Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Interview & Viva

Questions With Answers

Define Refrigeration Ans : Refrigeration may be defined as a process of

producing cold by extracting heat from a body or space and heat thus removed is

rejected to atmosphere or space where it is unobjectionable.

What is Mechanical Refrigeration ? Ans : Producing cold by machine.

Classify the different Refrigeration Systems .

Ans : It may be of the following three types 1. Vapor Compression Refrigeration

System 2. Vapor absorption Refrigeration System 3. Air Refrigeration Systems .

What are the basic Units of Mechanical Refrigeration systems ?

Ans : Refrigeration system has 4 basic units

a. An Evaporator The cooling Unit

b. A pump or Compressor

c. A Condenser The heat disposer

d. A liquid mixing device Expansion valve or cylinder or capillary tube

Which Unit Produces Cooling Effect in the refrigeration system ?

Ans : The evaporator

What is the Unit of Refrigeration ?

Ans : As Power Unit of mechanical devices is given by H.P , for electrical equipment

the unit of power is kW or MW . In the same way the unit of refrigeration is

Tonnes of Refrigeration .

What is One Tonne of Refrigeration ?

Ans: One Tonne of Refrigeration means machine is capable of removing heat from a

body equal to the heat absorbed by one tonne of ice when it melts from 0 C to 0 C

Water in 24 hours . Here one tonne is equal to 2000 lb .

What is the capacity of one tonne machine in MKS system ?

Ans : In MKS system a machine having capacity to produce cooling effect of 50

kcal/minute is known to be a One Tonne Machine .

Define Co-efficient of Performance. Ans : In case of engine the performance is

judged the efficiency of the engine. That is Efficiency = Work Done / Heat

Supplied .

And in case of refrigeration the process is first reversed that is we have to supply

work to obtain lower temperature or say for that removal of heat. Thus performance

of refrigeration is just reversed . That is N/W

Where N = The rate of heat abstracted from the body in given time technically

called Net Refrigeration Effect and W = Work Done .

Thus COP = Net Refrigeration Effect / Work Done Supplied . This is Called

Theoretical COP .

What is Relative COP ?

Ans : It is the ratio of actual COP and Theoretical COP .

Mechanical Engineering Interview Questions

What is Mechanical Engineering?

answer: Mechanical Engineering is the branch of engineering which deals with the

designing, constructing , maintaining and manufacturing various mechanical

systems.

What is the difference between machine and engine?

Answer: Engine converts heat energy to Mechanical Energy but machine converts

all forms of energy to mechanical energy except heat energy.

What is viscosity? What is newtons law of viscosity?

answer: Viscosity is the property of fluid which measures the resistance of the fluid

to the gradual deformation due the shear stress.

Newtons Law of Viscosity states that : the shear stress on the fluid is proportional to

the velocity gradient.

What are newtonian and non-newtonian fluids ? Give examples.

answer : Newtonian fluids follow the newtons law of viscosity and non-newtonian

fluids do not follow the law.

Newtonian fluid : Water, air etc. Non-Newtonian Fluid : blood, tar , paste etc.
 What is Pump? What is turbine? / What is the difference between turbine and
pump?
answer: Pump is a device which transfers mechanical energy to fluid. Turbine does

the opposite. It transfers flow energy of the fluid to the mechanical energy.

What are turbo machines?

answer: Turbo machines are devices which transfer energy to or from the fluid by the

dynamic action of rotating blades.

How the characteristics of a flow is determined?

answer: By Reynolds Number . If Re <2300 then the flow is laminar . if 2300

<Re<4000 then the flow is transient and if Re>4000 then the flow is turbulent .

What is Reynolds number ?

answer: Reynolds Number is the ratio of inertia force to viscous force . Re = vL/

What is Bernoullis equation? Why it is used?

answer: pressure head + velocity head + datum head = constant

P1/ + (v2 )1/2g + z1 = P2/ +( v2)2 /2g + z1 = constant

What is the difference between centrifugal pump and +ve displacement pump?
answer: In Centrifugal pump the flow rate changes with the head but in positive

displacement pump the flow rate remains the same.

What is cavitation in centrifugal pump? Why priming is done in centrifugal

pump?
answer: If the suction side develops a pressure less than the vapor pressure of the

water then water will start to boil and create water bubbles and it will spoil the

impeller material. It is called cavitation.

When impeller rotates it adds a rotating motion to the adjacent fluid and as a result

K.E and Pressure in the fluid increases and a negative pressure is developed in the

suction side of the impeller . So water/fluid flows continuously through the impeller.

