Performance Analysis of an Air Cycle Heat Pump with a Turbocharger Driven by a Blower

Abstract

Comparing with the common air cycle heat pumps using electrical machine as the prime mover, an air cycle heat pump with a turbocharger driven by a blower (ACHPTDB) could not only cuts down the initial cost, but also reach a balance between the heating capacity and heating load. The blower is chosen as the prime mover and the turbocharger takes place of the compressor and expansion valve/expander. A thermodynamic model for the ACHPTDB was built by using finite-time thermodynamics (FTT). The performance of the model was optimized associated with the air mass flow rate and subsequent distribution of pressure drops, which indicates the thermodynamic performance can reach its maximum by adjusting the air mass flow rate. It is also shown that heating COP has a maximum with respect to the blower pressure ratio or other parameters, which indicates there exists a tradeoff in how the mass flow rate and the blower pressure ratio should be allocated to make heating COP reach its optimization.