1

2


ASHRAE UNDERGRADUATE SENIOR PROJECT GRANT
FUND EXPENDITURES FORM

School: California Maritime Academy
Project
Title:
Solar Powered Absorption Refrigerator

Photovoltaic Panels
Item
Resistive Heater Wire
Controller
Structural Materials
Battery
Nuts, Bolts, Hardware, Paint
Insulation Material
Miscellaneous
$375.00
Budget
$50.00
$100.00
$100.00
$100.00
$50.00
$50.00
$25.00
---------------------- ---------
$800.00 Total

Stephen
Pronchick, Ph.D.,
CERTIFIED BY: DATE:

05/26/2011


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6
Clarifying Design Objectives .......................................................................................................... 6.
Benchmarking ................................................................................................................................ 7.
Customer needs ....8.
Constraints
.................................................................................................................................10.
Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Generating Design Alternatives
.................................................................................................11.
Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Evaluation of Design Concept Alternatives . ................................................................................. 13
Selected Design ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Product Architecture and Configuration ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Analysis of Project Components .................................................................................................. 17.
Final Project Design ..24.
Test Results ................................................................................................................................... 38
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................... 35.


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TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Portable Refrigerator Objective Tree ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2: Concept Drawing ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3: Product Architecture and Configuration Layout .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 4: Platen-Munters Absorption Refrigerator 17.
Figure 5: Resistive Heater Specifications..................................................................................... 20.
Figure 6: Solar Max PV Panel Specifications . ................................................................................ 22
Figure 7: Ni-Cr Resistance Heating Wire . ...................................................................................... 24
Figure 8: Detailed Function Diagram ...25.
Figure 9: Fabricated Cart.............................................................................................................. 26.
Figure 10: rfoil Insulation............................................................................................................. 28.
Figure 11: Heater Control Circuit................................................................................................. 29.
Figure 12: Kyocera Panel Suggested Tilt Angle ............................................................................. 34
Figure 13: Panel Locking Bracket . ................................................................................................. 34
Figure 14: Presentation Absorption Cycle .................................................................................... 37
Figure 15: Plot of Cooling Time via Wall Outlet........................................................................... 34.
Figure 16: Completed Cart and Project ....................................................................................... 36.




5

LIST

of Tables
Table 1: Benchmarking Sources ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 2: Portable Refrigerator Unit Constraints ........................................................................... 11
Table 3: Design Alternatives Functions List .................................................................................. 12
Table 4: Morphological Matrix ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 5: Weighted Decision Matrix .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 6: Selected Design Features ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 7: Refrigerator Testing Results........................................................................................... 33.

6

Introduction
The portable refrigeration unit design team collaborated to create an alternative energy
powered absorption refrigerator. The design uses solar energy to power the unit, allowing it to be
completely off of the electric grid.
The basic principle of an absorption refrigeration system is that it uses a source of heat to
provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. In a Platen-Munters gas absorption refrigerator
liquid ammonia evaporates in the presence of hydrogen gas, providing the cooling. The now-gaseous
ammonia is sent into a container holding water, which absorbs the ammonia. The water-ammonia
solution is then directed past a heater, which boils ammonia gas out of the water-ammonia solution.
The ammonia gas is then condensed into a liquid. The liquid ammonia is then sent back through the
hydrogen gas, completing the cycle.
If solar power is used to provide heat to such a system, it may do so in two forms, thermal or
photovoltaic. Solar thermal harnesses solar heat directly using focused mirrors to heat a transfer fluid.
Solar photovoltaic uses solar panels that operate using the photo-electric effect to produce direct
current (DC) electricity. This electricity can then be inverted to power AC electronics and can also be
used to create heat via a resistive heat source.
The final system design for this project contained one absorption cycle refrigerator with an extra
absorption cycle that was painted and mounted for explanation and educational use. A resistive heating
wire made of nickel-chromium was used to generate the heat to make the cycle work, and the electricity
to run this heater came from two 12V batteries via a control circuit. The batteries were charged through
a charge controller from two, 135 watt photovoltaic panels that could be rotated to face the sun and
various angles. This entire system was mounted on a wheeled cart for easy mobility and portability.

Clarifying Design Objectives
The first step in our design was to define the problem. Our primary concern was
gathering enough solar energy to run a refrigerator in order to reach a space temperature
of less than 40F. The second task was to store as much of this energy as possible so that

7

the refrigerator would continue to run when solar energy was not available, such as at
night. Finally, we desired a mobile refrigerator, capable of use by campers, hikers,
beachgoers, field scientists, and by the everyday person. This meant it had to be robust
enough to withstand a variety of environments, but simple enough for any untrained
person to operate.
Benchmarking
Our team conducted benchmarking to find similar products to our planned design to get
ideas and to find ways to improve on existing technologies. There were several different
portable refrigerators out on the market, each using different cycles, power sources, and
cooling capacities. Several different products were compared and their strengths and
weaknesses analyzed for better understanding on the current refrigeration . References for
these products are listed in Table 1.

