Analysis of air cycle and efficiency evaluation for a blast freezing tunnel plant

Air refrigerating systems offer a suitable alternative to vapour compression systems. Air can be used as working fluid in gas compression cycles for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems. This paper gives some results of theoretical investigation into improved air cycles for refrigeration systems and a comparison is made with their performances. The case-study relates to a dual purpose refrigerating plant. A blast freezing tunnel gives the coldest air stream and, in cascade, the air coming out from the tunnel is used in a channel network for feeding a lot of chilling cells. The case-study analysed indicates that there is a real possibility to build plants which will be equipped with air inverse cycles.