Industrial refrigerating machines

Heat exchangers play an essential role in refrigeration machines, where they form the interface between the refrigerant and the external environment. As such, their diversity of shapes, sizes and applications is quite remarkable, and their economic weight is significant.

In recent years, as was the case for compressors, their evolution has been accelerated by :

• the emergence of new refrigerants with specific characteristics, such as HFC hydrofluorocarbons with temperature shifts or high saturation pressures, and also the return of carbon dioxide;

• in-depth studies by research laboratories on improving heat exchange during refrigerant boiling and condensation;

• the development by heat exchanger manufacturers of new tube profiles and complex fins;

• the need for refrigerant containment, and as a corollary, the reduction of loads;

• the reduction in volumes and costs imposed by the distribution and air-conditioning markets.

Today, we are faced with new techniques for defining heat exchangers, most often using selection software that spares project engineers the trouble of making more or less tedious calculations.

For further details, please refer to the "Heat exchangers" folder [B 2 340] .