Project description
CO2 has its advantages when it comes to thermal management
Vapour-compression systems absorb heat from a heat source and eject it to the ambient environment with the help of a refrigerant. Small-scale or miniature systems are the workhorse of many refrigeration, cooling and heating technologies. Some can even fit in the palm of your hand to meet the challenges of thermal management in devices from vending machines to computers and laptops. Many of the refrigerants historically used are hazardous to human health and the environment and are increasingly restricted. The EU-funded ECO2-RAPJECT will develop an advanced CO2 ejector supporting the use of non-toxic and non-flammable CO2 as the refrigerant for greener and more sustainable thermal management.
Objective
Small-scale Refrigeration, Cooling&Heating (RC&H) sector plays a vital role in modern life promoting health, comfort and economic prosperity. On the other hand, it is also responsible for a considerable contribution to global warming. The urgent need for an eco-friendlier future has forced the European Union (EU) to implement stringent energy and environmental policies, affecting this sector significantly. These have led such a large and ever-growing industry to suffer for the lack of a long-term solution complying with safety and EU’s requirements.
This project aims at filling the aforementioned technological gap by studying an innovative and future-proof small-scale vapour-compression RC&H unit relying on: (1) CO2, being a non-flammable, non-toxic and climate-friendly refrigerant, as the sole working fluid and (2) a two-phase ejector with a novel capacity control technique. The core of the work is to establish the experimental evidence and expertise regarding the innovative capacity control methodology for CO2 two-phase ejectors. At present, two-phase ejectors cannot readily be capacity controlled without penalizing ejector and system efficiency in small-scale RC&H units. As concrete value and impact, this project will lay robust foundations for a significantly more sustainable future and thus pave the way for remarkable enhancements for business and society concerning the RC&H sector.
The fellow is a proficient researcher with a strong background in large-scale CO2 refrigeration systems using two-phase ejectors. The results and the experience that the applicant has obtained make him the ideal candidate for successfully achieving the project objectives. This work is a unique opportunity for the fellow to become an independent scientist, enhancing and developing new skills in a leading research field, such as the eco-friendly RC&H sector. These competences are highly valued in academia and industry in the context of the EU policies and the Paris climate agreement.
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinator
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Denmark