Development of a fuzzy logic power optimization system for a refrigeration plant

Despite the fact that electrical power is a major overhead in industrial refrigeration plants, this resource still lacks full utilization in some plants of some organizations in developing countries. An unfortunate consequence of this predicament is that these organizations end up paying for more power than they have actually consumed or even necessarily need. This research however addresses solutions to the above concerns through the development of a power optimization system. Since power optimization is a broad subject the scope was only limited to power factor correction and compressor capacity control. The developed optimal design consisted of replacing part of the inductive load by a fuzzy controlled synchronous motor. The torque angle at the synchronous motor shaft was continuously regulated by the automatic compressor capacity control schematic. Simulations carried out using MATLAB RB2010 are also presented