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Experimental Investigations of

NH3/CO2 Cascade and Transcritical


CO2 Refrigeration Systems in
Supermarkets

MANUSTAI LIKITTHAMMANIT

Master of Science Thesis


Stockholm, Sweden 2007
Experimental Investigations of NH3/CO2
Cascade and Transcritical CO2
Refrigeration Systems in Supermarkets

MANUSTAI LIKITTHAMMANIT

Master of Science Thesis Refrigeration Technology 2007:420


KTH School of Energy and Environmental Technology
Division of Applied Thermodynamic and Refrigeration
SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM
Master of Science Thesis EGI 2007/ETT:420

Experimental Investigations of NH3/CO2


Cascade and Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration
Systems in Supermarkets

Manustai Likitthammanit

Approved Examiner Supervisor


2007-06-28 Samer Sawalha Björn Palm
Commissioner Contact person
Installatörernas Utbildingscentrum Jörgen Rogstam
and Sveriges Energi & Kylcentrum Laboratory Manager
(IUC&SEK)

Abstract

An important consideration in refrigeration improvements in supermarkets, in terms of


performance and environmental friendly is due to large energy consumption and refrigerant
emission in supermarkets.

To achieve this goal, the use of CO2 as an alternative option is being tested, with several
installations already running in different European countries. The installation types running
include: the indirect CO2 system, the cascade NH3/CO2, and the transcritical CO2 system.

The use of CO2 as the only working fluid in the refrigeration system compared to the cascade
concept means that the temperature difference in the cascade condenser will not exist which may
improve the COP.

This thesis is part of a project where, three refrigeration system solutions for supermarkets:
R404A, NH3/CO2 cascade, and transcritical CO2 have been designed and built in the IUC
laboratory at Katrineholm. The three different systems were designed to fulfill the requirements
of medium size Swedish supermarket. Capacities were scaled down while keeping the load ratio
comparable. The tests of these three systems were designed to simulate the conditions in a real
supermarket under different weather conditions.

The systems were equipped with extensive instrumentations to collect data and perform online
diagnosis. Several variations of the system solutions were applied for validation and possible
modifications. The tasks of this project were divided into three parts:

First, transcritical CO2 refrigeration system was built, investigated, and evaluated. Its results
were used to compare the NH3 system of NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system in terms of
performance.

Second, this study also compared the performance and energy consumption between the
NH3/CO2 cascade system and the R404A refrigeration system.
Third, two different capacity control methods (on-off and frequency converter) of the NH3
compressor in the NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system were investigated and compared in
terms of performance.

The results of the experiment show that the COP of the investigated NH3/CO2 cascade system
both at low temperature and medium temperature level is higher than R404A refrigeration
system in all points of different cooling water temperatures. It also demonstrates that the COP of
cascade system at low temperature level was around 20% higher than R404A system. As well
with COP at medium temperature level, it is much higher than R404A system approximately 70-
80%. Since a pump in R404A system was bigger than desired size, the comparison of COP
without consideration of pump power at medium temperature level is also evaluated. The result
shows that the COP of NH3/CO2 cascade system is still larger than R404A system about 40 –
58%.

In the NH3 system, the result shows that at 20 and 25˚C of cooling water temperature, the
electric input power of NH3 compressor between two different speed control types are not a big
different. However, at 30˚C of cooling water temperature, NH3 compressor with on-off control
ran longer time, which increased the difference of electric input power 8.34% higher than with
frequency control. Thus the result shows that the COP of NH3 system with frequency control at
30˚C of cooling water temperature is 8.4% higher than with on-off control.

The result also presents that the maximum COP of transcritical CO2 system was 2.5, 2.12, 1.91,
and 1.54 at 15, 20, 25, and 30˚C of cooling water temperature, respectively. The performance
comparison between transcritical CO2 and NH3 system shows that the COP of transcritical CO2
system is much lower than NH3 system. At 20 and 30˚C of cooling water temperature, for
instance, the COP of transcritical CO2 system was lower around 48 and 51%, respectively, than
NH3 system. However the evaluation of compressor data from Dorin Company demonstrates
that the transcritical CO2 system with single stage compressor has higher performance than two
stages compressor, which increases about 18.5 % of the COP at 30˚C of cooling water
temperature. Moreover it illustrates the COP of transcritical CO2 system can be improve around
6 % when it operates without evaporator at -8˚C of evaporating temperature.

Based on the experience, investigation and evaluation of the systems; NH3/CO2 cascade,
R404A, and transcritical CO2 system, it can conclude that the use of frequent speed control for
NH3 compressor shows higher performance than on-off control for NH3 system. In addition,
using of NH3/CO2 cascade system has better solution for refrigeration in supermarket than
R404A system. As well, the use of NH3 system in high stage of CO2 cascade system has higher
performance than transcritical CO2 system. However, there are more important factors, such as
cost of components, leakage rates, amount of charge, and heat recovery, that have to be
considered to find the best solution for refrigeration in supermarket.
KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The ‘CO2 in Supermarket Refrigeration’ project was initiated as an agreement


between Installatörernas Utbildingscentrum and Sveriges Energi & Kylcentrum
(IUC&SEK) and KTH Applied Thermodynamics and Refrigeration Division. The
project was managed by IUC and financially supported from the companies
Ahlsell, Huurre, AGA, WICA and ICA. This project was also financed by
Energimyndigheten (STEM). This thesis work was involved in this project.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jörgen Rogstam and
Per-Olof Nilsson from Installatörernas Utbildingscentrum and Sveriges Energi &
Kylcentrum (IUC&SEK) in Katrineholm. During my time here with this thesis,
Jörgen, you showed amazingly how to analysis the data, and incredibly ideas
and suggestion to me. Thanks also for financial support during January to June.
As well with P.O., you also showed unbelievable knowledge in practical work and
from your experiences. When I worked with you, it looked like you knew
everything. Also thanks for being my support, company and friend, and a lot of
valuable suggestions.

Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisor, Samer Sawalha, for his help,
support, advices and valuable comments. Particularly, to correct the thesis
report, I knew it might make you crazy with my complicated writing. I would also
like to thank my Thai friend Wimolsiri Pridasawas for her help and a lot of good
suggestions at the beginning of this thesis period.

Finally, I would like to thank the Swedish Refrigeration Associations (SKTF),


which gave me a scholarship “Bäckströms stipendium” to work with this thesis
during July to December.

Manustai Likitthammanit
June 2007
Stockholm, Sweden

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ 7
LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ 11
NOMENCLATURE AND DEFINITION ........................................................................ 13
1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 15
1.1 Energy Usage in Supermarkets......................................................................... 15
1.2 Refrigerants in Supermarket ................................................................................... 17
1.3 Application of carbon dioxide in supermarket refrigeration................................... 19
1.3.1 Different system configurations for CO2 in supermarket applications ........... 20
1.3.1.1 CO2 Indirect Refrigeration Application ....................................................... 20
1.3.1.2 Cascade System with CO2............................................................................ 20
1.3.1.3 Transcritical Cycle ........................................................................................ 21
2 CO2 AS REFRIGERANT ............................................................................................. 22
2.1 Properties, Advantages and Disadvantages of CO2 ............................................... 22
3. TRANSCRITICAL CO2 CYCLE ................................................................................ 25
3.1 Fundamentals of CO2 Transcritical Cycle.............................................................. 25
3.2 Thermodynamics Losses......................................................................................... 26
4. APPLICATIONS OF CO2 TRANSCRITICAL CYCLE............................................. 29
4.1 Transcritical CO2 for Cooling Applications........................................................... 29
4.1.1 Automotive Air-Conditioning.......................................................................... 29
4.1.2 Commercial Refrigeration ............................................................................... 30
4.1.3 Transport Refrigeration.................................................................................... 31
4.2 Transcritical CO2 for Heating Applications ........................................................... 32
4.2.1 Water heating application ................................................................................ 32
4.2.2 Automotive Heat Pump ................................................................................... 33
4.2.3 Dryer ................................................................................................................ 34
5. THE EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES......................................................................... 35
5.1 NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System............................................................... 35
5.1.1 NH3 Unit.......................................................................................................... 35
5.1.2 CO2 system...................................................................................................... 36
5.2 R404A Refrigeration System.................................................................................. 39
5.2.1 The Overall System of R404A Refrigeration System...................................... 39
5.2.2 Components ..................................................................................................... 40
5.3 Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration System................................................................. 43
5.3.1 The Overall System of Transcritical CO2 system ........................................... 43
5.3.2 Two-Stage Compressor.................................................................................... 45
5.3.3 Heat Exchangers .............................................................................................. 45
5.3.5 Oil Separator .................................................................................................... 49
5.3.6 Oil Cooler......................................................................................................... 49
5.3.7 Expansion Valve .............................................................................................. 50

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

5.3.8 Heat Source...................................................................................................... 51


5.3.10 Pipes and Tube Dimension ............................................................................ 52
5.3.11 The Measurement and Controller Facilities................................................... 52
5.3.10.1 Positions of Pressure Transducers .............................................................. 53
5.3.10.2 Positions of Thermocouples........................................................................ 53
5.3.12 Safety Device ................................................................................................. 57
6. THE OVERALL SYSTEM ANALYSIS ..................................................................... 59
6.1 The Investigation and Evaluation of R404A and NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration
System........................................................................................................................... 59
6.1.1 The Conditions for Comparison....................................................................... 59
6.1.1.1 Freezing cabinets .......................................................................................... 59
6.1.1.2 Medium temperature cabinets....................................................................... 60
6.1.1.3 Air Temperature and relative humidity in the IUC&SEK lab ...................... 61
6.1.2 NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System........................................................ 63
6.1.3 R404A Refrigeration System........................................................................... 66
6.2 The investigation and evaluation of two different capacity control types (on-off and
variable speed) of NH3 compressor in NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system.......... 67
6.3 The investigation and evaluation of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system .......... 67
7. EXPERIMENT RESULTS........................................................................................... 70
7.1 Results of NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System.............................................. 70
7.1.1 The System’s Temperatures............................................................................. 70
7.1.2 Cooling Capacity ............................................................................................. 73
7.1.4 The Coefficient of Performance (COP) ........................................................... 74
7.2 Results of R404A Refrigeration System................................................................. 74
7.2.1 The Systems’ Temperature .............................................................................. 74
7.2.2 Cooling Capacity ............................................................................................. 77
7.2.3 Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption ................................. 77
7.2.4 The Coefficient of Performance (COP) ........................................................... 78
7.3 Results of Two Capacity Control Methods of NH3 Compressor Comparison....... 78
7.3.1 The System’s Temperature .............................................................................. 78
7.3.2 Cooling Capacity, Electric Power Consumption, Energy Consumption and
COP........................................................................................................................... 79
7.4 Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration System................................................................. 81
8. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION........................................................................... 88
8.1 Comparison between NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A System............................... 88
8.2 Comparison of Two Speed Control Types of NH3 System.................................... 93
8.3 Comparison of Transcritical CO2 System and NH3/CO2 Cascade System........... 95
8.3.1 Comparison of Transcritical CO2 System and NH3 System........................... 99
8.3.2 Possible Improvement on Transcritical CO2 System ...................................... 99
9. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 104

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Typical Electricity Use of a Grocery Store in the US ............................... 16


Figure 2: Energy Usage in a Medium-Sized Supermarket in Sweden .................. 17
Figure 3: Refrigerant Distribution from a Supermarket Chain in Sweden 2003... 18
Figure 4: Vapour Pressure of CO2 and Other Common Refrigerants................... 22
Figure 5: Phase and Pressure -Temperature Diagram of CO2 [7] ........................ 23
Figure 6: Vapour Density of CO2 and Other Common Refrigerants [8]................ 23
Figure 7: Transcritical CO2 Cycle in Pressure-Enthalpy Diagram ......................... 25
Figure 8: Influence of Varying High Side Pressure on the COP in Transcritical
Region at Different Gas Cooler Exit Temperatures [8]. ........................................... 26
Figure 9: T-s Diagram Showing Thermodynamic Losses in CO2 Refrigeration
Cycle Compared to R-134a Refrigeration Cycle [7]. ................................................ 27
Figure 10: Relation between the Cooling COP and Exit Temperature of Gas
Cooler Compared to R-22 and R-134a [7] ................................................................. 28
Figure 11: Components Used in FCHV and Air-Conditioning System and
Schematic Diagram of the System [11] ...................................................................... 30
Figure 12: Basic Schematic Diagram of MT and LT System [12] .......................... 30
Figure 13: Sanyo CO2 Refrigeration Unit for Coca Cola Vending Machine [14] . 31
Figure 14: Sanyo’s CO2 Heat Pump Distributed in Sweden by Ahlsell [10]......... 33
Figure 15: Transcritical CO2 for Automotive Heat Pump System Tested in Audi
4A car [17]. ...................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 16: The Fluid Bed Dryer with CO2 as Refrigerant and Drawing of the Fluid
Bed Dryer......................................................................................................................... 34
Figure 17: Schematic of the NH3 unit and the NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration
System in IUC&SEK Lab............................................................................................... 35
Figure 18: Picture of NH3 Bock Reciprocating Compressor ................................... 36
Figure 19: Picture of Cascade Condenser Heat Exchanger Installed in the Facility
........................................................................................................................................... 36
Figure 20: Picture of CO2 Compressor ...................................................................... 37
Figure 21: Picture of CO2 Accumulation Tank .......................................................... 37
Figure 22: Picture of CO2 Pump.................................................................................. 38
Figure 23: Picture of Two Simulators.......................................................................... 38
Figure 24: Schematic Diagram of R404A Refrigeration System Both in Medium
Temperature Level (left) and Freezing Temperature (right).................................... 39
Figure 25: Two Simulators both for Freezer and Medium Temperature Level, and
another Load for Freezer .............................................................................................. 40
Figure 26: Helical Oil Separators and Copeland Scroll Compressors Used for
Cooling Cabinets. ........................................................................................................... 41
Figure 27: Picture of Accumulators both for Medium Temperature Level and
Freezing Temperature Level ........................................................................................ 41
Figure 28: The Brine Pump .......................................................................................... 42

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

Figure 29: Picture of Bizter Compressor Used in Freezing Cabinets and ALCO
Controls Oil Separators ................................................................................................. 42
Figure 30: Schematic Diagram of the Transcritical CO2 System ........................... 44
Figure 31: Picture of Transcritical CO2 system......................................................... 44
Figure 32: Picture of the Two-Stage CO2 Compressor ........................................... 45
Figure 33: Picture of the Gas Cooler .......................................................................... 46
Figure 34: Picture of the Evaporator (Cascade Condenser)................................... 46
Figure 35: Picture of Intermediate Heat Exchanger ................................................. 47
Figure 36: Picture of Internal Heat Exchanger .......................................................... 47
Figure 37: Picture of Inside of Accumulator (left) and Accumulator (right) ........... 48
Figure 38: Picture of Small Hole for Releasing Oil from CO2 Refrigerant ............ 48
Figure 39: Picture of Inside Oil Separator (left) and Oil Separator (right)............. 49
Figure 40: Picture of Oil Cooler.................................................................................... 50
Figure 41: Picture of Expansion Valve........................................................................ 50
Figure 42: Shut and Shut Control Used to Add Heat in the System ...................... 51
Figure 43: Water Supply for Gas Cooler and Intermediate Heat Exchanger ....... 52
Figure 44: Diagram for Evaporating Pressure Control (left), Expansion Valve
Control (middle) and for Shut Control (right).............................................................. 55
Figure 45: The Display of Data on Computer Screen .............................................. 56
Figure 46: Pictures of Thermistors and Oil Pressure Alarm.................................... 57
Figure 47: Pictures of Electromechanical Pressure and Relief Valve ................... 58
Figure 48: Product Dummies and Product Temperature Measurement Point in
Freezing Cabinets .......................................................................................................... 60
Figure 49: Product Dummies and Product Temperature Measurement Point in
Cooling Cabinet 2 as the Example. ............................................................................. 61
Figure 50: Air Temperature in the Laboratory Set around 20 ˚C............................ 62
Figure 51: Psychometric Chart, which presents the higher humidity, the higher
enthalpy. .......................................................................................................................... 62
Figure 52: The Relative Humidity in the Lab.............................................................. 63
Figure 53: Diagram of Energy Balance around the two stage CO2 compressor. 68
Figure 54: Air and Product Temperatures in Freezing Cabinet 1 of NH3/CO2
Cascade System ............................................................................................................ 70
Figure 55: Air and 2 Product Temperatures in Cooling Cabinet of NH3/CO2
Cascade System ............................................................................................................ 71
Figure 56: Operating Temperatures of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System at 20˚C of
Cooling Water Temperature. ........................................................................................ 72
Figure 57: Operating Temperatures of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System at 25˚C of
Cooling Water Temperature ......................................................................................... 72
Figure 58: Temperatures of Boundary Conditions in the NH3/CO2 Cascade
System at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature ........................................................ 72
Figure 59: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 15˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature........................................................................................................ 75
Figure 60: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 20˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature........................................................................................................ 76

