• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.85-90
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• 2014

Turbo chiller is widely used for the air conditioner and uses hydrochlorofluorocarbon 123 (HCFC-123) as a refrigerant. HCFC-123 is one of the chemicals being considered as a replacement for the chlorofluorocarbons. High concentrations of HCFC-123 cause a deficiency of oxygen with the risk of unconsciousness or death, the vapour is heavier than air and may accumulate in low ceiling spaces causing deficiency of oxygen. In this study, the concentration distribution of oxygen indoor was investigated by using computational fluid dynamics(CFD) as four workers were killed in HCFC-123 gas leaks at machine room of hypermarket in 2011.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.2316-2327
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• 1995

Experimental results from nucleate pool boiling heat transfer with various finned tubes in CFC11, HCF123 and HCFC141b are reported. One plain tube and four low fin tubes of various fin densities were tested in an attempt to find out the optimum fin density in the heat flux range of 10-60 kW/m$^{[-992]}$ at near atmospheric pressure. The results indicated that CFC11 showed the highest heat transfer coefficients. Its alternatives, HCFC123 and HCFC141b, showed 3-5% lower heat transfer coefficients than those of CFC11 at the same heat flux. As the fin density increases, so does the heat transfer surface area. Measured heat transfer coefficients, however, do not necessarily always increase as the fin density increases. This unique phenomenon seems to be caused by the coalescence of the bubblers that prevent the cool liquid from entering into the fin valleys. For all the refrigerants tested, the optimum fin density yielding the highest performance was 28 fins per inch confirming the previous results by other researchers.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.51-55
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• 2019

To prevent ozone depletion caused by CFCs, the replacement of Halon with clean agents has been developed in the fire protection field along with refrigerants, detergents, and foaming agents. The alternatives for Halon 1211 have been developed in the portable fire extinguisher area and HCFC-123 is used widely as a clean fire extinguishing agent. The type of expellant gas is important because their own vapor pressure is low. In this study, HCFC-123, HCFC-124, HFC-125, and Novec-1230 were selected as fire extinguishing agents and CO₂, which is expected to improve the fire extinguishing ability, was chosen as the expellant gas. For each agent, experiments changing the agent and CO₂ amount were carried out and HCFC-123 showed a good result, as expected. The extinguisher, HCFC-123 of 1.5 kg, showed the same ability to suppress a class A and B fire as the extinguisher, HCFC-123 of 2.5 kg, which is currently sold on the market. According to this result, the expellant gas has a subsidiary fire extinguish effect. This can reduce the amount of HCFC fire extinguishing agent, which is categorized in the phase-out alternatives, and is a more eco-friendly and economical fire extinguisher than the previous one. This study can also help solve the problems of CO₂ fire extinguishers for class B and C fires, and can be used to extinguish electric and electron facilities fire, which contains large amounts of class A fire combustibles.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.356-359
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• 2018

This case report attempts to present a case of acute toxic hepatitis in fire extinguisher manufacturing workers exposed to 2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoro-ethane (HCFC-123) in August 2017 in Korea. Twenty-two-year-old male workers were exposed to HCFC-123 for 1.5 hours one day and for 2.5 hours the other day, after which one worker died, and the other recovered after treatment. The workers were diagnosed with acute toxicity of hepatitis. However, exposure levels of HCFC-123 were not known with no work environment measurement done. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the exposure concentration of HCFC-123 via a job simulation experiment. In the simulation, the HCFC-123 exposure concentration was measured with the same working practice and working time as with the workers aforementioned. As a result, the workers who infused HCFC-123 into storage tanks were estimated to be exposed to HCFC-123 at a concentration of $20.65{\pm}10.81ppm$, and a mean concentration of area samples within a working radius were estimated as $70.30{\pm}18.10ppm$. Valve assembly workers working on valves of a fire extinguisher filled with HCFC-123 were exposed to HCFC-123 at concentrations of $91.65{\pm}4.03ppm$ and $115.55{\pm}7.28ppm$, respectively, in the simulation, and area samples simulated within the working radius were also found to be high with concentrations of $122.75{\pm}91.15ppm$ and $126.80{\pm}60.25ppm$, respectively. Nitrogen gas packing workers, who did not handle HCFC-123 directly, were exposed to the agent at a concentration of $71.80{\pm}8.49ppm$. These results suggest that exposure to HCFC-123 at high concentrations for 1.5-2.5 hours caused acute toxic hepatitis in two workers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.80-90
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was performed to propose a domestic occupational exposure limit(OEL) following a health hazard assessment, calculation of a non-carcinogenicity reference concentration worker($RfC_{worker}$) value, and examination of international agencies' exposure limits. It also recommends legal management within the Occupational Safety and Health Act for HCFC-123, which caused an acute hepatotoxicity incident. Methods: An acute hepatotoxicity incident due to the fire extinguishing agent HCFC-123 was investigated. Toxicological hazard and health hazard classifications were examined and a non-carcinogenicity $RfC_{worker}$ value was calculated for HCFC-123. An OEL and the necessity of legal management were recommended as well. Results and Conclusions: An OEL for HCFC-123 of 10 ppm($62.5mg/m^3$), which considered the $RfC_{worker}$ value, 5.56 ppm, produced in dose-response assessment and the exposure level of 19.1-20.9 ppm measured as an eight-hour TWA(time-weighted average) in the incident place, is recommended. HCFC-123 is urged to be included as a chemical requiring legal management in the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations. In addition, it is recommended that a peak exposure of ACGIH be adopted in the Notice of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.830-840
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• 1997

