Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Research Paper

Influence of lubricating oil circulation characteristics on the performance of

electric vehicle heat pump system under low temperature conditions
Kang Li a, b, Fanyue Kong a, Shuxian Luo c, Ni Liu a, Hua Zhang a, Binlin Dou a, Yugang Zhao a,
Xuejin Zhou e, Ran Tu e, *, Lin Su a, Qize He d, *
a
School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
b
Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer in Shanghai Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
c
Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co.,Ltd, Shanghai 201201, China
d
Shanghai Fire Research Institute of MEM, Shanghai 200093, China
e
College of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Electric vehicles frequently employ heat pump systems for winter heating. In winter low-temperature environ­
Electric vehicle ments, the viscosity of lubricating oil increases, forming an oil film as the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger,
Oil retention consequently impacting the heat transfer efficiency and overall performance of the heat pump system. This paper
Heat pump system
presents the design and implementation of an experimental heat pump system tailored for electric vehicles. The
Oil circulation rate
Heat pump performance
experimental setup incorporates a specialized device for lubricating oil sampling and an assessment methodology
for evaluating heat pump functionality. Under a range of low-temperature conditions, the system underwent
comprehensive testing, enabling a detailed analysis and synthesis of the flow characteristics and the influence of
lubricating oil within both the heat pump system and the heat exchanger. The results reveal that the oil circu­
lation rate is directly affected by the compressor oil charge, and maintaining the oil circulation rate within the
range of 3 %–4 % results in a peak COP of the system. When the ambient temperature is 0 ℃ and the oil filling
volume is 200 g, the oil circulation rate is 3.87 %, and the COP can reach 1.93. In addition, as the oil retention in
the evaporator increases by 15.67 g, the COP value decreases by 21 %. Similarly, the increase in oil retention in
the condenser from 2.43 g to 6.25 g resulted in a corresponding decrease in heat transfer capacity of 0.07 kW/K,
leading to an overall deterioration of the system’s performance.

endurance is significantly reduced. Heat pump air conditioning system

1. Introduction
In recent years, due to the escalating effects of global warming and
the diminishing supply of fossil fuels, the electrification of vehicles has
been increasingly popular [1]. Cruising range is one of the crucial
metrics utilized in the development of electric vehicles to assess the
performance indicators of automobiles [2]. With the change of power
source, the electric vehicles on the market primarily use PTC electric
heaters and heat pump air conditioning systems to provide the required
heat for the cabin [3]. PTC has a simple structure, low cost, and excellent
heating effect but large power consumption, reducing the range of
electric vehicles [4]. Due to the high efficiency and energy saving of the
heat pump air conditioning system, the impact on the vehicle’s
technology uses ambient air as a heat source, has excellent social and
economic benefits, and has been widely used in the electric vehicle in­
dustry [5]. The electric vehicle heat pump air-conditioning system
typically employs an electric scroll compressor that introduces lubri­
cating oil as droplets after mixing with refrigerant, affecting the system’s
performance [6–8]. Therefore, the separation of lubricating oil turns out
to be an essential link in the circulation of the heat pump system and a
guarantee for the long-term stable and reliable operation of the system
and compressor [9–11]. For air conditioning/heat pump systems, the
dissolved lubricating oil in the refrigerant working fluid will change its
original physical properties [12], and the degree of deviation of its
physical properties from the characteristics of pure refrigerants will
affect the heat transfer effect on the refrigerant side. In extreme

Abbreviations: OCR, Oil circulation rate (%); ORcond, Oil retention in the condenser (g); ORevap, Oil retention in the evaporator (g); PTC, Positive temperature
coefficient.
* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: turan@hqu.edu.cn (R. Tu), heqize@shfri.cn (Q. He).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.121601
Received 20 April 2023; Received in revised form 9 September 2023; Accepted 11 September 2023
Available online 12 September 2023
1359-4311/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
K. Li et al.
Nomenclature
Mmix Mixture sample mass (g)
Moil Lubricating oil mass (g)
Tref Refrigerant side temperature (℃)
Tair Airside temperature (℃)
μmix Mixture sample viscosity (Pa⋅s)
μoil Lubricating oil viscosity (Pa⋅s)
μref Refrigerant viscosity (Pa⋅s)
Pcomp Compressor power (MPa)
Pref Refrigerant side pressure (MPa)
mref Refrigerant mass flow (kg/s)
ρmix Mixture sample density (kg/m3)
ρoil Lubricating oil density (kg/m3)
ρref Refrigerant density (kg/m3)
Qair Heat exchange at airside (kW)
circumstances, the effectiveness of the entire conditioning/heat system
will be decreased [13,14]. Additionally, as the viscosity of the lubri­
cating oil is significant when the liquid refrigerant enters the heat
exchanger, it will adhere to the inner wall of the pipe to form an oil film
[15,16]. The oil film not only causes the flow resistance on the refrig­
erant side to increase but also forms a layer of thermal resistance,
decreasing in the heat transfer coefficient [17–19]. Due to the low
temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator, the oil with large vis­
cosity would lead to severe heat exchange loss [20–22]. In the
condenser, as the amount of lubricating oil retention increases to a
certain value, the pressure drop of the condenser changes significantly,
greatly reducing the heat transfer capacity [21].
Over the past decade, the impact of oil circulation rate on refriger­
ation and air-conditioning system has been a research hotspot [23–25].
The oil circulation rate in the air conditioning/heat pump system refers
to the mass flow ratio of lubricating oil and refrigerant participating in
the system’s circulation [26]. Alonso et al. [27] demonstrated that the
lubricating oil effect of a two-phase refrigerant in the evaporator and
condenser of the R134a/POE system under refrigeration mode. The
findings revealed that when the mass flow rate of the combination rose,
the oil circulation rate initially reduced and subsequently climbed, with
a minimum value being noted at a certain point. Zhu et al. [28] studied
that the change and influence of the oil circulation rate in the CO2
transcritical injection cycle, explaining that the oil circulation rate
increased with the compressor speed and decreased with the expansion
valve opening, and as the oil circulation rate increased, the pressure
drop of the evaporator increased and the heat transfer capacity
decreased. A portion of the lubricating oil is released from the
compressor along with the compressed refrigerant during compressor
operation [29], gradually mixing with the refrigerant and accumulating
on the surface of system components, which affects their performance
[30–32]. Ardiyansyah et al. [33] investigated that the oil retention in the
microchannel condenser, attributing lubricating oil retention in the heat
exchanger to an increase in working fluid viscosity. Yatim et al. [34]
analyzed that the oil retention in the microchannel condenser and found
that the oil retention increased with the mass fraction of lubricating oil.
While oil circulation rates have been extensively studied and verified
in conventional refrigeration and air conditioning systems, the field of
automotive air conditioning, particularly in the context of electric
vehicle heat pump air conditioning systems, presents unique challenges
[10]. The operation of EV heat pump systems at low temperatures,
combined with complex and variable operating conditions, results in the
lubricating oil’s physical properties and flow characteristics exerting a
more pronounced influence [7]. However, the existing research on
lubricating oil in EV heat pump systems is limited, necessitating
comprehensive investigations into the characteristics of lubricating oil
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
in this domain. For example in the studies by Li, Ardiyansyah and Yatim
et al. [31,33,34], the overall distribution of lubricating oil and oil
retention effects on components under various working temperatures
were not performed due to experimental restriction.
This paper designed and constructed an electric vehicle heat pump
air conditioning experimental system and utilized a heat pump system
performance test bench and lubricating oil sampling device to investi­
gate the effects of oil circulation rate and oil retention on the heat pump
system. Moreover, this article explores the impact of changes in oil
circulation rate on the system of electric vehicle heat pump air condi­
tioning under low temperature conditions, as well as the influence of the
distribution of lubricating oil in the system on the heat exchanger.
Therefore, this paper provides a reference for the further optimization of
electric vehicle heat pump systems.
2. Experimental setup
2.1. Heat pump experimental system
The electric vehicle heat pump air conditioning system primarily
composes an electric scroll compressor, an indoor condenser, an elec­
tronic expansion valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, a gas–liquid sepa­
rator, and a mass flowmeter. All system parts are connected through
pipelines and various valves with different functions are set to control
the system’s operation state. The heat pump performance test system
designed in this paper is depicted in Fig. 1.
