Experimental Investigation on the Performance of Condenser for Charge Reduction of HC-290 in a Split Air-Conditioning System.

HC-290 is a promising alternative for HCFC-22, which is an ozone depleting substance under Montreal Protocol. However, HC-290 charge is to be reduced because of its flammability. The objective of this study was to reduce the charge quantity of HC-290 in a split air conditioner, which was originally designed for HCFC-22. The effect of charge reduction on the performance of the HC-290 split air-conditioning system was studied experimentally by varying condenser tube diameter, length of capillary tube, and condenser air face velocity. Initially, simulation study was conducted using ART simulation software. In accordance with the simulation results, a 5.25 kW split air conditioner was modified and experimentally tested with HC-290 in a psychrometric test facility under standard test conditions as per IS 1391 part 2. The condenser tube diameter was reduced from 12.7 mm to 6.35 mm, while the length of capillary tube was increased from 650 mm to 820 mm with enhanced condenser air face velocities. It was found that with 300 g of HC-290 charge, the performance parameters such as cooling capacity, power consumption, and coefficient of performance were better than the baseline test with HCFC-22 in all conditions tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]