Design thinking as a teaching tool in the learning processes of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems

This article shows the importance of applying new teaching-learning methodologies and tools to structure a potentially significant teaching unit in ​​refrigeration and air conditioning. In this study, an experimental bench was set up and different temperature and pressure measurements were taken to obtain the enthalpies of the condensation and evaporation systems of an air conditioning prototype. Initially, the focus was on the conceptual description of the methodological tools and a learning project was structured which, in short, resulted in an organized, creative and motivational laboratory product for a teaching unit of six refrigeration and air conditioning classes in an undergraduate course in mechanical engineering. After assembling the prototype, the academics visualized the physical phenomena involved in the air conditioning and thermal conformation processes. Temperatures were measured in different pressure ranges and enthalpies were determined at all specified measurement points. In this way, it was verified that the maximum efficiency of refrigeration systems occurs in the range of 90 psi – 100 psi, with the increase in performance occurring during the passage of the refrigerant fluid in the condenser. The use of these teaching-learning tools applied in the mechanical engineering course was fundamental, in addition to motivating and understanding the physical phenomena involved in refrigeration processes.