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

Figure 61: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 25˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature........................................................................................................ 76
Figure 62: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 30˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature........................................................................................................ 77
Figure 63: Electric Power Consumption of NH3 Compressor when Compressor
Was Running with Frequency and On-Off Control ................................................... 79
Figure 64: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 25˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures ............................................. 81
Figure 65: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 30˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures ............................................. 82
Figure 66: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 25˚C of Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 82
Figure 67: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 30˚C of Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 83
Figure 68: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 15˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures ............................................. 83
Figure 69: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 20˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures ............................................. 84
Figure 70: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 15˚C of Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 84
Figure 71: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 20˚C of Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 85
Figure 72: COPs of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System................................................ 89
Figure 73: COPs of the R404A System...................................................................... 89
Figure 74: The Performance Comparison of Freezer and Medium Temperature
Circuits in NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A System .................................................. 90
Figure 75: COP Comparison in Percentage of Low and Medium Temperature
Circuits, NH3/CO2 Cascade is related to R404A System ....................................... 91
Figure 76: The Performance Comparison of Medium Temperature Circuit in
Percentage without Consideration of Pump Power .................................................. 92
Figure 77: Total COP Comparison of NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A Systems. 93
Figure 78: Electric Input Power Consumption for Both On-Off and Frequency
Converter Control ........................................................................................................... 94
Figure 79: Ammonia unit and total system COPs with On-Off and Frequency
Controls of the NH3 Compressor ................................................................................ 94
Figure 80: The plot of test’s conditions at 30 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures ....................................................................................... 96
Figure 81: The plot of test’s conditions at 25 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures ....................................................................................... 97
Figure 82: The plot of test’s conditions at 15 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures ....................................................................................... 98
Figure 83: The plot of test’s conditions at 20 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures ....................................................................................... 98

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

Figure 84: The Performance Comparison between Transcritical CO2 System and
NH3 System .................................................................................................................... 99
Figure 85: The Performance Comparison between Single and Two Stages CO2
Compressor from Dorin’s Compressor Data............................................................ 100
Figure 86: COPs of Single-stage Transcritical, Two-Stage Transcritical and NH3
Systems ......................................................................................................................... 101
Figure 87: Schematic Diagram of the Transcritical CO2 System without Cascade
Condenser ..................................................................................................................... 102
Figure 88: COPs of Single-stage Transcritical, Two-Stage Transcritical and NH3
Systems at Evaporating Temperature of -11°C and Single-stage Transcritical at
Evaporating Temperature of -8°C.............................................................................. 102

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Regulation of CFC, HCFC, and HFC Refrigerants in Sweden [2] .......... 18
Table 2: Comparison for Selected Refrigerants of Required Pipe Sizes at -30 ˚C
Saturated Suction Temperature and -10 ˚C Saturated Condensing Temperature
[3] ...................................................................................................................................... 19
Table 3: The Primary Refrigeration Piping Consist the Following Insider Tube
Diameter .......................................................................................................................... 52
Table 4: Different Cascade System Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 73
Table 5: Different Cascade System Input Powers at Different Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 74
Table 6: Cascade System’s Coefficient of Performances at Different Cooling
Water Temperature........................................................................................................ 74
Table 7: R404A System Cooling Capacities at different Cooling Water
Temperature.................................................................................................................... 77
Table 8: R404A system Electric Input Powers and Energy Consumptions at
Different Cooling Water Temperatures of R404A Refrigeration System............... 77
Table 9: R404A system COPs at Different Cooling Water Temperatures ............ 78
Table 10: Products and System Temperatures of NH3/CO2 Cascade System
with Frequency Control of NH3 Compressor ............................................................. 78
Table 11: Products and System Temperatures of NH3/CO2 Cascade System
with On-Off Control of NH3 Compressor.................................................................... 79
Table 12: Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water Temperatures of the
Cascade System with Frequency Control of the NH3 Compressor ....................... 79
Table 13: System’s Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption at
Different Cooling Water Temperature of the Cascade System with Frequency
Control of the NH3 Compressor................................................................................... 80
Table 14: System’s Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption at
Different Cooling Water Temperature of the Cascade System with On-Off Control
of the NH3 Compressor ................................................................................................ 80
Table 15: System’s Coefficient of Performance at Different Inlet Water
Temperatures of the Cascade System with Frequency Control of the NH3
Compressor..................................................................................................................... 80
Table 16: System’s Coefficient of Performance at Different Inlet Water
Temperatures of the Cascade System with On-Off Control of the NH3
Compressor..................................................................................................................... 80
Table 17: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow Rate and CO2 Compressor
Isentropic Efficiency Results at 15˚C of Cooling Water Temperature at Different
Discharge Pressures ..................................................................................................... 85

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

Table 18: Capacities of system’s heat exchangers at 15˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures......................................................... 85
Table 19: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 20˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures............ 86
Table 20: Capacities in Each Component at 20˚C of Cooling Water Temperature
in Different Discharge Pressures ................................................................................. 86
Table 21: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 25˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures............ 86
Table 22: Capacities in Each Component at 25˚C of Cooling Water Temperature
in Different Discharge Pressures ................................................................................. 86
Table 23: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures............ 87
Table 24: Capacities in Each Component at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature
in Different Discharge Pressures ................................................................................. 87

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

NOMENCLATURE AND DEFINITION

HVAC: Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning

CFC: (Chlorofluorocarbon) any of various halocarbon compounds consisting of


carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine.

HCFC: (Hydro chlorofluorocarbons) are halogenated compounds containing


carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine. They have shorter atmospheric lifetimes
than CFCs and deliver less reactive chlorine to the stratosphere where the “ozen
layer” is found.

Annex 31: It is a project established under the auspices of the International


Energy Agency’s (IEA) Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community
Systems Programme. It examines how energy and life cycle assessment (LCA)
tools and methods can be used to reduce the energy-related impact of buildings
on interior, local and global environments.

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) [2] – The ODP of a chemical compound is the
relative amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause, with
trichlorofluoromethane (R-11) being fixed at an ODP of 1.0.

Global Warming Potential (GWP) [3] – The GWP is a measure of how much a
given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. It is
a relative scale which compares the gas in question to that of the same mass of
carbon dioxide (whose GWP is by definition 1). A GWP is calculated over a
specific time interval and the value of this must be stated whenever a GWP is
quoted or else the value is meaningless.

COP: Coefficient of performance


LCCP: Life Cycle Climate Performance
Q& : Cooling capacity (kW)
m& : Refrigerant mass flow rate (kg/s)
Cp : Specific heat (kJ/ kg*K)
dT : Temperature difference (ºC)
dh : Enthalpy difference (kJ/kg)
η v : Volumetric efficiency of the compressor (-)
η is : Isentropic efficiency (-)

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

V&s : Swept volume flow (m3/h)


ρin : Density of the refrigerant at the inlet to the compressor (kg/m3)
V&sr : Compressor displacement volume
n : Compressor speed (rpm)
n r : Compressor rated speed (rpm)
Poutlet : Discharge pressure (bar)
Pinlet : Suction pressure (bar)
ηlosses : Compressor thermal efficiency (-)
E& comp ,elec : Compressor electrical power (kW)
E&comp , shaft : Compressor mechanical power (kW)
dhcomp : Compressor enthalpy difference (kJ/kg)
E&pump: Pump power (kW)
I : Current (A)
V : Voltage (V)
Pr: Product dummies in cabinets
F: Frequency converter control
On-Off: On-Off control

Subscripts

W: Water side
Trans: Transcritical system
cascad: Cascade system
Pierre: Based on Pierre’s correlation
comp: Compressor
shaft: Mechanical shaft work
evap: evaporator
losses: Efficiency losses in the compressor
sim: Simulator
is: isentropic
in: Inlet
out: Outlet

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KTH – Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Energy Technology
Manustai Likitthammanit

1 INTRODUCTION

Supermarkets consume a lot of energy, particularly in the refrigeration part. In


addition, supermarkets also have large refrigerant emissions, which is the
second refrigerant emission source after mobile air-conditioning. Thus,
development of an efficient and environmentally friendly refrigeration system in
supermarkets will help reducing the energy consumption and the impact on the
environment.

To decrease environmental impact from refrigeration, the use of natural


refrigerants, such as water, air, hydrocarbon, ammonia, and CO2, instead of
CFC, HCFC, and HFC has been increasing. However, for supermarkets, water
and air have not been interesting alternatives because of high freezing point for
the water and low theoretical efficiency of Brayton cycle for air. Ammonia,
hydrocarbons, and CO2 have a broader range of application, and are used in
much more conventional systems. Among these, CO2 is the only non-flammable
and non-toxic fluid that can also operate in a vapor compression cycle below 0˚C.
Thus, CO2 has the potential to offer environmental and personal safety in a
system. There are also many advantages using CO2 as refrigerant, such as low
refrigerant cost, low pressure and temperature drops, low volume flow rate, high
vapor density, good heat transfer characteristics, and good compatibility with oil.

Furthermore, using CO2 as refrigerant in transcritical refrigeration system can


avoid a different temperature in cascade condenser of NH3/CO2 cascade system
since CO2 will absorb heat from CO2 in sub-cycle directly without cascade
condenser.

Consequently, the use CO2 refrigeration system in supermarket has become


potential alternative for conventional solutions.

1.1 Energy Usage in Supermarkets

From Annex 31 [1], supermarkets are the most intensive buildings in the
commercial sector that consume a lot of energy. It is estimated that
supermarkets in industrialized countries consume 3-5% of the total electricity
usage. In the USA, this accounts for about 2-3 million kWh per year for
supermarkets with about 3700-5600 m2 sales area. In groceries, the national
average electricity intensity is estimated of 565 kWh/m2 per year.

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As for Sweden, supermarkets consume about 3% of the electricity consumption


(1,800 million kWh/year) [2]. The total energy consumption in a hypermarket
(about 7000 m2) is about 326 kWh/m2 per year while the total energy
consumption in small neighborhood shops (about 600 m2) is about 471 kWh/m2
per year [2].

Figure 1 presents typical electricity use of a grocery store in the US. There are
six main electricity uses in a supermarket: for refrigeration, lighting, ventilation,
cooling, heating, and cooking. Electricity use in refrigeration is the highest which
is around 39% [2].

In the case of a medium-sized supermarket in Sweden, refrigeration consumes


the highest of the electricity which is approximately 47% compared with lighting
(27%), HVAC (13%), kitchen (3%), and outdoor (5%) [2]. Figure 2 shows the
typical electricity use of a grocery store in US.

Water Heating
Miscellaneous 2% Cooking
3% 5%
Heating
Refrigeration
13%
39%

Ventilation
4%
Cooling Lighting
11% 23%

Refrigeration Lighting Cooling Ventilation


Heating Miscellaneous Water Heating Cooking

Figure 1: Typical Electricity Use of a Grocery Store in the US

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Other, 5%
Outdoor,
5%
kitchen, 3%
HVAC, 13% refrigeration
, 47%

Lighting,
27%

refrigeration Lighting HVAC kitchen Outdoor Other

Figure 2: Energy Usage in a Medium-Sized Supermarket in Sweden

Moreover, it is estimated that the refrigerant losses from refrigeration in


supermarkets are annually around 15-30 % of total charge which is the second
refrigerant emission source after mobile air-conditioning [1].

Consequently, improvements on refrigeration system in supermarkets can help to


cut the energy consumption and reduce the impact on the environment from
refrigerant loss.

1.2 Refrigerants in Supermarket

From the prediction [3], the average global temperature will be increased
between 1.5 and 4.5˚C in the next 100 years. The cause of global warming is
mainly from the emission of greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Commercial refrigeration, including supermarket has large emissions by sector
which is around 37% of the worldwide refrigerant emissions [2]. Refrigeration
applications contributions to global warming are classified as direct and indirect.
For direct contribution in supermarket applications, greenhouse gas emissions
occur through the leakage of HFC’s used in refrigeration systems for display and
storage of food. The indirect contribution comes from the production of CO2 gas
through energy consumption where supermarkets are large consumers of
electricity.

According to the effect of the CFCs and HCFCs on the ozone layer, discovered
during the 1970s, the usage of ozone-depleting CFC refrigerants has been
banned by 1990s, followed by the phase-out of HCFCs in the early 2000’s.
However, the use of the HFCs is still legal and commonplace.

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In Sweden, regulation pertaining to CFC, HCFC and HFC refrigerants (presented


in Table 1) prohibited new installations with CFC refrigerants from January 1995
and stopped the use of these refrigerants from January 2000. For HCFC
refrigerants, new installations were banned from 1998.

Table 1: Regulation of CFC, HCFC, and HFC Refrigerants in Sweden [2]


ASHRAE Import or New
Type of Refrigerant Refill Banned Use Banned
Number Installation Banned

R12, R502 CFC 1-Jan-95 1-Jan-98 1-Jan-00


R22 HCFC 1-Jan-98 1-Jan-02
R134a, R404a HFC

In supermarket, the traditional CFC and HCFC refrigerants are replaced today
mainly with R404A, or R134a. Figure 3 illustrates refrigeration and distribution in
from Swedish supermarket, which usage of R-404A and R-134a was 70% and
24%, respectively.

Refrigerant Distribution 2003

R-134a
24%

R-22
4%
R-404A
Other
70%
2%

Figure 3: Refrigerant Distribution from a Supermarket Chain in Sweden 2003

Although, R-404A and R134a have low ODP, they are HFC’s that has 3260 and
1300 of GWP, respectively. Therefore, natural refrigerants such as ammonia,
propane and CO2 have become more interest as alternative refrigerant. CO2, for
instance, has an ODP of zero and has a very low global warming potential (GWP
=1). However both propane and ammonia are flammable and have pungent
smell. Thus there is a strict limit on the allowable charge in large applications. On
the other hand CO2 has a good safety characteristics, it is relatively non-toxic,
non-explosive and non-flammable. CO2 is a by-product of the chemical industry
and thus relatively cheap. It is compatible with common lubricants, such as

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elastomers mineral oils, polyol esters (POE), polyalphaolefines (PAO),


polyalkylene glycols (PAG) and alkyl naphthenes (AN), and common construction
materials. Furthermore, due to high volumetric capacity, the size of components
and piping system are quite small compared to ammonia and R-404A‘s, that
shows in table 2, which results in minimum charge of CO2 system and make it
almost an ideal fluid to be used in the refrigerated space with relatively large
quantities.

Table 2: Comparison for Selected Refrigerants of Required Pipe Sizes at -30 ˚C


Saturated Suction Temperature and -10 ˚C Saturated Condensing Temperature
[3]
Refrigerant R-404A R-717 R-744
Capacity 150 kW 150 kW 150 kW
Dry suction Circuit penalty 1.4 K 1.5 K 0.8 K
Line
Velocity 11.3 m/s 25.6 m/s 7.7 m/s
Diameter 101.6 mm 72.6 mm 50.8 mm
Area 8107 mm2 4139 mm2 2026 mm2
Velocity 0.6 m/s 0.3 m/s 1.1 m/s
Liquid Line Diameter 38.1 mm 25.4 mm 25.4 mm
Area 1140 mm2 506 mm2 506 mm2

This leaves carbon dioxide as the only natural refrigerant candidate to be used in
supermarket refrigeration.

