Refrigerant evaporator

Abstract

A refrigerant evaporator includes a shell having a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet, and a plurality of tubes disposed within the shell and carrying a process fluid. One embodiment includes at least a first plurality of the tubes are immersed in liquid refrigerant within the shell, and at least a second plurality of the tubes are partially immersed in liquid refrigerant and partially surrounded by gaseous refrigerant. The refrigerant evaporator also includes a baffle positioned adjacent the first plurality of tubes and immersed in the liquid refrigerant to displace the liquid refrigerant.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A refrigerant evaporator comprising:
 a shell including a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet;   a plurality of tubes disposed within the shell and carrying a process fluid including at least a first plurality of tubes being immersed in liquid refrigerant within the shell, and at least a second plurality of tubes being at least partially surrounded by gaseous refrigerant; and   a baffle positioned adjacent the first plurality of tubes and immersed in the liquid refrigerant to displace the liquid refrigerant upwardly in the shell toward the second plurality of tubes.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the baffle is at least partially immersed in the liquid refrigerant to displace the liquid refrigerant. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the baffle includes a plurality of apertures through which the corresponding first plurality of tubes are received. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 3 , wherein each of the first plurality of tubes includes an outer diameter less than a diameter of the apertures in the baffle in which the tubes are respectively received, thereby defining an annular gap separating each of the first plurality of tubes and the baffle. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 4 , wherein liquid refrigerant is capable of being flowed through a plurality of annular gaps to contact an outer periphery of the first plurality of tubes. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the shell includes a first length, and wherein the baffle includes a second length of at least about 50% of the first length. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the shell includes a first length, and wherein the baffle includes a second length of at least about 75% of the first length. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the shell includes a first length, and wherein the baffle includes a second length of at least about 95% of the first length. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the baffle is a first baffle, and wherein the refrigerant evaporator further includes a second baffle positioned adjacent the first plurality of tubes and immersed in the liquid refrigerant. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 9 , wherein the second baffle is axially spaced from the first baffle along the length of the shell. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 9 , wherein the second baffle includes a plurality of apertures through which the corresponding first plurality of the tubes are received. 
     
     
         12 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 9 , wherein the second baffle includes a plurality of apertures through which a corresponding third plurality of the tubes are received, and wherein the third plurality of tubes are immersed in liquid refrigerant within the shell. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the evaporator is configured as a flooded evaporator in which the refrigerant inlet is located below the plurality of tubes and in which the refrigerant outlet is located above the plurality of tubes. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the evaporator is configured as a falling-film evaporator in which the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are both located above the plurality of tubes. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , whereto the plurality of tubes are oriented substantially horizontally relative to a support surface of the refrigerant evaporator. 
     
     
         16 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tubes are spaced relative to each by a rectangular pitch. 
     
     
         17 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tubes are spaced relative to each by a triangular pitch. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the baffle is located between the lower-most tubes in the first plurality of tubes and the shell. 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 1 , wherein the shell includes a cylindrical shape. 
     
     
         20 . The refrigerant evaporator of  claim 19 , wherein the first plurality of tubes are arranged in a first row, wherein the second plurality of tubes are arranged in a second row, and wherein the number of tubes in the second row exceeds the number of tubes in the first row. 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for controlling a rate of heat exchange of liquid refrigerant in a multi-dimensional environment comprising in combination or tor assembly:
 a refrigerant evaporator having a shell configured to receive the liquid refrigerant;   a plurality of tubes disposed within the shell configured for traversing a process fluid, the plurality of tubes having an upper plurality of tubes and a lower plurality of tubes configurable proximate to one another;   one or more baffles configurable to be positioned adjacent to the lower plurality of tubes and capable of being immersed in the liquid refrigerant for displacing the liquid refrigerant upwardly in the shell toward the upper plurality of tubes.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further including instructions of operation and/or assembly in a format of any of a print, electronic, oral, or visual medium. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the apparatus is in a kit form. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the apparatus includes at least three baffles.