In order to keep food fresher for a longer duration, we all have refrigerators in our houses. However, would you realize that the refrigeration concept—a scientific phenomenon—is the basis for how refrigerators work? The process of moving heating from one location to another is called refrigeration.
Its main purpose is to maintain food at cold temperatures over extended periods of time. Although people have been trying to keep food fresh for several hundred years by keeping it at colder temperatures, the modern refrigerator is an advances in technology.
Understand more about the basic concepts of operation, refrigeration techniques, usages, and compared to air conditioning by reading on
Refrigeration
The process of lowering and maintaining a system’s temperature below room temperature is referred to as refrigeration. Artificial cooling is one form of refrigeration. Heat is taken out from an extremely low temperatures storage and then shifted to a the highest temperatures the storage tank.. In addition to the traditional mechanical power source, energy transfer work can be powered by lasers, high temperatures, magnetism, power generation, and other sources. Applications of refrigeration include air conditioning, cold fusion, factory freezers, and home refrigerators.
The industry, way of life, agricultural productivity, and population structure have all been significantly impacted by refrigeration. The people o Egypt and who live in Great China are used this method to keep their food safed and cooled. On the other hand, mechanical refrigeration technology has developed quickly in the last two years, from air-cooled railroad cars to ice collection.
Working Principle of Refrigeration
The operating principle of a refrigerator is straightforward:
- It transfers heat from one location to another.
- Heat is transferred from low-temperature liquids to fluids that require cooling when they are passed near each other.
The gas heats up when compressed and cools down when expanded. The same can be said for a bicycle pump that feels warm when air is pumped through it but cold when perfume is sprayed. Together with a few other elements, this physics principle helps the refrigerator keep the food cold.
Working of Refrigerator
- The refrigerant can transforms from a liquid to a gas as it moves throughout the refrigerator. We call this evaporation. It cools the surrounding area to produce the desired effect.
- A capillary tube lowers the refrigerant’s pressure to keep the refrigerator running. The pressure must be lowered in order to start evaporative cooling and change the refrigerant from a liquid to a gas.
- The outdoor space serves as the evaporator, and the capillary tube as the outlet. The fluid turns from a liquid to a gas when it is released into the pressure drop open space.
- It is necessary to transform the gas refrigerant into a liquid. Compressing the gas to a higher temperature and pressure is how the compressor accomplishes this.
- High pressure causes the gas to heat up. The condenser needs to cool this. To let air cool the contents, this is placed on the back of the refrigerator.
- The gas inside is cooled by the condenser, which turns it back into liquid.
- The cycle restarts when the modified liquid refrigerant enters the refrigerator exchanger. This keeps the refrigerator running.
- This is how the refrigerator works. Although the procedure seems intricate, it is made possible by scientific principles.
Methods of Refrigeration
Both continuous and non-continuous refrigeration techniques are available. Below is an explanation of each.
Cyclic Process:
- During the refrigeration cycle, heat is transferred from the cold reservoir to the high-temperature reservoir.
- The second law of thermodynamics states that heat naturally moves from a high-temperature reservoir to a low-temperature reservoir.
- The cyclic refrigeration process requires external work on the system because the heat flow is reversed.
- Since the refrigeration cycle is the opposite of the thermal power cycle, also referred to as the Carnot cycle, in which heat moves from a high-temperature reservoir to a low-temperature reservoir, it is also called the Reverse Carnot Cycle.
Non-Cyclic process:
- In non-cyclic refrigeration, dry ice is sublimated or melted to achieve cooling.
- These methods are used in portable coolers and for small-scale refrigeration in workshops and labs.
- Ice‘s constant melting point of 0 °C makes it an effective cooling agent. This temperature, or a little higher, extends the shelf life of food and other grocery items.
- Solid carbon dioxide is helpful for maintaining products at cold temperatures during the melting process because it quickly transforms from a solid to a vapour phase at -78.5 °C.
- When the cooling agent evaporates and is subsequently released into the atmosphere and space, total loss refrigeration takes place.
Applications of Refrigeration
The main applications of refrigeration are as follows:
- In the chemical industry, refrigeration systems are widely used to separate and turn liquid gases and vapours.
- Refrigeration processes are excellent for ice production.
- Cold storage of food that is expiring is the main use of refrigeration.
- If required, the water is cooled by a refrigeration system.
- It is used to regulate the air’s humidity during steel manufacturing and heat treatment.
- The wax can be eliminated from crude oil by lying it in petroleum refineries.
- for the pharmaceutical industry’s use in preserving pills and drugs.
- They are also utilized in the medical field to preserve tissues, blood, and other things