Process Dynamics and Operations

Janina Deichl, M.Sc.

Research

The efficiency of a heat pump cycle can be influenced by the thermodynamic properties of different refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures. Various process parameters such as the performance of heat exchangers, the adaptation of fluid properties to the process and the resulting energy savings in turn lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions.

According to the current state of the art, the selection of different refrigerants / refrigerant mixtures is usually based on the results of an ideal cycle calculation. Experimental studies show that simulation results that take into account other factors such as the behavior of the compressor as well as the heat exchangers increase the complexity of the system, but provide more reliable results due to the higher predictive nature of the model. Therefore, refrigerant screening is integrated into a dynamic refrigerant-air heat pump model and compared to previous work.

The focus of this project with BSH Hausgeräte GmbH is the adaptation of an existing dynamic heat pump model to the use of different refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures and the results of simulation and experimental validation.