Current commercial refrigeration systems and heat pumps

Project background and description:
Current commercial refrigeration systems and heat pumps operate with refrigerants that have a
negative impact on the environment or are costly. Using carbon dioxide within these systems
represents a promising option as it is a low-cost fluid with a low environmental impact compared to
refrigerants. However, there remains the need to identify optimal thermodynamic cycle conditions
and architectures that maximise the thermodynamic performance of these systems. This project will
focus on developing a thermodynamic model of these cycles in MATLAB that can be used to identify
the optimal cycle configurations that maximise thermodynamic performance.

Main background reading:

1. Gupta, D.K., Dasgupta, M.S., 2015, Chapter 10: Transcritical CO2 refrigeration system in
   tropical region: Challenges and opportunities, In: Gaspar, P.D., Da Silva, P.D., 2015,
   Handbook of research on advances and applications in refrigeration systems and
   technologies, Engineering Science Reference, Hershey PA, USA.
2. On page 381 under Brief literature survey section for the above reading it includes several references which are very useful and relevant to use when completing this task
   Other background reading:

• Y. Gao and T. Gao, “Simulation study on the performance of direct expansion geothermal refrigeration system using carbon dioxide transcritical cycle,” Energy Procedia, vol. 158, no. 2018, pp. 5479–5487, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2019.01.598.
• N. Hua et al., “Thermodynamic analysis and economic assessment of a carbon dioxide hydrate-based vapor compression refrigeration system using load shifting controls in summer,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 251, no. May 2021, p. 114901, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114901.
• T. K. S. Ritschel, J. Gaspar, and J. B. Jørgensen, “A Thermodynamic Library for Simulation and Optimization of Dynamic Processes,” IFAC-PapersOnLine, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 3542–3547, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.08.951.
• P. Maina and Z. Huan, “A review of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant in refrigeration technology,” S. Afr. J. Sci., vol. 111, no. 9–10, pp. 1–10, 2015, doi: 10.17159/sajs.2015/20140258.
• Y. Liu, Y. Sun, and D. Tang, “Analysis of a Co2 transcritical refrigeration cycle with a vortex tube expansion,” Sustain., vol. 11, no. 7, 2019, doi: 10.3390/su11072021.
  Desired outcome of the project:
  Desired Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the current state-of-the-art within
   thermodynamic refrigeration cycles through a critical literature review
2. Develop a sound understanding of the thermodynamic analysis of advanced thermodynamic