Refrigerator

How Refrigerator Works ?- Easiest Explanation

Published by

Here you can get Refrigerator Working. Refrigerators are used mainly in keeping the refrigeration space cold.

In order to keep food fresh, a low temperature must be maintained in the immediate environment to reduce the reproduction rate of harmful bacteria. A refrigerator works to transfer heat from inside to outside, which is why it feels warm if you put your hand on the back side of fridge near the metal pipes – you’ll find out how that works in a bit.

What is a Refrigerator?

A refrigerator usually known as as fridge is defined as a machine which is used to maintain or keep the meals materials at low temperature and prevents their spoilage. The food materials stored at low temperature spoils or degrade gradually and can remain fresh for longer time. The refrigerator usually maintains the perishable items at a decrease temperature range.

Working Principle of Refrigerator

It works on the principle of thermal equilibrium i.e. while a cold body comes in contact with a hot body than the heat flows from hot body to cold body till they will not attain the equal temperature. In the equal manner a liquid (called as refrigerant) at low temperature is allow to pass through the refrigerator compartment. As the refrigerant comes in contact with the air, it takes the heat from it and lowers its temperature. This technique maintains retain and the temperature inside the refrigerator lowers down and maintains the food or perishable items at lower temperature and stops or slows down their spoilage time and can be stored for weeks or months.

How a refrigerator system works

Refrigerators work by causing the refrigerant circulating inside them to change from a liquid into a gas. This process, called evaporation, cools the surrounding area and produces the desired effect. You can check this process for your self through taking some alcohol and setting a drop or for your skin. As it evaporates, you should feel a chilling sensation – the same fundamental principle gives us safe food storage. 

To begin the evaporation process and change the refrigerant from liquid to gas, the strain at the refrigerant needs to be reduced thru an outlet known as the capillary tube. The effect is similar to what happens when you use an aerosol product such as hair spray. The contents of an aerosol can is the pressure/liquid side, the outlet is the capillary tube, and the open area is the evaporator. When you release the contents into the decrease pressure open area, it turns from a liquid to a gas.

To maintain a fridge running, you need to be able to get the gaseous refrigerant again to its liquid state, so the gas needs to be compressed to a better pressure and temperature again. This is in which the compressor comes in. As mentioned earlier, the compressor provides a comparable impact to that of a motorcycle pump. You can sense the heat increase in the pump even as you pump and compress the air.

Once the compressor has achieved its work, the gas should be under high pressure and hot. It needs to be cooled in the condenser, which is mounted at the again of the fridge, so its contents may be cooled through the ambient air. When the gas cools off in the condenser (still under high pressure), it changes back into a liquid.

Then, the liquid refrigerant circulates again to the evaporator in which the system starts all over again. 

Main Components

A refrigerator has the following five main components

  1. Refrigerant: Isobutane, CFCs, ammonia.
  2. Compressor: Compresses the vapor and maintains the flow of refrigerant in the cycle.
  3. Condenser Coil: Cools the high pressure vapor and changes it into high pressure liquid.
  4. Expansion device or throttling device: Expands the high pressure liquid, reduces its temperature and pressure.
  5. Evaporator coil: Takes the heat from the air inside the fridge and makes it cool.

Lets discuss the function of each component in detail

1. Refrigerant

It is likewise known as as coolant and is the running fluid for the refrigerator. It takes the heat from inner of the fridge and transports it to the outdoor. Most normally used refrigerant in the fridge are isobutane (utilized in present day fridges), CFCs and ammonia (toxic gas and not utilized in present day fridge)

2. Compressor

It circulates the refrigerant at some stage in the running of the fridge. It compresses the refrigerant gas and will increase its temperature and strain. Compressor is the coronary heart of the fridge, with out it its running isn’t possible.

3. Condenser Coil

It is present outside at the back of the refrigerator. It has grill tube and seems like radiator. Its major cause is to cools the new and high pressure gases from the compressor. When the new gases pass through the condenser coil, it receives quiet down via way of means of the cool air of the room and receives transformed into high pressure liquid.

4. Expansion Device or Throttling Device

As its names indicated it expands the high pressure liquid refrigerant and reduces its temperature and pressure. The temperature drops to 20 degree Celsius and pressure to 0.6 bar.

5. Evaporator Coil

Evaporator coil is present inside the fridge. It takes the heat from the air inside the fridge and makes it cool. And this cool air inside the fridge takes the heat from the food materials and lowers their temperature.

Applications

  • Separation of gases: Separation of air into its constituents by fractional distillation as different components of air liquefies at different temperatures.
  • Condensation of gases: In industries, gases such as ammonia are condensed before storage and shipment.
  • Dehumidification of air: Air is dehumidified by liquefying and separating the moisture present in it.
  • Cooling for preservation: Vegetables, organic-chemical, and explosives are kept in cold storage for preservation.

Advantages

  • Cold storages.
  • Fish and meat processing.
  • Concrete cooling.
  • Paint cooling.
  • Chemical formulation.
  • Pharma industries.

Disadvantages

  • Energy Requirements. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of the refrigerator is the cost to run it.
  • Disposal Concerns. One of the disadvantages of refrigerators is that they are environmentally unfriendly and dangerous if not disposed of properly.
  • Common Repairs.
Published by