Thermophysical properties of R143a (1,1,1-trifluoroethane)

Various thermophysical properties of refrigerant R143a (1,1,1-trifluoroethane) have been determined under saturation conditions using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Light scattering from bulk fluids was applied for measuring the thermal diffusivity and the sound velocity for both the saturated liquid and vapor phase over a wide temperature range of 273-346 K. The results were also used to obtain information on the specific heat at constant pressure and the isentropic compressibility. Furthermore, the surface tension and liquid kinematic viscosity were determined simultaneously in the temperature range 253-333 K from light scattering by surface waves on a horizontal liquid-vapor interface. All experiments are based on a heterodyne detection scheme and a signal analysis by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). The results for R143a are discussed in detail and compared to literature data available.     

Property equations for saturated water

The fundamental relations for the thermophysical properties of refrigerant R22 over an extended range of saturation temperatures have been documented in this Short communication. These empirical expressions, which are associated with saturated liquid and saturated vapour states, speed up the computations involved in system modelling and computer simulation of vapour compression units.     

Thermodynamic properties of CFC alternatives: A survey of the available data

The thermodynamic properties of ten halogenated hydrocarbons are collected from a variety of sources, including unpublished data. Considered are the triple point, normal boiling point and critical point parameters, and the temperature dependence of the vapour pressure, saturated liquid density and ideal gas heat capacity. Also considered are the single-phase p-V-p data. The saturation liquid density and ideal gas simple correlations. The fluids, which are potential alternatives to the fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons, are R23, R32, R125, R143a, R22, R134a, R152a, R124, R142b and R123.     

Thermodynamic properties of HFC-32 (difluoromethane)

An 18-coefficient modified Benedict–Webb–Rubin equation of state of HFC-32 (difluoromethane) has been developed, based on the updated available PVT measurements, heat capacity measurements and speed of sound measurements. Correlations of vapor pressure and saturated liquid density are also presented. The correlations have been developed based on the reported experimental saturation properties data. This equation of state is effective both in the superheated gaseous phase and compressed liquid phase at pressures up to 70 MPa, densities to 1450 kg/m³, and temperatures from 150 to 475 K, respectively.     

A predictive density model in a corresponding states format. Application to pure and mixed refrigerants

A three parameters density model based on Corresponding States (CS) technique is proposed as a means of predicting the density of pure fluids and their mixtures on the entire PρT (PρTx) surface. The studied fluids belong to two conformal families of the new refrigerant fluids generation: the halogenated alkanes (HA) and the hydrofluoroethers (HFE). The new model is based on an original scaling factor parameter that is determined only on a saturated liquid density experimental value. Using two accurate dedicated equations of state (EoS) as references, the same structure of the Teja CS model is maintained, substituting the classical acentric factor with the new defined scaling parameter. Through this model, the density of the refrigerant fluids considered can be calculated on the whole surface with an accuracy level similar to that of the dedicated equations. The model is validated against experimental data for HFC refrigerants including fluoropropanes, fluorobutanes and fluoroethers. A comparison is also proposed with available density models regarded of high accuracy level.     

An implicit curve-fitting method for fast calculation of thermal properties of pure and mixed refrigerants

Calculations of refrigerant thermal properties are desired to be very fast and stable in cases of simulation of refrigeration system, etc. The traditional method based on equation of state cannot meet such requirement because of unavoidable iterations in calculation. In this paper, a new calculation method for refrigerant thermal properties is presented. Low order implicit polynomial equations are got by using curve-fitting method at first, and then explicit formulae for calculating refrigerant thermal properties quickly are obtained by getting the analytical solution of these implicit equations. Explicit fast calculation formulae for thermal properties of R22 and R407C, covering the saturated temperature of −6080 °C and superheat of 0–65 °C, are presented as examples. The calculation speeds of the formulae of R22 are about 140 times faster than those of REFPROP 6.01 while the formulae of R407C are about 1000 times faster. The total mean relative deviations of the fast calculation formulae for R22 and R407C are less than 0.02%.     

