Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Refrigeration Components

Content Evaporators
Types of Evaporators Chillers

Condensers
Types of Condensers Cooling Towers

Expansion devices
Thermostatic Expansion Valve
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Vapor-Compression Refrigeration Components

F pressure expansion device A

condenser

C compressor

evaporator

enthalpy
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Evaporators
An evaporator is any heat transfer surface in which a volatile

liquid is vaporized for the purpose of removing heat from a refrigerated space of product. Evaporator may be classified in a number of different ways such as: Type of construction
Method of liquid feed Operating condition Method of air (or liquid) circulation, Type of refrigerant control Applications
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 There are normally 3 types of evaporator construction:

Types of construction
- Plate-surface - Finned

- Bare-tube

Both bare-tube and plate-surface evaporators are classified as prime-surface

evaporators in that the entire surface of these types is in contact with the vaporizing refrigerant inside. Bar-tube evaporators are usually constructed of either steel pipe or copper tubing.

Bare-tube: Flat zigzag coil

Bare-tube: Oval trombone coil 5

For the finned evaporator, the fins are not filled with refrigerant and are only secondary surface in that they pick up heat from the air and conduct it to the refrigerant-carrying tubes. The fins have the effect of increasing the outside surface area of the evaporator, thus improving its efficiency for cooling air.

Plate evaporator

Finned evaporator, FCU

 A finned-tube evaporator includes rows of tubes passing through sheets

Finned-Tube Evaporator

of formed fins. Cool, liquid refrigerant flows through the tubes, cooling the tube and fin surfaces. As air passes through the coil and comes into contact with the cold fin surfaces, heat is transferred from the air to the refrigerant, causing the refrigerant to boil and leave the evaporator as vapor.
Liquid/vapor refrigerant Airflow

Refrigerant vapor

Evaporator Capacity
Evaporator capacity is the rate at which heat will pass through the

evaporator walls from the space or product to the vaporizing liquid inside by conduction and is influenced by:
Temperature difference between refrigerant and air or water being cooled Flow rate of air or water through evaporator Flow rate of refrigerant through evaporator

Q = U x A x LMTD
Q : Quantity of heat transferred (evaporator capacity) A : Outside surface area of the evaporator U : Overall conductance factor LMTD: Logarithmic mean temperature difference

Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference

Assuming that the drop in temperature occurs at a constant rate as the air passes through the coil, the temperature reduction of the air is represented by a straight line (dashed line). Practically, the drop in air temperature is greatest across the first row of the coil and reduce as the air passes across each succeeding row. Thus the actual drop in air temperature is shown by a solid curved line.
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Mean temperature difference of both lines may be calculated by:

MD = ( TE TR ) + ( TL TR ) 2

Note that MD is slightly different from LMTD

LMTD = (TE TR ) (TL TR ) (T TR ) ln E (TL TR )

TE : Temperature of the air entering the coil TL : Temperature of the air leaving the coil TR : Temperature of the refrigerant in the tubes MD : Arithmetic mean temperature difference LMTD : Logarithmic mean temperature difference or Mean effective temperature difference (METD)

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Evaporator Circuiting

To avoid unnecessary losses in compressor capacity and efficiency, it is desirable to design the evaporator so that the refrigerant experiences a minimum drop in pressure. A certain amount of pressure drop is required, however, to flow the refrigerant through the evaporator. The drop in pressure must be sufficient to ensure refrigerant velocities high enough to sweep the tube surface free of vapor bubbles. Good design of the evaporator circuiting is required to provide the minimum necessary pressure drop to produce sufficient refrigerant velocities. The drop in pressure through any one evaporator circuit will generally depend on : The side of the tube The length of the circuit The circuit load (the time rate of heat flow through the tube walls of 11 the circuit).

