ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 90

RESEARCH REPORT

1778-RP

Heat and Moisture Load from Commercial Dishroom
Appliances and Equipment

September 2018 - February 2020; Frontier Energy; Principal Investigator; Rich Swierczyna: TC
5.10, Kitchen Ventilation

The scope of the project will include the measurement of the sensible convective
loads, latent loads and moisture to the space from dishroom equipment and appliances.
It will determine the exhaust airflows rates necessary if applicable) for capture and
containment of the convective and latent heat from dishroom equipment and appliances.
The list of equipment to be tested should include the 10 types below. They will produce
approximately 18 different operating conditions. The seven pieces of equipment listed
in the Handbook of Fundamentals - Chapter 18 Table 5F Recommended Rates of
Radiant and Convective Heat Gain from Ware washing Equipment during Idle Standby)
or Washing Conditions do not need to be re-tested.

1784-RP

Repeatability and reproducibility assessment of
ASHRAE Standard 52.2 as currently amended

April 2019 - August 2020; Owen Air Filtration Consulting, LLC; Principal Investigator; Kathleen
Owen; TC 2.4, Particulate Air Contaminants and Particulate Removal Equipment; SSPC 52.2,
Method of Testing General Ventilation Air-Cleaning Devices for Removal Efficiency by Particle Size

The purpose of this project is to determine the current variability of the ASHRAE
52.2 efficiency and Appendix J tests especially related to the changes to the method
since 1088-RP, to produce repeatability and reproducibility statements, and to look
for possible improvement to the method if needed. Multiple labs will be engaged to
run interlaboratory comparison testing for at least 5 types of HVAC particle filters. QA
data will be collected in addition to the standard test data. This project will require
good study design, test planning including making sure the tests are run correctly, data
analysis by experienced eyes and standard ASTM procedures, and communicating
the results through reporting, presentations, and change suggestions for the method.

1785-RP

Experimental Validation of Refrigerant Charge
Models in Coils for Residential Split Systems

August 2017 - January 2021; Oklahoma State University; Principal Investigator: Christian Bach;
TC 8.11, Unitary and Room Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, Co-sponsored by: TC 8.4, Air-toRefrigerate Heat Transfer Equipment and TC 6.3, Central Forced Air Heating and Cooling Systems

This project will improve equipment models so that they may more accurately reflect
the real performance of actual systems in the field. This is of value to BEM practitioners
as well as to equipment designers. The ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals 2013)
outlines several energy modeling tools that are widely used in the industry e.g., DOE2,
EnergyPlus, TRNSYS) and the current methodologies for equipment modeling Regression Models and First-Principle Models). Unitary split systems, especially heat pumps,
which are used widely in both Residential and Commercial applications pose unique
challenges. Since not every rated split system match is lab tested, modeling is leaned
on heavily. A weak link in this process is refrigerant charge inventory. Improving the
robustness of charge migration modeling will result in greater confidence in the design
and selection process for engineers in the field, rating agencies, and manufacturers.

1800-RP

Spray Evaporation on Enhanced Tube Bundles
with Low GWP pure Refrigerants and Refrigerant/
Miscible Oil Mixture

September 2018 - February 2021; Auburn University; Principal Investigator, Lorenzo
Cremaschi; TC 1.3, Liquid to Refrigerant Heat Exchangers; Co-sponsored by: MTG.LowGWP, TC 8.5,
Liquid-to-Refrigerant Heat Exchangers
90

ASHRAE JOURNAL

ashrae.org

O C T O B E R 2 0 19

research highlight

Finding the Right Odorants for
Flammable Refrigerants
As the HVAC&R industry uses more low-global warming potential
(GWP) refrigerants that could be flammable, a leak could create a flammable vapor cloud that if ignited could result in severe consequences.
Refrigerants are odorless and colorless, and refrigeration equipment
generally does not include refrigerant loss monitoring, said Eric Forssell,
a senior engineer with Jensen Hughes. Currently there is no provision to
warn of a refrigeration leak, so an ASHRAE research project focused on
finding suitable odorants for flammable refrigerants to act as a warning
mechanism.
1794-RP, White Paper Investigation Relating to the Use of Odorants in
Flammable Refrigerants, provides a detailed literature survey to identify
odorants in different industries to help the HVAC&R industry identify
suitable odorants to use with flammable refrigerants. The final report
was released in January.
Implementing odorants in the refrigerant application has a technical
barrier: providing an effective warning while not impacting the refrigerant's efficiency, the equipment's reliability or the safety classification of
the refrigeration, according to ASHRAE 1794-RP.
To address odorants' main technical barrier, the report has a threepart approach: a literature review of existing odorants in various industries and applications, identification of viable odorants and an outline of
the development and implementation process with potential challenges
to implement and apply an odorant to the refrigeration loop. The literature review identified more than 200 odorant candidates-many of which
are used in the natural gas industry. Of those candidates, 11 had boiling
points similar to primary A2L and A3 refrigerants.
"The primary challenge or surprise with the research was how quickly
the list of candidate odorants narrowed with the need to have a similar
boiling point to the candidate refrigerants and to be non-toxic at concentrations above their detection threshold," said Forssell, the principal
investigator.
He said the number of potential candidates narrowed significantly
because of the requirement for the odorant to remain with the refrigerant thorough out the refrigerant loop and not accumulate in the compressor lubricant reservoir.
After addressing reactivity and material compatibility, four potential
odorants were identified: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), Carbonyl sulfide
(COS), trimethylamine ((CH3)3N) and methyl mercaptan (CH4S).
"The identified candidates need further evaluation to determine if they
can be successfully applied. This further evaluation would concentrate
on material compatibility, the amount of odorant required to be added
and the reliability of the warning provided," said Forssell.
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019

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