Air Blast Freezer Cooling System Performance Analysis Capacity ½ pk Using TXV Expansion and Capillary Pipe for Freezing Beef

Air Blast Freezer is a refrigeration machine unit for rapid freezing that uses the method of blowing air as its cooling. Evaporator fan plays an important role in the performance of the evaporator in the Air Blast Freezer to freeze the product. The role of the fan is very influential to distribute air, circulate air, and regulate air velocity which can affect the cooling effect in the evaporator. The study was conducted to compare the air blast freezer system using a TXV (thermal expansion valve) expansion device using a capillary tube expansion device. The cooling machine uses R22 and has a capacity of pk with a cabin size of 60 cm x 60 cm x 100 cm. While the cooling load uses 3 kg of beef which is frozen to a temperature of -12 0C. The research data was taken by varying the frequency of the evaporator fan using an inverter from 30 Hz, 35 Hz, 40 Hz, 45 Hz, and 50 Hz. From the results of the study, the average cooling effect using TXV was 168.4 kJ/kg, and using a capillary tube was 166.6 kJ/kg. Specific compression work on average using TXV 37.1 kJ/kg, while using a capillary tube 46.8 kJ/kg. The coefficient of actual performance on average uses 4.6 TXV, while using a capillary tube 3.6. The average efficiency using TXV is 0.79, while using a capillary tube is 0.83.