Evaluation of potential use of R1132A as a refrigerant blend component.

Refrigeration applications requiring evaporation at temperatures in the range -50 to -100°C have traditionally used non-flammable fluids having very high GWP such as R-23 and R-508A/B. Some ultralow temperature appliances now use R-170 as an alternative, but its flammability can restrict its application to larger systems. The potential use of R-1132a (1,1-difluoroethene) as a blend component for new, lower GWP refrigerant mixtures to serve this application range is under current evaluation. This paper presents some initial results of thermodynamic property evaluation, performance testing and stability testing.