This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, August 2009.

Copyright 2009 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning

Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission
of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit www.ashrae.org.

Defrosting

Industrial Refrigeration Evaporators

By Douglas T. Reindl, Ph.D, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE; and Todd B. Jekel, Ph.D., P.E., Member ASHRAE

his article discusses techniques for removing accumulated frost on aircooling evaporators in industrial refrigeration applications. Although we

review alternative approaches to defrosting coils, our primary focus is on the use
of hot-gas for defrost, including valve group arrangements and their sequences
of operation. Due to past incidents, particular emphasis is placed on valve group
designs that offer enhanced plant safety. The article concludes with a discussion
of the parasitic energy effects associated with the defrost process with an eye
toward using this information to enhance the energy performance of defrosting.
The accumulation of frost on forcedcirculation air coolers1 or air-cooling
evaporators leads to a continual decrease
in cooling capability; thereby, requiring
the periodic removal of accumulated frost
to avoid a complete loss of refrigeration
capacity. The removal of frost from an
evaporator is accomplished through the
30

ASHRAE Journal

use of a defrost process. There are a

number of alternative means available
for defrosting coils including: electric,
off-cycle, secondary fluid, water, hot-gas,
and continuous defrost through the use
of sprayed liquid desiccants. With the
exception of the liquid desiccant option,
all of these defrost strategies require in-

terrupting the coils normal cooling mode

operation to allow warming of its surfaces
to melt accumulated frost.
Electric defrost uses resistance heating
elements interlaced throughout the coil
to warm the coil surfaces sufficiently to
melt accumulated frost. For evaporators
operating in spaces with air temperatures
above freezing (e.g., a cooler or dock area
maintained at 38F [3.3C]), an off-cycle
defrost can be accomplished by shutting
off the refrigerant feed for an extended
period of time while continuing to operate the fans. The heat from the relatively
warmer room air heat melts the accumulated frost on the unit. A secondary fluid
defrost relies on the use of a separate fluid
circuit within the evaporator. In this case,
About the Authors
Douglas T. Reindl, Ph.D., P.E., is a professor
and director and Todd B. Jekel, Ph.D., P.E., is
assistant director at the University of WisconsinMadisons Industrial Refrigeration Consortium in
Madison, Wis.

a s h r a e . o r g

August 2009

Defrost
Approach

Applications

Widely used in most

industrial and some
commercial refrigeration
systems (direct refrigerant).

Hot-Gas

Electric

Off-Cycle

Water

Advantages

Disadvantages

Able to achieve effective defrost.

Increased safety risks due to hydraulic hammering from condensation-induced shock

and vapor-propelled liquid slugs if defrost
sequences are not properly managed and
proper piping practices not implemented.

Uses lower grade of energy (waste

heat from the refrigeration system).
Can be effective at scavenging and
returning oil that may have
accumulated in an evaporator.

Used in some commercial

refrigeration systems and in
industrial refrigeration systems
where CO2 is used as a cascade
refrigerant or secondary loop
phase change fluid.

Decreased risk of damage from events

such as hydraulic hammer.

Used in industrial and

commercial refrigeration systems
for spaces operating above
freezing point (typically >38F
[3.3C]).

Efficient means of defrost.

Found in some lower-temperature

refrigeration systems. This form
of defrost can also be integrated into the normal sanitation
operations.

Secondary
Fluid (Indirect)

An alternative to electric defrost

in CO2 cascade and secondary
phase change systems.

Minimizes parasitic load.

Avoid extreme refrigerant-side
pressure (CO2 refrigerants).

Simple implementation.
Inherently safe.
Lower capital and maintenance costs.
Applies heat directly to the
accumulated frost.
The defrost process can be integrated
into a normal sanitation cycle.
Able to achieve fast defrost.

Efficient means of defrost.

Conceptually simple.
Avoids risks of hydraulic hammering
on refrigerant-side of coil.

