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CHAPTER 2
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2.0 Literature

Literature review displays the concepts used in this research, a few literature of

background analysis and understandings of the project. Literature review is also used to

identify any problem from existing refrigeration system and air conditioning and to come up

with a solution which is cryo-blast chiller box. Researches were done to ensure the

effectiveness of our product are:

2.1 Research on refrigerator

2.2 Research on air conditioning

2.3 Research on thermoelectric module

2.1 Research on Refrigerator

A refrigerator is a confined and insulated container with controlled temperature. Before

artificial refrigeration was founded, natural ice was used to provide cool storage. Cool storage

is essential to increase the shelf life of groceries. The low ambient temperature slows down the

rate of deterioration of groceries. However, it was only used in certain field as it was still

unaffordable and inaccessible. After the first artificial refrigeration was founded, its rapid

development has changed the face of refrigeration globally. It is now more accessible and

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affordable for domestic use. Premodern refrigeration uses a closed vapour-compression

refrigeration cycle to cool down the containers temperature. Then, gas-absorption refrigeration

system was introduced. It was a success implemented and commercially produced. This system

uses compressed gas to absorb the heat and dispose it to the environment. These gas are called

refrigerant. With modern technology, new type of gas are being used as refrigerant such as r-

134a , r404a and r507a. However, recent research shown that these refrigerant has a negative

effect on the environment. It causes the greenhouse effect and the thinning of ozone layer.

However, modern refrigerator are widely used in every field where low temperature are needed.

Nowadays, refrigerator comes in many sizes, features and most importantly it is a fully

enclosed system. Means that it does not have exposed compressor and heat pump. Many latest

refrigerator offers 2 separated compartment for low temperature and freezing temperature

storage. Some manufacturer also introduced the inverter technology into their product to safe

electricity.

2.2 Research on Air Conditioning

Air conditioning refers to the process of changing the condition of the air. It can be

either heating, cooling, dehumidifying, humidifying or filtering. Before the revolution of

technology, we uses fans to cool our self when it is hot or starts a fire when it gets cold. It is

functional but not efficient enough. It consume more energy and time to fan our self and the

preparation to starts a fire. After the emergence of electricity, electric powered fan and heater

are becoming popular. It only circulate the air in a room. It gives a better results but it is not

enough to cope with the harsh environment nowadays. Besides, in seasonal country, it is a

luxury to have both fan and a heater. The evolution of air conditioning is shown in Figure 2.1.1.

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By the time gas- absorption refrigeration are founded, air cooler starts to dominate the markets.

Its development raised due to the domestic demands and changing lifestyle. These modern air

conditioner are able to reach desired lower temperature faster. These air conditioner are widely

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uses in household, industry and offices. For household uses, air conditioner are used to control

the ambient temperature for comforts. In the industry, air condition are used to control the

working environment to maintain the working temperature of their workers and machine.

However, overtime these air conditioner need to undergo maintenance. If there was a leakage,

the refrigerant will leak to the environment and causes pollution.

FIGURE 2.1.1: REVOLUTION OF AIR CONDITIONING (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

2.3 Research on Thermoelectric Module

A thermoelectric module is a semiconductor that act as a heat pump. With the presence

of electricity, it transfer heat from one side to another side. Thermoelectric can be classified

into Peltier effect and Thomson effect. It was found by Jean Charles Athanase

Peltier and Baltic German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck.

The Peltier effect, is an important thermoelectric phenomenon that relates to the energy

transfer that occurs, over and above joule heating, at the junction of two dissimilar materials

when an electric current passes through it. When the junction is maintained at a given

temperature, the Peltier effect results in the equivalent of a heat addition or heat removal the

Peltier heat. However this effect is also reversible and it is called the Thomson effect. It is a

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phenomena when the junction of the dissimilar material has a temperature difference, it creates

an electrical current. Figure 2.2.1 shows the working principle of Peltier effect.

Figure 2.2.1: principle of Peltier effect

A Peltier module is widely used for cooling application, power generation and

temperature sensor. Its lightweight construction allows it to be used in aviation. Its lack of

refrigerant dependent makes it environmental friendly. Today, Peltier module are starting to

emerge in the DIY world but it is yet to be develop for domestic purpose. Many small cooler

box and refrigerator projects starts to appear as the component are easily accessible. A Peltier

module cooling is determined by the current polarity. This allow the module to work as a heater

also if the polarity is reversed as shown in Figure 2.2.1.

In our project, we implement the use of Peltier module as the cooling element. This

eliminates the need of refrigerant and compressor. This simplify the mechanism of the

refrigeration cycle and reduce the space occupied. We combined the mechanism of refrigerator

and air conditioner into one single unit. The air conditioner also has a dual function which is

cooling and heating. Our project can solve the space issue as having individual appliance which

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require a lot of space. The maintenance of this product is also hustle-free as it does not involve

any fluid and complex heat exchange unit.

Our Cryo-Blast Chiller Box is divided into two separated and insulated compartments.

The upper compartment is for the air conditioner while the lower compartment is the

refrigerator. Both of the compartments have separated mechanism and electronic but are

powered by the same power supply. The air conditioner are controlled by a bipolarity switch

and XH-W3001 Digital Temperature Controller. The refrigerator unit however is controlled

by W1209 Temperature Regulator. As for the insulation, we are planning to use foam as

insulator. This will also minimize condensation when the cooling function is used. The air

conditioner is powered by three Peltier cores while the refrigerator is using only 2 Peltier

cores. For the chassis, we are planning to use 10mm thick plywood as it is cheaper and good

temperature insulation properties.