Theoretical and experimental study on the performance of CO2 hermetic scroll compressor

Abstract: Natural refrigerant CO2 is considered as one of the ideal alternative refrigerants, and CO2 compressors are the core components of refrigeration system. A simulation program was established to predict the performance of the CO2 hermetic scroll compressor in this article. The experimental and simulation results show that as the pressure ratio increases, the volumetric and indicated efficiencies decrease. Both of the efficiencies increase with the increased compressor speed. The influence of the compressor speed on the volumetric efficiency at a higher pressure ratio is more significant than the lower one. The increment of both efficiencies decrease gradually as the compressor speed rises. The superheat has little impact on the volumetric and indicated efficiencies. The maximum volumetric efficiency is 0.84 and the maximum indicated efficiency is 0.80. The deviations of the simulation and experimental results are within ±5 per cent