A Modeling and Design Study Using HFC-236ea as an Alternative Refrigerant in a Centrifugal Compressor
Abstract
The report gives results of an investigation of the operation of a centrifugal compressor -- part of a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-114 chiller installation -- with the new refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236ea, a proposed alternative to CFC-114. A large set of HFC-236ea operating data, as well as a limited number of CFC-114 data, were available for this study. It was determined that the compressor performance can be successfully described by a relatively simple analytical compressor model. Two compressor models. the first of which was obtained from the literature, were developed on the basis of thermodynamic analysis and by utilizing the data base Two empirical relations were required to predict mass flow rate and the refrigerant state at the compressor exit for each model. The second model is based on empirical relations derived directly from the data base rather than the general empirical relations used in the first model. The literature model had to be optimized for two parameters and corrected for the influence of the inlet guide vanes to yield results comparable to the newly developed model. Both models were based on the HFC-236ea data, and they exhibited systematic errors when used with CFC-114, which indicated the models' dependence on the refrigerant. Both models predicted refrigerant state at the compressor outlet excellently (+/- 2.8 deg C).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA364052
Entities
People
- Howard N. Shapiro
- Predrag Popovic
Organizations
- Iowa State University