WHAT IS A CHILLER & HOW DOES IT WORK?

WHAT IS A CHILLER & HOW DOES IT WORK? | INDUSTRIAL CHILLER WORKING PRINCIPLE

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If your facility uses process fluids or heavy-duty machinery that generates heat, you&#;ll need an industrial chiller system to cool your processes and internal machine components. Understanding how an industrial chiller works and the various types of chillers available will help you make the right choice for your cooling needs.

What Is a Chiller?

An industrial chiller is a refrigeration system used to lower the temperature of machinery, industrial spaces, and process fluids by removing heat from the system and transferring it elsewhere. Industrial chillers are essential for temperature regulation in several industrial processes, such as injection molding, metal plating, oilfield production, and food processing.

Why Use a Chiller?

Industrial chiller systems are beneficial for applications where strict operational temperatures are required. When integrated with heat-sensitive processes, chillers will prevent thermal damage to process equipment and ensure no alterations to the final products from exposure to unsuitable temperatures.

Working Principles

Industrial chillers work based on the following principles of operation.

1. Phase Change: When heated, a liquid coolant undergoes a phase change into a gas, and when the gaseous coolant is supercooled, it condenses back into a liquid.
2. Heat Flow: Heat energy always flows from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration.
3. Boiling Point: Reducing the pressure over a liquid decreases its boiling point, and increasing the pressure increases its boiling point.

How Does a Chiller Work?

An industrial chiller system is driven by one of two operational principles:

• Heat absorption
• Vapor compression

Heat absorption chillers integrate heat exchangers that pull heat away from any associated processes and dissipate them exteriorly. Heat exchangers are typically composed of piping containing coolant fluids (air, water, or a mixture of water and other liquids).

Vapor compression chillers achieve a cooling effect by circulating coolant in pipes through the processes requiring cooling. This will pull heat from any associated processes into the coolant, which is then circulated to a refrigerant system that cools the chiller fluid and prepares it for a new cycle of process cooling.

Chillers consist of four essential components; an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion unit. In addition, every chiller system contains a refrigerant.

The process starts with a low-pressure refrigerant entering the evaporator. Inside the evaporator, the chiller refrigerant is heated, causing it to undergo a phase change into a gas. Next, the gaseous refrigerant goes into the compressor, which increases its pressure.

The high-pressure refrigerant goes to the condenser, which rejects the heat using cooling water from a cooling tower or air from the surroundings, condensing it into a high-pressure liquid. The condensed refrigerant then goes to the expansion unit, which has a valve that acts as a metering device to limit refrigerant flow. Learn about new chiller refrigerants.

Consequently, this lowers the pressure of the refrigerant and begins the cooling process again. The entire process is known as the refrigeration cycle.

Basic Chiller Components

The central chiller components include the following:

• Condenser
• Compressor
• Evaporator
• Expansion valves
• Power unit
• Control unit
• Water boxes

Condenser

The function of a chiller condenser unit is to eliminate heat from the refrigerant being circulated through the chiller unit. This is achieved by circulating water between a cooling tower and the condenser for water-cooled variants or blowing cool air over condenser piping for air-cooled chiller units.

Compressor

The compressor is the driving unit of any chiller system. It generates the pressure gradient necessary to push refrigerant around the chiller unit to achieve process cooling. Various condensers are available, with the most popular types including centrifugal, screw, and reciprocating compressors.

Evaporators

An evaporator is placed between the expansion valve, and the condenser removes heat from any associated process into circulating refrigerant. This is then channeled to a cooling tower or air-cooled depending on the chiller configuration.

Thermal Expansion Valves

Thermal expansion valves located between the compressor and the evaporator serve to expand refrigerant passing through them. This action diminishes the pressure and improves the heat elimination from the evaporator.

Power Unit

Every chiller incorporates a power unit that controls electrical energy flowing through the system. Power unit components usually include starters, power monitoring panels, and circuit breakers.

Control Panels

Control panels serve to regulate the entire process of cooling operation. They usually integrate sensors, alarms, and display screens that allow operators to adjust system settings for optimal thermal control.

Water Boxes

These devices may be mounted on either the chiller system evaporator or its water-cooled condenser. Their purpose is to conduct water flow effectively.

Types of Industrial Chillers

The three main types of chillers in use today are air-cooled chillers, water-cooled chillers, and absorption chillers. We will also briefly touch on cooling towers (an alternative or supplemental cooling system) and special chillers like glycol and centrifugal.

