Obstructed airflow through the condenser of an automotive air conditioner – Effects on the condenser and the overall performance of the system

Effect of Air Flow Obstruction in a Condensing Unit on Split Air Conditioner Performance

“…The pressure data have uncertainties of ±0.11 bar for discharge pressure and ±0.17 bar for suction pressure. This phenomenon is similar to that of Datta et al [7], in which the blockage of the air flow through the condenser increases the discharge pressure. For the suction side, the pressure increases as the distance of the front obstruction decreases.…”

“…In addition, the DB and WB temperatures of air entering and leaving the condenser were also measured to examine its effect on the condenser performance in rejecting heat from the refrigerant to the surrounding. This configuration is different from that of Datta et al [7], in which the obstructions were placed at the upstream of condenser.…”

“…For a household refrigerator installed in a room, Bassiouny [6] reported that a space of more than 20 cm behind the refrigerator would result in temperature decrease of air around the condenser and increase its heat rejection to the surrounding. To study the effects of air blockage in the inlet side of a condensing unit, Datta et al [7] carried out an experiment by blocking the air flow in condensing unit of an automotive air conditioning system. They testified that the blockage of 50% of air flow through the condenser decrease the cooling capacity by 8.16% and COP by 16.8%.…”

Analysis of the condensation process and air maldistribution in finned tube and minichannel condensers

“…In this work, Datta et al (2014) analyzed different thermal-hydraulic parameters on both air and refrigerant side, concluding that the performance degradation of the automotive air conditioning system is strongly connected not only to the air flow reduction through the condenser, but it also depends on the characteristics of the air maldistribution generated by the different types of blockage.…”

“…The result is a lighter heat exchanger combined with the advantage to use very low refrigerant charge. Zheng et al (2014); Datta et al (2014) analyzed some of the aspects linked to the utilization of MCHX in the automotive sector. The application of MCHX in the HVAC&R industry was analyzed by Fernando et al (2008); Kew and Reay (2001) and Meng et al (2015).…”