Green economy with

natural refrigerants

by

Natural Refrigeration Award 2013

Schaffhausen

Planning, construction and initial operation

of a refrigeration cycle

for demonstration purposes

with the refrigerant propane (R290)

by Jens Eiseler

University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Germany

1. Objective of the Bachelor Thesis

2. Approach of the refrigeration cycle design

3. Presentation of the refrigeration cycle (r/c)

4. Summary

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 4

2

Construction of a mobile r/c

• Easy understandable setup

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 5

2

Construction of a mobile r/c

• Easy understandable setup

• Visualization of the different

states

within the r/c

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 6

Construction of a mobile r/c

• Easy understandable setup

• Visualisation of the

different states

within the r/c

• Possibility to manually

influence

the operating behavior

2

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 7

Construction of a mobile r/c

• Easy understandable setup

• Visualization of the different

states

within the r/c

• Possibility to manually

influence

the operating behavior

• Use of an environmentally

friendly

refrigerant

2

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 8

2

ODP GWP Comments

R404A 0 3800 High GWP

R290 (Propane) 0 20 Flammable

R744 (CO2) 0 1 Very high pressure

Why Propane?

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 9

2

ODP GWP Comments

R404A 0 3800 High GWP

R290 (Propane) 0 20 Flammable

R744 (CO2) 0 1 Very high pressure

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 10

Why Propane?

• environmentally friendly

2

ODP GWP Comments

R404A 0 3800 High GWP

R290 (Propane) 0 20 Flammable

R744 (CO2) 0 1 Very high pressure

Why Propane?

• environmentally friendly

• demonstrate the safe use of a „dangerous“ refrigerant

1. Objective

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 11

4

• Calculation of the r/c with the

„Engineering Equation Solver“ (EES)

𝑡𝐻𝐷 = 45 °𝐶 𝑝𝐻𝐷 = 15,34 𝑏𝑎𝑟

𝑡𝑁𝐷 = −10 °𝐶 𝑝𝑁𝐷 = 3,45 𝑏𝑎𝑟

𝑄𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑑 = 1,471 𝑘𝑊 𝑉 = 0,74 𝑙

𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑤𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 0,71 𝑚

𝑠

𝑤𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 15,31 𝑚

𝑠

2. Approach

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 12

4

• Calculation of the r/c with the

„Engineering Equation Solver“ (EES)

• Dimensioning of the components

Evaporator

Expansion valve

Internal HX

Pressure transducer

Volume flow meter

2. Approach

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 13

5

• Calculation of the r/c with the

„Engineering Equation Solver“ (EES)

• Dimensioning of the components

• Planning of the electronic system

Circuit breaker box

Housing for conductor plate for pressure transducers,

controlling the r/c and the dataloggers

2. Approach

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 14

6

• Calculation of the r/c with the

„Engineering Equation Solver“ (EES)

• Dimensioning of the components

• Planning of the electronic system

• Programming the operating software with Matlab

2. Approach

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 15

7

• Calculation of the r/c with the

„Engineering Equation Solver“ (EES)

• Dimensioning of the Components

• Planning of the electronic system

• Programming the operating software with Matlab

• Initial operation

charging the r/c with propane

leakage test

operating test

2. Approach

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 16

3. Presentation

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 17

pressure drop

in suction line

pressure drop in

condenser

pressure drop in evaporator

selecting between

the external

pressure

equalization

connect or disconnect the volume flow meter

connect or

disconnect

the internal HX

3. Presentation

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 18

9

Slide 6

3. Presentation

9

Slide 6

3. Presentation

10

Slide 7

3. Presentation

10

• Simple setup for the r/c

• Built on a cart for mobility purposes

• Use of an environmental-friendly refrigerant

4. Summary

Schaffhausen, 28 June 2013 Page 22

Thank you for your attention