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Evaluation of secondary coolants in multi-temperature indirect refrigeration systems for transport applications.

Evaluación de refrigerantes secundarios en sistemas indirectos de refrigeración multi-temperatura para aplicaciones en el transporte.

Author(s) : SMYTH S., FINN D. P., BROPHY B.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Direct expansion (DX) multi-temperature transport refrigeration systems are frequently used in cold chain logistics. Although incremental design improvements have been evident in the past decade, considerable environmental and control issues continue to exist with these systems. In recent years, there has been increased interest in indirect refrigeration (IDX) systems, particularly in applications such as cold storage facilities, supermarkets and ice rinks. Deployment of indirect refrigeration systems may offer a solution to the shortcomings associated with DX systems in transport refrigeration applications. A critical issue concerns the choice of secondary working fluid, which plays a key role in the performance of indirect systems. For single temperature stationary systems, this fluid can be selected based on a uni-temperature design criterion. Selection of a suitable secondary coolant for indirect multi-temperature transport applications raises a number of challenging additional issues due to the non-uniform, non design operational conditions frequently encountered. Foremost amongst these include: the requirement of acceptable thermophysical properties across multiple ATP conditions; good material compatibility and minimal environmental impact; effective fluid-system integration, and packaging issues such as minimisation of fluid volume, fluid weight and choice of pumps and heat exchangers. This paper examines the performance of a number of secondary coolants using both experimental and analytical approaches. Issues considered include thermophysical properties, flow and heat transfer performance, as well as system capacity, COP and pumping power. It is found that significant deviation in capacity and COP can occur for a single fluid under the range of operating temperatures encountered. This can result in either acceptable or poor performance for a single fluid, depending on the ATP operating condition.

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Pages: 16-24 (8 p.)

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Details

  • Original title: Evaluación de refrigerantes secundarios en sistemas indirectos de refrigeración multi-temperatura para aplicaciones en el transporte.
  • Record ID : 30002630
  • Languages: Spanish
  • Source: Frío Calor Aire acondicionado - vol. 39 - n. 442
  • Publication date: 2011/12

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