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Numerical simulation of the effects of a suction line heat exchanger on vapor compression refrigeration cycle performance

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Abstract

Most modern refrigerators incorporate heat transfer between the refrigerant in a capillary tube and the refrigerant in a suction line. This heat transfer is achieved by a non-adiabatic capillary tube called a capillary tube-suction line heat exchanger and is supposed to improve the performance of the small vapor compression refrigeration cycle by removing some enthalpy of the refrigerant at the evaporator entrance. To investigate the effects of this heat transfer on the refrigeration cycle, a computer program was developed based on conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy. The non-adiabatic capillary tube model is based on a homogeneous two-phase flow model. The simulation results show that both the location and length of the heat exchange section influence the coefficient of performance (COP) as well as the cooling capacity. It is noteworthy that the influence was not monotonic; that is, the performance may be deteriorated under certain conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Korea

    Ji Hwan Jeong, Sang-Goo Park & Debasish Sarker

  2. Division of Mechanical Engineering, Sunmoon University, Chungnam, 336-708, Korea

    Keun Sun Chang

Authors
  1. Ji Hwan Jeong
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  2. Sang-Goo Park
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  3. Debasish Sarker
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  4. Keun Sun Chang
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Correspondence to Ji Hwan Jeong.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Yong Tae Kang

Ji Hwan Jeong is currently an associate professor of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University. He received his Ph.D from KAIST in 1995. His research interests include multiphase flow, heat exchanger, heat pump, and nuclear thermal-hydraulics.

Sang-Goo Park received his Master’s degree from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University in 2009. He is currently a researcher of LG Electronics and interested in heat exchangers and vapor compression refrigeration systems.

Debasish Sarker received his Master’s degree from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University in 2011. He is currently working on heat transfer and refrigeration systems.

Keun Sun Chang received his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1989. After six years of research experience at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, he joined the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sunmoon University. His research interests include HVAC, heat exchangers, heat pump, and new and reproducible energy.

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Jeong, J.H., Park, SG., Sarker, D. et al. Numerical simulation of the effects of a suction line heat exchanger on vapor compression refrigeration cycle performance. J Mech Sci Technol 26, 1213–1226 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0204-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0204-2

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