Abstract
The performance of an inverter-driven water-to-water heat pump with an electronic expansion valve (EEV) was measured as a function of compressor frequency, load conditions, and EEV opening. Based on the test results, a controller using proportional integral (PI) feedback or PI feedforward algorithm was designed and tested to investigate capacity modulation and transient response control of the system. Although the relation between superheat and EEV opening of the heat pump showed nonlinear characteristics, a control gain obtained at the rated frequency was applicable to various operating conditions without causing large deviations. When the simple PI feedback control algorithm was applied, a large overshoot of superheat and wet compression were observed due to time delay effects of compressor frequency. However, applying PI feedforward control scheme yielded better system performance and higher reliability, compared to the PI feedback algorithm.