Car refrigerator:
http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Car-refrigerator/p/sm/1000605546.htm
Car freezer:
http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Car-refrigerator/p/sm/1014514614.htm
Solar powered refrigerator:
http://www.campinggeardepot.com/store-products-DCR165SP-SunDanzer-58-cuft-12V-24V-
Energy-Efficient-Solar-DC-Refrigerator---Combo-with-Solar-Panel_40635203.html

Table 1 Benchmarking Sources



8

Customer Needs
We then determined the customer requirements of our design. These requirements are not
to be confused with constraints; rather they further define and focus our project.
Identifying customer needs is itself a process, for which we present a three-step method as
follows:

1. Gather data on customer needs was done by asking questions like those listed below:
What would the customer like about the product?
What issues would the customer consider when purchasing the product?
What improvement would the customer want to be made to the product?

2. Organize the needs into a hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary needs.
The results of step 1 may end up to a large number of need statements. Working
with such a long list of detailed needs is difficult. The goal of this step is to organize
these needs into a hierarchical list. Group the need statements according to the
similarity of the needs they express. The list will typically consist of a set of primary
needs, each one of which will be further characterized by a set of secondary needs.
In some cases, the secondary needs may be broken down into tertiary needs as well.
The primary needs are the most general needs, while the secondary and tertiary
needs express needs in more detail
3. Create an Objective Tree:
The above hierarchical list can then be put in an objective tree form, which is a
graphical depiction of the objectives for the artifact. The top-level goal in an
objective tree, which we represent as a node at the peak of the tree, is decomposed
or broken down into sub-goals that are at different levels of importance or that
include progressively more detail, so the tree reflects a hierarchical structure as it
expands downward. An objective tree also shows that related sub-goals or similar

9
















Figure 1: Portable Refrigerator Objective Tree
Portable
Refrigerator
Consumer
Friendly
Safety
Temperature (< 41F)
Durability
Mobility
Capacity
Minimal Grid Power
Environmentally Friendly
Easy to use
Simple Maintenance
1-Button
Operation Minimal Assembly Required
Washable
Strong
Weight
Size
Cools day and night

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ideas can be clustered together, which gives the tree some organizational strength
and utility. Our Objective Tree is shown in Figure 1.
Constraints
Constraints are restrictions or limitations on a behavior or a value or some other aspect
of a designed object's performance. Constraints are important to the designer because
they limit the size of design space by forcing the exclusion of unacceptable alternatives.
The three types of constraints are type 1: sponsor-imposed constraints, type 2:
compatibility constraints (with existing equipment, or mating parts), and type 3:
restraints from codes/standards/regulations/law of physics. Table 2 lists the constraints
on the solar refrigerator

Must meet IEEE Requirements (Type 3)
Should not cost more than $600 (Type 1)
Should survive common weather fronts (excluding hail, sleet, etc.), (Type 3)
Solar heat cannot interfere with attempt to cool refrigerator (Type 2
Cool below 40F as per Safety Standards (Type 3)
Table 2 Portable Refrigerator Unit Constraints







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Generating Design Alternatives
It is obvious that the first design concept imagined will more than likely not be the best
design for the task. Therefore, a team must develop alternative designs that will
accomplish the task in different, creative ways.
We thought of different means to house our refrigerator, different power
sources, several ways to convert power to usable energy and to store excess energy,
and finally different ways to cool the unit. Our list of means is shown in Table 3.

Function List of Means
Contain Cold Environment
Cooler (ice chest), Card Board, Wood Box, Plastic Bag, Paper Bag, Styrofoam Box, Wax Box,
Barrel, Old Fridge
Provide Power
Solar Photovoltaic, Solar Thermal, Battery, Fuel Cell, 12V Car Plug-in, Wall Power (Grid), Wind
Turbine, Human Power, Nuclear Power
Convert Power to Usable
Energy
Heating Coil (water), Heating Coil (electric), Fire, Friction, Mirrors
Store Energy Battery, Fuel Cell, Gasoline, Generator, Propane
Cool Food
Ice, Dry Ice, Liquid Nitrogen, Absorption Chiller, Compression Chiller, Fan, Chemical Reaction
(like the ice packs that get cracked)

Table 3: Design Alternatives List
The final step in generating design alternatives is to create a morphological matrix, shown in
Table 4. Using the morphological matrix, our group was able to see the concepts that could
come to reality, and the ones that are maybe too far-fetched. Below are 8 different
combinations that we could possibly see ourselves using for our final design. Again, our
purpose was not to rank these ideas yet, but simply to gain some perspective on different
specific project layouts.


