Optimization of operating modes of ship refrigeration plant with artificial cold accumulator

Abstract

The ways of optimizing the operation of a refrigeration unit for fishing and refrigerated vessels with the additional inclusion of artificial cold storage devices are investigated. For this purpose, a new technology of cold storage has been developed on the basis of a refrigerating machine with direct contact between media and ice production. The refrigerant RC318 was taken as freon which does not form crystalline hydrates. Based on this, the optimization of the operation of a single-stage refrigeration machine was carried out using the Lagrange multiplier method for the target function of energy consumption, calculated by reducing the exergy flow in the system. The data obtained show the relevance and prospects of using cold accumulation on ships to reduce energy costs for the operation of refrigeration equipment and increase the autonomy of fishing vessels. Optimization according to the given method leads to two modes of operation of the refrigerating machine, as the most optimally beneficial in terms of operating conditions during the generation of cold. Optimization was carried out for two schemes for including a cold accumulator in the cold supply system. The proposed optimization methods make it possible to reduce the energy consumption of refrigeration units to the level of design loads, and to compensate for peak loads with the help of cold from batteries. Further research in this matter is aimed at reducing the size of the battery, increasing its energy efficiency and developing recommendations for inclusion in the general schemes of ship refrigeration plants based on mathematical optimization models and field experiments. It also plans to further improve the methods of cold accumulation based on ice generation with direct contact of media inside refrigeration units.