R1234yf and R1234ze(E) as low-GWP refrigerants for residential heat pump water heaters

Owing to the growing concerns about the relatively high global warming potential (GWP) of current refrigerants, a serious effort is in progress to find lower-GWP substitutes. The hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-based refrigerants R1234yf and R1234ze(E) are being considered for use in multiple heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration applications because of their very low GWP. A study was conducted to model a residential heat pump water heater using these HFOs. A system model was calibrated using experimental data and the calibrated model was used to evaluate the potential of HFOs to replace R134a. A series of parametric analyses were used to investigate the impacts of condenser wrap pattern, condenser tube size, evaporator size, and heat loss factor from the storage tank. It has been shown that both R1234yf and R1234ze(E) can be substituted for R134a with comparable performance and no substantial modifications to the original system. This study presents a detailed feasibility analysis for successful replacement of high-GWP refrigerants with low-GWP refrigerants with acceptable performance.     

R1234yf热泵技术综述与潜力分析

为了满足逐步严苛的环保法规要求,R1234yf成为车用热泵制冷剂R134a的热门替代制冷剂之一。本文对R1234yf热泵技术的研究进行了综述与分析,其GWP<1,各方面性质均符合车用热泵系统的工作需求。在传热效果上,R1234yf的沸腾传热性能略优于R134a,且冷凝过程压降比R134a低5%～10%,优于R134a系统。在诸多R1234yf和R134a系统的仿真和实验研究中,R1234yf热泵性能略低于R134a,但可以通过优化零部件、强化补气、改善工况等方式使其与R134a十分接近甚至超越。R1234yf低压饱和压力比R134a高约15%,可以适配更高的压缩机转速,低温下制热性能比R134a更好,且较低的压缩机排气温度使系统工作更为稳定,强化补气的效果也优于R134a。因此,R1234yf在车用热泵中具有较好的工作性能和发展前景,可以作为R134a的替代制冷剂。     

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.     

Exergy analysis of R1234yf and R1234ze as R134a replacements in a two evaporator vapour compression refrigeration system

Exergy analysis is a useful way for determining the real thermodynamic losses and optimising environmental and economic performance in the systems such as vapour compression refrigeration systems. The present study deals with the exergy analysis on a two evaporator vapour compression refrigeration system using R1234yf, R1234ze and R134a as refrigerants. In the calculation of losses occurring in different system components, besides the exergy efficiency of the refrigeration cycle, a computer code was developed by using Engineering Equation Solver (EES-V9.172-3D) software package program. The effects of the evaporator and condenser temperatures on the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of the system were investigated. R1234yf and R1234ze, which are good alternatives to R134a concerning their environmentally friendly properties and this is the most significant finding emerging from this study.     

新型制冷剂R1234ze(E)及其混合工质研究进展

低GWP值制冷剂R1234ze(E)(trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene)作为R134a较为理想的替代品而被关注,但其单一成分的热力学性能和传输特性并不理想,在R1234ze(E)中混入R32成分可以有效改善其热力学性能。本文概述了低GWP值工质R1234ze(E)及其与R32混合物的热物性特征、传输特性及系统运行性能方面的研究现状,并与目前常用的制冷工质进行比较分析,指出R1234ze(E)与R32混合工质有望成为新型低GWP值替代工质。     

Condensation heat transfer and two-phase frictional pressure drop in a single minichannel with R1234ze(E) and other refrigerants

R1234ze(E), trans-1, 3, 3, 3-tetrafluoropropene, is a fluorinated propene isomer which may be a substitute of R134a for refrigeration applications. R1234ze(E) has a much lower GWP_100-years than that of R134a. In this paper, the local heat transfer coefficient during condensation of R1234ze(E) is investigated in a single minichannel, horizontally arranged, with hydraulic diameter equal to 0.96 mm. Since the saturation temperature drop directly affects the heat transfer rate, the pressure drop during adiabatic two phase flow of R1234ze(E) is also measured. Predictive models are assessed both for condensation heat transfer and pressure drop. A comparative analysis is carried out among several fluids (R1234ze(E), R32, R134a and R1234yf) starting from experimental data collected at the same conditions and using the Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC) named Penalty Factor (PF) and Total Temperature Penalization (TTP) to rank the tested refrigerants in forced convective condensation.     