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Function / Mean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A. Container
Cooler (Ice
Chest) Card Board Wood Box Plastic Bag Paper Bag Styrofoam Box Wax Box Barrel Old Fridge
B. Power
Solar
(Photovoltaic)
Solar
(Thermal) Battery Fuel Cell 12V Car Plug-in
Wall Power
(Grid)
Wind
Turbine
Human
Power
Nuclear
Power
C.
Converts Power to
Usable Energy
Heating Coil
(Water)
Heating Coil
(Electric) Fire Friction Mirrors Compressor - - -
D. Stores Energy Battery Fuel Cell Gasoline Generator Propane - - - -
E. Cools Food Ice Dry Ice
Liquid
Nitrogen
Absorption
Chiller
Compression
Chiller Fan
Chemical
Reaction - -
Table 4: Morphological Matrix

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Evaluation of Design Concept Alternatives
The evaluation of our design alternatives relative to our objectives was a group task,
In which we debated the definition of each criteria objective and redefined its
relevance to our project. For example, the first objective was that the refrigerator cools
to at least 40F. We recalled that this was the temperature for safe food storage, and
therefore that this scale should not vary too much because safety is a big concern for
our customers. As a team, we went through each objective and applied a 5-point scale
describing how well the objective was met. These scales were applied to four candidate
designs.

1. A9 (Old Refrigerator), B1 (Solar Photovoltaic) & B3 (Battery), C2 (Electric Heating Coil),
D1 (Battery), E4 (Absorption Chiller)
2. A9 (Old Refrigerator), B1 (Solar Photovoltaic) & B6 (Wall Power), C2 (Electric Heating
Coil), D1 (Battery), E4 (Absorption Chiller)
3. A1 (Cooler), B1 (Solar Photovoltaic) & B5 (12V Car Plug-in) & B3 (Battery), C2 (Electric
Heating Coil), D1 (Battery), E4 (Absorption Chiller)
4. A1 (Cooler), B1 (Solar Photovoltaic) & B3 (Battery), C2 (Electric Heating Coil), D1
(Battery), E4 (Absorption Chiller)

The Weighted Decision Matrix was then constructed as shown in Table 5.

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Alt. Design 1 Alt. Design 2 Alt. Design 3

Alt. Design 4
Evaluation Wt Design unit Value Wtd Value Wtd Value Wtd Value Wtd
Criteria Parameter value value value value
Temperature

0.335 Cools food to at
least 40F
F
2
0.67
2
0.67
2
1.005 2 1.005



Washable 0.0668 Time to clean min
3
0.2004
3
0.2004
1
0.0668 0 0



Strong 0.0167 Number of
fragile parts
#
3
0.0334
1
0.0501
1
0.0501 1 0.0334



Environmentally
Friendly
0.0835 Time w/o grid
power
hrs
4
0.334
4
0.334
4
0.334 4 0.334



Light Weight 0.1267 Weight lbs
2
0.2534
3

0.3801
3

0.3801
2

0.2534

Small Size 0.0632 Outer
Dimensions
sq.ft
1
0.0632
1
0.0632
1
0.0632 0 0



High Capacity 0.12 Storage Volume cu.ft
1
0.12
1
0.12
1
0.12 3 0.36



Cool day/night 0.14 Energy Storage kwh
4
0.28
3
0.42
3
0.42 3 0.42

One-button
Operation
0.025 Number of
buttons to
operate
#
2
0.05
3
0.075
4
0.1 3 0.075

Simple
Maintenance
0.025 Set-
up/assembly
time
(wks)
3
0.05
2
0.075
1
0.025 1 0.025

TOTAL 1 2.3761 2.3294 2.1958 2.1541
Table 5 Weighted Decision Matrix

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Selected Design
With a total weighted value of 2.3761, our alternative design 1 appeared to be the best
design to fulfill our customer requirements. The biggest factors in this
decision were strength and energy storage. Strength was measured by the number of
fragile parts Because of our mobility constraint, we wanted to ensure a strong and
reliable design. Energy storage was measured in the estimated number of kWh of
energy the unit would be able to store. This number was subject to many opinions and
would require experimentation to more accurately calculate the storable energy.
Basically, our team did not anticipate enough time to invent a new storage system that
would include freezing a glycol solution using excess solar energy, and instead decided
that we would be able to accomplish a reliable battery storage system in our given
timeline. A summary of the selected design features is shown in Table 6.

Container Old Fridge
Power Solar
Converts Power to Usable Energy Elect Heating Coil
Stores Energy Battery
Cools Food Absorption Cooler

Product Architecture & configuration
A concept design of our project was created using Pro-Engineer software. The concept
Drawing is not to scale, nor is it the absolute final design that was fabricated. Figure 2
shows the concept, a cart layout where solar panels can be side mounted and hinged. The
entire unit would also be mobile, using four wheels. Figure 3 depicts a schematic of our product
architecture and configuration.
Table 6 Selected Design Features

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Legend
Flow of energy
Flow of electricity
Flow of heat
Flow of fluid
Signal
Figure 3 Product Architecture and Configuration Layout
Solar Panels
Wheels
Absorption cycle mini
refrigerator
Two, 12V deep-cycle
batteries
Flooring
Figure 2 Concept Drawing

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Analysis of Project Components

In this section, we analyze three components of our design: the absorption cycle, solar photovoltaic
systems, and insulation. These analyses give us technical information regarding the refrigeration system and
the power we need to run the unit.