Extremely high working pressures required

for some refrigerants such as CO2.
Can lead to increased parasitic energy consumption with improper valve group design
and poorly adjusted defrost sequence times.
Poor use of high grade primary
energy (electricity).
High maintenance due to frequent failure of
resistance heating elements.
Not effective at removing oil accumulation
from evaporators.
Not relevant in applications where space
temperatures are below freezing.
Not effective at removing oil accumulation
from evaporators.
Difficult to apply for defrost on the fly
during operation for low temperature
applications.
Not effective at removing oil accumulation
from evaporators.
Increases plant water use.
Additional secondary fluid system and
circuiting, which makes the coil larger,
heavier, and more costly.
Not effective at removing oil accumulation
from evaporators.
Secondary fluid circuit in the coil can fail
(freeze) if the secondary fluid concentration
is not properly maintained.

Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of various defrost alternatives.

a warm secondary fluid is circulated through the defrost coil to

raise the evaporators surface temperature and melt accumulated
frost. Water can also be used for defrosting evaporators. With
water defrost, the refrigerant feed to the coil is interrupted and
water is sprayed directly on the external surfaces of the coil to
melt the frost.
A hot-gas defrost process redirects a portion of the high pressure discharge gas from the outlet of high stage compressors
to the evaporator and a heating circuit embedded in its defrost
condensate drain pan. As the high pressure gas flows to the
unit, it desuperheats and condenses giving up both sensible
and latent heat of condensation as it warms the surfaces of the
evaporator and the drain pan. The warm evaporator coil causes
the accumulated frost to melt and the warm drain pan permits
the water to drain out of the unit without refreezing. The liquid
refrigerant condensed during the defrost process is returned to
a protected lower suction pressure through a re-seating pressure relief regulator. This pressure of the regulator is set in the
range of 70 to 90 psig (4.8 to 6.2 bar), which corresponds to a
August 2009

refrigerant saturation (condensing) temperature of 47F to 58F

(8C to 14C). For industrial refrigeration systems, hot-gas is
the most widely used technique for defrost.
Although there are other defrost techniques such as the use
of a warm liquid refrigerant, these do not find widespread use
in industrial systems so their coverage is not included here. Advantages and disadvantages of the above-mentioned industrial
refrigeration system defrost strategies are highlighted in Table 1.
Because of its widespread use in industrial refrigeration
systems, our focus in this article is on the use of hot-gas for
coil defrosting. Lets first look at the steps involved in a typical
defrost sequence. Then, we explore energy considerations associated with the entire cooling and defrost processes.
Defrost Sequence of Control

Due to its simplicity, a time clock is the most common method

used to initiate and terminate the defrosting of individual units.
With a time clock, a defrost sequence is initiated a prescribed
fixed intervals in time. In attempts to improve the efficiency of
ASHRAE Journal

31

plants, some practitioners have explored

alternative methods to determine when
a particular unit requires defrost including: timers that accumulate liquid feed
solenoid open time, frost sensors, air
pressure drop sensors, and others. The
accumulated liquid feed solenoid open
time can be effective since it is somewhat
adaptive to the coils load (sensible and
latent). The other sensors mentioned previously have not proven suitably robust to
find significant penetration in industrial
applications. Once it has been determined
that a coil requires defrosting, a control
sequence is triggered to initiate and complete several steps in a defrost sequence.
The following individual steps are typical of the sequences used for defrosting
forced air circulation evaporators.

[Closed] Bleed

Solenoid
Plot Pressure
Regulator

Hand
Valve

Suction Stop Pilot

Solenoid [Closed]

Valve(s)

Mode

Suction Stop Valve

Suction Stop Valve [Open]

Wet Suction Return

Liquid Feed Solenoid
[Closed]

Pump
Out

Suction Stop
Pilot Solenoid
Bleed Solenoid

Pumped
Liquid Supply

Soft-Gas Solenoid
[Closed]

Hot-Gas Solenoid
[Closed]

Position
Open
Closed
Closed

Liquid Feed
Solenoid
Soft-Gas Solenoid

Closed

Hot-Gas Solenoid

Closed

Closed

[Evaporator FansOn]
Regulated Hot Gas

Defrost Return (Medium Pressure)

Defrost Condensate
Defrost Relief
Regulator

Recirculated Liquid/
Vapor Return
Recirculated Liquid Supply
Defrost Hot-Gas Supply

or

t
ora

Eva

Fan

n]

[O

n
Pa

Figure 1: Valve positions and fan operation during pump-out for a typical liquid overfed coil.
Step 1: Pump-Out

The pump-out period is used to prepare the coil for receiving

hot-gas. The purpose of the pump-out period is to evaporate as
much of the residual cold liquid refrigerant contained within

the coil as possible prior to supplying hot-gas to the coil. By

removing residual liquid refrigerant, the hot-gas will more
quickly and effectively warm the coil to melt accumulated frost.

