1
Refrigerant device for increasing the thermodynamic
efficiency
The invention relates to a heat pump, and in particular to improving
5 the thermodynamic efficiency of a heat pump.
The prior art knows, from international application WO 2009/004124, a
prior device for producing heat, in a thermodynamic system, by circulation of
a pressurized fluid through a plurality of pipes in a widening of a line of a heat
pump in which the fluid is in gaseous form, between an exchanger and a
10 compressor.
Since this prior device produces heat, it remains difficult for the prior
art to adapt it to the creation of a heat pump that can be used as a boiler in
winter in a dwelling, or of a reversible heat pump, that can be used as a
boiler in winter and as an air conditioning unit in summer. Such a pump
15 creating a transfer of heat rather than a production of heat.
Documents WO 2009/053726, US 2009/11J900, JP 2001/317840 and WO 2013/164439 describe other devices from the prior art.
The objective of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of
the prior art.
20 One subject of the present invention is therefore a heat pump
comprising a closed circuit containing a refrigerant fluid and a lubricant, the
closed circuit comprising a fluid compressor and a return circuit for returning
fluid to the compressor, the compressor extending in the closed circuit
between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, the return circuit extending in the
25 closed circuit, complementarily to the compressor, between the fluid outlet
and the fluid inlet, the return circuit comprising a condenser, an expander and
an evaporator, said return circuit comprising a first line extending between
the fluid outlet and the condenser, a second line extending between the
condenser and the expander, a third line extending between the expander
30 and the evaporator, and a fourth line extending between the evaporator and
the fluid inlet, said closed circuit comprising a first widening of a line of the
return circuit containing pipes, the fluid comprising a mixture of an R32 first

o
Freon (difluoromethane), an R125 second Freon (pentafluoroethane) and an R134a third Freon (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane), and the lubricant comprising a synthetic polyoiester oil.
In some embodiments of the invention:
5 - the closed circuit comprises a second widening of a line of the return
circuit;
- said first widening is positioned on said first line;
- said second widening is positioned on the second line;
- the synthetic polyoiester oil is of ISO VG 32 class;
10 - the synthetic polyoiester oil of ISO VG 32 class has the trade name
Emkarate® RL32-3 MAF;
- the refrigerant fluid is an R407C Freon;
- the refrigerant fluid is an R407A Freon;
- the pipes are positioned vertically;
15 - the first widening is positioned vertically;
- the first widening is positioned vertically and with ascending fluid;
- the second widening is positioned vertically. The invention also relates to:
- a use of a heat pump as described above, for the purposes of
20 heating an enclosure, wherein the evaporator is brought into thermal contact
with the outside of the enclosure and the condenser is brought into thermal contact with the inside of the enclosure in order to improve the thermodynamic efficiency of the heating operation;
- a use of a heat pump as described above, for the purposes of
25 cooling an enclosure, wherein the evaporator is brought into thermal contact
with the inside of the enclosure and the condenser is brought into thermal contact with the outside of the enclosure in order to improve the thermodynamic efficiency of the cooling operation.
In one variant, said refrigerant fluid is ascending in the first widening.
30 These features and others of the present invention will become more
clearly apparent in the following detailed description made in reference to the appended drawing, given without implied limitation, and in which figure 1

3
schematically represents a heat pump according to one advantageous embodiment of the present invention.
For the purposes of the present invention, the following designations
are used:
5 "Heat pump": a thermodynamic device for transferring heat from a
source cooled by the heat pump by withdrawing heat from this source (or heat sink), in contact with an evaporator of the pump, to a source heated by the pump by evacuation of heat to this source (or heat source) in contact with a condenser of the pump. A pump also comprises a compressor powered by
10 an externa! energy source that makes possible the transfer of heat from the
heat sink to the heat source, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics and comprises an expander for reducing the pressure imposed on the fluid, by the compressor. The condenser and the evaporator, which are the heat exchangers of the pump, are connected by two refrigerant
15 fluid transport branches or lines, forming a closed circuit comprising, in series
in the circuit, in one of the branches the compressor and, in series in the circuit, in the other branch, the expander. The closed fluidic circuit contains, in a leaktight manner, refrigerant fluid, made to flow in the circuit by the compressor and circulating in particular from the evaporator to the
20 condenser, through the compressor, and circulating from the condenser to
the evaporator, through the expander. The pump is adapted for withdrawing heat from the heat sink, by evaporation of this fluid in the evaporator, for transporting heat to the heat source from the evaporator to the condenser through the compressor, and giving up this heat to the heat source, by
25 condensation of the fluid in the condenser.
"Reversible heat pump": a heat pump operating between a heat sink and a heat source in which a known additional system of fluidic valves makes it possible to move from a mode of heating the heat source, in contact with a first exchanger, by a heat sink, in contact with a second exchanger, to a
30 mode of cooling the heat source, by reversing the direction of circulation of
the fluid in the circuit, or by reversing the order of the exchangers in the

4
circuit for the same direction of circulation of the fluid. A reversible heat pump requires a transfer of heat and not a creation.
"COP": a coefficient of performance Q/W characterizing the thermodynamic efficiency of a pump by an energy ratio between the energy
5 Q, in thermal form transferred by the pump from the heat sink to the heat
source and the energy W, in the form of work, usually electrical work, necessary for the operation of the pump. A high number characterizes an efficient pump. This number may be greater than one without contradicting the second law of thermodynamics.
10 "Freon": usual commercial name of chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs
classified by various bodies such as in particular the "ASHRAE" (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.) according to a numbered list in which a Freon is identified by a number "abc", where a = (number of C) -1, b = (number of H) + 1 and c = number of F. If a
15 is equal to 0, it is omitted in the formula. Freons are referenced in the
application either by their chemical formula or by the "Freon" name followed by a number abc of the classification, or by F followed by a number abc, or by R followed by abc.
In the application, the following will thus particularly be considered:
20 - Freon 32 or R32 or F32 which is difluoromethane;
- Freon 125 or R125 or F125 which is pentafluoroethane;
- Freon 134a or F134a or R134a which is 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane;
- Freon R407C which is a mixture typically of 23% of R32, 25% of R125 and 52% of R134a (weight percentages), R407A (20%, 40%, 40%) and
25 R407F (30%, 30%, 40%). All of the mixtures of R32, R125 and R134 being
denoted by "R407 Freon family", a subfamily of the family consisting of aii the Freons among the set of refrigerant fluids or coolants. R407A is in particular less rich in R134a than R407C.
"Synthetic oils" or "POE oils": synthetic polyolester oils used for the
30 purposes of lubrication of the compressor of a heat pump, in particular for
heating or cooling dwellings, using R32, R125 and R134a in the composition of the refrigerant fluid used by this pump. These oils are perfectly miscible, at

