Effects of synthetic oil in a compression refrigeration system using R410A. Part II: quality of heat transfer and pressure losses within the heat exchangers

The consequences of the oil rejected by the compressor of a vapour-compression refrigeration system on the operation of the evaporator and condenser are analysed. The modelled prototype uses the mixture of HFC R410A and a synthetic polyolester (POE) oil. The rise of the amount of lubricant circulating in the system leads to a progressive change in the behaviour of the mixture of refrigerant and oil that, for the higher oil mass fraction, evolves like a zeotropic mixture. One also observes that the presence of lubricant is generally associated with a fall of the performances of the heat exchangers, except however in the evaporator where an optimum is observed when the quantity of oil is equal to 0.1% of the total mass of the mixture. Some conclusions are drawn about the choice of correlations for the calculation of the refrigerant side heat transfer coefficient in a plate evaporator.