Abstract
This experimental study presents the results of the cooling performance test of a $CO_2$ heat pump system for fuel cell vehicles. The experimental facility provides the cool ing and heating environment for cabin and heat releasing component. The test loop is designed to target the cooling capacity of 5kW and its coefficient of performance (COP) of 2.2. The cooling performance of the heat pump system is strongly dependent on the refrigerant charge and the degree of superheat. We carried out basic experiments to obtain optimum refrigerant charge and the degree of superheat level at the internal heat exchanger outlet. The heat pump system for fuel cell vehicles is different from that of engine-driven vehicles, where the former has an electricity-driven compressor and the latter has the belt-driven (engine-driven) compressor. In the fuel cell vehicle, the compressor speed is an independent operating parameter and it is controlled to meet the cooling/heating loads. Experiments were carried out at cooling mode with respect to the compressor speed and the incoming outdoor air speed. The results obtained in this study can provide the fundamental cool ing performance data using the $CO_2$ heat pump system for fuel cell vehicles.
