Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 1-4 July, 2007.
It is well known fact that operation of many refrigeration
systems is dynamic in nature and bulk milk coolers are no
exception to this. It is necessary to study bulk milk cooling
systems and improve them to reduce chilling time and energy
consumption within desired limits. Bulk milk coolers are
analyzed and diagnosed with a simple thermodynamic model.
A global approach is required whereby detailed component
models are linked together to develop an accurate and
complete simulation model package of vapour compression
bulk milk cooler. These component models include mass,
momentum and energy balance equation along with thermo
physical property data and the appropriate heat or work
transfer relationships. Solving these equations by method of
substitution yields a prediction of refrigeration system
behaviour. This helps in large reduction in time and cost spent
in designing a system for given application, leading to the
opportunity of achieving a more optimal design through
evaluation of different design configurations. This dynamic
model helps in adopting better control strategies to improve
energy efficiency. The authors have attempted to develop such
a global model for bulk milk coolers using vapour
compression system with R22 as refrigerant.