1.3 Application of carbon dioxide in supermarket refrigeration

Since the revival of CO2 as alternative refrigerant, most of the research work has
been focusing on the usage of carbon dioxide in mobile air conditioning and heat
pump application. For instance, a group in Europe has been founded in July
2000 with the name of Carbon Dioxide Interest Group (c-dig) initially to share the
knowledge for industrial applications. Also IIR-Gustav Lorentzen series of
conferences for natural refrigerants show the growing research interests in the
field.

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For supermarket refrigeration applications, the three main solutions where CO2
is applied are the indirect cascade and transcritical systems.

1.3.1 Different system configurations for CO2 in supermarket applications

1.3.1.1 CO2 Indirect Refrigeration Application

In commercial refrigeration, the main technology that was commercially utilized


was to use CO2 as secondary refrigerant in indirect systems for freezing
temperature applications. CO2 has been successfully used in indirect system
solution, the pumping power needed is quite small compared to conventional
brine system, and this is due to the small CO2 volume flow rate and the resulting
low pressure drop. The small volume flow rate is due to the phase changing
process on the CO2 side which also contributes to improving heat transfer on the
refrigerant side compared to the cases with non-phase changing fluids, such as
conventional brines.

1.3.1.2 Cascade System with CO2

To eliminate the temperature difference in the extra heat exchanger needed to


transfer heat to CO2 in the indirect loop, a system using CO2 as refrigerant in
low stage of a cascade system has been developed. A cascade refrigeration
system with CO2 in the low temperature stage and other refrigerants, such as
ammonia, propane, and R-404A, in the high stage is an interesting solution that
has been tested in several supermarkets.

In Denmark, for instance, propane/CO2 system was installed in small


supermarket, “Dagli Brugsen”, in Odense, Denmark in 2000[5]. Propane was
used at the high temperature level (-14/25˚C), while CO2 is used at the low
temperature level (-32/-10˚C).The system operated at around 21 kW for cooling
and 10 kW or freezing. This project illustrated very interesting results that energy
consumption of propane/CO2 is less than conventional R-404A systems.
Although investment cost of propane/CO2 was between 12-20% higher, it can be
decrease to around 10% if the system is larger (approx 60 kW for cooling and 30
kW for freezing).

In Netherlands, the first NH3/CO2 cascade system, which has NH3 as primary
refrigerant and CO2 as secondary refrigerant, is installed in supermarket in
Bunschoten[6]. It operates in two parallel cascade heat exchangers where
condensing temperature of CO2 cycle is -12˚C and evaporating temperature of

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NH3 is -16˚C. The NH3 condenses at a temperature of 10 C above the ambient


temperature. The two NH3 screw compressors can operate in range from 20 kW
to 76.4 kW as one of the compressors is frequency controlled. For CO2 circuit,
direct expansion and a CO2 compressor provides the freezing section with CO2
of 10.8 kW, while in cooling section, pump is used to circulate CO2 providing
cooling capacity of 63.7 kW. The result shows that the annual energy saving is
13-18% compared to R-404A. Moreover investment costs are expected to be
lower than those of a conventional system due to the governmental subsidies.
However without these subsidies the investment was 28% higher with a payback
period of approximately eight years due to lower operational cost.

1.3.1.3 Transcritical Cycle

The temperature difference that exists in the cascade condenser in the cascade
system will decrease the evaporating temperature on the high stage and will
reduce system’s COP. An efficient transcritical CO2 system will by-pass the need
for cascade condenser which may improvement the COP.

During operation at high ambient air temperature the CO2 system will operate in
transcritical cycle most of the time heat rejection then takes place by cooling the
compressed fluid at supercritical high-side pressure.

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2 CO2 AS REFRIGERANT

2.1 Properties, Advantages and Disadvantages of CO2

According to ASHRAE standard 34, CO2 is in a group A1 which is the group of


the refrigerants that does not have an identified toxicity at concentration below
400 ppm, thus it has good safety characteristics. From environmental point of
view, it has no ODP and GWP of 1. Figure 4 presents vapour of CO2 and other
common refrigerants. CO2 vapor pressure is much higher than other refrigerants
and its volumetric refrigeration capacity (22,545 kJ/ m3 at 0˚C) is 3-10 times
higher than other refrigerants, such as R410A, R404A, R407C, R22, R134a,
R12, Propane, and Ammonia [8].

Figure 4: Vapour Pressure of CO2 and Other Common Refrigerants.

Figure 5 presents phase and pressure – temperature diagram of CO2. The


critical pressure and temperature of CO2 are 73.8 bar and 31.1˚C, respectively.
Its temperature and pressure for the triple point are -56.6˚C and 5.2 bar,
respectively.

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Figure 5: Phase and Pressure -Temperature Diagram of CO2 [7]

Owing to the low critical temperature, CO2 will be much closer to the critical point
than with conventional refrigerants. The density of CO2, as shown in Figure 6,
changes rapidly with temperature near the critical point, and the density ratio of
CO2, which is used to determine the flow pattern and heat transfer coefficient, is
much smaller than other refrigerants.

Figure 6: Vapour Density of CO2 and Other Common Refrigerants [8].

CO2 is an inert gas, hence the choice of metallic materials for piping and
components does not generally present a problem, provided dry CO2 is used
and the maximum design pressures can be handled by system components.

Heat transfer of carbon dioxide is one interesting characteristic as it is superior to


other refrigerants. High vapor density, low surface tension by one order of
magnitude, and low vapor viscosity considerably influence the convective and
nucleate boiling characteristics of CO2. These results in heat transfer coefficient

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of CO2 that are greater than those of conventional refrigerant by 2-3 times at the
same saturation temperature while its two phase pressure drops are significantly
smaller [7]. The low pressure drop and the low volume flow rate, result in lower
the energy consumption of the pump in the indirect circuit which will give CO2 a
major advantage compared to brine based systems.

Moreover, another advantage of CO2 as refrigerant is the small components and


pipes’ diameter that can be used; this is due to its high working pressure and low
pressure drop. This has favored carbon dioxide in application which requires
compact design due to limited space availability.

CO2 is also a chemical non-active substance and most of oils do not react with it,
bigger concern is the reaction with the refrigerant in the high stage in case of
mixing. Good solubility in the refrigerant is a good characteristic of oil which
means good transport of oil and oil separation may not needed. An issue to
consider with CO2 lubrication is that usually oils are lighter than CO2 and if they
are not miscible in it they will float on the surface thus will be hard to separate.
The amount of oil needed for CO2 compressor is much smaller than that is
needed for an ammonia compressor which saves in the running cost. Using an
oil free compressor is an option, the installation cost is high but it still saves in the
oil system and the price of the oil itself, but the maintenance cost is expected to
be higher.

From construction point of view, a disadvantage with CO2 as a refrigerant is the


high working pressure. This pressure is much higher than that of the other
natural and synthetic refrigerants, as explained above. Therefore, stronger
components must be designed to handle CO2 in the transcritical cycle.
Industries, for instance, have already started succeeding in coping with the
related problems providing proper safety strategies and components design.

Furthermore, CO2 is denser than air and it can displace the oxygen in the space.
Both characteristics can be dangerous in case of leakage, especially in reduced
spaces. Symptoms associated with the inhalation of air containing CO2 are
presented in [19]. Detection and good ventilation systems should be placed in a
plant which uses CO2 as refrigerant.

If any liquid CO2 leakage happens in the system, it will pass through its triple
point (-56.6ºC at 5.2 bar), ‘dry ice’ will appear and the leakage may be sealed by
itself. In spite of being a good factor from safety point of view, it represents a risk
in case of the need to release CO2 liquid through a relief valve [19].

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3. TRANSCRITICAL CO2 CYCLE

3.1 Fundamentals of CO2 Transcritical Cycle

Figure 7 demonstrates transcritical CO2 cycle in pressure and enthalpy diagram.


The CO2 system will operate above critical point (31.1˚C and 73.8 bar) in the
transcritical region. In the transcritical region, the temperature is independent of
the pressure and there is no saturation condition. Moreover, it is not only
temperature that has mainly effect on the specific enthalpy but also the pressure.

Figure 7: Transcritical CO2 Cycle in Pressure-Enthalpy Diagram

For the COP in transcritical region, COP value in transcritical area is a function of
discharge pressure and gas cooler outlet temperature. For every gas cooler
outlet temperature (Tout), there is a discharge pressure that gives a maximum or
optimum value of COP in transcritical area, as shown in Figure 8. At 35˚C of
Tout, for instance, the theoretical maximum COP is reached at pressure of 85.9
bar, while at 45˚C, the optimum is at 109.8 bar [8].

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Figure 8: Influence of Varying High Side Pressure on the COP in Transcritical


Region at Different Gas Cooler Exit Temperatures [8].

This kind of system is most suitable for cold climate or where cold heat sinks are
available. In this case, the operation of such plants will be mostly in the sub-
critical region. However, if hot water production is needed then it is possible to
effectively utilize the transcritical side of the cycle for hot water production, which
will improve the cycle’s overall efficiency.

When the ambient temperature reduces so the plant will operate in subcritical
region, by-pass must be used in order to eliminate the first expansion device
which is the one that controls the discharge pressure. It will not be needed in this
operating condition, and the receiver that follows that expansion device will be
accumulating condensate from the condenser (gas cooler).

3.2 Thermodynamics Losses

In transcritical cycle, there are two main thermodynamic losses, heat rejection
loss and throttling loss. The larger throttling loss in refrigeration cycle depends on
temperature before and after throttling device, and also by refrigerant properties.
Figure 9 represents the average temperature of CO2 in the heat rejection side is
higher compared to R-134a.

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Figure 9: T-s Diagram Showing Thermodynamic Losses in CO2 Refrigeration


Cycle Compared to R-134a Refrigeration Cycle [7].

When CO2 is used in hot water heat pump applications, the thermodynamics
loss can be reduced. The temperature curve of the cooled CO2 refrigerant
matches the heating-up curve of water better than in the case of R-134a.

For cooling CO2 system, the thermodynamic loss can be minimized by allowing
the CO2 exit temperature from the gas cooler to approach the air or water inlet
temperature as closely as possible. Due to high heat rejection and throttling
losses, the cooling COP of CO2 system is very sensitive to the exit temperature
of the gas cooler.
Figure 10 shows relation between the cooling COP and Exit Temperature of gas
cooler compared to R-22 and R-134a.

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Figure 10: Relation between the Cooling COP and Exit Temperature of Gas
Cooler Compared to R-22 and R-134a [7]

However, there are some methods to limit the thermodynamic losses, such as
usage of two stages compression cycle with inter-cooler. There also have been
several research works to increase the performance of cooling system, such as
the use of internal heat exchanger, multi-stage expansion, and ejector, as can be
seen in next chapter. Consequently, although, there is a lack of efficiency of
theoretical transcritical CO2 cycle, the transcritical CO2 may still compete with
other refrigerant.

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4. APPLICATIONS OF CO2 TRANSCRITICAL CYCLE

4.1 Transcritical CO2 for Cooling Applications

4.1.1 Automotive Air-Conditioning

Due to the effect on environment, refrigerant for automotive systems was


switched from R12 to R134a. However, R134a has high GWP which is around
1300 [4]. Furthermore the study of German environment agency shows that the
replacement of R134a by CO2 in air-conditioning system from 2007 will decrease
the green house emission of Germany by 1 million tones in 2010 and completely
eliminate the emission by 2021 [10].

Nowadays there are many researches which show the competition between
transcritical CO2 and other refrigerant, mainly with R134a, used in automotive air
conditioning.

The Germany Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VDA), for example, has
developed and tested CO2 system in many automobile companies. Results were
presented by BMW, Audi, and DaimlerChrysler which show that CO2 has higher
performance in cool-down mode, and lower compartment temperature as well as
faster temperature pull-down than R134a. CO2 also consumes less energy than
R134a [10].

Moreover, air-conditioning system from Denso Company, for instance, used CO2
as refrigerant to supply Toyota’s fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) in December
2002. Schematic of the system and photos of its main components are shown in
Figure 11.

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Figure 11: Components Used in FCHV and Air-Conditioning System and


Schematic Diagram of the System [11]

4.1.2 Commercial Refrigeration

For commercial refrigeration, CO2 is used mostly as secondary refrigerant in


indirect systems, particularly in Scandinavian countries. In Sweden, for instance,
by the year 2002, there are about 60 plants running with capacities ranging from
10 to 280 kW [7]. However, for transcritical CO2 system in commercial
applications, many systems have been installed in northern Europe. For
instance, on November 25, 2004, the first hypermarket in Switzerland using CO2
direct expansion system for both medium (MT) and low temperature (LT)
refrigeration was opened. It uses three multi compressor refrigeration systems,
refrigerated display cases totaling sales run of 180 meters, nine cold rooms (200
m2 base area), and five walk-in freezers (around 90 m2 base area). The basic
diagram of the system is presented in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Basic Schematic Diagram of MT and LT System [12]

The low temperature system is designed as cascade system, which has 28 kW of


cooling capacity. For the medium temperature system, it is split between two
refrigeration racks of identical capacities; it has 322 kW of cooling capacity. On
the other hand, 472 kW of heat is rejected to ambient air in a CO2 gas cooler of
V-block configuration. The result shows that the CO2 refrigeration system
consumes less energy than R404A for out door air temperatures below 28˚C. At
35˚C, the energy consumption is 13% higher for the CO2 system. Capatal
investment for this transcritical CO2 system is currently higher than R404A direct
expansion system [12].

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While in light commercial application, such as the vending machine, shown in


Figure 13, CO2 is becoming an interesting alternative. The Coca Cola Company
has announced during the one-day conference “Refrigerants, Naturally”, “CO2-
based refrigeration is currently the best option for the global needs of Coca-
Cola’s sales and marketing equipment”, (cooling Coca Cola). According to a
publication of Sanyo [14], it described a comparison between a transcritical CO2-
refrigeration cycle and R-134a designed for Coca Cola vending machines. For
this project, the CO2-compressor, which is of the hermetic 2-stage rolling piston
design, and a combined gas cooler-intercooler as well as a suction line heat
exchanger (SLHX), is used. The system worked under the ambient condition of
32.2˚C and 65 % of humidity. The result illustrated that the energy consumption
in the vending machine is claimed to be 17% less than in original R-134a vending
machines under actual field tests [14].

Moreover, tests done by Denfoss, have been published in 2004 at the IIR-Nature
Working Fluids Conference in Glasgow [15]. In this project, results show that the
use of transcritical CO2 system can save the energy by around 18% and 37% of
double door cooler and vending machine, respectively, compared to the baseline
HFC-technology including the consumption of 2 fans and lights at the ambient
condition of 32˚C and 65% of humidity. In this ambient condition, the optimum
discharge pressure is between 85 and 95 bar.

Figure 13: Sanyo CO2 Refrigeration Unit for Coca Cola Vending Machine [14]

4.1.3 Transport Refrigeration

CO2 was used as refrigerant for transportation in ships until 1950’s, and then it
was gradually phased out due to the technical problems of the high pressure and
low critical temperature, also the discovery of new refrigerants at that time
contributed to undermining the development in CO2 side. However, today, CO2
is renewed in the area of transport again with two main reasons. First, it is
because of high density and volumetric refrigerating of CO2 at low temperatures,
compared to alternatives such as hydrocarbons or ammonia, which allows the
design of compact systems. Second, the use of CO2 is the worldwide availability
and the regulation of HFC fits well with the global nature of the transport
refrigeration industry.