A simple set of equations of state for process calculations and its application to R134a and R152a

This paper reports a useful set of equations which enables the consistent and reliable calculation of thermodynamic properties. This set of equations consists of a vapour pressure equation, an equation for the gas phase p, v, T properties, an equation giving the saturated liquid densities and an equation for the specific heat capacity in the ideal gas domain. These equations are of a simple structure because the critical region is excluded. Therefore, for a preliminary investigation only few experimental data points are required for parameter regression, which makes this set of equations suitable for ‘new’ refrigerants. The relationships for enthalpy and entropy are derived from these equations and evaluation procedures are summarized. Examples are given for the refrigerants R134a and R152a.     

Azeotropy in the natural and synthetic refrigerant mixtures

A novel approach for the prediction of azeotrope formation in a mixture that does not require vapour–liquid equilibrium calculations is developed. The method employs neural networks and global phase diagram methodologies to correlate azeotropic data for binary mixtures based only on critical properties and acentric factor of the individual components in refrigerant mixtures. Analytical expressions to predict azeotropy and double azeotropy phenomena in terms of critical parameters of pure components and interaction parameters k₁₂, are derived using global phase diagram conception. Modeling of thermodynamic and phase behavior has been carried out on the base of the Redlich–Kwong–Soave and the Peng–Robinson equations of state (EoS). Local mapping method is introduced to describe thermodynamically consistently an accurate saturation curve of refrigerants by three parameters EoS. Optimized neural network was chosen to achieve a complete coincidence of predicted and experimentally observable azeotropic states for training, validation, and test sets simultaneously. All possible cases of azeotropy appearance/absence in the more than 1500 industrially significant binary mixtures of natural and synthetic refrigerants are presented.     

Study on adsorption refrigeration cycle utilizing activated carbon fibers. Part 1. Adsorption characteristics

Thermal heat driven adsorption systems using natural refrigerants have been focused on the recent energy utilization trend. However, the drawbacks of these adsorption systems are their poor performance in terms of system cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP). The objective of this paper is to improve the performance of thermally powered adsorption cooling system by selecting new adsorbent–refrigerant pair. Adsorption capacity of adsorbent–refrigerant pair depends on the thermophysical properties (pore size, pore volume and pore diameter) of adsorbent and isothermal characteristics of the pair. In this paper, the thermophysical properties of two PAN types of activated carbon fibers (FX-400 and KF-1000) are determined from the nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The standard nitrogen gas adsorption/desorption measurements on various adsorbents at liquid nitrogen of temperature 77.3 K were performed. Surface area of each adsorbent was determined by the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) plot of nitrogen adsorption data. Pore size distribution was measured by the Horvath and Kawazoe (HK) method. As of the adsorption/desorption isotherms, FX-400 shows very small hysteresis when the value of P/P_o exceeds 0.4, while KF-1000 has no hysteresis in the whole range of P/P_o. The adsorption capacity of FX-400 is about 30% higher than that of KF-1000. The adsorption equilibrium data of activated carbon fiber (ACF)-methanol are presented and correlated with simple equations. The adsorption equilibrium data of ACF (KF-1000)-water also presented in order to facilitate comparison with those of ACFs-methanol pair. The results will contribute significantly in designing the adsorber/desorber heat exchanger for thermally driven adsorption cooling system.     

An experimental investigation and modelling of the viscosity refrigerant/oil solutions

This paper presents experimental data for the viscosity of solutions of refrigerant R600a (isobutane) with mineral compressor oils Azmol, Reniso WF 15A, and R245fa (1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane) with polyolester compressor oil Planetelf ACD 100 FY on the saturation line. The experimental data were obtained for solution of R600a with mineral compressor oil Azmol in the temperature range from 294.7 to 338.1 K and the concentration range 0.04399 ≤ w_R ≤ 0.3651, the solution of R600a with mineral compressor oil Reniso WF 15A at the temperatures from 285.8 to 348.4 K and the concentration range 0.03364 ≤ w_R ≤ 0.2911, the solution of R245fa with polyolester compressor oil Planetelf ACD 100 FY at the temperatures from 309 to 348.2 and the concentration range 0.06390 ≤ w_R ≤ 0.3845. The viscosity was measured using a rolling ball method. The method for prediction of the dynamic viscosity for refrigerant/oil solutions is reported.     