The circuit load determines the quantity of refrigerant that must pass through the circuit per unit time. The greater the amount of refrigerant flowing through the circuit, the greater will be the pressure drop. For a given tube size, the greater the load on the circuit, the shorter the circuit must be in order to avoid excessive pressure drop. To reduce the pressure drop through the evaporator, the appropriate circuit arrangement is required.

Single series circuit

Split refrigerant circuit

Refrigerant distributor and suction header (widely used) 12

To provide uniform heat transfer throughout the coil, the liquid refrigerant is distributed to the coil tubes in several parallel circuits. A distributor is used to ensure uniform refrigerant distribution through these multiple coil circuits. The refrigerant vapor leaves the coil tubes and collects in a suction header.
Liquid/Vapor refrigerant Airflow Liquid distributor Suction header

Parallel Circuits

Refrigerant vapor

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When an evaporator contains more than one liquid-refrigerant distributor, it

Face-Split Arrangement

is split into independently-controlled sections, each being served by its own expansion valve. The three common arrangements for splitting finned-tube evaporator coils include: Face-split Intertwined Row-split The face-split coil configuration, also called horizontal-split or parallelflow, is split into parallel sections. The intertwined coil configuration splits the coil sections by alternating the tubes fed in each row between two distributors. the row-split coil configuration, also called vertical-split or series-flow, places the independently-controlled coil sections in series in the airstream.
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Coil Arrangements
Distributors

Face-split or Horizontal-split

Intertwined

Row-split or Vertical-split15

Based on the methods of liquid feed, the evaporators can be classified as:

Methods of Refrigerant Feed

- Liquid overfeed

- Dry-expansion

- Flooded

With the dry-expansion evaporator, the amount of liquid refrigerant fed into the evaporator is limited to that which can be completely vaporized by the time it reaches the end of the evaporator.

Dry-expansion
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A liquid overfeed evaporator is one wherein the amount of liquid refrigerant circulated through the evaporator is considerably in excess of that which can be vaporized. The excess liquid is separated from the vapor in a low-pressure accumulator and recirculated to the evaporator while the vapor is drawn off to the compressor suction.

Liquid overfeed

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The full-flooded method is operated completely filled with liquid refrigerant, thus, proving the greatest amount of interior wetted tube surface and the highest possible heat transfer rate.

An accumulator serves as a reservoir from which the refrigerant is circulated by gravity through the evaporator circuits. A low-side or high-side float control maintains the liquid level in the accumulator. The vapor generated by the boiling action of the refrigerant in the tubes is separated from the liquid in the upper part of the accumulator. Therefore, the flash gas resulting from the reduction of pressure never enters the heat transfer portion of the evaporator.

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Liquid-Chilling Evaporators
There are 5 general types of liquid chillers that are commonly used:
Double-pipe cooler Baudelot cooler Tank-type cooler Shell-and-coil cooler Shell-and-tube chiller (the most widely used type)

Double-Pipe Cooler

Shell-and-Tube Chiller
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For the direct expansion (DX) shell-and-tube evaporator, low-pressure liquid

Direct Expansion Evaporator

refrigerant flows through the tubes and water fills the surrounding shell. As heat is transferred from the water to the refrigerant, the refrigerant boils inside the tubes and the resulting vapor is drawn to the compressor.
Chilled water supply Chilled water return

Baffles

Refrigerant vapor Liquid refrigerant

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Tube bundle

Flooded Shell-and-Tube Evaporator

Low-pressure liquid refrigerant enters the distribution system inside the shell and is distributed uniformly over the tubes , absorbing heat from relatively warm water that flows through the tubes. This transfer of heat boils the film of liquid refrigerant on the tube surfaces and the resulting vapor is drawn back to the compressor.
Refrigerant vapor Tube bundle Liquid refrigerant Chilled water supply

Chilled water return

Liquid level sensor

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Packaged Chillers
Centrifugal Water-Cooled Water Chiller
Compressor Condenser Motor

