SARSAWATI EDUCATION SOCIETY GROUP OF INSTITUTION FACULTY

OF ENGINEERING
Department Of Mechanical Engineering

Case study on

Performance Evaluation of a Domestic Refrigerator with a

Thermal Storage arrangement Using

Propane as a Refrigerant

PRESENTED BY

Mr. SHUBHAM S. GAWDE

Mr. VIVEKKUMAR S. GUPTA

Mr. GAURESH D. PANERIA

PROF. MRINMOY DAS

(COURSE PROJECT INCHARGE)

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 INDEX
Chapter No. Topics Page No.
01 1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Objective
1.3 Problem statement 4
1.4 Case study
1.5 Phase change material 5
(PCM)
02 2.1 Experimental setup 6
2.2 Experimental procedure 7
2.3 Energy consumption of
Compressor
2.4 Result and Discussion 8
03 Conclusion 10
04 References 11

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 Chapter 01
1.1 INTRODUCTION

In developing countries like India, a general problem relates to frequent power

breakdown , which gives augment to the spoiling of unpreserved items such as medicine
and foodstuff due to lack of a passive cold retention system. Moreover, the rural India is
subjected to maximum isolation due to power cuts for many hours and even days.
The paper has an attempt to tackle this problem by developing a domestic refrigerator
system capable of maintaining the cooling effect for more than 15 hours without energy
input and being compact as well as cost-effective.
The second objective was to reduce the global warming potential caused by HCFC
refrigerant. Taking into account the very needs of an average rural household in India,
the required cooling load is estimated. The system was designed and analyzed using
R290 (Propane) as a refrigerant by replacing R134a. The theoretical and experimental
analysis of 45 liter domestic refrigerators using R290 as a refrigerant is carried out. The
R290 is a replacement for R134a and R22 refrigerants.
The Phase change material (PCM) is located in the newly designed evaporator in
order to improve its efficiency and provide a storage capacity allowing a number of hours
of refrigeration without energy supply. The system has been tested with Ethylene Glycol
as a PCM with and without thermal load. Results show that the refrigerant R290 have a
slightly lower coefficient of performance than R134a for the condensation temperature of
35°C to 43°C and evaporating temperatures range between −5°C to 5°C. Depending on
the load in the refrigerator with PCM the average compressor running time per cycle is
reduced significantly and it is in the range of 17% to 20% as compared with refrigerator
without PCM.
The coefficient of performance of refrigeration systems with R290 as refrigerant is
comparable with R134a as a refrigerant and starting torque of compressor reduces which
leads to improvement in a life span of the compressor.

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1.2 OBJECTIVE
 The objective of this paper is to tackle the problem by developing a domestic
refrigerator system capable of maintaining the cooling effect for more than 15 hours
without energy input and being compact as well as cost-effective.

 The second objective was to reduce the global warming potential caused by HCFC
refrigerant. Taking into account the very needs of an average rural household in India,
the required cooling load is estimated.

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT

 R134a is having zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and almost same
thermodynamic properties as R12(Chloroflurocarbon refrigerant), but it has a high
Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1300.

 R134a swells the rubber components in the refrigeration system and causes leaks.

 Limited heat pump performance also the cost of refrigerant is very high

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1.4 CASE STUDY

The system was designed and analyzed using R290 (Propane) as a refrigerant by
replacing R134a. The theoretical and experimental analysis of 45 liter domestic
refrigerators using R290 as a refrigerant is carried out. The R290 is a replacement for
R134a and R22 refrigerants. The Phase change material (PCM) is located in the newly
designed evaporator in order to improve its efficiency and provide a storage capacity
allowing a number of hours of refrigeration without energy supply. The system has been
tested with Ethylene Glycol as a PCM with and without thermal load. Results show that
the refrigerant R290 have a slightly lower coefficient of performance than R134a for the
condensation temperature of 35°C to 43°C and evaporating temperatures range between
−5°C to 5°C. Depending on the load in the refrigerator with PCM the average
compressor running time per cycle is reduced significantly and it is in the range of 17%
to 20% as compared with refrigerator without PCM. The coefficient of performance of
refrigeration systems with R290 as refrigerant is comparable with R134a as a refrigerant
and starting torque of compressor reduces which leads to improvement in a life span of
the compressor.