混合制冷剂R1234yf/R134a PVTx性质的实验研究

为了获得混合制冷剂R1234yf/R134a的热物性数据,本文利用Burnett法为基础搭建的高精度PVTx实验台,在温度为268~323 K时,测定了质量分数为55%/45%,50%/50%和45%/55%混合制冷剂R1234yf/R134a的PVT性质,最终拟合了三种不同配比的混合工质的气态维里方程,方程和实验数据具有较高的重合度。     

Experimental study of R1234yf as a drop-in replacement for R134a in a domestic refrigerator

This paper presents an experimental study for three identical domestic refrigerators using R1234yf as a drop-in replacement for R134a. An alternative methodology was proposed to estimate the optimal mass charge for R1234yf; with the use of such methodology, new evidences were sought on the thermal behavior of the refrigerator compartments as well as at the heat exchangers. Additionally, energy performance for both refrigerants was measured, and, finally, a TEWI analysis was conducted. For the type of refrigerator evaluated, results showed that R1234yf presented an average (for the 3 refrigerators) of 0.4 °C for the fresh food compartment, and 1.2 °C for the freezer, among different charges with respect to R134a. The optimal charge for R1234yf was 92.2 g, which is about 7.8% lower than the one for R134a, which represents a small increase of 4% in energy consumption in comparison to R134a. Finally, the TEWI analysis for the R1234yf was 1.07% higher than the R134a.     

Numerical research on R32/R1234ze(E) air source heat pump under variable mass concentration

R32/R1234ze(E) mixtures are potentially low-GWP alternative refrigerants for air conditioning and heat pumps while the rare pure refrigerants can totally meet the requirements of new international protocols on environmental conservation, thermodynamic performance, and safety. The system performance under different concentrations is important for selection of working concentration for the new R32/R1234ze(E) refrigeration or heat pump. In this paper, the thermodynamic model of an ASHP with R32/R1234ze(E) mixtures is built and used to investigate the influence of the refrigerant composition on the performance of the system. The results show that when the mass fraction of R1234ze(E) changes from 0% to 100%, the heating capacity of the ASHP decreases by 67.2%, while the COP continuously increases by 70.3%, which means the changing tendency of system COP is quite different from previous research under fixed evaporating and condensing temperature. Adjusting the refrigerant concentration will be a good system modulation method for ASHPs with R32/R1234ze(E) to meet both the heating capacity and energy efficiency requirements. Furthermore, temperature matching degree is an important factor that affects the energy efficiency of ASHPs with non-azeotropes, which can guide the circuitry optimization of evaporator and condenser in ASHPs with non-azeotropes.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of condenser subcooling in R134a and R1234yf air-conditioning systems with and without internal heat exchanger

This paper presents an experimental study about the effect of condenser subcooling on the performance of an air conditioning system operating with R134a and R1234yf, under the same operating conditions. For both refrigerants, it has been shown that the COP undergoes a maximum as a consequence of the trade-off between increasing refrigerating effect and increasing specific compression work. At a given operating condition, the system COP increased up to 18% for R1234yf and 9% for R134a. These results confirmed the trends obtained from a previous theoretical analysis, demonstrating that a system operating with R1234yf can benefit more from the condenser subcooling than that with R134a. The experimental results also showed that the presence of an internal heat exchanger significantly reduces the COP increase due to condenser subcooling, since both improvements compete towards reducing the throttling losses. Besides the interference between IHX and condenser subcooling, the use of both simultaneously still yields a more efficient air conditioning system, especially for R1234yf.     

