Advancements in a low global warming potential refrigerants for enhanced thermal management in electric vehicle air conditioning

This article proposes an effective thermal management solution for electric vehicles by incorporating a low global warming potential (GWP) hybrid refrigerant R1234ze(E)/R134a/R32 (with a mass percentage of 85/10/5). By integrating R1234ze(E), the potential of substituting R134a with this mixed refrigerant in electric vehicle air conditioning for thermal analysis was analyzed. The findings are that R1234ze(E) exhibits a COP reduction of 0.51% compared to R134a, while R1234ze(E)/R134a/R32 showcases a coefficient of performance (COP) enhancement of 1.53% over R134a. The compressor exhaust temperatures of R1234ze(E) and R1234ze(E)/R134a/R32 are, respectively, 7.4°C and 5.2°C lower than those of R134a. R1234ze(E) demonstrates a volumetric cooling capacity ~26.3% smaller than that of R134a. However, the volumetric cooling capacity of R1234ze(E)/R134a/R32 aligns closely with R134a, facilitating convenient direct charging. R1234ze(E)/R134a/R32 proves to be an excellent refrigerant for applications in the thermal management of electric vehicles.