Refrigeration apparatus having leakage or charge deficiency determining feature

A refrigeration apparatus comprising:

• a refrigerant primary circuit including a compressor, a refrigerant radiator, a refrigerant evaporator, and a first expansion valve;
• a bypass circuit extending between a branching portion disposed on the refrigerant primary circuit and a joining portion disposed on the refrigerant primary circuit, the bypass circuit being configured and arranged to cause refrigerant to bypass;
• a heat exchanger including a first refrigerant flow path disposed on the refrigerant primary circuit and a second refrigerant flow path disposed on the bypass circuit, the heat exchanger causing the refrigerant flowing through the first refrigerant flow path and the refrigerant flowing through the second refrigerant flow path to exchange heat;
• a second expansion valve disposed on an upstream side of the heat exchanger in the bypass circuit, the second expansion valve being configured and arranged to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant;
• a first refrigerant flow rate calculating component configured and arranged to calculate, as a first refrigerant flow rate based on refrigeration cycle theory, a first refrigerant flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the bypass circuit;
• a second refrigerant flow rate calculating component configured and arranged to calculate, as a second refrigerant flow rate based on fluid theory, a second refrigerant flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the bypass circuit;
• and
• a determining component configured and arranged to determine whether or not there is refrigerant leakage or refrigerant charge deficiency based on a result of a comparison of the first refrigerant flow rate calculated by the first refrigerant flow rate calculating component and the second refrigerant flow rate calculated by the second refrigerant flow rate calculating component.