The R-? characteristics of a three-heat-source refrigeration cycle

The influence of irreversibilities of finite-rate heat transfer and heat leak on the performance of a refrigerator driven by ‘low-grade’ heat energy rather than ‘high-grade’ work is investigated by means of an endoreversible three-heat-source cycle model. The cooling rate and coefficient of performance are adopted to be objective functions for optimization. The optimal performance of the refrigeration cycle is analyzed. Some new results are obtained. For example, the maximum cooling rate and corresponding coefficient of performance are determined. The maximum coefficient of performance and corresponding cooling rate are shown. The curves indicating the performance characteristics of the refrigeration cycle are presented. The results obtained here will play an instructive role in the exploitation of real refrigerators.     

Development of a metal hydride refrigeration system as an exhaust gas-driven automobile air conditioner

Aiming at developing exhaust gas-driven automobile air conditioners, two types of systems varying in heat carriers were preliminarily designed. A new hydride pair LaNi_4.61Mn_0.26Al_0.13/La_0.6Y_0.4Ni_4.8Mn_0.2 was developed working at 120–200 °C/20–50 °C/−10–0 °C. P-C isotherms and reaction kinetics were tested. Reaction enthalpy, entropy and theoretical cycling coefficient of performance (COP) were deducted from Van’t-Hoff diagram. Test results showed that the hydride pair has flat plateau slopes, fast reaction dynamics and small hystereses; the reaction enthalpy of the refrigeration hydride is −27.1 kJ/mol H₂ and system theoretical COP is 0.711. Mean particle sizes during cycles were verified to be an intrinsic property affected by constitution, heat treatment and cycle numbers rather than initial grain sizes. Based on this work pair, cylindrical reactors were designed and a function proving metal hydride intermittent refrigeration system was constructed with heat conducting oil as heat source and water as heat sink. The reactor equivalent thermal conductivity is merely 1.3 W/(m K), which still has not meet practical requirement. Intermittent refrigeration cycles were achieved and the average cooling power is 84.6 W at 150 °C/30 °C/0 °C with COP being 0.26. The regulations of cycling performance and minimum refrigeration temperature (MRT) were determined by altering heat source temperature. Results showed that cooling power and system COP increase while MRT decreases with the growth of heat source temperature. This study develops a new hydride pair and confirms its application in automobile refrigeration systems, while their heat transfer properties still need to be improved for better performance.     

Performance assessment of a liquid‐phase separation refrigeration cycle

Absorption refrigeration cycles are alternatives to conventional vapor‐compression cycles in which the energy required for refrigeration is provided by heat instead of mechanical work. In this paper, a novel refrigeration cycle utilizing the immiscible liquid‐phase separation behavior is simulated and analyzed using Aspen simulator. The two conjugate liquids adopted in this work are triethylamine (solute) and water (solvent). This binary system has a low critical solution temperature of 18 °C. The thermophysical properties of the binary mixture are generated using the universal functional activity coefficient (UNIFAC) and the nonrandom two‐liquid (NRTL) models. The phase splitting phenomenon at the generator temperature is predicted by both models. However, in comparison with the available experimental data for the same binary mixture, NRTL model gives better predictions for the flow rates and compositions of the material streams. Heat duties of the evaporator, absorber, and generator and the power consumption of the solution pump have been calculated using UNIFAC and NRTL models. The cycle COP that plays a major role in determining the cycle economical viability has been predicted for different operating conditions using the two models. Simulation results show that, for a waste heat reservoir at 60 °C and using NRTL model, the COP is about 2.0. Second law analysis conducted for all cycle components of the cycle shows that about 42% of the total exergy destructed occurs in the generator. Finally, the liquid‐phase separation refrigeration cycle is predicted to be a promising cycle in the near future because of hardware and energy savings. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maximum equivalent efficiency and power output of a PEM fuel cell/refrigeration cycle hybrid system

With the help of the current models of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and three-heat-source refrigeration cycles, the general model of a PEM fuel cell/refrigeration cycle hybrid system is originally established, so that the waste heat produced in the PEM fuel cell may be availably utilized. Based on the theory of electrochemistry and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, expressions for the efficiency and power output of the PEM fuel cell, the coefficient of performance and cooling rate of the refrigeration cycle, and the equivalent efficiency and power output of the hybrid system are derived. The curves of the equivalent efficiency and power output of the hybrid system varying with the electric current density and the equivalent power output versus efficiency curves are represented through numerical calculation. The general performance characteristics of the hybrid system are discussed. The optimal operation regions of some parameters in the hybrid system are determined. The advantages of the hybrid system are revealed.     