The low-pressure state of the circulating working medium in the heat
pump system is represented by the solid blue line, and the solid red line
represents the high-pressure state. In order to warm the carriage, high-
temperature/pressure refrigerant steam is emitted from the compressor
and enters the interior condenser, where it condenses and releases heat.
The refrigerant then enters the external heat exchanger to evaporate and
absorb heat after passing via the electronic expansion valve to throttle
and depressurize into a two-phase refrigerant. The compressor then
pulls in the refrigerant gas for the subsequent cycle after the refrigerant
gas from the external heat exchanger enters the accumulator for
gas–liquid two-phase separation.
In addition, four lubricating oil sampling devices are connected to
the heat pump system in this experiment. They are placed between the
condenser and the compressor, the electronic expansion valve, and be­
tween the evaporator and the compressor, respectively. These four
sampling devices are connected to the system through pipelines.
Fig. 2 exhibits the physical configuration of the heat pump system
test bench, which comprises three separate spaces: an indoor enthalpy
difference room, an outdoor enthalpy difference room, and a control
room. The control cabinet, in conjunction with the computer control
software system, enables the replication of essential environmental
conditions within the indoor and outdoor spaces. The air conditioning
unit precisely regulates the temperature, humidity, air volume, and
other parameters of the environmental room. Additionally, measure­
ment sensors for temperature, humidity, air volume, and other param­
eters are installed on the air duct to facilitate the real-time monitoring
and collection of data.
2.2. Performance test of heat pump system
Fig. 3 displays the laboratory’s electric vehicle heat pump test system
layout. Independent environmental control systems regulate indoor and
outdoor environmental rooms, which can create corresponding envi­
ronmental conditions according to the needs of different experimental
conditions.
Sampling and measuring the lubricating oil, as well as calculating the
oil circulation rate and oil retention, are pivotal steps in comprehending
the characteristics of lubricating oil in heat pump systems. This paper
adopted the sampling and weighing method to measure the lubricating
oil’s circulating rate and retention in the heat pump system. The
K. Li et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601

Fig. 1. Experimental schematic diagram of automobile heat pump system.

Fig. 2. Physical diagram of the test bench of the heat pump system for electric vehicles.

measurement method and principle are as follows: when the system expansion valve is connected to the heat pump system, and the sampling
operates to a stable state under the preset working conditions, the tank extracts an appropriate amount of working medium from the sys­
sampling device set between the indoor condenser and the electronic tem and stores it. Then, the sampling device is disassembled to deal with

3
K. Li et al.
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of heat pump system experimental device and laboratory layout.
the mixture in the sampling tank. Under moderate temperatures, the
refrigerant absorbs heat, volatilizes and overflows, and naturally sepa­
rates itself from the lubricating oil. Then weigh the sampling tank and
calculate the oil circulation rate.
The performance evaluation of the heat pump system under initial
conditions comprised specific parameters, namely, a 150 g oil charge, a
compressor speed of 4000 rpm, an ambient temperature of 0 ℃, and the
electronic expansion valve set to 100 % opening. Upon meeting the
expected conditions, the compressor was started, and the system oper­
ated until it reached a stable state, and the performance parameters were
recorded through the control software. The working medium was then
sampled, and the refrigerant and lubricating oil’s mass were weighed
and recorded. Before the following experiment is initiated, it is neces­
sary to supplement the quality of refrigerant and lubricating oil con­
tained in the samples extracted from the sampling tank in the heat pump
system. This process was repeated for subsequent experiments under
different working conditions.
2.3. Data processing and uncertainty analysis
Based on the weighing method and calculation principle proposed in
this paper, the oil circulation rate at sampling point 2 was calculated.
The detailed calculation formula is as follows:
Mmix = m3 − m2 (2.1)
Moil = m4 − m1 (2.2)
Moil m4 − m1
OCR = = (2.3)
Mmix m3 − m2
where m1 is the initial mass of the sampling tank; m2 is the mass after
vacuuming; m3 is the mass of the sampling tank with the mixture; m4 is
the mass of the sampling tank after the refrigerant is released; Mmix is the
mass of the mixed sample, and Moil is the mass of the lubricating oil.
