Experimental investigation on the influence of EEV opening on the performance of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system

In order to investigate the influence of electronic expansion valve (EEV) opening on the performance of the transcritical CO2 refrigeration system, an experimental test rig of the transcritical CO2 system was built up. The system operation parameters such as temperature, pressure were measured with different EEV opening, when the inlet temperatures of the gas-cooler water and the evaporator water were set to 30 °C and 15 °C, respectively. The effects of EEV opening on the pressure, temperature and the performance of the system were studied in detail. The results demonstrate that the EEV opening has great effects on the discharge pressure of the compressor, gas-cooler outlet pressure, and the discharge temperature of the compressor. The compressor input power decreases with the increasing of EEV opening. The cooling capacity and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system peaks at the EEV opening of 40% and 60%, respectively.