Storage devices for heat exchangers with phase change

Heat exchangers with phase-change achieve minimal dissipation when there is only a small temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet on the side of the sensible heat transfer medium. However, this does not usually occur in applications where these heat exchangers are typically used. In order to overcome this issue, an innovative prototype heat pump was realised. The heat pump was equipped with switchable storage devices to adapt the high temperature difference of the application to small temperature differences in the condenser. This way, the dissipation in the condenser was minimised, which led to COP increases by reducing the required mean pressure in the condenser. The use of storage devices resulted in measured efficiency improvements of 10%–50% in the prototype. With the described set-up, it is possible to approach the maximal thermodynamically possible COP, which makes an adaptation of the theoretical assessment of heat pumps necessary.     

A propane water-to-water heat pump booster for sanitary hot water production: Seasonal performance analysis of a new solution optimizing COP

Electrical heat pumps for sanitary hot water production achieve a high performance with a good matching of water and refrigerant temperature profiles during the heat rejection stage, as it happens in CO₂ systems. This work considers the thermodynamic possibility to adapt the condenser pressure of a propane heat pump to maximize the COP, while producing sanitary hot water up to 60 °C from a heat sink equal to 15 or 25 °C. The performance of the heat pump is calculated through specific models which, in combination with a TRNSYS model of the whole system, allowed to assess its seasonal performance for a hotel in Strasbourg, also varying the control logic and the size of the storage tank. Results obtained led to the conclusion that, for achieving a high seasonal performance, the control logic of the tank has the largest influence.     

Thermodynamic performance assessment of carbon dioxide blends with low-global warming potential (GWP) working fluids for a heat pump water heater

Blends of CO₂ with ten low-global warming potential (GWP) working fluids are evaluated for use in a heat pump water heater. The effects that the discharge pressure, component ratio, hot-water outlet temperature and chilled water inlet temperature have on the coefficient of performance (COP) of heat pump are analyzed when the pinch point of the heat exchange is considered. It is found that temperature glide of zeotropic mixture has a good thermal match with the temperature change of water as two pinch points appear in the gas cooler/condenser or evaporator. The good thermal match in the heat exchangers promotes the system COP. Addition of low-GWP working fluids to pure CO₂ can reduce the high-side pressure. The results show that CO₂/R41 and CO₂/R32 are suitable candidates for heat pump water heaters because of their high COP and low high-side pressure in comparison with those of a pure CO₂ cycle.     

A study of working fluids for heat driven ejector refrigeration using lumped parameter models

This paper studies the influence of working fluids over the performance of heat driven ejector refrigeration systems performance by using a lumped parameter model. The model used has been selected after a comparison of different models with a set of experimental data available in the literature. The effect of generator, evaporator and condenser temperature over the entrainment ratio and the COP has been investigated for different working fluids in the typical operating conditions of low grade energy sources. The results show a growth in performance (the entrainment ratio and the COP) with a rise in the generator and evaporator temperature and a decrease in the condenser temperature. The working fluids have a great impact on the ejector performance and each refrigerant has its own range of operating conditions. R134a is found to be suitable for low generator temperature (70–100 °C), whereas the hydrocarbons R600 is suitable for medium generator temperatures (100–130 °C) and R601 for high generator temperatures (130–180 °C).     

Thermodynamic assessment of high-temperature heat pumps using Low-GWP HFO refrigerants for heat recovery

Reducing energy consumption by utilizing heat recovery systems has become increasingly important in industry. This paper presents an exploratory assessment of heat pump type heat recovery systems using environmentally friendly refrigerants. The coefficient of performance (COP) of 4 cycle configurations used to raise the temperature of heat media to 160 °C with a waste heat at 80 °C is calculated and compared for refrigerants R717, R365mfc, R1234ze(E), and R1234ze(Z). A multiple-stage “extraction” cycle drastically reduces the throttling loss and exergy loss in the condensers, resulting in the highest COP for R1234ze(Z). A cascade cycle using R1234ze(Z) and R365mfc has a relatively high COP and provides practical benefits. Even under adverse conditions, the primary energy efficiency is greater than 1.3 when the transmission end efficiency of the electric power generation is 0.37. The assessment demonstrated that high-temperature heat pumps are a promising approach for reducing primary energy consumption for industrial applications.     

