Performance improvement of air source heat pump by using gas-injected rotary compressor

Rotary compressor is most widely used in small capacity refrigeration and heat pump systems. For the air source heat pump, the heating capacity and the COP will be obviously degraded when it is utilized in low temperature ambient. Gas injection is an effective method to enhance its performance under those situations, which has been well applied in air source heat pump with scroll compressor. However, the development of the gas injection technology in rotary compressor is relatively slow due to limited performance improvement. In this research, the essential reason constraining the improvement of the gas injection on the rotary compressor and its heat pump system is identified. Two new injection structures for rotary compressors has been put forward to overcome the drawback of traditional injection structures. Based on a verified numerical model, the thermodynamic performance of air source heat pumps with the new gas-injected rotary compressor are investigated. The results indicate that, compared to the air source heat pump with the traditional gas injected rotary compressor, the new injection structures both can enhance heating capacity and COP of the air source heat pump obviously.