Results of experimental investigations of the non‐throttling Granryd refrigerator

The operation of the non‐throttling Granryd refrigerator has been analysed. The experimental installation is presented. The measurement method and obtained results are presented and discussed. The mathematical model of the process was also built to analyse the influence of several design and operation parameters on the efficiency of the refrigerator. The importance of the internal thermal insulation of the expansion tank has been pointed out. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brayton refrigeration cycle for gas turbine inlet air cooling

In this paper, a new approach to enhance the performance of gas turbines operating in hot climates is investigated. Cooling the intake air at the compressor bell mouth is achieved by an air Brayton refrigerator (reverse Joule Brayton cycle) driven by the gas turbine and uses air as the working fluid. Fraction of the air is extracted from the compressor at an intermediate pressure, cooled and then expands to obtain a cold air stream, which mixes with the ambient intake. Mass and energy balance analysis of the gas turbine and the coupled Brayton refrigerator are performed. Relationships are derived for a simple open gas turbine coupled to Brayton refrigeration cycle, the heat rejected from the cooling cycle can be utilized by an industrial process such as a desalination plant. The performance improvement in terms of power gain ratio (PGR) and thermal efficiency change (TEC) factor is calculated. The results show that for fixed pressure ratio and ambient conditions, power and efficiency improvements are functions of the extraction pressure ratio and the fraction of mass extracted from the air compressor. The performance improvement is calculated for ambient temperature of 45°C and 43.4% relative humidity. The results indicated that the intake temperature could be lowered below the ISO standard with power increase up to 19.58% and appreciable decrease in the thermal efficiency (5.76% of the site value). Additionally, the present approach improved both power gain and thermal efficiency factors if air is extracted at 2 bar which is unlike all other mechanical chilling methods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermoeconomic optimization of subcooled and superheated vapor compression refrigeration cycle

An exergy-based thermoeconomic optimization application is applied to a subcooled and superheated vapor compression refrigeration system. The advantage of using the exergy method of thermoeconomic optimization is that various elements of the system—i.e., condenser, evaporator, subcooling and superheating heat exchangers—can be optimized on their own. The application consists of determining the optimum heat exchanger areas with the corresponding optimum subcooling and superheating temperatures. A cost function is specified for the optimum conditions. All calculations are made for three refrigerants: R22, R134a, and R407c. Thermodynamic properties of refrigerants are formulated using the Artificial Neural Network methodology.     

Exergy analysis of multistage cascade refrigeration cycle used for natural gas liquefaction

This paper provides an exergy analysis of the multistage cascade refrigeration cycle used for natural gas liquefaction. The equations of exergy destruction and exergetic efficiency for the main cycle components such as evaporators, condensers, compressors, and expansion valves are developed. The relations for the total exergy destruction in the cycle and the cycle exergetic efficiency are obtained. Also, an expression for the minimum work requirement for the liquefaction of natural gas is developed. It is shown that the minimum work depends only on the properties of the incoming and outgoing natural gas, and it increases with decreasing liquefaction temperature. The minimum work for a typical natural gas inlet and exit state is determined to be 456.8 kJ kg^?1 of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which corresponds to a coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.8. Using a typical actual work input value; the exergetic efficiency of the multistage cascade refrigeration cycle is determined to be 38.5% indicating a great potential for improvements. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suggested solution concentration for an energy-efficient refrigeration system combined with condensation heat-driven liquid desiccant cycle

This paper presents a hybrid energy-efficient refrigeration system enhanced by liquid desiccant evaporative cooling technology for subcooling the refrigerant, where the liquid desiccant cycle is driven by the exhausted heat from the condenser and three commonly used liquid desiccants: LiCl, LiBr and CaCl₂ aqueous solutions are considered here. The solution concentration for the proposed hybrid energy-efficient refrigeration system should be determined and optimized carefully for better performance. Sensitive study of solution concentration involved in the hybrid system is conducted at different condensation temperature. The results indicates that under standard working condition (i.e., condensing temperature is 50 °C), the optimum solution concentration is 0.31 for LiCl aqueous solution, 0.45 for LiBr aqueous solution and 0.42 for CaCl₂ aqueous solution, while the maximum COPs are nearly same. When the condensing temperature is 45 °C, the optimum solution concentration should be set at 0.27 for LiCl aqueous solution, and 0.41 for LiBr aqueous solution and 0.37 for CaCl₂ aqueous solution, while condensing temperature is 55 °C, it is 0.35 for LiCl aqueous solution, 0.49 for LiBr aqueous solution and 0.45 for CaCl₂ aqueous solution. The simple fitting formulas are obtained, and performance improvement potential is discussed.     