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According to Man-Hoe Kim et al’s paper [7], the test results on a prototype CO2
system for truck refrigeration gave COP data that matched equally sized systems
using R-502 and R-507. From the prediction of a Danish study [6], the
performance of refrigerating systems for transport containers resulted with COP
values that are 15–20% below those of R-134a systems, not including the effects
of differences in compressor efficiency and refrigerant-side pressure drops.
Furthermore, the research by Jakobsen and Neksa [10] shows very similar COP
values in freezing mode for CO2 and R-134a over the full range of ambient
temperature. In cooling mode, the excess capacity is much greater with R-134a
than with CO2 due to differences in refrigerant properties. When the influence on
COP by suction throttling or cylinder unloading was included, the estimated COP
in freezing mode became slightly (3–10%) higher for the CO2 system than for the
R-134a system. One problem with CO2 may be the very high compressor
discharge temperature for freezing operation at high ambient temperature.

4.2 Transcritical CO2 for Heating Applications

According to the thermodynamic properties of CO2 that there is high heat


rejection to heat to the heat sink and matching of cure between CO2 and cooling
media, it lets CO2 to be favorable for heating application. There are many
heating applications that use CO2 as refrigerant and most of them have been
already applied commercially, such as heat pump for auto mobile, residential
heating, and water heating.

4.2.1 Water heating application

Transcritical CO2 system for the commercial use has been applied in hot water
heat pump since 1999 by SINTEF and NTNU. Frostman a.s. in co-operation with
SINTEF Energy Research, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning has built and
installed the first commercial pilot plant heat pump for water heater with CO2 as
working fluid in Norway. In this heat pump system, it uses heat from the
condenser of the ammonia refrigeration plant as heat source. It can produce 70-
80˚C of hot water temperature. The results show that at 14.3˚C of evaporation
temperature, a heating-COP of 5.77 is achieved when water temperature is
heated from 6.7-66˚C [10].

In Sweden, for instance, the first CO2 heat pump for the Swedish market has
now been released by the Swedish company Ahlsell. Figure 14 shows Sanyo’s
CO2 Heat Pump Distributed in Sweden. It is an air source heat pump for
hydraulic heating systems, developed by Sanyo, and which provides both space
heating and domestic hot water (DHW) heating. The outdoor unit is connected to

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a specially designed storage tank, where the DHW is circulated in two coils
placed inside the storage tank. The heat pump, which is capacity-controlled by a
variable-speed control (inverter), is claimed to deliver 4.5 kW of heat capacity
down to an outdoor air temperature of -15 °C, it heats the water up to +70 °C
[10].

Figure 14: Sanyo’s CO2 Heat Pump Distributed in Sweden by Ahlsell [10]

4.2.2 Automotive Heat Pump

For automotive heat pump, its system is the reversion of automotive air-
conditioning. Transcritical CO2 heat pump system for automobile was tested in
Audi A4 car with 1.6 gasoline engine, compared to a standard heater based on
engine coolant as heat source, by Hammer (Audi) and Wertenbach (Daimler
Chrysler) [17]. Schematic of the system is showed in Figure 15.

Figure 15: Transcritical CO2 for Automotive Heat Pump System Tested in Audi
4A car [17].

The result shows almost 50 % reductions in heating up time from -20 to 20˚C.
Since the heat pump used engine coolant as heat source, the possible risk of

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extended heating up time for the engine was of some concern. Measurements
presented the added load on the engine by the heat pump compressor, the
heating-up time was in fact slightly reduced even when heat was absorbed from
the coolant circuit [17].

Moreover, according to Tamura’s et al paper [19], the transcritical CO2 heat


pump for medium-sized car is successfully developed. The transcritical CO2 heat
pump is compared with R134a system. With the use of micro tubes for the indoor
and outdoor heat exchangers and double micro tube for the water-refrigerant
heat exchanger, the result shows that the COP ratio between transcritical CO2
and R134a heat pump is 1.31.

Transcritical CO2 heat pump is also tested for American military vehicles. It is
compared with R134 heat pump with different ambient temperatures (-10 to
20˚C) and indoor temperature range -10 to 20˚C. The mass flow is constant over
the indoor (0.134 m3/s) and outdoor coils (0.434 m3/ s) with compressor speed at
950 rpm. The results show that the capacity can be increased with increasing of
high side pressure; engine heat can be used exclusively to reduce emission
during startup instead of being diverted immediately for cabin comfort; steady
state capacity is not significantly degraded by low ambient temperature [18].

4.2.3 Dryer

Another interesting application of transcritical CO2 cycle is heat pump dryer. An


example is a prototype fluidised bed heat pump dryer with CO2 as refrigerant,
which is built at the Dewatering R&D Laboratory at SINTEF and NTNU [24].
Figure 16 represents the fluid bed dryer with CO2 as refrigerant and drawing of
the fluid bed dryer.

Figure 16: The Fluid Bed Dryer with CO2 as Refrigerant and Drawing of the Fluid
Bed Dryer

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5. THE EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES

Three experimental facilities, NH3/CO2 cascade, conventional R404A, and


transcritical CO2 refrigeration system, were built in IUC laboratory. Explanation of
these systems can be found in the following sections.

5.1 NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System

The NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system is with NH3 at the high stage and
CO2 at low stage. Figure 17 shows schematic of NH3 unit and the NH3/CO2
cascade refrigeration system in IUC&SEK laboratory.
.

Cold water Hot water

NH3
System

CO2

Figure 17: Schematic of the NH3 unit and the NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration
System in IUC&SEK Lab

5.1.1 NH3 Unit

For NH3 cycle, it consists of compressor, condenser, flooded valve, oil separator,
accumulation tank, and evaporator or cascade condenser.

The NH3 compressor is a Bock reciprocating compressor, which is an open type,


with 40.5 m3/h of displacement. It has a capacity control, which can be operated

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both full load and half load. It has a 25 bar of maximum pressure and 700-1450
rpm of permissible range of rotation speeds.

Figure 18: Picture of NH3 Bock Reciprocating Compressor

The cascade condenser is a plate heat exchanger that is specially selected to


handle the pressure difference that will exist between CO2 and NH3, which is
around 28 bars for CO2 at -8˚C and about 2.7 bars for NH3 at -12˚C.

Figure 19: Picture of Cascade Condenser Heat Exchanger Installed in the Facility

5.1.2 CO2 system

The CO2 cycle consists of a compressor, accumulation tank, safety device,


pump, oil separator, 2 freezing cabinets, 2 cooling cabinets, and 2 simulators.

The CO2 compressor is a Copeland scroll compressor which can be operated


between around -37 ˚C and -8 ˚C of temperature and 4.1 m3/h of displacement. It
also has slight glass used to show oil level inside CO2 compressor. Figure 20
presents the picture of CO2 compressor.

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Slight Glass

Figure 20: Picture of CO2 Compressor

The accumulation tank has a capacity to contain 180 liters of CO2 which was
installed with an electronic level indicator. It can stand a pressure of up to 40
bars or 6˚C. For protection from over pressure in the tank, the safety device was
installed. The safety valve opens when the pressure reaches 38 bars. However,
the opening of safety device can be avoided, which protects loss of CO2
refrigerant by using of a bleed valve, which will be opened when the pressure
reaches 35 bars.

Figure 21: Picture of CO2 Accumulation Tank

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The pump, which is used to pump CO2 refrigerant to the medium cabinets, is a
hermitic one with the capacity higher than needed. To be sure that the pump is
properly cooled down in the case where all the valves downstream are closed, a
by pass was installed.

Figure 22: Picture of CO2 Pump

In order to have more cooling loads, when the system was tested, two load
simulators were used. One simulator for cooling temperature level can provide
6.6 kW of a maximum load which is divided in three steps, 2.2 kW, 4.4 kW, and
6.6 kW. Another simulator is used for freezing temperature level which is also
divided into three steps, 1 kW, 2kW, and 3 kW.

Figure 23: Picture of Two Simulators

From the system, it was set to the optimum condition and operated as
thermosyphon arrangement, followed by Carlos Perales Cabrejas’ thesis [17].

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5.2 R404A Refrigeration System

R404A refrigeration system is operated with R404A directly for freezing cabinets
and indirectly for medium temperature cabinets. It has been designed and built in
a separate project which investigates conventional refrigeration system. This
system solution was chosen based on surveys among main companies in this
field. This kind of system was commonly used in medium and large Swedish
supermarkets, which could give a small charge in medium temperature circuit.
For its system, it is quite different than NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system.
Figure 24 represent schematic diagram of R404A refrigeration system.

Figure 24: Schematic Diagram of R404A Refrigeration System Both in Medium


Temperature Level (left) and Freezing Temperature (right)

5.2.1 The Overall System of R404A Refrigeration System

The R404 system can be divided into three parts where chillers No.1 and No.2
are used for cooling cabinets, and the third is use for freezing cabinets. In this
system, R404A is used for both freezing and cooling cabinets. However, for
cooling cabinets indirect system with Propylene glycol is used. In operation of the
medium temperature circuit, brine goes through the chiller No. 2 to exchange
heat with the primary refrigerant (R404A) in the evaporator. When it needs more
cooling capacity, the electronic valve at chiller No.1 will open and then brine will
go through the evaporator to exchange heat with R404A. This means
compressor No.1 helps No.2 in providing the required cooling capacity when the
load increases. After the brine exchanges heat with R404A in the evaporators, it
will mix before flowing into the cabinets; this may result in some losses because

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of the different temperature. On the other hand, refrigerant R404A in the system
rejects the condensers heat to a water loop.

The freezers chiller No.3 is a direct expansion system. When the Bizter
compressor operates, the refrigerant (R404A) is compressed with compressor
and then exchanges heat with water in the condenser. After that, the refrigerant
is reduced its pressure by expansion valve and then it goes though a freezing
simulator and two freezing cabinets.

5.2.2 Components

As can be seen in Figure 24, the R404A refrigeration system consists of three
separate circuits: two are used for medium temperature cabinets and the other is
used for freezers.

Simulators are used when the system needs more loads. One simulator for
cooling temperature level can provide 6 kW of a maximum load which is divided
in three steps, 2 kW, 4 kW, and 6 kW. Another simulator is used for freezing
temperature level which is also divided into three steps, 1.5 kW, 3 kW, and 4.5
kW. Moreover, for freezing temperature level, there is another simulator load,
which is 2 kW. Thus the total load, which can provide for freezing cabinets, is 6.5
kW.

2 kW load

Figure 25: Two Simulators both for Freezer and Medium Temperature Level, and
another Load for Freezer

For medium temperature cabinets, two identical compressors are used. They are
Copeland scroll type compressor. They have 20.9 m3/h of swept volume at 50 Hz
of frequency and 32 bar of maximum pressure. They are connected with oil

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separators (Henry Technologies oil separators) which are helical oil separators.
Figure 26 presents helical oil separators and Copeland scroll compressors used
for cooling cabinets. The oil separators have 2.6 liters of volume and 31 bar of
maximum pressure. They also have the operation temperature range between -
10 and 130 C. Figure 27 illustrates the accumulators for the medium and low
temperature circuits, which are of the same type, are used for medium
temperature and low temperature system. They have 8 liters of volume and 30
bar of maximum allowable pressure, operating temperature range is 0-100˚C.

Oil seperator

Copeland scroll

Figure 26: Helical Oil Separators and Copeland Scroll Compressors Used for
Cooling Cabinets.

Figure 27: Picture of Accumulators both for Medium Temperature Level and
Freezing Temperature Level

In order to cool down the medium temperature cabinet, a pump is used to


circulate brine (PROPYLENE GLYCOL 40%) in the medium temperature circuit.
It has 120˚C and 10 bar of a maximum temperature and pressure, respectively.
Figure 28 shows the brine pump for R404A system.

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Figure 28: The Brine Pump

For freezing cabinet, a semi-hermetic reciprocating Bizter compressor has 63.5


m3/ h of swept volume at 50 Hz of frequency. Maximum high pressure is 28 bars.
It is connected with oil separator (ALCO Controls oil separators), which has 2.76
liters of volume and 31 bar of maximum pressure. They also have the operating
temperature range between -10 and 150 C. Moreover, the accumulators, as
shown in Figure 27, have 18 liters of volume and 43.1 bar of maximum allowable
pressure, they can be operated between -18 and 120˚C. Figure 29 represents
the picture of Bizter compressor and ALCO Controls oil separators.

Figure 29: Picture of Bizter Compressor Used in Freezing Cabinets and ALCO
Controls Oil Separators

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5.3 Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration System

5.3.1 The Overall System of Transcritical CO2 system

Due to the temperature different in cascade condenser of NH3/CO2 cascade


system, which can decrease COP of the system, the use of CO2 in both high and
low stages can solve this problem. The use of CO2 both high and low stages will
avoid the usage of cascade condenser. Without cascade condenser, however, oil
separator has to work well to collect oil not to accumulate in the tank. Therefore,
in this experiment, the system was tested without sub system. The evaporator
was installed instead of the tank to avoid potential oil problems.

Figure 30 shows schematic diagram of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system,


which consists of 2-stage compressor, intermediate heat exchanger, oil
separator, internal heat exchanger, expansion valve, cascade condenser, and
accumulator. For the working of transcritical CO2 system, evaporator is used to
exchanger heat with brine controlled its temperature by shut control as described
above. Then only liquid of CO2 refrigerant will flows to accumulate in
accumulation, which is used to separate between liquid and vapour of CO2. Only
CO2 vapour from accumulator will go out and exchange heat with CO2 from gas
cooler to get some superheat which can avoid liquid go to the compressor. After
that CO2 vapour will be compressed by CO2 compressor at first stage before it
goes though the intermediate heat exchanger to exchange heat with water
supply from IUC&SEK laboratory. The outlet water temperature of intermediate
heat exchanger can be controlled by adjusting of water flow rate at the inlet of
intermediate heat exchanger. Before CO2 refrigerant goes though the gas cooler,
it is compressed by CO2 compressor at second stage and then it is separated oil
with oil separator. While CO2 vapour goes to the gas cooler, separated oil is
accumulated in the bottom of oil separator. When the level of oil is too low, the
automatic valve will open and the oil will be sucked back to the compressor. After
the CO2 goes out from gas cooler, temperature of CO2 will decrease by passing
the internal heat exchanger which helps to increase cooling capacity. Finally,
pressure of CO2 will be reduced by expansion valve before go back to
evaporator. Figure 31 presents the picture of transcritical CO2 system.

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Water
4 kW
9 kW

Intermediate
Oil Compressor HEX
Seperator stage 2

Gas Transcritical CO2 system


29 kW Cooler
Compressor
7 kW
stage 1

Water
5 kW

Internal
HEX

Accumulator

27 kW
Evaporator

Brin

Figure 30: Schematic Diagram of the Transcritical CO2 System

Figure 31: Picture of Transcritical CO2 system

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5.3.2 Two-Stage Compressor

Two-stage compressor operates with 7 and 4 kW of input power in the first and
second stage, respectively. It is a Dorin semi-hermetic compressor which has
2900 rpm of compressor speed and 10.3 m3/h of swept volume [18].
Furthermore, this compressor has been designed to resist pressure of 100 bar in
suction and 163 bar in discharge with two safety relief valves. The maximum
tolerated pressure difference is 90 bar. The maximum allowable temperature at
the high pressure is 180˚C. It operates with on-off control. Figure 32 shows the
picture of the two-stage CO2 compressor.

Suction 1st

Discharge 2nd

Discharge 1st stage Suction 2nd stage

Figure 32: Picture of the Two-Stage CO2 Compressor

5.3.3 Heat Exchangers

The gas cooler, evaporator, and intermediate heat exchanger are the Supermax
TM all welded plate heat exchanger which incorporates the benefits of plate and
frame exchangers without gaskets [22], they are counter-flow heat exchanger.

The gas cooler, as shown in Figure 33, has 29 kW of capacity and 48 plates. It
can operate under 130 bar of the maximum tested pressure and 100˚C of the
maximum designed temperature. In addition, there are 6.07 and 4.08 liters of
volume for CO2 and water, respectively.

