System & component testing range is expanded

Thanks to these innovative products, and due to the fact that concepts and constructions are individually tailored to the needs of the customer, IPEtec is able to respond more precisely to customer-specific requirements in the automotive sector.

The latest compressor test benches from the IPEcomp series cover applications for refrigerant condensers, evaporators, compressors and expansion valves. They are developed for various fields of testing and measuring in the area of vehicle air conditioning such as comprehensive compressor tests, process visualisations, and component validations (VDA validation tests). Performance and efficiency testing of electrical and mechanical compressors and the related acquisition of all relevant physical values like temperature, pressure, speed, torque, voltage, and power are typical operations on the test benches. Furthermore, they can be used for oil management analysis, fast motion endurance and fatigue testing, vibration and pulsation (NVH) measurement, as well as COP determination.

The test benches meet the high requirements of the automotive industry: They allow a high flexibility and repeatability of test steps at various load conditions. A quick compressor exchange along with integrated refrigerant recycling enables a high rate of test cycles. Additionally, user-defined settings, automated test sequences, and thermodynamic load profiles can be created and executed. Two different versions of IPEcomp are available (for the R134a/HFO-1234yf refrigerants as well as for the R744 refrigerant), but can also be ordered in a custom tailored version to fulfill customer specific requirements.

With IPEload, IPEtec offers a compact load unit for efficient testing of automotive A/C refrigerant compressors during the development process. The device enables extensive functional and validation tests. For example the simulation of load characteristics of a complete refrigerant circuit or the realistic and reproducable simulation of load characteristics under different thermodynamic conditions. In addition, the user-friendly devices of the IPEload series allow fast load changes along with precise adjustment possibilities. IPEload is available for CO₂ systems as well as for fluorocarbon systems, both as a manual and an automatic operating version. Depending on the version, the load units provide a high pressure area from 8 to 28bar (R134a), respectively from 80 to 140bar (R744), as well as a low pressure range from 1,5 to 6bar (R134a), respectively from 15 to 40 bar (R744).

IPEflush is a cleaning device used to flush refrigerant circuits of HVAC systems. Remaining compressor oil and dirt particles are removed from the pipe system by a multi-phase cleaning procedure. After the refrigerant circuit has been recovered, the system is evacuated by a vacuum pump and the refrigerant fluid is recycled. The following flushing procedure with liquid refrigerant guarantees that approximately 99% of the compressor oil residue will be extracted. The high flushing pressure of up to 12 bar even allows to clean complex structured refrigeration circuits from oil residue. Furthermore, IPEflush is well suited for oil management tests in the area of vehicle air conditioning. The cleaning system has an oil receiver with a volume of 300 ml and executes approximately 18 flushing cycles per hour. The volume flow rate is 42l/h.