Starter Control panel Evaporator

Air-Cooled Water Chiller

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Coolers

Thermoelectric Cooler CPU Refrigeration Cooler

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Condensers

The condenser, like the evaporator, is a heat transfer surface. Heat from the hot refrigerant vapor passes through the walls of the condenser to the condensing medium. The refrigerant vapor is first cooled to saturation and then condensed into the liquid state. The major condensing medium employed is either air or water, or a combination of both. Condensers are of three general types:
Air-cooled Condenser Water-cooled Condenser Evaporative (using both air and water)
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Condenser Capacity

Condenser capacity is influenced by: Temperature difference between refrigerant and cooling media (air, water, or both) Flow rate of cooling media through condenser Flow rate of refrigerant through condenser

Q = U x A x LMTD
Q : Quantity of heat transferred (condenser capacity) A : Outside surface area of the condenser U : Overall conductance factor LMTD: Logarithmic mean temperature difference
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Quantity and Temperature Rise of Condensing Medium

In both air-cooled and water-cooled condensers, the heat given off by the condensing refrigerant increases the temperature of the condensing medium. The temperature rise of the condensing medium (T) is computed by

T =

Qc ( m )( c )

Qc: Heat rejected at the condenser (kW) m : Mass flow rate of air or water (kg/s) c : Specific heat of the condensing medium (kJ/kg oK)
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Temperature Rise of Condensing Medium

In practice, the quantities of air and water are expressed in m3/s or L/s. The average specific heat values of air and water are: c (air) = 1.02 kJ/ kg oK c (water) = 4.19 kJ/ kg oK The densities of air (air) and water (water) are: air = 1.19 kg/m3 water = 1 k g/L
Tair = Qc & 1.21 V
& V

Twater =

Qc & 4.19 m

NOTE: The unit of

and

& m

are in m3/s and L/s respectively.

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Air-Cooled Condensers
A typical air-cooled condenser uses propeller-type fans to draw outdoor air over a finned-tube heat transfer surface. The temperature difference between the hot refrigerant vapor that is flowing through the tubes and the cooler outdoor air induces heat transfer. The resulting reduction in the heat content of the refrigerant vapor causes it to condense into liquid. Within the final few lengths of condenser tubing (the subcooler), the liquid refrigerant is further cooled below the temperature at which it was condensed.

Propeller fan

Condenser coil

Outdoor air Subcooler

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Condenser coil Centrifugal fan

Centrifugal Fan Air-Cooled Condenser

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Water-Cooled Condensers
The shell-and-tube is the most common type of water-cooled condenser. With this design, water is pumped through the tubes while the refrigerant vapor fills the shell space surrounding the tubes. As heat is transferred from the refrigerant to the water, the refrigerant vapor condenses on the tube surfaces. The condensed liquid refrigerant then falls to the bottom of the shell, where it flows through an enclosure that contains additional tubes (the subcooler). More heat is transferred from the liquid refrigerant to the water inside these tubes, subcooling the refrigerant.

Hot, refrigerant vapor 95F [35C] Cooling water

85F [29C] Subcooled, liquid refrigerant

Subcooler
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Refrigerant vapor Baffle

Cooling tower water Tube bundle

Subcooler Liquid refrigerant

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Cooling Towers
Propeller fan Sprays

Filler Outdoor air

Sump

85F [29C]

to condenser

from condenser

95F [35C]
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A cooling tower is a device commonly used to cool condensing water. Warm water is sprayed over fill in the cooling tower while a propeller fan draws outdoor air upward through the fill. The movement of air through the spray causes some of the water to evaporate, a process that cools the remaining water. This cooled water then falls to the tower sump to be returned to the condenser. The evaporation process uses up water to dissipate heat. As the water evaporates, the dissolved minerals and water treatment chemicals become concentrated in the sump. To prevent this solution from becoming concentrated and possibly corrosive, water is periodically bled from the sump and an equal amount of fresh water is added.
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The effectiveness of the cooling tower depends upon:

