Mechanical sub-cooling vapor compression systems: Current status and future directions

Using mechanical sub-cooling systems to increase COP of vapor compression cycles is a known method in literature to save energy and increase efficiency. Recently, much progress has been made with respect to investigation into its different aspects that can help to put it into practice. Numerical and experimental works are considered for the purpose of highlighting this progress. These can be categorized as: a) simulation of performance characteristics resulting from different refrigerant combinations in dedicated mechanical sub-cooling systems, b) variation in performance characteristics for a vapor compression cycle using integrated mechanical sub-cooling because of fouling, c) experimental study about consequences of employing a dedicated mechanical subcooling cycle with a simple vapor compression system, and d) experimental investigation about consequences of employing a subcooler in a two-stage refrigeration cycle. Some important results are discussed. Finally, some suggestions are made to provide direction into future research in this area to help put it into practice.     

Analysis of a refrigeration cycle driven by refrigerant steam turbine

The objectives of this paper are to develop a novel cycle with refrigerant Rankine and refrigeration cycles, and to discuss the thermodynamic analysis of the cycle and the adequacy of the development. The combined cycle uses only one working fluid, has a simple mechanical system and does not have abrading parts. Three different refrigerants are evaluated to find the best candidate for the novel combined cycle—R123, R134a and R245ca. It is found that the R123 cycle gives the highest cycle efficiency among all cycles considered in the present study. The base cycle has a low efficiency because of the high temperature at the turbine outlet. By recovering the heat at the turbine outlet, the overall COP increases by 47% in case of the R245ca cycle. In the base cycle, COP depends mostly on the boiler pressure, while in the modified cycle with the recuperator, the cycle efficiency depends mostly on the boiler temperature. Considering the cycle efficiency and environmental issues, it is concluded that R245ca is the most promising refrigerant out of the cycles considered in the present paper.     

Comparison of the heating performance of air-source heat pumps using various types of refrigerant injection

The performance degradation of air-source heat pumps cannot be avoided when they operate at both very low and high ambient temperatures. The refrigerant injection technique has rapidly developed in recent years due to its outstanding performance at low ambient temperatures. This study measured the heating performance of air-source heat pumps in which novel vapor injection techniques of a combined flash tank and sub-cooler (FTSC) cycle and a double expansion sub-cooler (DESC) cycle were applied. The performance of these cycles was compared with that of a flash tank (FT) and a sub-cooler (SC) cycle. The average heating capacities of the FT, FTSC, and DESC cycles were higher by 14.4%, 6.0%, and 3.8%, respectively, relative to that of the SC cycle, but the average COPs for the respective cycle options were very similar.     

Optimum cycle control of a two-stage injection heat pump with a double expansion sub-cooler

The refrigerant injection technique has rapidly developed in recent years due to its outstanding performance at low ambient temperatures, and various control methods for a heat pump with injection have been presented. However, most studies on cycle control have been theoretical, and practical control methods for cycle optimization based on experimental results hardly have been presented. In this study, an optimum cycle control method was proposed for a refrigerant injection heat pump with a double expansion sub-cooler based on the intermediate pressure and the injection ratio. The optimum sub-cooler pressure ratio was proposed from 0.4 to 0.7 in view of the heating capacity, and from 0.7 to 0.8 in view of the COP. The optimum injection ratio increased from 0.1 to 0.3 with an increase in the compression ratio.     

Exergetic analysis of a vapour compression refrigeration system with R134a, R143a, R152a, R404A, R407C, R410A, R502 and R507A

This communication deals with the exergetic analysis of a vapour compression refrigeration system with selected refrigerants. The various parameters computed are COP and exergetic efficiency in the system. Effects of degree of condenser temperature, evaporator temperature and sub-cooling of condenser outlet, supper-heating of evaporator out let and effectiveness of vapour liquid heat exchanger are also computed and discussed. In this study, it was found that R134a has the better performance in all respect, whereas R407C refrigerant has poor performance.     

