Performance Enhancement of Mini Refrigerator with Phase Change Materials

ABSTRACT A phase change material (PCM) is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy. Heat is absorbed or released when the material changes from solid to liquid and vice versa; thus, PCMs are a kind of latent heat storage units. The use of latent heat storage is especially suited to the storage of energy to prolong food preservation time and also use the excessive stored energy to improve the refrigerator cooling cycle by its release at appropriate time. The principle of latent heat storage using phase change materials (PCMs) can be incorporated into a thermal storage system suitable for using refrigerators. Also, there is an increase in the coefficient of performance of the system. So, our primary objective is to design a working model of the compact refrigerator of suitable capacity incorporating the concept of PCM. Some of the applications are that they are used in thermal energy storage, conditioning of buildings, medical applications and automobiles.