Absorption Refrigeration Cycle Analysis
The Platen-Munters absorption refrigeration cycle, shown in Figure 4, has several
advantages over the typical vapor compressor. The cycle is quiet and has no moving
parts, making it ideal in places where noise can be an issue. The system is sealed and
only requires heat to operate; therefore the life span exceeds compressor type cycles.
Even though the overall COP of absorption refrigerators is generally lower than the
average vapor compressor system the fact that only thermal energy is required to run
the system makes it an good candidate for being solar powered.

Our group was fortunate to have two absorption refrigerators. Therefore we did not
spend much time comparing the absorption cycle to other methods of refrigeration.
Instead we spent more time researching the given cycle. We ran tests to get a baseline
for what our refrigerator was cable of doing. It was found from data analysis that our
system required 70 watts to run at max steady state load. Our heater reached
temperatures above 400*F however we found that the cycle itself only needed 180*F
to operate. However, efficiency of the system drops sharply as generator temperature
is lowered.

Figure 4 Platen-Munters Absorption Refrigerator

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We sought to improve the donated refrigerator in several ways. We replaced the
existing resistive heater with a 24 volt 60 watt heater rated for 300*F which was able to
wrap around the generator tube to provide improved heat transfer. This lowered the
amount of heat wasted to the surrounding area. The insulation around the heater and
the refrigerated space was also improved to lower the amount of energy lost through
the walls and door.

Solar Photovoltaic Analysis
In order for our team to decide on how to convert solar energy into heat and electricity,
an analysis of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy was done. The following aspects of solar
energy were analyzed for this section:
a. Efficiency of a PV System
b. Cloud Cover
c. System Load
d. Panel Sizing
e. Hours of Day Usable
f. Panel Re-sizing
g. Battery Calculations
h. Final project layout

19




20

Efficiency of a PV System
Background research alone on PV panels showed possible efficiencies ranging from 10%
to 45% just for Earth-bound systems (NASA panels in orbit above the atmosphere are
much more efficient because there are less particles disrupting the path of sunlight).
This range of efficiencies was not useful, so we decided to benchmark actual PV panels.
The general trend was that residential PV panels, the type we can afford, ranged from
12%-15%, while commercial grade panels ran 14%-17% efficient. Our final
benchmarked panel had an efficiency of 15%. It is also important to note how the panel
efficiency is rated. The constant solar irradiance on the Earths surface is 1000 W/m^2,
which means an object 1 m^2 in area will see 1000W of power. Yet much of this is
reflected due to the characteristics of light and wavelengths. Therefore PV panels are
only able to convert the energy to electricity if it meets two requirements. First, the
light energy must be of an absorbable wavelength, and second the light must be of an
energy level high enough to continue the PV cycle of knocking electrons loose so they
may be sent through a load. All of this is factored in to the PV efficiency calculation.
Therefore, theoretically, a 1 m
2
15% of the solar irradiance into electricity, or 15% of 1000W = 150W. Such a panel
panel that is 15% efficient should be able to convert
would be labeled a 150W panel.

Simultaneously with the efficiency benchmarking, the power output was also calculated.
From measurements, our group learned that the current refrigerator was using
approximately 75W of power from the outlet. Further benchmarking showed
that sunlight can vary on cloudy days from 10-90%. In California, we assumed cloud cover that would
reduce the average daily panel output to 75%. This means that we would need a 100W panel, so that
on a 75% cloudy day the panel would produce 75% of 100W or 75W.

Initially our team thought we needed 100W panel to power our system. But after
further research we learned that the panel must be sized based off the entire system,

21

including the battery and load, and especially focusing on current flow. The
benchmarked resistive heater, the primary load in the system, is shown in Figure 5.

Size Watts Voltage Amps
Product
Number
Cost
(USD)
2" x 6" 60 24 2.5 7945T56 $24.17

Figure 5: Resistive Heater Specifications
These heaters work on metal and plastic tanks and have adhesive backing for sticking to
very clean surfaces. Watt density is 5 watts/sq. in. They have 1-ft. wire leads for
hardwiring. Maximum heat output is 300 F and maximum exposure temperature range
is -40 to +300 F.

It is important to note also that resistive heating is, for the most part, 99% efficient.
That is, the heater will bring the heated element to nearly the exact temperature at
which the heater is running.

The current flow for the benchmarked heater was 2.5A, and the control electronics and
various additional loads that may have been added were estimated to have a total
current of 0.5A. This gave our system a total current draw of 3A. Then, the group
decided that the battery should have enough energy to power the system for 24 hours.

