A study on a performance of water-spray-type ice thermal energy storage vessel with vertical heat exchanger plates - 1st report: ice making characteristics

摘要

A system with a water-embedded-type ice storage vessel is widely used because of its simple structure and compactness. However, the water-embedded-type ice storage vessel has a disadvantage, that is, the solidification rate is very small. The use of falling water film seems to be one of promising ways for solving this disadvantage. We have found in a previous study that the use of the falling water film is very effective, especially for high initial water temperatures. In the present study, we examined the performance of a falling-water-film-type ice thermal energy storage vessel with practical size, having vertical heat exchanger plates. The ice making performance coefficient, η, increases with time, and it becomes a maximum value of 2.5, after that, it decreases gradually. In order to make ice efficiently, it is necessary to set a flow rate of refrigerant properly and to adjust a difference between the evaporating temperature of refrigerant and the freezing point of water so that the refrigerant evaporates in the heat exchanger plates overall.