But when the pipe is filled with air , the impeller rotates but the pressure difference

is negligible as a result no water flows through the pump. Thats why priming is done.

What is the difference between heat engine & heat pump?

answer: Heat Engine produces work and transfers energy from high temp. to low

temp source medium. In Heat pump external work is needed to transfer energy from

low to high temp. medium.

What is the difference between Impulse Turbine and Reaction Turbine?

Answer: In Impulse Turbine all the pressure energy is converted to kinetic energy

but in reaction turbine a part of the pressure energy is converted to kinetic energy

and rest remains as pressure energy.

What is NPSH?
Answer: NPSH = Net Positive Suction Head. It is the measure of minimum pressure

which is required at the suction pipe to keep the pump from cavitation.

hat is Refrigeration ? What is the unit of refrigeration ?

Refrigeration is the process where heat is transferred from low temperature to high

temperature medium with the help of external work. Its unit is ton of refrigeration.

What is COP ?
answer: COP = Co-efficient of Performance . It is used to measure the performance

of a refrigeration system. It is generally expressed by the ratio of evaporation work or

refrigeration effect to the compressor work or net work .

 What is ton of refrigeration ?
answer: 1 ton of refrigeration means heat absorbed while melting 1 ton (2000 lb) of

ice at zero degree Celsius at 24 hours .

What is BTU ?
answer: BTU = British Thermal Unit ; 1 BTU is the amount of heat required to raise

the temperature of one lb water by one degree Fahrenheit.

What is sub-cooling and super heating in refrigeration system ? Why these are
used ?
answer: Sub-cooling or under cooling is done before throttling or expanding the

refrigerant and it ensures that no vapor enters the expansion valve.

Super-heating is done before compression and it ensures that no liquid enters the

compressor.

Which thermodynamic cycle is implied in refrigeration system ?

answer: Reversed Carnot or Reversed Rankin Cycle.

Draw the T-S diagram and schematic arrangement of reversed Carnot Cycle and
Reversed Rankin Cycle in a basic vapor compression refrigeration system.
Draw the T-S, P-h diagram of refrigeration system with sub-cooling and super-
heating in vapor compression refrigeration system .
answer: T-S and P-h diagram with subcooling and superheating.

What is the most commonly used refrigerant ?

answer: R134a

What is Vapor compression and Vapor Absorption Refrigeration system ?

(Difference between) / What are the advantages of Vapor absorption systems over
Vapor compression ?
answer : Please follow this link for the answer.
 Detect absorbers and refrigerant in these systems Li-Br and NH3 H2O .
answer: In Li-Br Water is the refrigerant and Li-Br is the absorbent.

In NH3 H2O : NH3 is the refrigerant and water is absorber.

What is LMTD method ?

answer : LMTD refers to Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference . It is used to

measure the temperature difference in double pipe heat exchangers. The more the

LMTD the more heat will be transfered.

What is the difference between a cooler and an air conditioner ?

answer : For a cooler to become air conditioner it must meet the following

requirements :

It must control the 1. temperature 2. Humidity 3 . motion of air 4. purity of air.

What is the difference between cooling tower and condenser ?

answer: Condenser is a heat exchanger which converts saturated vapor into liquid.

For doing so the condenser temperature must be below than the saturation temp.

Cooling tower is the device in which recirculating condenser water is cooled by the

evaporative method with direct contact to the atmosphere.

What is a chiller ?
answer: Chiller is a device / machine for cooling something.

Mechanical engineers ! The third part is coming up very soon. So stay with basic

mechanical engineering. Thanks ! Enjoy !! Cheers !!!

Which law must be satisfied to build a refrigeration system ?

answer: Second Law of Thermodynamics (Clausius Statement) .

What is fluid ? What is fluid mechanics ?

Answer : A fluid is a substance which always responses to shear stress and doesnt

have any definite shape. It may or may not have any definite volume.

How to determine the characteristics of fluid flow ?

Answer: By the values of Reynolds Number.

What are laminar and turbulent flows ?

Answer : When a fluid is flowing around an object or flowing through an object, the

flow may be smooth or may be distorted. The smoother flow occurs due to low

velocity and distorted flow occurs due to high velocity. This low velocity smoother

flow is called laminar flow and distorted flow is called turbulent flow.

What is buoyancy force ?

Answer : Buoyancy is the upward force which is felt on an object simply immersed

into a fluid.

Which dimensionless number is used to determine the speed of aircraft ?

Answer : Mach Number.

What are compressible and incompressible flows ?

Answer : compressible flow variable density fluid flow .

Incompressible flow fixed density fluid flow .

What is meant by compressibility property of fluid ?

