Real-Time Measurement of Oil Circulation Ratio in CO₂ Heat Pump System Using Optical Method

Abstract

The lubricating oil in the refrigerant flow in a CO₂ heat pump system has a great influence on cycle performance. In order to measure the OCR (Oil circulation ratio), a mixing chamber and a visual vessel were installed at the outlet of the gas-cooler. By mixing the oil and refrigerant, the liquid mixture of oil and refrigerant becomes cloudy at the outlet of the gas-cooler. By measuring the infrared ray transmittance of the oil-refrigerant liquid mixture, it was found that the transmittance decreases with an increase in the oil circulation ratio. For this reason, it is found that, in spite of immiscible refrigerant and oil, the measurement of the oil circulation ratio is possible by measuring the transmittance of infrared ray at the outlet of the gas-cooler.