Performance Evaluation of a Defrosting System Using the Condensation Heat of a Refrigerator in Cold Storage

Abstract

In a cold chain, the refrigerator is also employed for defrosting, by using an electric heater, which consumes 15% of the power for the system operation. In this study, the condensation heat of the refrigerant was suggested as the heat source of defrosting heat, instead of that from an electric defrost heater. The heat for defrosting was stored to a phase change material (PCM, NMP：52℃) in thermal storage, and was periodically supplied to the evaporator by a circulation loop of brine. As a result, a defrost time by the PCM was obtained that was less than or equal to that by the electric heater. Moreover, power consumption during defrosting was saved by up to 99% of that of the electric heater.Key words Waste heat(폐열), Defrost(제상), PCM(상변화물질), Heat storage(축열), Cold storage(저온저장) †Corresponding author, E-mail: ckang@jbnu.ac.kr 은 서리 성장에 의한 열교환기의