Predicting the viscosity of liquid refrigerant blends: comparison with experimental data

A method is presented for predicting the viscosity of liquid refrigerant mixtures. The method has no adjustable parameters and, in essence, relies upon the knowledge of the viscosity of the pure components to predict the viscosity of a mixture by means of kinetic theory and rigid-sphere formalism. The predictions have been compared with the available experimental data for a number of refrigerant mixtures. Based on this comparison and previous studies, the accuracy of the proposed method is assessed to be of the order of ±7%.     

Refrigerant R134a condensation heat transfer and pressure drop inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger

This paper presents the experimental tests on HFC-134a condensation inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger: the effects of refrigerant mass flux, saturation temperature and vapour super-heating are investigated.A transition point between gravity controlled and forced convection condensation has been found for a refrigerant mass flux around 20 kg/m² s. For refrigerant mass flux lower than 20 kg/m² s, the saturated vapour heat transfer coefficients are not dependent on mass flux and are well predicted by the Nusselt [Nusselt, W., 1916. Die oberflachenkondensation des wasserdampfes. Z. Ver. Dt. Ing. 60, 541–546, 569–575] analysis for vertical surface. For refrigerant mass flux higher than 20 kg/m² s, the saturated vapour heat transfer coefficients depend on mass flux and are well predicted by the Akers et al. [Akers, W.W., Deans, H.A., Crosser, O.K., 1959. Condensing heat transfer within horizontal tubes. Chem. Eng. Prog. Symp. Ser. 55, 171–176] equation. In the forced convection condensation region, the heat transfer coefficients show a 30% increase for a doubling of the refrigerant mass flux. The condensation heat transfer coefficients of super-heated vapour are 8–10% higher than those of saturated vapour and are well predicted by the Webb [Webb, R.L., 1998. Convective condensation of superheated vapour. ASME J. Heat Transfer 120, 418–421] model. The heat transfer coefficients show weak sensitivity to saturation temperature. The frictional pressure drop shows a linear dependence on the kinetic energy per unit volume of the refrigerant flow and therefore a quadratic dependence on the refrigerant mass flux.     

Liquid dynamic viscosity: A general prediction method with application to refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures

This paper discusses prediction methods which are able to provide the dynamic viscosity, μ, of liquids along the saturation line. The best empirical or semi-empirical correlations existing in the literature are critically presented and checked to outline the usefulness of the new prediction method presented in this paper. Fifty substances (organic compounds, inorganic compounds and pure elements) are examined to show the reliability of the new simple equation which contains three factors (A, B and C) related to the molecular structure and the most important physical properties. The general scheme of prediction is then applied to the particular case of refrigerant fluids belonging to the methane and ethane families and to their binary mixtures. The accuracy of the proposed prediction method is checked using the most recent and reliable experimental dynamic viscosity data available in literature, and the mean and the maximum deviations between predicted and experimental μ values are shown to be less than 3 and 8%, respectively.     

Working fluids for an absorption system based on R124 (2-chloro-1,1,1,2,-tetrafluoroethane) and organic absorbents

The possibility of using R124 (2-chloro-1,1,1,2,-tetrafluoroethane, CHClFCF₃) and organic absorbents as working fluids in absorption heat pumps was investigated. Various classes of organic compounds, all commercially available, were tested as absorbents for possible combination with R124; the absorbents included DMAC (N′, N′-dimethylacetamide, C₄H₉NO), NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, C₅H₉NO), MCL (N-methyl ε-caprolactam, C₇H₁₃NO), DMEU (dimethylethylene urea, C₅H₁₀N₂O), and DMETEG (dimethylether tetraethyleneglycol, C₁₀H₂₂O₅). To evaluate the performance of a candidate refrigerant-absorbent pair in a refrigeration or heat pump cycle, the thermophysical properties of the pure components and the mixture and the equilibrium and transport properties have to be determined, either from experimental data or by prediction methods. The thermal stability of the refrigerant-absorbent must also be tested. A method for the calculation of the concentration in the liquid and gas phases and the excess thermodynamic properties of the mixture as a function of the system temperature and pressure based on our experimental setup is described. On the basis of vapor-liquid equilibrium measurements, density and viscosity measurements and thermostability testing, enthalpy-concentration diagrams were constructed. The performance characteristics of the investigated working fluids in terms of the coefficient of performance (COP) and the circulation ratio (f) were calculated for a single-stage absorption cycle. In terms of overall performance (COP, f and stability) R124-DMAC was found to be the superior combination, followed by R124-NMP, R124-DMEU and R124-MCL (the three pairs for which stability problems were found at high temperatures), and finally by R124-DMETEG.     

