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

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 o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bin Liu, Shengqiang Shi, Yongshan Liu, Rachid Bennacer, Aiqiang Chen, Panagiotis E. Theodorakis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/422
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:1996-1073