Effect of Condenser Fouling on Performance of Vapor Compression Refrigeration System

Abstract

Effect of condenser fouling is evaluated on the performance of a vapour compression system with refrigerants HFO1234yf and HFO1234ze as an alternative to HFC134a. The condenser coolant temperature has been varied between 35 and 40°C to evaluate the effect of fouling at different condenser temperatures. A simulation model is developed in EES for computing the results. The results have been computed by varying condenser conductance. The same has been validated with literature available before calculating the results. It is observed that the condenser fouling has larger effect on compressor power (%) as it increases up to 9.12 for R1234yf and 7.41 for R1234ze, whereas for R134a its value increases up to 7.38. The cooling capacity (%) decreases up to 13.25 for R1234yf and 8.62 for R1234ze, whereas for R134a its value decreases up to 8.76. The maximum percentage of decrease in value of COP is up to 19.29 for R1234yf and 14.47 for R1234ze, whereas for R134a its value decreases up to 14.49. The second-law efficiency is also observed to decrease with decrease in the condenser conductance. The performance of HFO1234ze is found to be better under fouled conditions in comparison to R134a and R1234yf.