A liquid refrigerant drainage mechanism is described for use in a flooded
evaporator to mitigate liquid carryover. The drainage mechanism can trap
liquid refrigerant droplets, create a liquid column to overcome a
pressure difference across the mechanism and drain liquid back to the
pool in the evaporator. The drainage mechanism is disposed in a suction
baffle, and has a mesh pad and a tapered pipe secured to the bottom of
the baffle. The pipe has a drainage aperture at one end to allow the
accumulated liquid refrigerant to return to the refrigerant pool below.
The mesh pad helps to separate liquid droplets that coalesce and fall
into the tapered pipe. By using this liquid drainage mechanism in
conjunction with a suction baffle, liquid carryover can be reduced and
chiller performance improved.