Application of Ejector Cycle on Household Refrigerators

Abstract

In this study, an enhanced single-evaporator refrigeration system with an ejector was studied, which can recover part of the expansion loss from the system. The focus of the study was applying the ejector cycle to the household refrigerator experimentally and numerically, which had a small refrigerant mass flow rate and a sub-zero evaporating temperature. The ejector designed from the previous work was fabricated and its test facility was constructed and instrumented. The test results were analyzed with the partial help of simulation software. The achieved maximum COP of ejector cycle was 2.4 at evaporating temperature of -10°C. Test results show that the pressure drop along the ejector suction loop needs to be carefully designed and poor mixing inside the ejector significantly impairs the ejector and overall system performance. More research work is needed to further prove the potential of ejector cycle in refrigerator system.