Experimental investigation of refrigerator compressor piston material

Due to environmental concerns the refrigeration system has been changed from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant. Because of the absence of chlorine in HFC refrigerant, a protective layer of ferrous chloride could not form on the interface which could limit th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kowser, Md. Arefin, Rahman, Mohammad Lutfar, Uddin, Md. Mohi, Chowdhury, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, Nandee, Rajib
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Abrasion
Abrasive wear
Carbon steel
Carbon steels
Chlorine
Chlorofluorocarbons
Coefficient of friction
Deformation mechanisms
Deformation wear
Friction resistance
Grooves
Hydrofluorocarbons
Iron chlorides
Lubrication
Refrigerants
Refrigeration
Sliding
Tribology
Wear mechanisms
Wear resistance
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Summary:Due to environmental concerns the refrigeration system has been changed from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant. Because of the absence of chlorine in HFC refrigerant, a protective layer of ferrous chloride could not form on the interface which could limit the operating conditions (e.g. pressure) and results in a worse wear performance of compressor’s material in HFC refrigerant. However, the compressor (interface material) must be able to withstand severe operating conditions in the corrosive gaseous environment. However, few works have been done on the effect of HFC refrigerants on tribological behavior of materials. This paper aims to investigate the tribological properties of a commonly used compressor material carbon steel – MN 4.9 under dry, CFC (R22) and HFC (R134a) refrigerant lubrication conditions. It was found that the wear resistance and friction coefficient of the carbon steel increased when the test was performed under the HFC refrigerant environment. A protective layer/oxide layer could have formed on the material during sliding in the refrigerant condition that enhances the wear resistance. The material showed better wear resistance in R22 refrigerant indicating that a ferrous chloride layer had formed on the wear track. Electron microscopy revealed that the wear track after sliding at dry condition contains abrasion marks indicating typical abrasive wear. The wear track after sliding in R134a shows severely deformed material, ploughed groove and shared material indication ploughing is the main wear mechanism.
ISSN:0094-243X
1551-7616
DOI:10.1063/1.5115954