international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134

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Improving degree of superheat control in a direct expansion

(DX) air conditioning (A/C) system

Qi Qi, Shiming Deng*, Xiangguo Xu, M.Y. Chan

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China

article info abstract

Article history: In a direct expansion (DX) air conditioning (A/C) system having a variable-speed
Received 11 March 2009 compressor and supply fan, the degree of refrigerant superheat regulated by a built-in
Received in revised form conventional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller would experience fluctua-
31 August 2009 tion, after the speeds of both compressor and supply fan were regulated by a capacity
Accepted 6 September 2009 controller. This would impact the operating efficiency and stability of the DX A/C system.
Available online 15 September 2009 Therefore a new DS controller, which was intended for improving the DS control perfor-
mance when the fluctuation of operating DS was resulted from speed changes, has been
Keywords: developed and its controllability tested. The test results showed that this new DS
Air conditioning refrigeration system controller, which replaced the conventional PID DS controller, can significantly improve DS
direct expansion control performance after speed changes while indoor air temperature and humidity were
Variable speed compressor controlled to their respective settings. With the improved DS control performance, the
Design operating efficiency and stability of the DX A/Csystem were also enhanced.
Control ª 2009 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Superheat

Amélioration de la régulation de la surchauffe dans un

système de conditionnement d’air à détente directe
Mots clés : Conditionnement d’air ; Système frigorifique ; Détente directe ; Vitesse variable ; Compresseur ; Conception ; Régulation ;
Surchauffe

1. Introduction are now equipped with a variable-speed compressor and

Air conditioning (A/C) systems are widely used in commercial
and residential buildings for indoor thermal environmental
control. With the development of low-cost variable speed
drives (VSDs), an increasingly large number of A/C systems
a variable speed supply fan for capacity control. Accordingly,
control algorithms based on VSD technology for DX A/C
systems have been developed, including the previously
related studies (Qi and Deng, 2009) where a multi-input multi-
output (MIMO) controller for a DX A/C system was success-
fully developed and experimentally tested. Using the MIMO

