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Lessons learned from retrofitting a psychrometric facility for testing of HVAC&R equipment with flammable refrigerants.

Number: 2527

Author(s) : DHILLON P., KURTULUS O., LIANG C., SHAH V., HORTON W. T., BRAUN J. E.

Summary

Recently, there has been a push in the HVAC&R industry to transition to systems with environment-friendly, low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants, which is driven by current and future plans to phase out existing refrigerants. However, some of these low-GWP alternative refrigerants such as R290, R32, and R600a are flammable and further research and development are needed to optimize and verify the performance and safety of HVAC&R equipment that employ these alternative refrigerants. To facilitate these research and development efforts, one of the psychrometric testing facilities at the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories was retrofitted to be able to test and investigate equipment with flammable refrigerants. To fulfill the safety requirements for flammable refrigerants, various components of the test facility as well as the operational procedures to install, test, and operate test equipment were modified. Furthermore, as a part of the retrofit, the control hardware and software of the facility were also upgraded to make the control system more robust and provide better flexibility and automation in maintaining a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions. Finally, the psychrometric chambers were operated over a wide range of conditions to determine the operating envelope and demonstrate the ability to maintain test conditions based on the AHRI 210/240 standard. This paper documents the learning experiences that provide some guidelines for either a new or retrofit of an existing psychrometric facility for testing HVAC&R equipment with flammable refrigerants.

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Details

  • Original title: Lessons learned from retrofitting a psychrometric facility for testing of HVAC&R equipment with flammable refrigerants.
  • Record ID : 30030767
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology, HFCs alternatives
  • Source: 2022 Purdue Conferences. 19th International Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Conference at Purdue.
  • Publication date: 2022

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