A Presentation on

A presentation on ENHANCING DOMESTIC REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

USING PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL

Under the Guidance of

DR. RAMESH K RATHOD
Presented by
Saurabh Katariya
Mithil Kothiwan
Shridhar Desai
Suyash Rangate
Academic Year 2020-21
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust’s
Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering & Research
Ravet, Pune-412101
 Outline of Presentation
SR.NO TITLE
* ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECTIVES
1.2 SCOPE
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
2. METHODOLOGY
3. MECHANISM OF PCM IN A REFRIGERATION SYSTEM
4. EFFECTS OF PHASE CHANGE TEMPERATURE OF PCM

5. EFFECTS OF PCM ON EVAPORATION TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE

6. EFFECT OF PCM ON THERMAL LOADS

7. LITERATURE REVIEW
8. REFERENCES
 ABSTRACT
This presents a review of various research investigations on the application of phase
change material(PCM) in refrigeration systems. Application of PCMs mostly in vapor
compression refrigeration systems have illustrated significant effects on the
performance of the system, compressor on-off cycle and electricity consumption
reduction. Since PCM must be chemically and thermally stable over a large number of
freezing/melting cycles to be applicable for thermal energy storage in refrigerators,
PCM selection for refrigeration systems is discussed as an important issue.

Moreover, influences of some parameters such as PCM thickness and phase change
temperature of PCM on the performance of refrigeration systems are reviewed. The
advantages and drawbacks of using PCM in the evaporator, condenser, compartment
section and compressor are evaluated. Using PCM at the evaporator section minimizes
the fluctuation of compartment temperature and provides stable conditions against
thermal load variations. Since incorporation of PCM at the evaporator increases the
compressor running time initially and raises the condensation temperature, several
investigations were performed to incorporate PCM at the condenser section.
 INTRODUCTION

In India, more than 80% of the domestic refrigerators utilize R134a as refrigerant which is high global warming
potential gas. In this scenario this project works on developing an eco-friendly refrigerating system with phase change
material and blend of R290 and R600a.A refrigerator (colloquially fridge) is a common household appliance that
consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic, or chemical) that transfers
heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature
below the ambient temperature of the room.

A refrigerator (colloquially fridge) is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated
compartment and a heat pump (mechanical ,electronic, or chemical) that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to
its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of
the room . Domestic refrigerators are among the most energy demanding appliances in a household due to their
continuous operation. The domestic refrigerator is one found in almost all the homes for storing food, vegetables,
fruits, beverages, and much more.Materials that can store thermal energy reversible over along time period are often
referred to as latent heat storage materials.
 OBJECTIVE
o The objectives of the performance improvement of the domestic refrigerator
by using the phase change material(PCM) are given below,
• a) To fabricate the experimental set up by modifying the domestic
refrigerator with phase change material based refrigerator.
• b) To analyze the effect of different types of phase change material by
changing its volume and temperature on the compressor of the domestic
refrigerator.
• c) To reduce the power consumption by reducing the switching duration of
the compressor.

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 SCOPE

⮚ It can be used for domestic and pharmaceutical purposes.

⮚ Enhancement of the household refrigerators efficiency plays a crucial role
in appeasing the rate of electricity consumption .
⮚ Performance improvement and enhancement of the energy saving of
household refrigerators can be implemented

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 PROBLEM STATEMENT
⮚ To increase the cooling duration in the domestic refrigerator after the
power supply is cut-off and to use refrigerants which will cause least
damage to our ecosystem

⮚ To reduce consumption of electricity by reducing the switching duration

the compressor
.
⮚ To get over problems such as
1.Low heat transfer rate
2.Super cooling
3.Corrosion of PCM container
4.Stability

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 METHODOLOGY
Domestic refrigerator

Calculations for the net energy consumption of an ordinary 165 L household refrigerator have shown
that the specific energy consumption varies between 3.23 and 4.78 KWh/yr./L .
The working principle of a refrigeration system is exactly the same as that of an air conditioner. The
Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the refrigerator which like an air-conditioner, includes
evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion device as the four basic components As a typical
design feature of a refrigerator, the evaporator is usually located in the freezer compartment, which
forms the coldest part of the cabinet with a temperature of about −15 °C, while the refrigerant
evaporates inside the evaporator tubes at −25 °C.

