ATLANTA — Information on a new refrigerant with zero ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential is being gathered through research by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

According to ASHRAE, R-245fa is suitable for low-pressure water chillers typically used in large building air conditioning. Equipment is being developed using R-245fa in other heat transfer and working fluid applications.

The association approved funding totaling $986,953 for eight research projects in the areas of indoor air quality, comfort and health, energy conservation, operating and maintenance of tools, environmentally safe materials, and design tools at its 2003 Annual Meeting held in Kansas City, Mo.

Among them is 1256-TRP, Thermophysical Properties of R-245fa. The principal investigator is Alexandre Grebenkov, Ph.D., from the Institute of Power Engineering Problems. The project is expected to take 10 months to complete. It is sponsored by ASHRAE Technical Committee 3.1, Refrigerants and Secondary Coolants.

Researchers plan to provide the accurate thermodynamic and transport property data. The two primary sources of such data, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Honeywell, disagree on the properties of R-245fa, making it difficult for machinery manufacturers to decide which data to use, according to Grebenkov.

For more information, visit www.ashrae.org.

Publication date: 08/18/2003