Ejector expansion refrigeration system: Ejector design and performance evaluation

Use of a two-phase flow ejector as an expansion device in vapor compression refrigeration systems is one of the efficient ways to enhance its performance. The present work aims to design a constant-area two phase flow ejector and to evaluate performance characteristics of the ejector expansion refrigeration system working with R134a. In order to achieve these objectives, a simulation program is developed and effects of operating conditions and ejector internal efficiencies on the system performance are investigated using EES software. Comparison between present results and published experimental data revealed that the developed model can predict the system COP with a maximum error of 2.3%. The system COP increased by 87.5% as evaporation temperature changed from −10 °C to 10 °C. Finally, correlations to size ejector main diameters as a function of operating conditions, system cooling capacity and ejector internal efficiencies are reported.     

Investigation of an experimental ejector refrigeration machine operating with refrigerant R245fa at design and off-design working conditions. Part 2. Theoretical and experimental results

The main results of a theoretical and experimental investigation of the performance characteristics of an ejector and an ejector refrigeration machine (ERM) operating with refrigerant R245fa at design and off-design working conditions are presented. The ejector and ERM were explored theoretically using improved 1D model and the calculated results were validated experimentally on ejector test rig that has been assembled and operated at National Taiwan University. For typical cases, the performance characteristics variation with condensing, generating and evaporating temperatures along with performance maps are presented. The theoretical results are compared with the results of a set of experiments and good qualitative and quantitative agreement is observed.     

Investigation of an experimental ejector refrigeration machine operating with refrigerant R245fa at design and off-design working conditions. Part 1. Theoretical analysis

The ejector refrigeration machine (ERM) offers several advantages over other heat-driven refrigeration machine, including simplicity in design and operation, high reliability and low installation cost, which enable its wide application in the production of cooling. In this paper the theoretical analysis of ejector design and ejector refrigeration cycle performance is presented. It is shown that ERM performance characteristics depend strongly on the operating conditions, the efficiency of the ejector used, and the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant used. A 1-D model for the prediction of the entrainment ratio ω, and an optimal design for ejectors with cylindrical and conical-cylindrical mixing chambers are presented in this paper. In order to increase ERM performance values, it is necessary first of all to improve the performance of the ejector.     

Modelling of ejector chillers with steam and other working fluids

The Constant Rate of Momentum Change (CRMC) criterion attempts to improve the design of supersonic ejectors, that can be used in heat-powered chillers for industrial or air-conditioning use. Moving from its original formulation, the CRMC design method can be advanced accounting for friction irreversibilities and real gas behaviour, as done in a previous work by our research group. Here we present an upgraded version of this analysis, supported by experimental data from a prototype chiller using R245fa as working fluid. The analysis is extended to other fluids (water, isobutane, 5 HFCs and 3 HFOs) whose performance is calculated on a wide range of heat source/sink temperatures. The existing literature, based generally on ideal gas simulations, suggests that water yields poor results in terms of COP. This paper shows that this result may be argued. Low GWP fluid HFO1233zd also gives good results.     

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.     

Performance analysis of the ejector-expansion refrigeration cycle using zeotropic mixtures

To evaluate the performance of the ejector-expansion refrigeration cycle (EERC) using zeotropic mixtures, a numerical study is conducted. A constant-pressure two-phase ejector model for zeotropic mixtures is established. The effects of both the fluid composition and the working conditions are investigated. Mixture R134a/R143a is selected as the working and the simulation results reveal that, the cycle COP increases first and then decreases as MF_t (the mass fraction of R134a) increases in the researched condition. The COP gets a maximum value of 4.18 with MF_t of 0.9 and yields a minimum value of 3.66 with MF_t of 0.5. With mixture 0.9/0.1, the COP improvement reaches a maximum value of 10.47%. This improvement rises at high condensing temperature or low evaporating temperature. The exergy analysis shows that the compressor and ejector contribute the most exergy destruction, and the cycle exergy efficiency achieves a maximum value with MF_t of 0.7.     

Performance analysis of a supersonic ejector cycle working with R245fa

A supersonic ejector chiller for industrial use is currently being developed and tested as part of a project cooperation between Frigel s.p.a and DIEF (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence). The refrigerator was built following a “ready to market” setup criterion and is intended for applications on the industrial refrigeration market or in air conditioning. The plant has a nominal cooling power of 40 kW and is powered by low temperature heat (from 90 up to 100 °C). The ejector is equipped with a movable primary nozzle and 9 static pressure probes along the mixing chamber/diffuser duct. The working fluid is R245fa. An extensive numerical campaign was performed to analyze the internal dynamics of the ejector. All the simulations were carried out by accounting for the real gas properties of the refrigerant. Comparison with experimental data resulted in close agreement both in terms of global and local parameters. Analyses showed that in order to achieve an accurate matching with the experimental data, it is necessary to correctly account for the surface roughness of the ejector. This is especially true for off-design operating conditions.     