5
the evaporator and condensation temperatures of the pump, with R32, R125
and R134a, in order to allow a return of oil mixed with these Freons in the
liquid phase, from the condenser to the evaporator of the pump. The Freons
R32, R125 and R134a in the gas phase are also soluble in these oils, so as
5 to ensure a return in the gas phase of the Freon from the evaporator to the
compressor of the pump and to promote as best possible the transport of the oil, especially in the form of a Freon-loaded oil mist between the compressor and the heat exchangers of the pump, that is to say the assembly consisting of the two elements that are the evaporator and the condenser of the pump.
10 "Positioned vertically": in a heat pump in normal operation denotes, for
a widening of a line or pipes of a line, an orientation that defines a flow direction parallel or antiparallel to the field of gravity. This notion also denotes a line or pipes in which the two-phase flow regimes in vertical pipes apply preferentially to the horizontal two-phase flow regimes, due to its orientation.
15 More generally, this notion also denotes a line or pipes having a slope for a
flow and which is not therefore horizontal. The notion is not therefore limited, within the meaning of the invention, to a strict parallelism to the field of gravity of pipes or of a widening of a line.
The closed circuit comprises the fluid compressor 1 and a return circuit
20 for returning fluid to the compressor. The compressor extends in the closed
circuit between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, the return circuit extending in the closed circuit, complementarily to the compressor, between the fluid outlet and the fluid inlet. The return circuit comprises the condenser 2, the expander 3 and the evaporator 4. Said return circuit thus comprises a first
25 line extending between the fluid outlet and the condenser, a second line
extending between the condenser and the expander, a third line extending between the expander and the evaporator, and a fourth line extending between the evaporator and the fiuid iniet.
According to the invention, said closed circuit comprises a first
30 widening 5 of a line of the return circuit containing pipes 50; the fluid
comprising a mixture of an R32 first Freon (difluoromethane), an R125

6
second Freon (pentafluoroethane) and an R134a third Freon (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane), and the lubricant comprises a synthetic polyolester oil.
The invention is described below by way of example with reference to
a figure 1, which represents a heat pump provided with two line widenings; a
5 first line widening 5, with pipes 50, positioned between a fluid outlet of the
compressor 1 of the pump and a condenser 2 of the pump and a second widening 6 without pipes positioned between the condenser 2 and the expander 3 of the pump. The pump also has an evaporator 4. However, a single widening can also be envisaged.
30 Use may for example be made of a heat pump for heating of
AIRWELL® brand and having a nominal power of 12 kW.
The invention may also be carried out with an AIRMEC® reference heat pump, of ANF 50 model with a power of 15 kWor ANF 100 model with a power equal to 35 kW. The invention is not therefore limited to one
15 manufacturer or to one particular model.
The pump may use a set of copper lines having an internal diameter of fourteen millimeters (14 mm) forming a closed circuit that is leaktight with respect to gases and to liquids, the closed circuit being immersed in the atmosphere.
20 Inserted into this circuit is a compressor 1 of reference ZB38KCE
having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. By travelling through the closed circuit outside of the compressor, from the fluid outlet or discharge of the compressor to the fluid inlet of the compressor or intake, encountered in series in the closed circuit are a first widening 5 with pipes 50, a condenser 2,
25 a second widening 6 without pipes, an expander 3 and an evaporator 4.
The first widening with pipes consists, over a first 14 mm line, in a local increase in the internal diameter of the line or first widening. This first widening 5 contains internal pipes 50, for example seven tubes having an internal diameter of 5 mm for an external diameter of 8.5 mm, surrounded by
30 the first widening of the line. The internal diameter of the widening is suitable
for being able to encircle the tubes and the thickness of the widening is

7
suitable for withstanding the maximum pressure specified for the fluid in this part of the pump.
The internal diameter of the widening is, for 7 tubes arranged
compactly, equal to 3 times the externa! diameter of a tube, i.e. around
5 25.5 mm. For a larger number of tubes, this internal diameter of the widening
may be deduced as being the external diameter of the tubes, held in a
compact manner.
A sum of the internal cross sections of the 5 mm tubes will be chosen that is equal to the internal cross section of the 14 mm line for a 15 kW pump
10 and that is equal to double the internal cross section for a 35 kW pump.
Should a line of larger internal cross section be provided with a widening, the same ratio between the diameter of the pipes and the diameter of the line as that of this first embodiment will be chosen, i.e. here a ratio equal to 14 mm/5 mm or 2.8.
15 The length of the pipes of the first widening will be taken as equal to
around 22 cm for a pump of AERMEC® origin and 13 cm for a pump of AIRWELL® origin.
The condenser, a known element, is encountered in the circuit after the first widening.
20 The second widening is designed to operate in the liquid phase for the
refrigerant fluid and the oil, it is for example identical to the first widening but it may or may not comprise pipes, these not having been recognized as essential for obtaining the effect of the invention with the second widening present in the circuit in addition to the first widening. The second widening is
25 followed, downstream, by the expander. The expander is a known element,
operating in mainly liquid phase, at its inlet, and designed to produce a two-phase mixture of gas and liquid in the normal operation of the heat pump of the invention.
The expander is followed, downstream, by the evaporator, a known
30 element.