Two equations were used to find the system capacity and panel output needed. These
are shown below:

= ( ) ( )
= (24) (2.5 +0.5)

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=
=
( ) +( )


=
(24 3) +(72 )
1

=

Therefore we
need a panel capable of
producing 144 Ahr per
day. The panel we
benchmarked has
specifications shown in
Figure 6.

Total Energy Output
To calculate the total
energy output of the
panel, we found the
following data for
Vallejo, California:
Winter: Sunrise at 0700 Sunset
at 1700 = 10 hours of sunlight
Summer: Sunrise at 0600 Sunset at 2030 = 14.5 hours of sunlight
Specification
Model: SMD110M
Maximum Power, Pmax (W): 110
Voltage at Maximum Power, Vmp (V): 23.76
Current at Maximum Power, Imp (A): 4.63
Dimensions, L x W x H (mm), 1074 801 35

Figure 6: Solar Max PV Panel Specifications

23

We decided to size our system based on the minimum value of 10 hours of sunlight per
day to ensure that the unit would operate sufficiently in the winter. Using the
benchmarked SMD110M panel, at a rate of 4.63 Amps for 10 hours, the panel would
produce 46.3 Ahr of energy. But the designed panel output required 144 Ahr of energy,
so we were faced with a dilemma. We came up with three viable solutions to solve this
issue:
1) Find a 24 V panel with a higher power output:
We need 144 Ahr in 10 hours, therefore output should be 14.4 Amps.
Power = 14.4A * 24V
Power needed from panel = 345.6 W
2) Design the system so that the battery charges in two days, therefore
necessitating only 72 Ahr from the panel per day.
3) Use multiple panels
The final solution will most likely be a combination of solutions 1 and 2, because
multiple panels would make our project too large and less mobile. Combining 1 and 2
we get:
Require 72 Ahr in 10 hours, therefore output should be 7.2 Amps
Power = 7.2A * 24V
Power needed from panel = 172.8 W
So a 175W panel would fulfill the power requirement and is likely to be in our price
range for our project. The final element to this analysis was sizing a battery. Below are
the

Steps used to size the battery:
1) The system capacity is 72 Ahr, so the battery needs to provide this much energy between
charges.
2) For a deep-cycle lead acid battery, it is good practice not to allow the battery to discharge more
than 80%, or in other words it should always remain 20% full. If possible, it is even better if the

24

battery is rarely discharged below 50%. This is due to the nature of lead-acid batteries and
their ability to recharge back to full capacity.
For this reason, the battery will be sized so that only 50% of its capacity will be necessary to run the
system:
72 50% = 144
A 150 Ahr battery would fit perfectly for our system. This is only three-times the size of a typical 50 Ahr
car battery, and should also fit within our budget.

Our final project actually turned out a little different than planned due to availability of a heater. In the end,
we utilized a nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) wire resistance heater that could be cut to different lengths, giving
different resistances and overall power potential. Figure 7 shows an example
of a spool of this wire. We cut the wire to a specific length in order to draw
approximately 150 watts of power. We specifically sized the heater to handle
150 watts so that when the panels were producing max power, and if the
batteries were full, just about all the power produced would be utilized in the
heater rather than being wasted. Having a high-power heater also allowed it
to get up to temperature faster. The circuits main
features included feedback from heater to avoid burning out
the coil and feedback from the refrigerator to maintain it at the desired temperature. We also incorporated
feedback from the solar panels so that when they were not producing power, such as at night, and if the
batteries were low on charge, the heater would not cycle on as often.
The batteries that we were able to purchase were two, 12 volt Odyssey PC2150 series batteries with 100
Amp-hours of energy storage. Putting these in series gave us a 24V system with 100 Amp-hours of
storage.

Insulation Analysis
Figure 7 Ni-Cr Resistance Heating Wire

25

Insulation is important in our project because we need to conserve as much energy as possible in order to
maintain our temperature using the minimal amount of energy. The purpose of insulation is to slow the heat
transfer from the outside air through the walls and into the cool space. The absorption generator is also a
major source of heat, and for our project, the solar panel may prove to be a source of outside heat that will
conduct through the refrigerator. Increasing the insulation in the walls of the refrigerator will improve the
efficiency of our project.
The consequence of increasing insulation is the loss of storage space, unless the insulation is added to the
outside of the refrigerator. Our team has identified two possible ways to minimize this effect. First, we will
use insulation with a maximum R-value so that a minimal length can be laid upon the refrigerator. Second, we
will determine if the insulation can be applied to the outside so as not to take up interior space.

In our research of typical insulation of refrigerators, we found that most contained polyurethane foam. The
only place most refrigerators differed is on the thickness of this foam. For example, a Solar Powered Vaccine
Storage DC Refrigerator Freezer contains 4 to 6 inches of the polyurethane foam. While a DC Eutectic
Refrigerator/Freezer only contains 40mm of the foam. Our fridge is a Royal Mini fridge BM 5000M and
contains 1 inch of the polyurethane insulating foam.


