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Identification and digital control of a household

refrigeration system with a variable speed
compressor

Article in International Journal of Refrigeration December 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2014.09.009

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Accepted Manuscript

Identification and digital control of a household refrigeration system with a variable

speed compressor

Carlos A. Piedrahita-Velsquez, Control Engineer Hctor J. Ciro-Velsquez,

Associate Professor Mario A. Gmez-Botero, R&D Manager

PII: S0140-7007(14)00237-0
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2014.09.009
Reference: JIJR 2875

To appear in: International Journal of Refrigeration

Received Date: 10 November 2013

Revised Date: 17 April 2014
Accepted Date: 8 September 2014

Please cite this article as: Piedrahita-Velsquez, C.A., Ciro-Velsquez, H.J., Gmez-Botero, M.A.,
Identification and digital control of a household refrigeration system with a variable speed compressor,
International Journal of Refrigeration (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2014.09.009.

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to
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Highlights (for review)
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Highlights

ARMAX model for a household refrigerator that uses a variable speed compressor.
A digital PI controller was designed to control the compartment air temperature.
Simulations were run on the closed-loop system, obtaining satisfactory results.
Digital PI controller can control the refrigerator in its entire operation range.
Refrigerator with variable speed compressor consumes 15% less power.

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4 IDENTIFICATION AND DIGITAL CONTROL OF A HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATION
5 SYSTEM WITH A VARIABLE SPEED COMPRESSOR
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9 Carlos A. Piedrahita-Velsqueza (Corresponding Author*)
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10 Control Engineer, Department of Electrical Energy and Automation, National University of
11 Colombia-Medellin Campus, 050041, Medelln, Ant, Colombia, capiedrav@unal.edu.co

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12 (57-4) 477-98-94
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14 Hctor J. Ciro-Velsquezb
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Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, National University of

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ColombiaMedellin Campus, 050034, Medelln, Ant, Colombia, hjciro@unal.edu.co
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19 Mario A. Gmez-Boteroc
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20 R&D Manager, HACEB Industries, 051040, Copacabana, Ant, Colombia,
21 mario.gomez@haceb.com
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23 Abstract: This paper presents an autoregressivemoving-average model with exogenous inputs
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(ARMAX model) and a digital controller for a household refrigeration system that uses a variable
25 speed compressor. The ARMAX model takes as inputs the RPM of the compressor and
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environmental variables, such as temperature and relative humidity. Additionally, the output
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variables were defined as the temperatures of the freezer, the evaporator plate, and the compartment
air and the compartment air relative humidity. The results of the experimental tests showed that the
30 ARMAX model reproduces with high accuracy the dynamic behavior of the refrigeration system
31 with less than 7% error. Tests of energy consumption and food storage were performed according to
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32 the NTC 2078 standard, which applies to household refrigeration systems manufactured or sold in
33 Colombia. These tests indicated that the refrigeration system with a variable speed compressor
34 consumes 15% less energy than an equivalent conventional refrigeration system and that the
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temperature profiles inside the compartment are more stable.
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38 Keywords: system identification, refrigeration system, variable speed compressor, digital control
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4 Nomenclature list
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Mean percentage relative error
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8 Total data points
9 Current data point
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Output variable
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13 Output variable of the ARMAX model
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15 k data point of output variable of the ARMAX model
Outputs of the system

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17 Inputs of the system that are being taken into account in the model
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19 Represents all the unknowns in the model (e.i. disturbances not being measured)

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20 Polynomials in the discrete variable q, whose parameters have to be found
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23 Transfer function in the discrete operator
24 Sample time of the transfer function

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Freezer temperature
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Revolutions per minute
Room temperature
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31 Evaporator plate temperature
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32 Compartment air temperature
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4 1. Introduction
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6 Household and commercial refrigeration systems are essentially composed of two heat exchangers
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(evaporator and condenser), an expansion valve (capillary tube), a compressor, and a device for
9 control of the system (thermostat). The temperature in the compartment is maintained in an
10 acceptable range due to the constant on/off switching of the compressor. Currently, commercial and
11 household refrigeration systems are designed with consideration for extreme operating conditions,