1.5 Phase Change Material (PCM)

Phase Change Material is a substance who has high heat of fusion. During melting
and solidifying at a certain temperature large amount of energy get stored or release by
PCM . The experiments be carried on refrigerator to evaluate the energy performance and
the cool storage capacity of the refrigerator with and without PCM. The use of phase
change materials (PCMs) to accumulate thermal energy in domestic refrigerators is a new
solution. The cooling capacity stored in the PCM can be used to stabilize the temperature
in the compartment.
Gobin D et al [5] have previously tested a domestic refrigerator with 5mm and 10 mm
ice slabs in get in touch with with the evaporator. Their result shows that the refrigerator
autonomy increased from 5 to 10 hours depending on the thermal load. It was observed
that the ice slab of 10 mm slab was never completely freeze, probably because of low
thermal conductivity of the PCM and low cooling capacity of the 5 × 10-6 m3 (i.e. 5 cm3
) swept volume compressor employed. During experimentation in domestic refrigerator
Ethylene glycol was used as a PCM [6].

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 Chapter 02

2.1 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

A household refrigerator is incredibly common for the storage of perishable food
items, medicines, cold drinks. These refrigerators are available in various capacities such as
45 litres to 300 litres, etc. These consume electrical energy at the rate of about 100W to
300W. The Largest population in India is staying in the villages. Almost these villages do not
get electricity for more than 10 hrs per day. The major heat load comes from the outside
environment of the storage space through insulated walls. Moreover, door openings bring
warm and moist air into the cold storage space, raising the temperature. The refrigerator
capacity is estimated based on the needs of a rural family for domestic use. The cooling load
is predicted based on heat ingress into the refrigerator through walls, door openings, and
product load. Theoretical and Experimental analysis of the refrigerator using propane (R290)
as a refrigerant is carried out to maintain the required temperature of the refrigerator during
power failure for fifteen hours. PCM is lagged in the modular chamber of the refrigerator.
The domestic refrigerator is designed, fabricated and tested with R290 as an eco-friendly
refrigerant. To begin with, refrigerator performance is simulated using simulation software at
different cooling capacities and in experimentation, the real world effect was simulated by
door openings and by electrical breakdown. Thermocouples are bonded to the tube surface at
compressor discharge, condenser discharge, and capillary outlet, evaporator outlet, in the
refrigerated cabin and over the PCM surface.
The experimental device shows that figure 2 is a single compartment refrigerator with the
following qualities:

 volume of cabin: 45 litres

 Evaporator: free convection , roll bond, back wall positioned with Cavity
 Condenser: wire tube condenser with free convection
 Hermetic sealed reciprocating compressor
 Refrigerant: R290
 On/off control and auto defrost.

The Ethylene glycol is placed on the back side of the evaporator . It must be noted that a
significance of this modification is that both the faces of an evaporator are used.

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 Fig. 1. Line diagram of experimental setup

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The domestic refrigerator was designed and tested with equipped instrumentation at
appropriate locations to record data. Using thermocouples the temperatures were recorded
with an accuracy of ± 0.5 K. Four pressure gauges are mounted at compressor suction side
and discharge side, at evaporator inlet side and at condenser outlet side for measurement of
pressure and to calculate the pressure drop. The experimental set up was then installed in the
test room with the purpose to maintained surrounding temperature 23°C. Experiments are
conducted in a controlled environment. The overall heat transfer coefficient for the
refrigerator is 21.3 W/m²K. The unit is maintained under steady state conditions for about
five hours, the data was recorded over the period of 15 minutes time intervals. Initially, the
baseline performance test was established with R134aas a refrigerant. The pressures,
temperatures, power consumption and refrigerant charge for R134a are recorded. All safety
precautions are taken while charging and testing the unit with R290. All electric components
as, capacitor, thermostat switch, and on-off switch are properly sealed. The experimentation
was carried out with R 290 as a refrigerant in a controlled environment.

Fig. 2. (a) 3D geometry of test setup (b) experimental setup.

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2.3 ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF COMPRESSOR
The energy consumption by the compressor during experimentation was measured
and stored in a computer. The test was carried out at 23°C and 28°C room temperatures. The
refrigerator consumes more energy at 28°C ambient temperature than at 23°C ambient
temperatures for all refrigerants. The compressor consumes 3% less energy with R290 at
28°C condenser temperature.

2.4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

An experimental test is carried out at different loads to examine the performance
enhancement of a domestic refrigerator with PCM and without PCM (Ethylene Glycol). The
following conclusions are drawn based on the experimental results.

