An Experimental Study on Correlation between Oil Discharge and Various Operating Conditions of a CO 2 Compressor

A portion of oil for lubrication of compressor flows together with refrigerant in the refrigeration system. If the oil discharge from a compressor is increased in the refrigeration system, not only pressure drop is increased in other components, such as evaporator and gas cooler, but also heat transfer coefficient in the heat exchangers is decreased. Oil discharge rate from a compressor may strongly depend on operating conditions of a compressor. In this study, one stage single rotary compressor is employed for measuring oil circulation ratio(OCR). Carbon dioxide and PAG oil are used as refrigerant and lubricant. Using a U-tube densimeter, mixture density is measured. Oil circulation ratio(OCR) can be estimated by measured mixture density. The results obtained indicate that the oil circulation ratio(OCR) is increased as the suction temperature or compressor operating frequency is increased. Oil circulation ratio(OCR) correlation of the com- pressor is also suggested.