JPH0794943B2 - Heat storage state detection device for ice heat storage equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ice heat storage facility for storing a refrigerant in a solid-liquid mixed phase sherbet state in an ice heat storage tank as a cold heat source for cooling, etc. The present invention relates to a device for detecting the heat storage state of an ice heat storage tank.

[Conventional technology]

In the type of ice heat storage in which ice is grown and accumulated around the cooling coil in the heat storage tank, the heat storage state (heat storage amount, etc.) can be determined by detecting the thickness of the growing ice. In the case of ice heat storage of the type that stores in a mixed-phase sherbet state, this cannot be done.Therefore, conventionally, as with cold water heat storage, the heat storage state is determined based on the temperature detection of the stored refrigerant, or the accumulation due to cooling and solidification of the refrigerant. The heat storage state has been determined by determining the abundance ratio of ice particles in the stored refrigerant based on the detection of the liquid level in the heat storage tank using expansion (the literature cannot be shown).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, since the so-called ice heat storage is originally to store heat by utilizing latent heat of solidification, the heat storage state cannot be accurately determined by the determination on sensible heat based on temperature detection, and the determination based on liquid level detection is not possible. However, since there are many disturbance factors such as ripples on the liquid level in the liquid level detection itself and the detection error is large, it is still difficult to determine the heat storage state stably and accurately.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to determine the heat storage state of the ice heat storage tank stably and accurately by a rational means adapted to the refrigerant being in a solid-liquid mixed phase sherbet state.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the heat storage state detection device in the ice heat storage equipment according to the present invention detects the dielectric constant characteristic of the stored refrigerant as information for determining the heat storage tank in the ice heat storage equipment that stores the refrigerant in a solid-liquid mixed phase sherbet state. Since the dielectric constant characteristic detecting means is provided, the operation and effect thereof are as follows.

[Work]

In other words, when the abundance ratio of ice particles in the stored refrigerant changes, the dielectric constant characteristic of the refrigerant changes accordingly. The heat storage state in the heat storage tank can be determined.

〔The invention's effect〕

That is, since the heat storage state is determined by the correlation with the abundance of ice particles, the heat storage state can be determined totally including the latent heat.
When detecting dielectric constant characteristics, stable detection can be carried out without being subject to various types of external disturbances as much as liquid level detection. Therefore, ice storage is well adapted to ice storage in a solid-liquid mixed phase sherbet state. It has become possible to determine the heat storage state of the tank in a stable and accurate manner, and thus a heat storage state detection device that is extremely useful and practical for operation control of a cooling system using this type of ice heat storage.

〔Example〕

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a heat pump circuit (5) for circulating a primary refrigerant in the order of a compressor (1), a condenser (2), an expansion valve (3), and an ice maker (4) as an evaporator is provided. Provided,
The ice maker (4) and the ice heat storage tank (6) are connected by the circulation path (7) for the secondary refrigerant, so that the circulation secondary refrigerant is solid-liquid in the ice maker (4) by the operation of the heat pump circuit (5). The sorbet-like secondary refrigerant in a mixed phase is stored, and the sorbet-like secondary refrigerant is stored in the ice heat storage tank (6) to perform cold heat storage for cooling or the like.

In the secondary refrigerant circulation path (7), the dielectric of the stored secondary refrigerant taken out from the ice heat storage tank (6) is connected to the outward path (7a) on the liquid phase secondary refrigerant extraction side connected to the lower part of the ice heat storage tank (6). As a means for detecting the rate characteristic, an oscillator (8) that oscillates an electromagnetic wave in the taken-out refrigerant and a geophone (9) that receives the electromagnetic wave that has passed through the taken-out refrigerant are additionally provided. The dielectric constant characteristic of the taken-out secondary storage refrigerant is checked by detecting the level of the transmitted electromagnetic waves.

That is, when heat storage in the ice heat storage tank (6) progresses and ice particles flow out from the outward path (7a) together with the liquid-phase secondary refrigerant, due to the mixing of the ice particles, the dielectric constant of the extracted storage secondary refrigerant is increased. The heat storage state (heat storage amount) in the ice storage tank (6) is determined based on the detection result of the transmitted electromagnetic wave reception level as described above by utilizing the fact that the rate characteristic changes and the transmitted electromagnetic wave reception level changes accordingly. It is decided.

Then, as the automatic operation control configuration of the heat pump circuit (5), the operation of the compressor (1) is automatically stopped by the control device (11) when the detected and received level of the transmitted electromagnetic waves reaches the set value, and thus, Heat pump circuit (5) when the cold heat storage amount in the ice heat storage tank (6) reaches the upper limit
The operation of is automatically stopped.