R1234yf as a substitute of R134a in automotive air conditioning. Solubility measurements in two commercial PAG oils

Starting from January 1st 2011, as stated by the Directive 2006/40/EC, fluorinated greenhouse gases with a global warming potential (GWP) higher than 150 can not be used in automotive applications any more. For this reason, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R134a), commonly used for these applications, will be abandoned and substituted by refrigerants with lower GWP. In recent times, a new fluid, 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234yf) has been proposed as an interesting alternative, since it has a very low GWP and thermodynamic properties very similar to R134a. At the moment, only few data can be found on the thermodynamic properties of this new refrigerant and, in particular, its behaviour in solution with commonly used compressor lubricants is still to be evaluated. Here, solubility experimental data of R1234yf in a Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG) and in a specifically modified Double-Capped PAG (DC-PAG) commercial lubricants are measured with a static synthetic method at isothermal conditions, in the temperature range between 258 K and 338 K.     

混合制冷剂R1234yf/R32 PVTx性质的实验研究

为了获得混合制冷剂R1234yf/R32的热物性数据,本文以Burnett法为基础搭建了高精度PVTx实验台,在温度为253~313 K时,测定了质量分数为15%/85%和25%/75%混合制冷剂R1234yf/R32的PVT性质,拟合了两种不同配比的混合工质的气态维里方程,为进一步研究该工质的基础热物性提供了详实的数据。     

Comparative experimental study of low GWP alternative for R134a in a walk-in cold room

The environmental problems induced by the ongoing increase in the global worming potential (GWP) pose a significant interest among researchers. It was found that, the currently used refrigerants are with high GWP (National Refrigerants Inc., 2004), so that it becomes necessary to search for alternatives to these refrigerants that can properly operate on the same systems but with low GWP. Therefore a walk-in cold room working with vapor compression cycle is constructed and tested in this paper. The performance of R134a refrigerant with high GWP is compared to another low GWP refrigerant R1234ze in a trail to provide a solution of the problem of high GWP of refrigerants currently used in cold rooms. The results obtained in this study have shown that, the cooling capacity of R1234ze was lower than that of R134a by 2% to 13%. The lowest evaporating temperature that could be reached for R1234ze is −13 °C while the lowest temperature of R134a is −30 °C. Regarding the power consumption, R1234ze has lower power consumption than R134a by about 9% to 15% therefore it can be concluded that R 1234ze can be recommended to be used at high and medium evaporating temperature after carrying out the suitable modifications on the refrigeration cycle.     

Characterization and simulation of an open piston compressor for application on automotive air-conditioning systems operating with R134a,R1234yf and R290

A semi-empirical characterization and simulation model for automotive air-conditioning open piston compressor is developed. The model is based on fundamental conservation principles and takes into account pressure drop and heat transfer in suction and discharge passages. Fundamental conservation principles equations, as well as volumetric and isentropic efficiencies, pressure drop, heat transfer and property equations are combined to form a system of non-linear algebraic equations. They are worked out so as to identify constants that are sole characteristics of the compressor and should not vary with different operating conditions or refrigerants. A numerical method determines such constants from existing experimental data, thus characterizing the compressor. Experimental data were obtained from tests carried out by Navarro et al. (2013) for an open piston compressor running with fluids R134a, R1234yf and R290. First, the experimental data were employed to determine the characterization parameters of the compressor. Then, the simulation model, with the R134a-based parameters, was applied to simulate the compressor operation with R1234yf and R290. Good agreement was obtained between predicted and experimental values, proving the suitability of the model for the study of new refrigerants.     

Analysis based on EU Regulation No 517/2014 of new HFC/HFO mixtures as alternatives of high GWP refrigerants in refrigeration and HVAC systems

The EU Regulation No 517/2014 is going to phase-out most of the refrigerants commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems (R134a, R404A and R410A) because of their extended use and their high GWP values. There are very different options to replace them; however, no refrigerant has yet imposed. In this paper we review and analyze the different mixtures proposed by the AHRI as alternative refrigerants to those employed currently. These mixtures are composed by HFC refrigerants: R32, R125, R152a and R134a; and HFO refrigerants: R1234yf and R1234ze(E). It is concluded, from the theoretical analysis, that most of the new HFO/HFC mixtures perform under the HFC analyzed (although some experimental studies show the contrary) and, in most cases, do not meet the GWP restrictions approved by the European normative. Furthermore, some of the mixtures proposed would have problems due to their flammability.     

