The Transcritical CO₂ Cycle Explained: Promise, Pitfalls & Future Research Directions
1. Introduction The transcritical CO₂ cycle represents a significant advancement in sustainable energy and refrigeration research due to its minimal environmental impact and compatibility with climate goals. Unlike conventional refrigerants, CO₂ operates above its critical point, enabling unique thermodynamic behavior that offers both opportunities and challenges. Current research focuses on improving system efficiency, understanding supercritical heat transfer, and optimizing operating conditions. As global regulations phase out high-GWP refrigerants, the transcritical CO₂ cycle has become a central topic in energy, mechanical, and environmental engineering research. 2. Thermodynamic Principles and System Modeling Research on the transcritical CO₂ cycle emphasizes advanced thermodynamic modeling to understand supercritical fluid behavior and heat exchange mechanisms. Scholars investigate pressure optimization, gas cooler performance, and entropy generation to enhance system e...