The lubricating oil at the designated sampling point is extracted and
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
measured by sampling and calculation principles for oil retention out­
lined in this paper. The calculation formula for oil retention is as follows:
ORcond = M1 − M2 (2.4)
ORevap = M3 − M4 (2.5)
where M1 and M2 represent the mass of lubricating oil pumped from the
condenser inlet and outlet, respectively. Meanwhile, M3 and M4 repre­
sent the mass of lubricating oil that is extracted from the evaporator inlet
and outlet, respectively.
The influence of the oil circulation rate on the density of the circu­
lating working medium is as follows [35]:
ρmix = (1 − OCR)⋅ρref + OCR⋅ρoil (2.6)
where ρmix is the density of the mixture, ρref is the density of the
refrigerant, and ρoil is the density of lubricating oil.
The dynamic viscosity relationship between the oil circulation rate
and the dynamic viscosity of the mixture is as follows:
lnμmix = OCR⋅lnμoil + (1 - OCR)⋅lnμref (2.7)
where μmix is the kinematic viscosity of the mixture, μoil is the kinematic
viscosity of lubricating oil, and μref is the kinematic viscosity of
refrigerant.
Calculating the experimental relative uncertainty is crucial for get­
ting accurate and dependable results. This involves comparing the un­
certainty of a physical quantity measured or estimated during an
experiment to its actual value. In this experiment, the sampling weigh­
ing method was adopted as the measurement method of the lubricating
oil circulation rate of the heat pump system through the lubricating oil
sampling device. The plug-in PT100 platinum resistance measures the
temperature of the refrigerant side, and a T-type thermocouple measures
the air-side temperature. The resolution of the sensor is shown in
Table 1.
K. Li et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601

Table 1 electronic expansion valve also increases the mass flow of the circulating
Sensor resolution. working fluid, causing a decrease in the oil circulation rate due to the
Sensor Resolution Measuring range differing viscosities of the lubricating oil and refrigerant.
The experiment also analyzed the effect of different compressor oil
PT100 ± 0.5 ℃ − 100–200 ℃
T-type thermocouple ± 0.3 ℃ − 200–350 ℃ filling quantities on the oil circulation rate. It can be seen from the Fig. 4
Pressure sensors ± 0.5 FS 0–4 MPa that the oil circulation rate increases with an increase in oil filling
quantity due to the increased mutual solubility of refrigerant and
lubricating oil, which drives more lubricating oil and refrigerant to flow
The experiment involves two categories of physical quantities: those together in the system pipes and components. As a result, excessive
directly measured (such as pressure, temperature, and mass flow lubricating oil filling in the compressor will directly increase the oil
quantity) and those obtained through indirect measurement (such as circulation rate.
heating capacity and oil circulation rate). This paper adopts the uncer­ Furthermore, the oil circulation rate decreases with the decrease in
tainty transfer method proposed by Moffat et al. [19] to analyze the temperature. This tendency is brought on by the fact that the lubricating
uncertainty of parameters under stable system conditions. The results oil’s viscosity rises as temperature falls. The outdoor evaporator utilized
are presented in Table 2: in this experiment is a microchannel heat exchanger. As the reduction of
ambient temperature may cause too much oil to remain in the micro­
3. Results and discussions channel heat exchanger, the quality of circulating lubricating oil in the
system will be reduced, resulting in a low oil circulation rate under low-
This paper investigates the flow characteristics of lubricating oil in temperature conditions.
the heat pump system and its influences on system and component
performance. Specifically, the influence of oil circulation rate on system 3.1.2. Physical property calculation of refrigerant and lubricating oil
performance and heat exchanger efficiency is analyzed. Moreover, this The physical properties of pure refrigerant and mixture are calcu­
chapter compares the oil retention in the microchannel condenser and lated and compared under different oil circulation rates. Notably, at an
microchannel evaporator to study the retention characteristics of ambient temperature of 0 ℃, a compressor speed of 4000 rpm, and an oil
lubricating oil in the heat exchanger and explore the main factors filling volume of 150 g, the electronic expansion valve was adjusted to
affecting the change of oil retention in the heat exchanger. The influence maintain the oil circulation rate within the range of 0–4 %. Equations
of oil holdup on the overall efficiency of the system and the heat ex­ (2.6) and (2.7), shown in Fig. 5, are conducted to calculate the density
changer’s capacity is also examined. and dynamic viscosity of the refrigerant and lubricating oil mixture.
