Model and control of a refrigeration system for fruit preservation

The following article presents the modeling and control of a refrigeration system for fruit preservation. The mathematical model developed is based on mass balance and energy balance. It has been developed in two blocks: analysis in the refrigeration components and analysis in the conservation chamber. In the refrigeration system the elements have been studied: compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator and receiver. In the conservation chamber the study of the behavior of the temperature in the air of the room and of the study of the temperature of the fruit that is in the room has been realized. Simulation tests were performed with the on / off, PID and GPC controllers for mango conservation. The tests consisted of the following: from a stabilized system at the preservation temperature of each fruit, a reference change was made and we proceeded to compare these responses with respect to response time and oscillations. The PID and GPC controllers showed better error performance in the temperature respect to the reference.