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12 such as Troom = 43 C and RH = 60%. These conditions are defined in the Colombian standard NTC
13 2078 (ICONTEC, 2006) and result in a maximum heat load in the compartment, which the
14 refrigeration system should be able to remove. In the daily use of these systems, these extreme
15 conditions are usually not encountered; therefore, the refrigeration systems are oversized for the

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conditions in which they normally function. According to Schwarz (2001), this is the reason why
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18 the conventional refrigeration system consumes more energy than necessary, generates noise and
19 why the temperature variation in the compartment is considerable.

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21 In recent years, consumer interest has increased for refrigeration systems that consume less energy,
22 have better performance, and offer greater functionality compared with standard products.
23 Replacing a conventional compressor with a variable speed compressor in which the cooling
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capacity can be adjusted to the current thermal load of the system allows a considerable reduction in
25 energy consumption and noise and more stable temperature profiles in the compartment (Schwarz,
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2001). However, the replacement of the conventional compressor with a variable speed compressor
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changes the control paradigm for refrigeration systems, because the classic on/off control used in
these systems does not permit the modulation of the cooling capacity in a variable speed
30 compressor. To obtain lower power consumption and more stable temperature profiles, it is
31 necessary for the refrigeration system to be supervised by a control system that modulates the
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32 cooling capacity of the variable speed compressor based on the current thermal load of the
33 refrigeration system. Obtaining a robust model of the refrigeration system is of great importance to
34 the design of the control system because this model would allow the evaluation of different control
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policies and the overall behavior of the system before they are implemented in an operational
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37 model.
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39 Prior investigations have studied the thermal behavior of refrigeration systems using energy and
40 mass balances (Koury et al. 2001; Lei and Zaheeruddin, 2005; Morini and Piva, 2007). In general,
41 these models reproduced the dynamic behavior of the refrigeration system, but their design
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42 purposes and evaluations of control systems were limited due to system complexity and high order.
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44 Li et al. (2008) defined an empirical model to determine the temperature variation within the
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compartment and the variation of the T of the evaporator (T = Toutput - Tinput) with respect to the
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47 variation in the RPM of the compressor and the opening of an electronic expansion valve. It was
48 necessary to monitor not only the temperature variation in the compartment but also the T of the
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49 evaporator, as this variable affected the coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigeration
50 system, which describes the efficiency of the system. This model was obtained using basic
51 identification techniques, such as the step test, and focused on only two variables of the system
52 (Compartment and T), making it difficult to predict the general behavior of the refrigeration system.
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Aprea et al. (2004) implemented a fuzzy logic controller to a refrigeration system with a variable
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56 speed compressor. The energy consumption of the system was assessed in comparison with a
57 standard system (single speed compressor) under various conditions, such as the periodic opening
58 of the doors, changes in room conditions, and changes in the thermal load using either heating or
59 foodstuffs. The results showed that under all of the tested conditions, the refrigeration system that
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4 used a variable speed compressor with a fuzzy controller consumed less energy than a standard
5 system.
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Li et al. (2009) presented a pair of controllers for the compartment air temperature and for the T of
9 the evaporator. These controllers were designed using an empirical model derived in their earlier
10 work (Li et al., 2008). The manipulated variables were the compressor RPM and the percentage of
11 the opening of the electronic expansion valve. The two controllers were PI controllers with feed

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12 forward action to compensate for disturbances that each control action caused in the controlled
13 variables. The results obtained after the tests were satisfactory, showing stable temperature profiles
14 in the compartment and T in the evaporator, even under changes in the thermal load of the
15 compartment.