8
In a use in heating mode, the pump is brought into contact, at the evaporator, with the atmosphere surrounding an enclosure to be heated and at the condenser with a circuit for heating the enclosure.
In a use in cooling mode, the pump is brought into contact at the
5 evaporator with an enclosure to be cooled and at the condenser with the
atmosphere surrounding the enclosure.
Known fluidic valves may make it possible to pass, via an action of the
user, from a heating mode to a cooling mode, should the pump according to
the invention be reversible.
10 The Freon chosen for all the pumps is an R407C or R407A Freon and
the oil is an EMKARATE® RL32-3 MAF oil, miscible with the chosen Freon at all the operating temperatures.
Generally, for the implementation of the invention, use will be made of
a refrigerant fluid or coolant and an oil that are miscible with one another.
15 The refrigerant fluid family formed by the Freons of R407 designation
and the oils miscible with the Freons of this family in particular constitute a set of fluids that can be used with the invention.
Independently of the explanation of the physical phenomenon behind
the invention applied to a commercial pump modified by the first widening
20 with pipes and the second widening and operating with a mixture of
EMKARATE® RL32-3 MAF oil and a mixture of R32, R125 and R134a,
certain indications below which have been observed by the applicant during
numerous experiments may be used by a person skilled in the art to
reproduce, adapt or extend the invention to other mixtures of refrigerant fluids
25 and oil and to design, by virtue of the teaching thereof, a heat pump having
improved thermodynamic efficiency.
The general principle of the invention is estimated at the date of the
patent to be the ability to transport the oil of a heat pump, in the form of an
emulsion of drops of oil, suitable for increasing the heat exchanges in the
30 condenser and in the evaporator of the pump. The means of the invention
which are the first and second widening therefore tend to regenerate or

9
maintain this emulsion in its form suitable for improving the operation of the heat exchangers (condenser and evaporator) of the pump.
The presence of drops, taken as being synonymous with bubbles
(containing gas) in a gas transport medium, or of drops taken as being
5 synonymous with "antibubbles" (bubbles of oil containing gas) in a liquid
transport medium, is considered as providing nucleation sites for the condensation of the transport medium or the evaporation of this medium, favoring the heat exchanges, during its phase changes in the exchangers of the pump.
10 This emulsion is estimated, in the gas phase, to be a mist of droplets
forming a "monodisperse" emulsion of oil in a gas phase (i.e. having droplets for which the values of the diameters are strongly centered on a common value), having a lifetime sufficient to reach the condenser and to improve the heat exchanges therein. The invention therefore uses a first means for
15 forming a mist of oil between the compressor and the condenser. One
particular means is thus a means for imposing a negative pressure on oil drops that have absorbed a transporting refrigerant gas due to the solubility of the gas in the oil and to give rise to the appearance of gas bubbles in the drops that are capable of bursting into finer droplets.
20 This emulsion is estimated, in the liquid phase, to be a mixture of
droplets of oil forming a "monodisperse" emulsion of oil in a liquid phase, having a lifetime sufficient to reach the expander, to pass through it, to reach the evaporator and to improve the heat exchanges therein, in order to finally return to the compressor regularly over time and in the form of a mist of oil
25 having a uniform diameter of oil drops and to improve the isentropic
efficiency thereof by an improved lubrication, in comparison with a commercial pump.
The invention thus uses, in order to improve the COP of a heat pump, a first means for forming a mist of oil between the compressor and the
30 condenser and a second means for forming a dispersion of drops of oil in the
liquid phase between the condenser and the compressor, it being possible