Simulation and exergy‐method analysis of an industrial refrigeration cycle used in NGL recovery units

The behaviour of an industrial refrigeration cycle with refrigerant propane has been investigated by the exergy method. An natural gas liquid recovery unit with its refrigeration cycle has been simulated to prepare the exergy analysis. Using a typical actual work input value; the exergetic efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is determined to be 26.51% indicating a great potential for improvements. The obtained simulation results reveal that the exergetic efficiencies of the air cooler(s) and chilling sections get the lowest rank among the other compartments of refrigeration cycle. Refrigeration calculations have been carried out through the analysis of T–S and P–H diagrams where coefficient of performance (COP) was obtained as 1.8. The novelty of this article include the suggestions for increasing efficiencies, along with the discussion about the reasons for deviation from ideal cycles and also the effect and sensitivity analysis of pressure drops on the coefficient of performance of the cycle. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of multi-irreversibilities on the performance of a Brayton refrigeration cycle working with an ideal Bose or Fermi gas

An irreversible cycle model of the quantum Brayton refrigeration cycle using an ideal Bose or Fermi gas as the working substance is established. Based on the theory of statistical mechanics and thermodynamic properties of ideal quantum gases, expressions for several important performance parameters such as the cooling rate, coefficient of performance and power input, are derived. The influence of the degeneracy of quantum gases, the internal irreversibility of the working substance and the finite-rate heat transfer between the working substance and the heat reservoirs on the optimal performance of the cycle is investigated. By using numerical solutions, the cooling rate of the cycle is optimized for a set of given parameters. The maximum cooling rate and the corresponding parameters are calculated numerically. The optimal boundaries of the coefficient of performance and power input are given. The optimally operating region of the cycle is determined. The expressions of some performance parameters for some special cases are derived analytically.     

Finite time thermodynamic analysis of an irreversible regenerative closed cycle brayton heat engine

This communication presents the parametric study of an irreversible regenerative Brayton cycle with nonisentropic compression and expansion processes for finite heat capacitance rates of external reservoirs. The power output of the cycle is maximized with respect to the working fluid temperatures and the expressions for maximum power output and the corresponding thermal efficiency are obtained. The effect of the effectiveness of the various heat exchangers and the efficiencies of the turbine and compressor, the reservoir temperature ratio and the heat capacitance rate of heating and cooling fluids and the cycle working fluid on the power output and the corresponding thermal efficiency has been studied. It is seen the effect of cold side effectiveness is more pronounced for the power output while the effect of regenerative effectiveness is more pronounced for the thermal efficiency. It is found that the effect of turbine efficiency is more than the compressor efficiency on the performance of these cycles. It is also found that the effect of sink-side heat capacitance rate is more pronounced than the heat capacitance rate on the source side and the heat capacitance rate of the working fluid.     

Investigation of a novel combined cycle of solar powered adsorption–ejection refrigeration system

A novel model of the combined cycle of a solar-powered adsorption–ejection refrigeration system (CCSPAERS) is established. By analyzing the theory of this system and its thermodynamics, together with numerical simulation, it is found that it is a feasible method to overcome the intermittent character of a single bed solar adsorption refrigeration system. The estimated coefficient of performance for this combined cycle is about 0.4 under the following operating conditions: condensing temperature 313 K, evaporating temperature 283 K, regenerating temperature 393 K and desorbing temperature 473 K, using zeolite 13X–water as the pair. The higher desorbing temperature can be obtained when a vacuumed tube adsorber or a CPC adsorber is used.     

Optimization of boiler cold-end and integration with the steam cycle in supercritical units

In order to gain an extra increment of efficiency to compensate for capital costs, one of the main issues in the design of advanced supercritical power plants is the reduction of boiler exit gas temperature below typical values of conventional, subcritical units.     

Study on a solar-driven ejection absorption refrigeration cycle

This paper deals with a solar-driven ejection absorption refrigeration (EAR) cycle with reabsorption of the strong solution and pressure boost of the weak solution. The physical model is described and the corresponding thermodynamic calculation is performed with the working pair NH₃–LiNO₃. It is demonstrated that the EAR cycle has obvious advantages as compared with the conventional absorption refrigeration cycle: (1) the controllable high absorption pressure allows for substantially high coefficients of performance by the action of a liquid–gas ejector in which the low-pressure refrigerant vapour is injected and pressurized as a result of the ejection of high-pressure solution; (2) internal steady operation can be realized for refrigeration cycles driven by unsteady heat sources, especially for solar energy, by adjusting the power input consumed by solution pumps under the condition of economical and reasonable utilization of electric energy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First and second laws analysis of the heat pipe/ejector refrigeration cycle

Integration of the heat pipe with an ejector will result in a compact and high performance system. The concept of the heat pipe/ejector refrigeration cycle is discussed, in this paper. The needed driving capillary forces are firmly established. The basic characteristics of the system, such as entrainment ratio, coefficient of performance, exergy efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system are evaluated. Also, the zero-dimensional constant pressure mixing theory is applied to ejector. In this study, water is used as the working fluid. Whenever the mixed flow is supersonic, a normal shockwave is assumed to occur upstream of diffuser inlet. The simulation results indicate that, the coefficient of performance can reach about 0.30 at T_e = 10 °C, T_c = 30 °C and T_g = 100 °C. Also, the second law efficiency of the heat pipe/ejector refrigeration cycle increases with increasing evaporator temperature and decreasing condenser temperature. It is seen that, the maximum heat pipe cooling capacity obtains for large heat pipe diameters, near the small heat pipe lengths. It has proven that, this refrigeration system can be widely used in many areas, especially in renewable energy utilization such as solar energy.     

