Investigation of leaked air into cycle and its purging effects on air cooling chiller cycle ofcryogenic nitrogen generation unit

In air cooling refrigerant cycles when air pressure is higher than refrigerant pressure, air can leak through evaporator tubing to the cycle. In this paper first, effects of leaked air into refrigeration cycle is investigated and then amount of air in system isestimated. After that, effects of manual purging of air on the cycle performance are investigated. Results and observations show the air in the cycle severely decreases heat transfer efficiency of the cycle and life of mechanical elements. Also manual purging of air from the cycle causes refrigerant losses that contribute both directly and indirectly to global warming through inefficient system operation, increased power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and higher maintenance costs.

Keywords:

Air purging , manual purging , air leakage , refrigerant