Exergy analysis of scroll compressors working with R22, R407C, and R417A as refrigerant for HVAC system

• Main Authors: Kalaiselvam Sivakumar, Saravanan Ragupathy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: VINCA Institute of Nuclear Sciences 2009-01-01
• Series: Thermal Science
• Subjects: exergy analysis; scroll compressor; alternate refrigerant; HVAC system; eco-friendly refrigerant
• Online Access: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0354-9836/2009/0354-98360901175K.pdf

The rise in crisis of power enthralls the world economically and the options for conventional and non-conventional energy resources have been searched out. No system exists in this world with 100% efficiency due to several irreversibility's. If the output obtained from the system is maximum for a given input, maximum amount of energy can be saved globally. To understand the thermodynamic losses occurring in the system and to predict the available energy that can be tapped from the system, exergy plays a major role. Experimental study on exergy in a system can pave the way to understand the complete behavior of the system exergually. Conceptually exergy studies are based on simulation, to provide a new dimension to the concept of exergy experimental validation have been promoted. The analogy of exergy analysis of three refrigerants working in scroll compressors and their exergual features are explained in this paper. The refrigerants R22, R417A, and R407C and their thermo dynamical behavior, irreversibility were experimented in an air conditioning system with three scroll compressors, interaction between the system and the refrigerant in terms of pressure drop and heat transfer, friction has been implemented for the calculation of exergy. The entire system performance on the basis of refrigerant is validated in each part of the air conditioning system. The resultant coefficient of performance of R407C is 2.41% less than R22 in a R22 designed scroll compressor with minimal exergy losses. The second law efficiency of 50 to 55% obtained in R22 has fewer rules over R407C and R417A which has 48 to 52%. The diminutive deviation of results encourages R417A refrigerant to be used as a substitute for R22. Thus the exergual prediction of performance of refrigerant and second law efficiency can identify the use of eco-friendly refrigerant in scroll compressor.