EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF TWO-PHASE EJECTOR SYSTEM WITH VARYING MIXING CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA USING NATURAL REFRIGERANT CO2
Abstract
The use of two-phase ejector in improving the performance of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system needs further experimental verification particularly the effects of its geometrical design. In this study, experimental data were gathered for ejectors with different mixing cross-sectional areas at different operating temperature and pressure. The results have shown that a smaller mixing area yields higher efficiency due to its higher pressure recovery and entrainment ratio, but its advantages are limited to lower ejector inlet pressure Pc. A larger mixing area is required for higher cooling capacity which can be achieved at higher ejector inlet pressure or lower ejector inlet temperature but excessive increase in this area considerably decreases the efficiency of the system. In this study, the ejector with the largest mixing area was the most inefficient and reduced the COP up to 10% compared to most efficient type. It demonstrates the significant effect of ejector's geometrical features, particularly the mixing cross-sectional area and its related geometrical ratio, in the performance of CO2 ejector system. The effect of motive nozzle inlet condition on pressure recovery profile has been more evident for ejector with smaller mixing area while the evaporator temperature has the least effect in the performance of the system. In the conditions used in this study, using ejector yielded a COP improvement of up to 35% compared to the conventional system.