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32

A S H R A E J o u r n a l

August 2009

Evaporator Capacity (ton)

The pump-out period begins by de30

energizing (closing) the evaporators
liquid feed solenoid valve while the
25
suction stop valve remains open, and the
units fans operate as shown in Figure
1. Heat from the fan motors and room
20
(or product) causes the residual liquid
refrigerant within the coil to evaporate
05
with the refrigerant vapor returning to
the engine room via the wet suction
return (also referred to as recirculated
10
suction).
The amount of time scheduled for
5
pump-out varies from an extremely
short duration, more typical for gravity
flooded recirculation and direct-expan0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
sion unit designs (zero to five minutes),
Pump-Out Dwell Time (min)
to a longer period for liquid overfed unit
designs (10 to 15 minutes 2). A short Figure 2: Coil capacity decrease during pump-out.6
pump-out period for a gravity flooded
evaporator is made possible because the low refrigerant-side design requires a short pump-out period because its normal
pressure drop of the coil allows any residual liquid refrigerant liquid refrigerant inventory within the unit during cooling
(and liquid condensate) to be readily cleared when hot-gas mode operation is low. Liquid overfed coil designs require
is supplied to the coil for defrost. The direct-expansion coil a longer pump-out period due to a combination of effects.

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34

A S H R A E J o u r n a l

August 2009

First, the liquid refrigerant inventory

[Closed] Bleed
Hand
Solenoid
Valve Suction Stop Pilot
within the coil is higher compared to
Solenoid [Open]
Valve(s)
Plot Pressure
Mode
Position
a direct-expansion evaporator. Second,
Regulator
Suction Stop Valve Closed
the refrigerant-side coil pressure drop
Suction Stop
Open
Pilot Solenoid
is relatively high due to the presence
Suction Stop Valve [Closed]
Wet Suction Return
Bleed Solenoid
Closed
of button orifices located within each
Liquid Feed Solenoid Soft-Gas Liquid Feed
[Closed]
Closed
Solenoid
circuit on the refrigerant feed-side of the
Pumped
Open
Soft-Gas Solenoid
coil (typical for mechanically pumped
Soft-Gas Solenoid
Liquid Supply
Hot-Gas
Solenoid
Closed
[Open]
overfed designs).
Hot-Gas Solenoid
[Evaporator FansOff]
[Closed]
Because a longer pump-out period is
Regulated Hot Gas
required for overfed coil designs, it is
Defrost Return (Medium Pressure)
natural to ask how long of a pump-out
period is sufficient? The pump-out
s
Fan
period should be long enough to evapoDefrost Condensate
tor
a
r
po
Defrost Relief
rate the majority of residual liquid in
Eva
Recirculated Liquid/
Regulator
Vapor Return
the coil but not too long that parasitic
ff]
Recirculated Liquid Supply
heat load effects to the space become
[O
an
P
significant. The parasitic heat load efDefrost Hot-Gas Supply
fects during pump-out arise because the
supply of liquid refrigerant to the coil Figure 3: Valve positions and fan operation during soft-gas period for typical liquid overfed coil.
has been interrupted; the evaporators
fans continue to run; it is heat from
[Closed] Bleed
Hand Suction Stop Pilot
Solenoid
Valve
the fans that are a parasitic space load.
Solenoid [Open]
Valve(s)
Plot Pressure
Mode
Position
In addition, longer pump-out periods
Regulator
Suction Stop Valve Closed
extend the time the unit is unavailable
Suction Stop
Open
Pilot Solenoid
Suction Stop Valve [Closed]
to meet space loads.
Wet Suction Return
Bleed Solenoid
Closed
Aljuwayhel, et al.,3 reported extenLiquid Feed Solenoid Hot Gas Liquid Feed
[Closed]
Closed
Solenoid
sive data collected on a field-installed
Pumped
Soft-Gas Solenoid Closed
Soft-Gas Solenoid
evaporator unit located in a penthouse
Liquid Supply
Hot-Gas Solenoid
Open
[Closed]
for a low temperature holding freezer.
Hot-Gas Solenoid
[Evaporator FansOff]
[Open]
The coil in this particular unit has a
Regulated Hot Gas
rated capacity of 37 tons (130 kWt) with
Defrost Return (Medium Pressure)
five fans that deliver 60,000 cfm (102
000 m3/h) of air during cooling mode
s
Fan
Defrost Condensate
or
operation, but that result in approxit
a
r
po
Defrost Relief
Eva
mately 5 tons (17.6 kWt) of parasitic
Recirculated Liquid/
Regulator
Vapor Return
heat load during fan operation. Data
ff]
Recirculated Liquid Supply
[O
were collected on the units refrigeran
Pa
Defrost Hot-Gas Supply
tion capacity during the pump-out period and the units decrease in capacity
over five separate pump-out cycles is Figure 4: Valve positions and fan operation during hot-gas period for typical liquid overfed coil.
shown in Figure 2. At the end of the 20
minute pump-out period, the coils capacity has decreased Step 2: Soft-Gas
to a level approaching a break-even capacity to just meet
The use of a soft-gas step in the defrost sequence is recomthe fan heat gain.
mended for evaporator coils with 15 tons (53 kWt) of capacity
A pump-out period longer than 20 minutes is usually not or greater.2,4,5 The soft-gas period of the defrost sequence
required. Shorter pump-out periods should be validated by begins by shutting off the evaporator fans and energizing the
observing the frost melt pattern on the coil during the hot-gas pilot solenoid for the suction stop valve. The pilot solenoid
supply period of the defrost sequence. Assuming the coil is applies hot-gas pressure to the top of the suction stop valves
top-fed with hot-gas (typical), an adequate pump-out period is piston, forcing this normally open valve closed.
likely established when the bottom rows of the coil completely
With the coil now isolated from the systems suction pressure,
release their frost during the hot-gas dwell period and when no a small ported (e.g., 0.5 in. [13 mm]) soft-gas solenoid valve is
audible effects of hydraulic hammering are observed on the coil opened to allow a low flow rate of hot-gas into the coilusuand its connected piping during the early part of the hot-gas ally after flowing first through the drain pan warming circuit;
supply period.
slowly raising the pressure of refrigerant in the coil. The softAugust 2009

