Reducing the amount of required propane refrigerant in the condenser of a commercial air-conditioner by increasing the inlet temperature
Paper
Paper/Presentation Title | Reducing the amount of required propane refrigerant in the condenser of a commercial air-conditioner by increasing the inlet temperature |
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Presentation Type | Paper |
Authors | Tangalajuk Siang, Jeri (Author) and Sharifian, Ahmad (Author) |
Journal or Proceedings Title | Proceedings of the 2012 Southern Regional Engineering Conference (SREC 2012) |
Year | 2012 |
Place of Publication | Canberra, Australia |
Web Address (URL) of Paper | http://www.lockyervalley.qld.gov.au/news-events/calendar/event/401 |
Conference/Event | 2012 Southern Regional Engineering Conference (SREC 2012) |
Event Details | 2012 Southern Regional Engineering Conference (SREC 2012) Event Date 01 Sep 2012 Event Location Toowoomba, Australia |
Abstract | The use of synthetic refrigerants in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector is now obsolete due to the fact that they are not environmental friendly. They damage ozone layer and cause global warming which have both direct and indirect adverse effects on humans and environment. Today, the use of alternative refrigerants is well accepted. Hydrocarbon refrigerants are natural compounds, which do not damage the ozone layer, and have very little impact on global warming. The use of a simple hydrocarbon, propane, as a refrigerant is becoming increasingly popular these days due to its high heat capacity and its short lifetime in the atmosphere. However, since propane is extremely flammable, it is prudent to minimize the amount of propane in the system in order to reduce the risks associated with leakage of the explosive gas. In this research, the possibility of reducing the mass of propane in the condenser without sacrificing the heat transfer capacity of the system has been investigated. In an air-conditioner or refrigeration system, condenser accommodates the most mass of the refrigerant compared with those in the other parts of the system. A MATLAB script has been developed which model the performance of a commercial portable air-conditioner. The results show that by increasing the working temperature of condenser from 30oC to 46oC at the ambient temperature of 27oC, about forty percent propane mass saving is achievable. These temperatures are still far below the critical (370oC) and auto-ignition (540oC) temperatures of propane. |
Keywords | hydrocarbon refrigerants; propane; reduction |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 401703. Energy generation, conversion and storage (excl. chemical and electrical) |
340107. Quality assurance, chemometrics, traceability and metrological chemistry | |
370103. Atmospheric aerosols | |
Public Notes | USQ conference. Only the Abstract, as supplied here, was published in the Conference Proceedings. |
Byline Affiliations | Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q1vwv/reducing-the-amount-of-required-propane-refrigerant-in-the-condenser-of-a-commercial-air-conditioner-by-increasing-the-inlet-temperature
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