Heat Pump and Refrigeration Methods

OpenPinch separates engineering model choice into descriptive methods:

carnot_heat_pump and carnot_refrigeration

Fast thermodynamic screening. Use utility-placement and cascade-topology booleans to express the physical arrangement.

vapour_compression_heat_pump and vapour_compression_refrigeration

Refrigerant-specific simulated cycles with explicit refrigerant candidates.

brayton_heat_pump and brayton_refrigeration

Brayton-cycle studies using the model-specific backend.

mvr_heat_pump

Vapour-compression/MVR cascade targeting.

The method name selects the model; configuration does not. Named load_fraction, load_duty, or period_loads values avoid a separate load-mode string. Only one load form may be supplied per call.

Placement and Topology

Direct placement couples the HPR model to a process heat-integration target. Utility placement couples it to the site utility system. For Carnot methods, is_utility_heat_pump or is_utility_refrigeration expresses that choice.

Parallel topology represents independent lifts. Cascade topology connects successive temperature lifts and is selected with is_cascade_cycle where the model supports it. MVR is a separate named workflow rather than a hidden cycle-string combination.

Interpretation

Compare candidate results using utility reduction, recovered heat, COP, work, temperature lift, and annualized cost. A thermodynamically feasible candidate is not automatically the lowest-cost retrofit; interpret HPR targets alongside the Grand Composite Curve and net-load profiles.

Simulated-cycle integration accounting retains the model-specific compressor, expander, heat-exchanger, operating-cost, and annualized-capital contributions used by result summaries. Multiperiod summaries weight operating quantities and size shared equipment against the governing period rather than averaging away the peak design requirement.

See Heat Pump and Refrigeration Workflows and notebooks 08 through 11 in Notebook Series.