Cycle performance study on R-32/R-125/R-161 as an alternative refrigerant to R-407C.

This paper presents the new ternary non-azeotropic mixture of R-32/R-125/R-161 as an alternative refrigerant to R-407C. The physical properties of the ternary mixture are similar to those of R-407C, and it is environmental friendly, that is, it has zero ozone-depletion potentials (ODP) and lower global warming potentials (GWP) than R-407C. Theoretical cycle performances of R-32/R-125/R-161 and R-407C are calculated and analyzed firstly. Based on the theoretical study, experimental tests are performed on a vapour-compression refrigeration system with a rotor compressor which was originally designed for R-407C (without any modifications to system components for R-407C). Experimental results under different working conditions indicate that the pressure ratio and power consumption of the new refrigerant are lower than those of R-407C, and its refrigerating capacity and COP are superior to those of R-407C, respectively, and its discharge temperature is slightly higher than that of R407C. Therefore, the new refrigerant R-32/R-125/R-161 could be considered as a promising refrigerant to R-407C. [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier. Copyright, 2007].