• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2001

This paper deals with refrigerant-oil mixtures in a dehumidifying cycle. Two different oils such as Alkylbenzene(AB) and Polyol-esters(POE) lubricants are used for R134a to investigate the effect of miscibility on oil returnability. It was found that R134a/AB mixture had more unstable interface between oil and refrigerant than R134a/POE mixture. However, overall flow patterns of both refrigerant-oil mixtures were almost same. The minimum height of oil measured in the compressor was as high as twice of the least permissible height of oil in the compressor required to insure its reliability. Thus, it is considered that immiscible oil, i. e., AB for R134a can be used without causing oil returnability problem.