Screening of working fluids for the ejector refrigeration system

For an ejector refrigeration system, the working fluid significantly influences the ejector behavior and system performance as well as ejector design. There are three categories of working fluids: wet fluids, dry fluids and isentropic fluids. Four wet fluids (R134a, R152a, R290 and R430A), four dry fluids (R245fa, R600, R600a and R1234ze) and one isentropic fluid (R436B) are selected in the paper. Special consideration is paid to the superheat of the ejector primary flow. This superheat is needed not only for wet fluids, but also for dry fluids and isentropic fluids at some cases, to eliminate droplets inside the ejector. A minimum superheat is found, and it is dependent on the used working fluid and the operating temperatures as well as the ejector nozzle efficiency. The comparison among these nine candidates indicates that R600 is a good candidate for the ejector refrigeration system due to a relatively high COP and its low environmental impact. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.