Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
ScienceDirect
Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380

10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, ISHVAC2017, 19-
22 October 2017, Jinan, China

Theoretical And Experimental Research On High Efficiency Screw

Chiller Used In Subway Station
Xiantai Wena,b,*, Liang Caib, Xiaosong Zhangb, Pengfei Yua,b and Xianqi Caob
a
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing, 211167,China
b
School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

Abstract

As an important part of urban public transport, how to reduce energy consumption of rail transit becomes a focused issue.
Considered with the operating characteristic of air conditioning in subway station, solution method with large temperature
difference and high outlet temperature of 10/17 Celsius in evaporator is put forward. Two condensers and evaporators are linked
in series and both of them are in countercurrent form, in which condition the energy efficiency can be improved greatly.
Simultaneously high efficiency chiller with two different capacities of compressor heads is designed to improve the energy
efficiency in part load. Experimental research of high efficiency chiller is conducted and the results show that: With the decrease
of load percentage, COP (coefficient of performance) is fluctuated from 6.2 to 7.0. With the increase of outlet chilled water, COP
increases greatly; while with the increase of outlet cooling water, COP decreases greatly. In this system at the design condition,
COP can reach as high as 7.01, which can supply database for utilization of chiller in subway station air conditioning system.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Conditioning.
Air Conditioning.
Keywords: Subway station; High efficiency; Countercurrent; Different compressor heads;

1. Introduction

With the development of our society, subway becomes more and more important for our people. From the first
subway in 1863 to now, it has been a necessary part for our city’s transportation. However the energy consumption
is increased greatly in subway station. Through analyzing the operation of subway station, the energy consumption

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wenxiantai@163.com

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility ofthe scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning.
10.1016/j.proeng.2017.10.386
374 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380
2 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000

of air conditioning has the largest proportion, which is as high as 25%-35% [1]. So how to reduce the energy
consumption and improve energy efficiency becomes the focus of our researchers’ attention.
Compared with the traditional office building region, the subway station region has different suitable temperature
and humidity because of its characteristic of high mobility and open space. Han et al [2] studied the comfort
temperature and humidity in the subway station. Results show that in the subway station, the ideal average dry-bulb
temperature is 27.1 Celsius, and the idea average relative humidity is 63.1%, which is much higher than the
traditional office building’s suitable temperature and humidity (dry-bulb temperature is 26 Celsius and relative
humidity is 60%).The explanation for this phenomenon is that: the subway is in the open state, great air movement
can be generated by movement of subway, movement of personnel and movement of elevator. In this condition, the
heat dissipation and humidity dissipation accelerates greatly, and therefore a higher air-bulb temperature and wet-
bulb temperature are needed.
Considered with the special condition of subway station, it has great significance to develop and design a high
efficiency chiller which is suitable for subway station. A lot of researchers have carried on some research on chillers.
Zhao et al [3] build the steady-state model of screw chiller with economizer and verify the model by experiments.
The simulation results and experimental results have difference less than 5%. Results show that mathematic model
has high accuracy for simulating the screw chiller system. Liu et al [4] build the mathematic model of screw
compressor based on the operation parameters and design parameters. Compared with experimental date, the error of
volumetric displacement date form simulation is less than 2%. The error of input power in full load is less than 3%.
The error of input power and refrigeration flow rate in part load is less than 4%. Chen et al [5] have carried on some
theoretical analysis and experimental study on screw compressor in part load. Mathematic model of slide valve on
part load condition is built. Theoretical and experimental contrastive analyses in different operation condition are
carried on and the simulation result tallies better with the experiment. Results show that the installation angle and
effective length of slide valve have great influence on the performance of screw compressor. Yu et al [6,7] study the
optimized performance of multiple chillers in the air conditioning building. Based on the characteristic of chiller, the
optimized operation condition under different condition is analyzed, which can supply data and theoretical basement
for chiller system operation. 5 chillers and its auxiliary equipment (cooling tower, chiller pump, cooling water pump)
in one building in 2012 are studied, and the results show that the optimized chiller system can save as high as 5.34%
energy. Liu et al [8] put forward the energy intensity for the air conditioning system. Results show that the energy
intensity ratio of chiller is 64.11% for the whole system. Effective method to decrease the energy consumption of
chiller in the air conditioning system is more and more important.
Therefore considering with the characteristic of energy using in subway station, a high efficiency screw chiller
suitable for subway station should be studied and developed.