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ852 2766 5859; fax: þ852 2765 7198.
E-mail address: besmd@polyu.edu.hk (S. Deng).
0140-7007/$ – see front matter ª 2009 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2009.09.005
126 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134
Nomenclature
A, B, C Coefficient matrices (in Equation (1))
K1, K2 Gain matrix
KP, KI, KD Proportional–integral–derivative (PID) coefficient
KS, KC Coefficients
L Kalman filter gain matrix
T1 Temperature of air leaving the DX evaporator ( C)
T2 Air temperature in the conditioned space ( C)
T3 Air temperature leaving the dry-cooling region of
the DX evaporator ( C)
Tw Temperature of the DX evaporator wall ( C)
W1 Moisture content of air leaving the DX evaporator
(kg kg1 dry air)
W2 Moisture content of air in the conditioned space
(kg kg1 dry air)
TI Integral time (s)
TD Differential time (s)
r Input reference
rs Reference of DS setpoint ( C)
uc Compressor speed (rpm)
controller, indoor air temperature and humidity may be
simultaneously controlled to their respective setpoints by
simultaneously varying compressor speed and supply fan
speed. However, varying the speeds of both compressor and
the supply fan significantly impacted on the resultant oper-
ating DS in the DX A/C system, which was regulated by a built-
in conventional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) DS
controller. The resultant operating DS experienced fluctuation
which may last for many minutes, after the speeds of both
compressor and supply fan varied as regulated by the MIMO
controller for simultaneous indoor air temperature and
humidity control.
Various DS control methods have been developed and
applied in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, such
as proportional and integral control (PI), PID control and
fuzzy control over the years. For example, feedback PI
control for DS was adopted in a solar assisted heat pump
water heater system (Li et al., 2007), and experimental
results showed that the DS in the heat pump system could
be controlled stably. Chia et al. (1997) applied a fuzzy logic to
DS control in a container refrigeration system using an EEV
for better operating performance. The energy efficiency of
the container refrigeration system using the EEV was
improved by about 15% compared to that of the same
system but using a thermal expansion valve (TEV). Fuzzy
logic control was also applied to controlling the DS in
a commercial refrigeration system using an EEV, and an
adaptive DS control algorithm was devised to enhance its
evaporator performance (Jolly et al., 2000). A genetic algo-
rithm was adopted to optimize the membership functions of
fuzzy control for DS by Chen et al. (2001). When compared to
PI control, fuzzy control was more stable and accurate in
regulating DS although control sensitivity was slightly lower.
Rasmussen (2008) proposed a method for DS and capacity
control in refrigeration systems, and the method was
experimentally validated. However, in all these reported
uc0 Compressor speed at operating point (rpm)
ue Input of EEV
us Supply fan speed (rpm)
us0 Supply fan speed at operating point (rpm)
Duc Change of compressor speed (rpm)
Dus Change of supply fan speed (rpm)
u Input variable vector
x State variable vector
y Output variable vector
Abbreviations
A/C Air-conditioning
DB Dry-bulb temperature
DS Degree of superheat
DX Direct expansion
EEV Electronic expansion valve
MIMO Multi-input multi-out
PID Proportional–integral–differential
VSD Variable speed drive
WB Wet-bulb temperature
studies, the control algorithms developed were of feedback
type, so that applying these control algorithms in a DX A/C
system was not considered useful in mitigating the fluctu-
ation of DS when speeds of both compressor and supply fan
were varied for capacity control. A PI controller with a feed-
forward compensator based on a decoupling model was
developed by Hua et al. (2009) to control cooling capacity
and DS independently, and experimental results showed
that the independent control scheme can improve control
performance of air conditioning systems.
On the other hand, He et al. (1997, 1998) developed a two-
input two-output control algorithm for DS and the evapo-
rating temperature in a refrigeration system by varying
compressor speed and EEV opening. It was shown that for the
refrigeration system, establishing a multivariable control-
oriented mathematical model for the intended controlled
variables, i.e., DS and the evaporating temperature, was very
complicated, as there were too many operating parameters to
be considered in the multivariable control-oriented mathe-
matical model. Such was also demonstrated in the previously
related study (Qi and Deng, 2009) for developing a multivari-
able control-oriented mathematical model and the MIMO
controller for a DX A/C system. Thus it would be even more
difficult to develop a multivariable control-oriented mathe-
matical model, which is intended to assist developing algo-
rithms of simultaneously controlling three objectives,
e.g. indoor air temperature, humidity and DS through varying
compressor speed, supply fan speed and EEV opening using
a three-input three-output controller in the DX A/C system.
Given the complexity of the three-input three-output
controller, it is also very costly to put it into practical use.
Therefore it will be more feasible to develop a new DS
controller to be used for achieving better DS control perfor-
mance, in conjunction with the MIMO controller in a DX A/C
system when its compressor and supply fan speeds are varied
for capacity control.
 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134 127

With the fast development of Direct Digital Control (DDC)

