MEC 351

Refrigeration
And
Air Conditioning

Prepared by
PM Muhammad Abd Razak
FKM UiTM P Pinang
December 2013(4th Ed)
REFRIGERATION CYCLES

Refrigeration : the process of transferring of heat from a lower

temperature region to a higher temperature one.
It has helped in the growth and attainment of present standard of
living

Refrigerators : cyclic devices that transfer heat from a low-

temperature region to a high-temperature one.
Refrigeration applications:
• Air conditioning (home, college, theatres, shopping
malls…….
• Food preservation, storage and supply chain
• Ice making industries
• Frozen food products
• Water coolers
• Gas liquefactions (O2, CO2, LPG…….. ) in chemical
industries
• Control of humidity in manufacturing process
• Control of heat treatment of steel
• Preservation of tablets, capsules & medicine in
pharmaceutical industries
• Preservation of blood tissues
• Ice skating rinks (eg Dubai Mall, Winter Olmpics)
• Construction industries
• And many more………
An example of how
refrigeration has
improve the quality of
modern living….
Refrigerators and heat pumps are essentially the same devices; they
differ in their objectives only.

• a refrigerator is to remove heat (QL) from the

cold space.

• a heat pump is to supply heat (QH) to a warm

space.

• both devices must have the required input.

The performance of refrigerators (and heat pumps) is expressed as

• the ratio of the desired result for each device divided by the work
input to the device
• We define the coefficient of performance (COP) as
 ICBST COPHP = COPR + 1

Theoritical Background
Recall
For a cycle working with two
reversible isothermal and two
isentropic processes between
2 fix temperatures, the
maximum thermal efficiency
for Carnot Cycle
Since it is a reversible Carnot cycle,
• all four processes can be reversed
• the cycle now operates in the cc/wise direction called the Reversed
Carnot Cycle.
1-2 const temp heat
absorbtion (QL) in the
evaporator
2-3 isentropic
compression in a
compressor
3-4 const temp heat
rejection (QH) in the
condenser
4-1 isentropic expansion in
the expander
Notice that
• an expander is used for the expansion process (bet. the high and
low-temperatures) with some work produced which not necessary.
• Replace this with an expansion valve that produces an irreversible
expansion
• It is easier to compress vapour only and not liquid-vapor mixture
(bet. 2 – 3). Thus state 2 is allowed to be saturated or superheated
vapour.
The modification produces an Ideal Vapour-Compression
Refrigeration Cycle that
• Consists of main four components:
• evaporator that absorbs heat QL bet state 4 - 1
• compressor that compresses vapour isentropically bet state 1 - 2
• condenser that releases heat QH from the vapour bet state 2 - 3,
and
• expander or expansion valve that reduces the pressure between
state 3 - 4
• uses working fluids called refrigerants.
The ideal vapor-compression cycle consists of four processes.
Process Description
1-2 Isentropic compression in a compressor
(state 1 – sat / s/heated vapour, state 2 – s/heated vapour)

2-3 Constant pressure heat rejection in the condenser

(state 3 – sat liquid at condenser pressure)

3-4 Throttling in an expansion valve/capillary tube

( const enthalpy process, state 4 – wet vapour)

4-1 Constant pressure heat absorption in the evaporator

(wet vapour state at evaporator pressure, state 1 – sat / s/heated vapour)

on a p-h vs T-s
diagram
Then

and
Define :
Refrigerating Effect (RE): the quantity of heat a unit of mass of
refrigerant can absorbs from the refrigerated space.

RE = qL=(h1 – h4) [kJ/kg]

Refrigerating Load (RL): the rate at which heat energy must be removed
from the refrigerated space to maintain the desired temperature.

RL = QL = m x (h1 – h4) kg kJ kJ
x =
or RL = m x RE s kg s

The widely used unit for RL is in Refrigeration Ton (RT)

1 ton = 200 Btu/min
Or 1 ton = 200 x 60 = 12,000 Btu/h
And 1 watt = 3.41 Btu/h
ACTUAL VAPOUR-COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION CYCLE

Due to the irreversibilities that occur in various components, the COP

decreases. Namely :
• frictional effect at compression process (non-isentropic)
• fluid friction in hoses, pipes etc (cause pressure drops)
• heat transfer (loss) to or from the surroundings.

To overcome the effect of irreversibilities, in practice,

• refrigerant is allowed to be slightly superheated at the compressor
inlet.
• Refrigerant is allowed to sub-cool slightly before it enters the
throttling valve.
Heat Pump Systems
„ More expensive to install
but save money in the
long run.
„ Both have the same
mechanical components.
„ By reversing the valve :
„ The indoor coil will
function as the
evaporator of air an
conditioner in
summer
„ The outdoor coil will
function as the
condenser of an air
conditioner.
Other Types of Refrigeration Cycles
1. Cascade refrigeration systems
Suitable for :
„ Very low temperatures applications

„ Too large temperature range between the

evaporator & the condenser
Two or more vapor-compression systems in stages
(series), called cascading.
The COP of a refrigeration system may also
increases as a result of cascading.
h-x

The heat exchanger (h-x) serves as evaporator for

cycle A and condenser for cycle B. For a well
insulated h-x,
 At h-x

„ Different refrigerants may be used since there is

no mixing of flow in both cycles.
„ Up to 4 cascades can be used.
„ T-s diagram shows that :
„ The compressor work decerases

„ The absorbed heat can be increased through

cascading.
2. Multistage Compression Refrigeration
„ If the same fluid is used throughout the cascade
system,
„ the h-x between the stages can be replaced by a
mixing chamber (called a flash chamber)
„ better heat transfer characteristics is possible

A
A

B B
How it works?
„ Liquid refrigerant from cycle A
expands into the flash chamber at A
the inter-stage pressure.
„ Part of liquid vapourises (3) and
mixed with the s/heated vapour at B
state (2).
„ Mixture forms (9), and proceed to
the compression process.
„ Saturated liquid (7) expands in
cycle B to pick up heat from
refrigerated space.
A
„ Significant reduction in total Win is
possible. B
3. Multipurpose Refrigeration Systems with a Single
Compressor
Some applications require refrigeration at more than one
temperatures.( eg refrigerator (4->5) & freezer (6->1)separately)
All exit streams from the evaporators supplied to a single
compressor and it handles the compression process for the
entire system.
4. Liquefaction of Gases
„ Many important scientific
and engineering
processes at cryogenic
temperatures (below
about -100°C) depend on
liquefied gases including
„ the separation of oxygen,
nitrogen from air
„ preparation of liquid
propellants for space
shuttle, rockets, missiles
„ study of material
properties at very low
temperatures
„ and the study of
superconductivity.
5. ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS(ARS)
Suitable when there is a source of inexpensive thermal energy
at a temperature of 100° to 200°. Possible are
• geothermal energy
• solar energy
• waste heat from cogeneration or
• process steam plants and
• even natural gas when it is at a relatively low price

Absorption refrigeration systems (ARS) involve the absorption

of a refrigerant by a transport medium.
Widely used system is the ammonia–water system, where
ammonia (NH3) is the refrigerant and water (H2O) as the
transport medium.
Other example is Lithium-Bromide System.

Widely used in District Cooling System (DCS)

 High
Pressure

Low Pressure
'Weak' Ammonia
Solution

Low High Pressure

Pressure 'Strong' Ammonia
Solution

(Vapour)