Effects of liquid refrigerant injection on the performance of a refrigeration system with an accumulator heat exchanger

Hoon Kang, Sunil Lee, Yongchan Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Liquid refrigerant injection technique can be a very effective method for controlling subcooling and the compressor discharge temperature of a refrigeration system at high ambient temperatures. In this study, the effects of liquid refrigerant injection on the performance of a refrigeration system with an accumulator heat exchanger were investigated by varying the liquid injection rate at the conditions of constant expansion valve opening in the evaporator and constant total flow rate. During the tests, the ambient temperature was maintained at 43 °C. With the increase of the liquid injection rate, the subcooling at the inner heat exchanger outlet increased and the superheat at the accumulator outlet decreased. However, unacceptable results such as the increase of the compressor discharge pressure and decrease of the system performance were also observed depending on the control method applied. To obtain high system performance and reliability, optimum control methods for liquid injection in the accumulator heat exchanger are suggested. The liquid injection technique for the refrigeration system with an accumulator heat exchanger was found to be an effective method for controlling adequate subcooling and the compressor discharge temperature of the refrigeration system at high ambient temperatures.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)883-891
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Refrigeration
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008 Aug

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant (2006-E-CM11-P-05-0-000) from the Korea Energy Management Corporation.

Keywords

  • Accumulator
  • Experiment
  • Improvement
  • Injection
  • Liquid
  • Performance
  • Refrigeration system
  • Subcooling
  • Superheat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical Engineering

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