Heat transfer enhancement in domestic refrigerator using R600a/mineral oil/nano-Al2O3 as working fluid

f liquid g gas ABSTRACT The experimental apparatus was build according to the national standards of India.. The performance of the refrigeration system depends upon the heat transfer capacity of the refrigerant. Normally R12, R22, R600, R600a and 134a are used as a refrigerant. This refrigerant heat transfer capacity is not so good and increase power consumption. Due to these limitation nanofluids are enhanced with the normal lubricant and increases the heat transfer capacity and reduces the power consumption. Aluminium oxide nanofluid is used for enhancing the heat transfer capacity of the refrigerant in the refrigeration System. In this experiment heat transfer enhancement was investigated numerically on the surface of a refrigerator by using Al2O3 nano-refrigerants, where nanofluids could be a significant factor in maintaining the surface temperature within a required range. The addition of nanoparticles to the refrigerant results in improvements in the thermophysical properties and heat transfer characteristics of the refrigerant, thereby improving the performance of the refrigeration system. Stable nanolubricant has been prepared for the study. The experimental studies indicate that the refrigeration system with nano-refrigerant works normally. It is found that the freezing capacity is higher and the power consumption reduces by 11.5 % when POE oil is replaced by a mixture of mineral oil and Aluminium oxide nanoparticles. Thus using Aluminium oxide nanolubricant in refrigeration system is feasible.