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.     

Experimental evaluation of an ejector as liquid re-circulator in a falling-film water chiller

To experimentally evaluate the performance of an ejector working as a liquid re-circulator in a horizontal-tube falling-film evaporator with R134a, experimental tests are performed using a horizontal-tube falling-film water chiller prototype. Experimental observations on intertube liquid flow pattern of tube bundle validate the feasibility of the liquid re-circulation system using a liquid–liquid ejector. The analysis results show that the influence of the motive flow rate on the entrainment ratio of the ejector is small, and the average entrainment ratio of the ejector is about 2.03. With the increase of the valve opening of the regulating valve, the evaporating capacity of the falling-film water chiller rises 4.8%, from 940.2 kW with the re-circulation ratio of one, to 985.5 kW with the re-circulation ratio of 1.135. The COP of the falling-film water chiller reaches a maximum and then drops down with the increase of the re-circulation ratio, and the optimal re-circulation ratio is 1.135.     

Optimization of an oil charge amount on electric driven scroll compressor for eco-friendly vehicle

The purpose of this study is to optimize the amount of oil charge in the electric driven scroll compressor for eco-friendly vehicles. R134a is used as the refrigerant in the vehicle and Polyolester (POE) oil as the compressor oil. The initial amount of oil was increased at 20 g intervals from 40 g to 120 g, and at each initial amount of oil charge, the back pressure is measured at each step of the complex durability test and under each condition of the performance test. Throughout the test, it is found out that the optimum amount of oil is determined by the back pressure, which is 80 g in this test. The performance of a system is compared with pull-down tests in the actual air conditioning system, and the optimum amount of oil was confirmed. A complex durability test was also evaluated and verified for the durability of the compressor with the confirmed amount of oil.     

Comparison of different kinds of heat recoveries applied in adsorption refrigeration system

Heat recovery is an effective way to improve adsorption refrigeration system performance due to its easy realization and obvious improvement. Three kinds of heat recoveries (circular heat recovery is complete type and serial and passive heat recoveries are part type) have been applied in recent adsorption refrigerators. Theoretical analysis of three heat recovery methods has been done and results show that serial and passive heat recoveries (part type) are more optimal than circular heat recovery (complete type) when manufacture and cost are considered. Furthermore, a CFD model of a fin-tube type adsorber has been established and simulations of serial and passive heat recoveries have been done. The simulation results show that recovery time of passive heat recovery has an effective range whose value is approximately double of optimum recovery time. Thus, serial heat recovery is more reliable than passive heat recovery. Besides, Optimum recovery time of both serial and passive heat recoveries is approximately equal to the ratio of tube length to heating/cooling flow rate. Contribution distribution of recovered heat has also been analyzed. And the results show that contributions of fluid and tube regions are respectively 89%∼94% and 5%∼10% while contributions of adsorbent and fin regions are negligible.     

Theoretical energy performance evaluation of different single stage vapour compression refrigeration configurations using R1234yf and R1234ze(E) as working fluids

R1234yf and R1234ze(E) have been proposed as alternatives for R134a in order to work with low GWP refrigerants, but this replacement results generally in a decrease of the performance. For this reason, it is interesting to explore ways to improve the system performance using these refrigerants. In this paper, a comparative study in terms of energy performance of different single stage vapour compression configurations using R1234yf and R1234ze(E) as working fluids has been carried out. The most efficient configuration is the one which uses an expander or an ejector as expansion device. On the other hand, using an internal heat exchanger in a cycle which replaces the expansion valve by an expander or an ejector could produce a detrimental effect on the COP. However, for all the configurations the introduction of an internal heat exchanger produces a significant increment on the cooling capacity.     

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.     

Experimental study of a miniature vapor compression refrigeration system with two heat sink evaporators connected in series or in parallel

A miniature vapor compression refrigeration system included two heat sinks connected in series (indicated as series system) or in parallel (indicated as parallel system) was built. The performance of the series system was studied and compared with that of the parallel system. The results indicate that the largest cooling capacity of the two systems is about 160 W and the optimal refrigerant charge is about 0.6 M_total in the miniature vapor compress refrigeration (VCR) system. There is no relation between the optimal refrigerant charge and the arrangement of the heat sinks. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the series system ranged from 1.81 to 3.22, while the COP of the parallel system was in the range of 1.51–2.92 under the cooling capacity of 100 W. The cooling of the heat sink 2 lag behind that of the heat sink 1 in the serial system, while the refrigerant is difficult to equally distribute in the parallel system.     

