Measurement of refrigerant mass distribution within a R290 split air conditioner

Li, Tingxun; Lu, Jian; Chen, Lei; He, Dongcai; Qiu, Xiaozhou; Li, Hongyao; Liu, Zhen

doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2015.05.012

Cited by 44 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The modelling results show that at a cooling power of 8.8 kW, 44% of the refrigerant concentrates in the condenser, and 17% of the refrigerant concentrate in the evaporator while 5% of the refrigerant dissolved in the oil lubricant. Table 3 shows the refrigerant distribution comparison between related literature [6,9,16,17] and the current study. As can be seen from Table 3, the mass of the refrigerant inventory in the condenser and evaporator are roughly the same as the present study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, minimisation of the refrigerant charge and leakage becomes more important than ever during the design process of refrigeration units. Refrigerant distribution is strongly related to refrigerant leakage rate and refrigerant charge [6]. Investigating the refrigerant distribution enables a deeper understanding of the impact of refrigerant charge and helps to reduce the refrigerant charge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous works have been done to investigate the impact of the refrigerant distribution under various operating conditions. Li et al [6] investigated the refrigerant distribution of a split air conditioner using R290 as the working fluid. The results indicated that 60% of the total charge of the refrigerant was accumulated in the heat exchanger at steady-state conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling of Refrigerant Distribution in an Oil-Free Refrigeration System using R134a

Chen

Zhao

et al. 2019

Energies

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Increasing number of refrigeration units has led to an increase of CO2 emissions and the destruction of the ozone layer. Using low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, improving the efficiency of vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) units, and minimising refrigerant leakages can reduce the global warming effect. Investigating the refrigerant distribution under varied operating conditions can provide a deeper understanding of refrigerant charge optimization. This study proposed a model of refrigerant mass distribution in a prototype oil-free VCR system using a linear compressor with variable strokes and R134a. The absence of the oil lubricant allows the adoption of compact heat exchangers, such as micro-channels, so that the total refrigerant charge can be reduced significantly. The predicted total refrigerant charge has a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 3.7%. The simulation results indicate that refrigerant distributed in the condenser is most sensitive to operating conditions and total refrigerant charges. The refrigerant accumulated in the condenser is 6.8% higher at a total refrigerant charge of 0.33 kg than that of 0.22 kg. For a total refrigerant charge of 0.33 kg, 72.1% of the total refrigerant can accumulate in the condenser. At a fixed pressure ratio, the refrigerant as a two-phase form in the condenser decreases slightly with the increase of compressor strokes, resulting in a larger mass flow rate, thus cooling capacity. The present model can be adapted for optimization of a refrigeration unit and its components.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling of Refrigerant Distribution in an Oil-Free Refrigeration System using R134a

Chen

Zhao

et al. 2019

Energies

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“…While risk analysis has been performed on these systems showing that with careful installation, reaching the lower flammability limit is improbable [4], concerns remain. Studies have shown that the majority of charge is stored in heat exchangers [5,6], thus minimizing the heat exchangers' volume seems to be the most effective method of increasing the capacity of these systems with regards to limitations on their charge. This is even more critical in the condenser's case as it could contain 50% of the total charge [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown that the majority of charge is stored in heat exchangers [5,6], thus minimizing the heat exchangers' volume seems to be the most effective method of increasing the capacity of these systems with regards to limitations on their charge. This is even more critical in the condenser's case as it could contain 50% of the total charge [6]. In an air sourced heat pump, the majority of the charge is stored in the condenser; nevertheless, the evaporator charge is still considerable, especially in lower temperatures where it can be more than 20% of the total charge [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Study of Hydrocarbon Charge Reduction Methods in HVAC Heat Exchangers

et al. 2021

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Required refrigerant charge in heat pump systems with propane is analyzed. Two systems are compared: the first a direct heat pump, with fin-and-tube heat exchangers, and the second an indirect system, with plate heat exchangers with an additional brine-to-air heat exchanger. Each system was considered to be able to work reversibly, with 5~kW design cooling capacity in summer and 8~kW design heating capacity in winter. Two separately developed simulation codes were used to calculate the required refrigerant charge and the efficiency of each of the systems. The charge was reduced by the use of microfinned tubes up to 22% in direct system reduced using microfinned tubes compared to the smooth tube. For the indirect system using specially designed plate heat exchangers with the minimum internal volume, their charge was reduced by up to 66% compared to normal plate heat exchangers.

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Experimental and theoretical examination of the energy performance and CO2 emissions of room air conditioners utilizing natural refrigerant R290 as a substitute for R22

Shaik¹,

Gorantla

Shaik

et al. 2023

J Therm Anal Calorim

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Measurement of refrigerant mass distribution within a R290 split air conditioner

Cited by 44 publications

References 4 publications

Modelling of Refrigerant Distribution in an Oil-Free Refrigeration System using R134a

Modelling of Refrigerant Distribution in an Oil-Free Refrigeration System using R134a

Numerical Study of Hydrocarbon Charge Reduction Methods in HVAC Heat Exchangers

Experimental and theoretical examination of the energy performance and CO2 emissions of room air conditioners utilizing natural refrigerant R290 as a substitute for R22

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