Correlations for the viscosity of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234yf) and trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (R1234ze(E))

Due to concerns about global warming, there is interest in 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234yf) and trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (R1234ze(E)) as potential replacements for refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP). In this paper we survey available data and provide viscosity correlations that cover the entire fluid range including vapor, liquid, and supercritical regions. The correlation for R1234yf is valid from the triple point (220 K) to 410 K at pressures up to 30 MPa, and the correlation for R1234ze(E) is valid from the triple point (169 K) to 420 K at pressures up to 100 MPa. The estimated uncertainty for both correlations at a 95% confidence level is 2% for the liquid phase over the temperature range 243 K to 363 K at pressures to 30 MPa, and 3% for the gas phase at atmospheric pressure.     

Experimental investigation on heating performance of gas-injected scroll compressor using R32, R1234yf and their 20wt%/80wt% mixture under low ambient temperature

In this paper, an integrated gas-injected scroll compressor heat pump system using R1234yf, R32 and its binary mixtures as working fluid was developed and their heating performances under low ambient temperature were quantitatively evaluated. A composite test system consisting of second-refrigerant calorimeter and water-cooled condenser was used to test the system working performance. The condensing temperature, evaporating temperature, compressor power input and other variables were analyzed to evaluate the system heating capability and energy efficiency. Test results showed that the R1234yf system can run at an evaporating temperature of −25 °C. R1234yf/R32 mixture can run at an evaporating temperature of −20 °C and it has the highest heating COP value among other refrigerants; R1234yf/R32 gas injection system provided very significant performance improvements for heating performance, compared with no gas injection, the heating capacity and heating COP can improve 16%~20% and 13%~16%, respectively.     

Experimental liquid densities of cis-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234ze(Z)) and trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (R1233zd(E))

In this work, liquid phase densities of two fourth generation refrigerants, cis-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene R1234ze(Z) and trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene R1233zd(E), are measured. The densities have been measured using a vibrating tube densimeter over the temperature range from 273.15 K to 333.15 K for pressures up to 30 MPa. For both fluids, the expanded uncertainty at a confidence level of 95% in the density measurements is estimated to be 0.07% over the entire T–p range measured.     

Condensation heat transfer coefficients of R1234yf on plain, low fin, and Turbo-C tubes

In this study, external condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) of HFC134a and R1234yf are measured on a plain, low fin, and Turbo-C tubes at the saturated vapor temperature of 39 °C with the wall subcooling of 3-8 °C. R1234yf is a new alternative refrigerant of low greenhouse warming potential for replacing HFC134a, one of the greenhouse gases in Kyoto protocol, used extensively in automobile air conditioners and other refrigeration systems. Test results show that the condensation HTCs of R1234yf are very similar to those of HFC134a for all three surfaces tested. For the development of heat transfer correlations, thorough property measurements are needed for R1234yf in the near future.     

Solubility of R22, R23, R32, R134a,R152a,R125 and R744 refrigerants in water by using equations of state

This paper tries to demonstrate the ability of VPT and CPA equations of state and modified mixing rules for predicting of solubility CHC1F₂ (R22), CHF₃ (R23), CH₂F₂ (R32), C₂H₂F₄ (R134a), C₂H₄F₂ (R152a), C₂HF₅ (R125) and CO₂ (R744) refrigerants in water at different temperatures and pressures. For this purpose, the fugacity of each component in gas and liquid phases is calculated by using VPT and CPA equations of state. Also in this work, the interaction parameters for mixing rules in each mixture are optimized by using two-phase equilibrium data (VL_W). Results of the two-phase flash calculation show good agreement between obtained solubility and the experimental data. The predicted solubility of the selected refrigerants in water agrees with the experimental data with accuracy of about 1.5% and 3.5% by VPT equation of state – modified mixing rule and CPA equation of state – Van der Waals classic mixing rule respectively.