Vol 92, No 9 (2003)

The next XXI International Congress on Refrigeration was held on August 17-23, 2003 in Washington, D.C., by the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) together with the American National Committee of IIR under the motto "Refrigeration for the Good of Mankind". Organizational sponsors of the congress include the American Institute of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (ARI), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), IIAR, NIST, USDA, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Sponsors from the industrial sector were American and international companies and institutions: Carrier Corporation, Danfoss, York International Corporation, McQuay, Evapco Inc., York Refrigeration, Intertek Testing Services, Technibel, Termo King Corporation, Trane Company. About 800 delegates from 54 countries of the world, including 10 from Russia, participated in Congress. All in all there were 424 papers registered at the Congress on the topics of 10 scientific and technical commissions of IIH (cryophysics, cryogenics; liquefaction and separation of gases; thermodynamics and heat transfer processes; refrigeration engineering; cryobiology, cryomedicine; food science and technology; cold storage; refrigerated transport; air conditioning; heat pumps and energy recovery). 10 papers from the Russian National Committee for Cooperation with IIH were included in the Congress program.

Grasso has been one of the world leaders in refrigeration engineering for many years. For more than 150 years, it has been manufacturing refrigeration compressors. Currently, both open-type compressors (Grasso 12E, Grasso 12, Grasso 10, Grasso 6 series) and semi-hermetic compressors (Grasso 7S, Grasso 8S series) are produced. In total, the company manufactures 44 types of compressors, as well as compressor units and refrigeration machines based on them.

HERMETIC-Pumpen GmbH is a member of the LEDERLE-HERMETIC industrial group (Germany) and is the world's leading manufacturer of sealless pumps. HERMETIC-Pumpen has been dedicated to the production and development of various pump types for more than 130 years. HERMETIC pumps are designed especially for the tough conditions of the chemical and petrochemical industry. The company also successfully applies its experience in this field to the production of pumps for the refrigeration industry. More than 50,000 HERMETIC refrigeration pumps installed worldwide are used in a wide variety of applications such as refrigerated warehouses, freezing complexes, meat processing plants, slaughterhouses, breweries and dairies, refrigerated ships and rail vehicles, air conditioning systems, etc.

At the end of 2000, YORK International Corporation, a world leader in air conditioning technology, opened a plant in Zelenograd (Moscow) to produce central air conditioners and supply and exhaust units. The main components of air conditioners - heat exchangers, fans and electric motors - are imported, but a number of components (aluminum profile, panels and filters) are made in Russia. Central air conditioners manufactured by YORK have excellent acoustic characteristics and meet the highest quality standards. Their capacity range is from 0.25 to 70 m3/s, and total static pressure is up to 4000 Pa.
Due to continuous improvement of production processes at the plant in Zelenograd it was possible to achieve a significant decrease in the cost of production, which, in turn, makes it possible to reduce the price of the products sold. Currently, with a consistently high quality, the price level of YORK supply and exhaust units and central air conditioners manufactured in Zelenograd is the lowest among the foreign manufacturers of similar equipment. This allows us to successfully compete with such domestic manufacturers as "VEZA", "Vozdukhotechnika", etc.

As it is known, one of the main requirements to safety of ammonia refrigeration facilities operation is reduction of ammonia capacity. However, reduction of refrigerant volumes seems to be actual also for refrigerating units operating on freon. This direction is implemented in practice by FABS Engineering, which has designed and put into operation several large refrigeration systems in which refrigeration supply to the consumer is carried out with the help of intermediate coolant.

At present, extensive research in the field of scroll compressors is being carried out by many compressor manufacturers for the refrigeration industry. Refrigeration scroll compressors have successfully withstood the test of time and have actively begun to displace other types of compressors. This is due to the fact that scroll compressors are reliable in operation, contain 40% fewer parts than piston compressors, produce less noise and have a longer service life. Scroll compressors are used in all major air conditioning systems including split and multi split models, floor standing versions, roof tops (rooftop air conditioners), heat pumps, compressor and condensing units, supermarket centralized refrigeration systems, industrial refrigeration and transport installations including containers. The range of refrigeration capacity of scroll compressors is constantly expanding, and at present its upper limit is approaching 200 kW (when using a multi-compressor station).
In the above areas of refrigeration technology, scroll compressors actively compete with piston and screw compressors. Obviously, each type of compressors has its own disadvantages and advantages.