At the same temperature, as the oil circulation rate increases, several
3.1. Analysis of experimental results of oil circulation rate of heat pump notable trends become evident within the mixture. From Fig. 5(a), it can
system be seen that the density of the mixture gradually decreases with the
increase of oil circulation rate. while in Fig. 5(b), the dynamic viscosity
3.1.1. Influencing factors of oil circulation rate of the mixture experiences an increment. Moreover, with the escalation
The experiment explores the effect of different operating conditions of the oil circulation rate, the deviation from the properties of pure
on the oil circulation rate and analyzes the main factors, as depicted in refrigerant gradually intensifies within the mixture.
Fig. 4. The oil circulation rate decreases with the increase in compressor
speed and the opening of the electronic expansion valve. According to 3.1.3. Influence of oil circulation rate on system and heat exchanger
the comparison between Fig. 4(a) and (b), under compressor speed of Experimental data on the heat pump’s heating performance is
4000 rpm, the opening of the electronic expansion valve is increased collected by varying the expansion valve opening to achieve different oil
from 20 % to 100 %, and the oil cycle rate corresponding to the oper­ circulation rates. The impacts of the oil circulation rate on the heating
ating conditions of 150 g and 200 g is reduced by 2.77 % and 3.69 %, capacity, outlet air temperature, and coefficient of performance (COP)
respectively. Fig. 4(c) and (d) indicate that when the oil filling volume is of the system are portrayed in Fig. 6.
200 g, and the opening of the electronic expansion valve is 20 %, the The findings from the study reveal significant trends concerning the
adjustment compressor speed is increased from 4000 rpm to 5000 rpm, system’s performance at different oil charges. As shown in Fig. 6(a), (c),
and the oil circulation rate is only reduced by 0.46 %. As the speed of the and (e), at a fixed oil filling volume of 150 g, the system’s heating ca­
compressor increases, so does the flow rate of the discharged working pacity, air outlet temperature, and COP progressively increase with an
fluid. However, since the viscosity of the lubricating oil is much greater increase in oil circulation rate. However, in Fig. 6(b), (d), and (f), when
than that of the refrigerant, the refrigerant flows faster than the lubri­ the oil charge is increased to 200 g, the heating capacity, air outlet
cating oil. Therefore, the mass flow rate of the refrigerant discharged temperature, and COP initially increase and then decrease with an in­
from the compressor is greater than that of the lubricating oil, reducing crease in the oil circulation rate. It indicates that the system’s perfor­
in the oil circulation rate. Similarly, an increase in the opening of the mance is most adversely affected when the oil circulation rate is too
high, and performance degradation is more severe when it exceeds the
Table 2 optimal range.
Measurement Uncertainty. From Fig. 6(a) and (b) with two temperature conditions in experi­
Category Measuring parameter Relative uncertainty
ment, the heating performance of the system with a lubricating oil cir­
(%) culation rate between 3 % and 4 % can achieve an optimal solution. As
the air outlet temperature of the system is dependent on the heat ex­
Direct measurement Refrigerant side temperature Tref ±2.0
(℃) change capacity of the condenser, which is directly proportional to the
Refrigerant side pressure Pref ±2.0 system’s heating capacity, it is reasonable to expect a correlation be­
(MPa) tween the two. In addition, the COP of the system is determined by both
Refrigerant mass flow mref (kg/s) ±1.0 the heating capacity and the compressor’s power consumption. Fig. 6(e)
Airside temperature Tair (℃) ±3.0
Compressor power Pcomp (MPa) ±1.0
and (f) illustrate that variations primarily influenced the system COP in
Indirect Heat exchange at airside Qair ±2.1 the heating capacity, as the compressor power consumption is relatively
measurement (kW) unaffected by other factors when the compressor speed is fixed. Thus,
Oil circulation rate OCR (%) ±8.0 the observed changes in the air outlet temperature and COP are closely
Oil retention OR (g) ±1.2
tied to the system’s heating capacity.

