Implementation of 3-Port Condensing Wave Rotors in R718 Cycles

The use of a novel 3-port condensing wave rotor is suggested to enhance the turbocompression in a refrigeration cycle that works only with water (R718) as a refrigerant. Although the implementation of such a wave rotor essentially reduces the size and cost of R718 units, their efficiency may also be increased. The condensing wave rotor employs pressurized water to pressurize, desuperheat, and condense the refrigerant vapor, all in one dynamic process. The underlying phenomena of flash evaporation, shock wave compression, desuperheating, and condensation inside the wave rotor channels are described in a wave and phase-change diagram. The thermodynamic process is shown in pressure-enthalpy and temperature-entropy diagrams. Based on the described thermodynamic model, a computer program was generated to evaluate the performance of R718 baseline and wave-rotor-enhanced cycles. The effect of some key parameters on the performance enhancement is demonstrated as an aid for optimization. A performance map summarizes the findings. It shows optimum wave rotor pressure ratio and maximum relative performance improvement of R718 cycles by using the 3-port condensing wave rotor.

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