10
for these drops to burst into droplets or into bubbles on passing through the expander and to reach the evaporator.
The elements of the invention that are the first widening with pipes and
the second widening may thus be adapted by a person skilled in the art in
5 order to achieve this objective.
Only the widening with pipes being previously known in the gas phase with any Freon and as secondary heat source.
The improvement in the thermodynamic efficiency or in the COP of the
assembly of a heat pump using one or two widenings, one particular
10 refrigerant fluid and an oil miscibie with the refrigerant fluid, was not therefore
expected, in the prior art. The effect obtained makes it possible to envisage
heating or cooling uses with a pump provided with at least one widening.
This improvement is obtained without an increase in temperature at
the boundaries of the first widening alone which does not therefore operate
15 as a secondary heat source.
It was thus possible with the invention to observe, with R407C and with a single widening with pipes, an increase in the COP of 27% at +7°C, on anA!RWELL®pump.
With R407A, an increase in COP of 21% was obtained at the same
20 temperature.
Comparable results, as percentages of increase in COP, were obtained for an AERMEC® ANF 50 or ANF 100 pump.
However, with a single widening, this result of improvement in the
COP is degraded below the temperature of +7DC when a single widening is
25 used. It becomes especially unusable in practice at 0°C, the percentage of
increase in COP becoming less than 10%.
In order to obtain an increase in COP over an extended range from -7°C to +7°C, the second widening is therefore added to the first widening.
In this case, for an AIRWELL® brand machine, the features of increase
30 in thermal power observed were the following with the two widenings, also
referred to as "kit" of the invention:
A) Nominal 12 kW AIRWELL® machine - R407C and POE oil

11
A.1) Temperature 7°C: manufacturer power 12.72 kW; power with kit 16.1; increase in COP 27%
A.2) Temperature 0°C: manufacturer power 10.65 kW; power with kit
14.24; increase in COP 34%
5 A.3) Temperature -7°C: manufacturer power 8.5 kW; power with kit
11.67; increase in COP 37%
B) Nominal 12 kW AIRWELL® machine - R407A and POE oil
B.1) Temperature 7°C: manufacturer power 12.67 kW; power with kit
15.28; increase in COP 21%
10 B.2) Temperature 0°C: manufacturer power 11.09 kW; power with kit
13.65; increase in COP 23%
B.3) Temperature -7°C: manufacturer power 9.03 kW; power with kit 10.32; increase in COP 14%
Comparable results, as percentages of increase in COP, were
15 obtained for an AERMEC® ANF 50 pump or ANF 100 pump.
It is therefore observed that the two widenings make it possible to
ensure an increase in COP over an entire temperature range and especially
the coldest temperatures. It is also observed that in one preferred mode of
the invention, use will be made of R407C and an oil miscibie therewith such
20 as a polyolester or POE oil.
These results therefore demonstrate the usefulness of the invention in terms of energy saving in the use of a heat pump.
The elements of this first mode are set out below in a more detailed
manner.
25 The first widening is composed over its length, and travelling along the
closed circuit from the fluid outlet of the compressor to the first line joining the
fluid outlet of the compressor to the condenser, of a first zone of increase in
interna! diameter of the line, of a second zone of constant internal diameter of
the line and of a third zone of decrease in internal diameter of the line.
30 In a known manner, the change in diameter of the first zone may be
carried out by a first cone, the apex angle of which makes it possible, for the

