Experimental investigation on NH3–H2O compression-assisted absorption heat pump (CAHP) for low temperature heating in colder conditions

The coefficient of performance (COP) and heating capacity of the absorption heat pump (AHP) decreased obviously as the evaporator inlet temperature dropped. Compression-assisted AHP (CAHP) could operate efficiently in colder conditions, and a prototype was constructed for experimental investigation. At a generator inlet of 130 °C, as the evaporator inlet decreases from −5 °C to −25 °C, the COP drops from 1.513 to 1.372, while the heating capacity deteriorates from 77.26 kW to 47.11 kW. Comparisons between CAHP and normal AHP indicated that CAHP can extend the lower limit of evaporator inlet temperature from −10 °C to −25 °C. Besides, CAHP can enhance the heating capacity by approximately 55.5–85.0% even when AHP can operate normally. Moreover, the improvement contributed by CAHP is greater under much colder conditions. The heating COP and capacity of CAHP are improved in all the conditions, while the primary energy efficiency is advantageous under lower evaporator inlet temperatures.     

Effects of flash gas generation at the expansion device inlet on the dynamic characteristics of a refrigeration system

The flash gas generation at the expansion device inlet in multi-air-conditioners causes rapid reduction of refrigerant mass flow rate and irregular distribution of refrigerant into multi-indoor units. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of the flash gas generation on the dynamic characteristics of a refrigeration system. The dynamic characteristics of a refrigeration system with an electronic expansion valve (EEV) were measured with time at various levels of flash gas generation, which were expressed as flash gas ratio. In addition, the averaged operating parameters and system COP were investigated with the variation of flash gas ratio. As the EEV inlet condition changed from the subcooled to the two-phase state, the refrigerant flow rate decreased rapidly due to the flash gas generation at the EEV inlet. At two-phase inlet conditions, the system operating parameters, such as mass flow rate, suction and discharge pressures, fluctuated periodically with time. As the flash gas ratio increased, the average COP decreased and the discharge temperature increased, degrading the system performance and reliability more severely.     

Assessment of R-438A as a retrofit refrigerant for R-22 in direct expansion water chiller

The present work aims to evaluate the performance characteristics of a vapor compression refrigeration system using R-438A as a retrofit refrigerant for R-22. In order to achieve this objective, a test facility is developed and experiments are performed over a wide range of chilled water inlet temperature (11:20 °C), condenser water inlet temperature (25:35 °C) and condenser water mass flow rate (363:543 kg h⁻¹). Results showed that as the chilled water inlet temperature changes from 11.5 to 20.5 °C, system COP increases from 1.78 to 2.07 at constant condenser water inlet temperature of 25.5 °C. Cooling capacity and COP of the system using R-438A are lower than R-22 by 11% and 12.5%, respectively. However, compressor discharge temperature using R-438A is slightly lower than R-22 which confirms that R-438A can be used as a retrofit refrigerant for R-22 to complete the remaining life time of the existing plants.     

电动客车用余热回收型热泵的换热器优化及性能实验研究

本文针对热泵空调系统在冬季低温工况下制热能力衰减问题,通过换热器设计优化,研发出基于喷射补气的余热回收型热泵空调系统,并进行了性能实验研究.结果表明:研制的准二级压缩电动客车热泵空调系统在低温条件下具有较好的制热性能.在环境温度为-20℃,车内温度为20℃,余热量为1.8 kW的制热工况下,相比于无余热回收工况,系统制...     

Performance of a scroll compressor with vapor-injection and two-stage reciprocating compressor operating under extreme conditions

The current paper presents a comparative study between a scroll compressor with vapor-injection (SCVI) and a two-stage reciprocating compressor (TSRC) operating under extreme conditions. The present work is divided into two parts: in the first part, both compressors are compared in terms of compressor efficiency, volumetric efficiency, coefficient of performance (COP), and cooling capacity with R407C refrigerant; in the second part, the seasonal performances of both compressors working in cooling and heating modes are estimated and analyzed. Results show that the SCVI presents better efficiency and COP than the TSRC for pressure ratios below 7.5. This compressor can be used in air conditioning systems and heat pumps which work under moderate temperature conditions. For higher pressure ratios, the TSRC has better efficiency which subsequently gives higher COP. This type of compressor is more suited to be used in sanitary hot water systems operating in harsh climates and in low-temperature freezing systems (under −20°C).     

