Compressor Load Stand: Commissioning and Control Strategies.

The purpose of the load stand utilized in this project is to accurately measure the operating characteristics of hermetic compressors, for a range of cooling capacities from 1 ton to 3 tons of refrigeration. The results will be used for comparison to results obtained by a mathematical model developed by Halms 1. In this project a 1 ton, horizontal type, scroll compressor was tested with R-22 as the working fluid. The purpose of this research project was to commission this load stand, which includes setting up the hardware, setting up a control system, a data acquisition system, and an automatic test sequence system. The objective of the control system is to obtain test points that are defmed by a compressor suction pressure, suction temperature, and discharge pressure. The data acquisition system should accurately measure the operating points of the compressor to include power consumption W, mass flow rate KGH, and discharge temperature 0 C. These results can then be used to produce a compressor map, verify existing compressor maps, or verify the results obtained from a compressor model. The purpose of the automatic test sequence system is to provide a system that will run the load stand through test conditions without the need for human interactions. This report is not only a research report but also serves as a user 5 manual for the load stand. It will provide the user with a working knowledge of the load stand and documentation for the software used to operate, control, and modify the load stand systems. The report will include descriptions of the cycle utilized, the system hardware, the data acquisition system, the control strategy and hardware utilized, the operating characteristics of the system, and the automatic test sequence system. It will also provide information useful for changing the system when needed and to run the system effectively.