Volume 6 Issue 1 ( March 2019 )

Pages 71-77

Refrigeration Cycle Exergy-Based Analysis of Hydrocarbon (R600a) Refrigerant for Optimization of Household Refrigerator

M.I. Alhamid, N. Nasruddin, Budihardjo, E. Susanto, T.F. Vickary, M. Arif Budiyanto

[ABSTRACT ]

The use of refrigerant specifically Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in refrigerators greatly contribute to global warming, while the choice of hydrocarbon refrigerant proves to be a better option. This paper shows the results of an exergy-based analysis of the irreversible refrigeration cycle on household refrigerators using hydrocarbon refrigerant (R600a) in accordance with SNI ISO15502: 2008 standard. Through parameters of determinants of exergy such as enthalpy, entropy, mass flow rate, the coefficient of performance (COP), load array types, therefore the optimum use of refrigerant can be obtained. The model analyses used is cycle that include irreversibility of heat transfer across finite temperature differences, heat leakage, and internal dissipation. The approach is done by combining mathematical modelling or simulation cycle in engineering equation solver (EES) software with experiment directly on refrigerator in room chamber where environment has been conditioned according to the prevailing provisions. The obtained results may be able to be used as a reference for other similar research or for optimal utilization of another hydrocarbon refrigerant.

Keywords: EES, Exergy; Taguchi Method, Optimization.