Effect of Suction Temperature and Compressor Frequency on Oil Circulation Ratio in a $CO_2$ Refrigeration System

$CO_2$ 냉동시스템에서 압축기의 흡입온도와 운전주파수가 오일 순환량에 미치는 영향

The quantity of discharged oil from a compressor is one of the most important issues for proper operation of refrigeration system. If the oil is increased in the system not only pressure drop is increased in other components, such as evaporator and gas cooler but also heat transfer coefficient in the heat exchangers is decreased. In addition, the lack of oil in the compressor may cause a critical of the system failure. In this study, one stage single rotary compressor is used for measuring oil circulation ratio(OCR). Carbon dioxide and PAG oil are used as refrigerant and lubricant. Using a U-tube densimeter, mixture density is measured. Characteristics of oil circulation ratio have been investigated for $CO_2$ rotary compressor in the range of operation frequency 45 Hz to 63 Hz and the suction temperature range of $0^{\circ}C$ to $15^{\circ}C$. The results obtained indicate that the oil circulation ratio is increased as the suction temperature or compressor operating frequency is increased.