Selecting the right chiller for your application will help you to save costs, reduce downtime, and improve operational efficiency.

Water-Cooled Chillers

Water-cooled chillers use water from an external cooling tower to reject heat from a gaseous refrigerant in the condenser before it undergoes a phase change into a liquid.

Air-Cooled Chillers

In place of the cooling water, air-cooled chillers use ambient air to reject heat from the refrigerant in the condenser. Learn more about air-cooled vs. water-cooled chillers.

Vapor Compressor Chillers

This type of chiller uses refrigerants to cool process fluids and spaces. A compressor is used as the driving force to pump refrigerant around the system.

Vapor Absorption Chillers

Vapor absorption chillers have no compressor in the unit. Instead, they use a heat source, e.g. solar energy or waste heat to drive the coolant through the system.

How does an absorption chiller work?

The process starts with liquid coolant in an evaporator which turns it into gaseous form. Next, the gaseous coolant is absorbed by a concentrated absorbent such as Lithium Bromide or Ammonia, provided by a generator. Finally, the diluted solution absorbs the coolant while the heat is absorbed by the cooling water.

The diluted solution of coolant and absorbent flows through a heat exchanger to the generator, where it is heated. The coolant vaporizes out of the solution, condenses, and is sent out for cooling again. The now-concentrated absorbent is recycled as well.

For more Industrial Chiller Supplierinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Glycol Chillers

Glycol chillers are special types that use propylene glycol, an anti-freeze, in the system. They are widely used in food-grade applications such as in the production of alcohol and for brewery chilling systems.

How does a glycol chiller work?

The mode of operation of glycol chillers is the same as a standard chiller.

Centrifugal chillers

Centrifugal chillers consist of the usual evaporator, compressor, condenser, and expansion device set-up but with additional rotating impellers which compress the refrigerant and transport it around the system.  They are beneficial for medium to large-scale cooling operations (from 150 &#; tons of refrigeration).

Uses of Industrial Chillers

Industrial chiller systems can be used for cooling operations in diverse industries. Below are some of the most common applications:

• Food Processing &#; Industrial chillers are used extensively in food production and processing operations, which require a high degree of precision in temperature control. For instance, winery chillers are used for temperature control during the fermentation and storage of wine. Likewise, bakery chillers help with mixer cooling, potable water cooling, and cooling jacketed tanks of yeast which are all critical bakery components.
• Metal Finishing &#; Temperature control is essential in metal finishing processes such as electroplating or electroless plating to remove the excess heat as they typically require very high temperatures (several hundred degrees) to bond the metals. Some industries use metal-finishing chillersto cool the anodizing liquid in a heat exchanger or use glycol/water as a cooling medium to lower the temperature inside the tank.
• Injection Molding &#; Injection molding is a mass-production technique for creating plastic parts using an injection-molding machine, thermoplastic pellets, and a mold. The process and melt must be maintained within precise temperature limits to prevent problems such as cracks, warping, and internal stresses in the final product. An injection molding chillercan supply a stream of supercooled fluid to cool the mold at an ideal rate to ensure optimum product quality.
• Space Cooling &#; In manufacturing plants that generate a lot of heat from the heavy-duty machinery they use, a chiller can help prevent temperature extremes in the offices and other working spaces. They also help save costs on purchasing separate HVAC systems for cooling.

Determining the Right Size of Chiller for Your Needs

An adequately sized chiller is critical for efficient and cost-effective processes, machinery, and space cooling. Cold Shot Chillers&#; easy-to-use sizing tool can help you quickly determine your optimal chiller capacity, tonnage, and size.

Getting The Most Out of Your Chiller

The cost of installing and operating chiller systems can be pretty high. Chiller units must be run as efficiently as possible to avoid additional charges during routine operation. Scheduling and conducting regular maintenance for your system will prevent costly chiller repairs in the long term. Applicable chiller maintenance should include condenser coil inspection and cleaning, condenser water, and refrigerant maintenance. Real-time monitoring apps like Cold Shot Guardian® can be used to monitor equipment, predict system failures and suggest pre-emptive interventions.

Trust Cold Shot Chillers for All Your Chiller Needs!

With over three decades of expertise in manufacturing industrial chiller systems, Cold Shot Chillers provides cooling equipment and expertise for the most challenging process cooling needs.