Copolymer-bound phase change materials for household refrigerating appliances: experimental investigation of power consumption,temperature distribution and demand side management potential

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation of the influence of latent thermal heat storage elements on the power consumption as well as the temperature distribution of commercial household refrigerators. Two evaporator types and a standard wire-and-tube condenser are equipped with copolymer-bound phase change materials (PCM) and the performance is determined under standard conditions. The results show that refrigerating appliances equipped with PCM can be optimized through modifications of the control strategy to achieve different targets: (a) Power consumption can be significantly reduced by increasing the evaporator and decreasing the condenser temperature. (b) Temperature fluctuations in the refrigerator's fresh-food compartment during the cooling cycle can be reduced from 4 °C to 0.5 °C. (c) The cooling cycle duration can be tripled without compromising the fresh-food compartment conditions. The latter may help to meet the growing demand for balancing power consumption to stabilize the power grid, e.g. if the share of highly fluctuating, sustainable energy supply is large.     

Thermal modeling of gas engine driven air to water heat pump systems in heating mode using genetic algorithm and Artificial Neural Network methods

The gas-engine driven air-to-water heat pump, type air conditioning system, is composed of two major thermodynamic cycles (including the vapor compression refrigeration cycle and the internal combustion gas engine cycle) as well as a refrigerant-water plate heat exchanger. The thermal modeling of gas engine driven air-to-water heat pump system with engine heat recovery heat exchangers was performed here for the heating mode of operation (in which it was required to model engine heat recovery heat exchanger). The modeling was performed using typical thermodynamic characteristics of system components, Artificial Neural Network and the multi-objective genetic algorithm optimization method. The comparison of modeling results with experimental ones showed average differences of 5.08%, 5.93%, 5.21%, 2.88% and 6.2% which shows acceptable agreement for operating pressure, gas engine fuel consumption, outlet water temperature, engine rotational speed, and system primary energy ratio.     

New absorption chiller and control strategy for the solar assisted cooling system at the German federal environment agency

Typically the cooling capacity of absorption chillers is controlled by adjusting the driving hot water temperature according to the load. Meanwhile the cooling water temperature is controlled to a constant set value. In order to increase the solar cooling fraction and/or to decrease the operating costs of solar assisted cooling systems (SAC-systems) a new control strategy has been developed which controls hot and cooling water temperature simultaneously. Hereby the specific cost of cold – generated from solar or conventional heat – can be reduced. The basic concept of the strategy is explained and results are shown for the SAC-system at the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau, Germany. Here a recently developed absorption chiller is now used instead of a former adsorption chiller. With the new absorption chiller and the control strategy the seasonal energy efficiency ratio SEER is above 0.75, electric efficiency is 35% higher and water consumption is reduced by 70%.     

Improving performance of household refrigerators by incorporating phase change materials

Efforts to increase energy efficiency of refrigerators shall directly reduce energy consumption in residential buildings. Incorporating phase change materials (PCM) is a new approach to improve the performance of refrigerators. In this study, we have tested four different PCMs in two different refrigerator models. Compressor on/off time was optimized and better energy efficiency was achieved. Increasing condenser surface area by 20% enhanced the PCM effect. The use of only 0.95 kg of PCM has resulted in a 9.4% energy saving. Economic analyses show that using PCMs in household refrigerators is clearly a cost effective method that saves energy and reduces harmful emissions.     

On the development of high temperature ammonia–water hybrid absorption–compression heat pumps

Ammonia–water hybrid absorption–compression heat pumps (HACHP) are a promising technology for development of efficient high temperature industrial heat pumps. Using 28 bar components HACHPs up to 100 °C are commercially available. Components developed for 50 bar and 140 bar show that these pressure limits may be possible to exceed if needed for actual applications. Feasible heat supply temperatures using these component limits are investigated. A feasible solution is defined as one that satisfies constraints on the COP, low and high pressure, compressor discharge temperature, vapour water content and volumetric heat capacity. The ammonia mass fraction and the liquid circulation ratio both influence these constraining parameters. The paper investigates feasible combinations of these parameters through the use of a numerical model. 28 bar components allow temperatures up to 111 °C, 50 bar up to 129 °C, and 140 bar up to 147 °C. If the compressor discharge temperature limit is increased to 250 °C and the vapour water content constraint is removed, this becomes: 182 °C, 193 °C and 223 °C.     

