THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION OF VAPOR-LIQUID EQUILIBRIUM FOR BINARY MIXTURES OF HFO-1234YF AND HFC-41

ABSTRACT
Taking refrigerants R1234yf, R41 and their binary mixtures (designated as Mixture 1 (0.2509/0.7491), Mixture 2 (0.4936/0.5064) and Mixture 3 (0.7487/0.2513) for R1234yf/R41, respectively) as the research objects, the molecular dynamics method is employed to investigate their vapor-liquid equilibrium properties within the temperature range of 273-323K. Molecular dynamics simulations of pure R1234yf and R41 show maximum deviations in saturated vapor pressure of 5.59% and 4.57% respectively. The maximum deviations of vapor-liquid density are within 10%. The saturated vapor pressure, saturated vapor-liquid density and liquid-phase viscosity of the mixtures lie between those of the two pure components. As temperature increases, saturated vapor pressure and vapor-phase density increase, while liquid-phase density decreases. Further analysis of potential and kinetic energy at phase equilibrium indicates Mixture 1 is suitable for low-temperature and high-efficiency conditions, whereas Mixture 3 for medium-high temperature refrigeration systems with strict environmental requirements.
KEYWORDS
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-08-03
PAPER REVISED: 2025-08-31
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-09-01
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-12-06
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI250803210H
REFERENCES
[1] Jia, X., et al., Phase equilibrium of R1234yf and R1234ze(E) with POE lubricant and thermodynamic performance on the evaporator, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 514(2020) ,Mar., p. 112562
[2] Zhu, T., et al., Performance analysis of low GWP refrigerant used in new energy vehicle air conditioning, Journal of Refrigeration Technology, z1(2025), 7, pp. 334-350
[3] Cap, X., HFO-1234yf New Generation of Automotive Air Conditioning Refrigerant, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 6(2008), 3, pp. 55-61
[4] Minor, B., Spatz, M., HFO1234yf Low GWP Refrigerant Update, International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, (2008), p. 937
[5] Akasaka, R. et al., Thermodynamic property modeling for 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf), International Journal of Refrigeration, 33(2010), 12, pp. 52-60
[6] Fedele, L., et al., Saturated Pressure Measurements of 2,3,3,3--Tetrafluoroprop--1--ene (R1234yf) for Reduced Temperatures Ranging from 0.67 to 0.93, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 56(2011), 4, pp. 2608--2612
[7] Meng, X., et al., Viscosity measurements for 2,3,3,3--tetrafluoroprop--1--ene (R1234yf) and trans--1,3,3,3--tetrafluoropropene (R1234ze(E)), The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, 63(2013), Mar. pp. 24--30
[8] Lai, N.A. et al., Description of HFO--1234yf with BACKONE equation of state, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 305(2011), 4, pp. 204--211
[9] Kamiaka, T., et al., Vapor--liquid equilibrium measurements for binary mixtures of R1234yf with R32, R125, and R134a, International Journal of Refrigeration, 36(2013), 12, pp. 965--971
[10] Hu, P., et al., Isothermal VLE measurements for the binary mixture of 2,3,3,3--tetrafluoroprop--1--ene (HFO--1234yf) +1,1--difluoroethane (HFC--152a), Fluid Phase Equilibria, 373(2014), 4, pp. 80--83
[11] Juntarachat, N. et al., Experimental measurements and correlation of vapor--liquid equilibrium and critical data for the CO2+R1234yf and CO2+R1234ze(E) binary mixtures, International Journal of Refrigeration, 47(2014), 12, pp. 141--152
[12] Hu, P., et al., Vapor--Liquid Equilibrium Measurements for 2,3,3,3--Tetrafluoroprop--1--ene + Butane at Temperatures from 283.15 to 323.15 K, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 63(2018), Mar., pp. 1507--1512
[13] Zhang, Y., et al., Vapor--liquid equilibrium of 2,3,3,3--tetrafluoroprop--1--ene with 1--butyl--3--methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, 1--hexyl--3--methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, and 1--octyl--3--methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 260(2018), 4, pp. 203--208
[14] Richter, M., et al., Thermodynamic Properties of 2,3,3,3--Tetrafluoroprop--1--ene (R1234yf): Vapor Pressure and p--ρ--T Measurements and an Equation of State, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 56(2011), June, pp. 3254--3264
[15] Hu, P., et al., Vapor--liquid equilibria measurements of 1,1,1,2--tetrafluoroethane (HFC--134a)+2,3,3,3--tetrafluoroprop--1--ene (HFO--1234yf)+isobutane (HC--600a) ternary system, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 414(2016), 1, pp. 111--116
[16] Chen, Q., et al., An experimental study of PVTx properties in the gas phase for binary mixtures of HFO--1234yf and HFC--134a, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 385(2015), Oct., pp. 25--28
[17] Alam, M.S., Jeong, J.H., MD simulation estimation of saturation pressure and vapor--liquid equilibrium for binary blends of HFO--1234yf and HFO--1123, International Journal of Air--Conditioning and Refrigeration, 30(2022), 7, p. 9
[18] Zhang, N., et al., Molecular modeling of vapor--liquid equilibrium properties of HFC--161 and its mixture HFC--161+HFO--1234yf, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 306(2020), Mar., pp. 112--896
[19] Xia, D., Molecular dynamics simulation of vapour--liquid phase equilibrium properties of HFO--1234yf workmass and its mixtures, Ph. D. thesis, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China, 2016
[20] Alam, M.S., et al., Thermodynamic properties and critical parameters of HFO--1123 and its binary blends with HFC--32 and HFC--134a using molecular simulations, International Journal of Refrigeration, 104(2019), 7, pp. 311--320
[21] Sun, H., COMPASS: An ab initio force--field optimized for condensed--phase applications overview with details on alkane and benzene compounds, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 102(1998), 4, pp. 7338--7364
[22] Hünenberger, P.H., Thermostat algorithms for molecular dynamics simulations, Advanced Computer Simulation, 173(2005), 1, pp. 105--149
[23] Wen, C., Dai, Y., Molecular dynamics simulation study of gas--liquid phase equilibrium in R1234ze(E), Low Temperature and Superconductivity, 51(2023), 11, pp.61--67
[24] Wen, C., Molecular dynamics simulation of gas--liquid phase equilibrium properties of R1234ze(E) and its mixtures, Ph. D. thesis, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China, 2024
[25] Al Ghafri, S.Z.S., et al., Thermodynamic properties of hydrofluoroolefin (R1234yf and R1234ze(E)) refrigerant mixtures: Density, vapour--liquid equilibrium, and heat capacity data and modelling, International Journal of Refrigeration, 98(2019), 12, pp. 249--260
[26] Yang, Z., et al., Molecular modeling and simulation of vapor--liquid equilibrium of the refrigerant R152a and its mixture R152a+R32, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 394(2015), Mar., PP. 93--100
[27] Wang, Z., et al., Simplified Mixing Rules for Calculating Transport Coefficients of High--Temperature Air, International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 01(2023), 1, pp. 7644738

© 2026 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence