Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 545559

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Performance evaluation of an integrated automotive air conditioning and heat pump system
M. Hosoz *, M. Direk
Department of Mechanical Education, Kocaeli University, Umuttepe, 41100 Kocaeli, Turkey Received 5 November 2004; accepted 18 May 2005 Available online 14 July 2005

Abstract This study deals with the performance characteristics of an R134a automotive air conditioning system capable of operating as an air-to-air heat pump using ambient air as a heat source. For this aim, an experimental analysis has been performed on a plant made up of original components from an automobile air conditioning system and some extra equipment employed to operate the system in the reverse direction. The system has been tested in the air conditioning and heat pump modes by varying the compressor speed and air temperatures at the inlets of the indoor and outdoor coils. Evaluation of the data gathered in steady state test runs has shown the eects of the operating conditions on the capacity, coecient of performance, compressor discharge temperature and the rate of exergy destroyed by each component of the system for both operation modes. It has been observed that the heat pump operation provides adequate heating only in mild weather conditions, and the heating capacity drops sharply with decreasing outdoor temperature. However, compared with the air conditioning operation, the heat pump operation usually yields a higher coecient of performance and a lower rate of exergy destruction per unit capacity. It is also possible to improve the heating mode performance of the system by redesigning the indoor coil, using another refrigerant with a higher heat rejection rate in the condenser and employing a better heat source such as the engine coolant or exhaust gases. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Automotive air conditioning; Heat pump; R134a; COP; Exergy

Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 262 3032279; fax: +90 262 3032203. E-mail address: mhosoz@kou.edu.tr (M. Hosoz).

0196-8904/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2005.05.004

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Nomenclature COP _ Ed h _ m n _ Q s T T0 _ W coecient of performance rate of exergy destruction (W) specic enthalpy (kJ kg1) mass ow rate (g s1) compressor speed (rpm) cooling or heating capacity (W) specic entropy (kJ kg1 K1) temperature (K) environmental temperature (K) compressor power (W)

Subscripts a air c condenser comp compressor e evaporator IC indoor coil IN inlet OC outdoor coil r refrigerant rv reversing valve t total v expansion valve

1. Introduction Automotive air conditioning (AC) systems usually employ a vapour compression refrigeration circuit, currently using R134a as the working uid, to achieve summer thermal comfort in the passenger compartment. In winter, on the other hand, after an outdoor air stream has absorbed waste heat from the engine coolant, it is supplied to the passenger compartment to keep it comfortably warm. However, it is known that some modern high eciency, direct injection Diesel engines cannot produce sucient waste heat in this manner to achieve thermal comfort in an acceptable time-to-comfort period [1,2]. The vehicles with this type of engine currently employ electric, fuel burning or visco-heaters to supplement the main heating system. These devices, however, are usually inecient, heavy, expensive and not environmentally friendly [3]. An attractive method of providing supplemental heat to the passenger compartment is to reverse the direction of the refrigerant ow in an automotive AC system, i.e. to operate it as a heat pump (HP). In this case, after an air stream has absorbed heat from the indoor coil serving as a condenser, it is blown into the passenger compartment to warm it. Besides assisting the main heating system of the vehicles with high eciency internal combustion engines, particularly during the

