Technical Paper
ROVACS: A New Rotary-Vane Air-Cycle Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration System
1972-02-01
720079
The ROVAC unit is a rotary vane combination compressor-expander-circulator, which is the key element in a new air-cycle refrigeration system. Results of an analytical and experimental feasibility study of the system are reported here. The objective of the study was to develop and verify a mathematical model of the system, including heat-exchanger pressure loss and mechanical friction. A parametric study was made to determine the geometry for a unit capable of cooling a passenger car, and a conservatively designed prototype was built and tested. The prototype system produced a cooling capacity of 5400 Btu/h and generally verified the accuracy of the mathematical model. The coefficient of performance of the prototype system is somewhat lower than that of a typical vapor-cycle system.* However, the ROVAC system is much simpler and will most likely be cheaper to build.