Exergy Analysis of a Solar Vapor Compression Refrigeration System Using R1234ze(E)as an Environmentally Friendly Replacement of R134a

Refrigeration plays a significant role across various aspects of human life and consumes substantial amounts of electrical energy.The rapid advancement of green cooling technology presents numerous solar-powered refrigeration systems as viable alternatives to traditional refrigeration equipment.Exergy analysis is a key in identifying actual thermodynamic losses and improving the environmental and economic efficiency of refrigeration systems.In this study exergy analyze has been conducted for a solar-powered vapor compression refrigeration(SP-VCR)system in the region of Gharda颽(Southern Algeria)utilizing R1234ze(E)fluid as an eco-friendly substitute for R134a refrigerant.A MATLAB-based numerical model was developed to evaluate losses in different system components and the exergy efficiency of the SP-VCR system.Furthermore,a parametric study was carriedout to analyze the impact of various operating conditions on the system’s exergy destruction and efficiency.The obtained results revealed that,for both refrigerants,the compressor exhibited the highest exergy destruction,followed by the condenser,expansion valve,and evaporator.However,the system using R1234ze(E)demonstrated lower irreversibility compared to that using R134a refrigerant.The improvements made with R1234ze are 71.95%for the compressor,39.13%for the condenser,15.38%for the expansion valve,5%for the evaporator,and 54.76%for the overall system,which confirm the potential of R1234ze(E)as a promising alternative to R134a for cooling applications.

A Review on Technologies for the Use of CO2 as a Working Fluid in Refrigeration and Power Cycles

The use of carbon dioxide as a working fluid has been the subject of extensive studies in recent years, particularly in the field of refrigeration where it is at the heart of research to replace CFC and HCFC. Its thermodynamic properties make it a fluid of choice in the efficient use of energy at low and medium temperatures in engine cycles. However, the performance of transcritical CO2 cycles weakens under high temperature and pressure conditions, especially in refrigeration systems;On the other hand, this disadvantage becomes rather interesting in engine cycles where CO2 can be used as an alternative to the organic working fluid in small and medium-sized electrical systems for low quality or waste heat sources. In order to improve the performance of systems operating with CO2 in the field of refrigeration and electricity production, research has made it possible to develop several concepts, of which this article deals with a review of the state of the art, followed by analyzes in-depth and critical of the various developments to the most recent modifications in these fields. Detailed discussions on the performance and technical characteristics of the different evolutions are also highlighted as well as the factors affecting the overall performance of the systems studied. Finally, perspectives on the future development of the use of CO2 in these different cycles are presented.

Studies on Benign Working Pairs for Adsorption Refrigeration

Water and ethanol were selected as refrigerants, 13x molecular sieve, silica gel, activated carbon and adsorbents NA and NB prepared by authors were selected as adsorbents, and the performance of adsorption working pairs in adsorption refrigeration system was studied. The adsorption isotherms of adsorbents (NA and NB) were obtained by high vacuum gravimetric method. Desorption properties of adsorbents were analyzed and compared by thermal analysis method. The performance parameters of adsorption refrigerat...

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE OF THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATION SYSTEM USING ENTROPY GENERATION MINIMIZATION METHOD

With the entropy generation minimization （EGM） method, the thermodynamical performance optimization in a thermoelectric refrigeration system is studied. The optimization is affected by the irreversibility of heat transfer caused by finite temperature differences, the heat leak between external heat reservoirs and the internal dissipation of working fluids. EGM is taken as an objective function for the optimization. The objective function and design parameters are obtained. Optimal performance curves are presented by thermal and electronic parameters. Effects of these parameters on general and optimal performances are investigated. Results are helpful in determining optimal design conditions in real thermoelectric refrigeration systems.