ASHRAE Journal

35

Cooling Interval 24 Hours

40

Cooling Interval 48 Hours

No Frost (Experiment Data6.5 min)

No Frost (Model Prediction6.0 min)
Run #224h
Run #324h

35
30
Penthouse Air Temperature (C)

gas cycle is intended to reduce the risk of

hydraulic hammer that can occur on the
coil or connected piping by reducing the
pressure difference between the coil and
the hot-gas main. The reduced pressure
difference will decrease the rapid in-rush
of hot-gas when the larger main hot-gas
solenoid opens. Briley5 recommends sizing the soft-gas solenoid at 20% to 25%
of the main hot-gas solenoid valve.
Figure 3 shows the valve positions and
the evaporator fan state during the softgas period. The the soft gas dwell time is
generally set to last for a period ranging
from five to 10 minutes.4 Soft-gas dwell
periods up to 20 minutes may be required
for larger liquid overfed evaporators or in
applications having large operating pressure differences between the hot-gas main
and the evaporator. The soft-gas dwell
time period should be field-adjusted
to raise the evaporator pressure to approximately 35 to 40 psig (2.4 to 2.8
bar) before moving to the next mode in
the sequence of defrost operation. Not
all evaporators have a soft-gas solenoid.
While it is beneficial for all evaporators,
it is more common on larger capacity,
low-temperature evaporators.