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engine warm up period, the automotive HP can be used in electric cars where no waste energy is available for comfort heating. Because automotive AC is a competitive and technology oriented industry, the literature provides only a limited number of studies concerning the experimental performance of these systems. Jung et al. [4] studied the thermodynamic performance of supplementary/retrot refrigerant mixtures for R12 automotive AC systems produced before 1995. Lee and Yoo [5] conducted performance analyses of the components of an automotive AC system and developed an integrated model to simulate the whole system. Ratts and Brown [6] experimentally analysed the eect of refrigerant charge level on the performance of an automotive AC system. Al-Rabghi and Niyaz [7] retrotted an R12 automotive AC system to use R134a and compared the coecients of performance (COPs) for the two refrigerants. Jabardo et al. [8] developed a steady state computer simulation model for an automotive AC system with a variable capacity compressor and investigated its validity on an experimental unit. Joudi et al. [9] presented a computer model simulating the performance of an ideal automotive AC system working with several refrigerants. Kaynakli and Horuz [10] analysed the experimental performance of an automotive AC system using R134a in order to nd optimum operating conditions. Bhatti [11] investigated potential augmentation of the currently used R134a automotive AC system with the aim of lowering its total equivalent global warming impact. Since R134a has a global warming potential (GWP) of 1300 times that of CO2, the industry has been searching for refrigerants with a low GWP as a candidate for automotive AC systems. Hydrocarbon refrigerants cannot be used in these systems due to their potential ammability, and CO2 seems to be a promising refrigerant for this area. Brown et al. [12] compared the performance characteristics of CO2 and R134a automotive AC systems using simulation models for the vapour compression refrigeration cycle. In spite of possible safety issues, Ghodbane [13] assessed the use of hydrocarbons as an alternative to R134a and simulated the performance of an automotive AC system with R152a and several other hydrocarbons. Although the automotive HP had been used in concept cars before, it was rst utilized in commercially produced electric vehicles in the 1990s [14]. Domitrovic et al. [15] simulated the steady state cooling and heating operation of an automotive AC/HP system using R12 and R134a and determined the change of the cooling and heating capacities, COP and power consumption with ambient temperature at a xed compressor speed. They found that R134a and R12 yield comparable results while the heating capacity of the system is insucient. Scherer et al. [16] reported an on-vehicle performance comparison of an R152a and R134a HP using engine coolant as a heat source. They presented the air temperatures at several locations inside the passenger compartment as a function of time and found that both refrigerants yield almost identical performances and heating capacities. Meyer et al. [3] retrotted a production vehicle to incorporate an R134a HP and determined the change of air temperatures inside the passenger compartment with time. They compared warm up test results with baseline data and found a signicant improvement when the HP provided supplemental heat. Since the CO2 systems use a transcritical refrigeration cycle, they may oer a high heating capacity and COP when the AC system is operated as a HP. Bullard et al. [17] investigated the experimental performance of a CO2 automotive AC/HP system and evaluated the cooling and heating capacities, indoor coil air discharge temperature and COP as a function of ambient temperature for the cooling and heating modes.

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It is seen from the literature survey outlined above that a comparative and detailed steady state experimental analysis of an integrated automotive AC and air-to-air HP system using R134a has not been performed yet. This paper aims to present a thorough performance evaluation of such a system for both operation modes and determine the eects of the compressor speed, air temperatures at the inlets of the indoor and outdoor coils and the condensing/evaporating temperatures on the performance of the system. This evaluation is based on not only energy but also exergy analysis, which has been performed to obtain quantitative information on the losses and pinpoint the components causing ineciency. For this purpose, an experimental automotive AC system capable of operating as a HP has been developed. Using data gathered in more than 100 test runs, some performance parameters, namely the cooling and heating capacities, COP, compressor discharge temperature and the rate of exergy destruction in each component of the refrigeration circuit of the system, have been evaluated and presented.

2. Description of the experimental setup The experimental automotive AC/HP system, as shown in Fig. 1, was mainly made from original components from the AC system of a compact automobile. The plant employs a vapour compression refrigeration circuit consisting of a ve cylinder swash plate compressor, a parallel ow microchannel outdoor coil, two internally equalized thermostatic expansion valves (TXV), a laminated type indoor coil, two lter/driers, a reversing valve to operate the system as a HP when required and some check valves. In order to operate the system in the comfort cooling mode, i.e. as an air conditioner, the reversing valve is de-energized. Then, the refrigerant is drawn from the indoor coil and sent to the outdoor coil as shown in Fig. 1 by solid arrows. When the refrigerant passes through the indoor coil serving as an evaporator, it absorbs heat from a blower driven air stream, thereby providing a cool indoor air stream. After the compression, the refrigerant enters the outdoor coil and rejects heat into another air stream driven by a twin fan arrangement. Alternatively, the system can be operated as a HP when the reversing valve is energized. This results in the outdoor and indoor coils serving as an evaporator and a condenser, respectively. In this comfort heating mode, the refrigerant circulates in the direction of the dashed arrows shown in Fig. 1. As the refrigerant passes through the outdoor coil, it absorbs heat from the outdoor air stream, and this heat, along with the heat equivalent of the work of compression, is rejected into the indoor air stream at the indoor coil. In each operation mode, only one TXV, located upstream of the active evaporator will function. Each expansion valve is connected to a check valve in parallel to allow refrigerant ow in the opposite direction when the expansion valve is not in action. The compressor is belt driven by a three phase 4 kW electric motor energized through a frequency inverter. The capacity of an automotive AC system is usually controlled by a thermostat which de-energizes an electromagnetic clutch to disengage the compressor shaft from the rotating pulley when the required compartment air temperature is achieved. However, in order to test the system in steady state operation without interruption, the experimental system does not employ a thermostat. The indoor blower and outdoor fan motors were energized by separate direct current power sources with adjustable output voltages. Because the air velocity at the outdoor coil depends on the voltage across the fan motors, varying this voltage allows obtaining a broad range