Answer : Compressibility is the property of those fluids which doesnt have any fixed

density.

What is meant by flow property of fluid ?

Answer : Flow property means the responsiveness of the fluid to the shear stress.

What is meant by no-slip condition in fluids ?

Answer : No-slip condition occurs at the microscopic level where the fluid is flowing

on a solid surface and the velocity of the fluid is zero at the contact surface .

What are the different units of viscosity ?

Answer : In SI Kg (m.s) . In CGS slug (ft.s) . The values of viscosity is often very

small so for that reason a more reasonable unit is used which is called cP or

centipoise.

Name the Cycles used in refrigeration systems .

Ans : Reversed Carnot Cycle .

Draw the P-V Diagram of Reversed Carnot Cycle .

 p-v diagram for reverse carnot cycle

Ans :

Why Reversed Carnot Cycle is not possible practically ?

Ans : It is not because adiabatic processes are not possible to obtain due to losses in

the pipes condensers, compressors and evaporator.

Which Cycle is used in Air Refrigeration System ?

Ans : Bell Coleman Cycle

In refrigeration system why heat rejected is more than heat absorbed ?

Ans: For cooling purpose it is necessary to reject more heat than the heat absorbed.

Mathematically Heat Rejected = Heat absorbed + Work Done .

How Defrosting is done in a refrigerator ?

Ans : Defrosting is done by stopping the compressor for a short time.

Why Copper is not used in ammonia refrigeration system ? / Which metal is used in

the pipelines when the refrigerant is ammonia ?

Ans . In ammonia refrigeration system Steel is used as the pipe line material because

ammonia attacks copper.

What is the difference between heat pump and refrigerators ?

Ans : Heat pumps gives heat by taking work input on the other hand refrigerator

ejects heat by taking heat input.

What is basis of Refrigeration System ? (Important mechanical engneerin)

Ans : Second Law of Thermodynamics .

Show the Practical Refrigeration Cycle With T-S and P-h diagram with Subcooling

and Super Heating .

Ans : Please Follow This Link : T-S and P-h Diagram with Subcooling and

Superheating for VC

Describe Dry and Wet Compression in Refrigeration System .

Ans : The starting point of compression in the T-S diagram determines the final state

of vapor after compression. If the final state of vapor is dry and saturated then the

compression is known as wet compression and if the final state of vapor is super

heated then it is known as dry compression.

The refrigerant enters as a vapor in compressor from the evaporator. If the vapor

draw into the compressor is drier than the initial condition on the same pressure

range the vapor becomes superheated.

How to improve Refrigerating effect ?

Ans : By applying superheating and subcooling.

What is Undercooling or Subccooling is refrigeration system ? How Subcooling or

undercooling is done ?

Ans: The COP can be improved by undercooling or pre-cooling. It is the process

where the liquid refrigerant is allowed to cool below the saturation temperature.

Subcooling is done by circulating greater amount of cooling agent i.e water through

the condenser or by using water cooler than natural temperature water.

What is advantage of vapor compression refrigeration system ?

Ans: Smaller size for a given refrigeration effect , Higher COP, Lower power

consumption, Less Complicated in design and operation.

What is the basic difference in Vapor compression and Vapor absorption

Refrigeration System ?

Ans : These two refrigeration systems are different in power consumption, COP,

Mechanical parts, Performance while load variation etc. For more information go

through this link .

Difference between Vapor compression and Vapor absorption Systems.

T-S and P-h Diagram of Vapor compression system with sub-cooling and super-
heating
Which has higher COP ? Vapor compression or Vapor absorption ? Explain .
Ans : Vapor Compression has the higher COP. Generally the COP of Vapor

compression ranges from 3-4 but COP of Vapor absorption is generally 1. It

happens because COPvc = Refrigeration Work / Compressor Work . But COPabs =

Refrigeration Effect / (generator work + pump work ) .

Why The term relative COP is used ?

Ans : To state the ratio of actual COP to theoretical COP .

Classify Air-Conditioning Systems .

Ans : 1. Window Type Air Conditioning System . 2 . Packed Air Conditioning System

3. Cenrtal Air Conditioning System .

Engineering Mechanics

What is limiting friction ?

Ans : When an object is sliding over another frictional force is developed in the

contact surface. This friction force creates a resistance. The maximum value of this

frictional force is called the limiting friction.

What is Center of Gravity ?

Ans : Center of Gravity or CG is the point where the whole mass of a body acts

(irrespective of position of that body).

Locate the center of gravity of these simple geometries Uniform rod , rectangle or

parallelogram , triangle, semi circles, hemisphere, right circular solid cone .

