VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS USING AN ACCUMULATOR TO PREVENT OVER-PRESSURIZATION

摘要

An accumulator acts as a buffer to prevent over-pressurization of the vapor compression system while inactive. By determining the maximum storage temperature and the maximum storage pressure a system will be subject to when inactive, a density of the refrigerant for the overall system can be calculated. Dividing the density by the mass of the refrigerant determines an optimal overall system volume. The volume of the components is subtracted from the overall system volume to calculate the optimal accumulator volume. The optimal accumulator volume is used to size the accumulator so that the accumulator has enough volume to prevent over-pressurization of the system when inactive.