Ice-cream storage energy efficiency with model predictive control of a refrigeration system coupled to a PCM tank

A model predictive controller (MPC) was developed in order to optimise energy management of an ice-cream warehouse refrigeration system coupled to a phase-change material (PCM) tank. The controller's internal model was based on a steady-state refrigeration cycle model and energy balances on the PCM tank and warehouse. Considering crystal growth in ice-cream, the quality evolution was based on Ostwald ripening equation. The product temperature field was determined by a 1-D finite difference equation. An original PCM model was developed for better performance of Levenberg–Marquardt's optimisation algorithm which was modified in order to take into account control variables' bounds. Simulation of the ice-cream storage for a period of 90 days lead to good results on the optimised control sequence with efficient energy management thanks to the PCM tank. Ice crystals size remained below the defined target: 26 μm. This study showed the great potential of MPC to reduce energy consumption and guarantee food quality.     

Research of leakage characteristics of single screw refrigeration compressors with the Multicolumn Envelope Meshing Pair

The Multicolumn Envelope Meshing Pair (MEMP) was proposed and has been applied for the single screw refrigeration compressor (SSRC) to reduce the wear of the meshing pair. However, the geometric model shows its changed shape of the leakage paths compared with the existing straight line envelope meshing pair (LEMP). It is necessary to research the leakage characteristics of the SSRC with MEMP and LEMP, to evaluate the value of the proposed MEMP. In this paper, the geometric model of the leakage paths between star-wheel and screw rotor is established. A two-phase leakage mathematical model for gas-oil flow is presented to predict the gas leakage rate of the SSRC with MEMP. The experiments of the performance of a SSRC with MEMP were conducted to verify the leakage mathematical model. Obtained results show the leakage of the SSRC with MEMP is a little bit smaller than that of the SSRC with LEMP.     

A theoretical study of a novel regenerative ejector refrigeration cycle

There has been a demand for developments of the ejector refrigeration systems using low grade thermal energy, such as solar energy and waste heat. In this paper, a novel regenerative ejector refrigeration cycle was described, which uses an auxiliary jet pump and a conventional regenerator to enhance the performance of the novel cycle. The theoretical analysis on the performance characteristics was carried out for the novel cycle with the refrigerant R141b. Compared with the conventional cycle, the simulation results show that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the novel cycle increases, respectively, by from 9.3 to 12.1% when generating temperature is in a range of 80–160 °C, the condensing temperature is in a range of 35–45 °C and the evaporating temperature is fixed at 10 °C. Especially due to the enhanced regeneration with increasing the pump outlet pressure, the improvement of COP of the novel cycle is approached to 17.8% compared with that in the conventional cycle under the operating condition that generating temperature is 100 °C, condensing temperature is 40 °C and evaporating temperature is 10 °C. Therefore, the characteristics of the novel cycle performance show its promise in using low grade thermal energy for the ejector refrigeration system.     

Impact of fin spacing on temperature distribution in adsorption cooling system for vehicle A/C applications

Effects of fin spacing on the temperature distribution in a finned tube adsorber bed are studied to decrease the temperature gradient inside the adsorber bed and minimize the adsorber bed to adsorbent mass ratio (AAMR) for vehicle air conditioning applications. Finned tube adsorber beds have shown higher specific cooling power and coefficient of performance, and low AAMR among the existing adsorber beds. A single-adsorber bed ACS with interchangeable heat exchangers is built and equipped with hermetic type T thermocouples. Two copper heat exchangers with 6.35 mm (1/4″) and 9.5 mm (3/8″) fin spacing are custom-built and packed with 2–4 mm silica gel beads. The experimental results show that by decreasing the fin spacing from 9.5 mm to 6.35 mm, the temperature difference between the fin and adsorbent reduces by 4.6 °C under the cycle time of 600 s and an adsorption to desorption time ratio (ADTR) of one. A greater reduction in the temperature gradient inside the adsorber bed with smaller fin spacing is observed for short cycle time operation, e.g. 600 s, compared to long cycle time operation, e.g. 1400 s. Finally, simultaneous comparison of the temperature gradient between the fins and AAMR against fin spacing indicates that the optimum fin spacing for a finned tube heat exchanger packed with 2–4 mm silica gel beads is about 6 mm.     

Experimental and numerical investigations on the eccentric vortex of the cross flow fan

The effects of an eccentric vortex on the performance of a cross flow fan for air-conditioning is evaluated experimentally and numerically. Based on the two-dimensional computational analysis using commercial CFD software, and experimental measurements, a new design is proposed for the inlet guide vanes. The new design reduces vortex shedding from the fan blades, thereby reducing the size of the eccentric vortex, which results in improved fan efficiency. The new design improves the performance of the cross flow fan marginally by 4.6% at a maximum volumetric flow rate of 10.5 m³ min⁻¹.     

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.