5
K. Li et al.
Fig. 4. Change of oil circulation rate under different operating conditions.
Fig. 5. Density and dynamic viscosity of refrigerant lubricating oil mixture under different oil circulation rates1.
For heat pump systems at low oil circulation rates, lubricating oil can
enhance heat transfer by making the distribution of working fluid more
uniform, increasing the effective heat transfer area, and strengthening
the heat transfer. Consequently, the heating capacity of the system rises
as the oil circulation rate increases until reaching an optimal value.
However, when the oil circulation rate exceeds the optimal range, the
reduced working volume of the refrigerant participating in the phase
change heat exchange decreases the heating capacity. Moreover, the
increased flow resistance of the circulating working medium due to the
dissolution of lubricating oil reduces the effective heat exchange area by
forming an oil film in the heat exchanger. Additionally, the heat pump
system is equipped with a gas–liquid separator. Since the lubricating oil
is not involved in heat exchange, the evaporator outlet may have mixed
lubricating oil and refrigerant droplets. When these droplets flow
through the gas–liquid separator, they will settle at the bottom of the
gas–liquid separator, reducing the actual mass flow of the system.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
Therefore, the optimal rate of oil circulation for the heating system’s
capacity depends on the heat exchange contact area in the heat
exchanger and how the lubricating oil affects the mass flow of the
circulating working medium.
Fig. 7 illustrates the correlation between the oil circulation rate and
the pressure drops of the evaporator and condenser at different opera­
tional conditions. As the oil circulation rate rises, the pressure drop of
the evaporator and condenser increases to varying degrees. Neverthe­
less, the increase in condenser pressure drop is not significant. As shown
in Fig. 7(a), when the lubricating oil circulation rate increases from 0.65
% to 3.42 %, the pressure drop of the evaporator increases from 0.054
MPa to 0.062 MPa, and the pressure drop of the condenser increases
from 0.021 MPa to 0.027 MPa. Fig. 7(b), (c) and (d) also show the
similar trends.
There is no significant effect on the pressure drop because the con­
denser’s refrigerant liquid and lubricating oil can be well miscible. Due
K. Li et al.
Fig. 6. Change of system performance parameters with the lubricating oil circulation rate.
to the continuous conversion of liquid refrigerant into gas in the evap­
orator and the rising percentage of lubricating oil in the liquid mixture,
the pressure drop of the evaporator is evidently reduced. The non-
vaporizable lubricating oil will form an oil film on its inner wall when
it remains in the microchannel evaporator, increasing the flow resis­
tance of the working medium and significantly raising the evaporator’s
pressure drop because only refrigerant participates in phase change heat
transfer. Additionally, lubricating oil dynamic viscosity increases at low-
temperature conditions, compounding flow resistance. In conclusion,
the pressure drop experiences a substantial increase in the evaporator as
compared to the condenser. Moreover, the pressure drop in the evapo­
rator surpasses that of the condenser when evaluated under equivalent
oil circulation rates.
The heat exchange capacity of the condenser, obtained from its
heating capacity and inlet/outlet temperature measured, is crucial for
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
the efficient performance of the system, which is portrayed in Fig. 8. The
heat transfer capacity of the condenser is initially enhanced with an
increase in oil circulation rate, but subsequently weakened as shown in
Fig. 8(b) for larger OCR.
At low oil circulation rates, the miscibility of a small amount of
lubricating oil with refrigerant can improve the distribution of the
circulating working medium in the micro-channel heat exchanger, in­
crease the effective heat exchange area, and enhance heat exchange
efficiency. Lubricating oil foam, generated from small oil droplets
mainly caused by low circulation rate, can also increase the infiltration
area of the flowing working medium in the tube and the inner wall of the
condenser, improving the heat transfer effect further. However, at
higher oil circulation rates, excessive lubricating oil in the working
medium forms an oil film on the inner wall of the heat exchanger,
hindering heat exchange between the working medium and the outside
K. Li et al.
Fig. 7. Change of pressure drop of heat exchanger with the lubricating oil circulation rate.
Fig. 8. Change of heat exchange capacity of condenser with lubricating oil circulation rate.
world. Furthermore, the nature and flow state of the lubricating oil
within the condenser play a significant role in influencing the conden­
sation heat transfer of the working medium. This is exemplified by the
lubricating oil’s impact on altering the convective heat transfer coeffi­
cient on the refrigerant side of the condenser, thereby resulting in spe­
cific consequences on the overall heat transfer capacity of the condenser.
3.2. Analysis of experimental results of oil retention in the heat pump
system
The lubricating oil retention in the heat exchanger under different
operating conditions is measured and calculated, and the analysis of
primary factors affecting the oil retention, the variation pattern of oil
retention with different operating conditions, and the retention char­
acteristics of lubricating oil in the heat exchanger with distinct functions
are presented.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
3.2.1. Results and analysis of oil retention
The oil retention measurements at various speeds and temperatures
are depicted in Fig. 9. At low compressor speeds, the heat exchanger is
more prone to oil retention. Additionally, at low temperatures, a sig­
nificant increase in oil retention is observed in the heat exchanger with
increasing oil charge, particularly in the microchannel evaporator.
Moreover, the effect is more pronounced in the evaporator when the oil
charge is high.
This phenomenon occurs due to the high viscosity of the lubricating
oil, which tends to adhere to the heat exchanger’s inner wall. Further­
more, a high compressor speed results in a large mass flow of the
circulating working medium, facilitating the movement of lubricating
oil in the system and discouraging its retention. Conversely, at low
temperatures, the circulating working medium containing lubricating
oil has low velocity and high viscosity, allowing the lubricating oil to
adhere more readily to the evaporator’s inner wall and promoting oil
K. Li et al.
Fig. 9. Measurement results of oil retention under different conditions.
retention.
3.2.2. Analysis of the influence of oil retention on system performance
Different oil retention was obtained by varying the oil charge volume
to test the heating performance of the heat pump system under various
oil retention levels and analyze the impacts of oil retention on the
heating capacity and COP. As exhibited in Fig. 10, the heating capacity
and COP of the system decline as the oil retention in the heat exchanger
increases.
The reduction in heating capacity and COP of the heat pump system
with increased oil retention in the heat exchanger is attributed to the
adverse effects on the refrigerant-side heat transfer. Indeed, as the
lubricating oil does not actively participate in the phase change heat
transfer process, the presence of the lubricating oil within the refrigerant
and lubricating oil mixture reduces the latent heat of vaporization
compared to that of pure refrigerant alone. Additionally, the lubricating
oil significantly increases the viscosity of the working medium, leading
to an elevation in flow resistance and pressure loss within the system. In
addition, the lubricating oil forms an oil film on the inner wall of the
evaporator and condenser, reducing the heat exchange contact area and
increasing the thermal resistance of the working medium to the outside
heat exchange. Therefore, the system’s heating capacity decreases as the
oil retention in the heat exchanger increases.
Based on the COP formula, the system’s COP is affected by both the
heating capacity and the compressor’s power consumption. The trend of
heating capacity and COP changes indicates that oil retention in the heat
exchanger significantly impact compressor power consumption. During
the operation of the compressor, lubricating oil not only lubricates but
also carries away the heat generated by component friction and seals the
compressor. When lubricating oil remains in the heat exchanger, it
cannot return to the compressor, causing a shortage of lubricating oil
Fig. 10. Changes of system heating capacity and cop with the retention of evaporator oil.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
and increased compressor power consumption. The system’s COP will
decrease as compressor power consumption increases.
3.2.3. Study on the influence of oil retention on the performance of heat
exchanger
Experimental investigations were conducted to analyze the impact of
oil retention in the microchannel evaporator and condenser on pressure
drop under diverse operating conditions. As shown in Fig. 11(a) and (b),
when the compressor speed is 4000 rpm, the oil retention in the
condenser increases from 2.43 g to 6.25 g, resulting in an increase of
0.004 MPa in pressure drop. The oil retention in the evaporator in­
creases from 9.76 g to 22.53 g, resulting in an increase of 0.023 MPa in
pressure drop. Similarly, when the compressor speed is 5000 rpm, the
same trend also occurs.
