Experimental Investigation of Vapor Compression Refrigeration System Performance Using Nano-Refrigerant

Abstract

Experimental investigation of vapor compression refrigeration system performance using Nano-refrigerant is presented in this work. Nano-refrigerant was prepared in current work by mixing 50 nanometers diameter of copper oxide CuO nanoparticles with Polyolester lubrication oil and added to the compressor of the refrigeration system to be mixed with pure refrigerant R-134a during its circulation through refrigeration system. Three concentrations (0.1%, 0.25%, and 0.4%) of CuO-R134 a Nano-refrigerant are used to study the performance of the refrigeration system test rig and to investigate the effect of using Nano-refrigerant as a working fluid compared with pure refrigerant R-134a. The results showed that, the increasing in concentration of CuO nanoparticles in the Nano-refrigerant will significantly enhance the performance of the refrigeration system, as adding nanoparticles will increase the thermal conductivity, heat transfer and improve the thermo-physical properties of Nano-refrigerant. Investigation of performance parameters for refrigeration system using Nano-refrigerant with 0.4% concentration compared with that for pure refrigerant R-134a shows that, Nano-refrigerant has reflect higher performance in range of 10% and 1.5% increase in COP and refrigeration effect respectively and 7% reduction in power consumption for refrigeration system. It can be concluded that, Nano-refrigerants can be efficiently and economically feasible to be used in the vapor compression refrigeration systems.