26

To improve our refrigerator we added a product called rFOIL. One of the nice things about using the rFOIL
is that it is considered a reflective insulation. Unlike conventional insulation, only reflective insulation stops
radiant heat gain/loss. Reflective insulation will reduce heating and cooling costs, by keeping radiant heat out
in the summer, and in during the winter.

rFOIL Reflective Ruff Rap is a single layer of 99.9% pure aluminum foil laminated to a 6 mil layer of
polyethylene that is pin-perforated. It provides a superior air infiltration barrier, effectively sealing up cracks
or gaps in the external sheathing, while adding a radiant barrier to the exterior of the home. With an R-Value
of R 3.8, the foil should be installed with an air gap the same thickness as the rFOIL in order to increase the
overall R-value of the system to R 6.2.

Another place that we added insulation was the heater. We added insulating aerogel first, then fiberglass
second. This added a R-value of around 10 for the aerogel and a R-value of around 2.5 of fiberglass.
Final Project Design
After reviewing the analyses our team members completed, we came up with a final design to be built. Each
area of research helped us to decide which components we wanted to use.
The team settled on the Platen-Munters absorption cycle because two refrigerators were donated by a
California Maritime Academy alumnus. The donor specifically asked that the unit be converted to use solely
solar energy, giving rise to our initial project idea.
Comparison between a photovoltaic and solar thermal cell lead us to choose photovoltaic. Photovoltaic solar
panels are more reliable and easier to install for a variety of reasons, as was shown in the separate weighted
decision matrix.
The insulation decision was fairly simple because of the accessibility and cheap cost of insulation. Doubling
our R value for only five dollars definitely stood out as a good decision. The alternatives were to use fiberglass

27

insulating foam or more expensive materials. Figure 8 shows our detailed functional diagram and is overlaid
with the components we have decided to use in order to successfully accomplish our project goals.




















Aluminum Cart
Making the project mobile was our primary
constraint when designing our cart. It was decided
Figure 8 Detailed Functional Diagram
Safely
Stored
Food
Food Cool
Food
Energy
Source
Convert energy
absorbed into
usable energy
Store
Energy
Legend
Material
Energy

PV Panel
Resistive
Heat Tape
Battery
Absorption Cycle
(donate fridge)

28

that the solar panels would be mounted on a wheeled cart that held the batteries and refrigeration
unit. The panels would then rotate to the desired angle to maximize solar intensity.
This design called for certain major components, including box aluminum tubing, two piano hinges,
rivets, caster wheels, and some sort of flooring for the
cart. The major components were designed using
Pro-Engineer software. The completed cart is pictured in Figure 9.
Equipment Purchased For Cart
The box tubing was purchased from ALCO Iron and Metal. The frame was designed to be two feet
wide in order fit through standard doorways, and four feet long to support our five foot panels. The
refrigerator unit that was donated to our group dictated the height of the cart to be two feet. The
overall height would increase once the wheels were attached. The frame bottom was 1 x 2 box
tubing for its sturdiness and strength. The upper rails to which the panels were hinged were also 1 x
2 for strength. The six legs supporting the upper frame from the lower frame were 1 x 1 box
tubing, and the upper frame also had a network of 1 x 1 tubing for its structure. The two piano
hinges and rivets were purchased online through McMaster-Carr. We purposely oversized the
hinges to ensure the panel was securely fashioned to the cart, and also planned to use many rivets
for extra security.
Initially we purchased two locking caster wheels and two straight wheels from Harbor Freight for
our cart. We spent lots of time making sure that the straight wheels were aligned straight, knowing
that the caster wheels would rotate to be straight even if they were slightly askew. Also, the wheels
had steel frames that we could not weld to our aluminum cart, so we cut aluminum plates that could
be bolted to the steel wheel frames, and then welded the aluminum plates to our cart. One problem
we had was deciding which end would be the front and where the caster wheels would go. It was
initially decided that a front-wheel steering cart was easier to maneuver and so the casters were
placed at the fore of the cart. But our design required that the batteries also be located at the front,
making it extremely difficult to turn the cart from the rear because all the weight was on the caster
Figure 9 Fabricated Cart

29

wheels. Thus, the design was modified to have four locking caster wheels and we simply replaced the
two straight wheels with two new caster wheels.
Our team was fortunate to have one member who was well-versed in maintenance and fabrication,
and he was always on the lookout for possible materials and ideas that could be incorporated into our
project. This is how we found a 9 x 4 sheet of High-density Polyethylene (HDPE), basically cutting
board material, on www.craigslist.org. We purchased the sheet and realized we had enough to cover
the bottom, top, and front of our cart. It was then decided that the bottom floor would be riveted,
but that the front and top would be removable to expose the rest of the system for presentations and
educational purposes.

We also included some smaller additions in order to make the cart more user-friendly. These included
welding angle iron for the plastic to slide into and polishing the cart surfaces to give it a nice finish.
Thus, the cart was completed.



