Prediction of Oil Retention in Compressor Suction Lines with Refrigerant/Oil Mixture

Abstract

At present, there is no method for predicting oil retention applicable to various working fluids. Oil retention characteristics in compressor suction lines are studied and a general method for predicting oil retention is established. The database of oil retention in suction lines is established according to experimental values in the public literature. After analyzing the influencing factors, a correlation of the volume ratio of oil retention in the database is fitted. According to the correlation and the state of working fluid at the inlet of suction line, the amount of oil retention can be predicted. In addition, oil retention of R32/PVE VG68 in suction lines is tested. A comparison of the experimental values and the prediction values indicate that for the flow of R32/PVE VG68 in suction lines, the calculation method can accurately show the variation trend of oil retention with various factors, and can accurately predict the amount of oil retention under different conditions.

Keywords

• refrigerant/oil mixture
• compressor suction lines
• prediction of oil retention