Abstract: Provided is a method for adaptive control of a refrigeration system, the method including calculating a Number of Transfer Units (NTU) rate or an indicator representing the ease of variation of temperature (FVT) of an evaporator of the refrigeration system, to detect a frost level in the evaporator, to define the most suitable defrosting time, the energization of the drainage resistors and the adaptive management of the evaporator fan combining different operating modes, including an ice-free mode that uses only the cooling capacity of the refrigerant, and different modes with ice, which take advantage of the latent heat stored in the ice to save energy, depending on the frost level in the evaporator.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 27, 2018
Date of Patent:
July 27, 2021
Assignees:
Universitat de Lleida, Ako Electromecanica S.A.L.
Inventors:
Xavier Albets Chico, Pere Moreno Argiles, Miguel Angel González Sánchez, Luisa Fernanda Cabeza Fabra, Gabriel Zsembinszki, Jose Miguel Maldonado Jimenez, Alvaro de Gracia Cuesta
Abstract: ADAPTIVE CONTROL PROCEDURE FOR REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS which comprises the detection of the frost level in the evaporator by means of a calculation method of NTU rate, allowing to define: the most suitable defrosting time, the energization of the drainage resistors and the adaptive management of the evaporator fan combining different operating modes. An ice-free mode which uses only the cooling capacity of the refrigerant, and different modes with ice which benefits from the latent heat stored in the ice to produce energy savings, depending on the level of frost in the evaporator. For calculating the NTU rate, it uses the evaporator as a reference when it is dry at the beginning, and when the cooling system is in operation, it calculates the NTU rate with a variable frequency operating mode depending on the evaporator performance or level of ice and its comparison with the cited reference.
Type:
Application
Filed:
March 27, 2018
Publication date:
February 13, 2020
Applicants:
UNIVERSITAT DE LLEIDA, AKO ELECTROMECANICA S.A.L.
Inventors:
Xavier Albets Chico, Pere Moreno Argiles, Miguel Angel González Sánchez, Luisa Fernanda Cabeza Fabra, Gabriel Zsembinszki, Jose Miguel Maldonado Jimenez, Alvaro de Gracia Cuesta