Modelling the performance of a transcritical CO2 heat pump for high temperature heating

A prototype transcritical CO₂ heat pump was constructed for heating water to temperatures greater than 65°C while providing refrigeration at less than 2°C. The heating capacity was 115 kW at an evaporation temperature of +0.3°C and a hot water temperature of 77.5°C, with a heating coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.4. Performance data is presented for each of the compressor, the gas cooler, and the recuperator as well as for the overall heat pump system. Equipment performance data was incorporated into a computer model to enable parametric investigations of heat pump performance. Model predictions showed that the hot water temperature could be increased from 65 to 120°C with a relatively small reduction in heating capacity and heating COP of 33 and 21%, respectively. Model predictions also highlight the potential for significant capacity improvements by eliminating the recuperator in favour of a larger gas cooler.     

R-744 gas cooler model development and validation

A first principles-based model was developed for a transcritical CO₂ gas cooler, using a finite element method. The model uses published correlations for refrigerant and airside heat transfer and pressure drop. Experimental results are presented at 48 operating conditions. The model predicted the gas cooler capacity within ±2% and pressure drop on the R-744 side well within the range of experimental error. The model's usefulness is demonstrated by analyzing alternative circuiting and multi-slab designs.     

Performance evaluation of a CO2 heat pump system for fuel cell vehicles considering the heat exchanger arrangements

A novel CO₂ heat pump system was provided for use in fuel cell vehicles, when considering the heat exchanger arrangements. This cycle which had an inverter-controlled, electricity-driven compressor was applied to the automotive heat pump system for both cooling and heating. The cooling and heating loops consisted of a semi-hermetic compressor, supercritical pressure microchannel heat exchangers (a gas cooler and a cabin heater), a microchannel evaporator, an internal heat exchanger, an expansion valve and an accumulator. The performance characteristics of the CO₂ heat pump system for fuel cell vehicles were analyzed by experiments. Results for steady and transient state performance were provided for various operating conditions. Furthermore, experiments to examine the arrangements of a radiator and an outdoor heat exchanger were carried out by changing their positions for both cooling and heating conditions. The arrangements of the radiator and the outdoor heat exchanger were tested to quantify cooling/heating effectiveness and mutual interference. The improvement of heating capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) of the CO₂ heat pump system was up to 54% and 22%, respectively, when using preheated air through the radiator instead of cold ambient air. However, the cooling capacity quite decreased by 40–60% and the COP fairly decreased by 43–65%, for the new radiator-front arrangement.     

The performance of a transcritical CO2 cycle with an internal heat exchanger for hot water heating

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of a transcritical CO₂ cycle with an internal heat exchanger for hot water heating. Performance test and simulation have been carried out for a transcritical CO₂ cycle by varying secondary heat transfer fluid temperatures at evaporator and gas-cooler inlets as well as the discharge pressure. Variations of mass flow rate of refrigerant, compressor power, heating capacity, and co-efficient of performance (COP) with respect to the length of an internal heat exchanger are presented at various operating conditions. Good quantitative agreement between model predictions and experimental results has been found; most parameters have absolute average deviations of less than 4%. As the length of the internal heat exchanger increases, COP is enhanced but heating capacity tends to decrease due to the trade-offs between the effectiveness and pressure drop in the internal heat exchanger.     

Heating performance enhancement of a CO2 heat pump system recovering stack exhaust thermal energy in fuel cell vehicles

A CO₂ heat pump system using recovered heat from the stack coolant was provided for use in fuel cell vehicles, where the high temperature heat source like in internal combustion engine vehicles is not available. The refrigerant loop consists of an electric drive compressor, a cabin heater, an outdoor evaporator, an internal heat exchanger, an expansion valve and an accumulator. The performance characteristics of the heat pump system were investigated and analyzed by experiments. The results of heating experiments were discussed for the purpose of the development and efficiency improvement of a CO₂ heat pump system, when recovering stack exhaust heat in fuel cell vehicles. A heater core using stack coolant was placed upstream of a cabin heater to preheat incoming air to the cabin heater. The performance of the heat pump system with heater core was compared with that of the conventional heating system with heater core and that of the heat pump system without heater core, and the heat pump system with heater core showed the best performance of the selected heating systems. Furthermore, the coolant to air heat pump system with heater core showed a significantly better performance than the air to air heat pump system with heater core.     

