Theoretical study of an electric-less portable cooler

Abstract

Presently, the vapor compression and the absorption systems are the two most widely used systems in the portable refrigerators available in the market. In spite of its widespread acceptance and use, recent attempts have been made to consider more environmentally refrigerant such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide, other energy source substitution, better performance enhancement systems, lower operation cost, maintainability and portability. To cater for these demands, an investigative study was made in this project to develop a new environmental friendly electric-less portable cooler. The new refrigeration system employs an open system concept that uses the phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage and a completely environmentally friendly refrigerant to solidify the PCM. To prove the working principle of the system, a cooler box has been designed, fabricated and instrumented. Tests were carried out to measure and establish the performance of the system. The experimental results suggested that the new system, under its initial design stage, is capable of achieving performance level that is comparable, if not better than the current vapor compression system, at a much lower cost. A three-dimensional simulation has been carried out for the cooler box to analyze and predict the performance of the system. The numerical prediction showed a good agreement between the numerical and experimental results. The simulation results can also contribute to the parametric studies. In terms of environmental issue and economical factor the new refrigeration concept is definitely viable. However, further study and development are still necessary to increase the efficiency.