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18 The aim of this paper is to present an autoregressivemoving-average model with exogenous inputs
19 (ARMAX model) and a digital controller for a household refrigeration system with a variable speed

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20 compressor. Later, the closed-loop system (a digital controller with a refrigeration system) will be
21 tested under the NTC 2078 standard (ICONTEC, 2006) to make valid comparisons between the
22 refrigeration system with a variable speed compressor and an equivalent conventional refrigeration
23 system.
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2. Materials and methods
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2.1 Technical specifications of the refrigeration system

30 The refrigeration system used in this research was a 0.209m3 (209 liters) refrigerator provided by
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HACEB Industries (Colombian Company). The variable speed compressor used was a VEM Y3H
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from Embraco (Brazilian refrigeration industry). These devices can be observed in figures 1a and
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34 1b, respectively. Relevant technical information can be found in Table 1.
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51 Figure 1. Refrigeration system: a) Refrigerator and b) variable speed compressor.
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53 Table 1. Technical information for the refrigeration system.
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56 Characteristic Specification
57 Refrigeration system 0.209m3 (209 liters) HACEB Refrigerator
58 Class Tropical (T)
59 Condenser Wire-mesh 0.54x0.5 m, iron pipe diameter
60 0.005 m, length 7.63 m
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4 Evaporator Roll-bond 1.09x0.348 m
5 Refrigerant gas R134a (Charge of 0.12 kg)
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Compressor VEMY3H from Embraco
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8 Cooling capacity range 41-125 W
9 RPM variation range 1600-4500
10 AC Input 120V/60Hz
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13 2.2 Data acquisition architecture
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15 To obtain an ARMAX-based model of the refrigeration system, it is necessary to perform

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17 experimental tests and data acquisition on the system. Figure 2 shows the architecture for the data
18 acquisition and the control of the refrigeration system.
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Figure 2. Data acquisition architecture.
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43 All temperature measurements were made using k-type thermocouples, and the relative humidity
44 measurements were made using capacitive-type sensors. The data acquisition system was based on
45 NI LabVIEW and data acquisition cards from National Instruments. Hence, the variables of interest
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can be monitored in real time and the data stored in the computer for analysis. The compressor was
48 operated from the computer through a serial interface. In table 2, the data acquisition equipment is
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50 Table 2. Specifications of the data acquisition equipment
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53 Item Accuracy
54 K-type Thermocouples 1 C between -100 and 200 C
55 Relative humidity sensors 2 RH at 25C
56 NI 6218 data acquisition card 0.152mV between 0-10V (16 bits of
57 resolution)
58 NI 9213 Thermocouple data acquisition card 38V (24 bits of resolution)
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4 2.3 Model fit analysis
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7 To evaluate how well the ARMAX model correlates with the experimental data, the mean
8 percentage relative error was calculated.
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15 3. Results and Discussion

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17 3.1 Obtaining an ARMAX model of the refrigeration system
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An ARMAX model is an input-output model based on data collected from the system under study

