No Compressors in Future Refrigerators


by Pattrick Savarna - Date: 2008-10-04 - Word Count: 274 Share This!

According to the researchers of Pennsylvania State University, the refrigerators with compressors will be things of history in near future.

Their research includes the use of ferroelectric polymers which are capable to lower the temperature around.



These polarpolymers which have been used in testing include poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) and poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) chlorofluoroethylene.


These ferroelectric polymers show significant temperature changes in room temperatures. Hence, the cooling will take place through magnetic field refrigeration. However, electricity is still a better option.

"This is the first step in the development of an electric field refrigeration unit," said Qiming Zhang, a professor of electrical engineering. "For the future, we can envision a flat panel refrigerator. No more coils, no more compressors, just solid polymer with appropriate heat exchangers."

The future design of compressor-free refrigerator works, when kept in an electrical field, on turning the disorganized polarpolymer into and organized one. When the disorganized molecules of polarpolymer come in the direct contact of electricity, they start getting organized.

Their concentration results into the dispersion of heat. Thus the material becomes cooler. But this process is not permanent as the molecules suddenly get disordered the moment the passage of electricity is blocked. As a result, the material goes hot.

In this method, the experts estimated a difference of 22.6 degrees Fahrenheit (12.5 degree Celsius) between the highest and lowest temperatures. According to experts, by using a suitable heat exchanger and the repetitive randomizing and rearranging of the material we can get a wide range of heating and cooling temperatures.

This future cooling system is said to be environment friendly. Because, unlike gasses used in today's cooling devices, the polymer doesn't seem to be affecting the environment negatively.


Related Tags: polymer, refrigerators, heat exchangers, myelectronicsblog, digitivity, ferroelectric polymers, magnetic field refrigeration, compressor-free refrigerator

Pattrick is working as an industry analyst in the electronics and electrical industry for last fifteen years. He is working on a blog MyElectronicsBlog where you can get a lot of information on electronics industry, news, innovations, tradeshows, etc. . He is associated with one of the best electronics and electrical industry marketplaces Digitivity.com Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

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