Exergetic analysis of carbon dioxide vapour compression refrigeration cycle using the new fundamental equation of state

The purpose of this paper is to present exergy charts for carbon dioxide (CO₂) based on the new fundamental equation of state and the results of a thermodynamic analysis of conventional and trans-critical vapour compression refrigeration cycles using the data thereof. The calculation scheme is anchored on the Mathematica platform. There exist upper and lower bounds for the high cycle pressure for a given set of evaporating and pre-throttling temperatures. The maximum possible exergetic efficiency for each case was determined. Empirical correlations for exergetic efficiency and COP, valid in the range of temperatures studied here, are obtained. The exergy losses have been quantified.     

Performance analysis of cogeneration systems based on micro gas turbine (MGT), organic Rankine cycle and ejector refrigeration cycle

In this paper, the operation performance of three novel kinds of cogeneration systems under design and off-design condition was investigated. The systems are MGT (micro gas turbine) + ORC (organic Rankine cycle) for electricity demand, MGT+ ERC (ejector refrigeration cycle) for electricity and cooling demand, and MGT+ ORC+ ERC for electricity and cooling demand. The effect of 5 different working fluids on cogeneration systems was studied. The results show that under the design condition, when using R600 in the bottoming cycle, the MGT+ ORC system has the lowest total output of 117.1 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.334, and the MGT+ ERC system has the largest total output of 142.6 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.408. For the MGT+ ORC+ ERC system, the total output is between the other two systems, which is 129.3 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.370. For the effect of different working fluids, R123 is the most suitable working fluid for MGT+ ORC with the maximum electricity output power and R600 is the most suitable working fluid for MGT+ ERC with the maximum cooling capacity, while both R600 and R123 can make MGT+ ORC+ ERC achieve a good comprehensive performance of refrigeration and electricity. The thermal efficiency of three cogeneration systems can be effectively improved under off-design condition because the bottoming cycle can compensate for the power decrease of MGT. The results obtained in this paper can provide a reference for the design and operation of the cogeneration system for distributed energy systems (DES).     

Development of a novel hydrate-based refrigeration system: A preliminary overview

This paper gives a preliminary overview of our attempt at developing a hydrate-based refrigeration system based on a novel conceptual design. The system forms a closed cycle, which is more or less analogous to the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The cycle of present interest is performed by a multiphase refrigerant, which is typically a mixture of one or two hydrate-forming substances and water. The refrigerant is required to form a hydrate at a temperature as high as 30 °C or above, desirably under a modest pressure, such that the heat released by the exothermic hydrate formation can be efficiently removed by an environmental fluid such as the atmospheric air, groundwater or river water. The hydrate slurry thus formed is depressurized to dissociate at a lower temperature, typically 5–9 °C, thereby absorbing heat from a space to be refrigerated. To confirm the feasibility of the above conceptual design of the hydrate-based refrigeration system, a thermodynamic analysis of the system and a simulation of its operation have been performed. Also a laboratory-scale refrigerator based on the above design was constructed and tested. The paper summarizes the results of these efforts to show the potential advantages of the hydrate-based refrigeration system over conventional ones and to give the prospects of our refrigeration-system development.     

Exergy analysis of Joule–Thomson cryogenic refrigeration cycle with an ejector

In this paper, exergy method is applied to analyze the ejector expansion Joule–Thomson (EJT) cryogenic refrigeration cycle. The exergy destruction rate in each component of the EJT cycle is evaluated in detail. The effect of some main parameters on the exergy destruction and exergetic efficiency of the cycle is also investigated. The most significant exergy destruction rates in the cycle are in the compressor and ejector. The ejector pressure ratio and compressor isothermal efficiency have a significant effect on the exergetic efficiency of the EJT cycle. The exergy analysis results show the EJT cycle has an obvious increase in the exergetic efficiency compared to the basic Joule–Thomson refrigeration cycle. A significant advantage from the use of the ejector is that the total exergy destruction of the EJT cycle can be reduced due to much more decreasing of the exergy destruction rates in the compressor and expansion valve. The exergy analysis also reconfirms that applying an ejector is a very important approach to improve the performance of the Joule–Thomson cryogenic refrigeration cycle.