Sanden entrusted Fives Filling & Sealing
Sanden is a leading Japanese group in the supply of air-conditioned compressors for the automotive industry.
Sanden Manufacturing Europe's (SME) technical center in Tinténiac (France) has entrusted Fives Filling & Sealing with the compliance of a series of compressor test benches for the integration of the new refrigerant HFO-R1234yf.
This refrigerant being slightly flammable, but also installed on all new vehicles sold in Europe since January 1, 2017, it was important for Sanden to reinforce its means to evaluate the endurance of its compressors.
This is not the first time that Fives has carried out this operation, since the first test benches were modified in 2010. At the time, they were calorimetric and noise measurement benches. Fives' expertise in HFO and its mastery of ATEX environments guaranteed the smooth technical progress of this operation. It is also thanks to the good coordination between the SME and Fives teams, as well as to an optimal planning management, that these modifications could be carried out without disrupting the SME test program.
Characteristics of the benches:
- Compressor chamber: 1.6 m3
- Evaporator chamber: 2.5 m3
- Condenser chamber: 8.1 m3
Main modifications to prevent the formation and maintenance of a stable explosive atmosphere and to detect the possible presence of HFO:
- Permanent chamber ventilation addition
- Inert nitrogen addition with oxygen control
- HFO detection and extraction system addition
- Reinforcement of operator safety
The work was completed on time, and immediately validated by Sanden.