25

No Frost (Experiment Data10.5 min)

No Frost (Model Prediction10.8 min)
Run #448h
Run #548h

20
15
10
5
0
5
10
15
20
25

Bleed
10 min

Hot-Gas Dwell=40 min

30
35
40 0

10

15

20

25

30
35
Time (min)

40

45

50

55

60

Figure 5: Measured and predicted average penthouse air temperatures during hot-gas
defrost and bleed periods.6
Bleed
Solenoid
Plot Pressure
Regulator
[Open]

Hand
Valve

Suction Stop Pilot

Solenoid [Open]

Suction Stop Valve [Closed]

Mode

Wet Suction Return

Liquid Feed Solenoid
[Closed]

Soft-Gas Solenoid
[Closed]

Pumped
Liquid Supply
Hot-Gas Solenoid

Step 3: Hot-Gas

[Closed]

Bleed

Valve(s)

Position

Suction Stop Valve

Closed

Suction Stop
Pilot Solenoid
Bleed Solenoid

Open
Open

Liquid Feed
Closed
Solenoid
Soft-Gas Solenoid Closed

Hot-Gas Solenoid Closed

[Evaporator FansOff]

Regulated Hot Gas

Thus far, the individual segments of
Defrost
Return
(Medium Pressure)
the defrost sequence have focused on
preparing the coil to receive hot-gas
s
Fan
or
Defrost Condensate
t
to melt the accumulated frost. In this
a
r
po
Defrost Relief
Eva
Recirculated Liquid/
portion of the defrost sequence, the
Regulator
Vapor Return
larger hot-gas solenoid opens to deliver
ff]
[O
Recirculated Liquid Supply
hot-gas first through the coils drain pan
n
Pa
Defrost Hot-Gas Supply
and then the evaporator coil, as shown
in Figure4. During the hot-gas supply
period, the smaller soft-gas solenoid can Figure 6:Valve positions and fan operation during the bleed period for a typical liquid overfed coil.
either remain open or closed since the
majority of gas flow will occur through the main hot-gas valve. ally 70 to 90 psig (4.8 to 6.2 barg) (equivalent to a saturation
As high-pressure superheated refrigerant vapor flows first temperature of 47F to 58F [8C to 14C] for ammonia). The
through the piping in the drain pan circuit and then into the coil, defrost relief regulator will modulate to maintain the evaporathe high-pressure vapor condenses as it gives up its latent heat tor at the regulators pressure setting and it will fully reseat at
to warm both the drain pan and the evaporator coil surfaces. the conclusion of the hot-gas dwell period. A check valve is
A warm drain pan will help prevent re-freezing of the water required on the outlet of the defrost relief regulator when the
draining from the coil to the pan. As the coil surfaces warm, the defrost condensate return is piped to a suction pressure higher
accumulated layer of frost will begin to meltflowing by grav- than the evaporators normal operating pressure.
ity down the coil and into the drain pan before leaving the unit
How long should the hot-gas supply period be set? The dwell
through a defrost condensate drain line. The condensed liquid period of the hot-gas supply must be sufficient to allow all the
refrigerant is directed from the coil to a lower pressure level in accumulated frost on the coil to melt but not excessive to avoid
the plant through a defrost relief regulating valve. The defrost creating a parasitic heat load external (to the space) and internal (to
relief regulator is factory set at a user-specified pressureusu- the refrigeration system) by returning uncondensed hot-gas back to

36

ASHRAE Journal

a s h r a e . o r g

August 2009

[Open] Bleed

Solenoid
Plot Pressure
Regulator

Hand
Valve

Suction Stop Pilot

Solenoid [Closed]

Valve(s)

Mode

Suction Stop Valve

Suction Stop Valve [Open]

Wet Suction Return

Liquid Feed Solenoid
[Open]

Re-Chill

Suction Stop
Pilot Solenoid
Bleed Solenoid

Pumped
Liquid Supply

Soft-Gas Solenoid
[Closed]

Hot-Gas Solenoid
[Closed]

Position
Open
Closed
Open

Liquid Feed
Solenoid
Soft-Gas Solenoid

Closed

Hot-Gas Solenoid

Closed

Open

[Evaporator FansOff]
Regulated Hot Gas

Defrost Return (Medium Pressure)

Defrost Condensate
Defrost Relief
Regulator

Recirculated Liquid/
Vapor Return
Recirculated Liquid Supply
Defrost Hot-Gas Supply

Eva

or

t
ora

Fan

ff]
[O
n
Pa

Figure 7: Valve positions and fan operation during re-chill period for typical liquid overfed coil.
A
D
Coil Initial
Condition
(No Frost)
Evaporator Capacity

suction through the defrost relief regulator.