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CO2 inlet

Water outlet

CO2 Water

Figure 33: Picture of the Gas Cooler

Figure 34 presents the evaporator (cascade condenser) which has a capacity of


27 kW the number of plates is 80. It can operate with 91bar of a maximum
designed pressure and 50˚C of a maximum designed temperature. The
evaporator has 10.37 and 6.97 liters of volume for CO2 and water, respectively.

CO2 inlet

Water outlet

CO2 outlet Water inlet

Figure 34: Picture of the Evaporator (Cascade Condenser)

To reduce the discharge temperature and input power to the system, an


intermediate heat exchanger is used to reject heat between the compressor
stages. The intermediate heat exchanger has 26 plates and a capacity of 9 kW. It
can with stand similar conditions as the evaporator, and has 3.54 and 2.38 liters
of volume for CO2 and water, respectively. Figure 35 shows the picture of
intermediate heat exchanger.

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CO2 inlet

Water outlet

Water inlet
CO2 outlet

Figure 35: Picture of Intermediate Heat Exchanger

For the internal heat exchanger, as presented in Figure 36, which can stand
pressure up to 200 bar, it is different with other heat exchangers as it is a shell
and tube heat exchanger with around 5 kW of capacity. The heat is exchanged
between CO2 from gas cooler, which has 0.064 liters of volume, and CO2 from
accumulator, which has 0.3 liters of volume.

From gas cooler

To comp

From Accumulator

To expansion valve

Figure 36: Picture of Internal Heat Exchanger

5.3.4 Accumulator

Accumulator, which can stand pressure up to 200 bar and has a volume of
around 3.013 liters, is located between cascade condenser and inter cooler
which is used to separate vapor from the liquid of CO2 refrigerant before vapor of

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carbon dioxide refrigerant goes through the inter cooler and then to two stage
compressor. It is designed by Jörgen Rogstam and Per-Olof Nilsson at IUC&SEK
(Installatörernas Utbildningscentrum and Sveriges Energi & Kylcentrum). The
reference of Its design is the accumulator for automotive air conditioning system
[23]. However, the accumulator used in automotive air conditioning is used
R134a as refrigerant. While the accumulator is in operation, CO2 refrigerant
flows from the cascade condenser into the accumulator, vapor will be separated
from the liquid and sucked out by the compressor, liquid CO2 will remain at the
bottom of the accumulator. Error! Reference source not found. presents the
pictures of the accumulator opened and closed. Any oil flowing in the system,
after the oil separator will be dissolved in the accumulator liquid. Therefore, a
1mm hole is made in the suction line to return some of the oil to the compressor,
the hole in the suction line can be seen in Figure 38.

CO2 vapor

CO2 liquid and


vapor inlet

Figure 37: Picture of Inside of Accumulator (left) and Accumulator (right)

Small hole for releasing oil

Figure 38: Picture of Small Hole for Releasing Oil from CO2 Refrigerant

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5.3.5 Oil Separator

The oil separator can stand a pressure up to 200 bar. In this system,
EMKARATE RL 68H or Polyol ester (POE) has been used. Due to the
comparable density values of oil and CO2, the separation by gravity is hard to
handle. Therefore, to separate the two fluids, velocity increase by diffuser has to
be used. In the oil separator, the refrigerant and oil are diffused out from the
discharge line through a small tube. Due to the higher weight of oil, oil will be
separated from CO2 and will be flowing along the wall downward to accumulate
at the bottom of the separator and then pumped out to the compressor again. On
the other hand, CO2 flows spirally downwards and then upwards close to the
centre where it exits the separator. Figure 39 presents pictures of the oil
separator opened and closed.

Outlet of oil

Inlet of oil

Outlet of CO2

Inlet of CO2

Figure 39: Picture of Inside Oil Separator (left) and Oil Separator (right)

5.3.6 Oil Cooler

Figure 40 shows the picture of oil cooler. It is a SWEP plate heat exchanger,
which can stand pressure up to 100 bar and has 3 kW of capacity. Oil is cooled
down by using the water supply in IUC&SEK laboratory. In order to investigate
the capacity of the oil cooler, flow meter and temperature measurements were
installed on the water side.

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Figure 40: Picture of Oil Cooler

5.3.7 Expansion Valve

The expansion valve is a Danfoss electronic valve. It consists of two parts: one is
the controller (ICAD 60DS) and the other is the valve (ICMT). For ICAD 600S, it
can be set with on off digital input and it can operate in the temperature range
between -30˚C and 50˚C. It has 140 bar of maximum working pressure and can
be operated with volume flow rate range between 0.6-4.6 m3/h. Error!
Reference source not found. shows picture of the expansion valve.

Figure 41: Picture of Expansion Valve

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5.3.8 Heat Source

To add heat to evaporator, shunt is used. It consists of one heat exchanger, one
pump, and a shunt control. Brine (PROPYLENE GLYCOL 40%) is pumped to
provide heat to CO2 at evaporator. Then a cold brine temperature from the
evaporator will exchange heat with the water from the water supply in IUC
laboratory. Figure 42 presents a picture and schematic diagram of shunt circuit.

Figure 42: Shut and Shut Control Used to Add Heat in the System

To have a desired temperature the shunt valve can be adjusted. It is adjusted


automatically with a software.

5.3.9 Heat Sink

For heat removal from the test rig, water from the supply system in IUC&SEK
laboratory was used to absorb heat from the gas cooler and intermediate heat
exchanger. It can be changed from 15 to 30˚C of water temperature. Water
supply was divided into four parts: for gas cooler, intermediate heat exchanger,
oil separator, and heat exchanger of brine at the evaporator side, the water
supply circuit is shown in the figure below. In order to have desired outlet CO2
temperature of both gas cooler and intermediate heat exchanger, two regulation
valves were installed.

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Figure 43: Water Supply for Gas Cooler and Intermediate Heat Exchanger

5.3.10 Pipes and Tube Dimension

The piping system can be divided into two parts: one for the CO2 cycle and the
other for water, which is used to cool down the refrigerant in heat exchangers.
For primary CO2 cycle, all of pipes are stainless steel pipes, which have two
diameters (16 mm and 12 mm). Table 3 shows the primary circuit piping and the
corresponding internal diameters.

Table 3: The Primary Refrigeration Piping Consist the Following Insider Tube
Diameter
Tube Suction Tube Length (cm) Tube inside diameter (mm)
Suction line 37 16
Comp 1st stage and Internal Ex 82 12
Internal Ex and Comp 2nd stage 18.5 12
Comp 2nd stage and Oil separator 113 12
Discharge line 132 12
Gas cooler and inter cooler 90.5 12
Liquid line 75 12
Cascade condenser and Accumulator 63 12
Accumulator and Inter cooler 15 16

5.3.11 The Measurement and Controller Facilities

The measurement devices consist of the main part listed below:

• Agilent data acquisition device


• Shunt control (Inlet water temperature control in evaporator)

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• Expansion valve control


• Oil level control
• 2 flow turbine type meters
• Power meter
• Others (pressure gages, light alarms, and on-off switch control)

At the first step of testing the system running in short periods, 21 thermocouples
and 10 pressure transducers have been connected to various points in the
system both in CO2 and water sides. Below is a list of the measuring points.

5.3.10.1 Positions of Pressure Transducers

1. At CO2 inlet of stage 1st compressor (P_Comp1_In)


2. At CO2 outlet of stage 1st compressor (P_Comp1_Out)
3. At CO2 inlet of stage 2nd compressor (P_Comp2_In)
4. At CO2 outlet of stage 2nd compressor (P_Comp2_Out)
5. At CO2 inlet of gas cooler (P_Gascooler_In)
6. At CO2 outlet of gas cooler (P_Gascooler_out)
7. At CO2 inlet of expansion valve (P_ExpanV_In)
8. At CO2 inlet of evaporator (P_Evap_In)
9. At CO2 outlet of evaporator (P_Evap_Out)
10. At CO2 outlet of accumulator (P_Accum_Out)

5.3.10.2 Positions of Thermocouples

1. At CO2 inlet of stage 1st compressor (T_Comp1_In)


2. At CO2 outlet of stage 1st compressor (T_Comp1_Out)
3. At water inlet of intermediate heat exchanger (T_W_MHEX_In)
4. At water outlet of intermediate heat exchanger (T_W_MHEX_Out)
5. At CO2 inlet of stage 2nd compressor (T_Comp2_In)
6. At CO2 outlet of stage 2nd compressor (T_Comp2_Out)
7. Before oil return valve (T_Oil_Return_Bef)
8. After oil return valve (T_Oil_Return_Af)
9. At oil inlet of oil cooler (T_Oil_HEX_In)
10. At oil outlet of oil cooler (T_Oil_HEX_Out)
11. At water outlet of oil cooler (T_W_OilCooler_Out)
12. At CO2 inlet of gas cooler (T_Gascooler_In)
13. At CO2 outlet of gas cooler (T_Gascooler_Out)
14. At water outlet of gas cooler(T_W_Gascooler_Out)
15. At CO2 inlet of expansion valve (T_ExpanV_In)
16. At water inlet of evaporator (T_W_Evap_In)
17. At water outlet of evaporator (T_W_Evap_Out)
18. At CO2 outlet of evaporator (T_Evap_Out)
19. At CO2 outlet of accumulator (T_Accum_Out)

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20. At water outlet of water supply (T_W_Supply_Out)

To measure water flow rate, two turbine type flow meters were installed at brine
side of the evaporator and water side of the oil cooler. All thermocouples,
pressure transducers, flow meter, and power meter were connected though
Agilent data acquisition device where it was possible to track the system trends
on computer. To collect data to the computer, Agilent VEE Pro software, was
used.

For controlling software, there are 3 main parts. First is to control evaporating
pressure. According to Figure 8, COP of transcritical system is influenced by
varying high side pressure; this investigation needs to have a constant
evaporating pressure. The software reads the evaporating pressure from
pressure transducer in voltage (V) and converts it to the pressure, following the
relation that 1 to 5 voltages corresponds 1 to 150 bar (absolute pressure) as can
be seen in equation [3-12]. Then the evaporating pressure signal is fed to PID
controller to regulate the shunt valve.

Second is to control heat source. In this case, the inlet water temperature of
evaporator is used as the reference. It is measured by a thermocouple and is fed
into PID controller. Then it is also sent to control the shunt valve.

Final is to control the expansion valve. The expansion valve is controlled in order
to get the optimum COP, outlet CO2 temperature of the gas cooler is used as the
reference. When it is read, it is converted to optimum pressure before it is sent in
to PID control. The equation below is used to relate the gas cooler outlet
temperature to the optimum discharge pressure, it is a curve fit of the optimum
discharge pressure at different gas cooler exist temperatures. Figure 44
illustrates the diagrams of three controllers.

Popt = (2.7 * T _ Gascooler _ Out ) − 6.1 (1)

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Figure 44: Diagram for Evaporating Pressure Control (left), Expansion Valve
Control (middle) and for Shut Control (right)

To demonstrate the important values on a computer screen during testing, all


data are collected in term array through Agilent data acquisition device and then
they were separated into 3 main parts: temperature, pressure, and electric power
consumption, as can be seen in Figure 45. For pressures, voltage signals (V)
from different pressure transducers were collected and converted into different
pressures.

P _ Comp1 _ In = 1 + 0.551035 + (37.25 *V ) − 37.25 (2)

P _ Comp1 _ Out = 1 + 0.319720 + (37.25 *V ) − 37.25 (3)

P _ Comp 2 _ in = 1 − 0.481674 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (4)

P _ Comp 2 _ Out = 1 − 0.591114 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (5)

P _ Gascooler _ In = 1 − 0.604454 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (6)

P _ Gascooler _ Out = 1 + 1.806211 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (7)

P _ ExpanV _ In = 1 − 0.400914 + (37.25 *V ) − 37.25 (8)

P _ Evap _ In = 1 − 0.379503 + (37.25 *V ) − 37.25 (9)

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P _ Evap _ Out = 1 − 0.525316 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (10)

P _ Accum _ Out = 1 + 0.306009 + (37.25 * V ) − 37.25 (11)

For temperatures, all temperatures were read in °C, which are directly displayed
in computer screen. For electric power consumption, pulses from power meters
are collected and convert to kW. Furthermore, there were some more important
values, such as optimum discharged pressure, optimum intermediate pressure,
superheat in the evaporator, accumulator, and before the compressor. For the
optimum discharged pressure, it could be seen in equation [1] above, while for
the optimum intermediate pressure, it can be related to the CO2 outlet
temperature of the intermediate heat exchanger, the following correlation which
is a curve fit of the optimum intermediate pressure can be used as a guideline.

In order to avoid CO2 liquid flowing into the compressor, the superheat value
was displayed on the computer screen. If no superheat, for example, CO2
compressor must be stopped. On the computer screen, optimum discharge and
intermediate pressures were also shown to give an idea of how the system is
running and perform the proper adjustments. The figure below shows how the
data values are displayed on the computer screen.

Figure 45: The Display of Data on Computer Screen

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For the proper control of oil level, a regulation valve was installed on the oil return
line. When the oil level is too low, the valve is opened manually to return the oil in
the separator back to the compressor. The oil in the compressor also had
temperature control which has a range between 30 and 65˚C.

5.3.12 Safety Device

To know if oil pressure (90 bar) and thermistors (temperature sensor of an


electric motor in CO2 compressor, respectively, reach dangerous levels, light
alarms are installed. Figure 46 presents pictures of thermistors and oil pressure
alarm.

Figure 46: Pictures of Thermistors and Oil Pressure Alarm.

Safety valves in the compressor were calibrated at 158 bar for high pressure and
at 97 bar for low pressure. Electro-mechanical pressure switch was also
installed. It was set at 110 bar of a maximum permissible pressure at discharge
pressure. Furthermore, two relief valves which were calibrated at 130 bar for high
pressure and 80 bar for low pressure. They were also installed to release CO2
from the system when the CO2 pressure is too high. Figure 47 presents the
picture of electromechanical pressure and relief valve.

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Figure 47: Pictures of Electromechanical Pressure and Relief Valve

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6. THE OVERALL SYSTEM ANALYSIS

The systems under investigation have been designed and scaled down to fulfill
the requirements of an average size Swedish supermarket and to operate under
Swedish weather conditions. In order to provide answers about the current
system solution, it is important to perform the overall analysis of the system
where the capacities are properly measured and the energy balance is verified.
This is an important step since some of the measurements are based on the
components data and planed experiments depends on the accuracy of
measuring cooling loads and capacities of some of the main components. The
experiments of the systems could be divided into three tests:

First, transcritical CO2 refrigeration system was built, investigated, and


evaluated. Its results were compared to NH3 system used in NH3/CO2 cascade
system.

Second, this study also compared the performance and energy consumption
between NH3/CO2 cascade and the R404A system.

Third, two different capacity control methods (on-off and frequency converter) of
the NH3 compressor in the NH3/CO2 cascade system were investigated and
compared in terms of performance.

6.1 The Investigation and Evaluation of R404A and NH3/CO2


Cascade Refrigeration System

This main objective of this experiment was to investigate and compare three
refrigeration systems: conventional refrigeration cycle (R404A), cascade
NH3/CO2 refrigeration cycle, and transcritical CO2 refrigeration system. To test
the three systems, the experimental facilities in IUC&SEK laboratory were
adjusted to the same operating conditions which are described below.

6.1.1 The Conditions for Comparison

6.1.1.1 Freezing cabinets

In the freezing cabinets, product dummies of 56 small bottles, 2 big bottles, and 4
boxes were placed in the cabinets. Figure 48 shows the product dummies and
product temperature measurement points in the freezers.