Current is usually set up to maintain a temperature between the top and bottom of the refrigerator. The
temperature in the freezer is maintained about −15 °C, whilst the average temperature inside of the
cabinet is 5 °C. The condenser is usually a wire and tube, or plate and tube type mounted at the back
of the refrigerator without any fans. The condensation Of the refrigerant vapor is performed with
surrounding air which rises above by natural convection as it is heated after receiving the enthalpy of
fusion of condensation from the refrigerant. The standard condensing temperature is 55 °C.

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Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the refrigerator
 Mechanism of PCM in a refrigeration system

In household refrigerators, the compressor runs in on/off mode. When the compressor works, the
refrigerant in the evaporator starts absorbing the heat present in the cabinet. However, during the
off mode of the compressor, there is an evident increase in temperature inside the evaporator
cabinet. This increase in temperature is due to the heat released by the food inside the
refrigerator and also the ambient conditions. Consequently, the compressor has to work to
release the heat externally via the condenser.

Two types of losses are experienced throughout the compressor on/off cycle. Firstly, during the
on cycle, the thermal load of the heat exchangers is relatively higher than for a normal constantly
controlled system. Due to the rise in temperature lift, this effect reduces the thermal efficiency.
Secondly, because of the refrigerant displacement following on/off processes of the compressor,
there are some energy losses. Based on Coulter and Bullard and Janssen et al. reports, these two
types of losses result in 5–37% of energy losses in a refrigeration system.

The size of crystals in samples stored under fluctuation circumstance is larger than the samples
stored in constant temperature. While studying the recrystallization of ice during storage of ice
cream, Donhowe and Hartel controlled the freezer temperature with±1.0 °C fluctuation and±0.01
°C without fluctuation,within a temperature range of −15 to −5 °C. The author’s concluded that
the rate of recrystallization increases with both extent of temperature fluctuations and storage
temperature. Phimolsiripol et al investigated the temperature fluctuations influences on bread
quality and frozen dough during frozen storage.
 Effects of phase change temperature of
PCM

The principal purpose of refrigerators is to preserve food and maintain a

refrigerated space within a required low temperature. Therefore, when a PCM
is used, the refrigeration system performance and the quality of food are
directly proportional to the PCT of that PCM.

With the increase in COP, lower power consumption was deduced by the
authors due to the fact that pressure compression ratio reduced. However, it
should be made sure that the chosen PCT is not too high. A higher
solidification temperature will result in excessive air temperature inside the
compartment during melting as shown in Fig. 7. This in turn lowers the COP.
Therefore, a compromise must be reached between the two extremes of PCT.
 Effects of PCM on evaporation temperature
and pressure

Improving the efficiency of the evaporator is the most emphasized area in the performance
enhancement of a refrigeration system. Depending upon the thermal load and type of PCM
used nearly 2–5 ° C higher evaporating temperature was achieved. This is later discussed in
Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. The increase in evaporating temperature raises the COP of the system
and decreases the power consumption [56].

Marques et al. [54] evaluated the impacts of evaporating temperature on the PCM by using
the cooling capacity of the 8 cm3 compressor at−10 °C (262 W) and−15 °C (213 W) with an
ambient temperature of 25 °C. The analysis was performed using a 5mm PCM slab. The
authors found that the freezing time increased by 26% when the evaporating temperature was
reduced from −10 °C to −15 °C. This strong influence of evaporating temperature on PCM
freezing time was observed after all the compressor COP increases linearly with evaporating
temperature.
 Effect of PCM on thermal loads

Thermal loads have an inverse relation with respect to the performance of

refrigeration systems i.e. the increase in thermal load decreases the performance of
a refrigerator. While the use of PCM in a refrigeration system can improve the
system performance, it is essential to analyse behaviour of PCM at different
loading conditions. Azzouz et al. [7] stipulated that the COP decreases by raising
the thermal load, in spite of the presence of a PCM.