12
normal fluidic operating conditions of the pump, to cause a separation of the flow lines of the fluid travelling through the pump.
In a known manner, the change in diameter of the third zone may be
carried out by a second cone, the apex angle of which makes it possible, for
5 the normal fluidic operating conditions of the pump, not to cause a separation
of the flow lines of the fluid travelling through the pump.
In any case, the second zone of the first widening will advantageously
be positioned vertically, when the refrigerant fluid will be a mixture of Freons
and oil. This zone will thus have a chimney arrangement or a chimney or
10 vertical duct function for the first widening, which operates, normally, with a
gaseous refrigerant fluid and drops of oil.
This arrangement will enable a transfer of heat to the condenser, and
not a production of heat that does not reach the condenser, by increasing the
lifetime of the emulsion of Freon and drops of oil after the fluid has passed
15 through the first widening and by enabling them to reach the condenser
despite the coalescence.
Such a vertical structure enables, for a Freon or a mixture of Freons
that is/are soluble in an oil present as drops transported with the gas,
numerous simultaneous effects that result in creating or in regenerating an
20 emulsion of gas and oil that is stable over time, such as that produced
conventionally by the compressor, at its discharge outlet, and in which the drops are usually "poiydisperse" (i.e. considerably variable about a central value) in terms of diameter.
Mention may be made, among these effects, of:
25 - a Joule-Thomson expansion in the first cone makes it possible, for
the portion of the gases soluble in the drops of oil, to form bubbles that burst into droplets that are smaller than the drops and that are well sized;
- a separation of the flow lines of the fluid giving rise to a dead volume
in the first cone at which turbulences are created that split the drops which
30 are transported thereto;
- a selection of the drops by the vertical tubes prohibiting or
discouraging the circulation of the oil in film form to the condenser, by giving

13
rise to waves along the tubes and by producing foam of droplets along these tubes from a film of oil on the walls of the tubes;
- a selection of the drops by the vertical tubes that acts as a collimator
of the direction of the drops and of the mass thereof, by favoring the transport
5 of the droplets rather than the drops, the mass of the drops favoring the
trapping thereof along the tubes and the transformation thereof into foam of droplets in a manner known in two-phase fluid mechanics in vertical tubes;
- a tranquillization of the flow by the tubes and the second cone,
enabling a transport of the droplets created by the vertical first widening
10 without coalescence and with low pressure drops up to the condenser which
follows the first widening in the circuit.
For a mixture of refrigerant gas and oil, a person skilled in the art will be able to modify the length of the tubes and the diameter thereof in order to obtain an oil splitting effect favorable to the increase in the thermodynamic
15 efficiency of the pump, efficiency or COP measured by means known from
the prior art.
In particular, a change in the circulating composition from the mixture initially introduced into the fluidic circuit could be an indication of operation of the invention. For an initial mixture of R407C introduced, it will be possible to
20 observe variations in the compositions of the mixture measured at the outlet
of the compressor, over time as a function of the operating conditions: external temperature, temperature of the hydraulic circuit, adjustment of the expander. Since the differential solubility of the components of R407C in the oil is variable, a trapping of the oil in the tubes of the first widening could also
25 explain this variation in circulating composition.
However, such a variation which also changes the density of the circulating mixture cannot by itself explain an increase in the COP, an increase in the electrical power necessary for moving this heavier mixture having to be provided at the same time. The influence of the mutual solubility
30 of the oil and of the Freons is therefore considered an indicator useful for the
development of the vertical first widening for the multiple practical cases of a