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21 with a basic flowing structure (Zhu, 2001):
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This type of model is easier to obtain, is more tractable from a control design perspective, because it
does not involve the derivation of differential equations using mass and energy balances and the
subsequent task of finding the model parameters.
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32 All tests were performed in climate-controlled rooms at HACEB Industries. Before starting the tests
33 for the identification of the refrigeration system, preliminary tests were performed to determine the
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dominant dynamics of the system and the sampling time for the ARMAX model. It was determined
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36 that a sampling time of 4 minutes was convenient. The identification test consisted of subjecting the
37 refrigeration system to a persistent input using the compressor. One of these inputs is known as a
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38 Generalized Binary Noise (GBN), and its objective is to excite the dynamics of the refrigeration
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40 system around an operation point so that the model can reproduce the results. This input is designed
41 with consideration for the results obtained in the preliminary tests. More information about the
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42 derivation of an ARMAX model and the design of a GBN test can be found in Zhu (2001).
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45 The GBN test was performed at a room temperature of 32 C and a relative humidity of 60%.
46 Before starting the test, an operation point for the system was obtained by running the compressor
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47 at 2,000 RPM and after all measured variables reached steady state. Then, the GBN signal was
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applied to the compressor. The data obtained from the test were used to obtain the ARMAX model.
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50 In figure 3, the GBN test is shown, and a comparison between the refrigeration system data and the
51 numerical data retrieved from the ARMAX model is provided. The 12 transfer functions of the
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ARMAX model are shown in Appendix A of this paper.
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4 a Freezer
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34 Figure 3. Comparison between system data and model data: a) GBN input, b) freezer air temperature, c) evaporator plate
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Figure 3a shows the GBN signal applied to the compressor. From figures 3b, 3c, 3d, and 3e, it can
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39 be observed that the ARMAX model reproduced the behavior of the refrigeration system. The
40 largest error, approximately 7%, was in the compartment air relative humidity. It is worthwhile to
41 note that this model reproduced the transient dynamics of the refrigeration system with high
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43 accuracy and that this is very important for control design purposes.
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45 Another test for the ARMAX model is to apply a step signal to the compressor (from 2,000 to 2,500
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RPM) and to compare the responses of the ARMAX model and the refrigeration system. The results
48 obtained by this approach are shown in figure 4. The step test confirms the reliability of the model
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49 with deviation errors of approximately 1%. The model accurately reproduces the transient and
50 steady-state behaviors of the system. Because this model uses the room temperature and relative
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52 humidity as inputs, it permits the simulation of the refrigeration system when there are changes in
53 these variables.
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22 3.2 Controller design for the compartment air temperature
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25 The objective of the control system is to control the compartment air temperature by varying the
26 compressor RPM to supply the required cooling capacity to maintain the desired temperature even
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if the system is subjected to disturbances (i.e., variations in the room temperature and relative
humidity, door openings, or warm foods). Manipulating the compressor RPM to control the
30 temperature of the compartment air causes changes in other refrigeration system outputs (i.e.,
31 temperature of the freezer and the evaporator plate and the compartment air relative humidity).
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In Section 3.1 of this paper, an ARMAX model for the refrigeration system was obtained. To design
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36 the compartment air temperature controller, it is necessary to use the transfer function relating the
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compressor RPM to the compartment air temperature (Eq.3) as follows:
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43 As a design requirement, it is proposed that the settling time of the closed-loop system be similar to
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the settling time of the open-loop system (approximately 6 hours). Under these conditions, the
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46 control actions would not be abrupt; the system would be robust to sensor noise and to variations in
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47 the operating conditions of the refrigeration system. To avoid the saturation of the compressor, the
48 type of controller that has been chosen for the system is a digital proportional-integral (PI)
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50 controller with an anti-windup configuration. The principal advantages of this controller include its
51 easy implementation and its ability to obtain a near-zero steady-state error.
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Using the pole assignment technique for a digital controller design (Goodwin et al. 2001), the
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4 Every 4 minutes, the controller senses the compartment air temperature, processes the temperature
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with the setpoint parameter, and sends a control action to the compressor. Using the above
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7 developed refrigeration system model and the designed controller permits the simulation of the
8 closed-loop system. The results of the simulation are shown in figure 5.
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Setpoint
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26 plate, c) compartment air temperature and setpoint, and d) compartment air relative humidity.
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30 necessary that the compressor enters an on/off cycle, as observed in figure 5a. Unlike conventional
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refrigeration systems, this on/off cycle is at a low RPM because the compressor generates the
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cooling capacity necessary to maintain the compartment air temperature close to the setpoint
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36 control system (figure 5b).
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39 The simulation showed that the performance of the control system is satisfactory and provided
40 insight into the expected behavior of the real refrigeration system with the designed controller.
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43 3.3 Deployment and test of the control system
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45 The control system was deployed using the software NI LabVIEW and data acquisition cards from
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47 National Instruments, which are specified in table 2 of this paper. The control algorithm ran every 4
48 minutes. The data were stored on disk for further analysis. Power consumption and food storage
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49 tests were performed according to the NTC 2078 standard (ICONTEC, 2006). This standard applies
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for household refrigeration systems manufactured or sold in Colombia, and it was used as a
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52 guideline for comparison with conventional refrigeration systems. The disturbance rejection test
53 was performed to evaluate the performance of the refrigeration system when operating under room
54 changing conditions.
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57 3.3.1 Food storage test
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59 This test consists of loading the refrigerator with tylose test packets, which simulate the foods to be
60 preserved. The room temperature was set at 43 C and relative humidity at 60%. Under these
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4 extreme conditions, the refrigeration system must be able to maintain an average compartment air
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temperature below 5 C and an average freezer temperature less than -6 C. Figure 6 shows the
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7 performance of the refrigeration system during this test. In table 3, the specifications of the test
8 packets are provided.
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41 Figure 6. Food storage test: a) compressor RPM, b) room temperature, c) room relative humidity, d) temperatures of the
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42 freezer air and evaporator plate, e) compartment air temperature and setpoint, f) compartment air relative humidity, g)
43 diagram of freezer loaded with test packets.
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46 Table 3. Tylose test packets specifications
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50 Freezing point (C) -5
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53 Figure 6e shows that under these extreme conditions, the control system maintains the compartment
54 air temperature at 3 C, as dictated by the setpoint parameter. The control system is robust because
55 the operating conditions exceed the normal operating range used to design the controller. Figure 6d
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57 shows the behavior of the freezer and evaporator plate temperatures. The freezer air temperature
58 remains below -6 C during the entire test; these results satisfy the food storage tests of the NTC
59 2078 standards for the refrigeration system.
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4 As observed in figure 6f, the relative humidity decreases over the entire test. This behavior can be
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explained with the data shown in figure 6a. The compressor was continuously running, and the
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7 evaporator removed humidity from the refrigerator. As stated before, the compressor never stops
8 running but modulates its RPM to maintain the compartment air temperature at the setpoint. This
9 performance cannot be achieved using a conventional on/off compressor. In figures 6b and 6c, the
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11 room conditions during the test are shown. In figure 6g, a diagram of the freezer loaded with test
packets is shown for better understanding of the test procedure.

