Energy, exergy and environmental assessment of a cascade refrigeration system with internal heat exchanger based on eco-friendly refrigerants

Issue 16(1)2026
Published May 22, 2026
https://doi.org/10.46223/HCMCOUJS.acs.en.16.1.80.2026
Date
Received: 2026-01-09
Accepted: 2026-05-04
Published: 2026-05-22
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16(1)2026

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Malek Hamzaoui
Laboratory of Mechanics, Structure and Energetics (LMSE), Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5944-7366
Samir Tiachacht - samir.tiachacht@ummto.dz
Laboratory of Mechanics, Structure and Energetics (LMSE), Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3597-8725
Ali Grine
Mechanical Engineering Department, M’hamed Bougara University of Boumerdes, Boumerdes
Ahmed Hadiouche
Laboratory of Energetic, Mechanics and Material (LEMM), Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4242-9493

Abstract

Very low-temperature refrigeration is required in several applications, including cryogenics, pharmaceutical preservation, and ultra-low-temperature freezing. However, achieving such conditions with conventional single-stage systems is difficult because of the high compression ratios involved and the resulting energy losses. In this study, two pairs of environmentally friendly refrigerants with low Global Warming Potential (GWP), namely R744/R290 and R744/R152a, were investigated in a laminar refrigeration system equipped with an internal heat exchanger. A comprehensive parametric analysis was conducted to determine the optimal operating conditions for evaporation temperatures from -55°C to -25°C and condensation temperatures from 25°C to 60°C. The Quadratic Interpolation Optimization (QIO) method was used to determine the optimal intermediate temperature, , for enhancing energy efficiency, exergy performance, and environmental sustainability. The results show that, under all condensing conditions, R744/R290 is more advantageous at very low evaporation temperatures from both thermodynamic and environmental perspectives. Meanwhile, R744/R152a provides better overall performance when the evaporation temperature is ≥ -30°C.

Keywords

cascade refrigeration system; COP; environmental analysis; exergy analysis; optimization; TEWI

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Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Hamzaoui, M., Tiachacht, S., Grine, A., & Hadiouche, A. (2026). Energy, exergy and environmental assessment of a cascade refrigeration system with internal heat exchanger based on eco-friendly refrigerants. HCMCOU Journal of Science - Advances in Computational Structures, 16(1), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.46223/HCMCOUJS.acs.en.16.1.80.2026
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