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Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental automotive air conditioning/heat pump system.

of condensing and evaporating temperatures in the cooling and heating modes, respectively, regardless of the air temperature at the inlet of the outdoor coil. The outdoor coil has a frontal area of 0.227 m2, and it was inserted into an air duct of 1.0 m length. In order to provide a uniform air ow through the evaporator, a ow straightener was used upstream of the coil. The indoor coil has a frontal area of 0.044 m2, and it was inserted into another duct of 1.0 m length. This duct also contains the blower, electric heater and another ow straightener located upstream of the indoor coil. The electric heater, which can be controlled between 0 and 2000 W, is used to achieve the required air temperature at the indoor coil inlet. The refrigerant lines of the system were made from copper tubing and insulated by elastomeric material. The duct containing the indoor coil was also insulated by a 5 cm slab of rock wool. The refrigeration circuit was charged with 700 g of R134a. The locations where the measurements were performed are also depicted in Fig. 1. The refrigerant and air temperatures at various points of the system were detected by type K thermocouples. Thermocouples for the refrigerant temperatures were soldered to the copper tube. The air side temperature measurements consist of dry and wet bulb temperatures of the air entering and

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Table 1 Characteristics of the instrumentation Measured variable Temperature Pressure Air ow rate Compressor speed Instrument Type K thermocouple Bourdon gauge Anemometer Digital tachometer Range 50/100 C 100/1000, 0/3000 kPa 0.1/15 m s1 10/100000 rpm Uncertainity 0.3 C 10/50 kPa 3% 2%

leaving the indoor and outdoor coils. The dry and wet bulb temperatures at the outlet of the indoor coil were determined at three dierent locations, and they were averaged to nd the mean values. The suction and discharge pressures were measured by Bourdon tube gauges. It was assumed that the evaporating and condensing pressures were equal to the suction and discharge pressures, respectively. In order to determine the air mass ow rates through the indoor and outdoor coils, the air velocities in the related ducts were measured by an anemometer and were averaged. Then, the mean velocities, along with the air densities and duct ow areas were evaluated with the continuity equation. The compressor speed was detected by a digital photoelectric tachometer, while the electric power consumption of the compressor motor was measured by an analogue Wattmeter. Some features of the instrumentation are summarized in Table 1, and further details of the experimental setup can be found in Direk [18].

3. Description of the testing procedure The experimental performance of the automotive AC/HP system was evaluated by conducting two groups of tests for each operation mode, namely the maximum outdoor fan speed and the constant condensing temperature tests. In the rst group of tests, a voltage of 12 V, yielding a volumetric air ow rate of 0.174 m3 s1, was applied to the outdoor fan motors. After the compressor speed was adjusted by means of a potentiometer connected to the inverter, the required air temperature at the inlet of the indoor coil was achieved by varying the energy input to the electric heater. In the second group of tests, performed at constant condensing temperatures of 45, 50 and 55 C, the voltage applied to the outdoor fan motors was changed between 0 and 12 V to obtain a varying air ow rate. In the cooling mode, a change in the air ow rate through the outdoor coil inuences the condensing temperature directly, while in the heating mode, it initially aects the evaporating temperature, and then this causes the condensing temperature to vary. In the cooling mode tests, the air dry bulb temperature at the indoor coil inlet was kept at 26, 31 and 37 C, while the compressor speed was varied between 750 and 2000 rpm. In the heating mode tests, on the other hand, the dry bulb temperature of the air entering the indoor coil was kept at 13, 18, 24 and 30 C, while the compressor speed was maintained at 750, 1000 and 1250 rpm. In both modes, the minimum compressor speed was chosen as 750 rpm to avoid insucient lubrication that might arise at lower speeds. In the heating mode tests, low air temperatures at the outdoor coil inlet caused quite low evaporating temperatures when the compressor speed exceeded

