Vapor compression cycle model capable of simulating well described and not so well described refrigerants.

This paper presents a vapor compression cycle model consisting of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, an evaporator, and an optional internal heat exchanger. The model allows for simulations of well-described refrigerants using the high accuracy equations of state contained in REFPROP. Moreover, the model allows one to quickly and easily create a Peng-Robinson equation of state for not-so-well-described refrigerants (ones where little or no experimental data are available). It also allows one to quickly and easily create Peng-Robinson equations of state for a large number of theoretical refrigerants by parametrically varying critical state properties, acentric factor, and ideal gas specific heat at constant pressure. In both cases, the Peng-Robinson equations of state can be coupled with the cycle model to allow for easy, fast, and inexpensive screening and evaluation of the performance potentials of a large number of well-described and not-so-well-described refrigerants in a subcritical vapor compression cycle.