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Thermodynamic Analysis on the Performance of Barocaloric Refrigeration Systems Using Neopentyl Glycol as the Refrigerant

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Abstract

Barocaloric refrigeration is regarded as one of the next-generation alternative refrigeration technology due to its environmental friendliness. In recent years, many researchers have been devoted to finding materials with colossal barocaloric effects, while neglecting the research on barocaloric refrigeration devices and thermodynamic cycles. Neopentyl glycol is regarded as one of the potential refrigerants for barocaloric refrigeration due to its giant isothermal entropy changes and relatively low operating pressure. To evaluate the performance of the barocaloric system using Neopentyl glycol, for the first time, this study establishes a thermodynamic cycle based on the metastable temperature-entropy diagram. The performance of the proposed system is investigated from the aspects of irreversibility, operating temperature range, and operating pressure, and optimized with finite-rate heat transfer. The guidance for the optimal design of the system is given by revealing the effect of the irreversibility in two isobaric processes. The results show that a COP of 8.8 can be achieved at a temperature span of 10 K when the system fully uses the phase transition region of Neopentyl glycol, while a COP of 3 can be achieved at a temperature span of 10 K when the system operates at room temperature. Furthermore, this study also shows that the system performance can be further improved through the modification of Neopentyl glycol, and some future development guidance is provided.

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Abbreviations

A :

area of heat exchange/m2

COP:

coefficient of performance

h :

heat transfer coefficient/W·m−2·K−1

p :

operating pressure/MPa

Q :

amount of heat exchanged/J

R :

refrigeration capacity/W

s :

specific entropy/J· kg−1·K−1

T :

Temperature/K

t :

Time/s

W :

mechanical work/J

0:

atmospheric pressure/MPa

Δ:

difference

η :

adiabatic irreversibility-factor

ad:

adiabatic

c:

compression

e:

expansion

H:

heat sink/heating

L:

heat source/cooling

max:

maximum

p:

isobaric

r:

reversible

1–4:

state of the barocaloric refrigeration cycle

1st:

the 1st phase transition point

2nd:

the 2nd phase transition point

3rd:

the 3rd phase transition point

4th:

the 4th phase transition point

al–hl:

change of state 1

a2–l2:

change of state 2

a3–d3:

change of state 3

a4–d4:

change of state4

*:

dimensionless

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Acknowledgments

The research described in this research is supported by the Basic Research Program of Frontier Leading Technologies in Jiangsu Province (BK20202008), Hebei Natural Science Foundation (No. E2022210022), Science and Technology Project of Hebei Education Department (No. BJK2022056) and the Introduction Program of Oversea Talents of Hebei Province (No. C20220505).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy & Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Zhaofeng Dai, Chen Wang, Xiaosong Zhang & Dongliang Zhao

  2. Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Xiaohui She & Yulong Ding

  3. Engineering Research Centre of Building Equipment, Energy, and Environment, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Xiaosong Zhang & Dongliang Zhao

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China

    Xiaohui She & Chen Wang

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  1. Zhaofeng Dai
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Correspondence to Xiaosong Zhang or Dongliang Zhao.

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Dai, Z., She, X., Wang, C. et al. Thermodynamic Analysis on the Performance of Barocaloric Refrigeration Systems Using Neopentyl Glycol as the Refrigerant. J. Therm. Sci. 32, 1063–1073 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-023-1801-3

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