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Air
Air

T F2 T F1

Freezing Freezing

Figure 48: Product Dummies and Product Temperature Measurement Point in


Freezing Cabinets

There is 1 thermocouple for each cabinet to measure the product temperature;


they are located in the same position, as shown in Figure 48. The selected
position of the thermocouples was based on assumption that the farthest position
from air outlet should have a warmest product temperature. In addition, the
products on the top will have more effect from surrounding temperature. The
thermocouples were installed between product dummies and were located on the
top. Electric defrost method was used in both cabinets following the
investigations done by Perales Cabrejas [20]. They were set for 12 hours of
interval between defrosts with a defrost period of 45 minutes.

6.1.1.2 Medium temperature cabinets

For the medium temperature cabinets product temperature should be between 0


and 4˚C. The product dummies are 149 small bottles, as can be seen in Figure
49.

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T M2 Product
T_M2_AirIn

T_M2_AirOut

Figure 49: Product Dummies and Product Temperature Measurement Point in


Cooling Cabinet 2 as the Example.

Temperature measurements where done in similar way as done in the freezers.


Positions of the thermocouples are shown in Figure 49. The selected positions of
the thermocouples were based on the investigations done by Perales Cabrejas
[17]. For the defrost parameters of cooling cabinets, refrigeration was stopped for
a certain period in order to melt the frost using the heat of the surrounding air.
They were set for 24 hours of interval between defrosts and 45 minutes for each
defrost period.

6.1.1.3 Air Temperature and relative humidity in the IUC&SEK lab

Air temperature in the laboratory influences the cooling capacity of the cabinets.
So it was kept almost constant and around 20˚C.Error! Reference source not
found. Figure 50 shows air temperature in the laboratory.

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Figure 50: Air Temperature in the Laboratory Set around 20 ˚C

High humidity will also increase the cooling load in the cabinets due to
condensation of water and frost forming on the evaporator, cabinets and the
products. Figure 51 presents Psychometric chart, which shows the higher
humidity, the higher enthalpy.

Figure 51: Psychometric Chart, which presents the higher humidity, the higher
enthalpy.

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Figure 52: The Relative Humidity in the Lab

6.1.2 NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System

The ammonia compressor was used to determine the mass flow rate of the
refrigerant which would then be used to calculate the cooling capacity of the
ammonia system. The swept volume of the compressor is known from the
manufacturer data. Measuring the rotational speed of the compressor,
temperatures and pressures around it gave all the data needed to calculate the
mass flow of the refrigerant.

According to Perales Cabrejas [17], the volumetric efficiency which was used in
the mass flow calculations of ammonia cycle, had to be adjusted. The formula
could be expressed below:

Poutlet
ηV ,adjusted = 1.094 ⋅ exp(−0.063 ⋅) (12)
Pinlet
To calculate mass flow of ammonia cycle, the volumetric efficiency, the density at
suction line, and swept volume flow were need:

m& NH 3 = η v ⋅ V&s ⋅ ρ in (13)

The compressor had a displacement Vsr of 40.5 m3/ h in full capacity mode and
20.25 m3/ h for reduced capacity (half capacity) mode both at rated speed n r of
1450 rpm. Swept volume flow in m3/s at a given speed could then be calculated
using the relation:

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n 1
V&s = Vsr ⋅ ⋅ (14)
n r 3600

With the mass flow of ammonia and operating conditions of the system, the
energy consumption and cooling capacity can be calculated:


E& NH 3,comp ,shaft = m⋅ dhNH 3,comp (15)


Q& cascade = m⋅ dhcascade (16)

On the carbon dioxide side, the power consumption of the carbon dioxide
compressor was measured by an electric meter. The energy balance around the
carbon dioxide compressor was used to obtain the total mass flow in the low
temperature side, presented in equation 19. The assumption of 7% heat losses
from the compressor to the environment was used. The simulator at the medium
and low temperature levels provided a fixed known cooling capacity via the
electric heaters which could be used to verify the method of calculating the
cooling capacity at the medium and low temperature levels. The medium
temperature simulator provided a maximum capacity of 6.6 kW, and the low
temperature simulator provides a maximum capacity of 3 kW. The two simulators
can be switched to 1/3 and 2/3 of its capacity. Knowing the mass flow of carbon
dioxide, operating conditions and a load of freezing temperature simulator, it was
possible to calculate cooling capacity of freezing cabinet:

m& CO 2 = ( E& CO 2,comp ⋅ 0.93) / dhCO 2,comp (17)

Q& CO 2, freezing ,total = (m& CO 2 ⋅ dhCO 2,evap ) + Q& CO 2,simulator , freezing (18)

At the return line of the medium temperature level the flow is a two phase one,
therefore it was not possible to calculate the load at the medium temperature by
measuring the mass flow of the refrigerant. By calculating the cooling capacity at
the cascade condenser and for the low stage cabinets it would be possible to
calculate the total load at the medium temperature level according to the
following equation:

Q& CO 2,medium,total = Q& cascade − ( E& CO 2,comp + E& CO 2, pump + Q& CO 2, freezing ,total ) (19)

The electric power consumption of the CO2 pump was measured and it varied
around the average value of 0.85 kW [17].

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The coefficient of performance (COP) was used to evaluate the performance of


the system and it was also used for comparisons between the different systems.
To evaluate different cascade system sections, four COPs can be defined.

First, for the ammonia system, the COP could be evaluated by knowing the
cooling capacity at cascade condenser and the total energy consumption of
ammonia compressor, which could express as this formula:

COPNH 3 = Q& cascade / E& NH 3,comp (21)

Second, for COP for the low temperature level, the COP was evaluated using the
useful refrigerating capacities from low temperature level divided by the total
energy consumption used to cool the products only in freezing cabinets. In order
to calculate energy consumption used to cool down the products in freezing
cabinets, the COP of ammonia system and the cooling capacity of low
temperature level were used according to the following relations:

E& NH 3, freezing = (Q& CO 2, freezing ,total + E& CO 2,comp ) / COPNH 3 (22)

E& CO 2, freezing ,total = E& NH 3, freezing + E& CO 2,comp (23)

COPCO 2, freezng ,total = Q& CO 2, freezing ,total / E& CO 2, freezing ,total (24)

Third, for the system of medium temperature level, the COP was evaluated in the
same way as the COP of low temperature level, the used formulas are shown
below:

E& NH 3,medium = (Q& CO 2,medium,total + E& CO 2, pump ) / COPNH 3 (25)

E& CO 2,medium,total = E& NH 3,medium + E& CO 2, pump (26)

COPCO 2,medium,total = Q& CO 2,medium,total / E& CO 2,medium,total (27)

Final, the overall system COP was evaluated using the useful refrigerating
capacities from both medium and low temperature levels divided by the sum of
the carbon dioxide compressor and power consumption of pump plus the
ammonia compressor as follows:

Q& CO 2,medium,total + Q& CO 2, freezing ,total


COPNH 3 _ CO 2,Total = (28)
E&CO 2 , pump + E& + E&
CO 2 ,comp NH 3,comp

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6.1.3 R404A Refrigeration System

The R404A system analysis was not much different from the cascade system.
The system could be divided in two parts; the medium temperature and low
temperature levels. The mass flow rate of R404A for both parts, shown in Figure
24, can be calculated by energy balance around each compressor in a similar
way to the CO2 compressor in the cascade system, explained in the section
above.

The simulators at both medium and low temperature levels can provide a fixed
known cooling capacity via the electric heaters. The total cooling capacity of
medium temperature level is then calculated as follows:

QR 404 A,medium,total = QR 404 A,medium, system1 + QR 404 A,medium, system2 + Qsim,medium (29)

The energy consumption of the brine pump at the medium temperature level is
calculated by measuring the current and voltage [equation 30]. This pump
operated at variable speed; thus, to evaluate its energy consumption the average
of the maximum and minimum energy consumptions was used:

E brine , pump = 3 ⋅ V ⋅ I (30)

Three different COPs of R404A system was defined: for low temperature level,
for medium temperature level, and for the overall system.

The COP of freezing temperature level is calculated by using the cooling capacity
of low temperature level and the energy consumption of compressor No.3 in
Figure 24:

COPR 404 A, freezing ,total = QR 404 A, freezing ,total / E R 404 A,comp3 (31)

In a similar was the COP of medium temperature level is calculated as:

COPR 404 A,medium,total = QR 404 A,medium,total /( E R 404 A,comp1 + E R 404 A,comp 2 + E& brine, pump ) (32)

The overall system COP is calculated using the useful refrigerating capacities
from both medium and low temperature levels divided by the sum of the energy
consumption of three compressors and the pump:

Q& medium,total + Q& freezing ,total


COPR 404 A,Total = (33)
E& brine, pump + E& R 404 A, comp1+ E& R 404 A,comp 2 +E R 404 A, comp 3

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6.2 The investigation and evaluation of two different capacity


control types (on-off and variable speed) of NH3 compressor in
NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system

Two different capacity control methods (on-off and variable frequency speed) of
the NH3 compressor were investigated and compared in term of power
consumption. The conditions in the laboratory were set in the same as pervious
test both in air temperature and relative humidity. The period of each test is 4
hours. To avoid effect from defrost, it was turned off during the test. For the
system analysis, between equation 12 and 16 for NH3/CO2 could be used.

6.3 The investigation and evaluation of transcritical CO2


refrigeration system

The main objective of this experiment is to investigate and evaluate transcritical


CO2 refrigeration system. For technical concerns and limited time frame, the
transcritical CO2 system was investigated and evaluated separately without
being connected to the low temperature circuit.
The cooling capacity of the evaporator is calculated from the brine loop side,
shown in Figure 42. With two thermocouples in brine inlet and outlet of
evaporator, and flow meter at inlet of the brine side, the cooling capacity is
calculated according to the following equation:

Q& B _ Evap = m& B _ Evap * Cp B _ Evap *(TB _ Evap _ In − TB _ Evap _ Out ) (34)

Electric power consumption of the compressor is measured and the system COP
is calculated as follows:

COP = QB _ Evap / Eele (35)

CO2 mass flow was calculated by performing energy balance around the CO2
compressor according to the diagram in Figure 53. As shown in equation 36,
energy input, which consists of electric input power and input energy at suction
line, has to be equal with energy output, which consists of capacity of oil cooler,
energy loss to surrounding, capacity of intercooler, and output power at
discharge line.

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outlet Energy

Energy loss

Electric Input
Power Capacity of InMHEX

Capacity of Oil Cooler

Inlet Energy

Figure 53: Diagram of Energy Balance around the two stage CO2 compressor

E& elec + (m& CO 2 * hComp1st _ In ) = (m& CO 2 * hComp 2 nd _ Out ) + Q& OilCooler + Q& InMHEX + Q& loss (36)

Or

E& elec = (m& CO 2 * dhComp1st ) + (m& CO 2 * dhComp 2 nd ) + Q& OilCooler + Q& loss

The capacity of the intercooler can be calculated by using the mass flow rate and
conditions at the inlet and outlet of intercooler:

Q& InMHEW = m& CO 2 * (hComp _ 2 nd _ In − hComp _ 1st _ Out ) (37)

7% of energy loss in the compressor was assumed where:

Q& loss = 7 * E& ele / 100 (38)

Knowing the CO2 mass flow, capacities in gas cooler and internal heat
exchanger can be calculated as follows:

Q& gascooler = m& CO 2 * (hGascooler _ In − hGascooler _ Out ) (39)

Q& InHEX = m& CO 2 * (hGascooler _ Out − hEvap _ In ) (40)

Input powers and isentropic efficiencies in CO2 compressor both in two stages
were calculated according to:

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E&1st = m& CO 2 * (hComp1st _ Out − hComp1st _ In ) (41)

E& 2 nd = m& CO 2 * (hComp 2 nd _ Out − hComp 2 nd _ In ) (42)

η1st = (hComp _ 1st _ is − hComp _ 1st _ In ) /(hComp _ 1st _ Out − hComp _ 1st _ In ) (43)

η 2 nd = (hComp _ 2 nd _ is − hComp _ 2 nd _ In ) /(hComp _ 2 nd _ Out − hComp _ 2 nd _ In ) (44)

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7. EXPERIMENT RESULTS

7.1 Results of NH3/CO2 Cascade Refrigeration System

7.1.1 The System’s Temperatures

In low temperature side, the products’ temperature could reach a desired


temperature, which was around -18˚C. Figure 54 shows the product
temperatures, air inlet temperatures and air outlet temperatures in freezing
cabinet 1, at 20˚C of inlet water temperature for cascade NH3/CO2 refrigeration
system in 24 hours as an example. It also presents the number of defrost time,
which was twice a day.

Figure 54: Air and Product Temperatures in Freezing Cabinet 1 of NH3/CO2


Cascade System

On the other hand, in medium cabinets, Figure 55 also shows the product
temperatures, the number of defrost times, air inlet temperatures and air outlet
temperatures in cooling cabinet 1 at 20˚C of inlet water temperature for cascade
NH3/CO2 refrigeration system in 24 hours as an example. Moreover, it presents
the average lines for each temperature line.

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Figure 55: Air and 2 Product Temperatures in Cooling Cabinet of NH3/CO2


Cascade System

The system was operated at around -34˚C of evaporating temperature at freezing


cabinets and at about -8 of evaporating temperature at medium temperature
cabinets. Ammonia unit operated at about -11°C of evaporating temperature.
Condensing temperature for the ammonia unit depended on the cooling water
temperature, which was around 23, 26.5, 31, and 36˚C at 20, 25, and 30˚C of
cooling water temperature, respectively. Figure 56, Figure 57, and Figure 58
illustrate the temperatures of the boundary conditions of the cascade system
during the test period with different cooling water temperatures.

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Figure 56: Operating Temperatures of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System at 20˚C of


Cooling Water Temperature.

Figure 57: Operating Temperatures of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System at 25˚C of


Cooling Water Temperature

Figure 58: Temperatures of Boundary Conditions in the NH3/CO2 Cascade


System at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature

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7.1.2 Cooling Capacity

As explained earlier, the mass flow rate of CO2 refrigerant in CO2 cycle was
calculated by measured power consumption and the 7% of loss in the
compressor power. In NH3 system, its mass flow rate was calculated using
manufacturer data. With measured values of pressure and temperature, the
cooling capacity in the system could be found. Cooling capacity values were
averaged from 24 hours tests. System cooling capacities are divided into five
categories: low and medium temperature simulators (Q_F_sim and Q_M_sim),
freezing cabinets (Q_F), medium temperature cabinets (Q_M), and cascade
condenser (Q_cascade). Tests have been run with four different cooling water
temperatures (T_water), as shown in Table 4: Different Cascade System
Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water Temperature. Table 4:
Different Cascade System Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water
Temperature also presents the total cooling capacities in freezing (Q_F_total)
and medium circuits (Q_M_total), and in the overall system (Q_Total).

Table 4: Different Cascade System Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water


Temperature
Cooling capacity
(˚C) (kW)
T_water Q_F_sim Q_F Q_F_total Q_M Q_M_sim Q_M_total Q_Total Q_cadcade
20 2.00 3.39 5.39 8.72 4.40 13.12 18.51 20.56
25 2.00 3.32 5.32 8.57 4.40 12.97 18.28 20.33
30 2.00 3.34 5.34 8.98 4.40 13.38 18.72 20.80

As see in Table 4: Different Cascade System Cooling Capacities at Different


Cooling Water Temperature, thus, the total cooling capacities at 20, 25, and 30
˚C of cooling water temperature were around 18.51 kW, 18.28 kW, and 18.72
kW, respectively.

7.1.3 Input Power and Power Consumption

As demonstrate before, the electric input power of the CO2 pump (E_Pump_ele)
was taken from Carlos’ thesis [17], which was measured and it varied around the
average value of 0.85 kW. Also with the electric power consumption of CO2
compressor (E_CO2_ele) and ammonia compressor (E_NH3_ele), they were
measured with electric meter, as shown in Table 5: Different Cascade System
Input Powers at Different Cooling Water Temperature with different cooling
water temperatures. In Table 5: Different Cascade System Input Powers at
Different Cooling Water Temperature, it also presents the input power of both
compressors (E_CO2_Comp, E_NH3_Comp) and the total electric power
consumption (E_total_ele).

