Study of expansion valve capacity at constant thermal load and 5℃ room temperature in refrigerated truck unit

The main role of the expansion valve in a vapor compression refrigeration system is to regulate the mass flow rate of the refrigerant gas, so the study was conducted to evaluate the effect of variations in the expansion valve capacity on the cooling performance of the Truck Refrigerator unit. This is related to the suitability of the temperature of the products transported using the truck refrigerator, which often experiences damage so that the product or goods are rejected in the market. The study showed that the cold reach time to obtain a temperature of 5oC in the refrigerator truck cooling room when using an expansion valve with a larger cooling capacity (3500) occurred faster than an expansion valve with a standard cooling capacity (2000 W). The Coefficient of Performance (COP) that occurred when using an expansion valve with a standard cooling capacity (2000 W) was 3.099. This value is smaller than the expansion valves with a cooling capacity of 1000 W and 3500 W with values ​​of 3.226 and 3.928, respectively. Using an expansion valve with a cooling capacity that is more significant than the standard was found to produce the highest COP. This also means lower power consumption and, of course, lower electricity bills. The work of the compressor in the refrigeration system is very dependent on the COP value.