This is because escalating the thermal load causes the PCM to melt partially as
there is no sufficient time for phase change [51]. The evolution of the COP is
displayed in Fig. 8 for different thermal loads. Generally, the COP values of
configurations with PCM are higher than the one without PCM. Nonetheless, it
was observed that the COP decreased with higher loadings too. In Fig. 8, it can be
seen that the increase in COP ranges from 5 to 15 %. This is also due to other
including factors such as number of door openings, external temperature and PCT.
 Fig. 3. PCM melting time with respect to the thickness of
PCM

Fig.
 Fig. 5. Autonomy and running time reduction (Text=20 °C, zero door
openings,Tpcm=−3°C)

Fig.
 Fig 6. Change in COP with respect to change in phase change temperature

Fig.
 Fig. 7. Behaviour of the average air temperature for different phase change Temperatures

Fig.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of Researcher Paper Title Conclusion

Rezaur Rahman, Md. Performance Improvement of a The selection of PCM depends on

Arafat Hossain, Domestic Refrigerator by using PCM the phase change temperature,
ShubhraKanti Das & (Phase Change Material) thickness and thermal loads. PCMs
have significant effects on other
Adnan Hasan
parameters of the refrigeration
system which have to be equally
taken into consideration.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of Researcher Paper Title Conclusion

C. Marques , G. Davies , G. The use of phase change materials The conventional refrigerator
Maidment , J. Evans , I. Wood in domestic analysis demonstrated that for
refrigerator applications current single speed compressors,
efficiency increases with
compressor displacement. The
method proposed to exploit the
superior performance of large
compressors is to accumulate their
high cooling capacity in a PCM
increasing the refrigerator
autonomy i.e. off-cycle period,
without power supply, from a few
minutes to several hours.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of Researcher Paper Title Conclusion

N.Austin , Dr. P. Senthil Thermodynamic Optimization of This project invested an ozone

Kumar , N.Kanthavelkumaran Household Refrigerator Using friendly, energy efficient, user
Propane –Butane as Mixed friendly, safe and cost effective
Refrigerant alternative refrigerant for HFC134a
in domestic refrigeration systems.

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 Conclusions
This paper shows and discusses the experimental results of a refrigerator
retrofitted to be used in domestic applications by introducing PCM. The
retrofit has been performed adding 15.6 kg of tap water PCM within the
cabinet of the refrigerator, in direct contact below and above the bare tube
evaporator arranged below the seven racks. Several conditions have been
modified, and the influence of temperature hysteresis control has been
highlighted.

The analysis of temperature profiles pointed out an improvement of product

conservation conditions since the introduction of PCM reduced the
fluctuations of the product temperature during the refrigerator operation.
Furthermore, better temperature distribution within the cabinet has been
obtained (more pronounced with higher hysteresis value), being reduced the
difference between the temperature at the top and the bottom of it.
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CFCs. Int J Refrig 1990;13:163–75.
• DEFRA. Act on CO2 Calculator: Data, Methodology and Assumptions
Paper.
• D. Coulomb, Refrigeration and cold chain serving the global food industry
and creating a better future: two key IIR challenges for improved health and
environment. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 2008;19: 413-417.
• J.M. Belman-Flores, J.M. Barroso-Maldonado, A.P. Rodríguez-Muñoz, G.
Camacho-Vázquez, Enhancements in domestic refrigeration, approaching a
sustainable refrigerator - A review, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 51 (2015)
955–968. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.003.
• C. Veerakumar, A. Sreekumar, Phase change material based cold thermal
energy storage: Materials, techniques and applications – A review, Int. J.
Refrig. 67 (2016) 271–289. doi:10.1016/J.IJREFRIG.2015.12.005.
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