 PCM solidification Time: The ratio of melting time to solidification time is 9 that
significantly show that the melting process almost 9 times slower than
solidification directly produces cooling effect for more than 7 hrs. During a test at -
10°C PCM temperature the power supply to the compressor was cut off. The
temperature deviation in the cabin was kept within 3°C it will give a great
advantage over conventional domestic refrigerator for vegetable preservations

 Variation of PCM and refrigerator cabin temperature without load: without energy
input to compressor PCM material maintains cabin temperature below 10°C for 8
hours and below 15°C for 14 hrs. PCM provides uniform cabin temperature,
though all cycle. The figure 3 shows that the cabin temperature was maintained
below 15°C for 14 hours it gives a great advantage over conventional domestic
refrigerator for vegetable preservation during a power failure.

 Temperature reduction in a cabin by using PCM has indicated by blue line, that
shows reduction of 1°C for one-hour duration as shown in figure number 3.
Depending on the load on the refrigerator with PCM the average compressor
running time per cycle is reduced considerably and it found that 17% to 20%
reduction as compared with conventional refrigerator without PCM. Graph shows
power requirement is increased by 7.12% for the temperature variation from 20°C
to 45°C. The refrigerant charge for same refrigeration system with R290 as
refrigerant is reduced by 40% as compared with R134a for the same operating
conditions.

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 Fig. 3. Variation of temperature with respect to time with PCM

The sudden temperature rises or spikes in the graph shown by blue colour indicate the
time at which by intention of door was opened and the temperature rise is because of the
ingress of heat through atmospheric air getting inside when the load is added cabin
temperature increases by around 7°C. The instant at which PCM start melting graph shows a
large difference between inside cabin and PCM temperature

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 Chapter 03
CONCLUSION

1. The Investigation shows that PCM is useful to maintain the refrigerator cabin
temperature below 100 C for 16 hours as compared to a conventional refrigerator
that maintains cabin temperature for 4 hours without power supply.

2. PCM is also used to maintain the temperature variation inside cabin within 2°C to
3°C that helps to increase the life of perishable food products as compared with
conventional one where the temperature variation is 6°C to 8°C.

3. The compressor running time per cycle is reduced significantly and it found that
reduction about 17% to 20% as compared with conventional refrigerator without
PCM.

4. The coefficient of performance of refrigeration systems with R290 as refrigerant

is comparable with R134a as a refrigerant and starting torque of compressor
reduces which leads to improvement in the life of a compressor.

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 Chapter 04
REFERENCES

[1]. UNEP, Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, United
Nations environment programme (UNEP); 1987.

[2]. Kyoto protocol to the United Nations framework convention on climate change,
United Nations (UN), New York, USA; 1997.

[3]. Azzouz, K., Leducq, D. and Gobin, D. Enhancing the performance of household
refrigerators with latent heat storage: an experimental investigation, International Journal
of Refrigeration, 32: 1634- 1644, 2009.

[4]. A. Padalkar, K. Mali, S. Devotta, Simulated performance of R-290 in air conditioner,

in : The 23rd International congress refrigeration, Czech republic, August 2011.

[5]. Azzouz, K., Leducq, D., Guilpart, J., Gobin, D., 2005. Improving the energy
efficiency of a vapor compression system using a phase change material. In: Proceedings
2nd Conference on Phase Change Material & Slurry, Yverdon les Bains, Switzerland, 15
– 17 June 2005.

[6]. Azzouz, K., Leducq, D., Gobin, D., 2008. Performance enhancement of a household
refrigerator by an addition of latent heat storage. International Journal of Refrigeration 31
(5), 892–901.

[7]. Marques, C., Davies, G., Maidment, G., Evans, J. A. “Application of phase change
materials to domestic refrigerators.” 9th International Conference on Phase-Change
Materials and Slurries for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 2010.

[8]. Joseph Sekhar S, Mohan Lal D, Renganarayanan S. Improved energy efficiency for
CFC domestic refrigerators retrofitted with ozone friendly HFC134a/HC refrigerant
mixture. International Journal of Thermal Science 2004; 43(3):307–14.

[9]. Improved energy efficiency for CFC domestic refrigerators retrofitted with ozone-
friendly HFC134a/HC refrigerant mixture (2004) International Journal of Thermal
Sciences, 43 (3), pp. 307- 314.

[10]. Testing of propane/isobutene mixture in domestic refrigerators (2000) International

Journal of Refrigeration, 23 (7), pp. 517-527.

[11]. Cool pack Software http://www.et.web.mek.dtu.dk/Coolpack/UK/download.html:

Denmark Technical University.

[12]. A theoretical comparison of two eco-friendly refrigerants as alternatives to R22 using

a simple vapour compression refrigeration system (Article).

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