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1250 rpm. This resulted in frosting and activation of the compressor capacity control system, thus impairing the steady state and yielding inecient operation. The capacity control system controls the refrigerant ow rate by adjusting the stroke of the compressor pistons when the suction pressure falls below a predetermined value. In order to avoid this interference, the upper limit of the compressor speed was chosen as 1250 rpm in the heating mode tests. In the cooling mode tests, however, the air temperatures at the indoor coil inlet were signicantly higher, and this allowed selecting a speed limit up to 2000 rpm. In both groups of tests, the volumetric ow rate of the air stream passing over the indoor coil was xed at 0.114 m3 s1. The air temperature at the outdoor coil inlet was maintained at 26 and 31 C in the cooling mode tests and kept at 13 and 18 C in the heating mode tests. In order to achieve this, a conditioned air stream was supplied to the laboratory when needed. It was accepted that when temperature deviations at the key points considered were lower than 0.5 C for 10 min, the steady state was achieved. The experimental plant was usually brought to steady state within 2040 min after the input conditions were changed. Data were collected to evaluate the performance of the system as soon as stabilized conditions occurred.

4. Thermodynamic analysis Referring to Fig. 1, the cooling and heating capacities of the experimental system in the AC and HP operation modes can be expressed in terms of the mass ow rate and the enthalpies of the air stream at the inlet and outlet of the indoor coil. That is, _ _ Q ma jhB hC j 1

Since the air stream passing over the indoor coil exchanges heat only with the refrigerant, the refrigerant mass ow rate can be calculated as _ mr _ Q jh8 h7 j 2

Assuming that the compression process is adiabatic, the compressor power absorbed by the refrigerant in both operation modes can be evaluated as _ _ W mr h2 h1 3

The ratios of the cooling and heating capacities to the compressor power give the energetic performances of the system in the air conditioning and heating modes, respectively. That is, COP _ Q _ W 4

In the adiabatic compressor, the rate of exergy destruction, which is due to gas friction, mechanical friction of the moving parts, and internal heat transfer, can be expressed as _ _ Ed;comp mr T 0 s2 s1 where T0 is the environmental temperature representing the dead state. 5

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Assuming no heat transfer to/from the environment, the rate of exergy destruction in the reversing valve can be computed from Eqs. (6.a) and (6.b) for the cooling and heating modes, respectively. _ _ Ed;rv mr T 0 s3 s2 s1 s8 _ _ Ed;rv mr T 0 s8 s2 s1 s3 6:a 6:b

Because it is assumed that there is no pressure drop in any component of the refrigeration circuit except the expansion valve, the source of exergy destruction in the reversing valve is the irreversibilities associated with stream-to-stream heat transfer. The rate of exergy destruction in the condenser and liquid line is due to the heat transfer resulting from the temperature dierence between the air and refrigerant streams. This rate can be determined from Eqs. (7.a) and (7.b) for the cooling and heating modes, respectively.   h6 h3 _ _ 7:a Ed;c mr T 0 s6 s3 TE   _ d;c mr T 0 s5 s8 h5 h8 _ E 7:b TB Neglecting the heat transfer, the rate of exergy destruction in the expansion valve, which is primarily due to the refrigerant friction accompanying the expansion across the valve, is given by Eqs. (8.a) and (8.b) for the cooling and heating modes, respectively. _ _ Ed;v mr T 0 s7 s6 _ _ Ed;v mr T 0 s4 s5 8:a 8:b

The rate of exergy destruction in the evaporator stems from the temperature dierence between the refrigerant and the air stream. This rate can be evaluated from Eqs. (9.a) and (9.b) for the cooling and heating modes, respectively.   _ d;e mr T 0 s8 s7 h8 h7 _ 9:a E TB   _ d;e mr T 0 s3 s4 h3 h4 _ E 9:b TE Finally, the total rate of exergy destruction in the refrigeration circuit of the system in both operation modes can be calculated by _ _ _ _ _ _ Ed;t Ed;comp Ed;rv Ed;c Ed;v Ed;e 10