The web bulb temperature of the entering air The amount of exposed water surface and the length of time of exposure The velocity of the air passing through the tower The direction of the air flow with relation to the exposed water surface
- Parallel - Transverse - Counter

The temperature of the water leaving the tower will usually be 7-10 oC above the web bulb temperature of the entering air. The difference between the temperature of the water leaving the tower and the wet bulb temperature of the entering air is called the Approach of the tower The temperature difference between the entering and leaving water is called the Range of the tower.
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Vary Condenser Water and Air Flow Rates

Cooling tower Condenser Variable-speed drive Variablespeed drive

Cooling tower

Condenser
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Evaporative Condensers
Fan Refrigerant vapor Condenser coil

sump
Liquid refrigerant Subcooler

Pump

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A modification of the air-cooled condenser is the evaporative condenser. Within this device, the refrigerant flows through tubes and air is drawn or blown over the tubes by a fan. And water is sprayed on the tube surfaces. As the air passes over the coil, it causes a small portion of the water to evaporate. This evaporation process absorbs heat from the coil, causing the refrigerant vapor within the tubes to condense. The remaining water then falls to the sump to be recirculated and used again. Subcooling of the refrigerant can be accomplished by piping the condensed liquid back through another few rows of coil tubing, located either in the condenser air stream or in the water sump, where additional heat transfer reduces the temperature of the liquid refrigerant.
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Expansion Devices

An expansion device is used to maintain a pressure difference between the high-pressure (condenser) and low-pressure (evaporator) sides of the system established by the compressor. This pressure difference allows the evaporator temperature to be low enough to absorb heat from the air or water to be cooled, while also allowing the refrigerant to be at a high enough temperature in the condenser to reject heat to air or water at normally available temperatures. There are several types of expansion devices, including expansion valves (thermostatic or electronic), capillary tubes, and orifices. Thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs) are commonly used and perform essentially the same function as other expansion devices.
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Thermostatic Expansion Valve (TXV)

thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) liquid refrigerant liquid/vapor mixture

evaporator

A
refrigerant vapor

In addition to maintaining a pressure difference, the thermostatic expansion valve controls the quantity of liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator. It ensures that the refrigerant will be completely vaporized within the evaporator (A) and maintains the proper amount of superheat in the system.
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TXV Operation
Evaporator Remote bulb Suction line

Diaphragm Spring

external equalizer

Distributor

The outlet of the valve is connected to the distributor. A remote bulb is attached to the suction line, where it senses the refrigerant vapor temperature leaving the evaporator. This bulb is charged with refrigerant and as heat is transferred from the suction line to the bulb, the refrigerant inside the bulb vaporizes. The resulting refrigerant vapor pressure is transmitted through a tube to the space above a diaphragm in the TXV. The pressure of the refrigerant vapor leaving the evaporator is transmitted to the space beneath the diaphragm through an external equalizing line that is tapped into the suction line downstream of the bulb. Finally, the valve contains an adjustable spring that applies a force to the lower side of the diaphragm. 40

valve diaphragm 94C 0.54 MPa suction line spring

0.67 MPa

0.54 MPa 0.13 MPa valve pin

Assuming the 9.4C refrigerant vapor leaving the evaporator boils the refrigerant in the bulb, generating 0.67 MPa of pressure within the remote bulb. This pressure is transmitted to the top side of the valve diaphragm, creating a force that pushes down on the diaphragm. The 0.54 MPa evaporating pressure, on the other hand, is transmitted to the bottom side of the valve diaphragm, producing an opposing force. Since the difference between the evaporator pressure and the pressure within the remote bulb is due to superheat, the tension of the spring is adjusted to provide the difference in order to balance the forces and produce the desired amount of superheat. In this example, the spring tension is adjusted to produce an 0.13 MPa pressure difference, which corresponds to 6.7C of superheat. Any variation in evaporator pressure causes these forces to vary from this equilibrium and move the pin up or down, thus closing or opening the valve.
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