Contact us online or call us at 1.800.473. for more information about our commercial chillers and chiller parts.

Here at Shini USA, we&#;ve supplied a wide variety of equipment to businesses for over 10 years. Because of our dedication and quality, for those in the plastics industry, we&#;ve become a trusted name. And one of the most vital pieces of equipment we offer is our line of our industrial chillers.

But what exactly are industrial chillers, how are they used and what are their key benefits? Most importantly, why should your business choose Shini USA as the preferred choice among process chiller manufacturers?

As dedicated industry experts, we offer years of expertise working on these portable cooling systems. Having a general understanding of industrial chillers, how they work and what types we can provide will help you in your decision of choosing which system is right for you and your business.

What is an Industrial Chiller?

Chillers are widely used in commercial and industrial facilities as a portable cooling system. Simply put, an industrial chiller can be seen as a refrigeration system that either cools down a fluid (water-cooled chillers) or dehumidifies air (air-cooled chillers).

Chillers are used to cool pieces of equipment in a quick and effective way. By keeping said equipment cool, production rates can continue at an optimal level.

It should be noted that although industrial chillers are used to cool down pieces of equipment, they aren&#;t actually &#;chilling&#; anything. An industrial chiller does not make an object colder, rather, it simply removes the heat. Our industrial air chillers and water chillers remove heat from either water or air and circulate it through a heat exchanger to cool the surrounding air or equipment.

In short, you can ultimately think of our manufactured chillers as heat-removal devices.

How Do Industrial Chillers Work?

If you&#;re cooking in a kitchen and want to cool down the food you&#;ve made, you would put it in the refrigerator. This same idea can be applied to the process of industrial chilling. Think of using a chiller as a four-step cycle:

• Step One &#; Refrigeration: To chill your industrial equipment, it must first undergo a refrigeration process. This refrigeration process transfers the heat that comes with the equipment, ultimately lowering its temperature.

• Step Two &#; Evaporation: Once the refrigeration process beings, the heat will then evaporate with help from either water or air (depending on if you&#;re working with a water-cooled or air-cooled chiller). This evaporation will cause the water or air to boil and change into a vapor.

• Step Three &#; Compression: Once the vapor is formed, it reaches a compressor that increases its temperature and pressure.

• Step Four &#; Condensation: From the compressor, the vapor then reaches a condenser that lowers the temperature once again and turns said vapor back into a liquid.

Once a liquid form is again achieved, it is metered into the evaporator and the cycle then repeats itself.

Water-Cooled vs. Air-Cooled Chillers

We&#;ve talked a bit about two different types of industrial chillers for sale in our post so far. These types are water-cooled chillers and air-cooled chillers, with each offering their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Making the decision of choosing between these two portable cooling systems, however, should primarily depend on which one would better suit your company and your investment desires. Let&#;s take a look at how these systems differ.

Key advantages to using a water-cooled chiller: 

• A more precise heat transfer, compared to air-cooled chillers
• More energy efficient
• Longer lifespan compared to air-cooled chillers

Key disadvantages to using a water-cooled chiller:

• Higher up-front costs
• Higher maintenance and upkeep costs
• Requires more space than air-cooled chillers

Key advantages to using an air-cooled chiller:

• Lower up-front costs
• Require less space than water-cooled chillers
• No water treatment costs, lower maintenance and upkeep costs

Key disadvantages to using an air-cooled chiller:

• Shorter lifespan compared to water-cooled chillers
• Not as energy efficient
• A less precise heat transfer

For a more in-depth comparison of the two types industrial chillers for sale with Shini USA, refer to our chiller comparison post.

Why Should You Choose an Industrial Chiller From Shini USA?

As a division of Budzar Industries, Shini USA has established itself as a credible leader in manufacturing. By selecting one of industrial chillers for sale you can be confident in their operation since Shini USA has lengthy experience working with manufacturers and a proven history of industry success.

We take pride in the variety and versatility that comes with the cooling products we carry. Our line of products can be used for many purposes in diverse industries.

When it comes to industrial chillers, ours can be counted on as a sophisticated refrigeration system that will consistently maintain an effective productivity level. Your equipment will be cooled in a quick and efficient manner with the water and air-cooled chillers that we have to offer.

To learn more about our products, receive answers on any questions you have and obtain a quote for your company, don&#;t hesitate to contact us today.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Electro Plating Power Supply.