5. Results and discussion The variations in some of the performance parameters of the experimental system with compressor speed are shown in Figs. 26 for various air temperatures at the inlets of the indoor

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o o o o o o

553

4800 4400 4000 3600 3200 2800 2400 500

TIC, IN=37 C, TOC, IN=26 C TIC, IN=31 C, TOC, IN=31 C TIC, IN=26 C, TOC, IN=26 C
5500

TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=30 C TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=18 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=24 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=13 C
o o o o o o

Cooling capacity (W)

Heating capacity (W)

5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 700

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2250

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Compressor speed (rpm)

Compressor speed (rpm)

Fig. 2. Variations in the cooling capacity (a) and heating capacity (b) with compressor speed.

4.8 4.4 4.0

6.0

TOC, IN =18 C, TIC, IN =30 C TOC, IN =18 C, TIC, IN =18 C

o o o o o o

TIC, IN =37 C, TOC, IN =26 C TIC, IN =31 C, TOC, IN =31 C TIC, IN =26 C, TOC, IN =26 C
o o o o

5.5 5.0

TOC, IN =13 C, TIC, IN =24 C TOC, IN =13 C, TIC, IN =13 C

COP

COP

3.6 3.2 2.8 2.4 500

4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 700

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2250

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Compressor speed (rpm)

Compressor speed (rpm)

Fig. 3. Variations in the COP with compressor speed for the cooling mode (a) and heating mode (b) operations.

and outdoor coils. The graphs in these gures have been obtained from the maximum outdoor fan speed tests. The cooling and heating capacities as a function of compressor speed are plotted in Fig. 2. The cooling capacity increases with compressor speed while it drops with decreasing air temperature at the indoor coil inlet. Because of activation of the capacity control system, the cooling capacities tend to decrease when a certain compressor speed, whose value is dependent upon the temperatures of the air streams entering the coils, is exceeded. Similarly, the heating capacity also increases with compressor speed and declines on decreasing air temperature at the outdoor coil inlet. It is observed that the experimental system provides a signicant amount of heat to the indoor air stream, and the heating capacity is competitive with the cooling capacity for the given operating conditions.

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TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=30 C

100

o o o o

o o o o

130

TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=18 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=24 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=13 C

Discharge temperature (C)

Discharge temperature (C)

2250

95 90 85 80 75 70 65 500
TIC, IN=37 C, TOC, IN=26 C
TIC, IN=31 C, TOC, IN=31 C TIC, IN=26 C, TOC, IN=26 C
o o

120 110 100 90 80 70 60 700

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Compressor speed (rpm)

Compressor speed (rpm)

Fig. 4. Variations in the compressor discharge temperature with compressor speed for the cooling mode (a) and heating mode (b) operations.

0.44 0.40 0.36

0.32 0.28 0.24

Ed/Q

0.32 TIC, IN=37 C, TOC, IN=26 C 0.28 0.24 500 TIC, IN=31 C, TOC, IN=31 C TIC, IN=26 C, TOC, IN=26 C 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250
o o o o o o

Ed/Q

0.20 0.16 0.12 700

TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=30 C TOC, IN=18 C, TIC, IN=18 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=24 C TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN=13 C
o o o o o o

Compressor speed (rpm)

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Compressor speed (rpm)

Fig. 5. The rate of total exergy destruction per unit capacity as a function of compressor speed for the cooling (a) and heating (b) modes.

The changes in COP as a function of compressor speed are exhibited in Fig. 3. As can be seen from this gure, the COP for the cooling mode declines with increasing compressor speed and decreasing air temperature at the indoor coil inlet. Similarly, the COP for the heating mode also declines with increasing compressor speed, and it increases with decreasing outdoor temperature. Operation with a higher COP is accomplished at the expense of a lower capacity in both modes, as can be seen by examining Fig. 2. Because the COP for heating takes into account the heat added to the refrigerant by the compressor, it surpasses the COP for cooling for the given operating conditions. The compressor discharge temperatures are indicated in Fig. 4 as a function of compressor speed. The discharge temperatures in both operation modes rise on increasing compressor speed and air temperatures at the inlets of the indoor and outdoor coils. This is a result of increasing condensing temperatures with compressor speed and with air inlet temperatures. It is known that the higher is the discharge temperature, the higher is the possibility of thermal destruction of the