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14 3.3.2 Power consumption test
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considerable reduction in power consumption in comparison with a conventional on/off compressor
19 (Krueger et al, 1994; Schwarz, 2001; Lamantia et al, 2002). This hypothesis was evaluated by

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20 running the power consumption test as dictated by the NTC 2048 standard (ICONTEC, 2006). As in
21 the food storage test, the refrigerator was loaded with test packets, the room relative humidity was
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23 kept at 60%, and the setpoint parameter was set to 3 C, but the room temperature was set to 32 C.
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25 refrigeration system in a 24-hour interval. Figure 7 shows the behavior of the refrigeration system.
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59 Figure 7. Power consumption test: a) compressor RPM, b) room temperature, c) room relative humidity, d) temperatures
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4 The result of the test was a power consumption of 725.1 Wh/24 h. This consumption is 15% lower
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than the power consumption of an equivalent conventional refrigerator (850 Wh/24 h). Thus, the
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7 result is satisfactory and confirms expectations about the performance of a variable speed
8 compressor. In figure 7e, it can be observed that the control system causes the compartment air
9 temperature to oscillate around the setpoint with a maximum deviation of 0.5 C, which is in
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11 agreement with the simulations run before the deployment of the control system. This minor
deviation in the compartment air temperature can help to prolong the freshness and shelf life of the

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13 foods stored in the refrigerator. Figure 7b shows the behavior of the freezer and evaporator plate
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temperatures, where again proper values for these temperatures are obtained even though these
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variables are not being directly controlled by the control system.

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18 3.3.3 Disturbance Rejection Test
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20 This test is not supported by the NTC 2078 standard (ICONTEC, 2006) but is important from a
21 control theory point of view. The objective of this test was to evaluate the performance of the
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23 control system when the refrigeration system was disturbed by changes to room conditions,
24 specifically changes in the temperature and the relative humidity.

