Scroll compressor modelling for heat pumps using hydrocarbons as refrigerants

•Scroll compressor modelling studies available in the literature are reviewed.•A thermodynamically realistic scroll compressor model for a HFC is presented.•Adaptation procedures to hydrocarbons or other sizes are applied to the model.•It is dedicated to refrigeration or heat pump system simulation.•It needs power, mass flow rate and discharge temperature of one operating point.

Hydrocarbons are today considered as promising alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons thanks to their low environmental impact and their easy implementation. However, some precautions have to be taken to thwart their flammability. European regulations impose to take stringent measures regarding components and to install heat pumps in unoccupied spaces. Nevertheless manufacturers keep working on components for hydrocarbons. In the frame of a research project on heat pumps for simultaneous heating and cooling, an R407C prototype working with a scroll compressor was built and tested. A near-industrial prototype is today being designed for propane with the help of recent modelling techniques. After having detailed the main issues regarding hydrocarbons as refrigerants, this article reviews scroll compressor modelling studies and presents the development of a thermodynamically realistic scroll compressor model. It was first developed for R407C and then adapted to thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbons and to other sizes of compressors.