Investigation of the heat pump water heater using economizer vapor injection system and mixture of R22/R600a

This paper presents the experimental study of a heat pump water heater (HPWH) using economizer vapor injection system and mixture of R22/R600a. Performances of HPWH using economizer vapor injection system are compared with that at different mixed mass ratios of R22/R600a. Study demonstrates that the heating capacity and energy efficiency ratio (EER) of the unit increased, and the discharge temperature of compressor decreased when using vapor injection and mixing refrigerant of R22/R600a. It is also found that the HPWH unit with economizer vapor injection system has a better performance for the high outlet water temperature under lower temperature conditions at 15% mass ratio of R600a for the mixing refrigerant. In addition, fundamental and practical influence of vapor injection pressure on the HPWH performance has been investigated experimentally. The simplified model is proposed for predicting the optimal vapor injection pressure of compressor using the mixing refrigerant R22/R600a.     

On-field measurement method of vapor injection heat pump system

This paper examines air-to-air injection heat pumps (HPs) and proposes a method to determine both heating capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) in situ, allowing analyses of already-installed setups and long-term observation. Due to the uncertain nature of air enthalpy measurements, this method instead uses refrigerant enthalpies calculated from pipe contact temperatures and steady-state energy balances to determine the COP. However, these energy balances are highly dependent on the hypothesis that the working fluid remains strictly monophasic in certain locations, which is not always true in practice. A parametric variable analysis is conducted on the refrigerant vapor quality to calculate the deviation in the COP due to diphasic conditions at the compressor inlet, injection port, and condenser and flash tank outlets. A final in situ COP uncertainty is presented, due to both the measurement and vapor quality uncertainties.     

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.     

Performance evaluation of a two-stage CO2 cycle with gas injection in the cooling mode operation

The cooling performance and reliability of a transcritical CO₂ cycle can be significantly improved by using a multi-stage compressor with gas injection because the CO₂ cycle has a large pressure difference across a compressor. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance and operating characteristics of a two-stage CO₂ cycle with gas injection. In this study, the performances of a two-stage CO₂ cycle with gas injection (called as “two-stage gas injection cycle”) were measured as the amount of refrigerant charge, first- and second-stage compressor frequencies, and first- and second-stage EEV openings were varied in the cooling mode operation. The cooling COP of the two-stage gas injection cycle was maximally enhanced by 16.5% over that of the two-stage non-injection cycle in the experiments. In addition, when the first- and second-stage EEV openings were increased, the compression ratio decreased and this in turn, improved the cooling COP of the two-stage gas injection cycle. However, when the first-stage EEV opening was increased, the mass flow rate through the evaporator decreased, and this in turn, decreased the cooling capacity of the two-stage gas injection cycle. Therefore, in the two-stage gas injection cycle, an optimum control of both EEV openings is required.     

Performance analysis of a novel hybrid vapor injection cycle with subcooler and flash tank for air-source heat pumps

In this paper, a novel hybrid vapor injection cycle (HVIC) with subcooler and flash tank for air-source heat pumps is proposed. In the HVIC, an ejector is applied to realize the advantages of both the subcooler and flash tank vapor injection, which can efficiently reduce the irreversible thermodynamic loss and improve the system performance, especially at low ambient temperature conditions. The performance enhancement potential of HVIC is compared with conventional subcooler vapor injection cycle (SVIC) and flash tank vapor injection cycle (FTVC) using cycle simulations. The simulation results indicated that for the HVIC using R290 as refrigerant, the coefficient of performance (COP) and the volumetric heating capacity can be increased by 2.8–3.3% and 6.4–8.8% compared to the SVIC system, 1.1–2.0% and 3.2–6.0% compared to the FTVC system, respectively. In addition, improving the ejector efficiencies and adjusting the injection pressure could also enhance the performance of HVIC. Exergy analysis indicates that the total exergy destruction for the HVIC is lower than that of SVIC and FTVC due to the application of an ejector, and therefore resulting in higher exergy efficiency. Overall, the HVIC could be more effective to enhance heating capacity and system efficiency.     

