Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2019
25th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF REFRIGERANT R290 IN A SMALL REFRIGERATION SYSTEM ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR R134a
Submission Author:
Guilherme Oliveira , MG
Co-Authors:
Isabella Mendonça de Santis, Mariany Spagnollo, Leandro Alves, Arthur Antunes, Guilherme Oliveira
Presenter: Isabella Mendonça de Santis
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2019.COB2019-1114
Abstract
The present paper focuses on the performance of the hydrocarbon (HC) R290 used to replace the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) R134a for a small capacity refrigeration application. The original system provides nominal refrigerating capacity of 0,25 kW. The condition of replacement of R134a by the alternative fluid (R290) represented a drop-in operation; there were no changes in the basic cycle components during the tests. The tests were performed using a water evaporator, at controlled temperatures of 3, 5 and 7 ºC, in steady state condition and for different levels of modulation of expansion valve (EEV), thus enabling the realization of a complete thermodynamic analysis. The use of the hydrocarbon, which has a low global warming potential (GWP) and zero ozone-depleting potential (ODP) guaranteed an acceptable operation of the refrigeration system with a refrigeration capacity higher than original system with R134a. On the other hand, for the application range analyzed the compressor required higher power with R290. Finally, the use of the refrigerant R290 resulted in the maximum values for the coefficient of performance, COP, compared to the original system with R134a, indicating that this hydrocarbon has potential to replace R134a in some applications.
Keywords
Refrigeration, R290, R134a, COP, GWP, Drop-in
