The Importance of CuFe2P for R744

When 1 kg of R404A has a Global Warming Potential equivalent to almost 4 tons of CO2, it's difficult not to think about how refrigeration systems should protect our World. 
If 1999 saw the introduction of the first transcritical CO2 systems, the use of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant gas —for tech people, it's R744— has made some giants steps; both because of the audits introduced by Regulation 517/2014 and also because of the growing attention and responsibility on the subject matter.

In the normal use, the higher the ambient temperature the more difficult it is to efficiently operate this kind of refrigeration gas but, apart from the design and the adopted technical solutions, there is an underlying necessity: constrain CO2 at very high pressure (up to around 120 bar). 

As a consequence, every component of the system must safely resist higher pressures. Since, in tube, the resistance to pressure is always linked to the relation between the wall thickness and the diameter, the obvious choice would be to increase the wall thickness. Right, but at what cost? A good quality of "red gold" is expensive. As such, with higher pressures, the cost of the final product would be higher as well.

An answer to this problem exists and it is the copper-iron alloy CuFe2P (CW107C). This alloy is composed of copper (about 98%) and iron (about 2%) with some Phosphorus traces and, thanks to finely dispensed iron precipitates in the matrix, it has an increased strength with respect to the regular annealed copper while preserving great cold formability, soldering and brazing properties. These characteristics make this alloy the perfect material for all deformation processes like widening. 

Therefore, GAMM has invested in the technologies to better work this alloy, often also called K65, in order to supply its clients the components of today and that of tomorrow. Depending on the specific needs, the tubes that GAMM can machine range between a diameter of 3/8" (9.52mm) and 21-1/8" (54mm).

Discover CUFE2P K65 Components by GAMM