Optimization of a CO2–C3H8 cascade system for refrigeration and heating

Conventional working fluids (refrigerants) are being phased out worldwide to combat with the twin menace of ozone layer depletion and global warming and natural refrigerants are fast gaining favour lately. Single stage and multi stage refrigeration systems fail to widen the gap between heat source and heat sink temperatures required in many industrial applications requiring simultaneous heating and cooling and cascaded systems appear to be the best alternative. Modest research has been done in cascaded systems based on natural refrigerants thereby offering good potential for research. In this paper, a cascaded system for simultaneous heating and cooling (refrigeration and heat pump system) with a carbon dioxide based HT cycle and propane based LT cycle for simultaneous refrigeration and heating applications has been analyzed. To facilitate prediction of optimum performance parameters, performance trends with variation in the design parameters and operating variables have been presented in this article. Relevant expressions have been developed to serve as guidelines to the user for selecting appropriate design parameters like intermediate temperature so that the system yields optimum performance. Independently developed property codes have been employed for both carbon dioxide and propane for higher accuracy.