the pressure recovery). Moreover, the lower layout height 172 is utilized by the condenser 34 as space for the tube bundle 106 to be arranged (e.g., tube layout room). In embodiments having a larger lower layout height 172, a greater number and/or size of tubes 108 may be included in the tube bundle 106, thus increasing an amount of thermal energy that can be transferred via the condenser 34. Additionally, in embodiments having a smaller lower layout height 172, a fewer number and/or size of tubes 108 may be included in the tube bundle 106, thus decreasing a heat exchange efficiency of the condenser. Additionally, in certain embodiments, a pitch between the tubes 108 may be adjusted when constructing the condenser 34, such that a smaller pitch between adjacent tubes 108 is used when constructing condensers 34 having reduced lower layout heights 172, thus restricting flow of the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 and/or the low pressure refrigerant liquid 164 between the tubes 108 in the shell 104. As such, the baffle placement 100 is optimally determined (e.g., via computational fluid dynamics (CFD)) to balance pressure drop and tube layout room within the condenser 34. Further understanding of the refrigerant inlet 152 and the inlet baffle 102 is provided with reference to FIG. 6 below.

[0027] Indeed, FIG. 6 is a detail axial cross-sectional view of the condenser 34. As shown, the inlet pipe 160 of the refrigerant inlet 152 traverses the shell 104 of the condenser 34 (e.g., via an opening 190). In some embodiments, the inlet pipe 160 may be coupled to the opening 190 via welding, and more specifically, without the use of flanges. The inlet pipe includes an inner diameter 188 to enable the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 to flow therein. Additionally, the bell mouth 162 includes a diverging radius 192 that flares radially outward from the inlet pipe 160, thus providing a smooth transition for the low pressure refrigerant gas 150 into the condenser 34 that enables pressure recovery (e.g. via reduced turbulence). The bottom edge 170 of the bell mouth 162 is vertically spaced from the upper surface 168 of the inlet baffle 102 by the upper layout height 166. Additionally, the inlet baffle 102 includes upturned portions 196 that extend upward from a flat portion 198 of the inlet baffle 102 and contact an inner surface 202 of the shell 104. Thus, the inlet baffle 102 defines a baffle space 204 which is at least partially fluidly isolated from the tube bundle 106 (e.g., along at least a portion of the length of the shell 104).

[0028] Further, in some embodiments, the inlet pipe 160 may be directly coupled to the inlet baffle 102 or a diffuser, such as via welding. For example, as shown, the upturned portions 196 may extend only partially towards the inner surface 202 of the shell 104 and may further include vertical portions 197 that couple the inlet baffle 102 directly to the inlet pipe 160 at the bell mouth 162. In other words, the inlet pipe 160 may be coupled to the inlet baffle 102 inside the shell 104 and within a pressure boundary of the shell 104. Further, it should be noted that in some embodiments, the vertical portions 197 may be angled some amount from a vertical position. In some embodiments, the inlet pipe 160 may be coupled directly to a diffuser different from the inlet baffle 102 via welding.

[0029] As discussed above, the baffle placement 100 of the inlet baffle 102 is included within the condenser 34 to optimize the balance between pressure drop and tube layout room. Indeed, in certain embodiments, the optimized upper layout height 166 is defined relative to the inner diameter 188 of the inlet pipe 160 of the refrigerant inlet 152. For example, the upper layout height 166 may be selected to be equal to a design parameter (e.g., a ratio, a value) multiplied times the inner diameter 188 of the inlet pipe 160. For example, the upper layout height 166 may be 0.200, 0.225, 0.250, 0.275, 0.300, 0.325, 0.350, 0.375, 0.400, 0.425, 0.450, 0.475, 0.500 or more of the inner diameter 188 of the inlet pipe 160. Additionally, the upper layout height 166 may be selected between any suitable range of ratios relative to the inner diameter 188 of the inlet pipe 160, such as between 0.250 and 0.500, 0.200 and 0.400, 0.300 and 0.500, 0.200 and 0.300, 0.200 and 0.250, 0.250 and 0.300, etc. of the inner diameter 188 of the inlet pipe 160.

[0030] Additionally, although described herein with reference to adjusting the space defined between the bell mouth 162 and the inlet baffle 102, it is to be understood that other modifications, such as adjusting a vertical position of the bell mouth 162 relative to the shell 104 in addition to or in alternative to adjusting a vertical position of the inlet baffle 102 are considered by the present disclosure. Moreover, adjustments to the diverging radius 192 of the bell mouth 162 may be made to enhance pressure recovery and/or refrigerant flow within the condenser 34, especially in embodiments having inlet pipes 160 with relatively small inner diameters 188 (e.g., on the order of 10 inches or less, for which such modifications may have noticeable effects). Further, it is to be understood that in certain embodiments, an adjustment to an inlet pipe length 189 is considered by the present disclosure in order to enhance pressure recovery and/or refrigerant flow within the condenser 34. Particularly, the inlet pipe length 189 may be decreased to enhance the pressure recovery and/or the refrigerant flow within the condenser.

