Impact of a thermoelectric subcooler heat exchanger on a carbon dioxide transcritical refrigeration facility

To improve the performance of vapour compression refrigeration cycles, the inclusion of a thermoelectric subcooler for low-medium power units has been the focus of recent studies due to its robustness, compactness and simplicity of operation. In thermoelectric systems, it has been demonstrated that...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Casi Satrústegui, Álvaro, Aranguren Garacochea, Patricia, Araiz Vega, Miguel, Alegría Cía, Patricia, Astrain Ulibarrena, David
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repositorio:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/43673
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/43673
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Thermoelectric subcooler
Heat exchangers
CO2
R744
COP
Descrição
Resumo:To improve the performance of vapour compression refrigeration cycles, the inclusion of a thermoelectric subcooler for low-medium power units has been the focus of recent studies due to its robustness, compactness and simplicity of operation. In thermoelectric systems, it has been demonstrated that the heat exchangers used in the hot and cold side of the thermoelectric modules have a critical impact in the performance of the system. This influence has not yet been studied for thermoelectric subcooling systems in vapour compression cycles. This work, for the first time, evaluates the impact that the heat exchangers of a thermoelectric subcooler, included in a transcritical carbon dioxide refrigeration cycle, have, in the performance of the refrigeration cycle. The influence is quantified in terms of: optimum working conditions, coefficient of performance and cooling capacity. The results show that, through an optimization of the heat exchangers of the thermoelectric subcooler, the performance improvements on the coefficient of performance using this technology are boosted from 11.96 to 14.75 % and the upgrade in the cooling capacity of the system rises from 21.4 to 26.3 %. Moreover, the optimum gas-cooler working pressure of the system is reduced and the optimum voltage supplied to the thermoelectric modules increases.