Aljuwayhel6 collected data on a penthousemounted evaporator during both cooling
mode and defrost mode of operation. For
the evaporator defrost control as-found, the
hot-gas dwell period was 40 minutes.
Figure 5 shows model-predicted and
field-measured average air temperatures
within the penthouse during the hot-gas
and subsequent bleed periods of the
defrost sequence for two cases. The first
case allowed the evaporator to operate
for 24 hours before initiating a defrost
cycle. Once hot gas flowed to the coil,
all the frost had melted in a period of
less than seven minutes. The second case
allowed the evaporator to operate for 48
hours before initiating a defrost cycle.
In this situation, the coil was completely
cleared of accumulated frost in less than
11 minutes during the hot-gas supply.
This suggested that a 40 minute hot-gas
dwell period was excessive.
Within 15 minutes of the main hot-gas
valve opening, the average penthouse air
temperature reached a balmy 68F (20C)
and that temperature was maintained for
25 of the 40 minutes, which suggests that
the continued supply of hot-gas to the coil
was not resulting in the full condensing of
the refrigerant vapor. Rather, a significant
portion of the hot-gas was flowing back to
suction and creating a parasitic load (internal) on the compressors. The parasitic
effect of excessive hot-gas dwell periods
presents an opportunity for improving the
systems energy efficiency by simply reducing the scheduled hot-gas dwell period.

B
Coil Capacity
Decreases As Frost
Continues to Form

Coil Capacity Drops Rapidly as Refrigerant

Flow is Stopped and the Pump Out Process
Proceeds, Preparing the Coil for Defrost
Time
Parasitic Energy is Attributed to Warming
the Coil Mass and Both Sensible and Latent
Losses to the Space

Hot-Gas Defrost Terminates and Coil Begins to Cool Down

Coil Transitions from a

Temperature Warmer Than the
Space to a Temperature Cooler
Than the Space, So Useful
C Refrigeration is Now Restored

Step 4: Bleed

At the conclusion of the hot-gas dwell Figure 8: An illustration of the time-dependent energy flows for cooling mode and defrost
period, a bleed or equalize sequence is mode of operation (note: this graphic is not to scale in either capacity or time).9
initiated. During the bleed period, the
hot-gas solenoid valve (and soft-gas solenoid if open) is closed for hydraulic hammering to the coil and the connected suction
and a small bleed solenoid valve opens to slowly depressurize piping. The bleed period also prevents rapid swings in suction
the coil by relieving the pressure in the coil back to suction. The pressure and compressor loading that would normally result as
bleed solenoid valve is typically three to four sizes smaller than the engine room responds to maintain a constant suction presthe main suction stop valve but not less than 0.5 in. (13 mm).7 sure. The duration of the bleed period is installation-dependent
An optional hand valve in the bleed line can be used to field and should be adjusted so no audible hammering occurs and the
adjust the rate of coil depressurization as shown in Figure 6.
time is sufficient to decrease the coil pressure to within 5 to 10
The bleed period is necessary, particularly on large coils psid (0.3 to 0.6 bar) of the normal cooling mode evaporator pres(with coil volumes greater than 8 ft3 (0.23 m3) or suction pip- sure.4 Generally, the bleed period will last five to 10 minutes.
ing greater than 2 in. (65 mm),2 to prevent what would be a
At the conclusion of the bleed period, the suction stop pilot
very rapid depressurization of the coil when the suction stop solenoid is de-energized allowing the main valve to open. As
valve opens. Rapid coil depressurization increases the potential configured in the evaporator schematics, the pilot pressure
38

ASHRAE Journal

a s h r a e . o r g

August 2009

Overall System Efficiency (%)

