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Refrigeration: Types and Applications

Refrigeration

processes are very common and have significantly improved the quality of life of many people in a variety of ways.

Vapor-compression refrigeration systems

are used to preserve food, to provide air-conditioning, and in a variety of industrial processes.

Vapor-compression heat pumps

are used to heat homes and businesses. In all but the coldest climates, they are significantly more efficient than resistance heating units.

The most common application of a

gas refrigeration system

is the air-conditioning systems used in passenger aircraft.

Thermoelectric refrigeration systems

use the

Peltier Effect

to absorb heat at the junction between two wires made of different metals. These devices are lightweight, but not very efficient.

Ammonia absorption refrigeration systems

can be built with no moving parts and can require no work input. They operate with a heat input only.

Ammonia absorption refrigerators

are used industrially and in recreational vehicles.

In this chapter, we will will consider practical refrigeration and heat pump cycles and the equipment and working fluids used to carry out these cycles.

Lesson
10A Blog

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Lesson 10A: page 1 of 7

Most people know something about refrigeration because they have a refrigerator in their kitchen.
They may or may not realize that their air-conditioner is also a refrigeration system.
In fact these two types of refrigerators are both vapor-compression refrigeration systems.
Vapor compression refrigeration is also used industrially to chill and even condense many chemicals that cannot be easily condensed at ambient temperatures.
Many homes also have heat pumps for household heating. These devices use a vapor compression heat pump cycle to transfer heat from cool outside air into the warm air inside a home.
Heat pumps are very popular in moderate climates because they are more efficient than electrical resistance heaters as long as the outdoor temperature doesn’t drop too low.
Gas refrigeration is less common than vapor-compression refrigeration.
However, because the equipment and working fluid are lightweight, these cycles are used for the air-conditioning systems in passenger aircraft.
Thermoelectric refrigerators are very lightweight, but not very efficient. But sometimes size and weight are more important than efficiency. That is why small thermoelectric refrigerators that plug into the cigarette lighter of your car have become popular.
But, I think ammonia absorption refrigeration is the “coolest” type of refrigerator.
This type of refrigeration system takes advantage of the fact that the solubility of ammonia in water changes as the temperature of the system changes.
This type of refrigeration is beyond the scope of Thermo-CD, but you should be aware of its existence.
One version of an ammonia refrigeration system requires NO SHAFT WORK input !
This type of refrigeration system is very popular in recreational vehicles as well as in remote locations where electrical power is not readily available.
OK. So hopefully you see why refrigeration is an important topic.
In this chapter, we will discuss practical refrigeration and heat pump cycles and the refrigerants used within these cycles.
In this lesson, we will review what we have already learned about refrigeration and discuss the practical problems associated with Carnot vapor-compression and gas refrigeration cycles.