Thermodynamic Analysis and Comparison on Low Temperature CO_2-NH_3 Cascade Refrigeration Cycle

This paper is focused on the cascade refrigeration cycle using natural refrigerant CO 2-NH 3. The properties of refrigerants CO 2 and NH 3 are introduced and analyzed.CO 2 has the advantage in low stage of cascade refrigeration cycle due to its good characteristics and properties. The thermodynamic analysis results of the CO 2-NH 3 cascade refrigeration cycle demonstrates that the cycle has an optimum condensation temperature of low stage and also has an optimum flow rate ratio.By comparing with the R13-R22 and NH 3-NH 3 cascade refrigeration cycles, the mass flow rate ratio of CO 2-NH 3 is larger than those of R13-R22 and NH 3-NH 3, the theoretical COP of CO 2-NH 3 cascade refrigeration cycle is larger than that of the R13-R22 cascade cycle and smaller than that of the NH 3-NH 3 cascade cycle. But the real COP of CO 2-NH 3 cascade cycle will be higher than those of R13-R22 and NH 3-NH 3 because the specific volume of CO 2 at low temperature does not change much and its dynamic viscosity is also small.

Energy,exergy,and economic analysis of compression-absorption cascade refrigeration cycle using different working fluids

Compression-absorption cascade refrigeration cycle(CACRC)combined with vapor-compression refrigeration and absorption refrigeration cycle attracts great interest due to the less electricity consumption and utilization waste heat.In this work,the performance of the CACRC system was investigated using 16 refrigerants in the vapor compression section and H_(2)O-LiBr in the absorption refrigeration section.Energy,exergy and economic analysis of the CACRC system were carried out and the results were compared.Results show that RE170/H_(2)O-LiBr presents the better coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency amongst all the studied fluids.In addition,the economic optimization,multi-objective optimization,and thermodynamic optimization of the CACRC system based on the RE170/H_(2)O-LiBr working fluid were also carried out.

Thermodynamic design of a cascade refrigeration system of liquefied natural gas by applying mixed integer non-linear programming

Liquefied natural gas(LNG) is the most economical way of transporting natural gas(NG) over long distances. Liquefaction of NG using vapor compression refrigeration system requires high operating and capital cost. Due to lack of systematic design methods for multistage refrigeration cycles, conventional approaches to determine optimal cycle are largely trial-and-error. In this paper a novel mixed integer non-linear programming(MINLP)model is introduced to select optimal synthesis of refrigeration systems to reduce both operating and capital costs of an LNG plant. Better conceptual understanding of design improvement is illustrated on composite curve(CC) and exergetic grand composite curve(EGCC) of pinch analysis diagrams. In this method a superstructure representation of complex refrigeration system is developed to select and optimize key decision variables in refrigeration cycles(i.e. partition temperature, compression configuration, refrigeration features, refrigerant flow rate and economic trade-off). Based on this method a program(LNG-Pro) is developed which integrates VBA,Refprop and Excel MINLP Solver to automate the methodology. Design procedure is applied on a sample LNG plant to illustrate advantages of using this method which shows a 3.3% reduction in total shaft work consumption.

Feasibility Study of R134a/R404a Cascade Heat Pump Cycle in Heat Pump Dryers with Electrical Heaters at Low Temperatures

Heat pump cycles have been widely applied to dryers for their high efficiency. However, low–efficiency electrical heaters are often used during early drying stage for frozen foods or winter since a standard heat pump cycle cannot operate at low temperature. This study introduced cascade heat pumps replacing electrical heaters to improve dryer performance at low temperatures. Experiments were performed to examine changes in performance of the cascade heat pump dryers in relation to ambient temperature, low-stage cycle mass flow rate, and high-stage cycle mass flow rate. The results showed a significant improvement in low-temperature dryer performance with the introduction of cascade heat pump cycles.