technique, information on the changes of compressor speed
and supply fan speed can be easily obtained and used for
control purpose. Therefore the development of this new DS
controller was based on that the information of the changes of
both compressor speed and supply fan speed may be used for
predicting the change of DS, thus appropriate control action
for EEV may be timely taken.
This paper reports on the development of a new DS
controller to be used for better DS control performance when
compressor and supply fan speeds are varied for capacity
control in a DX A/C system having a variable-speed
compressor and supply fan. The organization of this paper is
as follows. The backgrounds to initiating the current study are
introduced in Section 2. Section 3 describes briefly an experi-
mental DX A/C system. The previously developed MIMO
controller and the new DS controller to be developed will be
jointly used to control the experimental DX A/C system. The
development details of the new DS controller are reported in
Section 4. Controllability test results of the new DS controller,
when operated together with the MIMO controller to control
indoor air temperature, humidity and DS, are presented and
discussed in Section 5. The conclusion of the paper is given in
Section 6.
2. Background
In the previous related study by Qi and Deng 2009, indoor
air temperature and humidity may be simultaneously
controlled to their respective setpoints by using an MIMO
controller through simultaneously varying compressor
speed and supply fan speed. However, varying the speeds
of both compressor and the supply fan significantly
impacted on the resultant operating DS in the DX A/C
system, which was regulated by a built-in conventional PID
DS controller.
Fig. 1 shows an example of the measured variation
profiles of the operating parameters in an experimental DX
A/C system under both the MIMO controller for indoor air
temperature and humidity control and the conventional PID
DS controller. As seen from Fig. 1, after the settings of
indoor air dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures were both
reduced by 0.5  C at t ¼ 510 s, the MIMO controller responded
by increasing the speeds of compressor and supply fan
(Fig. 1(d)) to provide a greater output cooling capacity.
Although indoor air dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures
were finally controlled to their respective setpoints (Fig. 1(a)),
the resultant operating DS under the conventional PID DS

dry-bulb temperature a
24
Temperature (° C)

22
set point

20
wet-bulb temperature
18

16 set point

14 b
Degree of superheat

12
10
set point
8
( ° C)

6
4
2
0
60
c
EEV opening (%)

50

40

30
d
6000
Speed (rpm)

compressor speed

4000
supply fan speed
2000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Time (s)

Fig. 1 – Measured variation profiles of operating parameters in the DX A/C system under the MIMO controller and the
conventional PID DS controller (1st set of test).
128 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134
controller experienced significant fluctuation which lasted
for many minutes after the speed changes were introduced.
The highest DS experienced was 14  C (Fig. 1(c)). Such
a fluctuation in the operating DS would impact the perfor-
mance of a refrigeration system, in terms of its operating
stability and efficiency.
The built-in conventional PID DS controller in the DX A/C
system would not respond to take control action until it
received the feedback information of the change in DS, so that
the opening of an expansion valve can be correspondingly
adjusted. However, such a feedback process would take some
time before the opening of the expansion valve can be grad-
ually regulated in order to return the DS to its setpoint. This
can be seen from Fig. 1, between 510 and 750 s, when
compressor speed and supply fan speed were increased as
regulated by the MIMO controller (Fig. 1(d)), the rate of
increase in DS was at around 130% (Fig. 1(b)), much faster than
that for the EEV opening at around 30% (Fig. 1(c)). Although in
a DX A/C system, its operating DS may be influenced by
changes of other operating parameters, changes in both
compressor and supply fan speeds can be a major factor
causing significant fluctuation of its operating DS, as illus-
trated in Fig. 1(c). The above experimental results clearly
demonstrated the drawbacks of DS control using conven-
tional PID DS controller when compressor and supply fan
speeds were varied for capacity control in a DX A/C system. On
the other hand, although the numerical values of PID
parameters in a conventional controller may be adjusted to
change the response rate for the opening of the EEV, this
would also lead to the instability of DS when there were other
reasons causing the changes in DS. Therefore, developing
a new control DS algorithm, which can replace a conventional
PID DS controller for better control performance in a DX A/C
Receiver
EEV New DS
controller
DS
Evaporator
Conditioned Space
DB
WB
Load generation units
Fig. 2 – Schematic diagram of the experimental DX A/C system and its controllers.
system when DS fluctuation was caused by changes in its
compressor and supply fan speeds, has become necessary.
3. Description of an experimental DX A/C
system
The experimental DX A/C system was mainly composed of
two parts, i.e., a DX refrigeration plant (refrigerant side) and
an air-distribution sub-system (air side). Its schematic
diagram is shown in Fig. 2. The major components in the DX
refrigeration plant included a variable-speed rotor
compressor, an electronic expansion valve (EEV), a high-effi-
ciency tube-louver-finned DX evaporator and an air-cooled
tube-plate-finned condenser. The evaporator was placed
inside the supply air duct on the air side to work as a DX air
cooling coil. The nominal output cooling capacity from the DX
refrigeration plant was 9.9 kW. The working fluid was refrig-
erant R22, with a total charge of 5.3 kg.
The air side included an air-distribution ductwork, a vari-
able-speed centrifugal supply fan, and a conditioned space.
The space was measured at 6.8 m (L)  3.9 m (W )  2.9 m (H ).
Inside the space, there were sensible heat and moisture load
generating units (LGUs), simulating the cooling load in the
space. The experimental DX A/C system was fully instru-
mented for measuring and monitoring all system operating
parameters including temperatures, flow rates of both air and
refrigerant, and pressures, etc. The experimental DX A/C
system was previously used in the development of the MIMO
controller (Qi and Deng, 2009) which simultaneously
controlled the indoor air temperature and humidity by varying
compressor speed and supply fan speed. This is also shown in
Fig. 2.
Air-cooled
Condenser
Oil separator
Variable Speed
MIMO Compressor
Controller
Variable Speed
Supply Fan
 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134 129

