Method and refrigerants for replacing existing refrigerants in centrifugal compressors

Abstract

A method for substituting a replacement refrigerant for an existing refrigerant in a centrifugal compressor includes the steps of selecting a desired impeller Mach number for the centrifugal compressor, selecting a base refrigerant constituent, combining at least one additive refrigerant constituent with the base refrigerant constituent to form a replacement refrigerant having at least one physical or chemical property different from the existing refrigerant and substantially providing the desired impeller Mach number in the centrifugal compressor, and replacing the existing refrigerant with the replacement refrigerant. The existing refrigerant can be replaced by choosing a particular molecular weight or acoustical velocity which will provide the desired impeller Mach number.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.