高温压缩机变转速的复叠式热泵系统性能实验研究

为研究变转速压缩机对复叠式热泵系统的影响,本文搭建了高温压缩机变转速的复叠式热泵实验台。通过实验研究了不同运行工况下系统排气温度、中间温度、制热量、功率及COP随高温压缩机转速的变化规律。结果表明:在冷凝温度为46℃,蒸发温度为-35℃～-10℃时,压缩机运行安全可靠;在冷凝温度为46℃,蒸发温度为-25℃,高温压缩机转速从1 200 r/min增至6 000 r/min,制热量提升了129. 7%,低温压缩机功率减少43.4%; COP随高温压缩机转速的增加呈先增大后减小的趋势,存在最大COP和对应的最佳高温压缩机转速。     

Modeling and simulation of the transcritical CO2 heat pump system

In this study, a CO₂ transcritical cycle model without imposing any excessive constraints such as fixed discharge pressure and suction pressure is developed. The detailed geometrical variation of the gas cooler and the evaporator have been taken into account. The model is validated with the experimental measurements. Parametric influences on the CO₂ system with regard to the effect of dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, inlet water temperature, compressor speed, and the capillary tube length are reported. The COP increases with the dry bulb temperature or the inlet relative humidity of the evaporator. Despite the refrigerant mass flowrate may be increased with the inlet water temperature, the COP declines considerably with it. Increasing the compressor speed leads to a higher heating capacity and to a much lower COP. Unlike those of the conventional sub-critical refrigerant, the COP of the transcritical CO₂ cycle does not reveal a maximum value against the capillary tube length.     

Approaching the performance limit for economized cycles using simplified cycles

Modifications such as economization aim to improve the efficiency of vapor compression equipment by cooling the refrigerant during the compression process. A previous study (Mathison et al., 2010) explored the theoretical limit to cycle performance with economizing, which was defined as the performance when a saturated vapor state was maintained in the compressor by continuously injecting a two-phase mixture. However, achieving continuous injection and controlling the quality of the injected refrigerant poses a substantial challenge. Therefore, the current paper investigates the ability of an economized cycle with saturated vapor injection through a finite number of ports to approach the limiting cycle performance. For an air-conditioner using R-410A with an evaporation temperature of 5 °C and a condensing temperature of 40 °C, the model predicts that injecting saturated vapor through three ports will improve the COP by 12%, which is approximately 67% of the maximum benefit provided by economizing in the limiting case.     

Experimental and numerical analysis of an air-cooled double-lift NH3–H2O absorption refrigeration system

The prototype of an air-cooled double-lift NH₃–H₂O absorption chiller driven by hot water at low temperature is presented. The main objective of the study is to illustrate the experimental performances of the prototype under different operating conditions. A mathematical model of the cycle is developed, along with a procedure for the identification of otherwise difficult to measure data, with the purpose of providing the complete picture of the internal thermodynamic cycle. The combined experimental and numerical data allowed assessing the effects on the thermodynamic cycle with varying operating conditions. The unit operated steadily with chilled water inlet 12 °C, outlet 7 °C, air temperature between 22 °C and 38 °C, and hot water driving temperatures between 80 °C and 90 °C. The reference cooling capacity at air temperature of 30 °C is 2.5 kW, with thermal COP about 0.3 and electrical COP about 10.     

Performance analysis of vapor injection heat pump system for electric vehicle in cold startup condition

In this study, a vapor-injection (VI) cycle designed for indoor heating of electric vehicle (EV) was investigated for low temperature heating purposes. The heating capacity variation was observed both in mathematical and experimental ways to verify the influence of vapor injection at different injecting positions and under different intermediate pressure. From this study, the optimal injection position of the scroll compressor and intermediate pressure ratio were evaluated that maximizes heating capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) of the cycle. To validate the numerical results, the experiment was also conducted in the prototype of a vapor-injection (VI) heating system for electric vehicle. The experiment was carried out under the steady-state condition and the same parameters as those of numerical analysis were employed. The comparison between the results of numerical analysis and that of experiments showed a good agreement. For the increase of heating capacity, the optimal injecting port position was observed in specific value which was close to 300°. As the opening of the main expansion valve was decreased, the performance of the VI system generally got better but the system had much restricted intermediate pressure ratio in which the performance was drastically decreased. As a result, the optimal intermediate pressure ratio occurred in specific value below 0.25 in startup condition.     

