The Difference Between Air and Water Cooling in Electroplating
Author: Robby
The main difference between air-cooled and water-cooled in electroplating lies in their heat dissipation principle, applicable scenarios, maintenance cost and heat dissipation efficiency.
Air-cooled plating chiller through the air circulation for heat dissipation, its working principle is the refrigerant in the chiller unit in the evaporator to absorb heat and evaporate into a gas, and then compressed by the compressor into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, and then through the condenser will be the heat transfer to the outside world air and cooled into a liquid, and finally by the expansion valve decompression back to the evaporator, to complete a refrigeration cycle. The characteristics of air-cooled chiller include no need for external cooling water source, easy to install, suitable for water scarcity or poor water quality areas, but the heat dissipation effect is greatly affected by the ambient temperature.
Water-cooled plating chillers dissipate heat through water circulation, and their working principle is similar to that of the air-cooled type, but in the condenser link, the water-cooled chiller transfers heat to the cooling water instead of air. After the cooling water absorbs heat in the condenser, it flows into the cooling tower or heat exchanger through the water pipeline for cooling, and then flows back to the condenser to continue the cycle. The characteristics of water-cooled chiller include stable heat dissipation effect, less affected by the ambient temperature, suitable for areas with sufficient water supply and good water quality, but the installation is relatively complicated, and regular cleaning of the water line and replacement of cooling water are required.
In terms of applicable scenarios, air-cooled chillers are widely used in the field of small and medium-sized industrial refrigeration due to their advantages of simple structure, easy maintenance and low cost, and are especially suitable for areas with little change in ambient temperature. And water-cooled chiller due to its good heat dissipation effect, suitable for dealing with large heat load application scenarios, such as large-scale industrial refrigeration and high-temperature environment needs.
In terms of maintenance costs, air-cooled chillers are relatively low maintenance as they do not require regular cleaning of water lines and replacement of cooling water. Water-cooled chillers, on the other hand, require regular inspection of the water circuit system, cleaning of the cooling tower and replacement of cooling water, resulting in relatively high maintenance costs. However, if the water quality is well controlled and managed, the maintenance cost of water-cooled chillers can also be effectively reduced.
In terms of heat dissipation efficiency, because the specific heat capacity of water is much larger than that of air, water-cooled industrial chillers have higher heat dissipation efficiency under the same conditions. This gives water-cooled chillers an advantage in handling large heat loads, while air-cooled chillers are more suitable for application scenarios with small and medium heat loads.