Influence of Fe₂O₃ and La₂O₃ nanoparticles on the performance of domestic refrigerator functioning with R134a refrigerant

Abstract Domestic refrigerator is working on the principle of Vapour Compression Refrigeration (VCR) system. VCR system uses compressor as one the functional member which consumes electrical energy. Due to the civilization, the usages of VCR system based equipments are increasing. Therefore, the need for electrical energy is on the rise. Therefore, the limited usage of electrical energy is desirable. Consequently, this study aimed to reduce electrical energy consumption and enhance the performance of the VCR system by using nano-refrigerants as the working medium. This research utilized two types of nano-refrigerants: R134a/Fe 2 O 3 and R134a/La 2 O 3 .The nanoparticles concentration was varied from 0.1 g l −1 to 0.5 g l −1 and the best refrigerant was identified by comparing the performance of VCR operated with aforementioned nano-refrigerants. The properties like thermal conductivity and viscosity of nano-refrigerants were determined and compared with R134a refrigerant. Further, the power consumption, pull down time and COP of VCR system was investigated. Results revealed that the R134a/Fe 2 O 3 and R134a/La 2 O 3 nano-refrigerant displayed superior characteristics and showed greater performance. The R134a/Fe 2 O 3 demonstrated a peak thermal conductivity (0.022 W mK −1 ) when 0.5 g l −1 of nanoparticles were added. Further, the same refrigerant showed 27.4% decrease in electrical energy consumption compared to R134a refrigerant and showed a maximum COP of 3.5. Therefore, this study suggests that the R134a/0.5 g l −1 Fe 2 O 3 could be an effective choice to lower the power consumption of the VCR system.