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Table 5: Different Cascade System Input Powers at Different Cooling Water


Temperature
Electric Power Consumption Energy Consumption
(˚C) (kW) (kWh/day)
T_water E_CO2_Comp E_NH3_Comp E_Pump_ele E_CO2_ele E_NH3_ele E_Total_ele
20 1.22 5.04 19.92 29.28 120.93 170.13
25 1.22 5.73 19.92 29.28 137.63 186.83
30 1.26 6.61 19.92 30.13 158.71 208.75

As see in Table 5: Different Cascade System Input Powers at Different


Cooling Water Temperature, the total energy consumptions with different
cooling water temperatures, 20, 25, and 30˚C were approximately 170.13,
186.83, and 208.75 kWh/day, respectively.

7.1.4 The Coefficient of Performance (COP)

The overall system efficiency was evaluated using the COP which related the
useful cooling load to the work done to provide it. With data of the cooling
capacities and the electric power consumptions, as shown in Tables above, the
COP of the system was investigated, which could be divided into four parts: the
COP of freezer circuit (COP_F), medium temperature circuit (COP_M), ammonia
circuit (COP_NH3), and the total system (COP_total), with different cooling water
temperature, as demonstrated in Table 6: Cascade System’s Coefficient of
Performances at Different Cooling Water Temperature
.

Table 6: Cascade System’s Coefficient of Performances at Different Cooling


Water Temperature
The Coefficient of Performance (COP)
(˚C)
T_water COP_F COP_M COP_NH3 COP_Total
20 1.91 3.09 4.08 2.61
25 1.75 2.75 3.55 2.35
30 1.61 2.50 3.15 2.15

7.2 Results of R404A Refrigeration System

7.2.1 The Systems’ Temperature

In conventional (R404A) refrigeration system, the system was operated between


around -35 and -36˚C of evaporating temperature at freezing cabinets, and

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approximately -13˚C of evaporating temperature at chiller No.2, while the


evaporating temperature No. 1 might not be able to be considered since it
something operated occasionally. Condensing temperatures of three circuits
were varied by cooling water temperature. The condensing temperatures of
freezer No.3 were around 25.36, 27.88, 33.72, and 40.66˚C at 15, 20, 25, and
30˚C of cooling water temperature, respectively. Furthermore, for the chiller No.2,
condensing temperatures were approximately 30.26, 32.81, 37.36, and 43.20˚C
at 15, 20, 25, and 30˚C, respectively. Figure 59, Figure 60, Figure 61, and Figure
62 presents the operating temperatures of the R404A system with different
cooling water temperatures.

Figure 59: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 15˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature

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Figure 60: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 20˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature

Figure 61: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 25˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature

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Figure 62: Operating temperatures of the R404A system with 30˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature

7.2.2 Cooling Capacity

Due to larger compressor in R404A DX system, the simulator load needed to in


the system was more than for the cascade. As showed in Table 7, there were 6.5
kW and 6 kW of simulator loads in low and medium temperature circuits,
respectively. Cooling capacity values were averaged over 24 hours of test data.
Table 7 lists the different cooling capacities of the system: low and medium
temperature simulators (Q_F_sim and Q_M_sim), freezing cabinets (Q_F),
medium temperature cabinets (Q_M). Tests have been run with four different
cooling water temperatures (T_water). Error! Reference source not found. also
presents the total cooling capacities in freezing (Q_F_total) and medium units
(Q_M_total), and in the overall system (Q_total).

Table 7: R404A System Cooling Capacities at different Cooling Water


Temperature
Cooling capacity
(˚C) (kW)
T_water Q_F_Sim Q_F Q_F_total Q_M Q_M_Sim Q_M_total Q_total
15 6.5 4.40 10.90 6.97 6.0 12.97 23.87
20 6.5 4.04 10.54 7.63 6.0 13.63 24.17
25 6.5 3.58 10.08 7.40 6.0 13.40 23.48
30 6.5 3.35 9.85 8.80 6.0 14.80 24.65

7.2.3 Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption

Table 8 presents the electric input powers in both medium (E_M) and low
temperature circuits (E_F).

Table 8: R404A system Electric Input Powers and Energy Consumptions at


Different Cooling Water Temperatures of R404A Refrigeration System
Electric Power Consumption Energy Consumption
(˚C) (kW) (kW)
T_water E_M_Comp E_F_Comp E_Pump_ele E_M E_F E_tot_ele
15 4.973 6.344 51.36 119.3468 152.2464 323.04
20 5.387 6.444 51.36 129.2773 154.6674 335.28
25 6.434 6.798 51.36 154.408 163.1433 368.88
30 8.421 7.231 51.36 202.1125 173.5547 426.96

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7.2.4 The Coefficient of Performance (COP)

Table 9 presents the COP of medium (COP_M), and low temperature circuits
(COP_F), and the overall of the system (COP_total_ele).

Table 9: R404A system COPs at Different Cooling Water Temperatures


The Coefficient of Performance (COP)
(˚C)
T_water COP_M COP_F COP_total_ele
15 2.12 1.72 1.94
20 2.09 1.64 1.89
25 1.81 1.48 1.67
30 1.6 1.36 1.51

7.3 Results of Two Capacity Control Methods of NH3


Compressor Comparison

7.3.1 The System’s Temperature

The new CO2 compressor and the new orifice, discussed earlier, were used for
this test. The system was tested for three cooling water temperatures of 20, 25,
and 30˚C with 4 hours period for each test point. The operating temperatures of
the system in the two methods are presented in the tables below. The product
temperatures in freezing cabinets were around -17.4 to -17.9˚C. On the other
hand, in medium temperature cabinets product temperatures were about 2.5 and
2.8˚C. Evaporating temperatures were approximately -34 to -34.6 and -7.8 to -
8˚C of low temperature and medium temperature circuits, respectively.
Evaporating temperature of the ammonia unit, were about -10.7 to -11.3˚C. In the
NH3 condenser, the condensing temperature is influenced by the cooling water
temperature, which increased from 23.3 to 33˚C and from 23.2 to 33˚C for
frequency and on-off controls when inlet water temperature increased from 20 to
30˚C.

Table 10: Products and System Temperatures of NH3/CO2 Cascade System


with Frequency Control of NH3 Compressor
Product Temp Evap Temp Cascade Cond Temp Cond Temp
(˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C)
T_water T_F T_M T_F T_M T_CO2_Cond T_NH3_Evap dT_Cas Cond T_NH3_Cond
20 -17.43 2.54 -34.37 -7.97 -8.22 -10.74 2.51 23.29
25 -17.39 2.54 -34.18 -7.79 -8.03 -10.65 2.62 28.24
30 -17.42 2.56 -34.18 -7.81 -8.12 -10.70 2.58 32.98

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Table 11: Products and System Temperatures of NH3/CO2 Cascade System


with On-Off Control of NH3 Compressor
Product Temp Evap Temp Cascade Cond Temp Cond Temp
(˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C) (˚C)
T_water T_F T_M T_F T_M T_CO2_Cond T_NH3_Evap dT_Cas Cond T_NH3_Cond
20 -17.65 2.74 -34.24 -7.78 -8.11 -11.25 3.14 23.17
25 -17.63 2.84 -34.11 -8.00 -8.32 -11.17 2.85 28.08
30 -17.87 2.77 -34.57 -7.78 -8.10 -11.02 2.92 32.95

7.3.2 Cooling Capacity, Electric Power Consumption, Energy Consumption


and COP

As shown in Table 12, the two simulator loads were set to 2 and 4.4 kW for low
temperature and medium temperature levels, respectively. The time intervals
between the tests were very short and the conditions in the laboratory were kept
constant so the cooling capacities in both capacity control methods were similar.
Electric power consumptions of for both control methods were measured and
plotted in Figure 63. Furthermore, Table 13, Table 14, Table 15, and Table 16
present the electric power consumption, energy consumption and COP of tests
for the two capacity control methods.

Figure 63: Electric Power Consumption of NH3 Compressor when Compressor


Was Running with Frequency and On-Off Control

Table 12: Cooling Capacities at Different Cooling Water Temperatures of the


Cascade System with Frequency Control of the NH3 Compressor
Cooling capacity

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(˚C) (kW)
T_water Q_F_sim Q_F Q_F_total Q_M Q_M_sim Q_M_total Q_Total Q_cadcade
20 2.00 3.68 5.68 8.65 4.40 13.05 18.72 20.75
25 2.00 3.74 5.74 8.31 4.40 12.71 18.45 20.45
30 2.00 3.40 5.40 7.30 4.40 11.70 17.10 19.06

Table 13: System’s Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption at


Different Cooling Water Temperature of the Cascade System with Frequency
Control of the NH3 Compressor
Electric Power Consumption Energy Consumption
(˚C) (kW) (kWh/day)
T_water E_CO2_Comp E_NH3_Comp E_Pump_ele E_CO2_ele E_NH3_ele E_Total_ele
20 1.20 4.93 19.92 28.69 118.34 166.95
25 1.17 5.69 19.92 28.03 136.58 184.53
30 1.13 5.90 19.92 27.11 141.67 188.70

Table 14: System’s Electric Power Consumption and Energy Consumption at


Different Cooling Water Temperature of the Cascade System with On-Off Control
of the NH3 Compressor
Electric Power Consumption Energy Consumption
(˚C) (kW) (kWh/day)
T_water E_CO2_Comp E_NH3_Comp E_Pump_ele E_CO2_ele E_NH3_ele E_Total_ele
20 1.20 4.96 19.92 28.69 118.96 167.58
25 1.17 5.71 19.92 28.03 137.10 185.05
30 1.13 6.39 19.92 27.11 153.48 200.51

Table 15: System’s Coefficient of Performance at Different Inlet Water


Temperatures of the Cascade System with Frequency Control of the NH3
Compressor
The Coefficient of Performance (COP)
(˚C)
T_water COP_F COP_M COP_NH3 COP_Total
20 2.02 3.16 4.21 2.69
25 1.87 2.76 3.59 2.40
30 1.73 2.48 3.23 2.18

Table 16: System’s Coefficient of Performance at Different Inlet Water


Temperatures of the Cascade System with On-Off Control of the NH3
Compressor
The Coefficient of Performance (COP)
(˚C)
T_water COP_F COP_M COP_NH3 COP_Total
20 2.01 3.15 4.19 2.68

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25 1.87 2.76 3.58 2.39


30 1.64 2.32 2.98 2.05

7.4 Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration System

To compare the transcritical CO2 with NH3 unit, the evaporating pressure was
kept at 26 bar (around -11˚C) by PID control which similar to the evaporating
temperature of the NH3 unit. The high pressure was controlled by adjusting the
opening of the expansion valve to find the optimum high pressure which results
in the highest COP, as shown in Figure 8.

The transcritical CO2 system was tested for four points of cooling water
temperatures 15, 20, 25 and 30˚C. As a limitation for the maximum high
pressure, the system was not tested for higher than 92 bar of discharge
pressure. At 25˚C of cooling water temperature, the system was tested for four
points of discharge pressure, 76, 82, 87, and 91 bar. While at 30˚C of cooling
water temperature, the system was tested for three different discharge
pressures, 86, 88, and 92 bar. Figure 64, Figure 65, Figure 66 and Figure 67
present the cooling capacity and electric input power, and COP in different high
pressure at 25 and 30˚C of cooling water temperature, respectively.

Figure 64: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 25˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures

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Figure 65: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 30˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures

Figure 66: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 25˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature

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Figure 67: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 30˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature

At 15 and 20˚C of cooling water temperatures, the system was tested for five
points of cooling water temperature. Figure 68 and Figure 69 present the cooling
capacity and electric input power at 15 and 20˚C of cooling water temperatures.
Figure 70 and Figure 71 show the COP of the system at different discharge
pressures.

Figure 68: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 15˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures

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Figure 69: Cooling Capacities and Electric Input Powers at 20˚C of Cooling
Water Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures

Figure 70: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 15˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature

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Figure 71: COP at Different Discharge Pressures at 20˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature

In addition, from the heat balance, CO2 mass flow, the cooling capacities in each
heat exchanger, input power and isentropic efficiency in both two stages of CO2
compressor could be investigated. Table 17 presents the intermediate pressure,
which was around 52 bar, and the CO2 mass flow rate, which was about 0.143 to
0.145 kg/s at 15˚C of cooling water temperature. It also shows input power and
isentropic efficiency of the first stage compressor, which were around 8.2 kW and
58%, respectively. At second stage, input power and isentropic efficiency were
around 3 kW and 62%. In Table 18, the different kinds of heat exchangers’
capacities are listed.

Table 17: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow Rate and CO2 Compressor
Isentropic Efficiency Results at 15˚C of Cooling Water Temperature at Different
Discharge Pressures
Bar M_CO2 Eta_k_1st E_1st Eta_k_2st E_2st
HP MP Kg/s % kW % kW
85 52 0.145 57.04 8.26 70.13 3.84
80 52 0.144 57.53 8.14 66.47 3.55
75 52 0.144 58.22 8.08 62.21 3.22
70 54 0.144 59.52 8.26 57.57 2.63
67.5 53 0.143 59.94 8.15 54.16 2.45

Table 18: Capacities of system’s heat exchangers at 15˚C of Cooling Water


Temperature at Different Discharge Pressures
Bar Q_Gascooler Q_MHEX Q_InHEX Q_OilCooler
HP kW kW kW kW
85 31.12 9.70 1.04 1.43
80 30.56 9.40 1.06 1.41

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75 30.37 8.98 1.06 1.36


70 30.15 7.60 1.14 1.36
67.5 10.48 7.42 18.21 1.37

Similar tables as above are generated for 20, 25, 30˚C of cooling water
temperature and presented as follows.

Table 19: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 20˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar M_C Eta_k_1st E_1st Eta_k_2st E_2st
HP MP Kg/s % kW kW kW
92 54 0.141 57.22 8.48 74.53 4.05
85 53 0.142 58.06 8.35 71.26 3.71
80 53 0.142 58.56 8.26 67.53 3.37
75 54 0.140 58.11 8.33 63.87 2.96
72 54 0.139 58.77 8.25 59.88 2.68

Table 20: Capacities in Each Component at 20˚C of Cooling Water Temperature


in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar Q_Gascooler Q_MHEX Q_InHEX Q_OilCooler
HP kW kW kW kW
92 29.71 9.19 1.17 1.51
85 29.10 8.83 1.22 1.42
80 28.65 8.42 1.24 1.38
75 28.12 7.63 1.24 1.36
72 12.19 7.24 7.89 1.35

Table 21: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 25˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar M_C Eta_k_1st E_1st Eta_k_2st E_2st
HP MP Kg/s % kW % kW
90 55 0.142 56.83 8.87 76.29 3.89
86 54 0.141 57.45 8.75 73.65 3.62
80 55 0.141 57.69 8.75 69.65 3.20
76 55 0.141 58.21 8.77 66.35 2.85

Table 22: Capacities in Each Component at 25˚C of Cooling Water Temperature


in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar Q_Gascooler Q_MHEX Q_InHEX Q_OilCooler
HP kW kW kW kW
90 27.87 8.53 1.39 1.30
86 26.89 8.28 1.44 1.25
80 25.34 7.58 1.65 1.25
76 15.13 6.88 0.37 1.21

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Table 23: Intermediate Pressure, CO2 Mass Flow and CO2 Compressor Results
at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar m_C Eta_k_1st E_1st Eta_k_2st E_2st
HP MP kg/s % kW % kW
92 57 0.147 56.29 9.73 74.27 4.15
88 57 0.147 56.38 9.68 72.17 3.95
86 57 0.149 55.95 9.74 71.13 3.80

Table 24: Capacities in Each Component at 30˚C of Cooling Water Temperature


in Different Discharge Pressures
Bar Q_Gascooler Q_MHEX Q_InHEX Q_OilCooler
High Pressure kW kW kW kW
92 28.713 7.574 1.655 1.228
88 27.021 7.447 1.742 1.254
86 25.721 7.182 1.957 1.244

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8. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The NH3/CO2 cascade, R404A, and transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems were
designed to fulfill the requirements of medium size Swedish supermarket.
Capacities were scaled down while keeping the load ratio comparable. The tests
of these three systems were designed to simulate the conditions in a real
supermarket under different weather conditions.