In order to track the reference, an integrator was included

4. Controller design in the controller. The integrator variable was written as
follows:
In the current study, a new DS controller which is to replace
a conventional PID DS controller for better DS control perfor- h_ ¼ r  y (3)
mance when speeds of compressor and supply fan are varied,
Therefore the augmented state equations became:
has been developed. The previously developed MIMO
       
controller and this new DS controller will work together to x_ A 0 x B 0 u
$xa ¼ þ ¼ Aa xa þ Ba ua (4)
control three objectives, e.g. indoor air temperature, humidity h_ C 0 h 0 I r
and the DS in the experimental DX A/C system. These are    
x x
y ¼ ½C 0 ¼ Ca xa ¼ xa (5)
shown in Fig. 3. h h
It has been shown that the changes in both compressor
A gain matrix, K2, can be selected to obtain the desire
speed and supply fan speed would impact on the operating DS
performance of the controlled system. For the MIMO
in the experimental DX A/C system. For example, increasing  
0:006875 0:00165
compressor speed would lead to an increase in DS. Therefore, controller developed, K2 ¼
0:000405 0:000162
when the information of speed changes can be timely used by
After obtaining the gain matrix K2, the control law can be
a controller to adjust the opening of the EEV to vary refrigerant
expressed as follows:
flow into the evaporator, rather than waiting for the DS signal
to be fed back such as in a conventional PID DS controller, the  
b
x
b  K2 h ¼ ½ K1
u ¼ K1 $ x K2  ¼ Ka xa (6)
magnitudes of fluctuation in DS due to changes in speed may h
be significantly mitigated.
Therefore the inputs to the system can be written as
follows:
     
us dus u
4.1. MIMO controller ¼ u þ u0 ¼ þ s0 (7)
uc duc uc0

where u0 is the inputs at operating point.

The development of the MIMO controller for the experimental
The MIMO controller so developed was successfully tested
DX A/C system has been separately reported in Qi and Deng
with the experimental DX A/C system.
2009. However, for the completeness of the current paper,
these are briefly repeated here. A dynamic linearized mathe-
matical model (Qi and Deng, 2008) of the experimental DX A/C 4.2. New DS controller
system which was suitable for multivariable control design
was developed and written in state-space representation as As seen from Fig. 3, the new DS controller in the DX A/C
follows: system was developed from a conventional PID DS controller
 by integrating two feed-forward channels through which the
x_ ¼ Ax þ Bu
(1) information of changes of both compressor speed Duc and
y ¼ Cx
supply fan speed Dus was passed to the new DS controller. The
where the state variables x ¼ ½dT1 ; dT2 ; dT3 ; dTw ; dW1 ; dW2 T ; the compressor speed and supply fan speed were the two main
input variables u ¼ ½dus ; duc T ; and the output variables factors which impacted on the operating DS in the DX A/C
y ¼ ½dT2 ; dW2 T ; which are the dynamic deviations from their system. For example, increasing compressor speed would lead
setpoints, respectively. A, B, and C are the coefficient matrices. to more refrigerant being sucked into compressor and thus an
An optimal observer was given by: increase in DS. Lowing supply fan speed would lead to
  a decrease of cooling capacity of evaporator and then
^_ ¼ A$ x
x b þ B$u þ L y  C x
b (2)
a decrease in DS. Therefore, when the information of speed
b is an estimate of the state variables x, L Kalman filter
where x changes can be timely used by a controller to adjust the
gain matrix. opening of an EEV to vary refrigerant flow into evaporator, the