Analysis and optimisation of different two-stage transcritical carbon dioxide cycles for heating applications

Increased interest in the environmental impact of refrigeration technology is leading toward design solutions aimed at improving the energy efficiency and use of eco-friendly refrigerants with low GWP. The aim of this paper is to theoretically analyse R744 air to water heat pump cycles for heating applications up to 80 °C. This work studies the following cycle configurations: two-stage with injection (with and without intermediated cooling between compressors) and a single-stage circuit coupled with an auxiliary circuit. Internal heat transfer among the different streams of refrigerant is included, and the cycles have been optimised with regards to COP in terms of the intermediate conditions and gas cooler pressure. Finally, these cycles have been compared and analysed among each other and with a subcritical injection cycle working with R134a and a single-stage R744 cycle. The improved cycle with R744 can represent a global improvement of 15% in terms of COP.     

Refrigeration system performance using liquid-suction heat exchangersPerformance d''un système frigorifique utilisant des échangeurs liquide-vapeur à l''aspiration

Heat transfer devices are provided in many refrigeration systems to exchange energy between the cool gaseous refrigerant leaving the evaporator and warm liquid refrigerant exiting the condenser. These liquid-suction or suction-line heat exchangers can, in some cases, yield improved system performance while in other cases they degrade system performance. Although previous researchers have investigated performance of liquid-suction heat exchangers, this study can be distinguished from the previous studies in three ways. First, this paper identifies a new dimensionless group to correlate performance impacts attributable to liquid-suction heat exchangers. Second, the paper extends previous analyses to include new refrigerants. Third, the analysis includes the impact of pressure drops through the liquid-suction heat exchanger on system performance. It is shown that reliance on simplified analysis techniques can lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding the impact of liquid-suction heat exchangers on refrigeration system performance. From detailed analyses, it can be concluded that liquid-suction heat exchangers that have a minimal pressure loss on the low pressure side are useful for systems using R507A, R134a, R12, R404A, R290, R407C, R600, and R410A. The liquid-suction heat exchanger is detrimental to system performance in systems using R22, R32, and R717.     

Stepped pressure cycle – A new approach to Lorenz cycle

Refrigerant vapor-compression cycle usually works with variable temperature heat sources in reality, which causes remarkable irreversible losses in heat exchange process. This paper proposed the stepped pressure cycle to modify the vapor-compression cycle using refrigerant, particularly pure refrigerant. Refrigerant is designed to flow through a series of heat transfer units with stepped pressures so that the irreversible losses can be reduced. Theoretical proof confirmed the stepped pressure cycle with pure refrigerant can approach the Lorenz cycle, the most efficient cycle under variable temperature heat sources. Numerical analysis on cycle performance demonstrated that a dual-step suction and discharge pressure cycle using R32 can achieve 11.5% cooling COP improvement for residential air conditioner, while a dual-step discharge pressure cycle using R134a can bring 9.8% heating COP increase for heat pump water heater. A pilot system was made and preliminarily tested. Compared to the single cycle system, 12.3% and 18.7% COP increase were achieved in the pilot system by applying dual and triple subcycles, respectively.     

空气源热泵热水器应用于低温环境的研究

针对空气源热泵热水器在低温环境下不能稳定运行的现象,分别将闪蒸器和过冷器用于热泵系统,在一定程度上解决了传统热泵系统在低温环境下运行时存在的问题;对使用工质R22和R410A的热泵循环分别进行了理论计算,并对结果进行了分析。     

风冷螺杆热泵机组制冷剂替换试验研究

对R22、R407c、R134a三种制冷剂的基本物性及热力性能进行了分析比较，并在风冷螺杆热泵机组基础上进行了替换试验研究。结果表明：R407c为最佳替换R22的制冷剂；R134a替换后能效比较高，但制冷（热）量衰减过多，同时R134a的运行压力过低不太适合热泵工况。     

制冷剂充注量对新型换热器汽车空调的影响

为了减少R134a的直接排放,各厂商积极采用新型高效换热器来减少汽车空调系统的充注量.在焓差试验台研究传统汽车空调和采用微通道蒸发器和过冷式冷凝器的汽车空调系统的充注量情况,结果表明新型换热器能够显著降低系统的制冷剂充注量,并且在最佳充注量下,蒸发器能够保证一定的过热度,冷凝器出口有足够的过冷度,使系统运行性能最优.采用新型换热器系统的制冷量提高了18％左右,COP提升了约5％,最佳充注量反而比传统系统小100g,.     