Ans :

Uniform rod : At its middle point

rectangle or parallelogram : Intersect points of its diagonals

triangle : where all the 3 medians of the triangle intersects

Semi-circle : at a distance 4r/3 from the base. (measured along the vertical radius)

hemisphere : at a distance 3r/8 from the base. (measured along the vertical radius)

right circular solid cone : h/4 from base from the vertical axis.

Fluid Mechanics

How the pressure of the liquid is measured ?

Ans : The pressure of the liquid can be measured by manometers.

What are manometers ?

Ans : These are pressure measuring devices for liquid. To measure the pressure in a

point in the liquid manometers balance the liquid column to another column or the

same column of liquid.

How manometers are classified ?

Ans : 1. Simple manometers like : piezometer and U-tube manometer.

2. Differential manometer.

What are the uses of manometer ?

Ans : Simple Manometers are used to measure 1. high pressure of liquids 2. pressure

in pipes and channels 3. vacuum pressure.

Differential manometers are used for measuring pressure difference between two

points in a pipe .

Thermodynamics

What are the main objectives of boiler trial ?

Ans: Boiler trial helps to determine the generating capacity and thermal efficiency of

the boilers. Heat balance sheet can be made by the boiler trial .

Name the different Thermodynamic Cycles

Ans : Otto Cycle, Diesel Cycle, Stirling Cycle, Joule or Brayton Cycle, Carnot Cycle,

Ericsson Cycle etc.

Welcome to the sixth part of sixth part of basic mechanical questions. These

questions are useful for interview purpose and also for written exams. Hope you will

be benefited from this. Lets begin

What is the difference between turbocharger and supercharger ?

Ans : Turbocharger and Supercharger both have the same function. These devices

are blowers which supplies extra air to the engine. As a result engine gets useful

amount of oxygen to produce a proper ignition.

The main difference between the devices is that turbocharger uses exhaust heat from

the exhaust gases as a power source. But Supercharger uses a part of the engine

power to run. Turbocharger is not directly connected to the engine. It decreases the

carbon emission because it has smog altering system. Supercharger on the other

hand is connected to the engine with the help of a belt. It produces smog.

What is the difference between the centrifugal pump and positive displacement
pump ?
Ans : usually all the pumps are classified into this two categories. Actually in

centrifugal pump flow rate varies with the change of pressure/pressure head. But in

positive displacement pump the flow rate is always the same whether there is a

pressure difference or not.

Differentiate between scavenging and supercharging / turbocharging ?

Ans: In Scavenging the burnt gases from the engine cylinder is pushed out by the

fresh air that before the exhaust stroke ends. Turbocharging/Supercharging is the

process of adding extra air to the engine for a better ignition.

Give the names of different Thermodynamic Processes .

Ans : Isothermal Process : Constant Temperature process

Isochoric Process : Constant Volume Process

Isobaric Process : Constant Pressure Process

Throttling Process : Constant Enthalpy Process

Isentropic or Adiabatic Process : Constant Entropy Process

Why more lubricating oil is needed in two-stroke engines than four stroke
engines ?
Ans : In two stroke engine the lubricant is mixed with the fuel. As a result some of

the lub oil is blown out with the process of scavenging and getting fresh charge. This

phenomenon is not seen in four stroke engines.

What are Internal Combustion (IC) Engines ?

Ans : These are engines in which combustion of the fuel takes place inside the engine

cylinder.

What are the usual sequence of operation in IC engines ?

Ans : The sequence involve : Suction Stroke, Compression stroke, Combustion,

Expansion or Working Stoke and the exhaust .

What is the main difference between petrol engine and diesel engine ?
Ans: In petrol engine the ignition is initiated by the spark plug but in diesel engine

the fuel and air mixture auto-ignites after reaching a certain temperature.

Describe different types of scavenging process or Define Crossflow Scavenging,

Back flow or loop scavenging and Uniflow scavenging .
Ans :

Crossflow Scavenging: In Crossflow scavenging the inlet port and the outlet port is

situated in the opposite sides in the engine cylinder. This type of scavenging is used

in 2 stroke engines.

Back flow or loop Scavenging: In this type of scavenging the inlet and outlet port are

on the same side.

Uniflow Scavenging: In this method the fresh charge can enter through one or two

inlets . The exhaust port is situated on the top of the cylinder.

Typical Natural Gas Composition is-

Answer: Typical Natural gas composition includes

Methane 95 % , Ethane 3.2 % , Nitrogen 1 % , CO2 0.5 % , O2 0.02 %

Typical Calorific Values for natural gas

Answer: Higher Heating Value 52300 kJ/kg or 12500 kcal /kg . Lower Heating

Value 50000 kJ/kg 0r 11950 kcal/kg

What is Hoop Stress and longitudinal stress in a thin walled cylinder?