Two-stage heat pump system with vapor-injected scroll compressor using R410A as a refrigerant

Refrigerant vapor-injection technique has been well justified to improve the performance of systems in refrigeration applications. However, it has not received much attention for air conditioning applications, particularly for air conditioning in hot climates and for heat pumping in cold climates. In this study, the performance of an 11 kW R410A heat pump system with a two-stage vapor-injected scroll compressor was experimentally investigated. The vapor-injected scroll compressor was tested with the cycle options of both flash tank and internal heat exchanger configurations. A cooling capacity gain of around 14% with 4% COP improvement at the ambient temperature of 46.1 °C and about 30% heating capacity improvement with 20% COP gain at the ambient temperature of −17.8 °C were found for the vapor-injected R410A heat pump system as compared to the conventional system which has the same compressor displacement volume.     

Transcritical carbon dioxide microchannel heat pump water heaters: Part II - System simulation and optimization

This paper presents the development of a transcritical CO₂ heat pump water heating system model incorporating analytical heat exchanger models and an empirical compressor model. This study investigated the effects of a suction line heat exchanger (SLHX) and once-through versus recirculating water heating schemes. The once-through systems outperformed the recirculating systems by 10% for the system without an SLHX and 15% with an SLHX. However, a gas cooler twice as large is required. The SLHX was shown to benefit system performance at higher evaporator temperatures with improvements of 16.5% for the once-through and 4% for the recirculating systems. This study can be used to improve the design of microchannel based transcritical CO₂ heat pumps; evaluate the impact of varying water inlet temperature, desired outlet temperature and evaporation temperature on system performance; and quantify the effect of differential diurnal electricity rates on system operating costs for these different operation schemes.     

Experimental investigation on the performance of NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system with twin-screw compressor

This paper describes the experiment carried out to analyze the performance of a refrigeration system in cascade with ammonia and carbon dioxide as working fluids. The effect of operation parameters, such as the evaporating temperature of the low temperature cycle, the condensing temperature of low temperature cycle, temperature difference in cascade heat exchanger and superheat degree, on the system performance was investigated. Performance of the cascade system with NH₃/CO₂ was compared with that of two-stage NH₃ system and single-stage NH₃ system with or without economizer. It was found that the COP of the cascade system is the best among all the systems, when the evaporating temperature is below −40 °C. Also, the cascade system performance is greatly affected by evaporating temperature, condensing temperature of low temperature cycle, temperature difference in cascade heat exchanger and is only slightly sensitive to superheat degree. All the experimental results indicate that the NH₃/CO₂ cascade system is very competitive in low temperature applications.     

Flash gas bypass for improving the performance of transcritical R744 systems that use microchannel evaporators

The performance of transcritical R744 systems with direct expansion (DX) can be significantly improved by implementing a Flash Gas Bypass (FGB). The idea behind the concept is to bypass refrigerant vapor, created during the isenthalpic expansion process, around the evaporator. By feeding the evaporator with liquid refrigerant, pressure drop is reduced and refrigerant distribution is improved. With R744 as the working fluid, increased refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients are expected as well. In addition, the FGB concept proves to be beneficial in terms of system design, in particular for combined air-conditioning and heat pumping applications. An experimental comparison to a conventional DX-system reveals that FGB increases the cooling capacity and COP at the same time by up to 9 and 7%, respectively. Even larger improvements are possible in case a variable speed compressor is utilized to match the performance of the conventional DX-system. A simulation model helps to separate the individual improvement mechanisms. It was found that the reduction of refrigerant-side pressure drop is the dominant improvement mechanism of FGB.     

Control optimisation of CO2 cycles for medium temperature retail food refrigeration systems

This paper describes a detailed procedure into the investigation of optimised control strategies for CO₂ cycles in medium temperature retail food refrigeration systems. To achieve this objective, an integrated model was developed composing of a detailed condenser/gas cooler model, a simplified compressor model, an isenthalpic expansion process and constant evaporating temperature and superheating. The CO₂ system can operate subcritically or transcritically depending on the ambient temperature. For a transcritical operation, a prediction can be made for optimised refrigerant discharge pressures from thermodynamic cycle calculations. When the system operates in the subcritical cycle, a floating discharge pressure control strategy is employed and the effect of different transitional ambient temperatures separating subcritical and transcritical cycles on system performance is investigated. The control strategy assumes variable compressor speed and adjustable air flow for the gas cooler/condenser to be modulated to achieve the constant cooling load requirement at different ambient conditions.     

