Share

When to defrost a refrigerator, and when to remove the scale from the heat exchanger of a power plant.

Author(s) : BEJAN A., VARGAS J. V. C., LIM J. S.

Type of article: Article

Summary

The paper demonstrates the existence of an optimal on-off sequence for operating a household refrigerator that accumulates ice on its evaporator coils. It is shown that the rate of ice formation is constant in time. The optimal regime of operation determined in the paper minimizes the power required by the refrigerator, maintains the prescribed temperature of the cold space, and removes the ice layer intermittently. The authors show that a similar strategy can be used for dealing with fouling in heat exchangers, ie, for maximizing the power output of a power plant that is diminished by the formation of scale on its heat exchanger surfaces.

Details

  • Original title: When to defrost a refrigerator, and when to remove the scale from the heat exchanger of a power plant.
  • Record ID : 1994-3466
  • Languages: English
  • Source: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer - vol. 37 - n. 3
  • Publication date: 1994/02

Links


See other articles in this issue (4)
See the source

Indexing