Detecting even the smallest leaks

摘要

The requirements for the leak tightness of refrigeration and air conditioning systems are high. On the one hand, this is to ensure that the systems function properly during operation while on the other this is to prevent the leakage of environmentally harmful and climate-damaging refrigerants into the environment. Unfortunately, many of the current testing methods are only partially suitable or in some cases may not suitable at all. As a rule, the loss of refrigerant may only be a few grams per year. Cooling circuits with only small filling quantities logically also require smaller permissible leakage rates. For example, a leakage rate of three grams of refrigerant per year corresponds to a tracer gas leakage rate - whether it be air, helium or forming gas - of about 3.10-5 mbar.l/s, depending on the type of refrigerant.