Feasibility Study of R134a/R404a Cascade Heat Pump Cycle in Heat Pump Dryers with Electrical Heaters at Low Temperatures

Heat pump cycles have been widely applied to dryers for their high efficiency. However, low efficiency electrical heaters are often used during early drying stage for frozen foods or winter since a standard heat pump cycle cannot operate at low temperature. This study introduced cascade heat pumps replacing electrical heaters to improve dryer performance at low temperatures. Experiments were performed to examine changes in performance of the cascade heat pump dryers in relation to ambient temperature, low-stage cycle mass flow rate, and high-stage cycle mass flow rate. The results showed a significant improvement in low-temperature dryer performance with the introduction of cascade heat pump cycles.