Industrial refrigerating machines - Introduction

This series of dossiers on industrial refrigeration machines covers only mechanical vapor compression refrigeration machines, the principles of which are explained in the [B 9 730] dossier, which we recommend you consult. Other systems, such as thermo-frigorific systems, are covered in the [B 9 735] dossier. Furthermore, given the fundamental differences in economic, technological and industrial production terms, it would seem advisable to consider separately the three fields that make up refrigeration in general, and which correspond to very different markets. These are domestic refrigeration, commercial refrigeration and industrial refrigeration.

Domestic refrigeration covers mass-market products such as refrigerators, freezers and small air conditioners. Commercial refrigeration covers equipment for retail outlets, medium and large supermarkets and sales furniture, air conditioning for small commercial premises, and on-board units (trucks, semi-trailers and railcars). Industrial refrigeration covers warehousing, deep-freezing, centralized air-conditioning and chemicals, with refrigeration capacities far superior to those of commercial refrigeration. Sometimes, however, the boundary between these two activities is ill-defined.

In this dossier, we will only deal with industrial refrigeration.

The complete document on industrial refrigeration machines consists of four parts:

• compressors [BE 9 741] ;

• exchangers and pressure vessels [BE 9 742] ;

• distribution channels [BE 9 743] ;...