Marine Air Conditioning

Marine air conditioners play a vital role on ships, providing comfortable working and living spaces for crew members, as well as suitable operating conditions for electronic equipment and precision instruments. Because ships face harsh environments at sea, such as salt spray, mold, and humidity, as well as instability factors like rolling and heeling, marine air conditioners must be highly adaptable. The operational status of these air conditioners directly affects crew performance and the normal operation of equipment; therefore, in designing marine air conditioners, in addition to meeting performance and size requirements, it is crucial to ensure their reliability and ease of maintenance.

Marine air conditioning systems are widely used in various cabins and areas of ships, such as passenger ships, cargo ships, and cruise ships.

Note: Cooling conditions: Indoor dry bulb temperature 27℃, wet bulb temperature 19.5℃. Cooling water inlet temperature 36℃.

The above parameters are based on a 3P-380V-50Hz/3P-440V-60Hz power supply.

• Compressor

The compressor is the core component of the refrigeration system. Compared to land-based air conditioners, marine air conditioner compressors operate under tilting and swaying conditions, making oil supply issues more prominent. Insufficient oil supply can lead to serious compressor damage. Therefore, a deep oil trough design is used to ensure adequate oil supply to the compressor in the tilting and swaying environment of a ship.

The compressor is protected against corrosion by sandblasting the outer surface followed by spraying with naval-grade anti-corrosion paint.

• Condenser

Marine air conditioner condensers are divided into two types: seawater-cooled and air-cooled. Seawater condensers use direct seawater cooling and must be protected against the highly corrosive seawater and ensure smooth refrigerant supply during ship rolling. Air-cooled condensers, on the other hand, must be protected against salt spray corrosion.

Water-cooled condensers use highly corrosion-resistant Bfe30-1-1 heat transfer tubes, cast aluminum bronze end caps, and (HA177-2A/16MnmR) composite material tube sheets. Safety valves are added for safety, and anti-potential corrosion devices are added to the seawater side. For the refrigerant supply issue of water-cooled condensers, a liquid reservoir is added to the bottom of the condenser.

Air-cooled condensers use copper finned copper tube heat exchangers to improve salt spray resistance.

• Evaporators

Marine evaporators are also divided into water-cooled and air-cooled types, and corrosion prevention still needs to be considered.

Water-cooled evaporators use a dry shell-and-tube evaporator, similar to land-based evaporators, but corrosion prevention measures for the outer surface of the evaporator still need to be considered. A galvanized steel plate shell is added to the outer surface to enhance the evaporator’s corrosion resistance. Air-cooled finned evaporators use copper tubes with copper fins to improve corrosion resistance.

• Throttling Mechanism

In addition to its throttling function, the expansion mechanism also regulates the refrigerant flow into the evaporator. Currently, externally balanced thermal expansion valves are commonly used in marine air conditioning systems.

• System Components

Major components of the refrigeration system include a dryer filter, oil tank, gas-liquid separator, solenoid valve, sight glass, pressure gauge, shock absorber, and high/low pressure protector.

These are used to better monitor system operation and ensure its safe and reliable operation. For marine air conditioning components, such as the sight glass, threaded connections should be used as much as possible to avoid welding. Solenoid valves for marine air conditioners require a manual control lever.

• Superior weather resistance and durability
• Corrosion and salt spray resistance
• Earthquake and vibration resistant
• Flexible space design
• Compact and versatile size
• Flexible air supply and installation
• Precise greenhouse control
• Stable operation over a wide temperature range
• Effective dehumidification and purification
• Outstanding energy saving effect
• High-efficiency heat exchange reduces energy consumption
• Energy recovery and reuse
• Safe and intelligent features
• Multiple safety protections
• Convenient operation and maintenance management