Cooling performance of a variable speed CO2 cycle with an electronic expansion valve and internal heat exchanger

The cooling performance of a CO₂ cycle must be improved to develop a competitive air-conditioning system with the conventional air-conditioners using HFCs. In this study, the cooling performance of a variable speed CO₂ cycle was measured and analyzed by varying the refrigerant charge amount, compressor frequency, EEV opening, and length of an internal heat exchanger (IHX). The basic CO₂ system without the IHX showed the maximum cooling COP of 2.1 at the compressor discharge pressure of 9.2 MPa and the optimum normalized charge of 0.282. The cooling COP decreased with the increase of compressor frequency at all normalized charges. The optimum EEV opening increased with compressor frequency. Simultaneous control of EEV opening and compressor frequency allowed optimum control of the compressor discharge pressure. The optimal compressor discharge pressure of the modified CO₂ cycle with the IHX was reduced by 0.5 MPa. The IHX increased the cooling capacity and COP of the CO₂ cycle by 6.2–11.9% and 7.1–9.1%, respectively, at the tested compressor frequencies from 40 to 60 Hz.     

Experimental evaluation of a CO2 transcritical refrigeration plant with dedicated mechanical subcooling

CO₂ transcritical refrigeration cycles require optimization to reach the performance of conventional solutions at high ambient temperatures. Theoretical studies demonstrated that the combination of a transcritical cycle with a mechanical subcooling cycle improves its performance; however, any experimentation with CO₂ has been found. This work presents the energy improvements of the use of a mechanical subcooling cycle in combination with a CO₂ transcritical refrigeration plant, experimentally. It tested the combination of a R1234yf single-stage refrigeration cycle with a semihermetic compressor for the mechanical subcooling cycle, with a single-stage CO₂ transcritical refrigeration plant with a semihermetic compressor. The combination is evaluated at two evaporating levels of the CO₂ cycle (0 and −10 °C) and three heat rejection temperatures (24, 30 and 40 °C). The optimum operating conditions and capacity and COP improvements are analysed with maximum increments on capacity of 55.7% and 30.3% on COP.     

Regenerated air cycle potentials in heat pump applications

Air (reversed Brayton) cycle has been utilized in the area of refrigeration and cryogenics for several decades, but its potentials in heat pump applications were longtime underestimated. In this paper, a thermodynamic model for the regenerated air heat pump cycle with practical compressor, expander and regenerated heat exchanger was developed. Based on the model, the relations between the system performance and the operating parameters were analyzed. The optimal heating COP (coefficient of performance) and the corresponding pressure ratio were derived. Then, air heat pump cycles (regenerated cycle and basic cycle) and vapor-compression heat pump cycles (CO₂ trans-critical cycle and R410A subcritical cycle) were numerically compared. The results indicated that the regenerated air heat pump cycle not only gets the heating capacity in line with the heating load under different operating conditions but also achieves higher COP over trans-critical CO₂ heat pump cycle in applications of large temperature difference.     

Oil mass fraction measurement of CO2/PAG mixture

In this study, a method of using a capacitance sensor was investigated as a means to measure the mass fraction of a type of PAG oil flowing with CO₂ in a transcritical cycle. The test facility equipped with the capacitance sensor was fabricated to establish and maintain a known oil mass fraction and to measure the capacitance of the CO₂/oil mixture. By using this facility, the relationship among three parameters (reduced CO₂ density (CO₂ density divided by the critical density of CO₂), oil mass fraction, and relative dielectric constant of the CO₂/PAG oil mixture) was developed. For the range of oil mass fraction 0–0.07, the error of new measurement method was within 0.005 for a wide range of pressures and temperatures tested. This study established the method of measuring the oil mass fraction continuously in the transcritical CO₂ cycle without affecting the cycle performance. Through this method, the effect of oil mass fraction on the characteristics of the oil circulation behavior and the performance of the transcritical CO₂ cycle can be investigated.     