regulator located in a branch line taken from the

Defrost Number
suction side of the coil will hold the main suction
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
100
stop valve for the coil closed until the set pres98
sure of the pilot regulator is reached. This pilot
96
regulator should be set to a pressure difference no
RH=80%
greater than 10 psid (0.6 bar). The addition of this
94
valve (and other valve designs that provide simi92
RH=85%
lar function) is a critical safety measure to avoid
90
hydraulic hammer that is likely to occur from a
88
rapid opening of the suction stop valve when the
86
coil is under pressure. It is important to note that
RH=90%
Maximum System Efficiency
84
if the bleed period is too short, the coil pressure
will remain high and the suction stop valve will
82
continue to be held closed by the pilot pressure
80
0
25
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 375 300 325 350
regulator bleeding pressure from the coil to the top
Total Mass of Condensed Water (kg)
of the suction stop valves piston. If the suction
stop valve does not open, it becomes impossible Figure 9: Net cooling optimization results.6
to prepare the coil for re-chilling.
At first glance, it appears that this regulator is redundant capacity by removing the accumulated frost. This fact raises the
since the bleed solenoid provides the slow depressurization of question: What is the appropriate balance between tolerating the
the coil to within 10 psid (0.6 bar) or less of normal evaporator capacity loss for accumulated frost and the parasitic load effects
pressure. This is true under normal circumstances; however, the attributable to the defrost cycle? Figure 8 is an illustration of
rapid opening of the suction stop valve will occur if the coil is the time-dependent energy flows associated with the operation
in the hot-gas dwell period and a power outage occurs causing of a forced air circulation evaporator for both cooling mode and
all solenoids to go to their normal positions. In this situation, defrost mode operation. The operation of the coil from Point A
the suction stop pilot solenoid (which is holding the suction stop to B is reflective of the diminishing cooling capacity of the unit
valve closed by pressurizing the top of the valves piston) will due to frosting during normal cooling mode operation. At Point
close; allowing the suction stop valve to rapidly open as it returns B the pump-out period begins, and the units capacity drops
to its normal position. The net result is an increased likelihood rapidly as the coil is starved and the residual refrigerant within
of hydraulic hammering with the risk of failure of the evaporator the coil is removed by evaporation. Following the pump-out
or connected piping.
period, the coils capacity actually becomes negative (it is heating rather than cooling) as hot-gas is supplied to warm the coil
Step 5: Re-Chill
and melt accumulated frost. After the hot-gas flow is terminated
Once the coil is depressurized and the suction stop valve open, (Point C), the coil will gradually cool down during re-chill until
the unit is ready to return to refrigeration mode. In the re-chill it reaches the point at which it can begin normal cooling mode
mode, the liquid feed solenoid is opened to allow cold liquid operation (Point D).
refrigerant to flow into the coil. Early in the re-chill period, the
The concept of net cooling optimization introduced by Aljucold liquid supply will more rapidly evaporate as it absorbs heat wayhel aims to maximize the integrated heat removal capability
from the coil mass as it reduces the coil temperature. The fans of the evaporator during an entire operational cycle: cooling
on the unit will usually remain off. Some plants short-cycle (i.e., mode to defrost and back to cooling mode. This integrated heat
bump) the fans on and off to allow any remaining water on the removal capacity is represented by the blue shaded region in
external surfaces of the coil to re-freeze while preventing the Figure 8. A part of maximizing the heat removal capability of
carryover of liquid water into the space that would normally an evaporator involves minimizing the parasitic effects of the
occur if the fans were allowed to run at their full flow. Figure defrost sequence. The red hatched area above the operating
7 shows the valve positions during the re-chill period, which capacity line represents the integrated cooling deficit below
the coils rated capacity due to both frost accumulation and
generally lasts three to five minutes.
Now that we have discussed the sequences of operation as- that the coil is unavailable during the defrost sequence. The
sociated with initiating defrost of an air-cooling evaporator, lets red shaded portion of the illustration below the line of zero coil
look at the energy consequences of this process.
capacity represents the parasitic effects of the coil heating the
space during the hot-gas dwell period. Aljuwayhel6 explored
Energy Impacts and Net Cooling Optimization
the prospect of optimizing the entire cooling and defrost mode
As discussed in the article on coil frosting,8 the accumulation operation, i.e., maximizing the blue-shaded portion under the
of frost on a coil progressively decreases its cooling capacity; cooling curve shown in Figure 8.
necessitating a defrost cycle. The defrost cycle is a source of
To nondimensionally characterize the frost loading of a coil,
efficiency loss to the system but necessary to restore the coils Aljuwayhel defined a dimensionless defrost number as:
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ASHRAE Journal

