What's inside a refrigerator compressor?

To understand what's inside a refrigerator compressor, you first need to know its main task: compressing low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant vapor into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas, thus driving the refrigeration cycle. To accomplish this task, the compressor's internal structure mainly consists of the following key components:

1. Drive Core: Compressor Motor

The motor is the power source for the refrigerator compressor. It is usually an induction motor sealed inside the compressor casing.

Function: Converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to drive the piston or rotor.

Features: Modern refrigerators often use high-efficiency DC inverter motors to achieve more precise temperature control and lower energy consumption.

2. Gas Braking: Compression Mechanism (Piston or Rotor)

This is the core component of the refrigerator compressor that performs the compression action. Depending on the design, mainstream household refrigerator compressors are divided into piston type and rotary type (rotor type).

Piston Type: A crankshaft and connecting rod mechanism drives the piston to reciprocate within the cylinder, drawing in, compressing, and expelling refrigerant vapor.

Rotary (Rotor) Compressor: Uses an eccentric shaft to drive a rotor within a cylinder, achieving continuous compression of the refrigerant gas. Rotary compressors typically offer advantages such as small size, high efficiency, and low noise, making them a common choice for mid-to-high-end refrigerators.

3. Lubrication and Protection: Lubricating Oil

To ensure smooth and long-term operation of the high-speed mechanical components within the compressor's internal structure, the compressor is filled with a specific type of lubricating oil.

Function: Lubrication, cooling, and sealing. It reduces mechanical wear, removes heat generated by motion, and helps seal the gaps between the piston/rotor and the cylinder.

4. Key Medium: Refrigerant

Although the refrigerant itself is not "in" the compressor, it is the core medium flowing through it. During compressor operation, it is continuously drawn in and discharged.

Function: As a heat carrier, it absorbs heat from inside the refrigerator in the evaporator, is then compressed and heated in the compressor, and finally releases heat to the outside in the condenser. Common modern refrigeration systems use environmentally friendly refrigerants such as R600a (isobutane).

How do refrigerator compressors work together?

After understanding the contents of a refrigerator compressor, let's look at how these components work together to support the entire refrigeration system:

Suction: The drive motor rotates, causing the piston or rotor to move, drawing low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant vapor from the evaporator (inside the refrigerator) into the compressor.

Compression: The refrigerator compressor uses mechanical energy to compress the drawn-in refrigerant vapor, causing its pressure and temperature to rise rapidly.

Discharge: The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant vapor is discharged, flowing to the condenser (outside or on the side of the refrigerator), where it releases heat and condenses into a liquid.

Circulation: After the liquid refrigerant passes through a capillary tube or expansion valve to reduce pressure and temperature, it re-enters the evaporator to absorb heat, becoming low-temperature, low-pressure vapor again, completing one refrigeration system cycle.

The performance and reliability of the refrigerator compressor directly determine the refrigerator's refrigeration efficiency, energy consumption, and lifespan. Regardless of whether a reciprocating or rotary compressor is used, the core objective is to efficiently and stably compress the refrigerant, ensuring your food remains fresh.

Regularly maintaining the cleanliness and ventilation of the back of the refrigerator, and avoiding frequent opening and closing of the door, are important ways to help your refrigerator compressor operate efficiently for the long term.