Device and method for filling a pressurized-gas tank
View Patent ↗The invention relates to a device and a method for filling pressurized-gas tanks, including a distributor, to feed a tank with pressurized gas, a refrigeration system including a circuit of refrigerant fluid and a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the heat-transfer fluid and the flow of gas in the distributor, the circuit of heat-transfer fluid including, in series in a loop, a reserve of heat-transfer fluid, a member for setting the heat-transfer fluid in circulation in the circuit, and at least one evaporator ensuring heat exchange between the heat-transfer fluid and a source of cold, a bypass portion and a set of bypass valves allowing all or part of the heat-transfer fluid to bypass the heat exchanger of the distributor thereby cooling the heat-transfer fluid in the reserve and to accumulate cold energy therein independently of the need for cold energy in the distributor.
1 . A device for filling pressurized-gas tanks, comprising:
a plurality of distributors configured to supply a tank with pressurized gas from a source of fluid,
the device comprising a refrigeration system for cooling the flow of gas in the plurality of distributors,
the refrigeration system comprising a circuit of refrigerant fluid and a heat exchanger configured to provide an exchange of heat between a heat-transfer fluid and the flow of gas in the plurality of distributors,
the circuit of heat-transfer fluid comprising, arranged in series in a loop,
a reserve of heat-transfer fluid,
a member for circulating the heat-transfer fluid in the circuit and
at least one evaporator configured to provide a thermal exchange between the heat-transfer fluid and a source of cold,
the plurality of distributors configured to supply separate tanks and each comprising a heat exchanger,
the circuit of heat-transfer fluid being common to the plurality of distributors and comprising a set of parallel branches respectively passing through the various heat exchangers and
a set of one or more distribution valves for controlling the flow of heat-transfer fluid to the one or more heat exchangers, and
the device comprising a heat exchanger bypass portion ( 11 ) and a set of one or more heat exchanger bypass valves ( 12 ) for all or some of the heat exchangers,
wherein the circuit comprises the heat exchanger bypass portion ( 11 ) and the set of one or more heat exchanger bypass valves ( 12 ) allowing all or some of the heat-transfer fluid to avoid passing through the heat exchanger of one or more distributor(s) of the plurality of distributors thereby configured to cool the heat-transfer fluid in the reserve and to accumulate cold energy therein independently of the need for cold energy in the distributor.
2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein, depending on the direction of circulation of the heat-transfer fluid in the circuit of heat-transfer fluid,
the at least one evaporator is located between the reserve and the heat exchanger of the distributor, downstream of the fluid-circulating member and upstream of the heat exchanger of the distributor.
3 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, depending on the direction of circulation of the heat-transfer fluid in the circuit of heat-transfer fluid,
the at least one evaporator is located between the heat exchanger of the distributor and the reserve, thus downstream of the heat exchanger of the distributor and upstream of the reserve.
4 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the circuit of heat-transfer fluid comprises:
two evaporators respectively arranged upstream and downstream of the reserve,
a first evaporator located between the reserve and the heat exchanger of the distributor, and
a second evaporator between the heat exchanger of the distributor and the reserve.
5 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the circuit of heat-transfer fluid further comprises:
an evaporator bypass ( 14 ) of the at least one evaporator ( 9 ) and a set of one or more evaporator bypass valves ( 15 ) in order to allow the heat exchanger of the distributor to be supplied directly from the reserve.
6 . A method for filling a pressurized-gas tank by means of a device as claimed in claim 1 , the method comprising:
wherein a flow of gas is circulated in the distributor and through the heat exchanger and a flow of heat-transfer fluid is also circulated in the circuit of heat-transfer fluid and passes through the heat exchanger of the distributor.
7 . The method as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising:
a step of circulating at least some of the heat-transfer fluid in the heat exchanger bypass portion ( 11 ) without passing through the heat exchanger of the distributor thereby cooling the heat-transfer fluid in the reserve and/or to reduce the cold capacity provided to the heat exchanger.