39

Defrost number=

Vcondensate
[]
AminLd

(1)

where Vcondensate (ft3 or m3) represents the volume of water condensate produced at the conclusion of a defrost cycle, Amin (ft2 or
m2) represents the minimum area available for air to flow through
the coil (coil face area minus the fin face area and the tube projected
area of all circuits for a single row) and Ld (ft or m) represents
the depth of the coil in the direction of airflow. Aljuwayhel found
that a defrost number of 0.03 yielded a maximum in net cooling
capacity. Figure 9 shows the net cooling optimization results using
overall system efficiency as a figure of merit over a range of space
latent loads represented by the three separate curves indicating the
space relative humidity (RH) ranging from 80% to 90%.
Aljuwayhel defines the overall system efficiency as the ratio of
the actual integrated evaporator coil cooling capacity to the ideal
cooling capacity during an entire operational cycle. The actual
integrated evaporator cooling capacity includes the performance
degrading effects of frost accumulation, as well as the defrost
process. The ideal cooling capacity assumes that the coils clean
cooling capacity is maintained during the entire cycle. Aljuwayhel found that the defrost number was a useful figure-of-merit
because it scales the volume of water condensate a coil produced
during defrost to the volume of frost the coil is capable of holding. The finding of net cooling optimization for a defrost number
of 0.03 translates to a coil accumulating approximately 3% of a

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40

representative volume before initiating a defrost sequence. As an

example, consider a coil with a face area of 45 ft2 (4.18 m2), three
fins per inch (one fin per 1.1 cm), 7/8 in. (22 mm) OD tubes in the
first row, and a coil depth of 30 in. (0.76 m). A defrost number of
0.03 results in approximately 23 gallons (88 l) of water drained
from the coil. Interestingly, the defrost number was found to be
independent of the coils latent load as shown in Figure 9.
Conclusions

In this article, we review the basic sequences of operation for

defrosting forced-air cooling evaporators. The most common defrost
sequence involves five steps including: pump-out, soft-gas, hot-gas,
bleed, and re-chill modes. Some of these steps may be omitted from
defrost sequences based on the coils refrigerant feed configuration
or size. A key consideration in field-tuning defrost sequence time
settings is obtaining an effective defrost without audible hammering
of the coil or its connected piping. We also introduced some key
features relating to the function of the suction stop valve to prevent
its rapid opening when there is greater than a 10 psid (or lower)
(0.6 bar) pressure difference between the evaporator and suction.
There is an opportunity to improve the energy performance of
many defrosting evaporators. One of the easiest adjustments to
consider for improving the efficiency of the defrost process is the
adjustment of the hot-gas dwell period. Coils with hot-gas dwell
periods in excess of 15 minutes may be candidates for efficiency
improvement by decreasing the hot-gas dwell period. The concept
of net cooling optimization is introduced. Net cooling optimization
aims to maximize the time-dependent heat extraction capability
of an air-cooling evaporator during both cooling mode operation
and defrost. Aljuwayhel defined a defrost number as an appropriate metric for optimizing the combined cooling mode and defrost
mode operation of an evaporator. A defrost number of 0.03 yielded
optimum performanceindependent of the coils latent load.
References
1. 2006 ASHRAE HandbookRefrigeration, Chapter 42.
2. IIAR. 1992. Bulletin 116 Guidelines for: Avoiding Component Failure in Industrial Refrigeration System Caused by Abnormal Pressure or
Shock, International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration, Arlington, Va.
3. Aljuwayhel, N.F., D.T. Reindl, S.A. Klein, G.F. Nellis. 2008.
Experimental investigation of the performance of industrial evaporator coils operating under frosting conditions. International Journal
of Refrigeration 31(1):98106.
4. IIAR. 2000. Ammonia Refrigeration Piping Handbook. Arlington,
Va.: International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration.
5. Briley, G.C. 2004. Optimizing defrost systems, part 3. Process
Cooling and Equipment (1).
6. Aljuwayhel, N.F. 2006. Numerical and Experimental Study of the
Influence of Frost Formation and Defrosting on the Performance of Industrial Evaporator Coils, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
7. Hansen. 2006. Collection of Instructions. Burr Ridge, Ill.:
Hansen Technologies Coporation. p. 78.
8. Reindl, D.T. and T.B. Jekel. 2009. Frost on air-cooling evaporators. ASHRAE Journal 51(2):2733.
9. Aljuwayhel, N.F. 2006. Optimizing Air-Cooling Evaporators.
Presented at the IRC Research and Technology Forum, Madison, Wis.

A S H R A E J o u r n a l

August 2009