Aqueous ammonia solution cooling absorption refrigeration driven by fishing boat diesel exhaust heat

A solution cooling absorption（SCA）approach is proposed to modify the aqueous ammonia absorption refrigerat-ion cycle using the strong solution from the absorber to cool the forepart of the absorption in the cycle for reclaiming some portion of absorption heat.As a consequence of raised temperature at the inlet,the strong solution partially boils at the outlet of the solution heat exchanger,and diminishes the thermal heat consumption of the heat source.The calculation results show that the coefficient of performance（COP）of this modified cycle is about 28.3% higher than that of the traditional cycle under typical conditions;while the required heat transfer area of the total heat exchangers of the cycle is somewhat less than that of the traditional one.The capacity of refrigeration with the new absorption cycle is more than doubled in contrast to the adsorption scheme with an identical configuration.It is sufficient to supply a fishing boat the chilling capacity for preservation of fishing products with the modified cycle chiller driven by its diesel engine exhaust.

Performance analysis of aircraft low-power thermoelectric refrigeration system

An optimal design method for an aircraft low-power thermoelectric refrigeration system（TRS）is proposed using an existing experimental model as the research platform under given aircraft flight conditions.The variation curves of the cooling capacities and the refrigeration coefficients of the system running at three flight altitudes are investigated.The performance of the system is evaluated by the minimum-entropy-generation method and the performance penalty is also calculated.The power variation curves of the cooling system are obtained by an electric power experiment.The peak values of these curves are less than the maximal electric power supply of airborne equipment,proving that the use of the low-power TRS for airborne equipment is feasible.The COP,cooling capacity and entropy generation of the system are relative to the flight altitude and the current of the TRS.Through the analyses of these data,the optimal values of the COP are obtained,and the optimization measures are proposed to maximize the use of the advantages of the TRS.

APPLICATION POSSIBILITY OF BINARY NONAZEOTROPIC REFRIGERANT IN JET REFRIGERATION *

This paper analyzes the possibility of applying binary nonazeotropic refrigerants in the jet refrigeration cycle. The thermodynamic cycle performance of two kinds of working pairs (R30/R142b, R30/R124) are calculated using the EOS of PR equation of state, and the results are discussed. The theoretical calculations indicate that refrigerating quality can be improved if the binary mixtures evaporate just in the low temperature region. The character of the rejecter to compress two phase medium supports the possibility of this kind of cycle.

Effect of cerium ion(Ⅲ) on corrosion resistance of organic-inorganic hybrid coating on surface of aluminum-tube used in refrigeration equipment

Organic?inorganic hybrid coating on the surface of aluminum-tube used in refrigeration equipment using cerium ion (III) as the additive was fabricated by sol?gel method, and the structure of the coating was confirmed by FT-IR. The results of the characterization show that the corrosion resistance of the coating with 1.5 mmol/L cerium ion (III) gains significant improvement, in which the colour retention time of CuSO4 extends to 500 s, the anti-acid and alkali corrosion rates reduce by 67% and 70% compared with the blank one, respectively, and the salt spray tests also show good corrosion resistance. The electrochemical tests demonstrate that the self-corrosion current density and potential of the sample with hybrid coating are about 2.877×10?7 A/cm2 and?0.550 V, respectively. The metallographic and SEM images show that the hybrid coating is uniform and dense, and the EDS analysis confirms that the coating is mainly composed of Al, Si and Ce elements.

Performance analysis of ammonia-water absorption/compression combined refrigeration cycle

In view of different compressor adding ways in the ammonia-water absorption/compression combined refrigeration AWA /CCR cycle combining the Schulz state equation of the ammonia-water solution the theoretical analysis and calculations on two combination ways by adding the compressor in the high-pressure area and in the low-pressure area are conducted respectively.The effects of several factors including the evaporation temperature Te heat-source temperature Th as well as the cooling water temperature Tw on the equivalent heat consumption in compression qCW heat consumption in absorption qG and the system coefficient of performance COP are analyzed under the two combination configurations.The results show that the effect of the equivalent heat consumption in compression on the COP is less than that of the heat consumption in absorption.Besides the compressor set in the high-pressure area uses more energy than that in the low-pressure area. Moreover the compressor in the low-pressure area is superior to that in the high-pressure area with respect to the COP. Under the given intermediate pressure there is an optimum heat-source temperature corresponding to the maximum COP of the AWA/CCR cycle.

