Performance Comparison of a Truck Refrigeration System with R404A, R134a, R1234yf, and R744 Refrigerants under Frosting Conditions

Abstract

A new refrigerant is needed because the GWP of the R404A and R134a that are used in existing refrigerated trucks and automotive air conditioners is so high. This study predicts cooling performance by using an analytical model, for refrigeration systems using R404A and R134a. Furthermore, the performances of those systems were compared with those of alternative refrigeration systems using R1234yf and R744. The performance data of the analytical model had a trend similar to that of the experimental data: the average error between the analytical and experimental results was within 5.4%. The frost thickness of the R404A system for all operating conditions was about 2.4–3.7% larger than that of other systems because the evaporating temperature of the R404A system was lower than that for other refrigerants. For various operating conditions, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the R134a system was higher than that of other systems, while the R744 system showed the lowest performance. However, the COP reduction of the R744 system with operating time was the smallest because the thermodynamic properties of R744 were very superior. In addition, the frost thickness was seriously affected by the variations of indoor air temperature and compressor rotation speeds, and the system performance decreased significantly for severe operating conditions.