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In figure 8, the results of the test are provided. The refrigerator was initially operating at the same
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conditions as in the power consumption test, i.e., it was loaded with test packets, and the room
temperature and relative humidity were 32 C and 60%, respectively. Figure 8b shows that
30 approximately 7 hours after the start of the test, the room temperature was changed to 43 C.
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32 Correspondingly, figure 8a shows that the control system increases the RPM of the compressor to
33 maintain the temperature of the compartment air. Because the compressor stops the on/off cycle, the
34 compartment air temperature adjusted to the setpoint parameter, as observed in figure 8e. Figure 8c
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shows that 28 hours after the start of the test, there was a drop in the relative humidity. The control
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37 system adjusted the RPM of the compressor to maintain the temperature of the compartment air, as
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38 shown in figures 8a and 8e. Figure 8d shows that as in the earlier tests, the freezer and evaporator
39 plate temperatures were kept in an acceptable operation range regardless of the disturbances to the
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41 refrigeration system.
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20 Figure 8. Disturbance rejection test: a) compressor RPM, b) room temperature, c) room relative humidity, d) temperatures
21 of the freezer air and evaporator plate, e) compartment air temperature and setpoint, and f) compartment air relative
22 humidity.
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24 This test shows the robustness of the control system. The PI controller, though simple, can control

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25 the refrigeration system over the entire range of operating conditions considered in the NTC 2078
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standard (ICONTEC, 2006). With the use of this controller does not make necessary to upgrade the
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control system to more complex architectures, such as the fuzzy logic type used in Aprea et al.
(2004). Additionally, because this controller is digital, it can be readily embedded in the electronic
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cards already used in most household refrigeration systems.
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33 4. Conclusions
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36 An ARMAX model for a household refrigeration system that employs a variable speed compressor
37 was used. It was shown that the model reproduces the dynamic behavior of the refrigeration system.
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38 This model takes into account the principal inputs and outputs of the refrigeration system, allowing
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for the design and evaluation of different control algorithms before being used in an actual system.
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42 Using the ARMAX model found in Section 3.1, a controller for the compartment air temperature
43 was designed. The simulation results indicated that the control system performance was
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45 satisfactory, allowing its implementation in the real system.
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47 In the food storage test, it was found that the refrigeration system was working properly under
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extreme thermal load. The energy consumption test showed that a refrigeration system with a
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50 variable speed compressor consumes 15% less energy than an equivalent conventional cooling
51 system.
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54 The disturbance rejection test showed that a digital linear control system was sufficient to control
55 the refrigeration system in its operating range. Thus, it is not necessary to resort to more advanced
56 control methodologies, such as adaptive control or fuzzy logic control.
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4 Appendix A: ARMAX Model Transfer Functions
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7 Transfer function between RPM and freezer temperature
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18 Transfer function between room relative humidity and freezer temperature
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24 Transfer function between RPM and evaporator plate temperature

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13 Transfer function between room relative humidity and compartment air relative humidity
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19 Note: sample time for all transfer functions is 4 minutes.

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21 5. References
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24 Aprea, C., Mastrullo, R., Renno, C. 2004. Fuzzy control of the compressor speed in a

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25 refrigeration plant. Int. J. Refrigeration, 27(6), 639648.
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29 Prentice Hall, pp. 396399.
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Goodwin, G. C., Graebe, S. F., Salgado, M. E. 2001. Control System Design, first ed.

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ICONTEC, 2006. NTC 2078 - Artefactos Refrigeradores Domsticos. Caractersticas y
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33 Mtodos de Ensayo, second ed. Instituto Colombiano de Normas Tcnicas, Bogot -
34 Colombia.
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36 Koury, R. N. N., Machado, L., Ismail, K. A. R. 2001. Numerical simulation of a variable
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speed refrigeration system. Int. J. Refrigeration, 24, 192200.
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40 Krueger, M., Schwarz, M. 1994. Experimental Analysis of a Variable-Speed
41 Compressor, Proc. Compressor Engineering Conference at Purdue, 599-604.
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44 Lamantia, M., Contarini, A., Giovanni, S. 2002. Numerical and Experimental Analysis of
45 a Linear Compressor,Compressor Engineering Conference at Purdue, Paper 1602.
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47 Lei, Z., Zaheeruddin, M. 2005. Dynamic simulation and analysis of a water chiller
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refrigeration system. Appl. Therm. Eng., 25(14-15), 22582271.
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51 Li, H., Jeong, S.-K., Yoon, J.-I., You, S.-S. 2008. An empirical model for independent
52 control of variable speed refrigeration system. Appl. Therm. Eng., 28(14-15), 1918
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55 Li, H., Jeong, S.-K., You, S.-S. 2009. Feedforward control of capacity and superheat for a
56 variable speed refrigeration system. Appl. Therm. Eng., 29(5-6), 10671074.
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58 Morini, G. L., Piva, S. 2007. The simulation of transients in thermal plant. Part I:
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Mathematical model. Appl. Therm. Eng., 27(11-12), 21382144.
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4 Schwarz, M. 2001 . Variable Capacity Compressors, a new dimension for refrigeration
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engineers to explore. Embraco, 111.
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8 Zhu, Y. 2001. Multivariable System Identification For Process Control. first ed., Elsevier
9 Ltd, pp. 4548, 118120.
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Table 1. Technical information for the refrigeration system.

Characteristic Specification
Refrigeration system 0.209m3 (209 liters) HACEB Refrigerator
Class Tropical (T)
Condenser Wire-mesh 0.54x0.5 m, iron pipe diameter
0.005 m, length 7.63 m

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Evaporator Roll-bond 1.09x0.348 m
Refrigerant gas R134a (Charge of 0.12 kg)
Compressor VEMY3H from Embraco
Cooling capacity range 41-125 W

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RPM variation range 1600-4500
AC Input 120V/60Hz

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Table 2. Specifications of the data acquisition equipment

Item Accuracy
K-type Thermocouples 1 C between -100 and 200 C
Relative humidity sensors 2 RH at 25C
NI 6218 data acquisition card 0.152mV between 0-10V (16 bits of
resolution)

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NI 9213 Thermocouple data acquisition card 38V (24 bits of resolution)

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Table 3. Tylose test packets specifications

Size (mm) / Weight (g) 25x50x100 / 125
50x100x100 / 500
50x100x200 /1000
Freezing point (C) -5

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Figure captions

Figure 1a: Refrigeration system

Figure 1b: Variable speed compressor
Figure 2: Data acquisition architecture
Figure 3a: GBN input
Figure 3b: Freezer air temperature

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Figure 3c: Evaporator plate temperature
Figure 3d: Compartment air temperature
Figure 3e: Compartment air relative humidity

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Figure 4a: Step input
Figure 4b: Freezer air temperature

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Figure 4c: Evaporator plate temperature
Figure 4d: Compartment air temperature
Figure 5a: Compressor RPM
Figure 5b: Temperatures of freezer air and evaporator plate

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Figure 5c: Compartment air temperature and Setpoint



Figure 6a: Compressor RPM
Figure 6b: Room temperature
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Figure 5d: Compartment air relative humidity

Figure 6c: Room relative humidity

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Figure 6d: Temperatures of freezer air and evaporator plate
Figure 6e: Compartment air temperature and setpoint
Figure 6f: Compartment air relative humidity
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Figure 6g: Diagram of freezer loaded with test packets

Figure 7a: Compressor RPM
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Figure 7b: Room temperature

Figure 7c: Room relative humidity
Figure 7d: Temperatures of freezer air and evaporator plate
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Figure 7e: Compartment air temperature and setpoint

Figure 7f: Compartment air relative humidity
Figure 8a: Compressor RPM
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Figure 8b: Room temperature

Figure 8c: Room relative humidity
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Figure 8d: Temperatures of freezer air and evaporator plate

Figure 8e: Compartment air temperature and setpoint
Figure 8f: Compartment air relative humidity

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