Experimental Evaluation of Window-Type Air-Conditioning Unit with New Expansion Device and R404A Alternative Refrigerant

Abstract

In this study, the performance of a window-type air-conditioning unit with an alternative, ozone-friendly refrigerant was enhanced by incorporating a nozzle instead of a capillary tube as an expansion device. An experimental evaluation was adopted on a 1.5 RT window-type air-conditioning unit with a controlled environmental zone. According to operating conditions, an ANSYS-Fluent program was used to predict an appropriate nozzle size for a lower pressure ratio. The refrigeration cycle model was simulated using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES).27 The results showed that using a nozzle of 30[Formula: see text]mm length and inner and outer diameters of 9 and 2[Formula: see text]mm, respectively instead of the capillary tube with R404A reduces compressor power consumption by 7.7% and increases the coefficient of performance (COP) by 7.4%.