Performance analysis for minimally nonlinear irreversible refrigerators at finite cooling power

Abstract

The coefficient of performance (COP) for general refrigerators at finite cooling power have been systematically researched through the minimally nonlinear irreversible model, and its lower and upper bounds in different operating regions have been proposed. Under the tight coupling conditions, we have calculated the universal COP bounds under the χ figure of merit in different operating regions. When the refrigerator operates in the region with lower external flux, we obtained the general bounds (0<ε<(9+8εC−3)∕2) under the χ figure of merit. We have also calculated the universal bounds for maximum gain in COP under different operating regions to give a further insight into the COP gain with the cooling power away from the maximum one. When the refrigerator operates in the region located between maximum cooling power and maximum COP with lower external flux, the upper bound for COP and the lower bound for relative gain in COP present large values, compared to a relative small loss from the maximum cooling power. If the cooling power is the main objective, it is desirable to operate the refrigerator at a slightly lower cooling power than at the maximum one, where a small loss in the cooling power induces a much larger COP enhancement.