In the outward path (7a) on the secondary refrigerant take-out side, the oscillator (8) and the geophone (9) are connected to the insulating pipe (12) such as a plastic pipe to form a pipe line. The change in the dielectric constant of the next refrigerant can be accurately detected by detecting the level of the transmitted electromagnetic wave as described above while avoiding the influence of a metal tube or the like.

In the figure, (13) is a secondary refrigerant circulation pump, and (14) is a suction strainer that prevents large ice particles from entering the ice maker (4).

[Another embodiment]

 Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

To determine the heat storage state of the ice heat storage tank (6) based on the detection of the dielectric constant characteristic of the stored refrigerant, as shown in FIG.
As a dielectric constant characteristic detecting means, a coil (16) is arranged close to the flow passage (15) for taking out the stored refrigerant from the ice heat storage tank (6), and an oscillator (17) for giving an electric signal to the coil (16) is provided. An ammeter (18) for detecting a current flowing through the coil (16) is provided, so that the abundance ratio of ice particles in the extraction storage refrigerant changes with a change in the heat storage state in the ice storage tank (6), and the extraction storage refrigerant is provided. Of the ice heat storage tank (6) based on the current detection result of the ammeter (18) by utilizing the fact that the electric current flowing through the coil (16) in the operating state of the oscillator (17) changes accordingly. The heat storage state may be determined, and in addition, the dielectric constant characteristic of the stored refrigerant that changes with the change in the presence rate of ice particles is detected in various forms, and the detection result is used as the heat storage state determination information. It is possible to Specifically detection form and detection structure that detection means are of configuration changes can be made.

In order to detect the dielectric constant characteristic of the stored refrigerant, as shown in FIG. 3, the stored refrigerant is forcedly circulated to an appropriate location of the ice heat storage tank (6) separately from the refrigerant circulation with the ice maker (4). A circulation path (19) is provided, and the circulation path (19) is equipped with dielectric constant characteristic detection means (8) and (9). Therefore, the ice heat storage tank (6) is detected by detecting the dielectric constant characteristic of the circulating storage refrigerant. The heat storage state may be determined, and as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of circulation paths (19) each equipped with the dielectric constant characteristic detecting means (8) and (9) as described above are provided. The ice heat storage tanks (6) may be arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and the heat storage state of the ice heat storage tanks (6) may be determined stepwise for the purpose of controlling the capacity of the heat pump circuit (5). .

Further, instead of judging the heat storage state of the ice heat storage tank (6) based on the detection of the dielectric constant characteristic of the stored refrigerant taken out to the circulation passage or the like, as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. One or more sets of rate characteristic detecting means (8) and (9) are attached to the main body of the ice heat storage tank (6), so that the ice heat storage tank is detected based on the direct detection of the dielectric constant characteristics of the refrigerant stored in the tank. (6)
You may make it determine the heat storage state in.

The control performed based on the detected permittivity characteristic is the compressor (1).
It is not limited to the start / stop of the heat storage, but for various controls related to the heat storage state in the ice heat storage tank (6), for example, the control on the consumption side of the heat storage cold heat is performed based on the detected dielectric constant characteristics. The detected permittivity characteristics can be applied as information,
Further, the device configuration may be such that the detected dielectric constant characteristic is used only for displaying the heat storage state.

The refrigerant is not limited to water and various aqueous solutions, and may be other various liquid agents.

It should be noted that reference numerals are added to the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the structures of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2 to 6 are structural views showing another embodiment of the present invention. (6) …… Ice heat storage tank, (8) …… Oscillator, (9) …… Geophone, (16) …… Coil, (17) …… Oscillator, (18)…
... ammeter.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ice heat storage facility for storing a refrigerant in a solid-liquid mixed phase sherbet state in an ice heat storage tank (6), wherein information for determining a heat storage state in the ice heat storage tank (6) is a dielectric of a stored refrigerant. STORAGE STATE DETECTING DEVICE FOR ICE STORAGE EQUIPMENT HAVING DIELECTRIC PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTIC DETECTING DEVICE FOR DETECTING CHARACTERISTIC CHARACTERISTIC. 2. The dielectric constant characteristic detecting means comprises an oscillator (8) for oscillating an electromagnetic wave in the stored refrigerant, and a geophone (9) for detecting the level of the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the stored refrigerant. The heat storage state detection device of the ice heat storage equipment according to claim 1. 3. A coil (16) arranged near the stored refrigerant, an oscillator (17) for giving an electric signal to the coil (16), and a current flowing through the coil (16) by the dielectric constant characteristic detecting means. The heat storage state detection device for ice heat storage equipment according to claim 1, further comprising an ammeter (18) for detecting.