Study of the Effect on Evaporative Refrigeration

A number of studies have explored the evaporative cooling based on the use of various porous materials. The solar powered eco-fridge works on the principle of evaporative cooling. Sunlight heats up the wet filler material and the hot air causes the water to evaporate from the filler material. As the wet medium or filler material in between the cylinders is in contact with the inner cylinder the latent heat of vaporization is taken from the inner cylinder. Due to this, the inner cylinder becomes cooler and makes it perfect for the storage of perishables. We undertook modelling of an evaporative refrigerator by using various porous materials such as Cotton, Soil and Pulverized Wood as a B.E. project with the aim of investigating the refrigeration and comparing their saturation efficiencies. The results suggested that Cotton has maximum saturation efficiency of up to 86%, followed by Soil with 83% and pulverized wood gives a maximum saturation efficiency of 76%.