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DEVELOPMENT OF A LINEAR COMPRESSOR FOR AIR CONDITIONERS AND HEAT PUMPS
Citation:
Waldron, W. D. DEVELOPMENT OF A LINEAR COMPRESSOR FOR AIR CONDITIONERS AND HEAT PUMPS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-97/070 (NTIS PB97-189690), 1997.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
The report discusses the design, building, testing, and delivering to the Environmental Protection Agency of a linear compressor for operation in a 3.0- ton (10.5 kW) residential air-conditioning and heat pumping system. The compressor design evolved from a linear resonant piston compressor (RPC) developed previously by Mechanical Technology Inc. for air-conditioning applications. During the design work, the RPC was modified to extend its range into the heating mode, and a voltage controller was developed that could sense the proximity of the compressor plunger to the top dead center and bottom dead center stops and limit the plunger stroke. The test program that followed construction was successful, except for several minor difficulties, including a failure in the epoxy bond of the compressor plunger. The causes of the problems encountered are well understood, and the modifications required to correct them are known and simple to implement. The test results proved the performance advantage of the RPC in terms of a high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating potential and also demonstrated that the compressor can be controlled in a stable manner using low cost, commercially available motor control devices.