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Exergy analysis of a domestic refrigerator using eco-friendly R290/R600a refrigerant mixture as an alternative to R134a

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Abstract

The aim of the present work is to bring out an exergy analysis of the hydrocarbon refrigerant mixture of R290/R600a as an alternative to R134a on the performance of a domestic refrigerator which is originally designed to work with R134a. The performance of both refrigerants was evaluated using an exergy analysis. The effects of evaporator temperature on the coefficient of performance (COP), exergy loss, exergic efficiency, and efficiency defect in the four major components of the system for R134a and R290/R600a mixture were experimentally investigated. The results obtained showed that the COP of R290/R600a mixture was improved up to 28.5 % than that of R134a. The highest average exergic efficiency of the system (42.1 %) was obtained using R290/R600a mixture at an evaporator temperature of 263 K (−10 °C). The overall efficiency defect in the refrigeration cycle working with R290/R600a mixture was consistently better than R134a.

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Abbreviations

COP:

Coefficient of performance

GWP:

Global warming potential

h :

Specific enthalpy (J kg−1)

T 0 :

Ambient temperature (K)

s :

Specific entropy (J kg−1 K−1)

\( \dot{m} \) :

Mass (refrigerant) flow rate (kg s−1)

\( W_{\text{c}} \) :

Compressor work input (W)

\( Q_{\text{cond}} \) :

Heat removed at condenser (W)

\( Q_{\text{eva}} \) :

Refrigerating effect (W)

\( T_{\text{cond}} \) :

Condenser temperature (K)

\( T_{\text{eva}} \) :

Evaporator temperature (K)

ψ:

Exergy flow (J kg−1)

η x :

Exergy efficiency (%)

δ:

Efficiency defect

comp:

Compressor

cond:

Condenser

exp:

Expansion device

eva:

Evaporator

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

    R. Saravanakumar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

    V. Selladurai

Authors
  1. R. Saravanakumar
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  2. V. Selladurai
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Correspondence to R. Saravanakumar.

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Saravanakumar, R., Selladurai, V. Exergy analysis of a domestic refrigerator using eco-friendly R290/R600a refrigerant mixture as an alternative to R134a. J Therm Anal Calorim 115, 933–940 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-013-3264-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-013-3264-3

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