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Rate of exergy destruction (W)
Rate of exergy destruction (W)
1750 1500 1250 1000 750 500 250 0 600
reversing valve expansion valve compressor

555

evaporator condenser total

1500 1250 1000 750 TOC, IN=13 C, TIC, IN =13 C 500 250 0 700
o o

reversing valve expansion valve compressor

evaporator condenser total

TIC, IN =31 C, TOC, IN=31 C

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Compressor speed (rpm)

Compressor speed (rpm)

Fig. 6. The rates of exergy destroyed by the refrigeration circuit components as a function of compressor speed for the cooling (a) and heating (b) modes.

lubricating oil, which consequently causes excessive wear and decreases the durability of the compressor. It is seen that the discharge temperatures observed in the heating mode for the given mild weather conditions are slightly higher than those experienced in the cooling mode. However, the discharge temperatures in the heating mode would be lower if more severe weather conditions prevailed. The ratio of the rate of total exergy destruction to the capacity versus compressor speed is presented in Fig. 5. For both operation modes, this ratio rises on increasing the compressor speed, while it drops on decreasing the air temperatures at the inlets of both coils. Furthermore, the heating operation yields lower ratios, thus giving higher COPs than those observed in the cooling operation, as depicted before in Fig. 3. The rates of exergy destroyed by the components of the refrigeration circuit versus compressor speed are shown in Fig. 6. For both operation modes, the exergy destruction in each component increases with compressor speed. This can be explained by the fact that an increase in the compressor speed raises the refrigerant ow rate and condensing pressure while dropping the evaporating pressure. As the pressure dierence across the compressor and expansion valve increases, these components destroy more exergy. On the other hand, the increasing mean temperature difference between the refrigerant and the air due to rising condensing pressure causes higher exergy destruction in the condenser. Similarly, when the evaporating pressure decreases, the mean temperature dierence between the air and the refrigerant increases, thus raising the exergy destruction in the evaporator. It is seen that for the cooling mode, the contributions of the indoor and outdoor coils to the total exergy destruction are almost equal, whereas for the heating mode, the exergy destruction in the indoor coil is twice as that in the outdoor coil. This means that the indoor coil cannot perform adequately, which is possibly due to its relatively small heat transfer area, as a condenser. For the heating mode, the exergy destruction in the outdoor coil is even lower than that in the compressor, indicating that this coil, originally designed as a condenser, also performs well as an evaporator. The eects of the evaporating and condensing temperatures on some of the performance parameters are presented in Figs. 79. The variations in the cooling and heating capacities with

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o o o o o o

4400 4000 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 -2.5

TC=50 C, n=1000 rpm TC=55 C, n=1000 rpm TC=60 C, n=1000 rpm

TC=50 C, n=750 rpm TC=55 C, n=750 rpm TC=60 C, n=750 rpm

3300 3200
TC=45 C, n=750 rpm TC=50 C, n=750 rpm TC=55 C, n=750 rpm
o o o

Cooling capacity (W)

Heating capacity (W)

12.5

3100 3000 2900 2800 2700 2600 2500

0.0

2.5

5.0

7.5
o

10.0

-4

-2

4
o

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Fig. 7. Variations in the cooling capacity (a) and heating capacity (b) with evaporating temperature.

4.5 4.0 3.5

TC=50 C, n=1000 rpm TC=55 C, n=1000 rpm TC=60 C, n=1000 rpm

o o

TC=50 C, n=750 rpm TC=55 C, n=750 rpm TC=60 C, n=750 rpm

o o

5.6
TC=45 C, n=750 rpm
o o o

5.2 4.8

TC=50 C, n=750 rpm TC=55 C, n=750 rpm

COP

COP
0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5
o

3.0 2.5 2.0 -2.5

4.4 4.0 3.6

10.0

12.5

-4

-2

4
o

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Fig. 8. Variations in the COP with evaporating temperature for the cooling mode (a) and heating mode (b) operations.

