Performance Evaluation of Propane(R290)/Isobutane(R600a) Mixture as a Substitute for CFC12 in Domestic Refrigerators

프로판/이소부탄 혼합냉매를 적용한 가정용 냉장고의 성능에 관한 연구

The performance of a refrigerant mixture of propane(R290)/isobutane(R600a) as a substitute for CFC12 was investigated in a domestic refrigerator with single evaporator. A thermodynamic cycle simulation indicated an increase in COP of a 1.7 to 2.4% with R-290/600a in the composition range of 0.2 to 0.6 mass fraction of R290 compared to CFC12. For the tests, two units($299{\ell}$, $465{\ell}$) were used. All refrigeration components remained the same throughout the tests, except that the length of capillary tube and amount of charge were changed for the mixture. The refrigerators were fully instrumented with more than 20 thermocouples, 2 pressure transducers, and watt/watt-hour meter for each refrigerator. 'Energy consumption test' and 'no load pulldown test' were performed under the same condition. The experimental results obtained with the same compressor indicated that R-290/600a mixture at 0.6 mass fraction of R290 showed a 3 to 5% increase in energy efficiency and a faster cooling speed compared to CFC12. The R-290/600a mixture showed a shorter compressor on-time and a lower compressor dome temperature than CFC12. In conclusion, the proposed hydrocarbon mixture seems to be an appropriate candidate to replace CFC12 without causing more environmental problems.