A design approach for liquid separators applied to household refrigerators

•A design methodology for phase separators applied to an innovative system architecture was developed.•The mathematical model assumptions for each branch were validated through a visualization exercise.•The FZ cooling capacity is especially influenced by the liquid accumulation in the separator.•The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of refrigeration 2019-02, Vol.98, p.354-361
Main Authors: Janke, Isabel, Silveira, Alexsandro dos Santos, Melo, Cláudio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Architecture du cycle
Chemical vapor deposition
Compressors
Cycle architecture
Double aspiration
Double évaporateur
Dual evaporator
Dual suction
Heat transfer
Mass flow rate
Phase separator
Refrigerants
Refrigeration
Refrigerators
Separators
Séparateur de phase
Temperature
Vapors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•A design methodology for phase separators applied to an innovative system architecture was developed.•The mathematical model assumptions for each branch were validated through a visualization exercise.•The FZ cooling capacity is especially influenced by the liquid accumulation in the separator.•The combined cooling capacity is actively ruled by the duty cycle and compressor speed. The objective of this study was to develop a methodology for designing T-junction liquid-vapor separators for household refrigerators. The influence of the following independent parameters on the separator performance was studied: (i) refrigerant mass flow rate, (ii) inlet vapor quality, (iii) phase-separation temperature, (iv) critical droplet diameter and (v) compressor duty cycle. For modeling purposes, the T-junction was divided into three sub-models, namely: inlet, vapor and liquid branches. Additionally, a testing facility was designed and constructed to visualize the refrigerant flow through acrylic T-junctions mounted in a novel two-stage cycle architecture. A T-junction with an inlet branch diameter of 7 mm, a vertical branch diameter of 28 mm and total length of 58 mm was tested with compressor speeds ranging from 2000 to 3500 rpm and duty cycle from 10 to 45%. Photographs of the flow pattern through the separator were taken and used to explain the measured results.
ISSN:0140-7007
1879-2081
DOI:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.11.030