2. Characterisitc of high efficiency chiller system

Considering the practical condition, a high efficiency chiller with different compressor heads in countercurrent
and cascade is put forward to realize the high efficiency subway station. The design of inlet and outlet chiller
temperature is 17 / 10 Celsius degree and the design of inlet and outlet cooling water temperature is 30.5 / 35.5
Celsius degree. In this condition, from 30% to 100% load percentage, the chiller performance can be as high as
possible. Comparing with the traditional chiller, the average pressure can be decreased greatly and the energy
efficiency of chiller can be improved greatly.
Figure 1 is the schematic of high efficiency chiller. As we can see, it includes two independent refrigerating
systems. Each system includes the parts of compressor, condenser, expansive valve, evaporator, dry filter, ball valve,
visual liquid lens and so on. The ratio of cooling capacity in compressor 1 to cooling capacity in compressor 2 is 6:4.
Two independent evaporators are linked in series and two independent condensers are linked in series. The
evaporator 1 is linked with inlet evaporator pipe (17 Celsius degree) and the condenser 1 is linked with outlet
condenser pipe (35.5 Celsius degree). Simultaneously the evaporator 2 is linked with outlet evaporator pipe (10
Celsius degree) and the condenser 2 is linked with inlet condenser pipe (30.5 Celsius degree). The average
evaporating temperature is increased greatly and the average condensing temperature is decreased greatly which will
lead to a high energy efficiency for the chiller system. The advantage of the high efficiency chiller system can be
included as follows:
 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380 375
Xiantai Wen et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 3

Fig. 1. Schematic of high efficiency chiller used in subway station

2.1. Design of countercurrent and cascade

As we can see in figure 1, based on the design condition (inlet and outlet cooling water temperature is 30.5/35.5
Celsius degree, inlet and outlet chilled temperature is 17/10 Celsius degree), with regard to system 1, inlet and outlet
cooling temperature is 32.5/35.5 Celsius degree, inlet and outlet chiller temperature is 17/12.8 Celsius degree, and
the outlet chilled water temperature increases 2.8 Celsius degree compared with traditional system. Based on the
characteristic of compressor, COP (coefficient of performance) and cooling capacity can be increased greatly.
Simultaneously with regard to system 2, inlet and outlet cooling temperature is 30.5/32.5 Celsius degree, inlet and
outlet chiller temperature is 12.8/10 Celsius degree, the outlet cooling water temperature decreases 3 Celsius degree
compared with traditional system. Based on the characteristic of compressor, COP (coefficient of performance) can
be increased greatly. Therefore the countercurrent and cascade design can improve the COP and cooling capacity
greatly.

2.2. Design of different compressor heads

As we can see in the figure, the high efficiency chiller includes two independent refrigerant systems. The cooling
capacity ratio of two compressor heads is 6:4. Based on compressor characteristic, in the same condition, the
performance of compressor is almost clear with the load percentage from 75% to 100%. However the performance
of compressor will be decreased greatly when the load percentage is less than 75%. So the design of two different
compressor heads can realize the high efficiency when the load percentage is varied from 30% to 100%.

2.3. Design of large temperature and high outlet water temperature in the evaporator

In the subway station, because of air motion caused by movement of lift, metro and person, so the suitable
ambient temperature is higher than traditional air conditioning system. So the inlet and outlet water temperature in
the evaporator is 17/10 Celsius degree. The area and size of heat exchanger are designed based on the operation
376 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380
4 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000

condition. The method of third tube-passes is selected to improve heat transfer efficiency. Fluid baffle set in the
evaporator is used to eliminate the phenomenon of entrained droplets.

2.4. Design of optimized logic control

As we can see, in order to realize the high efficiency of refrigerant system in all load percentage, optimized logic
control design is needed to make the load percentage higher than 75% load percentage. The specific logic is shown
as follows.
Regulations of compressor unload: when the practical load is lower than the calculated load, both of the
compressors will lighten up to 75% load. When the load is also lower than the calculated load, the small capacity
compressor is closed and the big capacity compressor uploads to 100% load percentage. With the decrease of
practical load, the big capacity compressor lights up to 75% load percentage. When the practical load are also
decreased, open the small capacity compressor and upload to 100% load percentage and simultaneously close the big
capacity compressor. With the decrease of practical load, the small capacity decreases up to 75% load percentage,
and subsequent closes. The process is closed.
Regulation of compressor upload: when practical load is higher than calculated load, open the small capacity
compressor and upload up to 100%. When practical load is also higher than calculated load, open the big capacity
compressor and upload up to 100%. When the upload process is in steady state and the practical operation load is
less than 75% load percentage, upload to 75% and then operation on the regulations of compressor unload.