Experimental Study of Air Conditioning Unit of Evaporative Cooling Assisted Mechanical Refrigeration

The evaporative cooling,which assists the refrigeration machinery air-conditioning systems test-rig,has been designed.Its structure and working principle were described,and the performance test was conducted and analyzed.The test shows that making full use of the evaporative cooling "free cooling" in Spring and Autumn seasons can fully meet the requirements of air-conditioned comfort through the switch of the function in different seasons.Taking into account the evaporative cooling fan and pump energy consumption,compared with the traditional mechanical refrigeration system,more than 80 percent of energy can be saved,and the energy efficiency ratio of the Unit(EER)is as high as 7.63.Using the two stages of indirect evaporative cooling to pre-cool the new wind in summer,under the conditions of the same air supply temperature requirements,0.83 kg/s chilled water saved can be equivalent to the traditional mechanical refrigeration system,and when the new wind ratio up to 50 percent,more than 10 percent load was reduced in mechanical refrigeration system.The overall EER increased about 35 percent.

Mixed refrigerant composition shift due to throttle valves opening in auto cascade refrigeration system

Auto cascade refrigeration(ACR) cycle with phase separators is widely used in the cryogenic system. The composition of mixed refrigerant has a great effect on the performance of the system. Based on the assumption of infinite volume of phase separator, ACR system with one phase separator is simulated in this paper. The variation of refrigerant composition under different valves opening is obtained. A related experimental system is set up to verify the variation. The result shows that when the valve opening connected to the evaporator increases or the valve opening under the phase separator decreases, the low-boiling component concentration of the working mixture passing through the compressor and condenser increases, while the high-boiling component concentration decreases. Furthermore, the variations of condensation pressure and evaporation pressure under different valves opening are also observed. This paper is helpful to deepen the understanding of ACR system.

Rare Earths and Magnetic Refrigeration

Magnetic refrigeration is a revolutionary, efficient, environmentally friendly cooling technology, which is on the threshold of commercialization. The magnetic rare earth materials are utilized as the magnetic refrigerants in most cooling devices, and for many cooling application the Nd2Fe14B permanent magnets are employed as the source of the magnetic field. The status of the near room temperature magnetic cooling was reviewed.

Breakdown characteristics of CF4 and CF4/N2 hybrid gas in refrigeration temperature range

Common insulation gas cannot normally work in refrigeration temperature range(153-243 K), especially in extremely cold regions. To solve this problem, this essay uses cubic equation combined with two-parameter model in theorem of corresponding states to estimate dew-point of hybrid gas. The influence of temperature on mixing ratio is studied by using van der Waals equation. The result shows that the mixing ratio is stable during temperature-fall period. Insulation property of CF_4 and CF_4/N_2 in refrigeration temperature range is studied through self-designed low-temperature test system. The result shows when the density of hybrid gas is invariable, temperature changing has less influence on breakdown voltage, and when the mixing ratio is 20%, CF_4/N_2 is the greatest potential hybrid gas.

Research of refrigeration system for a new type of constant temperature hydraulic tank

Different from the traditional hydraulic oil cooling method,a new type of constant temperature oil tank cooling system based on semiconductor refrigeration technology is designed. This paper studies the principle of semiconductor refrigeration and establishes a heat transfer model. Semiconductor cooler on piping refrigeration is simulated,and influence of the parameters on the outlet temperature,such as pipe pressure difference of inlet and outlet,pipe length,pipe radius,are gotten,and then hydraulic tank semiconductor refrigeration system is proposed. The semiconductor refrigeration system can control temperature at 37 ± 1°C.

Magnetic hysteresis and refrigeration capacity of Ni-Mn-Ga alloys near Martensitic transformation

This paper studies the magnetic hysteresis and refrigeration capacity of Ni-Mn-Ga alloys in detail during heating and cooling isothermal magnetisation processes. The Ni-Mn-Ga alloys show larger magnetic hysteresis when they trans-form from austenite to martensite, but smaller magnetic hysteresis when they transform from martensite to austenite. This behaviour is independent of either the pure Ni-Mn-Ga alloys or the alloys doped with other elements. Because of the existence of the magnetic hysteresis, the relation between the magnetic entropy change and refrigeration capacity is not simply linear. For practical consideration, magnetocaloric effect of Ni-Mn-Ga alloys should be investigated both on cooling and heating processes.

