Evaluation of the Use of Multicomponent Refrigerants in Gas-Fired Heat Pumps

摘要

The use of multicomponent refrigerants in heat pump cycles was evaluated theoretically and experimentally; in the theoretical evaluation, a vapor compression cycle using refrigerant mixtures was formulated and analyzed. The results of this analysis show that the achievable improvement in efficiency using optimum mixtures would be on the order of 20 to 25%. A laboratory test stand was also built and used in tests conducted with both pure refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures. The experimental test results indicated an improvement in energy efficiency of 35% and a loss in cooling capacity of 18%. Multicomponent refrigerant heat pumps can be designed with at least 20% energy improvement and with no loss in cooling capacity.