Experimental research on applying the copper-clad aluminum tube as connecting tubes of air conditioners

• We described experimental study on CCA tubing as a replacement for copper tubing.
• Experiments conducted on CCA tubes indicate good performance.
• There is no obvious difference in conditioning performance on two kinds of tubes.
• CCA tubes can reduce the weight by 36.5%–46.3% and the material cost by 23.0%–34.8%.

This paper describes experimental investigation of copper-clad aluminum (CCA) tubing as a replacement for copper tubing to connect the indoor and outdoor units of split air conditioners. Experiments conducted on three specifications of CCA tubes (φ6.35 × 0.6 mm2, φ9.52 × 0.7 mm2, andφ12.7 × 0.8 mm2) indicate good performance in terms of mechanical properties, processing properties, corrosion resistance, and pressure resistance; this means CCA tubes meet the installation and operation safety requirements for connecting tubes of air conditioners. Additionally, experimental results under two specifications – air conditioners in cooling and heating conditions – reveal no obvious difference in cooling or heating performance when CCA tubes, instead of copper tubes, connect the indoor and outdoor units of air conditioners. Furthermore, compared to copper tubes, CCA tubes can reduce the weight by 36.5%–46.3% and the material cost by 23.0%–34.8%. There is great potential for weight and cost reduction in the widespread application of CCA tubing as the connecting tubes in air conditioners.

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