The objectives of this study are to investigate the main parameters that affect performance of a two stage compression heat pump using river water as a heat source. To achieve the objectives of this study, the simulation and experimental evaluation of...
The objectives of this study are to investigate the main parameters that affect performance of a two stage compression heat pump using river water as a heat source. To achieve the objectives of this study, the simulation and experimental evaluation of a two-stage refrigeration cycle were carried out.
The EEV correlation was developed to simulate the two-stage compression cycle because the present heat pump system installed EEVs as expansion devices. The present correlation yielded satisfactory predictions upon comparisons with the measured data within a relative deviation of ±15.0% for all EEVs.
The performance of the two-stage compression heat pump using river water was predicted by utilizing the cycle simulation model developed in this study. The developed simulation model was verified experimentally and showed a good quantitative agreement with the measured data. The cooling COP was 4.51 at the river water temperature in summer. The heating system adopted the two-stage refrigeration cycle because the temperature difference between the heat source and the hot water temperature supplied for heating was large. The heating performance of the two-stage compression cycle was higher by 12% than that of the single-stage compression cycle at the same operating condition in winter.
The economic assessment of a heat pump system using river water was carried out. The performance of the heat pump system using river water was compared with that of the conventional air source heat pump for cooling and the boiler system for heating. The COPs of the river water source heat pump were 0.5~1.1 higher than that those of the air source heat pump in the cooling season. The LCC of the river water source was lower 16% and 48% than that of the conventional system I and II, respectively. When the initial cost ratio of the river water source heat pump was less than 1.4, an acceptable payback was found to be 4.88 years compared with the conventional system.
A single-stage compression cycle for cooling and a two-stage compression cycle for heating were tested with a variation of refrigerant charge, EEV opening, and river water temperature. In the cooling mode, the optimum charge amount was 4200 g. The EEV opening was the one of major operating factors that affected the system performance significantly. The optimum COP was observed when the superheat at the compressor inlet maintained about 10℃ by adjusting EEV opening. The cooling COP was 4.24 at the given river water temperature in summer. In the heating mode, the optimum charge amount was 4500 g. The low-stage EEV opening was controlled to maintain superheat at the low-stage compressor and the high-stage EEV opening was used to control intermediate pressure. The optimal COP was observed when the intermediate pressure was controlled to have geometric mean pressure of evaporating and condensing pressures. The heating COP was 3.36 at the river water temperature in winter. In addition, the COP of the two-stage cycle was higher about 18% than that of the single-stage cycle.