二甲醚作为汽车空调制冷剂的性能研究

本文对二甲醚（DME）用作汽车空调制冷剂的性能与现有汽车空调制冷剂R134a进行了对比。首先比较了二甲醚和R134a的基础热力性质，然后对二甲醚和R134a的汽车空调标准工况和变工况下制冷循环性能进行了详细的理论计算及分析。分析表明：二甲醚的制冷性能与R134a基本相似，而性能系数（COP）却优于R134a。因此，更具环保优势的二甲醚是一种理想的潜在的汽车空调制冷剂。     

Performance degradation of a vapor compression refrigeration system under fouled conditions

Performance degradation due to fouling in a vapor compression cycle is investigated for various applications. Considering the first set of refrigerants i.e. R134a, R410A and R407C, from a first law standpoint, the COP indicates that R134a always performs better unless only the evaporator is being fouled. In contrast to this, from a second-law standpoint, the second-law efficiency indicates that R134a performs the best in all cases. Considering the second set of refrigerants i.e. R717, R404A and R290, from a first law standpoint, the COP indicates that R717 always performs better unless only the evaporator is being fouled. In contrast to this, from a second-law standpoint, the second-law efficiency indicates that R717 performs the best in all cases. Volumetric efficiency of R410A and R717 remained the highest under the respective conditions studied. Furthermore, performance degradation of the evaporator often has a larger effect on compressor power requirement while that of the condenser has an overall larger effect on the COP. A new performance degradation law is presented in light of the data generated, which can reduce the amount of experimentation and help predict relevant quantities of the refrigeration system.     

Evaluation of absorption cycles with respect to COP and economics

The calculation of the performance of absorption heat pump cycles or the comparison of different types of machine cannot be done in a reasonable way without considering the first cost of the machine and especially the cost of the heat exchangers, as their area and particularly the distribution of the area between the respective components of the heat pump determine the COP. Therefore it makes sense only to compare machines that are optimized in this respect. A good way to evaluate cycles is to calculate the maximum COP in terms of the total cost of the heat exchangers. For that purpose a computer program was developed for different absorption heat pump cycles with water as refrigerant. The calculation method is simple and thus the result reliable. The program is suitable for evaluating double-lift, single-, double- and some triple-effect cycles, each one with different absorption fluids and with different options, such as different solution flows (parallel, serial), different types of absorber (spray- or falling-film absorber), and different types of generator (pool- or falling-film generator). With this instrument different cycles or similar cycles with different features can be compared. An economically significant estimation of the performance of a cycle working under defined conditions is possible.     

Hybrid vapor compression refrigeration system with an integrated ejector cooling cycle

A refrigeration system was developed which combines a basic vapor compression refrigeration cycle with an ejector cooling cycle. The ejector cooling cycle is driven by the waste heat from the condenser in the vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The additional cooling capacity from the ejector cycle is directly input into the evaporator of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The governing equations are derived based on energy and mass conservation in each component including the compressor, ejector, generator, booster and heat exchangers. The system performance is first analyzed for the on-design conditions. The results show that the COP is improved by 9.1% for R22 system. The system is then compared with a basic refrigeration system for variations of five important variables. The system analysis shows that this refrigeration system can effectively improve the COP by the ejector cycle with the refrigerant which has high compressor discharge temperature.     

-60℃水冷自复叠制冷系统研究

提出一种新型水冷自复叠制冷循环方式,用冷凝分离器代替传统循环的冷凝器和相分离器,在冷凝分离器中同时完成了高沸点工质的冷凝及高沸点工质与低沸点工质的分离。对采用这种冷凝分离器的水冷自复叠制冷循环方式的R22/R23、R290/R170、R134a/R23、R134a/R170四种工质对进行了循环特性研究。在自行搭建的水冷自复叠制冷系统实验台上进行了R22/R23、R134a/R23两种工质对的实验研究。结果表明,在相同工况下,R22/R23自复叠制冷系统的COP要高于R134a/R23自复叠制冷系统;和传统的自复叠系统相比,采用冷凝分离器的水冷自复叠制冷循环COP明显提高,提升率达到60%~100%。     

Experiment and simulation on the performance of an autocascade refrigeration system using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of an autocascade refrigeration system using zeotropic refrigerant mixtures of R744/134a and R744/290. One of the advantages of this system is the possibility of keeping the highest pressure of the system within a limit by selecting the composition of a refrigerant mixture as compared to that in the vapor compression system using pure carbon dioxide. Performance test and simulation have been carried out for an autocascade refrigeration system by varying secondary fluid temperatures at evaporator and condenser inlets. Variations of mass flow rate of refrigerant, compressor power, refrigeration capacity, and coefficient of performance (COP) with respect to the mass fraction of R744 in R744/134a and R744/290 mixtures are presented at different operating conditions. Experimental results show similar trends with those from the simulation. As the composition of R744 in the refrigerant mixture increases, cooling capacity is enhanced, but COP tends to decrease while the system pressure rises.