Answer: When a thin cylinder is subjected to internal pressure longitudinal and

hoop stress are observed in the cylinder. Hoop Stress is the circumferential normal

stress developed at the tangential direction. Hoop stress acts towards the

circumference perpendicular to the length of the cylinder. Longitudinal stress acts

along the length of the cylinder.

Hoop stress is expressed as , h = p d / 2 t and longitudinal stress is expressed as

l = p d / 4 t.

Here p = internal pressure,

d = internal diameter

t = thickness

What is Lateral strain?

Answer: When a body is subjected to longitudinal stress it extends or gets

compressed in the direction of the stress (tensile force or compressive force). But it

will also get thicket or thinner in the transverse direction. The ratio of this change in

the length (breadth for rectangular shape and dia for the circular bar) in the

direction perpendicular to the force and the original length is known as lateral

strain.

What are the differences between elbows and bend? Which has greater head losses?
Answer: Bend and elbow are used for changing the direction of the flow and is

attached with the piping system. Bends are simply bends they are generally custom

made. On the other hand elbows are well defined engineered bends. Elbows can be

have angle 45 or 90 degrees or they can be custom made.

Using Elbows or bends will cause some head losses which is known is minor head

loss. If the flow is turbulent in the pipe lines then elbows will have greater head

losses than bends. Because in bends it takes lesser time for the fluid to take the

turns.

What is the function of flywheel?

Answer: The main function of the flywheel is to store kinetic energy in the form of

moment of inertia. It also reduces the vibration in the engine and produces an even

crank shaft rotational speed.

n IC engine which part is known as column?

Answer: In IC engine the connecting rod is known as the column.

What is the function of orifice meter?

Answer: The orifice meter or orifice plate is used for measuring flow rate of a fluid. It

is also used for flow restriction and pressure reducing purpose.

What is Vena Contracta?

Answer: When fluid is passed through the flow meters like orifice or nozzles there is

a point in the fluid stream where the diameter of the stream is minimum and
velocity is maximum. In this place we find the least cross sectional area. This is

known as the vena contracta.

How to identify petrol and diesel engines.

Answer: There are many differences in the running cycle of the two engine types.

Petrol engine is spark ignition and Diesel engine is compression ignition. Petrol

engine = Otto cycle and Diesel engine = Diesel cycle.

But the difference between them which is visible practically is the presence of spark

plug on the petrol engine. Diesel engine doesnt have a spark plug it has an atomizer.

Mention some desirable properties of Coal.

Answer:

1. Coals needs to have high calorific values

2. They should be of low sulfur content.
3. Low ash content.
4. Sometimes the coal is needed to be grinded before use. It should have good
grindability.

What are the main classification of coals?

Answer: According to the rank the coal is classified as Peat, Lignite, Sub-

bituminous, Bituminous and Anthracite. Peat has the lowest rankings and

Anthracite has the highest.

How the rank of the coal is obtained?

Answer: The rank of the coal is determined by the Carbon: Hydrogen ratio. The ratio

of the carbon increase from 75% to 93 % and the hydrogen content decreases from

20 % to 3 %
 Give the Equation of generator that includes pole numbers, frequency and
synchronous speed generator.
Answer: N = 120f / P (N = synchronous speed, P = No of poles, f = Frequency)

Draw schematic diagram of air standard gas turbine with regeneration. Show the
T-s Diagram.
Answer: Please follow this link. Gas Turbine Cycle with reheat , regeneration and

intercooling

Show a Typical Composition of different types of coals.

Answer:

What is deaerator? Mention its functions.

Answer: For a boiler to run smoothly, the feedwater must be free from

contaminants. Feedwater contains dissolved gases which can be proved very

detrimental for the boiler material. Dissolved gases in the boiler feedwater can be of

corrosive nature. In these cases deaerator can be proved very useful. Deaerators are

the devices that remove dissolved gases from the boiler feed water. Corrosion can be

minimized by reducing the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide to a level where the

corrosive nature of the gases is minimized.

 What is Higher Heating Value (HHV) and Lower Heating Value (LLV) and Gross
Heating value (GHV)?
Answer : Please follow the links . Higher and Lower Calorific Value

What is HFO, FFO, LDO and HSD?

Answer: HFO = Heavy Fuel Oil, FFO = Furnace Fuel Oil, HSD = High Speed Diesel,

LDO = Light Diesel Oil.

Hope these basic mechanical engineering interview questions will help you . Stay

tuned . More articles are coming.