Exergy analysis of the transcritical N2O refrigeration cycle with a vortex tube

In this article, a comparative study is presented for the transcritical cycle with expansion valve (TCEV) and transcritical cycle with vortex tube (TCVT) mainly based on the second law of thermodynamics. Natural refrigerant nitrous oxide (N₂O) is used in both the cycles for analysis. The evaporator and gas cooler temperatures are varied from ?55°C to 5°C and 35°C to 60°C, respectively. The effects of various operating and design parameters on the optimum heat rejection pressure, coefficient of performance (COP), exergy loss (irreversibility), and the exergetic efficiency are studied. Exergy analysis of each component in TCEV and TCVT is performed to identify the amount and locations of irreversibility. It is observed that the use of the vortex tube in place of the expansion valve reduces the total exergy losses and increases the exergetic efficiency as well as COP. The exergetic efficiency and COP of the TCVT are on average 10–12% higher compared to TCEV for the considered operating conditions. The computed values of the exergetic efficiency for TCVT using refrigerant N₂O are the highest at an evaporator temperature of ?55°C, and the corresponding values of exergetic efficiency and exergy losses varies between 25.35% and 15.67% and between 74.65% and 84.33%, respectively. However, COP at the same evaporator temperature of ?55°C varies between 0.83 and 0.51. Furthermore, the optimum heat rejection pressure in TCVT is lower compared to that in TCEV. The results offer significant help for the optimum design and operating conditions of TCVT with refrigerant N₂O.     

Developing CO2 Emission Parameters to Measure the Environmental Impact on Cooling Applications

This study examines parametric approaches to the calculation of refrigerant-based CO₂ emissions in different cooling areas. Both the exergy analyses of refrigerants, used in domestic, commercial, transportation and industrial applications, and the environmental performances regarding exergetic irreversibility are investigated separately. Then, CO₂ emissions caused by systems are examined via two different parameters, I°) Environmental Impact Factor and ??°) Integrated Impact Factor (CIF). The study is based on a vapor compression cooling cycle model, commonly preferred by cooling applications, and the analyses have been made for 1 kW cooling capacity in relation to evaporator temperatures of the systems. In all cooling application, R134A gas stands out among the others in terms of coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency. Moreover, both emission analyses show that it has the lowest emission value. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the reasons for the refrigerant choice, the design and the selection of such a system, and why exergetic and environmental parameters should be preferred.