Experimental Identification of Component Parameters for Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycles

Vapor compression refrigeration cycles have become a promising alternative for high-heat-flux electronic cooling. Still, this area of research lacks the modeling and control design tools to facilitate its practical implementation. At Rensselaer simulation models for system level design and algorithms for temperature control are being developed to bridge that gap. However, these models need to be validated by experimental results. Since the models are not entirely based on first-principle equations, the empirical relations should be matched to the particular experimental setup used for validation. Therefore, the first step towards validation is the identification of empirical parameters that are intrinsic to the experimental apparatus and are required for the simulation. Consequently, this paper presents the experimental identification of the expansion valve coefficient, and the compressor’s volumetric efficiency used in the model. Experiments are performed at different expansion valve openings and different compressor speeds until steady-state is reached. The steady-state data is used to obtain the expansion valve coefficients, and the compressor’s volumetric efficiency. Finally, the data is used to obtain correlations, which are adequately accurate with reasonable computation cost, for each of the evaluated parameters to be incorporated into the simulation model.