Experimental characterization of an innovative refrigeration system coupled with Linde-Hampson cycle and auto-cascade cycle for multi-stage refrigeration temperature applications

Experimental characterization of an innovative refrigeration system coupled with Linde-Hampson cycle and auto-cascade cycle for multi-stage refrigeration temperature applications

In this study, a dual mixed-refrigerants refrigeration system coupled with a Linde-Hampson refrigeration (LHR) cycle and a three-stage auto-cascade refrigeration (ACR) cycle was designed and built. The thermodynamic performance of the coupled system was experimentally investigated using low GWP zeot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy (Oxford) Vol. 240; p. 122498
Main Authors: Qin, Yanbin, Li, Nanxi, Zhang, Hua, Jin, Binhui, Liu, Baolin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2022
Elsevier BV
Subjects:
Ambient temperature
Auto-cascade
Condensing
Cooling
Cryopreservation
Evaporation
Evaporative cooling
Evaporators
Linde-Hampson
Liquefaction
Low-GWP
Multi-temperature
Refrigerants
Refrigeration
Suction
Temperature
Thermodynamics
Zeotropic mixtures
Thermodynamics
Low-GWP
Linde-Hampson
Auto-cascade
Multi-temperature
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Summary:In this study, a dual mixed-refrigerants refrigeration system coupled with a Linde-Hampson refrigeration (LHR) cycle and a three-stage auto-cascade refrigeration (ACR) cycle was designed and built. The thermodynamic performance of the coupled system was experimentally investigated using low GWP zeotropic mixtures of R1234yf/R32 for the LHR and R170/R14/R50 for the ACR. The experimental results show that when the average ambient temperature was 24.18 °C, it took about 0.5 h for the prototype to reach a no-load temperature level of −120 °C, and 4 h to −146.97 °C, which was quite close to steady state. The corresponding cooling capacity, coefficient of performance (COP) and relative Carnot efficiency were 182.94 W, 0.121 and 16.0%, respectively. The hot fluid outlet temperatures in the condensation evaporator-I (CE-I), CE-II and CE-III were −49.04 °C, −87.12 °C and −113.20 °C, respectively. In addition, the discharge pressure, evaporation temperature and cooling capacity increased slightly with increasing ambient temperature, while the suction pressure and COP remained nearly constant. The LHR-ACR system manifests a promising perspective as a new cooling approach to produce multi-temperatures ranging from −40 °C to −150 °C in the energy cascade utilization fields, such as the multi-temperature cryopreservation and gas liquefaction. •A dual mixed-refrigerants system was built to obtain multi-temperatures down to −150 °C.•Environmentally friendly alternatives, R1234yf, R32 and R170, were used.•High COP of 0.121 and relative Carnot efficiency of 16.0% at −146.97 °C were achieved.•The overall performances are slightly affected by the ambient temperature.•The coupled system manifests a promising perspective in energy cascade utilization fields.
ISSN:0360-5442
1873-6785
DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2021.122498