A Novel Approach of −80 °C Cascade Refrigeration System Using Non-Flammable Quaternary Refrigerants for Semiconductor Process Applications

Su-Been Lee, Chang-Hyo Son and Joon-Hyuk Lee ()
Additional contact information
Su-Been Lee: Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, College of Engineering, Pukyong National University, 45, Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Chang-Hyo Son: Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, College of Engineering, Pukyong National University, 45, Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Joon-Hyuk Lee: Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, College of Engineering, Pukyong National University, 45, Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-22

Abstract: Ultra-low temperature chillers have seen increasing demand with the advancement of semiconductor technology. Mixed refrigerant (MR) cascade refrigeration systems (CRSs) are widely utilized for their stability and high cooling performance at low temperatures. Extensive research has been conducted on optimizing MR, which has a significant impact on CRS performance. However, most previous studies have either fixed the system pressure or used the refrigeration effect as the sole performance indicator. This did not account for the potential of achieving higher performance with an optimal MR composition at the same target temperature. In this study, a detailed parametric analysis was performed to investigate how the mass fractions of high-, mid-, and low boiling point refrigerants affect the coefficient of performance (COP) and exergy in ultra-low temperature CRSs without fixing the suction pressure. The analysis revealed that at the point of maximum COP, the refrigeration effect was relatively low, highlighting the limitations of using the refrigeration effect alone as a performance indicator. Additionally, COP was found to inversely correlate with total exergy destruction. As cascade temperature increases, COP tends to decrease, emphasizing the need for appropriate cascade temperature selection for MR CRS performance. This study introduces a novel approach to optimizing MR composition under various operating conditions, contributing to the advancement of ultra-low temperature CRSs.

Keywords: ultra-low temperature; mixed refrigerants; coefficient of performance; exergy; semiconductor technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6178/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6178/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:23:p:6178-:d:1538968

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().