Performance Evaluation of R22 Alternative Refrigerants According to Temperature Variations of Evaporator and Condenser

증발기와 응축기 온도변화에 따른 R22 대체냉매의 성능평가

In this study, performance of 2 pure hydrocarbons and 3 mixtures was measured in an attempt to substitute R22 under 3 different temperature conditions. The mixtures were composed of R1270(propylene), R290(propane) and R152a. They were tested in a refrigerating bench tester with a hermetic rotary compressor The test bench provided about 3.5 kW capacity and water and water/glycol mixture were employed as the secondary heat transfer fluids. All tests were conducted under the same external conditions resulting in the average saturation temperatures of $7^{\circ}C/45^{\circ}C$ and $-7^{\circ}C/41^{\circ}C$ and $-21^{\circ}C/28^{\circ}C$ in the evaporator and condenser, respectively. Test results show that the coefficient of performance (COP) of these refrigerants is up to 11.54% higher than that of R22 in all temperature conditions. Compressor discharge temperatures were reduced by $14{\sim}31^{\circ}C$ with these fluids. There was no problem with mineral oil since the mixtures were mainly composed of hydrocarbons. The amount of charge was reduced up to 58% as compared to R22. Overall, these fluids provide good performance with reasonable energy savings without any environmental problem and thus can be used as long term alternatives for residential air-conditioning and heat pumping application.