Automotive Engineering - December 2022 - 13

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
TESTING
Environmental testing preps for tighter sustainability rules
Most engineers are used to the steady
winds of change in refrigerant regulations
as global agreements lead to new
standards from the U.S. EPA and its
counterparts in Europe and Asia. . At the
2022 Automotive Testing Expo in Novi,
Mich., one environmental-testing-chamber
company gave an overview of its
new technology that uses R449A refrigerant
to meet the looming standards.
Beginning in 2024, Montreal Protocol
A2, which includes the U.S. and most
developed countries, calls for hydrofluorocarbon
(HFC) use to drop from
90% of a baseline set 10 years ago all
the way to 60%.
The move toward new refrigerant is
being driven by a focus on ozone depleting
substances (ODS) that has largely
driven those with that classification out
of use. Instead, the emerging focus is on
a refrigerant's global warming potential
(GWP). For instance, R404A, commonly
used in medium- and low-temperature
refrigeration applications, has a GWP of
3,922. R409A, originally developed as a
replacement for R12, has a GWP of 1,585.
It is used in walk-in coolers and supermarket
refrigeration systems.
" We essentially resolved the ODS isR407C
are among the high-GWP refrigerants
that are affected. Felton underscored
that R404A already is banned in Europe,
and a phase-down in U.S. production in
2024 is required by the American
Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act
of 2020. Reducing production by 30%
would meet that 2024 requirement.
" Test chambers are a long-term insue,
and GWP is the new focus, " said
Taylor Felton, a product engineer with
Weiss Technik North America, a testchamber
manufacturer based in
Kentwood, Mich.
A number of common refrigerants,
including R404A, R134A, R410A and
vestment, " Felton said. " Will the refrigerant
you're using now even be available
in 20 years? "
Weiss Technik's patented LEEF (leading
energy-efficient footprint) technology
allows a faster ramp rate to cooler
chamber temps, more precise control
and lower overall operating costs, the
company claims, while using R-449A,
which is low-GWP certified at 1,397.
One of Weiss Technik's environmental test chambers works to cool down a Volkswagen Touareg.
" LEEF technology became a reality
after pairing optimally sized compressors,
using 449A as a low-GWP refrigerant,
and thousands of hours of research, "
Felton said. " A powerful controller was
needed for this application, but we
achieved success with the end result.
And " LEEF technology gives us a jumpstart
to peak power use and also gets us
to the set temperature faster. Peak power
consumed is also lower than our classic
refrigeration standard, which is two
cascaded 30-hp compressors, " he added.
" If you're running them 24 hours a
day, and you have a large test facility,
there would be huge savings. "
For low-stage chambers that are
cooled to -70C (-94 F), Felton said the
company uses R508B, which is still unregulated
(only high-stage uses are currently
regulated). " But we are already
looking to the next low-stage refrigerant,
because the current refrigerant has
a lot of room for improvement at 13,000
GWP, " he said. " It will be regulated, it's
just a matter of when. "
Because test chambers are often in
Compared to R404A, a 30-lb tank of the new refrigerant 449A produces a CO2 equivalent of 64%
fewer cars being driven for one year.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
use for 20 years or more, and are thus a
long-term investment, Felton urged
companies to begin planning for the sustainable
future no matter how recently
they purchased new equipment. If sustainability
is a core value of a business,
he said it is advisable to be prepared.
Chris Clonts
December 2022 13
FROM TOP: WEISS TECHNIK NORTH AMERICA; WEISS TECHNIK

Automotive Engineering - December 2022

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