evaporating temperature are reported in Fig. 7. It is seen that an increase in evaporating temperature or a decrease in condensing temperature results in increased capacity for both operation modes. Furthermore, the cooling and heating capacities rise with increasing compressor speed. At 50 C condensing temperature and 750 rpm, the ratio of the heating to cooling capacities ranges from 1.10 ( at 1 C evaporating temperature) to 1.11 (at 6.5 C evaporating temperature). The COPs for both operation modes as a function of evaporating temperature are indicated in Fig. 8. In both cases, the COP rises with increasing evaporating temperature and decreasing condensing temperature. This means that the required compressor power to provide a certain cooling capacity drops on increasing the air temperature at the indoor coil inlet and on decreasing the air temperature at the outdoor coil inlet. Similarly, the compressor power to provide a certain heating capacity drops with increasing air temperature at the outdoor coil inlet and decreasing air

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o o o o o o

557

115

TC=50 C, n=1000 rpm TC=55 C, n=1000 rpm TC=60 C, n=1000 rpm

TC=50 C, n=750 rpm

105

Discharge temperature ( C)

Discharge temperature ( C)

110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 -2.5

TC=55 C, n=750 rpm TC=60 C, n=750 rpm

100 95 90 85 80 75 70 -4

TC=45 C, n=750 rpm

TC=50 C, n=750 rpm
TC=55 C, n=750 rpm
o

0.0

2.5

5.0

7.5
o

10.0

12.5

-2

4
o

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Evaporating temperature ( C)

Fig. 9. Variations in the compressor discharge temperature with evaporating temperature for the cooling mode (a) and heating mode (b) operations.

temperature at the indoor coil inlet. At 50 C condensing temperature and 750 rpm, the COP for heating surpasses the COP for cooling by 3769% in the evaporating temperature range of 1 6.5 C. The changes in the compressor discharge temperature with evaporating temperature are shown in Fig. 9. The discharge temperature reduces with increasing evaporating temperature and decreasing condensing temperature. At 50 C condensing temperature and 750 rpm, the cooling mode discharge temperatures are about 5 C higher than the heating mode ones in the evaporating temperature range of 16.5 C. The AC mode results presented above are usually in good agreement with those given by Joudi et al. [9], Kaynakli and Horuz [10] and Domitrovic et al. [15], while the HP mode results agree well with those given by Domitrovic et al. [15]. 6. Conclusions The performance characteristics of an integrated automotive AC and air-to-air HP system using R134a as the working uid have been experimentally evaluated. Based on the experimental evidence, the nal conclusions reached in this study can be summarized as follows. Although the HP operation provides sucient amounts of heat to the indoor air stream at mild weather conditions, the heating capacity would drop at more severe conditions due to both decreasing evaporating temperatures and activation of the capacity control system. Therefore, an air-to-air automotive HP must be considered only as a supplementary heating method to be used in energy ecient automobiles lacking waste heat. Both the heating and cooling capacities of the system increase with compressor speed, while the COPs for both cases decrease with it. Furthermore, the COPs for heating outperform the COPs for cooling due to the fact that the former takes into account the heat equivalent of the work of compression.

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For the same compressor speed and condensing/evaporating temperatures, the HP operation yields lower compressor discharge temperatures. In both operation modes, the ratio of the rate of total exergy destruction in the refrigeration circuit to the capacity increases with compressor speed, while the heating mode operation results in lower ratios. In the cooling mode, both coils destroy almost equal amounts of exergy, whereas in the heating mode, the exergy destroyed by the indoor coil is double that by the outdoor coil, meaning that the indoor coil cannot perform as a condenser adequately. The poor heat rejection in the indoor coil also limits the amount of heat absorbed by the outdoor coil. Therefore, an automotive AC/ HP system must employ an indoor coil with a larger heat transfer area and a higher air ow rate. Although the experimental system consists of components originally designed for the AC operation, it oers a comparable performance in the HP operation as well. The heating mode performance will further increase if a better heat source such as engine coolant or exhaust gases is utilized. Since the provision of supplemental heating by operating an existing AC system in the reverse direction requires only a few low cost components with negligible packaging and a reasonable amount of energy compared to its alternatives, this method may be an optimum solution to the problem of insucient comfort heating in energy ecient automobiles. Acknowledgement The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by Kocaeli University under the project number 2002/37.

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