Navy Shipboard CFC-114 Elimination Program

摘要

The Navy is one of the largest users of refrigerant cblorofluorocarbon (CFC)-114 in air-conditioning (AC) plants. These plants range in cooling capacity from 125 to 363-tons and are installed on all major surface combatants and submarines to produce chilled water for various mission-critical cooling applications including vital electronic and weapon systems. The domestic production of all CFC's including CFC-114 ceased on December 31, 1995. In addition to creating a mission-critical reserve of CFC's, the Navy established an aggressive R&D program to identify safe ozone-friendly alternative refrigerants that could be used in existing shipboard AC systems. Since a "drop-in" replacement for CFC-114 was not. available, kits had to be developed that would convert shipboard air-conditioning plants to operate with the new refrigerant. Variable geometry diffuser (VGD) compressor technology and a microprocessor-based control system were used in the design of these kits to maintain the original design cooling capacity while improving the plant operating range and reducing structureborne noise levels and pan load power consumption. Prototype AC plants were converted and operation validated in the laboratory prior to a one-year at-sea demonstration onboard USS Normandy (CG 60). The purpose of this paper is to document the Navy R&D efforts and the conversion of existing shjpboard CFC-114 air conditioning plants to an ozone-friendly alternative refrigerant.