Adsorption Refrigeration Performance of Shaped MIL-101-Water Working Pair

A new metal-organic framework of MIL-101 was synthesized by hydrothermal method and the powder prepared was pressed into a desired shape. The effects of molding on specific surface area and pore structure were investigated using a nitrogen adsorption method. The water adsorption isotherms were obtained by high vacuum gravimetric method, the desorption temperature of water on shaped MIL-101 was measured by thermo gravimetric analyzer, and the adsorption refrigeration performance of shaped MIL-101-water working pair was studied on the simulation device of adsorption refrigeration cycle system. The results indicate that an apparent hysteresis loop ap-pears in the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms when the forming pressure is 10 MPa. The equilibrium ad-sorption capacity of water is up to 0.95 kg·kg^-1 at the forming pressure of 3 MPa （MIL-101-3）. The desorption peak temperature of water on MIL-101-3 is 82℃, which is 7 ℃ lower than that of silica gel, and the desorption temperature is no more than 100 ℃. At the evaporation temperature of 10 ℃, the refrigeration capacity of MIL-101-3-water is 1059 kJ·kg^-1, which is 2.24 times higher than that of silica gel-water working pair. Thus MIL-101-water working pair presents an excellent adsorption refrigeration performance.

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.

Design of structure and control system of semiconductor refrigeration box

In order to create low temperature environment for the valve testing,a new type of semiconductor refrigeration box based on semiconductor refrigeration chip and programmable logic controller(PLC)control system is designed.The power of the semiconductor refrigeration chip is determined by calculating the heat dissipation characteristics of the semiconductor refrigeration box.Combining natural convection heat dissipation with forced air cooling,the heat sink of semiconductor refrigeration chip is designed.In the control strategy,switch control is combined with an intelligent control strategy.Adaptive single neuron optimization algorithm based on quadratic optimization is adopted to adjust and optimize the parameters of the proportional-integral-derivative(PID)controllers in real time.Taking into account the limited hardware capabilities of the PLC,the Jacobian information in parameter adjustment is redesigned into a simplified form of identification.The actual test results of refrigeration box show good control performance.

Development of magnetocaloric materials in room temperature magnetic refrigeration application in recent six years

Some magnetocaloric materials were used successfully in magnetic refrigeration application and became one of the critical parts of magnetic refrigeration technology whose delightful progresses were made worldwide in the past 30 years. At the same time, the research on giant magnetocaloric materials will accelerate the development of room temperature magnetic refrigeration. In this paper, the new theoretical and experimental investigations on magnetic materials in room temperature application were described, including Gd and its binary and ternary intermetallic compounds, Mn-based compounds, La(Fe13-xMx)-based compounds and manganites. Based on the analysis of hysteresis, corrosion, cost and heat process, the comparison between different families of magnetic materials was discussed. Further research of room temperature magnetic refrigerant was suggested.

Numerical simulation and printability analysis of fused deposition modeling with dual-temperature control

Ideal tissue engineering scaffolds need interconnected pores and high porosity to enable cell survival,migration,proliferation,and differentiation.However,obtaining a high-resolution structure is difficult with traditional one-temperature control fused deposition modeling(FDM).In this study,we propose a dual-temperature control method to improve printability.A numerical model is developed in which the viscosity is a function of temperature and shear rate to study the influence of two different temperature control modes.Quantitative tests are used to assess filament formation and shape fidelity,including one-dimensional filament printing,deposition at corners,fusion,and collapse.By using dual-temperature control,the width of the deposited poly(ε-caprolactone)filament is reduced to 50μm.The comparative results of both the experimental method and numerical simulation suggest that the dual-temperature control FDM can manufacture spatially arranged constructs and presents a promising application in tissue engineering。