Performance enhancement of vapor compression cycle using nano materials

The performance of a vapor compression cycle with nanomaterials additives to the working fluid is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Polyolester (POE) oil with AL₂O₃ nanomaterials additives is used to enhance the performance in the vapor compression cycle with R-143a refrigerant. The stability of nanofluid was first tested by using sedimentation test. The performance of cycle with the nanomaterials was then studied using energy consumption and freezing capacity tests. Theoretical analysis shows that the heat transfer coefficient in the evaporator with nanorefrigerant increases by 50%. Moreover, exergy loss decreases by 28 % when nanorefrigerant is used .The experimental results indicate that R-134a and Polyolester (POE) oil with AL2O3 nanoparticles enhance the vapor compression cycle performance by 10.5 % with 13.5 % lees energy consumption. These results were obtained with 0.1% mass fraction of nano-lubricant oil.