30


Refrigerator Insulation
To achieve the maximum R-value of R-5.5, strips of the Rfoil material were
used to create an air gap between the refrigerator and the rest of the
insulation. After creating this space and wrapping four of the six sides of
the unit with the insulation, we focused on how to tape the insulation to
the refrigerator without obstructing the door seal. The bottom and the
back wall (where the refrigeration cycle was located) were the last two
walls to be insulated to avoid damage while we continued to work on the
unit. Figure 10 shows Katie Nava insulating our refrigerator.


Electronics
Our project utilized two main electronic circuits. The first was the pulse width modulation (PWM)
battery charger which used the solar load to charge the batteries and also output power to the load.
This load output, though, was instead connected to our second controller which controlled the load
level based on various inputs from thermocouples and thermistors. This control circuit was designed
by the founder of Blue Atom Robotics and 2007 CMA alumnus Jason Gouw. Made specifically for our
project, the circuit took several thermistor inputs and one thermocouple input from various points
around the refrigerator and heater and controlled the level of heat into the heater, which directly
controlled the level of cooling. Figure 11 is a schematic of this circuit, which also used pulse width
modulation to control the power into the heater. We specifically sized the heater to handle 150 watts
so that when the panels were producing max power, and if the batteries were full, just about all the
power produced would be utilized in the heater rather than being wasted. Having a high-power
heater also allowed it to get up to temperature faster. The circuits main features included feedback
from heater to avoid burning out the coil and feedback from the refrigerator to maintain it at the
desired temperature. We also incorporated feedback from the solar panels so that when they were
not producing power, such as at night, and if the batteries were low on charge, the heater would not
Figure 10 Rfoil Insulation

31

cycle on as often.

32



33


Figure 11 Heater Control Circuit
The biggest challenge with the electronics was the time commitment. One of our group members had
a job with Mr. Gouw so they were able to meet on a weekly basis and discuss our progress. When it
came down to actually ordering parts and soldering components though, we had five schedules to
align in order for us all to work together. As busy as we were, there was usually only one, sometimes
two of us working with Mr. Gouw. Our group came prepared with the engineering knowledge of what
temperatures we wanted feedback from to control, and how to process the thermocouple mV output
using manufacturers tables.
Testing was also troublesome because our deadline was quickly approaching when we finally
completed the circuit. At the same time, we werent able to accurately test our thermocouple or
thermistors because the refrigerator was incomplete. Also, the programming for our computer
controller was a little complicated so it took a few tries to get it right.


34

Panel Locking Brackets
The panel locking brackets were designed to hold the panels at desired angles determined by the panel
manufacturers suggested solar angles, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 Kyocera Panel Suggested Tilt Angle

The brackets were designed to reinforce the bracketed corners of the solar panels in order to support
the torque and shear stresses that will occur while the panel is locked in an upright position. The
brackets incorporate a semi-circle of holes drilled at optimal angles for Vallejo/Bay Area sun exposure.
Utilizing Figure 0-5, this angle was 53 from the horizontal. Therefore holes were placed 37 in from
each vertical hole, that way either panel could be the lower side or the upper side. A
corresponding hole was drilled into the 1-inch square box tubing directly behind the semi-circle so that
a pin may be inserted to lock the panel in place. Figure 13 depicts the layout of the holes drilled in
the semi-circle.



Figure 13 Panel Locking Bracket

35






As we all learn through experience, sometimes things dont go according to plan. As we attempted to
install our brackets near the completion date of our project, we realized that our clearances were too
tight and the necessary bracket size would not fit. Therefore we quickly came up with a new solution
that required two beams to be pinned to the solar panels with the opposite ends pinned to the cart.
The beams were cut in order to achieve the optimal angles of 53 and 37.


36

Educational Absorption Cycle Display
Our group also wanted to teach others about the operation of the water-ammonia absorption cycle
that our refrigerator unit used. So we removed the second refrigerators cooling coils and painted
each major component a different color to make it easy to explain. We then mounted it on some extra
HDPE and created a stand for it to be displayed. The unit fits on the front of the cart and is easily
removable for presentations.

Our first concern was keeping the system upright, because although our research told us that the
system would settle out if it were flipped; we didnt want to take that chance. The most difficult task
was deciding how to mount it in the confined space that the cart front provided, and then devising a
way to stand the system up so it could be presented. Our clever system utilized extra materials and a
simple hinge, keeping the display thin enough to fit on our cart yet stable enough to stand alone.
Figure 14 shows our final display absorption cycle.


37

Figure 14 Presentation Absorption Cycle

38

Test Results
Component testing
The design of our project called for more energy calculations than finite element analyses. Because of
this, while the other groups were using Pro-Engineer to design their projects in the first semester, we
were running experiments on our donated refrigeration unit to get a sense of the parameters within
which it operated. Using the LabView software, we measured the temperatures of the inside air, the
inside cooling coil, the heater, the condenser, and the absorber. The purpose of this was to
benchmark the current working system so that we could troubleshoot our new system should
something go wrong and also so that we would know our design parameters. By far the two most
important temperatures were the heater and the inside air because the heater was our re-designed
part and the inside air had to be kept at 40F to ensure safe food storage. The results of our pre-
fabrication testing are shown in Table 0-1.

