Refrigerant Line Muffler

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed that include providing a refrigerant line muffler in a heating, ventilation, and/or air-conditioning (HVAC) system that reduces noise and/or vibration over a range of frequencies that result from operating a variable speed compressor. The refrigerant line muffler divides the flow of refrigerant from the compressor discharge into a first flowpath and a second flowpath, the second flowpath configured to cause a phase shift of a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the second flowpath relative to a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath and cause destructive interference between a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath and the pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the second flowpath when first flowpath and second flowpath rejoin into single flowpath at outlet.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerant line muffler, comprising:
 a first flowpath that extends from an inlet to an outlet;   a second flowpath disposed between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the second flowpath is configured to cause a phase shift of a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the second flowpath relative to a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 1 , wherein the phase shift of the pressure wave results in destructive interference between a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath and the second flowpath when first flowpath and second flowpath rejoin into single flowpath at the outlet. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 1 , wherein the second flowpath comprises a plurality of coils. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a second refrigerant line muffler connected in fluid communication with the outlet of the refrigerant line muffler.   
     
     
         5 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 4 , wherein the second refrigerant line muffler is configured to attenuate a higher range of frequencies than the refrigerant line muffler. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 1 , wherein the second flowpath comprises a first coil and a second coil joined by a linear flowpath that is tangent to each of the first coil and the second coil. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 1 , wherein the second flowpath branches from the first flowpath orthogonally at the inlet. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 7 , wherein the second flowpath forms a plurality of coils that wind radially around the first flowpath. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 8 , wherein the second flowpath rejoins the first flowpath orthogonally at the outlet. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerant line muffler of  claim 8 , wherein the refrigerant line muffler provides an average attenuation of at least about 87.5% over a range of about 40 to about 93 Hz. 
     
     
         11 . A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 a compressor comprising a compressor discharge; and   a refrigerant line muffler disposed at the compressor discharge, the refrigerant line muffler comprising:
 a first flowpath that extends from an inlet to an outlet; 
 a second flowpath disposed between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the second flowpath is configured to cause a phase shift of a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the second flowpath relative to a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath. 
   
     
     
         12 . The HVAC system of  claim 11 , wherein the phase shift of the pressure wave results in destructive interference between a pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath and the second flowpath when first flowpath and second flowpath rejoin into single flowpath at outlet. 
     
     
         13 . The HVAC system of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a second refrigerant line muffler connected in fluid communication with the outlet of the refrigerant line muffler.   
     
     
         14 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the second refrigerant line muffler is configured to attenuate a higher range of frequencies than the refrigerant line muffler. 
     
     
         15 . The HVAC system of  claim 11 , wherein the second flowpath comprises a first coil and a second coil joined by a linear flowpath that is tangent to each of the first coil and the second coil. 
     
     
         16 . The HVAC system of  claim 11 , wherein the second flowpath branches from the first flowpath orthogonally at the inlet, forms a plurality of coils that wind radially around the first flowpath, and rejoins to the first flowpath orthogonally at the outlet. 
     
     
         17 . A method of operating a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 discharging refrigerant from a compressor into a single flowpath;   dividing the flow of refrigerant into a first flowpath and a second flowpath;   rejoining the first flowpath and the second flowpath into a single flowpath; and   causing destructive interference between pressure pulse waves of refrigerant exiting the first flowpath and the second flowpath.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein causing the destructive interference is accomplished by providing a length of the second flowpath that results in a 180 degree phase shift of the pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the second flowpath as compared to the pressure wave of refrigerant flowing through the first flowpath. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the second flowpath comprises a first coil and a second coil joined by a linear flowpath that is tangent to each of the first coil and the second coil. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the second flowpath branches from the first flowpath orthogonally at the inlet, forms a plurality of coils that wind radially around the first flowpath, and rejoins to the first flowpath orthogonally at the outlet.