The systems were equipped with extensive instrumentations to collect data and
perform online diagnosis. Several variations of the system solutions were applied
for validation and possible modifications. The tasks of this project were divided
into three parts:

8.1 Comparison between NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A System

Figure 72 and Figure 73 present the COP of freezer and medium temperature
circuits as well as the overall system COP in both NH3/CO2 cascade and R404A
systems, respectively. The NH3 unit COP reduced from 4.0 to 3.2 between 20
and 30˚C of cooling water temperature. In medium temperature circuit, the COP
reduced around 19% from 20 to 30˚C of cooling water temperature. As well the
COP of freezer circuit was also decreased around 15.7% from 20 to 30˚C of
cooling water temperature. Accordingly, the total COP of NH3/CO2 cascade
system decreased by about 18%. In the R404system, as can be seen in Figure
73, the COP of medium and low temperature circuits decreased by about 23 and
21 %, respectively between 15 and 30˚C of cooling water temperature. Thus, the
overall COP of R404A system reduced from 1.8 to 1.4 between 15 and 30˚C of
cooling water temperature.

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Figure 72: COPs of the NH3/CO2 Cascade System

Figure 73: COPs of the R404A System

Performance comparisons of the two systems can be divided into three


categories, the performance comparison of freezer circuit, medium temperature
circuit, and overall system. In freezer circuit, the COP of NH3/CO2 cascade
system was lower than R404A system, particularly at low cooling water
temperature, as presented in Figure 74. At 20˚C of cooling water temperature, for
instance, the COP of NH3/CO2 in freezing temperature circuit, which was 1.91,
was higher than R404A system, which was 1.64. Furthermore, Figure 74 also

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illustrates the COP of medium temperature circuit in NH3/CO2 cascade system


was much higher than R404A system.

Figure 74: The Performance Comparison of Freezer and Medium Temperature


Circuits in NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A System

Figure 75 shows the COP comparison of low and medium temperature circuits in
percentage. COPs of the cascade system are related, in percentages, to the
values of the R404A system. As shown in Figure 75: COP Comparison in
Percentage of Low and Medium Temperature Circuits, NH3/CO2 Cascade is
related to R404A System

Due to a large pumping power in the medium temperature circuit in R404A


system, the COP was also compared without considering the pumping power in
medium temperature circuits of both cascade and R404A systems. Figure 76
shows that the performance of medium temperature circuit in NH3/CO2 cascade
system was still higher than R404A system by around 40-58%.

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Figure 76: The Performance Comparison of Medium Temperature Circuit in


Percentage without Consideration of Pump Power

, the COP of the low temperature circuit in the NH3/CO2 cascade system was
higher than R404A system by around 17 and 18% at 20 and 30˚C of cooling
water temperature. In medium temperature circuit, the COP of NH3/CO2
cascade system was much higher than R404A system, by about 70-80%.

Figure 75: COP Comparison in Percentage of Low and Medium Temperature


Circuits, NH3/CO2 Cascade is related to R404A System

Due to a large pumping power in the medium temperature circuit in R404A


system, the COP was also compared without considering the pumping power in

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medium temperature circuits of both cascade and R404A systems. Figure 76


shows that the performance of medium temperature circuit in NH3/CO2 cascade
system was still higher than R404A system by around 40-58%.

Figure 76: The Performance Comparison of Medium Temperature Circuit in


Percentage without Consideration of Pump Power

Figure 77 is a plot of the total system COP, it shows that the overall COP of
NH3/CO2 cascade system was higher than the R404A system in all the tested
cooling water temperature points.

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Figure 77: Total COP Comparison of NH3/CO2 Cascade and R404A Systems

Furthermore, there are more explanations that why the cascade system has
better performance than R404A system. At the medium temperature level,
R404A system had to operate lower evaporating temperature than the cascade
system since the R404A system had a superheat in evaporator and additional
temperature difference in the heat exchange that connects the secondary loop
with the primary. At 25 ˚C of cooling water temperature, for example, the
evaporating temperature in medium temperature circuit of R404A system was
around -16˚C, while it was about -8˚C in the cascade system. Consequently,
R404A system consumed more power than the cascade system. Moreover, the
pumping power of R404A system was an important factor to decrease the
system’s performance since brine pump is usually larger than CO2 pump.
Although load ratio for the cascade system was higher than R404A system,
which means that R404A system could have been improved in terms total COP,
the COP will not be improved much if the R404A system has more loads at
medium temperature circuit.

Based on the results and the above discussion it can be concluded that the
NH3/CO2 cascade system has higher COP than the tested R404A system and it
also proved to be a good alternative to R404A system for supermarket
refrigeration.

8.2 Comparison of Two Speed Control Types of NH3 System

The results show that NH3 compressor with on-off control consumed more
electric input power than with frequency converter at high cooling water
temperature as shown in Figure 78. At 30˚C of cooling water temperature, NH3
compressor with on-off control had around 8% higher electric power consumption
than with frequency converter control. On the other hand, at 20˚C of cooling
water temperature, the compressor had almost same power consumption in both
control methods cases.

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Figure 78: Electric Input Power Consumption for Both On-Off and Frequency
Converter Control

The influence of the differences in power consumption with both control methods
on system’s COP can be seen in Figure 79. At 30˚C of cooling water
temperature, the COP of the NH3 unit with frequency converter control was
higher of about 8% than with on-off control. This results in about 3% higher total
system COP, as can be seen in the figure below.

Figure 79: Ammonia unit and total system COPs with On-Off and Frequency
Controls of the NH3 Compressor

Accordingly, it can be concluded that the use of frequency converter control in


this NH3 compressor will save more energy than with on-off control at high

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ambient temperature. However to be installed in an actual plant, the economical


factors need to be considered since frequency converter control is more
expensive.

8.3 Comparison of Transcritical CO2 System and NH3/CO2


Cascade System

In order to avoid any potential oil return problems in early runs of the system, the
high stage CO2 system was tested without being connected to the low and
medium temperature circuits, as shown in Figure 30. The PID controller
maintained the evaporating pressure at 26 bar or 11˚C, which was used to
compared to NH3 system in NH3/CO2 cascade system. The system was tested
in four different cooling water temperatures, 15, 20, 25, and 30˚C.

The result shows that 30˚C of cooling water temperature the maximum COP of
the system could not be found due to limitations on discharge pressure of 100
bar. A reason for not identifying the optimum pressure might be that the CO2
compressor does not fit well for the operating temperature range, it was designed
for low temperature application (below -20˚C). Theoretical optimum discharge
pressure for heat sink temperatures of 30˚C is 88.4 bars. When the compressor
operates at pressures higher than the theoretical optimum the isentropic
efficiency increases which improves and COP and an optimum cannot be
distinguished. Figure 80 presents the plot of test’s conditions at 30˚C of cooling
water temperature with different discharge pressures, the black line show the
theoretical optimum discharge pressure.

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CarbonDioxide
9x101
35°C Tw=30°C

Popt=88,4 bar, Pinter;opt=56 bar


92 bars
88 bars
P [bar]

86 bars

30°C

Pinter=57 bar

1
5x10
-200 -100 0
h [kJ/kg]
Figure 80: The plot of test’s conditions at 30 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures

As well with the test at 25˚C of cooling water temperature, the maximum COP of
the system could also not be found. Theoretical optimum discharge pressure for
heat sink temperatures of 25˚C is about 75 bars. Figure 81 presents the plot of
test’s conditions at 25˚C of cooling water temperature with different discharge
pressures, the black line show the theoretical optimum discharge pressure.

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Figure 81: The plot of test’s conditions at 25 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures

On the other hand, when the system operates sub-critically, there is no optimum
COP. Thus at 15 and 20˚C of cooling water temperature, the system should
operate with saturated liquid at the outlet of gas cooler and 2-3˚C of temperature
difference in internal heat exchanger, as shown in black line of Figure 82 and
Figure 83. Figure 82 and Figure 83 present the plot of test’s condition at 15 and
20˚C of cooling water temperature with different discharge pressures,
respectively. A reason for different result between from experiment and theory
might be the same reason as above that the CO2 compressor does not fit well for
the operating temperature range.

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Figure 82: The plot of test’s conditions at 15 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures

Figure 83: The plot of test’s conditions at 20 ˚C of cooling water temperature with
different discharge pressures

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The highest COP from the test, however, was around 1.9 and 1.5 at 25 and 30˚C
of cooling water temperature.

On the other hand, at 15 and 20˚C of cooling water temperature, the maximum
COP could be found. The maximum COP at 15 and 20˚C of cooling water
temperatures were around 2.5 and 2.12, respectively.

8.3.1 Comparison of Transcritical CO2 System and NH3 System

As the results of the transcritical CO2 system in Figure 84 show, the COP of the
tested transcritical CO2 system was much lower than NH3 system. At 20 and
30˚C of cooling water temperature, for instance, the COP of transcritical CO2
system was lower by around 48 and 51%, respectively.

Figure 84: The Performance Comparison between Transcritical CO2 System and
NH3 System

Consequently, the use of NH3 system in NH3/CO2 cascade system had better
performance than the using of transcritical CO2 system. However, to have higher
performance, transcritical CO2 system can be improved.

8.3.2 Possible Improvement on Transcritical CO2 System

According to compressor data form Dorin Company, it shows that the use of
single stage CO2 compressor instead of two stages CO2 compressor is better
solution at -11˚C of evaporating temperature.
Figure 85 presents the performance comparison between one and two stages
compressor, which the dark blue line shows the performance from Dorin’s, and

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the yellow and pink line show the performance form estimated Dorin’s data. They
were compared at 11˚C of evaporating temperature, 5˚C of temperature
difference in gas cooler, 90 bar of high pressure and 35˚C of CO2 outlet
temperature from gas cooler.

Figure 85: The Performance Comparison between Single and Two Stages CO2
Compressor from Dorin’s Compressor Data

Using single stage CO2 compressor shows that the COP of the transcritical
system can be increased by about 18.5% at 30 of cooling water temperature,
shown in Figure 86. At 20˚C of cooling water temperature, for example, the COP
with single stage compressor was improved by approximate 23%.

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Figure 86: COPs of Single-stage Transcritical, Two-Stage Transcritical and NH3


Systems

With the use of transcritical CO2 system, CO2 from high stage can directly
absorb heat in CO2 tank without cascade condenser, as shown in Figure 87.
Thus, the evaporating temperature in transcritical CO2 system can be increased
to -8˚C, which can reduce the input power to the compressor. Figure 88 shows
the performance improvement of transcritical CO2 without cascade condenser.
At 30˚C of cooling water temperature, for instance, the system without cascade
condenser had better performance of about 6%. At 75 bar of high pressure, the
performance can be improved by around 8.4% at 20˚C of cooling water
temperature.

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Oil
Seperator
Gas Transcritical CO2 System with
29 kW Cooler Single Stage Compressor
Compressor

Water
5 kW

Internal
HEX

CO2 tank

Figure 87: Schematic Diagram of the Transcritical CO2 System without Cascade
Condenser

Figure 88: COPs of Single-stage Transcritical, Two-Stage Transcritical and NH3


Systems at Evaporating Temperature of -11°C and Single-stage Transcritical at
Evaporating Temperature of -8°C

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With improvement of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system in terms of COP, the


results show that the transcritical CO2 system still had lower performance than
the NH3 system. Consequently, the use of tested NH3 system in cascade CO2 is
better solution than the transcritical CO2 system in terms of COP. However,
there are important factors, such as cost of components, leakage rates, amount
of charge, and heat recovery, which have to be considered to find the best
solution for refrigeration in supermarkets.

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9. REFERENCES

[1] Annex 31 Advanced Modeling and Tools for Analysis of Energy Use in
Supermarket Systems, IEA Heat Pump Centre, SP Swedish National Testing and
Research Institute.
[2] Arias, J., Energy Usage in Supermarkets Modelling and Field Measurements,
Doctoral thesis, Department of Energy Technology, Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, (2005).
[3] Cambell, A., Maidment, G.G. and Missenden, J.F., A Natural Refrigerant
System for Supermarkets using CO2 as a Refrigerant, CIBSE National
Conference, (March 2006)
[4] Granryd, E., Ekroth, I., Ludqvist, P., Melinder, Ǻ., Palm, B., and Rohlin, P.,
Refrigeration Engineering, Department of Energy Technology, KTH, Stockholm,
Sweden, (2003).
[5] Kim G. Christensen and P.Bertilsen, Danish Technological Institute and
Danfoss, Refrigeration Systems in Supermarkets with Propane and CO2 –
Energy Consumption and Economy, the 2003 International Congress of
Refrigeration.
[6] Gerrit Jan v. Reissen, M.Sc. TNO Environmental and Process Innovation,
NH3/CO2 supermarket refrigeration system with CO2 in the cooling and freezing
section, Holland utan datering
[7] Kim, M.-H., et al., Fundamental Process and System Design Issues in CO2
Vapor Compression Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea, (2003).
[8] Sawalha, S., Soleimani,A., Rogstam,J., CO2 in Supermarket Refrigeration -
1st phase report. 2006, IUC, (Dec 2005).
[9] Pierluigi Schiesaro and Horst Kruse, Development of a two stage CO2
supermarket system, R&D Deparment ARNEG S.p.A 35020, Campo San Marino,
Italy
[10] Petter Neksa, CO2 as Refrigerant for Systems in Transcritical Operation
Principles and Technology SINTEF Energy Research, NO-7465, Trondheim,
NORWAY, (Sep 2004)
[11] Denso, World First CO2 Air Conditioning System, Toyota Motor Show 2003
[12] Linda, First CO2 Refrigeration System for Medium and Low Temperature
Refrigeration at Swiss Mega Store, (Feb 2005)
[13] Horst Kruse, Rainer Jakobs, and Hans Russmann , On the energy efficiency
of carbon dioxide in small commercial cooling applications, Forschungszentrum
für Kältetechnik und Wärmepumpen GmbH, Hannover, Germany
[14] Yamasaki, H. et al.: Introduction of Transcritical Refrigeration Cycle Utilizing
CO2 as Working Fluid.17th International Compressor Engineering Conference at
Purdue. 2004.

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[15] Veje, C., Süss, J.: The Transcritical CO2 Cycle in Light Commercial
Refrigeration Applications. 6th Gustav Lorentzen Conference, Glasgow.2004.
[16] IEA Heat Pump Newsletter Volume 23 No.2/2005
[17] Hans Hammer, Carbon Dioxide (R 744) as supplementary heating device,
AUDI AG, (July 2000)
[18] Experimental investigations of an automotive heat pump prototype for
military, SUV and compact car, 4th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen conference
[19] Tamura, Yakumaru, and Nishiwaki, Experimental study on automotive
cooling and heaing air-conditioning system using CO2 as refrigerant, Osaka,
Japan, (Nov 2005)
[20] Carlos Perales Cabrejas, Parametric Evaluation of a NH3/CO2 cascade
system for supermarket refrigeration in laboratory environment, Master of
science thesis in refrigeration, Department of Energy and Technology, KTH,
Sweden, (2006)
[21] Dorin Innovation, CO2 Range paper; Available from: www.dorin.com (2006-
12-11)
[22] SuperMax Plate Heat Exchanger & Heat Exchangers; Available from:
www.tranter.com (2006-12-02)
[23] Shujun Wang, Modeling and experimental investigation of accumulators for
automotive air conditioning systems, International Journal of Refrigeration, 2006
[24] Trygve M. Eikevik, Ingvald Strømmen, Odilio Alves-Filho, Heat Pump
Fluidised Bed Dryer with CO2 as Refrigerant – Measurements of COP and
SMER, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

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