EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION OF A VIRTUAL REFRIGERANT CHARGE LEVEL GAUGE FOR VAPOR COMPRESSION EQUIPMENT
Proper refrigerant charge level is essential for a vapor compression cycle refrigeration system to operate efficiently and safely. Li and Braun (2006a) developed a virtual refrigerant charge level gauge to determine refrigerant charge level during operation using four non-invasive (surface-mounted) temperature measurements. This invention can be used as 1) a part of a permanently installed monitoring, control or diagnosis system to indicate charge levels or 2) a standalone tool by technicians during the process of determining or adjusting the system refrigerant charge. The current paper presents an extensive performance evaluation and prototype demonstration of this technology. Five different types of systems are used for evaluation and demonstration, which covers systems of both small and large capacities from a window unit to residential split systems and to light commercial packaged systems, using both fixed orifice expansion devices and thermostatic expansion valves, and using both R-22 and R-410a. The evaluation and demonstration verify that the virtual refrigerant charge level gauge has a very good performance in terms of accuracy and robustness and can be easily implemented and installed in terms of both hardware and software.
H.Li J.E.Braun L.Ma
Architectural Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1110 S. 67th Omaha, NE 68182 USA Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 140 S. Intramural Dr.West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
国际会议
The 22nd International Congress of Refrigeration(第22届国际制冷大会)
北京
英文
2007-08-21（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）