14
pump according to the invention operating with R407C or its variants, or with a mixture of R32, R125 and R134a in non-standardized proportions.
It is not excluded for a particular Freon other than a mixture of R32,
R125 and R134a to also be used according to the invention as long as an
5 increase in the thermal power of the condenser is observed on introducing a
first widening into the fluidic circuit of a pump operating with this particular
Freon.
More generally, as indicated above, a particular mixture of any (Freon or non-Freon) refrigerant fluid and an oil soluble with any of the gaseous
10 refrigerant fluids and miscibie with any of the liquid refrigerant fluids, at the
operating temperatures of the closed circuit of a heat pump, a particular mixture which would make it possible to observe an increase in the thermal power of the condenser on introducing a first widening with vertical pipes between the compressor and the condenser of the heat pump operating with
15 this particular mixture, would be in accordance with the teaching of the
invention.
A person skilled in the art, in the presence of such an increase, could adjust the length of the tubes or adjust the distance separating the first widening from the condenser, in the fluidic circuit, in order to optimize the
20 increase in power observed in the condenser for example by measuring the
temperature of a hot water output from a heating circuit in thermal contact with the condenser. A person skilled in the art could also vary the verticality of the tubes by allowing an angle that gives the tubes a slope that enables the flow of the oil downward, while maintaining an effect on the thermal
25 power of the condenser relative to a strict verticality.
For the pairs of refrigerant fluid and oii in accordance with the
invention and using a mixture of R32, R125 and R134a, the percentages
improvement in COP, for R407C, R407A and R407F, are as follows:
407C 407A 407F
Ambient air Increase in COP Increase in COP Increase in COP
7°C 27% 21% -3%
0°C 34% 23% 12%
-7°C 37% 14% 3%

15
For a general refrigerant fluid, mixture of oil in the form of drops of oil
and of gas, such as Freons in the gas phase, passing through the first
widening, this structure is designed to form a means of regularly splitting the
5 drops of oil with the result of forming an emulsion of drops and of gas that is
sufficiently stable, in terms of lifetime of the drops, to enable them to reach the condenser and form nucleation sites improving the heat exchanges in the condenser and the thermodynamic efficiency of the pump. For a foaming mixture of oil and of gas, the same general inventive idea of a means for
10 forming an emulsion will be applied to the design of the first widening with
pipes but instead of an emulsion of drops in one or more gases, the first widening will be designed in order to form an emulsion of bubbles in the gas or gases.
A mixed mode for which an emulsion of drops but also of bubbles of oil
15 is formed by the first widening between the oil and the Freons present in the
first line is not excluded as a function of the relative surface tension properties of the oil and of the Freons at the operating temperature and pressure of the fluid in the first line.
The invention was tested with mixtures of the Freons R32, R125 and
20 R134a induced by an introduction of R407C and one particular EMKARATE®
RL32-3 MAF oil into the circuit of a pump modified by the vertically positioned first widening and having the second widening.
Any refrigerant fluid and an oil soluble and miscible with this refrigerant fluid, producing an increase in the thermal power of the condenser in the
25 same circuit, would be in accordance with the teaching of the invention, this
increase being a criterion of the invention. The resuit of the invention is however obtained when this increase in power is obtained at the same time as an increase in COP. A person skilled in the art will therefore be able, among the pairs of refrigerant fluid and oil that give rise to an increase in the
30 thermal power, to determine, by introducing the second widening, the pairs
that give rise to an increase in the COP.

16
In particular, for the Freons, a synthetic polyolester or "POE" oil, a
family comprising oils known for being miscible with the Freons in the liquid
phase and in which the Freons in the gas phase are soluble, would be in
accordance with the teaching of the invention with the Freons.
5 In a second embodiment of the invention, the operation of a
commercial AERMEC® ANF 50 heat pump modified according to the invention is explained in detail in terms of pressure and temperature in the pump.
A compressor (referenced ZB38KCE) is used. This compressor is of
10 "Scroll" technology and it discharges a mixture of an EMKARATE® RL32-3
MAF polyolester oil, gaseous R32, gaseous R125 and gaseous R134a at a temperature of T = 87°C and a pressure of P = 18 bar.
The oil is considered to be a liquid form throughout the closed circuit at the temperatures and pressures mentioned.
15 The first widening is vertical and has ascending fluid, it experiences P
= 18 bar and T = 84°C at the inlet and P = 18 bar and T = 84°C at the outlet The mixture of R32, R125 and R134a is gaseous at the outlet. There is therefore, in normal operation in this embodiment, no increase in temperature at the outlet of the first widening relative to its inlet, and this widening does
20 not therefore operate as a heat source.
The condenser experiences P = 18 bar and T = 84°C at the inlet and at the outlet P = 18 bar and T = 45°C. The mixture of R32, R125 and R134a is liquid at the outlet.
The second widening is descending vertical and experiences P = 18
25 bar and T = 45°C at the inlet and P = 18 bar and T = 45°C at the outlet. The
mixture of R32, R125 and R134a is liquid at the outlet, with iiquid-gas two-phase periods where bubbles appear. There is therefore, in normal operation in this embodiment, no Increase in temperature at the outlet of the second widening relative to its inlet, and this widening does not therefore operate as
30 a heat source.