3. Experimental setup

The high efficiency chiller is designed in Nanjing as in figure 2. The design cooling capacity is 1002 kW, and the
design COP (coefficient of performance) is 7.13. The design chilled water pressure drop is 72.9kPa, and the design
cooling water pressure drop 75kPa. 2000RT large chiller performance testing stand in which the international
standard of AHRI and CNAS certification is selected to make sure that the experimental data can be as accurate as
possible to meet the international demand. The temperatures of chilled and cooling water are tested by PT100 high
precision platinum resistance with the accuracy of 0.3 Celsius. Power is measured by WT230 power meter in
Yokogawa of Japan. Flow rate is measured by AXF125G flowmeter in Yokogawa of Japan.

Fig. 2. High efficiency chiller

When the system is in the operation condition, the chilled water is produced by evaporator and heat is discharged
by condenser. Based on energy conservation, the heat transfer rate of condenser is equal to heat transfer rate plus
power. The outlet water temperature of evaporator can be controlled by water blending between chilled water and
cooling water. The outlet cooling water temperature can be controlled by heat transfer from outside constant
temperature water tank.
 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380 377
Xiantai Wen et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 5

Fig. 3. Testing stand of high efficiency chiller

4. Experimental analysis and results

4.1. Performance analysis and verification of chiller

The design inlet and outlet chilled water temperature is17/10 Celsius, and the design inlet and outlet cooling
water temperature is30.5/35.5 Celsius. The design cooling capacity is 285Ton. The design and testing data is shown
as in table 1.

Table 1. Design data and testing data of chiller.

Project Design data Testing data

Cooling capacity(kW) 1002 968

COP (coefficient of performance) 7.13 7.01
Input power(kW) 140.5 138
Standard current（A） 250 245
Max running current（A） 466 466
Starting current（A） 665 665

Flow rate m³/h 123 120

Evaporator
Pressure drop kPa 72.9 50.5

Flow rate m³/h 197 189.7

Condenser
Pressure drop kPa 75 50.2

As we can see in table 1, the testing data of COP is 7.01, which is nearly 98.3% of design data (the demand of
GB/T18430.1-2007 is no less than 92%). The testing data of cooling capacity is 968 kW, which is about 96.6% of
design data (the demand of GB/T18430.1-2007 is no less than 95%). Therefore, the design data is aligned greatly
with testing data. And the result show that the cop is greatly higher than the national grade 1 standard energy
efficiency (cop>6.3) which will be greatly suitable for subway station air conditioning.
378 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380
6 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000

4.2. Effect of outlet cooling water temperature on chiller performance

As we can see in figure 4, COP decreases straightly with the increase of inlet cooling water temperature. When
the inlet chiller temperature is 28 Celsius, COP is as high as 8.46 and cooling capacity is as high as 1024 kW. With
the increase of inlet cooling temperature up to 37 Celsius, COP is as low as 6.6 and cooling capacity is as low as 944
kW. The reason for this phenomenon is that: with the increase of inlet cooling water temperature, the discharge
pressure increases, and the pressure ratio of condenser to evaporator increases, so COP decreased greatly.
Simultaneously the refrigerant flow decreased, and then cooling capacity decreased slightly.
9.00
1000

cooling capacity kW
8.50
8.00 800
7.50
COP

7.00 600
6.50
400
6.00
5.50 200
28 30 32 34 36 38
inlet cooling water temperature℃

Fig. 4. Effect of outlet cooling water temperature on chiller performance

4.3. Effect of outlet chilled water temperature on chiller performance

As we can see in figrue5, with the increase of inlet chilled water temperature cooling capacity increases straightly
and COP increases with a parabolic station. When the inlet chilled water temperature is 7 Celsius, COP is 6.12 and
the cooling capacity is 836kW. However with the increase of inlet chilled water temperature up to 10.3 Celsius, COP
is as high as 7.01 and the cooling capacity is as high as 968kW. The reason for this phenomenon is that with the
increase of inlet chilled temperature, the suction refrigerant gas increases greatly and them the cooling capacity
increases greatly. Simultaneously the pressure ratio of condenser to evaporator is decreased, therefore COP increases
greatly.

