The development of machinery manufacturing and heat recovery technologies has resulted in the development and adoption of environment-friendly reverse Brayton cycle air refrigeration systems. This study introduces the principle of the reverse Brayton cycle and describes the composition

performance

advantages and disadvantages

and applications of seven types of systems

i.e. regenerative cycle

two-stage compression cycle

two-stage expansion cycle

cascade cycle

positive and negative pressure cycles

open and closed loop cycles

and mixed working fluid cycle. Three regenerative schemes (non-regenerative

first-stage regenerative

and two-stage regenerative)

positive and negative pressure cycles

and open and closed loop cycles were compared. The optimization methods and advantages and disadvantages of the expander

heat exchanger

and dehumidification devices as well as their development status

are summarized. Finally

the key technologies and future research directions of reverse Brayton cycle air refrigeration systems are discussed.