Advanced Thermodynamic Analysis of a Transcritical R744 Booster Refrigerating Unit with Dedicated Mechanical Subcooling

Abstract

In this work the thermodynamic performance of a transcritical R744 booster supermarket refrigeration system equipped with R290 dedicated mechanical subcooling (DMS) was exhaustively investigated with the aid of the advanced exergy analysis. The outcomes obtained suggested that improvement priority needs to be addressed to the manufacturing of more efficient high-stage (HS) compressors, followed by the enhancement of the gas cooler/condenser (GC), of the medium-temperature (MT) evaporators, of the R290 compressor, and of the low-temperature (LT) evaporators. These conclusions were different from those drawn by the application of the conventional exergy assessment. Additionally, it was found that GC can be enhanced mainly by reducing the irreversibilities owing to the simultaneous interaction among the components. The R290 compressor would also have significantly benefitted from the adoption of such measures, as half of its avoidable irreversibilities were exogenous. Unlike the aforementioned components, all the evaporators were improvable uniquely by decreasing their temperature difference. Finally, the approach temperature of GC and the outdoor temperature were found to have a noteworthy impact on the avoidable irreversibilities of the investigated solution.