During the system’s operation, Excess lubricating oil enters the in­
side of the microchannel tubes and headers, reducing the working fluid’s
effective cross-sectional flow area. Additionally, the mixture of oil and
liquid refrigerant increases the viscosity of the liquid phase, leading to
higher pressure loss. While both phenomena can increase pressure drop,
the latter is likely to be the primary influence on pressure drop in this
experiment.
The relationship between condenser heat transfer capacity and
condenser oil retention under different working conditions are pre­
sented in Fig. 11(c) and (d). It demonstrates that the heat transfer ca­
pacity of the condenser decreases as the oil circulation rate increases.
Although the change in oil retention in the condenser is relatively
tiny compared to that in the evaporator, an increase in oil retention can
still have a significant impact on the heat transfer capacity of the
condenser. As the oil holding rate in the heat exchanger increases, the
heat transfer coefficient decreases, thereby increasing the thermal
resistance. The heat transfer capacity of the condenser is related to the
K. Li et al.
Fig. 11. Change of heat exchange capacity and pressure drop of a heat exchanger with oil retention.
heat transfer coefficient, and the presence of lubricating oil in the
condenser reduces the heat transfer coefficient on the refrigerant side,
leading to a decrease in the heat transfer capacity of the condenser. The
decrease in the heat exchange capacity directly results in a decrease in
heat generation of the heat pump system. Considering the general range
of lubricating oil filling, only two variations of 150 g and 200 g were
selected. Further work will be carried out on a wider oil amount to study
more comprehensive effects or extreme influences on system
performance.
4. Concluding remarks
The primary objective of this paper was to investigate the effects of
oil circulation rate and oil retention on the performance of an electric
vehicle heat pump system. To achieve this, a comprehensive experi­
mental setup, comprising a heat pump performance test system and a
lubricating oil sampling device, was designed and constructed. The
system was subjected to various working conditions, enabling the
analysis and summarization of the flow characteristics and the influence
of lubricating oil in both the heat pump system and the heat exchanger.
The key findings of the study are as follows:
(1) The amount of compressor oil charged directly impacts the oil
circulation rate. When the oil charge is increased by 50 g, the
maximum value added to the oil circulation rate is 2.04 %, and
the minimum is 0.66 %. When the oil charge is high, the overall
performance of the heat pump system displays an initial increase
followed by a decrease, with an optimal system performance
observed within a specific range of oil charges. Under an ambient
temperature of 0 ◦ C, the maximum heating capacity of the system
of 2.67 kW corresponds to the oil circulation rate of 3.87 %. The
oil circulation rate increased from 1.62 % to the best advantage,
and the heating rate increased by 18.6 %.
10
Applied Thermal Engineering 236 (2024) 121601
(2) The change of oil retention in the microchannel condenser is
smaller than that in the microchannel evaporator and is not
evident with the change in operating conditions. The ambient
temperature and the compressor oil charge significantly affect the
microchannel evaporator’s oil retention. At the compressor speed
of 5000 rpm, the ambient temperature increased from 0 ◦ C to
− 5 ◦ C, resulting in an increase of 7.75 g in oil retention in the
evaporator but only 2.23 g in the condenser.
(3) As oil retention increased from 10.44 g to 26.11 g, the heat, and
COP decreased by 20 % and 32 %, respectively. It results in a
significant deterioration in overall performance. Furthermore,
higher oil retention results in varying degrees of pressure drop in
the evaporator and condenser. Although the change in oil
retention in the condenser is smaller than that in the evaporator,
it still inhibits the heat transfer capacity of the condenser. The
reduced heat exchange capacity of the condenser directly de­
creases the heat generation of the heat pump system.
The study’s insights into the effects of oil circulation rate and oil
retention on the heat pump system provide valuable guidance for further
optimizing the heat pump systems used in electric vehicles.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
The data that has been used is confidential.
K. Li et al.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Nature Science Foundation of
China (No. 51876130, 51906158, 52206016, 52104067, 52276079),
Capacity Building Plan for some Non-military Universities, Colleges of
Shanghai Scientific Committee (No. 18060502600) and Quanzhou Sci­
ence and Technology Plan Project (2022GZ3).
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