Résumé

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of an autocascade refrigeration system using zeotropic refrigerant mixtures of R744/134a and R744/290. One of the advantages of this system is the possibility in keeping the highest pressure of the system within a limit by selecting the composition of a refrigerant mixture as compared to that in the vapor compression system using pure carbon dioxide. Performance test and simulation have been carried out for an autocascade refrigeration system by varying secondary fluid temperatures at evaporator and condenser inlets. Variations of mass flow rate of refrigerant, compressor power, refrigeration capacity, and coefficient of performance (COP) with respect to the mass fraction of R744 in R744/134a and R744/290 mixtures are presented at different operating conditions. Experimental results show similar trends with those from the simulation. As the composition of R744 in the refrigerant mixture increases, cooling capacity is enhanced, but COP tends to decrease while the system pressure rises.     

Effects of vapor injection techniques on the heating performance of a CO2 heat pump at low ambient temperatures

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of vapor injection techniques on the heating performance of a CO₂ heat pump. The performances of the flash tank vapor injection (FTVI), sub-cooler vapor injection (SCVI) and FTVI with a suction line heat exchanger (FTSX) cycles were measured and analyzed with variations of the outdoor temperature, compressor frequency, and injection mass flow rate. At the outdoor temperature of −15 °C and compressor frequency of 55 Hz, the heating capacity and COP of the optimized SCVI cycle were 12.1% and 12.7% higher than those of the optimized FTVI cycle, respectively, because the total mass flow rate in the SCVI cycle was higher than that in the FTVI cycle by the large temperature and pressure differences in the sub-cooler of the SCVI cycle. In addition, the optimum injection flow rate ratios in the vapor injection CO₂ cycles yielding the maximum COP were determined at various compressor frequencies.     

Drop-in replacement in a R134 ejector refrigeration cycle by HFO refrigerants

The present work reports a numerical analysis of a single-phase supersonic ejector working with R134a as well as hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerants R1234yf and R1234ze(E). Comparisons were made regarding the ejector performances under varying operating conditions and refrigerant mixture proportions. The calculations have been then extended to an existing ejector heat driven refrigeration cycle (EHDRC). R1234yf appears to be a good candidate for drop-in replacement of R134a in a real EHDRC, while using R1234ze(E) would induce some modifications due to its thermodynamic properties. Maintaining the same pressure ratio for the ejector would lead on one hand to better entrainment ratio using R1234ze(E) and on the other hand to reduced coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling power by 4.2% and 26.6% in average, respectively. Using R1234yf under the same conditions induces a decrease of 5.2% for the entrainment ratio, 9.6% for the COP and 19.8% for the cooling power in average.     

Thermodynamic performance limit considerations for dual-evaporator, non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture-based domestic refrigerator-freezer systems

Non-azeotropic refrigerant mixtures (NARMs) are investigated for a two-temperature level heat exchange process found in a domestic refrigerator-freezer. Ideal (constant air temperature) heat exchange processes are assumed. The results allow the effects of intercooling between the evaporator refrigerant stream and the condenser outlet stream to be examined in a systematic manner. For the conditions studied, an idealized NARM system will have a limiting coefficient of performance (COP) that is less than that of the best performing pure refrigerant component. However, for non-ideal heat exchange processes (gliding air temperature), the NARM-based system can have a higher limiting COP than a system running on either pure NARM component. Intercooling significantly affects the COP of NARM-based systems; however, depending on the location of ‘pinch points’ in the heat exchangers, only one intercooling heat exchanger may be needed to obtain a NARM's maximum refrigerator COP. The results are presented for mixtures of R22–R142b, R22–R123 and R32–R142b.