ShareActivities of IIR’s Commission B2 on “Refrigerating Equipment”
Focus on the IIR's Commission B2
Overall, Commission B2 Refrigerating Equipment includes 69 experts from 25 IIR member countries. The activities of Commission B2 are aimed to promoting knowledge of refrigeration technologies and their applications in the field worldwide. This includes not only components and systems related to the widely used vapor compression cycle, but also sorption technologies, gas cycles, and alternate technologies such as magneto caloric, thermoplastic, thermoelectric, thermoacoustic, and chemical looping technologies. Due to its focus on this great variety of refrigeration equipment, Commission B2 is a key commission for many IIR activities and it provides synergy with most of the other commissions.
In an effort to operate the commission more effectively, Commission B2 generated a certain set of internal goals. This includes increasing the number of regular and junior commission members and make sure that all commission members are actively involved. Furthermore, the commission encourages increased activities by vice-presidents and close cooperation with Commissions B1, E1 and E2.
In the framework of the 2005 IIR Strategic Plan, Commission B2 generated a list of research priorities with several of them still relevant today. For instance, one of these topics was “advanced universal concepts of TEWI and/or LCCP” (Life Cycle Climate Performance), which has very recently (January 2016) resulted in the Guideline for Life Cycle Climate Performance and a related Informatory Note. This guideline has been developed by a working group under leadership of Prof. Yunho Hwang from the University of Maryland, USA, who is also a vice-president of Commission B1. Recently, new research priorities have shown up as a result of the Paris agreement of December 2015 related to yet another change in refrigerants to be used in the future. As Commission B2 members of industry and academia, it is our task to find solutions to the given challenges related to replacing refrigerants in refrigeration equipment.
Since the last IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, Commission B2 has participated in 9 IIR conferences and 12 IIR-co-sponsored conferences.
One of the latest conferences was the very successful 12th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants, which took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, on August 21-24, 2016 and was attended by 264 delegates. A total of 147 papers have been presented during this event dealing with diverse topics including many Commission B1 topics. A joint Commissions B1-B2-E1-E2 business meeting was organized during this conference, allowing commission members to review ongoing projects.
In addition, Commission B2 co-sponsored the 2016 Purdue Conferences (Compressor Engineering, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning and High Performance Buildings), held at Purdue University, West-Lafayette, USA, on July 11-14, 2016. I had the pleasure of chairing these conferences, which were attended by 864 participants and where 478 papers were presented. The participation and paper numbers confirm the huge interest in topics related to refrigeration equipment. Also, a joint Commissions B1-B2-E1-E2 business meeting was organized during these conferences, allowing commission members to review ongoing projects.
Upcoming IIR events involving Commission B2 include the TPTPR2017, the 5th IIR Conference on Thermodynamic Properties and Transfer Processes of Refrigerants, which will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from April 23 to 26, 2017, and the 7th International Conference on Ammonia and CO2 Refrigeration Technologies, which will be held in Ohrid, Macedonia, on May 11-13, 2017. Furthermore, the 9th International Conference on Compressors and Coolants will be organized in Bratislava, Slovakia, in September 2017, and the 13th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants will be held in Valencia, Spain, in June 2018. These upcoming conferences will provide vast opportunities for Commission B2 members to exchange ideas and discuss technologies.
Commission B2 is also very active in several IIR Working Groups, namely Magnetic Cooling, Mitigation of Direct Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in Refrigeration, Refrigerant-Charge Reduction in Refrigerating Systems, Refrigerant-System Safety and the aforementioned LCCP Evaluation.
The IIR Working Group “Phase-Change Materials and Slurries for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning” (chaired by Dr. Laurence Fournaison) has been active for a long time. It has organized the PCM 2016 conference in Karlsruhe (Germany) last May and it will organize the upcoming PCM 2018 conference in Orford (Canada) in May 2018.
Based on the activities associated with the IIR Working Group “Magnetic Cooling”, the Thermag VII conference was held in Turin, Italy, in September 2016.
An IIR Informatory Note on Solar Cooling has been prepared by Prof. Renato Lazzarin and will soon be published. An IIR Informatory Note on Cogeneration / Trigeneration, prepared by Prof. Michel Feidt, has just been published.