Results of Refrigerator Testing
Our team ran two main tests on our refrigerator to see how we could improve internal cooling. One
test was run with just the coil, one shelf, and no products inside. The other test included an aluminum
heat sink that jutted outward from the top of the coil to transfer heat from the interior space to the
coil. These results are juxtaposed with the original refrigerator results in Table 7.
Our goal was to slightly improve the systems efficiency by improving insulation and increasing the
heater temperature. According to our results we are able to run the unit colder with a new heater and
control system. Figure 15 shows this graphically.

Wall Power Solar power
Normal
OP
With Al
Plate
With
Fan
Normal
OP
With Al
Plate
Cooing coil Temp (avg) -30F -30F -5F -20F -20F
Cooling Coil Time (avg) 40min ~1.2hrs ~1hr ~1hr ~1.2hrs
Fridge Space Temp (avg) 38F 38F 38F 30F 30F
Fridge Cooling Time (avg) ~2hrs ~2hrs ~2hrs ~2.5hrs ~2hrs

Table 7 Refrigerator Test Results

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Panel Testing
Upon receipt, the panels were tested for voltage output on a sunny day at Cal Maritime. We were able to
reach over 20 Volts and a maximum current of 4 amps, giving us a total output of about 80W. The panels
utilized MC-4, single-use connectors so we werent able to test the panels in series until the end when they
were finally connected. We also noticed that even a little shading, such as a person passing by, caused a
significant drop in voltage.
Battery testing
Out of the package, the battery manual stated that if they battery voltage was at least 12.65 volts then the
batteries were ready for use. This indeed was the case, so once we had the controller wired to the panels, we
were able to see that the panels, batteries, and charge controller worked individually. The batteries had a
Figure 15 Plot of Cooling Time via Wall Outlet
-60.00
-40.00
-20.00
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

F
)
Time (min)
ALL WALL POWER TEMPS
freezer with Al plate
fridge temp with Al plate
freezer with fan
fridge temp with fan
Freezer Normal
fridge temp normal

40

short-circuit current of 2,150 amps so of course, safety was paramount. Yet, whether or not they worked
under different conditions was yet to be tested, but this was a good first step.

Heater testing
Our heater was a resistive Nickel-Chromium (Ni-Cr) wire, cut to a specific length in order to draw
approximately 150 watts of power. This heater was tested with the Blue Atom Robotics circuit
supplying varying levels of power to it and it performed as expected.

System testing
A complete system test was run with minor adjustments made to the programming for our controller
readout. We achieved a coil temperature of -17F, and an inside air temperature of 30F. The
additional cycle was able to be mounted on the front of the cart or stand alone as a presentation, and
the batteries and refrigerator were unmoved during transportation, achieving our goal of mobility and
rigidity. The controller increased the heater temperature as the refrigerator warmed when we added
load (i.e. water bottles) into the refrigerator, and cycled down to just maintaining a minimal heater
temperature once the air temperature got down to 35F. Thus, our system worked! We had created a
solar powered absorption refrigerator that was able to cool itself when loaded while keeping safe
operating temperatures in the generator.
Conclusion

The lessons learned from this project were not unexpected, and yet there was no way we could have
learned them in a classroom. Dealing with team interactions and trying to get four minds to agree on
every design did not work; we had to compromise. Around the midpoint of our project, we did notice
that we were motivated to work at different times, which made it difficult to get anything done
together. It will be interesting when we each go into the work force and have to work with in different
teams even when we may feel unmotivated. Our final design is pictured in Figure 16 and utilizes two
photovoltaic panels that flow electricity through a charge controller in order to charge two, 12V deep-
cycle batteries. The batteries then power a resistive heater through a control circuit that limits the

41

current to the heater based on heater temperature, inside air temperature, and the state of charge of
the batteries. The cart is lightweight due to its aluminum frame and high-density polyethylene plastic
coverings. Four caster wheels allow the unit to be portable and easily maneuverable, while our
absorption cycle refrigerator offers very low-temperature cooling with no moving parts, no noise, and
easy access.

This was also a first generation, proof-of-concept design that can definitely be improved upon in the
future. The first improvement would be to try to make the system smaller overall. Our initial goal was
to create a refrigerator that would be easy to take to the beach, camping, or out into the field, but our
unit is a little bulky for everyday use. Also, increasing this refrigerators
capacity would allow the user to refrigerate more products. Now that we
know our refrigerator coils can get down to such low temperatures, it
would be possible to perhaps use both coil systems installed in one, large
cooler and mounted on similar cart system.



Figure 16 Completed Cart and Project