Effect of Different Plenum-Chamber Coefficients on the Frosting of Air-Cooler

Abstract

The performance of the air-cooler in refrigeration systems plays a key role in their energy efficiency. Here, the plenum-chamber coefficient was defined to investigate a possible way of enhancing the refrigeration coefficient that reflects the efficiency of the system. To investigate the influence of the plenum-chamber coefficient on the frosting and the cooling system of the air-cooler, three plenum-chamber coefficients (0.74, 0.97, 1.2) were studied under two different relative humidities. The temperature decreasing curve of the environmental chamber, the velocity distribution of the air-cooler, and the frost accumulation under and on the air-cooler were analyzed. We find that the homogeneity of the velocity distribution of the air-cooler and the frost accumulation increase with a growing plenum-chamber coefficient, while the frost accumulation on the fin will first increase and then decrease with the increase in the plenum-chamber coefficient. In general, frosting is more present when the plenum-chamber coefficient is 0.97.

Keywords

• plenum-chamber coefficient
• air-cooler
• frost accumulation
• velocity distribution