The EVALUATION of a REFRIGERATION SYSTEM BASED on NANO- REFRIGERANTS and NANO-LUBRICANTS

Abstract

Most studies reported that disperse nanoparticles into refrigerants and lubricating oils leads to improve the performance of the refrigeration system, due to the improvement of the thermal physics properties of a pure fluid, which leads to reduced energy consumption. Using nanoparticles in a refrigeration system is associated with many difficulties such as the cost of preparing and obtaining a stable and homogeneous mixture with less agglomeration and sedimentation. Most current studies focused on the use of metals, metal oxides, and a hybrid of oxides as a nanoparticle in the refrigeration system. In this research, nanoparticles were prepared inexpensively and easily way as a single oxide and as a mixture consisting of copper and cerium oxides for the first time. The results of preparing nanoparticles using X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy proved that the particles of samples were approximately spherical, with a suitable average diameter. Most studies focus on improving the thermal properties of refrigerant and lubricating oils by using high thermal conductivity nanoparticles, while this study focuses on improving both of thermal conductivity and stability of nanoparticles. Some studies have reported on the use of copper oxide and its effect on improving the performance of refrigeration systems, but cerium oxide has not been used in refrigeration systems and this research aims to open the door to carry out studies to mix cerium oxide with different refrigerants and lubricating oils to find out if cerium oxide works better and whether the refrigeration system will work safely.