Method of introducing an in situant into a vapor compression system, especially useful for leak detection, as well as an apparatus for leak detection and a composition useful for leak detection

Abstract

Leaks are detected in a vapor compression system using fluorescent and daylight visible in situants which are introduced to a system by way of a carrier and dissolved into the systems oil or lubricant. This invention teaches the use of POE oil as a universal carrier fluid, alone or in combination with an alcohol, and combined with one or more “in situants”. The in situants are compounds which are the same or substantially similar to compounds already present in oils or lubricants. An on-off UV light source, such as a xenon light, can the be used to visually detect the leak from the vapor compression system components.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of introducing at least one in situant into an oil or lubricant of a vapor compression system for the purpose of detecting leaks in the vapor compression system components, comprising the steps of: 
 dissolving the at least one in situant in a carrier fluid of pure polyol ester oil or a polyol ester oil and alcohol solution,    delivering the at least one in situant and the carrier fluid into a vapor compression system fluid,    leaving the in situant dissolved in the combined carrier/system fluid solution, and    removing any immiscible or slightly miscible components of the carrier fluid from the system fluid, thereby leaving the miscible carrier fluid components and at least one in situant dissolved in the system fluid.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of delivering an amount of the at least one in situant into the system in concentrations of up to the solubility limit of the at least one in situant in the system fluid.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises at least one compound which is soluble in the system fluid and the carrier fluid and has fluorescent properties.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises at least one organic compound that emits color in the visible spectrum.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises at least one fluorescent compound and at least one organic compound which emits color in the visible spectrum.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the system oil or lubricant comprises at least one of polyalkylene glycol, polyol ester, mineral oil and alkylbenzene.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one or more coumarin compounds are used with the at least one in situant.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier fluid comprises at least one of ethanol, methanol, and 2-propanol in solution with polyol ester oil.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises a heterocyclic molecule comprising at least one cyclic group comprising C, H, halogens, S, N, and O.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises a molecule comprising at least one cyclic group comprising C, H, halogens, S, N, and O.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant comprises an organo-metallic compound.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is used in combination with one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of coumarin and derivatives thereof shown by the following structure,  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein G represents groups comprising C, H, halogens N, and j is greater than or equal to 0.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is selected from the group consisting of phenylnaphthylamines shown by the following structure,  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1 , R 2 , and R 3  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is selected from the group consisting of diphenylamines shown by the following structure,  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 4  and R 5  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is selected from the group consisting of benzothiazolines shown by the following structure,  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 6 , R 7 , R 8  and R 9  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is selected from the group consisting of benzothiazoles, shown by the following structure,  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1  and R 1 l are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is selected from the group of polyhydroxy-anthraquinone compounds where k is greater than or equal to one with the structure:  
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one in situant is an oil or lubricant additive selected from the group consisting of anti-oxidation, anti-wear, anti-friction, dispersion improvement, and viscosity index improvement additives.  
     
     
         19 . A leak detection method, comprising the steps of: 
 introducing a compound selected from the group consisting of organo-metallic in situant compounds comprising molecular groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures and at least one metal into a refrigeration system comprising a fluid system; and    causing the compound to fluoresce at any point in the system where there is a leak.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of introducing the in situant compound into the system is effected in concentration up to the solubility limit of the compound in the system fluid.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the system oil or lubricant comprises at least one of polyalkylene glycol, polyol ester, mineral oil and alkylbenzene.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of introducing comprises dissolving the compound in a carrier fluid, delivering the compound and the carrier fluid into the system, and removing immiscible components of the carrier fluid from the system fluid.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the carrier fluid comprises an alcohol in solution with polyol ester oil.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the carrier fluid comprises at least one of ethanol, methanol and 2-propanol in solution with polyol ester oil.  
     
     
         25 . A leak detection method comprising the steps of: 
 introducing an in situant capable of fluorescing into a refrigeration system comprising a system fluid; and    causing the compound to fluoresce at any point in the system where there is a leak, wherein the compound is soluble in the system fluid and comprises at least one of phenylnaphthylamines:                          where R 1 , R 2 , and R 3  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures; dialkyldiphenylamines:                          where R 4  and R 5  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures; organometallic compounds comprising molecular groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures in combination with at least one metal; benzothiazolines:                          where R 6 , R 7 , R 8  and R 9  are groups comprising at least one of C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures; benzothiazoles:                          where R 10 , and R 11  are groups comprising at least one C, H, halogens, N, S, and O in cyclic or acyclic structures; and a group of compounds derived from the polyhydroxy-anthraquinone structure with k greater than or equal to 1:                          
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the step of introducing the in situant compound into the system is effected in concentrations of up to the solubility limit of the compound in the system fluid.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein one or more coumarin compounds are used in combination with an in situant compound.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the system oil or lubricant comprises at least one of polyalkylene glycol, polyol ester, mineral oil and alkylbenzene.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the step of introducing comprises dissolving the compound in a carrier fluid, delivering the compound and the carrier fluid into the system, and removing immiscible components of the carrier fluid from the system fluid.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the carrier fluid comprises at least one of ethanol, methanol and 2-propanol in solution with polyol ester oil.  
     
     
         31 . A method of detecting leaks in a refrigeration system comprising a fluid system, comprising the steps of introducing a fluorescing in situant compound into the fluid system and detecting the leak with a UV lamp.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the UV lamp is a xenon flash tube.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the xenon flash tube comprises a quartz glass.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the xenon flash tube is filled with a xenon gas mixture at a pressure of less than about 4 atmospheres.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the xenon flash tube comprises a trigger circuitry means for obtaining an adjustable or a preset flash rate.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the means produces a flash rate from about 4 flashes per second to about 1 flash every four seconds.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the xenon flash tube comprises a filter glass with a high degree of internal transmittance in the 180 to 390 nm ultraviolet wavelength range.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the xenon flash tube comprises an ultraviolet flash pulse circuit.  
     
     
         39 . A flashing UV lamp, comprising a xenon flash tube, a trigger circuitry means for obtaining an adjustable or a preset flash rate, and a filter glass.  
     
     
         40 . The flashing UV lamp of  claim 39 , wherein the xenon flash tube is filled with a xenon gas mixture at a pressure less than about 4 atmospheres.  
     
     
         41 . The flashing UV lamp of  claim 39 , wherein the xenon flash tube comprises an UV flash pulse circuit.  
     
     
         42 . The flashing UV lamp of  claim 39 , wherein the mean produces a flash rate from about 4 flashes per second to about 1 flash every four seconds.  
     
     
         43 . The flashing UV lamp of  claim 39 , wherein the filter is applied directly to the xenon flash tube.  
     
     
         44 . A composition comprising a carrier fluid and an in situant, wherein the carrier fluid comprises a polyol ester oil or polyol ester oil-alcohol solution and wherein the in situant is soluble in the carrier fluid and is selected from the group consisting of anti-oxidation, anti-wear, anti-friction, dispersion improvement, and viscosity index improvement compounds.  
     
     
         45 . A method of introducing N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine into an oil or lubricant of a vapor compression system for the purpose of detecting leaks in the vapor compression system components, comprising the steps of: 
 dissolving the N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine in a carrier fluid of pure polyol ester oil or a polyol ester oil and alcohol solution,    delivering the N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine and the carrier fluid into the vapor compression system fluid,    leaving the N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine dissolved in the combined carrier/system fluid solution, and    removing any immiscible or slightly miscible components of the carrier fluid from the system fluid, thereby leaving the miscible carrier fluid components and N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine dissolved in the system fluid.    
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein said dissolving further comprises dissolving one or more coumarin compounds or one or more additional in situants in the carrier fluid.