Working principle and types of condensers commonly used in chillers

Condenser is that the gas passes through a long tube (usually coiled into a solenoid), allowing the heat to be dissipated into the surrounding air. Metals such as copper have strong thermal conductivity and are often used to transport steam. In order to enhance the efficiency of the condenser, a heat sink with excellent heat conduction function is often attached to the pipe, and the heat dissipation area is enlarged to accelerate the heat dissipation, and the air convection is accelerated by the fan to take the heat away. The refrigeration principle of the general refrigerator is that the compressor compresses the refrigerant from low temperature and low pressure gas into high temperature and high pressure gas, and then condenses into medium temperature and high pressure liquid through the condenser. After being throttled by the throttle valve, it becomes low temperature and low pressure liquid. The low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant is sent to the evaporator , where it absorbs heat and evaporates to become low-temperature and low-pressure steam, which is sent to the compressor again to complete the refrigeration cycle. The single-stage vapor compression refrigeration system is composed of four basic components: a refrigeration compressor, a condenser, a throttle valve and an evaporator. They are connected in sequence by pipes to form a closed circulation system, and the refrigerant is continuously circulated in the system. Circulating flow, state change occurs, and heat is exchanged with the outside world.

In the refrigeration system, the evaporator, the condenser, the compressor and the throttle valve are the four essential parts in the refrigeration system. Among them, the evaporator is a device for conveying cold energy , and the refrigerant absorbs the heat of the cooled object. achieve refrigeration. The compressor is the heart and plays the role of inhaling, compressing and transporting the refrigerant vapor.

The condenser is a device that emits heat, and transfers the heat absorbed in the evaporator together with the heat converted by the work of the compressor to the cooling medium to take away. The throttle valve acts as a throttling and depressurization function for the refrigerant, and at the same time controls and adjusts the amount of refrigerant liquid flowing into the evaporator, and divides the system into two parts: the high-pressure side and the low-pressure side.

In the actual refrigeration system, in addition to the above four components, there are often some auxiliary equipment, such as solenoid valves, distributors, filter dryers, collectors, fusible plugs, pressure controllers and other components, which are used to improve the operation’s cost-effectiveness, safety, and reliability  .

The most popuar condensers used by industrial chiller are Aluminum Finned Copper Coil Type and Shell and Tube Type. Among which, aluminum finned copper coil type is mainly used by air cooled chiller integrated with cooling fans, while shell and tube type is mainly used by water cooled chiller. The related images as below: