Review on the simulation models of the two-phase-ejector used in the transcritical carbon dioxide systems

The two-phase-ejector is a prominent approach of performance improvement for transcritical CO₂ refrigeration by recovering pressure losses into compression power; however, no clear understanding of the involved complicated thermodynamic mechanism is the uppermost block to its popularization. Although comprehensive numerical study has been published aiming at the performance analysis of the two-phase ejector as well as the integrated systems, the omnifarious simulation methods were rarely summarized. This review reported and systematically categorized the state-of-the-art simulation methods aiming at two-phase ejectors. The core concepts and unsolved problems of zero/one-dimension and three-dimension models were clearly illustrated, respectively. Besides, a historical perspective of the models’ emphasis in different groups was comprehensively summarized, by which the development history of the simulation models was clearly generalized. This review could provide an overview of the simulation methods for scholars, developers and manufacturers using the most appropriate one into certain applications of ejector technology.