Patent ID: 8646286

Claim:
A method of controlling a refrigeration system, wherein the refrigeration system comprises a refrigerant disposed within a fluid-tight circulation loop including a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator comprising one or more evaporator tubes, the refrigerant being capable of existing in a liquified state, a gaseous state and a two-phase state comprising both refrigerant in the liquified state and refrigerant in the gaseous state, the evaporator having an upstream section with an inlet opening and a downstream section with an outlet opening, the method comprising: (a) compressing refrigerant in a gaseous state within the compressor and cooling the refrigerant within the condenser to yield refrigerant in a liquified state; (b) flowing the refrigerant in a liquified state into the evaporator; (c) reducing the pressure of the refrigerant within the evaporator to yield refrigerant in a two-phase state; (d) reducing the pressure of the refrigerant in a two-phase state within the evaporator to yield a refrigerant in a gaseous state; (e) flowing refrigerant in a gaseous state from the evaporator to the compressor; (f) repeating steps (a)-(e); (g) measuring the ratio of the measured volume of vapor to the volume of liquid in refrigerant in a two-phase state with a refrigerant condition sensor disposed within the evaporator upstream of the outlet opening and downstream of the inlet opening; and (h) controlling the flow rate of refrigerant to the evaporator in step (b) based upon the measured ratio from step (g) to a flow rate required to wet at least most of the entire surface of the evaporator tubes.