[0031] To determine the design rule for the baffle placement 100, a service technician or system designer may model the condenser 34 having the baffle placement 100 via CFD software (e.g., Ansys Fluent, etc.) on a computing device. Thus, the service technician or the system designer (e.g., user) may model the pressure drop and the tube layout room for various baffle placements 100. For example, FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram of an embodiment of a CFD screen overlay 300 for a modeled condenser portion 302. As shown, the modeled condenser portion 302 includes a quadrant of a condenser, such as the condenser 34 discussed above. The modeled condenser portion 302 thus includes two symmetry faces 304, across which the modeled condenser portion 302 may be reflected to visually represent all four quadrants of a modeled condenser. In general, the CFD screen overlay 300 may be included on an electronic display of any suitable computing device (e.g., laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, etc.) having a processor and memory therein, such as the illustrated computing device 310.

[0032] The modeled condenser portion 302 also includes a modeled refrigerant inlet 320 having a modeled inlet pipe 322 and modeled bell mouth 324. A variable upper layout height 328 is defined between the modeled bell mouth 324 and a modeled inlet baffle 330. Additionally, a variable lower layout height 332 is defined between the modeled inlet baffle 330 and a modeled bottom inner surface 334 of a shell 336 of the modeled condenser portion 302. As discussed above, greater variable upper layout heights correspond to greater pressure recovery, while greater variable lower layout heights correspond to greater room for disposing a greater number or quantity of heat exchange tubes therein. This, using CFD software, the user may model the pressure drop through the modeled condenser having the modeled condenser portion 302 for various embodiments of the variable upper layout height 328 and the variable lower layout height 332.

[0033] Indeed, to realize pressure recovery for both a 300 ton chiller (e.g., having 300 refrigeration tons) and a 1500 ton chiller (e.g., having 1500 refrigeration tons), the variable upper layout height 328 is at least 0.25 of the inner diameter of the modeled inlet pipe 322. Additional exemplary embodiments of the variable upper layout height 328 having minimized pressure drop via the optimized baffle placement 100 are shown below in Table 1, in which the variable upper layout height 328 approximates 0.3 (e.g., within 0.05%, 1%, 5%) of the modeled inlet pipe 322 inner diameter.

[0034] Table 1. Variable upper tube layout height vs. modeled inlet pipe inner diameter 33 305 91.5 0.300

39 336 100.8 0.300

44 388 116.4 0.300

[0035] Further, referring back to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, a service technician or system designer may utilize a fixture 340 to place the inlet pipe 160 within condenser 34 when simulating and determining the variable upper layout height 328 and the variable lower layout height 332. For example, the fixture 340 may be a ring, brace, clamp, guide, block, bracket, or other structure that may couple to and/or be positioned adjacent or about the inlet pipe 160. The fixture 340 may be configured to support the inlet pipe 160 in a fixed position while simulating and determining the variable upper layout height 328 and the variable lower layout height 332.

[0036] The fixture 340 may also be used to hold the inlet pipe 160 in a desired location during assembly of the condenser 34, such as during securement of the inlet pipe 160 to the shell 104, to the bell mouth 162, and/or to another component of the HVAC&R system 10. For example, the fixture 340 may enable coupling (e.g., welding) of the inlet pipe 160 to an inlet boss of the HVAC&R system 10 without an additional flanged connection. In some embodiments, the fixture 340 or another fixture 340 may be used to position the bell mouth 162, which may be a diffuser, within the shell 104 during assembly of the condenser 34. The fixture 340 may hold the bell mouth 162 in place while the bell mouth 162 or diffuser is secured to the shell 104, the inlet pipe 160, or both.

[0037] Accordingly, the present techniques are directed to a baffle placement design for a condenser to optimally balance pressure drop and tube layout room. The baffle placement design includes disposing an inlet baffle between a refrigerant inlet and a tube bundle. The refrigerant inlet includes an inlet pipe that flares into a bell mouth, which deposits low pressure refrigerant gas onto the inlet baffle. Additionally, the inlet baffle distributes the low pressure refrigerant gas along a length of a shell of the condenser, thus enabling the low pressure refrigerant gas to transfer heat to a cooling fluid flowing within the tubes of the tube bundle and condense thereon. By disposing the inlet baffle such that an upper layout height between the bell mouth and the inlet baffle is approximately equivalent to 0.3 (e.g., within 5% of 0.3) of an inner diameter of the inlet pipe, the present disclosure provides sufficient room for heat exchange tubes while reducing or minimizing pressure drop within the condenser.

[0038] While only certain features and embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, many modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters (e.g., temperatures, pressures, etc.), mounting arrangements, use of materials, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited in the claims. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure. Furthermore, in an effort to provide a concise description of the embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not have been described (i.e., those unrelated to the presently contemplated best mode of carrying out the disclosure, or those unrelated to enabling the claimed features). It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation specific decisions may be made. Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure, without undue experimentation.