1000
Cooling capacity kW

8.50
800
7.50
COP

600
6.50
400
5.50 200
6 7 8 9 10 11
Inlet chilled water temperaure℃

Fig. 5. Effect of outlet chilled water temperature on chiller performance

 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380 379
Xiantai Wen et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 7

4.4. Effect of compressor load percentage on chiller performance

As shown in figure6, with the decrease of load percentage, COP decreases slightly. When load percentage is as
high as 100%, COP is as high as 7.01, and when load percentage is as low as 25%, COP is 6.46 (92% of full load
percentage). The high efficiency chiller with countercurrent and cascade shows good performance.

8.50

7.50
COP

6.50

5.50
20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
load percentage %

Fig. 6. Effect of compressor load percentage on chiller performance

4.5. IPLV Performance analysis of high efficiency chiller

IPLV( integrated part load value) is tested and shown in table 2. As shown in table 2, COP is as high as 8.09 in 25%
load percentage, which is much higher than normal chiller. The Chinese standard IPLV is as high as 7.40. The high
efficiency chiller with countercurrent and cascade can get excellent performance of IPLV.

Table 2. IPLV Performance of chiller.

Operation Condition Chinese standard IPLV
Load Percentage 100% 75% 50% 25%

Cooling Capacity (kW) 856 645 443 216

Performance
COP 6.33 6.79 7.49 8.09
IPLV 7.40

Inlet Water Temp (℃) 12 10.8 9.7 8

Evaporator
Outlet Water Temp (℃) 7 7.1 7.1 6.7

Flow Rate (m^3/h) 147 147 147 147

Inlet Water Temp (℃) 30 26.1 22.9 18.7

Condenser
Outlet Water Temp (℃) 34.6 29.6 25.3 20

Flow Rate (m^3/h) 184 184 184 184

380 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 373–380
8 Xiantai Wen et al. / Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000

5. Conclusion

1. Through analyzing the characteristic of air conditioning in subway station, large temperature difference and
high outlet temperature of 10/17 Celsius of chilled water is put forward.
2. Countercurrent and cascade design and different capacity head of compressor are introduced into the new
chiller system to improve energy efficiency of chiller.
3. Experimental equipment of 285Ton cooling capacity is set up. At the design condition COP is as high as
7.01 and the Chinese standard IPLV is as high as 7.40.
4. With the increase of outlet cooling water temperature, COP decreases greatly and cooling capacity
decreases slightly. With the increase of outlet chilled water temperature, COP and cooling capacity
increases greatly. With the decrease of load percentage, COP decreases slightly.
5. The large temperature difference and high outlet temperature of 10/17 Celsius degree of chiller with
countercurrent and cascade design is suitable for utilization in subway station.

Acknowledgements

The study has been supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Nanjing Institute of Technology
(YKJ201606, YKJ201409); the study has also been supported by the China National Key R&D Program “Solutions
to heating and cooling of buildings in the Yangtze river region” (No. 2016YFC0700305).

References

[1] X.P. Deng, Preliminary discussion of subway environment control in Guangzhou, subway and light-rail. 03(1992) 5-10.
[2] J. Han, S.B. Kwon, C. Chun, Indoor environment and passengers’ comfort in subway stations in Seoul, Building and Environment. 104(2016)
221-231.
[3] L.X. Zhao, L.L. Shao, C.L. Zhang, Steady-state hybrid modeling of economized screw water chillers using polynomial neural network
compressor model, International Journal of Refrigeration. 33(2010)729-738.
[4] J.H. Liu, Q. G. Li, F. Z. Wang, L. Zhou, A new model of screw compressor for refrigeration system simulation, International Journal of
Refrigeration. 35(2012) 861-870.
[5] W.Q. Chen, Z.W. Xing, H. Tang, H.G. Wu, Theoretical and experimental investigation on the performance of screw refrigeration compressor
under part-load conditions, International Journal of Refrigeration. 34(2011) 1141-1150.
[6] F.W. Yu, K.T. Chan, Optimum load sharing strategy for multiple-chiller systems serving air-conditioned buildings, Building and
Environment. 42(2007) 1581-1593.
[7] F.W. Yu, K.T. Chan, Improved energy management of chiller systems by multivariate and data envelopment analyses, Applied Energy.
92(2012) 168-174.
[8] L.R. Liu, J.J. Gu, J. Liu, Analysis of operational energy intensity for central air conditioning systems with water-cooled chiller by
decomposition method, Energy and Building. 93(2015) 154-159.