Water-side reversible CO2 heat pump for residential application

This paper presents the energy assessment of a water/water R744 chiller/heat pump, working according to a transcritical cycle, used for winter heating, summer cooling and tap water production. The different functions (heating, cooling, hot water) are managed water side. The analysis of the R744 chiller/heat pump is based on an original simplified method, which is able to predict the energy performance of the unit based only on its performance data at the nominal rating conditions. The method was validated against experimental data. A comparison with a state-of-the-art R410A unit is presented. The monthly analysis shows that the CO₂ unit is very efficient in hot water production, but penalised in heating and cooling service. The adoption of an ejector in place of the expansion valve makes the CO₂ system reach the same energy consumption as the R410A unit, despite the presence of the water loop only in the R744 lay-out.     

CO2 heat pump systems

After the CFCs and the HCFCs were deemed unfit as working fluids in refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump applications, there has been a renaissance for carbon dioxide technology. Heat pumps is one of the application areas where theoretical and experimental investigations are now performed by an increasing number of research institutions and manufacturers. This paper gives an overview of some of the current activities in the CO₂ heat pump field. Discussed are the important characteristics of the transcritical CO₂ process applied to heat pumps, and also discussed are theoretical and experimental results from several heat pump applications. Provided that calculations and system designs are performed on the premises of the working fluid, and that test plants are constructed and operated to fully exploit the specific characteristics of both the fluid and the transcritical process, the results show that CO₂ is an attractive alternative to the synthetic fluids. Competitive products may be launched in the near future.     

Natural refrigerant-based subcritical and transcritical cycles for high temperature heating

Theoretical analyses of subcritical/transcritical heat pumps using four natural refrigerants, carbon dioxide, ammonia, propane and isobutane have been carried out for high temperature heating applications at different heating outlet temperatures and heat sources using computer models. The compressor discharge pressures have been optimized for transcritical and subcritical (with near critical operation of condenser) cycles. Results show that for subcritical heat pumps, use of subcooling is efficient for heating applications with a gliding temperature. Results also show that although propane yields better coefficient of performance (COP) in low temperature heating applications, ammonia performs the best in high temperature heating applications. Finally, design aspects of major components of all the four heat pumps for high temperature heating have been discussed, particularly with reference to suitability of available lubricants to the newly evolved operating conditions.     

Propane heat pump with low refrigerant charge: design and laboratory tests

Independently of the choice of refrigerant, environmental and or safety issues can be minimised by reducing the amount of refrigerant charge per heat pump or refrigeration system. In the investigation reported here, a laboratory test rig was built, simulating a water-to-water heat pump with a heating capacity of 5 kW. The system was designed to minimize the charge of refrigerant mainly by use of mini-channel aluminium heat exchangers. It was shown that the system could be run with 200 g of propane at typical Swedish operating conditions without reduction of the COP compared to a traditional design. Additional charge reduction is possible by selecting proper compressor lubrication oils or by using a compressor with less lubrication oil.     

Applying the transcritical CO2 process to a drying heat pump

The transcritical CO₂ process fits well to the air dehumidification process observed in a heat pump dryer. Gains (respectively avoided losses) in connection with heat transfer during the air heating phase and superior compressor performance make up for the higher throttling losses of the process, resulting in an equivalent or even better coefficient of performance than the comparative R134a process.     

Thermodynamic analysis and experimental investigation of a CO2 household heat pump dryer

Carbon dioxide is regarded as an optimal working fluid for heat pump dryers. The transcritical cycle well fits the closed-loop drying process which requires dehumidification and re-heating according to high temperature lift of the air stream.In this paper, the transcritical CO₂ cycle is compared with a sub-critical R134a cycle. The theoretical analysis is based on fixed temperature approach values at the heat exchangers. The study considers optimal high pressure for the transcritical cycle and optimal refrigerant subcooling for the sub-critical cycle. The theoretical analysis investigates the energy performance of the thermodynamic cycle as a function of the temperature and mass flow rate of the drying air. The optimisation of the operating conditions for CO₂ involves lower air temperature than in the case of R134a; this conditions can be satisfied by a suitable design of the appliance, whose thermal balance is achieved when the dissipated heat corresponds to the work spent by the compressor and the fan; the air temperature is a floating variable that adjusts its value to comply with the thermal balance. Experimental results, conducted on a prototype, give a positive assessment for CO₂ as working fluid for heat pump dryers: a negligible decrease in the electric power consumption, with a limited (+9%) increase in the cycle time, is shown in comparison with the reference R134a heat pump dryer.