New DS Controller

+ Conventional
rs e u1 + ue DX Air Conditioning DS
PID DS
- Controller + System
u2
K1 us
+ + uc

K2 DB
Δus MIMO
Δuc Controller WB

Fig. 3 – The schematic diagram of the complete control for the experimental DX A/C system.
130 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134

dry-bulb temperature a
24

Temperature (°C )
22
set point

20
wet-bulb temperature
18

16 set point
12
Degree of superheat

10
b
8
set point
(°C)

6
4
2
0
60
c
EEV opening (%)

50

40

30

d
6000
Speed (rpm)

compressor speed

4000
supply fan speed
2000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Time (s)

Fig. 4 – Measured variation profiles of operating parameters under the MIMO controller and the new DS controller (1st test set).

magnitudes of fluctuation in DS due to speed changes may be u2 ðkÞ ¼ Kc Duc þ Ks Dus (9)
significantly mitigated.
ue ðkÞ ¼ u1 ðkÞ þ u2 ðkÞ (10)
The control signal for operating the EEV in the experi-
mental DX A/C system was obtained as follows: Where k stands for the discrete time, KP, KI, KD are the
PID feedback loop: proportional, integral and derivative coefficients, respectively,
and KI ¼ TKP/TI, KD ¼ TDKP/T. T is the sampling period, TI the
u1 ðkÞ ¼ u1 ðk  1Þ þ KP ðeðkÞ  eðk  1ÞÞ þ KI eðkÞ þ KD ðeðkÞ integral time and TD the derivative time. Duc is the change of
 2eðk  1Þ þ eðk  2ÞÞ ð8Þ compressor speed and Dus the change of supply fan speed,
both being a variable from the MIMO controller. Ks and Kc are
Feed-forward channels: coefficients.

60
16

14 55
Under new DS controller
EEV Opening (%)
Degree of superheat (°C)

Under conventional PID DS controller

12 50
10
Under new DS controller 45
8
40 Under conventional PID DS controller
6

4 35

2 30
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Time (s)
Time (s)
Fig. 6 – Comparison of EEV opening under the new DS
Fig. 5 – Comparison of DS under the new DS controller and controller and the conventional PID DS controller
the conventional PID DS controller (1st test set). (1st test set).
 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134 131

3.4 shown in Fig. 1 by replacing its conventional PID DS controller

with the new DS controller. The experimental results are
3.2
shown in Figs. 4–7. The second set was for testing the
3.0 Under new DS controller
controllability of the experimental DX A/C system under both
COP