Influence of the expansion device on the performance of a heat pump using R407C under a range of charging conditions

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of the expansion device on the performance of a water-to-water heat pump using R407C, which has been considered as one of the alternative refrigerants to replace R22 with “soft-optimization”, at various charging conditions. The heat pump applying the expansion devices of a capillary tube and an EEV was tested by varying refrigerant charge amount from −20% to +20% of full charge and changing water temperature entering the condenser from 30 °C to 42 °C, while maintaining water temperature entering the evaporator at 25 °C. The R22 capillary tube system is utilized as a baseline unit for the performance comparison with the R407C system. The performance of the capillary tube system is more sensitive to off-design charge than that of the EEV system. As the refrigerant charge deviates from the full charge, the R407C EEV system shows a much lower degradation of capacity and COP as compared to the R22 and R407C capillary tube systems due to an optimum control of superheat by electronically adjusting the EEV opening. In addition, the R407C EEV system shows more a stable compressor discharge temperature at off-design charge than the R407C capillary tube system.     

Effects of intermediate pressure on the heating performance of a heat pump system using R410A vapor-injection technique

Recent heat pumps are actively equipped with a refrigerant vapor-injection technique to acquire better performance in severe operating conditions. In this study, the target system which has an additional expansion valve at the outlet of condenser was presented. The concept of intermediate pressure was generated in the target system. Effects of the intermediate pressure on the heating performance with various injection ratios were measured and analyzed according to the compressor frequencies ranging from 60 to 100 Hz. Unlike conventional vapor-injection cycle, the maximum injection ratio was highly affected by the intermediate pressure. The high intermediate pressure provided high initial heating capacity and COP; but it restricted the available range of vapor-injection within narrow limits. The result indicates that a proper operating strategy is needed for the vapor-injection cycle.     

再循环重力供液制冷系统实验

对重力供液制冷系统形成再循环的条件和再循环时蒸发器的传热性能进行理论分析,建立相应的数学模型。将重力供液制冷系统与直接膨胀供液制冷系统进行比较,得到两种不同制冷系统工作特性上的差异。通过在焓差实验室中测定制冷系统在不同工况下的压力、风量、制冷量以及耗功等技术参数,得到重力供液制冷系统和直接膨胀供液制冷系统在室外干球温度一定的情况下传热系数、制冷量以及系统COP的变化规律。实验表明:再循环的形成可以增大制冷剂流速同时充分润湿传热表面,强化换热效果显著,在测试的工况下蒸发器的传热系数可增大近40%,COP最大提高7.6%,低温工况的增幅更大。     

Experimental research on the performance of the diffusion absorption refrigerator with mixed fluoride refrigerants

A diffusion absorption refrigerator (DAR) operating with mixed fluoride refrigerants was built to obtain low refrigerating temperature at low generating temperature. Two groups of mixed fluoride refrigerants, R23/R134a and R23/R32/R134a, were tested experimentally. The N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and helium were used as the absorbent and inert gas, respectively. For the DAR with R23/R134a, the refrigerating temperature was not obviously influenced by the concentration of R23 in the mixed refrigerant vapor or the amounts of helium. For the DAR with R23/R32/R134a, an optimal concentration of R32 in the mixed refrigerant vapor and an optimal pressure were both found to achieve the lowest refrigerating temperature which was −28.8 °C at a generating temperature of 106.9 °C, and a refrigerating temperature of −23.7 °C was obtained at an extraordinarily low generating temperature of 83.3 °C. It showed the promising potentials of DAR operating with mixed fluoride refrigerants in applications of low temperature refrigeration and efficient utilization of the low-grade thermal energy.