Experimental Study on the Performance Characteristics of a Flash Tank Vapor Injection Refrigeration System using R449A

R449A has been adopted as an alternative refrigerant of R404A, because it has lower global warming potential (GWP) than R404A. However, a refrigeration system using R449A shows slightly lower cooling capacity and higher compressor discharge temperature compared with that using R404A. The high compressor discharge temperature can degrade system reliability. A flash tank vapor injection (FTVI) technique can overcome the problem of the lower cooling capacity and higher discharge temperature in the refrigeration system with R449A under severe operating conditions. In this study, the performance characteristics of a FTVI refrigeration system and a conventional refrigeration system were compared in the AHRI 1251 condition. The annual walk-in energy factor (AWEF) of the R449A FTVI refrigeration system was similar to that of the R449A conventional refrigeration system. However, the cooling capacity and compressor reliability of the R449A FTVI refrigeration system were higher than those of the R449A conventional refrigeration system.