Experimental stands for testing separation efficiency of unconventional separators for ammonia cooling units.

Separators are commonly used in ammonia cooling installations. Their objective is to separate the liquid from the vapour before entering the compressor. This paper presents two experimental stands for testing efficiency of separation process. In particular, the stands are intended to investigate an unconventional separator for ammonia cooling units. The experimental test stands and the
measurement and control system are described. First experiments, in the laboratory scale, were performed with water droplets suspended in the air in order to simplify the process and establish the assumptions for construction of the separator. The research aimed at understanding the separation processes in the unconventional separator. The methodology of obtaining the required range of droplets diameters, in chosen locations, is presented. The second installation was made by modification of the ammonia chiller working in an industrial system. The ammonia cycle was equipped with additional measurement system. The aim of those changes was to prepare experimental procedure to evaluate the efficiency of prototype separator in typical working conditions. In the article, there are presented first results of experiments performed to verify a test procedure of checking separator efficiency. The tests were carried out for reference separator design. The obtained test results allowed to determine the efficiency of separation process.