International. A recent study simulated an air conditioning system for automobiles and compared the performance of HFC-134a and HFO-1234yf as an alternative to HFC-134a.
The simulated air conditioning system consists of a multi-fin and flat plate evaporator, an oscillating plate-type compressor, a small channel parallel flow condenser and a thermostatic expansion valve. In this program, two different conditions have been considered for the analysis of the cycle: for the first state, the cooling capacity is taken as constant, and for the second state the mass flow of the refrigerant is considered fixed. The performance characteristics of the system including COP and cooling capacity have been studied with different changing parameters.
The results show that the heat transfer coefficient of the HFO-1234yf refrigerant side is 18-21% lower than that of HFC-134a and the pressure drop is 24% and 20% lower than HFC-134a during condensation and evaporation processes, respectively.
In addition, at a constant cooling capacity, the COP of HFO-1234yf is lower than that of HFC-134a by 1.3-5%, and a constant mass flow rate, the COP of HFO-1234yf is approximately 18% higher than that of HFC-134a.
Source: www.sciencedirect.com