2.8 the conventional PID DS controller and the new DS controller,

2.6 both together with MIMO controller, when indoor air
temperature settings were increased. The results of the
2.4
second test set are shown in Figs. 8–12.
2.2
Under conventional PID DS controller For the first set of test, indoor air dry-bulb and wet-bulb
2.0 temperature were set at 24.5  C and 17.5  C, respectively. The
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time (s) setpoint of DS was 6  C. When the above settings were
maintained at a steady-state, the compressor speed and the
Fig. 7 – Comparison of COP under the new DS controller supply fan speed were 4013 rpm and 2168 rpm, respectively.
and the conventional PID controller (1st test set). At t ¼ 510 s, the settings of both indoor dry-bulb and wet-bulb
temperature were reduced by 0.5  C.
Fig. 4 shows the measured variation profiles of operating
parameters under both MIMO controller and new DS
5. Controllability tests: results and controller to simultaneously control the three objectives, e.g.
discussions indoor air dry-bulb, wet-bulb temperature, and DS in the DX
A/C system. As seen from Fig. 4(a), indoor air dry-bulb and
The new DS controller was implemented in the experimental wet-bulb temperature were also controlled to their respec-
DX A/C system, together with the MIMO controller. Two sets tive setpoints by the MIMO controller after the indoor air
of controllability test were carried out. The first set was to settings were reduced. However, the highest DS reached to
repeat the same experimental operation whose results are around 10  C under the new DS controller (Fig. 4(b))

a
24
Temperature (°C)

dry-bulb temperature set point

22

20

18

16 wet-bulb temperature set point

b
Degree of superheat

14
12
10
(°C)

8
6
4 set point
2
0
60
c
EEV opening (%)

50

40

30
d
6000
Speed (rpm)

compressor speed
4000
supply fan speed
2000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time (s)

Fig. 8 – Measured variation profiles of operating parameters under the MIMO controller and the conventional PID DS
controller (2nd test set).
132 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134

a
24

Temperature (°C)
dry-bulb temperature set point
22
20
18
16 wet-bulb temperature set point

12
Degree of superheat

10 b
8
(°C)

6
4 set point

2
0
60
c
EEV opening (%)

50

40

30
d
6000
Speed (rpm)

compressor speed
4000
supply fan speed
2000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time (s)

Fig. 9 – Measured variation profiles of operating parameters under the MIMO controller and the new DS controller
(2nd test set).

compared to over 14  C under the conventional PID DS Fig. 6 shows the comparison of EEV openings under the new
controller (Fig. 1(b)). DS controller and the conventional PID DS controller. Using the
Fig. 5 shows the comparison of DS under both the new DS new DS controller, the opening of EEV was at about 52.8% of the
controller and the conventional PID DS controller. It demon- full opening at t ¼ 780 s, larger than which was at 50% under
strates that the new DS controller can result in a better the conventional PID DS controller. This showed that the
controlled DS compared to the conventional PID DS controller increasing rate of EEV opening was fast under the new DS
when the speeds of compressor and supply fan varied as controller than that under the conventional PID DS controller.
required by the MIMO controller. Better control performance Fig. 7 shows the comparison of the operating efficiency in
of DS was reflected in two aspects: (1) reduced magnitude of terms of COP of the DX A/C system under both the new DS
DS fluctuation; (2) fast returning to the DS setting.
55
16
50
14
EEV Opening (%)
Degree of superheat (°C)

45 Under conventional PID DS controller

12 Under new DS controller
10 40
8
35
6
Under new DS control
4 30

2 25
Under conventional PID DS controller
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
0 Time (s)
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time (s)
Fig. 11 – Comparison of EEV opening under the new DS
Fig. 10 – Comparison of DS under the new DS controller and controller and the conventional PID DS controller
the conventional PID DS controller (2nd test set). (2nd test set).
 international journal of refrigeration 33 (2010) 125–134 133

4.0 new DS controller than that under the conventional PID DS

controller when the speeds of compressor and supply fan
were reduced, leading to a better control performance of DS.
3.5 Under new DS controller
The comparison of COP under the new DS controller and
the conventional PID DS controller is shown in Fig. 12. On
COP

