Conference Year
2021
Keywords
Refrigerant charge, Oil retention, Charge modeling, Charge validation, Void fraction
Abstract
During the product development process of split-system air-conditioning units, simulation models are widely used by manufacturers to predict equipment performance. Model-based development allows manufacturers to reduce the number of experiments prior to product launch, reducing product development cycle time and cost. However, the current models struggle to predict performance for reversible heat pump systems because of inaccurate predictions of refrigerant charge and oil retention. This is due to a lack of validation data for R410A charge models. This study provides high-quality reference data for refrigerant and oil charge measurements in residential fin-tube heat exchangers operating with R410A. This high-quality reference data will allow tuning of simulation models to improve charge prediction accuracy. As a result, the data will enable enhanced simulation model development with better charge and performance prediction capabilities, reducing product development cost for our industry. A key component, the Differential Mass Measurement Scale (DMMS) with 0.006% of relative accuracy of 49.9 kg tare weight of a heat exchanger test module, to implement this method is presented.