Theoretical analyses of a new two-stage absorption-transcritical hybrid refrigeration system

In this context, a two-stage absorption-transcritical hybrid refrigeration system is proposed. R744 is chosen as a refrigerant for the transcritical heat pump subsystem and LiBr-H₂O working pair for the two-stage absorption refrigeration subsystem. Based on the mathematical and physical models, theoretical investigation is carried out on its performance. The main effects are discussed on COP_net (the ratio of cooling capacity powered by low-grade heat to the low-grade heat consumption for the hybrid system) and COP_mt (the ratio of cooling capacity powered by mechanical work to the mechanical work consumption for the hybrid system). Comparing with the normal two-stage absorption refrigeration system, theoretical results show that COP_net could be improved up to about 55% when the refrigeration temperature is 7 °C. In addition, COP_mt are more than 50% higher than that of the conventional transcritical refrigeration system. It is also found that both 45–55 °C low-grade heat and condensing heat could be used as actuating heat of the two-stage absorption refrigeration subsystem.     

Technical and economic working domains of industrial heat pumps: Part 2 – Ammonia-water hybrid absorption-compression heat pumps

The ammonia-water hybrid absorption-compression heat pump (HACHP) has been proposed as a relevant technology for industrial heat supply, especially for high sink temperatures and high temperature glides in the sink and source. This is due to the reduced vapour pressure and the non-isothermal phase change of the zeotropic mixture, ammonia-water. To evaluate to which extent these advantages can be translated into feasible heat pump solutions, the working domain of the HACHP is investigated based on technical and economic constraints. The HACHP working domain is compared to that of the best available vapour compression heat pump with natural working fluids. This shows that the HACHP increases the temperature lifts and heat supply temperatures that are feasible to produce with a heat pump. The HACHP is shown to be capable of delivering heat supply temperatures as high as 150 °C and temperature lifts up to 60 K, all with economical benefits for the investor.     

Simulation based identification of the ideal defrost start time for a heat pump system for electric vehicles

Resistance heating with PTC elements to cover the heat demand of electric vehicles reduces significantly the cruising range at low outside temperatures. Reversible heat pump systems are one of the most promising solutions for this problem. However, in heat pump mode the frost formation on the exterior heat exchanger reduces the performance and efficiency of the system. Therefore, an efficient defrost method is crucial to benefit from the heat pump also under frosting conditions. In the present paper, a transient Modelica simulation model of a reversible CO₂-heat pump system with hot gas defrost was set up in order to assess the impact of different defrost start times. The model is able to handle frost growth on the exterior heat exchanger as well as defrosting. The simulation results showed an optimal point of time to conduct defrost at chosen operating conditions in order to maximize the average COP including the frosting and defrost period.     

Experimental results with a variable geometry ejector using R600a as working fluid

Experimental results with the first laboratory scale variable geometry ejector (VGE) using isobutane (R600a) are presented. Two geometrical factors, the area ratio and the nozzle exit position, can be actively controlled. The control of the area ratio is achieved by a movable spindle installed in the primary nozzle. The influence of the spindle position (SP) and condenser pressure on ejector performance are studied. The results indicate very good ejector performance for a generator and evaporator temperature of 83 °C and 9 °C, respectively. COP varied between 0.4 and 0.8, depending on operating conditions. The existence of an optimal SP, depending on the back pressure, is identified. A comparison of the benefit of applying the variable geometry design over a fixed geometry configuration is assessed. For example, for a condenser pressure of 3 bar, an 80% increase in the COP was obtained when compared to the performance of a fixed geometry ejector.     

Experimental study on cooling performance of air conditioning system with dual independent evaporative condenser

Evaporative condenser is an energy efficient and environmentally friendly air conditioning equipment. This paper proposed an air conditioning system using dual independent evaporative condenser and investigated the cooling performance. Many factors, such as evaporator water inlet temperature, compressor frequency, air dry-bulb temperature, air velocity and water spray rate, which influenced the cooling performances of air conditioning system with evaporative condenser have been investigated. The results indicated that cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) increased significantly with the increasing of evaporator water inlet temperature (12–25 °C), the air velocity (2.05–3.97 m s⁻¹) and the water spray rate (0.03–0.05 kg m⁻¹ s). However, COP decreased with the increasing ambient air dry-bulb temperature (31.2–35.1 °C) and the compressor frequency (50–90 Hz). Furthermore, the heat transfer coefficient (K₀) was 232–409 W m⁻² K⁻¹ in different air velocity and water spray rate.     

