Energy and exergy analysis of NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system with subcooling in the low-temperature cycle based on an auxiliary loop of NH3 refrigerants

Abstract

This paper proposes a NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system that sets an auxiliary refrigeration loop in the high-temperature cycle to increase the subcooling degree in the low-temperature cycle (CRSS). Based on the basic principles of thermodynamics, a mathematical model is established and theoretical simulation is carried out to obtain the influence of key parameters on the cycle performance. Compared with the conventional cascade refrigeration system (CCRS), the conclusions find that there exists an optimal condensation temperature of low-temperature cycle (TMC.opt) to maximize COP. The maximum COP of CRSS is 4.58% higher than that of CCRS when the subcooling degree is 10 °C. The maximum exergy efficiency is 0.391, increasing by 4.40%. With the increase of the subcooling degree, both the COP and the TMC.opt of CRSS increase. When the subcooling degree increases from 5 °C to 15 °C, the performance increment increases from 2.73% to 6.00%. When the evaporation temperature of the system changes, both the COP and exergy efficiency decreases slightly and it is found that the performance is better when the evaporation temperature is lower when condensation temperature is kept constant. Besides, the discharge temperature of the NH3 compressor in CRSS can be reduced by 9.9 °C when the evaporation temperature is −30 °C.