It is my intention to consult the Commission B2 members on several topics during this spring in order to gauge their interest in the various ongoing commission activities. Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all IIR members who have taken part in Commission B2 activities and the IIR staff, who facilitates these activities. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.
Dr.-Ing. Eckhard A. Groll - Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering - President of the IIR’s Commission B2
In an effort to operate the commission more effectively, Commission B2 generated a certain set of internal goals. This includes increasing the number of regular and junior commission members and make sure that all commission members are actively involved. Furthermore, the commission encourages increased activities by vice-presidents and close cooperation with Commissions B1, E1 and E2.
In the framework of the 2005 IIR Strategic Plan, Commission B2 generated a list of research priorities with several of them still relevant today. For instance, one of these topics was “advanced universal concepts of TEWI and/or LCCP” (Life Cycle Climate Performance), which has very recently (January 2016) resulted in the Guideline for Life Cycle Climate Performance and a related Informatory Note. This guideline has been developed by a working group under leadership of Prof. Yunho Hwang from the University of Maryland, USA, who is also a vice-president of Commission B1. Recently, new research priorities have shown up as a result of the Paris agreement of December 2015 related to yet another change in refrigerants to be used in the future. As Commission B2 members of industry and academia, it is our task to find solutions to the given challenges related to replacing refrigerants in refrigeration equipment.
Since the last IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, Commission B2 has participated in 9 IIR conferences and 12 IIR-co-sponsored conferences.
One of the latest conferences was the very successful 12th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants, which took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, on August 21-24, 2016 and was attended by 264 delegates. A total of 147 papers have been presented during this event dealing with diverse topics including many Commission B1 topics. A joint Commissions B1-B2-E1-E2 business meeting was organized during this conference, allowing commission members to review ongoing projects.
In addition, Commission B2 co-sponsored the 2016 Purdue Conferences (Compressor Engineering, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning and High Performance Buildings), held at Purdue University, West-Lafayette, USA, on July 11-14, 2016. I had the pleasure of chairing these conferences, which were attended by 864 participants and where 478 papers were presented. The participation and paper numbers confirm the huge interest in topics related to refrigeration equipment. Also, a joint Commissions B1-B2-E1-E2 business meeting was organized during these conferences, allowing commission members to review ongoing projects.
Upcoming IIR events involving Commission B2 include the TPTPR2017, the 5th IIR Conference on Thermodynamic Properties and Transfer Processes of Refrigerants, which will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from April 23 to 26, 2017, and the 7th International Conference on Ammonia and CO2 Refrigeration Technologies, which will be held in Ohrid, Macedonia, on May 11-13, 2017. Furthermore, the 9th International Conference on Compressors and Coolants will be organized in Bratislava, Slovakia, in September 2017, and the 13th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants will be held in Valencia, Spain, in June 2018. These upcoming conferences will provide vast opportunities for Commission B2 members to exchange ideas and discuss technologies.
Commission B2 is also very active in several IIR Working Groups, namely Magnetic Cooling, Mitigation of Direct Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in Refrigeration, Refrigerant-Charge Reduction in Refrigerating Systems, Refrigerant-System Safety and the aforementioned LCCP Evaluation.
The IIR Working Group “Phase-Change Materials and Slurries for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning” (chaired by Dr. Laurence Fournaison) has been active for a long time. It has organized the PCM 2016 conference in Karlsruhe (Germany) last May and it will organize the upcoming PCM 2018 conference in Orford (Canada) in May 2018.
Based on the activities associated with the IIR Working Group “Magnetic Cooling”, the Thermag VII conference was held in Turin, Italy, in September 2016.
An IIR Informatory Note on Solar Cooling has been prepared by Prof. Renato Lazzarin and will soon be published. An IIR Informatory Note on Cogeneration / Trigeneration, prepared by Prof. Michel Feidt, has just been published.
It is my intention to consult the Commission B2 members on several topics during this spring in order to gauge their interest in the various ongoing commission activities. Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all IIR members who have taken part in Commission B2 activities and the IIR staff, who facilitates these activities. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.
Dr.-Ing. Eckhard A. Groll - Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering - President of the IIR’s Commission B2
Dr.-Ing. Eckhard A. Groll