Investigation the effects of different heat inputs supplied to the generator on the energy performance in diffusion absorption refrigeration systems

This study aims to investigate experimentally the effects of three different heat inputs supplied to generator on the energy performance of the diffusion absorption refrigeration system. To achieve this goal, a conventional diffusion absorption refrigeration system, in which electrical resistance as heat input is employed, is taken a model, which is experimentally scrutinized under different heat inputs, 62, 80 and 115 W, but at the same ambient temperatures and the same filling rate of three-component working fluid. In the analyses, the energy losses rejected to ambient from rectifier, condenser, absorber, solution heat exchanger as well as other components such as solution tank and pipes, the energy gain by evaporator and also energy performance is investigated. While the highest energy performance is calculated for DAR-62 W system as 0.36, the lowest energy performance is calculated for DAR-115 W system as 0.30.     

Defrosting performances of a multi-split air source heat pump with phase change thermal storage

Recently, multi-split air source heat pumps (ASHPs) have been used increasingly for space heating in cold winter. When it operates in frosting environment, periodic defrosting is necessary to maintain a high system performance. However, researches on its defrosting were few due to its high capital and complicated controls. To solve its fundamental problem of insufficient heat available during defrosting, a novel reverse-cycle defrosting (NRCD) method based on the phase change thermal storage has been developed. In this paper, comparative experiments using both standard reverse-cycle defrosting (SRCD) method and NRCD method were carried out on a multi-split ASHP unit with a phase change material heat exchanger (PCM-HE) acting as energy accumulator during heating operation and heat source during defrosting operation. Experimental results suggested that when using the NRCD method, the system performances, such as suction pressure and temperature, defrosting and heat-resumption durations, COP during defrosting operation can be effectively improved.     

A novel linear electromagnetic-drive oil-free refrigeration compressor using R134a

A new type of oil-free moving magnet linear compressor with clearance seals and flexure springs has been designed for incorporation into a vapour compression refrigeration system with compact heat exchangers for applications such as electronics cooling. A linear compressor prototype was built with a maximum stroke of 14 mm and a piston diameter of 19 mm. An experimental apparatus was built to measure the compressor efficiencies and coefficient of performance (COP) of a refrigeration system with the linear compressor, using R134a. The resonant frequency for each operating condition was predicted using the discharge pressure, suction pressure and stroke. Refrigeration measurements were conducted for different strokes under each pressure ratio with a fixed condenser outlet temperature of 50 °C and evaporator temperature ranging from 6 °C to 27 °C. The results show that the COPs are around 3.0 for tests with a pressure ratio of 2.5 (evaporator temperature of 20 °C).     

An experimental investigation of refrigerant mixture R32/R290 as drop-in replacement for HFC410A in household air conditioners

In the present paper, the refrigerant mixture R32/R290 (68%/32% by weight) is investigated as the drop-in replacement for R410A in household air conditioners. The GWP of it is only 22% of that of R410A. Theoretical and experimental investigations are conducted on the performance of the air conditioners working with both R32/R290 and R410A. Experimental results show that the refrigerant charge amount of R32/R290 is reduced by 30.0%–35.0%; the cooling and heating capacities are increased by 14.0%–23.7%. For further reducing charge amount and flammability, the micro-channel heat exchanger (condenser) is employed to replace the finned tube one. Compared with the R32/R290 system using finned tube heat exchanger, the R32/R290 charge amount and the power consumption are reduced by 34.1% and 0.4%, respectively; the cooling capacity and the COP are increased by 6.4% and 6.8%, respectively.     

蒸发式冷凝器和水冷式冷凝器的能耗比较及经济性分析

本文分析了蒸发式冷凝器和水冷式冷凝器在同一冷凝温度下对应于相同冷凝负荷的能耗量。并用实例比较了蒸发式冷凝器、立式水冷式冷凝器和卧式水冷式冷凝器各自对应于900kW冷凝负荷的能耗量和初投资。比较的结果说明了蒸发式冷凝器比水冷式节能,也显示了卧式水冷式冷凝器不管在节省初投资和节能方面,均优于立式水冷式。