Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chiller

The Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chiller features an aerodynamically optimized centrifugal impeller and a high-frequency inverter drive, achieving a CEL (Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio) of 6.0 to 7.5 at full load, with IPLV/NPLV values typically exceeding 9.0—performance unattainable by reciprocating, scroll, or screw compressor technologies for equivalent cooling capacity.

The unit's continuous capacity ranges from 200 RT (700 kW) to 2,000 RT (7,032 kW), catering to district cooling plants, large commercial HVAC systems, industrial process cooling, data center infrastructure, and pharmaceutical cleanroom applications.

Technical Parameters

Application Scope

Primary Markets

•District cooling plants and municipal chilled-water networks (400 – 2,000 RT per unit)

•Large commercial HVAC: shopping malls, airports, convention centres, Grade-A office towers

•Data-centre and server-room cooling infrastructure requiring high uptime and oil-free air quality

•Pharmaceutical, biotech, and clean-room process cooling where oil contamination is unacceptable

•Industrial process cooling: precision machining, food & beverage, chemical, and plastics industries

•Hotels, hospitals, and university campuses targeting LEED or equivalent green-building certification

Refrigerant Selection by Application

•HFO-1234ze(E) — GWP < 1; preferred for new projects in EU F-Gas and China GB refrigerant regulation compliance

•HFC-134a — proven field reliability, suitable for retrofit projects replacing old centrifugal chillers

Core Technical Features

1.Active Air-Bearing Technology – Zero Oil, Zero Friction

The Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chiller utilizes the compressor's own compressed air to achieve shaft suspension, eliminating the need for rare-earth magnets, electromagnetic coils, or dedicated bearing control power supplies. The air wedge stabilizes automatically with rotational speed, ensuring inherent system stability, a simple control architecture, and virtually zero failure modes.

2.Dual-Loop Energy Efficiency Optimization

The system simultaneously adjusts the compressor's variable frequency speed (10%–100%) and the inlet guide vane angle to achieve optimal power operation under partial load conditions throughout the year, ensuring high IPLV/NPLV values and stable operation even under low loads, with no surge or bypass risks.

3.Oil-Free Refrigeration Circuit

No lubricating oil is required, eliminating efficiency losses caused by oil film buildup in the heat exchanger. The overall heat exchange performance remains at factory standards, requiring no maintenance of oil separators, oil pumps, or oil return systems.

4.High-Efficiency Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

The evaporator and condenser use reinforced copper tubes, with corrosion-resistant titanium inserts on the water side and optimized microfins on the refrigerant side, improving nucleation boiling and film condensation coefficients. The tube bundle maintenance panel supports in-situ mechanical cleaning, eliminating the need for refrigerant recovery.

5.PLC Intelligent Control

Records operating parameters every second, with onboard storage of 12 months of trend data. Predictive diagnostics can detect abnormalities such as bearing air gap, impeller scaling, and heat exchanger scaling in advance. It connects to BMS/DCIM via Modbus TCP/BACnet IP, and an optional cloud gateway enables remote monitoring and proactive services.

6.Near-Silent, Low-Vibration

Air bearings and variable frequency control eliminate friction and power frequency pulsation. Noise level at 1 meter under full load is ≤80 dB(A), and vibration is almost entirely absent from the building structure, eliminating the need for spring-loaded vibration isolation bases..

Why Partner with Lynxcool

Air-Bearing vs. Magnetic-Bearing vs. Oil-Lubricated — Honest Comparison

Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chillers achieve oil-free operation through electromagnetic levitation. They share many efficiency benefits with air-bearing designs, but carry higher bearing-controller complexity, rare-earth magnet supply-chain risk, and sensitivity to power-quality disturbances. Air-bearing designs have no permanent magnets, no bearing power supply, and no magnet demagnetisation risk — particularly relevant in high-ambient or high-vibration industrial environments.

