In this article, I will share with you some of the causes of vapour compression failure and how you can solve them. For you to be able to solve these causes of failure of this refrigeration system, you need to understand how it works.
If you have no idea of how a vapour compression refrigeration system works, then I recommend you check out my previous article.
You might like this: Vapour Compression Refrigeration System: Components And Working Principle
With that much said, let me share with you some of the main causes of vapour compression failure.
Causes of vapour compression failure;
1. The fault of the compressor.
This is one of the common reasons that cause failure in a vapour compression refrigeration system.
Let me elaborate to you as to why the fault of the compressor can fail this refrigeration system.
The vapour compression refrigeration system largely depends on the compressor for it to work.
If there is no compression, then there will be no increase in temperature and pressure of the refrigerant, and this means the refrigerant won’t reach the condenser at all.
So, when the compressor fails to work, then the refrigeration system will fail.
Also, if the compressor is not compressing the refrigerant simply because it’s not well lubricated, then this will also result in inefficiency of the system.
Several things can cause the failure of the compressor.
These are some of the causes of failure in a vapour compression refrigeration system compressors;
- When the compressor has leakages.
- Overheating of the compressor.
- Lack or inadequate of lubrication the moving parts of the compressor.
- Contamination of the compressor.
- Electrical faults.
- Slugging.
2. Failure of the expansion valve.
The expansion valve or the throttling valve is very essential when it comes to regulating the pressure of the refrigerant.
The refrigerant that is supposed to be taken into the evaporator should be under low pressure for the refrigeration cycle to work effectively.
If the expansion valve can’t reduce the pressure of the refrigerant coming from the condenser, then the whole cycle of refrigeration will not work.
When the expansion device can’t control the flow of liquid refrigerant and reduce its pressure or it can’t allow the passage of the liquid refrigerant from the condenser, then this will interfere with the whole refrigeration system cycle.
The moment this happens, the refrigeration system will not work since the cycle will not be complete.
These are some of the causes of expansion valve failure in vapour compression refrigeration systems;
- Excessive flow of refrigerant through the expansion valve.
- Overfeeding and underfeeding of the expansion valve.
- Contamination from a dirty evaporator coil.
If there is a failure of the expansion valve in your vapour compression refrigeration system then this will result in refrigeration system failure.
3. Shortage of refrigerant in the system.
The refrigerant shortage is one of the things that can cause failure in a vapour compression refrigeration system.
You have to know that the entire process of refrigeration depends on the refrigerant available in the refrigeration system.
It’s the refrigerant that absorbs the latent heat of vaporization from the medium to be cooled so that the process of cooling happens.
If there is a shortage of refrigerant in the vapour compression system, there will be little or no energy absorption in the system that will not translate to the next process.
The moment there is no absorption of the latent heat of vaporization, the process of refrigeration won’t happen.
When there is a shortage of refrigerant in the vapour compression system, you will notice that there is a very high discharge pressure and nothing is happening.
Some of the causes of refrigerant shortages in a vapour compression refrigeration system are leakages, failure of recharging, and overheating of the refrigeration system.
4. Condenser failure.
When the condenser fails, then the vapour compression refrigeration system will fail too.
A condenser is very essential when it comes to the cooling of the vapour refrigerant from the compression.
If you understand the working principle of a vapour compression system, then you know that for the next cycle of refrigeration to happen, the refrigerant must be cooled so that it changes its state from a gas to a liquid.
When the condenser has faults and it cannot perform its function of cooling the refrigerant, then the refrigeration system will fail.
Some of the causes of condenser failure are contaminants, condenser fans not working, and a broken part of the condenser.
These are some of the main causes of failure in vapour compression refrigeration systems.
Ways of solving vapour compression refrigeration system failure
If you want to be able to fix a vapour compression system failure, the first thing you have to do is to find the key problem of the failure of your system.
Try to check which element of the refrigeration system that is not working and find a way to fix it.
If the refrigeration system can’t start completely, then know that the major problem is from the electrical side.
It can be that the compressor is not powered appropriately, there are wiring issues or it can be that the motor driving the compressor is not working.
On the other hand, if the refrigeration system can be started but there is overheating, leakages or so much noise coming from the refrigeration, then know that the main issue is your compressor.
The only way to fix this issue is to find the major fault in the compressor and try to repair it.
If the compressor lack lubrication, make sure that is done for the vapour refrigeration system to work effectively.
Find a specific problem from the compressor and find a particular solution for that issue. That is how you will solve this problem in this refrigeration system.
Also, if there is a high discharge of pressure from the vapour compressor system, then you should check your condenser if it is fit, check your expansion valve and the amount of refrigerant available in your refrigeration system.
A high discharge of pressure from the vapour compression refrigeration system means that something is wrong with the elements that I have shared with you in the above paragraph.
If you have any questions leave your comment.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you get to find out what is wrong with your vapour compression refrigeration system.
See you in my next article.
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