3.0 average, the COP under the new DS controller was 2.98, higher
than that of 2.92 under the conventional PID DS controller.
Under conventional PID DS controller
2.5 From the experimental results shown above, it can be seen
that the new DS controller can lead to a better control over DS
when it worked together with the MIMO controller to vary the
2.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 speeds of both compressor and supply fan to simultaneously
Time (s) control indoor air temperature and humidity in the DX A/C
system. Therefore, a better operating performance in terms of
Fig. 12 – Comparison of COP under the new DS controller
operating efficiency and stability of the DX A/C system was
and the conventional PID DS controller (2nd test set).
resulted in. On the other hand, although the new DS controller
was developed in conjunction with the MIMO controller in the
controller and the conventional PID DS controller. As seen DX A/C system, its practical application was not limited to
from the figure, after the changes in speed taking place at being used together with the MIMO controller. Its application
t ¼ 510 s, the COP of DX A/C system was always better under can be extended to any other control algorithm involving
the new DS controller than that under the conventional PID varying compressor and supply fan speeds of capacity control,
DS controller. On average, the COP of the DX A/C system under such as the control algorithms developed by Li and Deng
the new DS controller was improved by about 6.4% compared (2007a,b), provided that the information of speed changes can
to that under the conventional PID DS controller during the be input to the new DS controller.
transient period starting from t ¼ 510 s. The improvement of
the operating efficiency of the DX A/C system was considered
to be due to the more effective use of the heat exchange
6. Conclusions
surface area in the DX cooling coil with a smaller operating DS.
For the second set of test, the indoor air dry-bulb and wet-
A new DS controller, for improving the control performance of
bulb temperature were initially set at 24  C and 17  C,
DS in a DX A/C system when the fluctuation of operating DS
respectively. The setpoint of DS was also 6  C. When the above
was resulted from varying speeds of its compressor and supply
settings were maintained at a steady-state, the compressor
fan, has been developed and experimentally tested, and is
speed and the supply fan speed were at 4013 rpm and
reported in this paper. The new DS controller was developed
2168 rpm, respectively. At t ¼ 600 s, the indoor air dry-bulb and
based on a conventional PID DS controller by adding two feed-
wet-bulb temperature settings were increased from 24  C to
forward channels so that information of speed changes of
24.5  C and from 17  C to 17.5  C, respectively. Figs. 8 and 9
compressor and supply fan can be timely passed to the new DS
show the measured variation profiles of the operating
controller. Controllability test results showed that an
parameters in the experimental DX A/C system under the
improved DS control performance can be achieved in using the
conventional PID DS controller and the new DS controller,
new DS controller over the conventional PID DS controller, and
both operating together with the MIMO controller for capacity
consequently a better operating performance of the DX A/C
control, respectively. From both diagrams, it can be seen that
system in terms of operating efficiency and stability has been
after the changes in temperature settings were introduced at
achieved. Furthermore, the new DS controller can be used with
t ¼ 600, as regulated by the MIMO controller, the speeds of
all other types of capacity control for a DX A/C system provided
compressor and supply fan were decreased to reduce the
that the information of speed changes can be made available
output cooling capacity from the DX A/C system. Finally the
to the new DS controller.
indoor air dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature were controlled
to their respective settings under both the new DS control and
conventional PID DS control, as shown in Figs. 8(a) and 9(a),
respectively. However, a better DS control was achieved using Acknowledgements
the new DS controller than that using the conventional PID DS
controller, as shown in Fig. 10. When the compressor speed The authors acknowledge the financial supports from both
and supply fan speed were decreased to reduce cooling the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (B-Q05R) and The
capacity of the DX A/C system in order to track new indoor air Hong Kong Polytechnic University (G-U271) for the work
settings, the lowest DS under the conventional PID DS reported in this paper.
controller was around 0.4  C, and that under the new DS
controller was around 2.3  C. This could effectively prevent
the DX A/C system from being operated with a danger of references
sucking in liquid refrigerant.
Fig. 11 shows comparison of the EEV opening under the
new DS controller and the conventional PID DS controller. It Chen, W.Y., Chen, Z.J., Zhu, R.Q., Wu, Y.Z., 2001. Control
demonstrates that the closing rate of EEV was fast under the algorithm of electronic expansion valve in evaporator
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