Patent ID: 6079217
Filing Date: 2000-06-27
Classification: F25B,G01N

Abstract:
A method for determining the composition of a ternary refrigerant in a refrigeration system having an expansion device, comprising:providing a ternary refrigerant, having a first component, a second component, and a third component, in a refrigerant loop including an expansion device;measuring an upstream temperature of the ternary refrigerant in the liquid phase upstream of the expansion device;expanding the refrigerant in the expansion device so that the ternary refrigerant is present in a vapor phase and a liquid phase downstream of the expansion device;measuring a downstream temperature and a downstream pressure of the ternary refrigerant downstream of the expansion device; andcalculating the composition of the ternary refrigerant with a thermodynamic equation of state,wherein, the calculating assumes that the enthalpy is a function of temperature alone and a constant ratio of the first component to the second component in the liquid phase upstream of the expansion device and in the liquid and the vapor phase downstream of the expansion device.