Show Daily Extras - Thursday

R134a shortage leads to concern
Internet sales of flammable air-conditioning (A/C) refrigerant are a growing public danger, according to a concern raised during the SAE Interior Climate Control Committee (ICCC) meeting yesterday.

There is a worldwide shortage of R134a, the non-flammable refrigerant used in almost all original equipment automotive A/C systems. The shortage is caused by limited production and increasing world demand, as countries such as India switch from R12. That switch was made in the U.S. and most other countries from 1991 to 1995. R134a prices have risen from as little as $80 for a 30-lb tank to up to $300 and more. Small cans, containing 12 oz, have more than doubled or tripled in price. Small cans of flammable refrigerant, typically propane, are often not labeled as such, explained ICCC Chair Ward Atkinson, adding that motorists with leaking systems who install the product create danger for themselves, passengers, and unknowing technicians to whom they eventually may go for service.

Many professional shops today have refrigerant identifiers that can detect flammable refrigerants. Shops almost surely would refuse to service cars so equipped, adding to the motorist's problems, said Atkinson.

The Environmental Protection Agency does not approve use of flammable refrigerants, but its nationwide legal authority under the Clean Air Act is limited to R12 systems. Flammable refrigerants advertised as drop-in replacements for R134a are therefore legal to sell for that purpose in all but the 18 states and the District of Columbia that ban flammable refrigerants.

Paul Weissler

Young Touchstone (Wabtec), a member of the CuproBraze Alliance, produces these Flat-Round tubes. (Photo courtesy of Young Touchstone)

Demand heating up for brazed copper-brass radiators
Worldwide use of brazed copper-brass heat exchangers will climb to 1 million units by 2007, Staffan Anger, President of Outokumpu Copper Strip Oy, said at a Wednesday press conference.

Sweden-based Outokumpu makes copper and brass strip, and is a member of the CuproBraze Alliance, which is promoting brazed copper-brass heat exchangers over aluminum and soldered-brass types because of the formers' advantages in durability and efficiency.

At a Wednesday morning press conference, Anger said, "The growth in CuproBraze production in the past three years has been spectacular."

There are 9 companies in production with the technology, and another 13 are about to make a decision about whether to begin production, Anger said. "And with about 80 more companies currently evaluating the technology, these numbers are skyrocketing. As a result, the CuproBraze Alliance predicts 500,000 heat exchangers in service by the close of 2005 and more than a million in service by the close of 2006."

CuproBraze technology was conceived in the 1990s to compete against the aluminum-brazing process for a wide range of mobile heat-exchanger applications. The technology is now beginning to take off, with SHAAZ of Shadrinsk, Russia, opening a plant employing CubroBraze technology in February 2003. The most recent major development in CuproBraze was the opening of a plant in Nanning, China, operated by Nanning Baling Technology.

"The CuproBraze Alliance has proven that it can ramp up manufacturing capacity to any level required, including high-volume production for OEM manufacturers," said Anger. "We knew that competitive high-volume manufacturing processes could easily be developed because of the inherent simplicity of CuproBraze technology."

CuproBraze results in more durable, more efficient heat exchangers compared to alternative materials technologies such as aluminum or soldered copper-brass. Brazing occurs at higher temperatures than soldering, so brazed joints are much stronger than soldered joints.

According to Anger, another factor that has contributed to rise in interest is that CuproBraze remains strong at high temperatures—temperatures that would turn aluminum into putty. The operating temperatures of charge air coolers (CACs) are increasing from 150°C (300°F) level up to 300°C (570°F) level. The strength of CuproBraze fin and tube alloys will be good enough at these elevated temperatures whereas aluminum will lose its strength at much lower temperatures. For this reason, the alliance expects CuproBraze to take market share from aluminum in CACs in heavy-duty trucks within the next few years.

Strength at elevated temperatures is in great demand for new clean diesel engines. The adoption of CuproBraze technology is being driven by the more stringent diesel emissions standards scheduled to take effect around the globe over the next few years.

With more and more CuproBraze heat exchangers in service, the door is open for copper-brass radiators to make a comeback in passenger cars, where aluminum has dominated since the 1980s. "Since under-the-hood temperature in passenger cars is predicted to rise in the years ahead, some major vehicle manufacturers have shown considerable interest even towards this market segment," Anger said.

Patrick Ponticel