17
The expander experiences P = 7 bar, T = 13°C at the outlet. The mixture of R32, R125 and R134a is a liquid-gas two-phase mixture at the outlet.
The evaporator experiences P = 7 bar and T = 13°C at the inlet. The
5 mixture of R32, R125 and R134a is gaseous at the outlet.
The compressor sucks up a mixture of EMKARATE® RL32-3 MAF oil, R32, R125 and R134 at P = 4 bar and T = 5°C.
In this configuration, the increases in COP are comparable to those of
an AIRWELL® brand machine mentioned above for the first embodiment,
10 , over the temperature range extending from -7°C to +7°C.
The invention is industrially applicable in the field of heat pumps and air-conditioning units.
Various modifications are accessible to a person skilled in the art
without departing from the scope of the present invention as described in the
15 appended claims.

18
Claims
1.- A heat pump comprising a closed circuit containing a refrigerant fluid and a lubricant, the closed circuit comprising a fluid
5 compressor (1) and a return circuit for returning fluid to the compressor,
the compressor extending in the closed circuit between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, the return circuit extending in the closed circuit, compiementarily to the compressor, between the fluid outlet and the fluid inlet, the return circuit comprising a condenser (2), an expander (3)
10 and an evaporator (4), said return circuit comprising a first line
extending between the fluid outlet and the condenser, a second line extending between the condenser and the expander, a third line extending between the expander and the evaporator, and a fourth line extending between the evaporator and the fluid inlet, characterized in
is that said closed circuit comprises a first widening (5) of a line of the
return circuit containing pipes (50), in that the fluid comprises a mixture of an R32 first Freon (difluoromethane), an R125 second Freon (pentafluoroethane) and an R134a third Freon (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane), and in that the lubricant comprises a synthetic
20 polyolester oil.
2.- The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closed circuit comprises a second widening (6) of a line of the return circuit.
25 3.- The pump as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said first
widening (5) is positioned on said first line.
4.- The pump as claimed in claims 2 and 3, wherein said second widening (6) is positioned on said second line.
30
5.- The pump as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the synthetic polyolester oil is of ISO VG 32 class.

19
6.- The pump as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the refrigerant fluid is an R407C Freon.
5 7.- The pump as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the
refrigerant fluid is an R407A Freon.
8.- The pump as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pipes (50) are positioned vertically.
10
9.- The pump as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first widening (5) is positioned vertically.
10.- The pump as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first widening
is (5) is positioned vertically and with ascending fluid.
11.- The pump as claimed in claim 2 and any one of claims 3 to
10, wherein said second widening is positioned vertically,
20 12.- The use of a heat pump as claimed in any one of the
preceding claims, for the purposes of heating an enclosure, wherein the evaporator is brought into thermal contact with the outside of the enclosure and the condenser is brought into thermal contact with the inside of the enclosure in order to improve the thermodynamic efficiency
25 of the heating operation.
13.- The use of a heat pump as claimed in any one of claims 1 to
11, for the purposes of cooling an enclosure, wherein the evaporator is
brought into thermal contact with the inside of the enclosure and the
30 condenser is brought into thermal contact with the outside of the
enclosure in order to improve the thermodynamic efficiency of the cooling operation.

20
14.-The use as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein said refrigerant fluid is ascending in said first widening.