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Study on performance change in a linear compressor considering refrigerant leakage through the suction valve clearance

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Abstract

Leakage of refrigerant in a linear compressor is one of the main factors affecting compressor performance. The refrigerant leakage mainly occurs due to piston clearance or valve clearance. Valve clearance leakage has been studied [1, 2]. However, as in the present study, there is no research that accurately predicts the performance of a compressor using CFD while considering the valve clearance of a linear compressor. Therefore, in this study, the valve clearance leakage was experimentally measured according to the compression chamber pressure and a 3 - dimensional CFD cycle analysis was performed considering the valve clearance leakage. It was found that the actual clearance of the suction valve corresponds to about 2 ∼ 4 μm. According to the cycle analysis, when the valve clearance decreases from 5 μm to 3 μm, the cooling capacity increases by about 5 % and the EER increases by 6 %. Furthermore, considering leakage due to valve clearance, the simulated valve opening period and the valve vibration at closing were more in agreement with the experiment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a research grant of the Kongju National University in 2018.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Kongju National University, Cheonan, Chungnam, 330-717, Korea

    Il Sun Hwang

  2. Dept. of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan, Chungnam, 330-717, Korea

    Young Lim Lee

Authors
  1. Il Sun Hwang
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  2. Young Lim Lee
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Correspondence to Young Lim Lee.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Won Gyu Shin

Il Sun Hwang graduated from Kongju National University with a major in mechanical and automotive engineering in 2014. Now he is a graduate student in Ph. D. program at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Kongju National University.

Young Lim Lee graduated from Hanyang University with a major in mechanical engineering in 1986. He got a Ph. D. at University of Texas at Austin in 1995. He is currently interested in the research topics of high efficiency toilets as well as electronics cooling, vacuum glazing and heat pumps.

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Hwang, I.S., Lee, Y.L. Study on performance change in a linear compressor considering refrigerant leakage through the suction valve clearance. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 2665–2670 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0514-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0514-8

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