ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 84

RESEARCH REPORT

Research Program Volunteers
Proposal Evaluation Subcommittee (PES) & Project Monitoring Subcommittee (PMS) Members for Projects Bid or Contracted in SY 18-19
ASHRAE Research is very thankful to the numerous individuals who freely gave their time to review and evaluate research proposals and projects during the past year)

Nick Agopian

Kevin Cross

Nathan Ho

Carol Lomonaco

Joshua New

Derek Schrock

Joy Altwies

Stuart Dols

Charles Hon

Neal Lott

Lisa Ng

Dennis Stanke

Zahid Ayub

Curtis Eichelberger

Joe Huber

Julie Majurin

Kim Osbourne

Jason Swan

Valerie Baish

David Eldrige

Phillip Jarrett

Wahid Maref

Dan Pettaway

Hans Besselink

Don Fisher

Debra Kennoy

Larry Markel

Zacc Poots

Rahul Bharadwaj

Brian Fricke

Gemma Kerr

Tim Mathson

Kartik Potukuchi

Nate Boyd

Samuel Glass

Lindsey King

Ashish Mathur

Thad Ptak

Dave Branson

Achim Gotterbrm

Kevin Kwong

Greg Meeuwsen

Brian Reynolds

Kevin Brown

Todd Gottshall

Rolando Legarreta

Matt Middlebrooks

Brian Rock

Keith Chesson

Krishnan Gowri

Paula Levasseur

Wayne Morris

Mikael Solanvaara

Steve Wise

Earl Clark

Rick Hermans

Jerry Lily

Chris Muller

Curt Sawan

Craig Wray

Dru Crawley

Sanjeev Hingorani

Marilyn Listvan

Kashif Nawaz

Marc Scancarello

Scott Ziegenfus

Fitsum Tariku
Steve Taylor
Didier Thavenard
Eric Tonglof
Iain Walker

Research Work Statement Authors
Work Statement Authors 18-19 SY
(ASHRAE Research is very thankful to the numerous individuals who freely gave their time and dedication to the research development process)

Didier Thavenard

Zahid Ayub

Kevin Cross

Debra Kennoy

Tim Mathson

Michael Roth

Valerie Baish

Curtis Eichelberger

Gemma Kerr

Ashish Mathur

Harvey Sachs

Nate Boyd

Don Fisher

Kevin Kwong

Matt Middlebrooks

Curt Sawan

Keith Chesson

Mick Flom

Chang-Seo Lee

Patrick Oliver

Mark Schaffer

Lily Wang

Dave Chojnowski

Pete Freeman

Paula Levasseur

Kathleen Owen

Marc Scancarello

Pawel Wargocki

Earl Clark

Sanjeev Hingorani

Neal Lott

Dan Pettaway

Derek Schrock

Dru Crawley

Nathan Ho

Julie Majurin

Kartik Potukuchi

Rich Swierczyna

Jeff Crosby

Charles Hon

Larry Markel

Thad Ptak

Steve Taylor

Glen Toloczko

Steve Wise
Craig Wray

research highlight

Fittings for Flammable
Refrigerants
As part of the HVAC&R industry's move to using lower GWP refrigerants,
an ASHRAE research project evaluated joint types considered for field
installation of systems that use flammable refrigerants.
1808-RP, Servicing and Installing Equipment Using Flammable
Refrigerants: Assessment of Field-Made Mechanical Joints, provides
measurements of refrigerant leak rates for press or crimp, compression
and flare fittings, said principal investigator Stefan Elbel, Ph.D., Member
ASHRAE. The team investigated brazed joints to create a baseline.
"The results of this study are intended to guide system manufacturers

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O C T O B E R 2 0 19

when selecting joint types for their systems that rely on technicians to
complete installation in the field," he said.
Press or crimp fittings are fairly resistant to developing leaks because of
thermal or mechanical fatigue while yielding a consistent through tolerable
leak rate, said Elbel.
Flare and compression fittings could yield almost no detectable leak
when installed properly, but those joint types should be checked periodically to make sure they are not loose due to thermal or mechanical
effects.
"It was surprising to see the potential for substantial refrigerant leakage
as a result of improperly assembled mechanical refrigerant joints, as well
as the large impact the technician training level has on the integrity of
some of the investigated fitting types," he said.
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019

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