In this study, condensation heat transfer coefficients(HTCs) of CFC-11, HCFC-123 and HCFC-141b are measured, which are used/or considered as working fluids in centrifugal chillers. The main objectives of this study are to measure and compare the HTCs of various refrigerants on plain and low fin tubes and also to find out the optimum fin density of the low fin tubes. To accomplish these goals, HTCs of three refrigerants are measured for the plain tube as well as 4 types of low fin tubes. All measurements are carried out at the vapor temperature of 39.deg. C with the wall temperature difference of 3 .deg. C ~ 8.deg. C. For all the refrigerants tested, a low fin tube of 28 fins per inch yielded the best performance among all the tubes tested. For the plain tube, the HTCs of CFC-11 and HCFC-141b were very similar and those of HCFC-123 were 10% lower than those of CFC-11.Thus, it can be concluded that HCFC-123 and HCFC-141b are acceptable as alternative refrigerants for CFC-11 from the view point of condensation heat transfer.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.24-32
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• 1993

Experimental data on the heat transfer characteristics of HCFC-123 and CFC-11 during condensation in horizontal smooth tube are presented. The experimental apparatus consisted of a closed working fluid loop, coolant loop, and measuring system. The major components of the working fluid loop made of a refrigerant pump, boiler, superheater, refrigerant flow meter, receiver and test section. The tube-in-tube type test section was made of smooth tube which were constructed form 9.52 mm outer diameter of smooth copper tube with 50 mm outside diameter of PVC tube duct. The ranges of parameter, such as refrigerant mass velocity, coolant flow rate, and quality were 90-325kg/($m^2$.s), 60-360kg/h, 5-95% respectively. Data were obtained under steady state condition for annular flow. As a result of these, the condensation heat transfer coefficients for HCFC-123 were slightly lower than those of CFC-11 from 8% to 15% inside horizontal smooth tube. Furthermore, a new generalized correlation for the heat transfer coefficients of HCFC-123 and CFC-11 during condensation inside horizontal smooth tube is proposed.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.318-326
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• 2001

To enhance thermal efficiency of thermal facility through recovery of low and medium temperature waste heat, 1 MW organic Rankine cycle system was designed and developed. The exhaust gases of 175$^{\circ}C$ at two 100 MW power plants in pohang steel works were selected as the representative of low and medium temperature waste heat in industrial process for the heat source of the organic Rankine cycle system. HCFC-123, a kind of harmless refrigerant, was chosen as the working fluid for Rankine cycle. The organic Rankine cycle system with selected exhaust gases and working fluid was designed and constructed. From the operation, it was confirmed that the organic Rankine cycle system is available for low and medium temperature waste heat recovery in industrial process. The optimum operating manuals, such as heat-up of hot water, turbine start-up, and the process of electric power generation, were derived. However, electric power generated was not 1 MW as designed but only 670 kW. It is due to deficiency of pump capacity for supply of HCFC-123. So it is necessary to increase the pump capacity or to decrease the pressure loss in pipe for more improved HCFC-123 supply.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.365-379
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• 1994

Pool boiling experiments were carried out to study the effect of electric field on nucleate boiling heat transfer. CFC-11 and its alternative HCFC-123 were used as working fluids. Boiling on both single tube and a bundle of five tubes was investigated. Heat flux varied from 5 to $25kW/m^2$ while the applied voltage changed from 0 to 1kV. The results showed that at low heat flux where boiling was not present or very weak, electric field-induced forced convection helped increase the heat transfer coefficients of CFC-11 and HCFC-123 significantly(4-15 times increase). However, at higher heat flux, nucleate boiling of CFC-11 which is a highly dielectric fluid, was not affected significantly by the application of electric field. In contrast to CFC-11, even at high heat flux, nucleate boiling of CFC-11 which has a relatively larger electric conductivity than CFC-11, was vigorously increased up to 2-4 times. The additional power required to apply the electric field was 1-2% of the total power consumption by the heater. The increase in overall heat transfer coefficient of evaporators with HCFC -123 was about 40%, suggesting a considerable reduction in evaporator size with EHD technique.

• International Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
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• v.7
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• pp.55-68
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• 1999

In this study, computer simulation programs were developed for single-stage, two-stage, and three-stage condensation heat pumps and their performance with CFC11, HCFC123, HCFC141b was examined under the same external conditions. The results showed that the coefficient of performance(COP) of an optimized 'non-split type' three-stage condensation heat pump is 25-42% higher than that of a conventional single-stage heat pump. The increase in COP, however, differed among the fluids tested. The improvement in COP is largely due to the decrease in average LMTDs in condensers, which results in the decrease in thermodynamic irreversibility in heat exchange process. For the three-stage heat pump, the highest COP is achieved when the total condenser area is evenly distributed among the three condensers. For the two-stage heat pump, however, the optimum distribution of the total condenser area varies with an individual working fluid. For the three-stage system, 'splitting the condenser cooling water'for the use of intermediate and high pressure subcoolers helps increase the COP further. When the individual cooling water entering the intermediate and high pressure subcoolers is roughly 10% of the total condenser cooling water, the maximum COP is achieved showing roughly an 11% increase in COP as compared to that of the 'non-split type' heat pump.