FIRST R 134A/CO2 CASCADE REFRIGERATION FOR A FRENCH ICE RINK
The Alpe dHuez (French Alps) ice rink has recently been completely renovated, and the former HCFC-22 refrigeration system replaced by a cascade system HFC-134a/CO2.
Ammonia could not be usned, because of the proximity of the rink with habitations and vacation homes.
This ice rink has the peculiarity of being uncovered and runs also in summer. CO2 had therefore the advantage of allowing a steep temperature decrease, able to compensate for increased heat contribution.
The work included the replacement of the cooling system and also the rehabilitation of runway beam and therefore of the concrete slab. The slab itself is installed on top of a parking lot.
The new system is designed with a first stage delivering 800kW with 400kg of HFC-134a, and the second stage delivering 600 kW with 6 tonnes of CO2 as refrigerant.
Energy from the high pressure circuit condensation is recovered and supplies heat to :
- 3 exchangers installed in the parking lot to preserve it from freezing,
- 1 exchanger installed in a snow pit, where snow from the rink track surfacing is melting.
The rink of Alpe d'Huez, dimensions of 56 m x 26 m, is situated at 1,850 m altitude.
Source (in French): The RPF.fr