High Temperature Lift Heat Pump Refrigerant and Thermodynamic Cycle Selection 941272

This paper describes the process and analysis used to select a refrigerant and thermodynamic cycle as the basis of a vapor compression heat pump requiring a high temperature lift. Use of a vapor compression heat pump versus other types was based on prior work performed for the Electric Power Research Institute. A high lift heat pump is needed to enable a thermal control system to remove heat down to 275K from a habitable volume when the external thermal environment is severe. For example, a long term habitat will reject heat from a space radiator to a 325K environment. The first step in the selection process was to perform an optimization trade study, quantifying the effect of radiator operating temperature and heat pump efficiency on total system mass; then, select the radiator operating temperature corresponding to the lowest system mass. Total system mass included radiators, all heat pump components and the power supply system. The study showed that night operation, with no temperature lift, dictated the radiator size. To operate otherwise would require a high mass penalty to store power. With the defined radiation surface, and heat pump performances assumed to be from 40 percent to 60 percent of the Carnot ideal, the optimum heat rejection temperature ranged from 387K to 377K, as a function of heat pump performance.

Refrigerant and thermodynamic cycles were then selected to best meet the previously determined design conditions. The system was then adapted as a ground-based prototype lifting temperature to 360K (versus 385K for flight unit) and using readily available commercial-grade components. Over 40 refrigerants, separated into wet and dry compression behavioral types, were considered in the selection process. Refrigerants were initially screened for acceptable critical temperature. The acceptable refrigerants were analyzed in ideal single and two-stage thermodynamic cycles. Top candidates were analyzed assuming realistic component limits and system pressure drops, and were evaluated for other considerations such as safety, environmental impact and commercial availability.

A maximum coefficient of performance (COP) of 56 percent of the Carnot ideal was achievable for a three-stage CFC-11 cycle operating under the flight conditions above. However, the final selection was driven by a requirement to use a non-CFC refrigerant in the ground-based prototype and the desire to maintain a consistent refrigerant in both flight and prototype systems. Therefore, HCFC-123 was the chosen refrigerant with an expected COP of 43 percent of the Carnot ideal for the ground-based prototype.