Thermophysical Properties of Binary and Ternary Fluid Mixtures from Dynamic Light Scattering

Several thermophysical properties of R507, a binary refrigerant mixture, and R404A, a ternary mixture, have been determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), in both the liquid and the vapor states, along the saturation line approaching the vapor–liquid critical point. Data for the thermal diffusivitya and sound speed c _S cover a range of temperatures down to 270K, and data for the surface tension and kinematic viscosity down to 230K. For both mixtures the behavior of all properties determined can be correlated well by the mass-weighted sum of the respective pure component data, when all data are represented as a function of the reduced temperature.     

Behavior of isobaric heat capacity of R32 in the gas phase

The specific isobaric heat capacity was measured for R 32 (difluoromethane) in the gas phase. Twenty-one measurements for R 32 were obtained at temperatures from 282 to 319 K and at pressures from 1.0 to 2.4 MPa, which are very close to the saturation curve. The expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of the temperature measurements is estimated to be less than 23 mK, and that of the pressure measurements is less than 15 kPa. The expanded uncertainty for c_p is estimated to range from 15 to 47 J kg^?1 K^?1. The measurements were compared with available equations of state. Based on the measurements, heat capacity curves of the ideal gas and saturated vapor of R 32 were specified. These data will be very useful for improving available models, especially for correcting behavior in the gas phase, so as to represent reliable thermodynamic properties of R 32 and refrigerant mixtures with R32 that are used for refrigeration and air conditioning systems.     

Prediction of transport properties of R22-DMF refrigerant-absorbent combinations

The present work aims to evaluate the transport properties of R22-DMF solutions; one of the most promising combinations for absorption refrigeration. A number of methods have been used to estimate the thermal conductivity, viscosity and surface tension. The selection of suitable methods has been made by computing the properties of ammonia-water mixtures and comparing them with available experimental data. Other thermophysical properties, i.e. thermal diffusivity, specific heat and liquid density, have been predicted using standard, well established methods over a wide range of temperature and composition. Correlations have been developed to express each property as a function of composition and temperature. The properties are also presented in a suitable graphical form.     

Design of Rankine Cycles for power generation from evaporating LNG

Of the different ways of using the cold available from the large scale evaporation of LNG the generation of electric power, using the Rankine Cycle, appears the most practical. Fourteen such plants have so far been installed in Japan. The present study was undertaken for a plant at Zeebrugge. Six different cycles using nine different refrigerants and mixtures were examined. The results (Tables 2 and 3) show the importance of using a heat source with the highest possible temperature. No one refrigerant is ideal for all configurations Environmental and safety considerations also affect the choice of refrigerant.     

The viscosity surfaces of R152a in the form of multilayer feed forward neural networks

A multilayer feedforward neural network (MLFN) technique is adopted for developing a viscosity equation for R152a. The results obtained are very promising, with an average absolute deviation (AAD) of 0.36% for the currently available 300 primary data points, and they are a significant improvement over those of a corresponding conventional equation in the literature. The method requires a high accuracy equation of state for the fluid in order to convert the experimental P,T into the independent variables ρ,T, but such equation may not be available for the target fluid. Aiming at overcoming this difficulty, two viscosity explicit equations in the form , avoiding the density variable, are also developed, one for the liquid surface and the other for the vapor one. The reached accuracy levels are equivalent to that of the former equation. The trend of the reduced second viscosity virial coefficient is correctly reproduced in the data range. The proposed technique, being heuristic and non theoretically founded, is also a powerful tool for experimental data screening.