Parametric study of a vapor compression refrigeration system integrated with a PCM storage tank for increasing condenser sub-cooled temperature

Abstract

In this work, the parametric study of a vapor compression refrigeration system integrated with a PCM storage tank for increasing the condenser sub-cooled temperature has been conducted based on the hottest day in Tehran city. The effects of various parameters such as comfort zone temperature, condenser and evaporator temperatures, and changes in heat transfer coefficient relative to the thickness of the ice formation in the PCM tank have been considered for simulating the desired system in the EES software. The focus of this study is to figure out the system's performance according to the changes in the effective parameters of the PCM storage tank. The results indicate that adding the PCM storage tank to the conventional vapor compression unit raises total daily electric energy consumption from 20.86% to 30.63% compared to the conventional one. However, it boosts the accessible cooling energy during the cold energy discharging process compared to the conventional one from 39.67% to 54.60%. The accessible cooling energy increases from 3.11% to 3.59% during the whole day. Furthermore, adding the PCM tank diminishes the total daily COP from 14.68% to 20.7% compared to the conventional unit.