New non-dimensional performance parameters for the characterization of refrigeration compressors

Pierre (1982) developed general correlations of compressor performance for a wide range of open piston compressors based on a vast amount of data provided by the most important open compressors manufacturers at that time. Based on a wide experimental test campaign with 6 different hermetic and semihermetic compressors, this paper assesses the potential of Pierreʹs correlations to describe the performance of modern compressors. A full review of the functionals proposed by Pierre in order to improve their accuracy was then performed and as a result the authors found that it is possible to improve the characterization by employing a nondimensional definition of the compressor performance instead of using the efficiencies. These new parameters provide a much more consistent estimation at the borders of the correlation range than the usual correlation obtained following the ARI standard, and could be even employed to extrapolate the performance of the compressor to non-tested conditions with reasonable accuracy.