Application of a vapor–liquid separation heat exchanger to the air conditioning system at cooling and heating modes. (April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Jianyong; Ding, Rong; Li, Yunhai; Lin, Xu; Chen, Ying; Luo, Xianglong; Yang, Zhi
• Is Part Of: International journal of refrigeration. Volume 100(2019)
• Page Start: 27
• Page End: 36
• Publication Date: 2019-04
• Subjects: Air conditioning -- Vapor–liquid separation -- Cooling and heating modes -- Performance; Conditionnement d'air -- Séparation vapeur-liquide -- Modes de refroidissement et de chauffage -- Performance; Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery -- Periodicals; 621.56
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.10.030
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-7007

Abstract

Highlights: The air conditioning systems with/without a vapor–liquid heat exchanger are compared. EER at cooling mode and COP at heating mode are improved by 9.8% and 7.4%, respectively. Various benefits are identified at the variable operating conditions. The enhancement mechanisms of the vapor–liquid separation evaporation are proposed. Abstract: Air conditioning system consumes a large percentage of energy and its efficiency becomes important in this energy-conscious era. In this paper, a heat exchanger with vapor–liquid separation is applied to air conditioning system (system-B), it is experimentally compared to the baseline system with a conventional heat exchanger (system-A). The results indicate that at cooling mode the system-B has an improvement of EER by 9.8%, while at heating mode, it exhibits a higher heating capacity and lower power consumption, and COP is enhanced by 7.3%. Under variable operating conditions at heating mode, the system-B gets benefits over system-A from various perspectives. Moreover, the study of automatic defrosting of system-B shows well-functioning and the results meet the corresponding requirements. Finally, the mechanisms of how the vapor–liquid separation enhances heat transfer coefficient during evaporation are proposed. It is suggested that its implementation in air conditioning system brings large potential of performance improvement.