FME Transactions (Jan 2020)
Performance enhancement of a domestic refrigerator with Nanoparticle Enhanced PCM over the condenser side
Abstract
The present work investigates the thermal performance of a domestic refrigerator integrated with the phase change material (PCM) and Nanoparticle Enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) based thermal energy storage system (TES). The materials such as Paraffin wax and Multi Walled Carbon Nano Tube (MWCNT) Dispersed Paraffin Wax are used as TES on condenser side. The experiments are conducted to analyze the performance of the refrigerator by placing the PCM and NEPCM based TES system on the condenser side, and to predict the possible energy saving potential. The integration of PCM and NEPCM based TES system over the condenser results in lowering the ratio of on cycle time to the total cycle time of the refrigerator by 8.26% and 17.95% respectively. The Subcooling of refrigerant takes place due to effective absorption of heat on the condenser side using TES in an isothermal manner. The decrease in the ratio of on cycle time to the total cycle time of the refrigerator and sub cooling of refrigerant lead to an energy saving potential. This potential is estimated as 13.06% with PCM and 18% with NEPCM based TES systems.