Oil-lubricated centrifugal chillers carry lower first cost but impose ongoing costs: oil changes, oil-separator maintenance, oil heater energy consumption year-round, and progressive heat-transfer degradation from oil contamination. Lifecycle total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) analyses consistently show air-bearing or magnetic-bearing chillers achieving payback within 3 – 5 years against oil-lubricated equivalents at Chinese commercial electricity tariffs.

Lynxcool Advantages

•Full capacity range 200 – 2,000 RT from a single product platform — fewer engineering interfaces for multi-unit plants

•Dual-refrigerant design (HFO-1234ze or HFC-134a) from stock — no special-order delay for low-GWP projects

•Factory performance testing per AHRI 550/590 with calibrated instruments and witnessed FAT available

•LynxMind™ BMS / DCIM integration pre-configured — reduces on-site commissioning to hours, not days

•Medium-voltage (10 kV) input option eliminates step-down transformer in large district-cooling plants

•China-manufactured price advantage: 20 – 35 % below equivalent European or North American brands at comparable certified performance levels

•800+ Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chillers installed across China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between air-bearing and magnetic-bearing technology?

A: Both achieve oil-free, frictionless compressor operation. Magnetic-bearing uses electromagnetic coils and rare-earth magnets to levitate the shaft, requiring a dedicated bearing-controller power supply and sensitive to power disturbances. Air-bearing uses a pressurised air film generated by the compressor itself — no magnets, no coils, no separate power supply — resulting in a simpler, more robust architecture with lower susceptibility to power-quality events.

Q: How does the Air-Bearing Centrifugal Chiller perform at part load?

A: The LynxMind™ dual-loop VFD + IGV control tracks the minimum-power point continuously. At 50 % load the COP typically exceeds full-load values by 20 – 40 %, and the unit sustains stable operation down to 10 % without surge protection bypass. Published IPLV/NPLV ratings of ≥ 9.0 reflect real-world weighted part-load performance, not a single-point test.

Q: Is regular oil maintenance still required?

A: No oil maintenance whatsoever. The refrigeration circuit contains zero lubricating oil. There are no oil separators, oil heaters, oil pumps, oil filters, or oil-change intervals. Routine maintenance consists of annual bearing air-gap verification (non-invasive, via the LynxMind™ diagnostics), annual refrigerant leak check, and periodic condenser / evaporator tube brushing — all achievable without refrigerant recovery.

Q: Which refrigerant should we specify for a new project?

A: HFO-1234ze(E) is recommended for new installations. Its global-warming potential (GWP) of < 1 future-proofs the system against tightening F-Gas regulations in China and export markets, and its thermodynamic properties pair well with the centrifugal impeller geometry for maximum efficiency. HFC-134a remains available for retrofit projects where existing pipework or site logistics favour it.

Q: What are the chilled-water and condenser-water quality requirements?

A: Chilled water: pH 7.0 – 9.0, hardness ≤ 300 ppm CaCO₃, chloride ≤ 200 ppm, total suspended solids ≤ 50 ppm. Condenser water: same pH and hardness limits; we recommend a chemical dosing system for open cooling towers. Detailed water quality specifications and chemical treatment guidance are supplied with each unit.

Q: What is the start-up current and how does it affect building electrical infrastructure?

A: VFD soft-start limits inrush current to approximately 100 – 110 % of full-load running current — effectively zero surge compared to the 300 – 600 % inrush of across-the-line starters. This allows multiple units to be started in sequence without oversizing the main distribution board and eliminates the motor-starter protection coordination complexity found in conventional designs.

Q: What warranties and service support does Lynxcool provide?

A: Standard warranty: 24 months on compressor assembly, 12 months on electrical and control components, from date of commissioning. Extended warranty packages (up to 60 months) and annual maintenance contracts with remote monitoring are available. Lynxcool maintains regional service centres in major Chinese cities and can arrange factory-authorised service partnerships in Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets.