Tutorial sheet

Subject- RAC Topic- Air refrigeration systems

Branch- Mechanical Engineering Semester- VII
QUESTIONS
1. Ten tonnes of fish is frozen to -300C per day. The fish enters the freezing chamber at 300C and
freezing occurs at -30C.The frozen fish is cooled to -300C.The specific heats of fresh and frozen
fish are 3.77 kJ/kgK and 1.67 kJ/kgK respectively while latent heat of freezing is 251.2 kJ/kg.
Find the tonnage of the plant which runs for 18 hours per day.The evaporator and condenser
temperatures are -400C and 450C respectively. If the C.O.P of the plant is 1.8, determine the
power consumption of the plant in kW.Also find the refrigerating efficiency of the plant.
(Ans:18.6 TR ; 36.1 KW; 65.7%)

2. A Refrigerator storage is supplied with 30 tonnes of fish at a temperature of 270C. The fish has to
be cooled to -90C for preserving it for long period without deterioration. The cooling takes place
in 10 hours. The specific heats of fish is 2.93 kJ/kgK above freezing point of fish and 1.26
kJ/kgK below freezing point of fish which is -30C. The latent heat of freezing is 232 kJ/kg. What
is the capacity of the plant in tonnes of refrigeration for cooling the fish? What would be ideal
C.O.P between this temperature range? If the actual C.O.P is 40% of the ideal, find the power
required to run the cooling plant.
(Ans: 78 TR ;7.33 ; 93.3 KW;)

3. A 5 tonne refrigerating machineoperating on Bell Coleman cycle has an upper limit of pressure
of 12 bar. The pressure and temperature at the start of compression are 1 bar and 170C
respectively. The compressed air cooled at constant pressure to a temperature of 400C enters the
expansion cylinder. Assuming both the compression and expansion process isentropic with
𝛾=1.4; Determine :
a) C.O.P.
b) Quantity of air in circulation per minute.
c) Piston displacement of compressor and expander.
d) Bore of compressor and expansion cylinders. The unit runs at 250 r.p.m and is double
acting. Stroke length is 200 mm. and
e) Power required to drive the unit.
Take Cp = 1 kJ/kgK ;Cv = 0.71kJ/kgK; R=0.287 kJ/kgK.

(Ans: 0.952; 7.65 kg/min ; 6.37 m3/min, 3.35 m3/min; 284mm ;18.4 kW ;

4. A simple air refrigeration system is used for an aircraft to take a load of 20 TR . The ambient
pressure and temperature are 0.9 bar and 220C respectively. The pressure of air is increased to 1
bar due to isentropic ramming action. The air is further compressed in a compressor to 3.5 bar
and then cooled in a heat exchanger to 720C. Finally, the air is passed through the cooling turbine
and then it is supplied to the cabin at pressure of 1.03 bar. The air leaves that cabin at a
temperature of 250C. Assuming the isentropic efficiency of compressor and the turbine as 80%
and 75% respectively, find:
a) Power required to take the load in the cooling cabin.
b) C.O.P of the system
Take Cp=1.005 kJ/kgK; and 𝛾 =1.4.
(Ans: 390 kW ; 0.18 ;)
5. A boot-strap air refrigeration system of 20 TR capacity is used for an aeroplane flying at an
altitude of 2000 m. The ambient air pressure and temperature are 0.8 bar and 00C. The ram air
pressure and temperature are 1.05 bar and 17 0C. The pressure of air after isentropic compression
in the main compressor is 4 bar. The air is now cooled to 27 0C in another auxiliary heat
exchanger and then expanded isentropically upto the cabin pressure of 1.01 bar. If the air leaves
the cabin at 250C and the efficiencies for the main compressor, auxiliary compressor and the
cooling turbine are 80%, 75% and 80% respectively. find:
a) Power required to operate the system and
b) C.O.P of the system.
(Ans: 106.2 KW ; 0.66 ;)

6. A boot-strap air refrigeration system is used for an aeroplane to take 10 tons of refrigeration load.
The ambient air conditions are 150C and 0.9 bar. This air is rammed isentropically to a pressure
of 1.1 bar. The pressure of air bled off the main compressor is 3.5 bar and this is further
compressed in secondary compressor to a pressure of 4.5 bar. The isentropic efficiency of both
the compressor is 90% and that of cooling turbine is 85%. The effectiveness of both the heat
exchanger is 0.6. If the cabin is to be maintained at 250C and the pressure in the cabin is 1 bar,
find:
a) Mass of air passing through the cabin.
b) Power used for the refrigeration system.
c) C.O.P of the system.
(Ans: 55.3 kg/min. ; 125KW ; 0.28)

7. A boot strap cooling system is used in an aeroplane for 15 TR capacity. The ambient air
temperature and pressure are 200C and 0.85 bar respectively. The pressure of air rises from 0.85
bar to 1 bar due to ramming action. The pressure of air at the outlet of the main compressor is 3
bar. The discharge pressure of air from secondary compressor is 4.5 bar. The efficiency of each
of the compressors is 85% and that of turbine is 90%. 75% of the heat content of the air
discharged from the main compressor is removed in the heat exchanger I and 30% of the heat of
air discharged from auxiliary compressor is removed in the heat exchanger II using rammed air.
Assuming ramming action to be isentropic , the required cabin pressure to be 0.9 bar and the
temperature of the air leaving the cabin to be not more than 200C, find the following:
a) The mass of air bled off the main compressor.
b) The power required to operate the system.
c) The C.O.P of the system.
Take 𝛾=1.4 and Cp= 1 kJ/kgK.
(Ans: 67.2 kg/min. ; 159 KW ; 0.33 ;)

8. The reduced ambient air refrigeration system used for an aircraft consists of two cooling turbines,
one heat exchanger and one air cooling fan. The speed of the aircraft is 1500 km/hr. the ambient
conditions are 0.8 bar and 100C. The rammed air used for cooling is expanded in the first cooling
turbine and leaves it at a pressure of 0.8 bar. The air bled from the main compressor at 6 bar is
cooled in the heat exchangerand leaves it at 1000C. The cabin is to be maintained at 200C and 1
bar. If the isentropic efficiency for the main compressor is 85% and both of the cooling turbines
have 80% efficiency, find the following:
a) Mass flow rate of air supplied to cabin to take a cabin load of 10 TR of refrigeration.
b) Quantity of air passing through the heat exchanger if the temperature rise of ram air is
limited to 80 K.
c) Power used to drive the cooling fan.
d) C.O.P of the system.
(Ans: 53.14 kg/min ; 101.2kg/sec ; 224.7KW ; 0.25 )
9. The following data refers to a reduced ambient air refrigeration system used for an aircraft:
Speed of aircraft = 1500 km/hr
Ambient pressure = 0.8 bar
Ambient temperature = 50C
Ram efficiency = 100%
Pressure of cooled air leaving the first cooling turbine = 0.8 bar
Temperature of cooled air leaving the heat exchanger = 1000C
Pressure ratio of main compressor =3
Pressure loss between the outlet of = 0.1 bar
second cooling turbine and the cabin
Pressure in the cabin = 1 bar
Temperature in the cabin = 220C
Load in the cabin = 10 TR
Isentropic efficiency of compressor = 85%
Isentropic efficiency of both cooling turbine = 80%
Find:
a) Mass flow of the air passing through the second cooling turbine.
b) Quantity of ram air passing through the heat exchanger, if the rise in temp is limited to 80
K.
c) C.O.P of the system.
(Ans: 54 kg/min ; 79.5 kg/min ; 0.26;)

10. A regenerative air cooling system is used in an aircraft to take 20 TR load. The ambient air at
pressure 0.8 bar and temperature 100C is rammed isentropically to a pressure of 1.2 bar. The air
is further compressed in the main compressor to 4.75 bar and is cooled by the ram air in the heat
exchanger whose effectiveness is 80%. The air from the heat exchanger is further cooled to 600C
in the regenerative heat exchanger with a portion of the air bled after expansion in the cooling
turbine. The cabin is to be maintained at a temperature of 250C and a pressure of 1 bar . If the
isentropic efficiency for the compressor as well as that for the turbine is 90%, and the
temperature of air escaping to atmosphere from regenerative heat exchangers is 500C , find the
following:
a) Mass of the air bled from cooling turbine to be used for regenerative cooling.
b) Power required for maintaining the cabin at the required condition.
c) C.O.P of the system.
(Ans: 13.8 kg/min. ; 203.6 KW ; 0.345 )

11. An air refrigeration plant 25TR capacity comprises a centrifugal compressor, a cooler heat
exchanger and an air turbine. The compressor is coupled directly to the air turbine. The
compressor also receives power from another prime mover. The processes in the compressor and
the turbines are adiabatic but not isentropic. Air at temperature 210C and 0.85 bar enters the
compressor. It leaves the compressor at 900C. The same air enters the turbine at 380C and 1.5 bar.
The turbine exit is at 00C . Assuming no pressure drop in the cooler and the refrigerator
(evaporator) section, constant specific heats as Cp=1.004 kJ/kgK and Cv= 0.712 kJ/kgK ,
determine the following:
a) The compressor efficiency.
b) The turbine efficiency.
c) The flow rate of air.
d) The power input to the plant.
e) The C.O.P.
12. A regenerative air refrigeration system of an aircraft with flight speed of 1500 km/hr has 30 TR
cooling load while the ambient conditions are 0.1 bar and -630C. The ram efficiency is 90% . The
pressure ratio of the main compressor is 5 with internal efficiency of 90%. The air bled off the
main compressor is cooled by ram air in a heat exchanger which is 60 % effective. The air from
the heat exchanger passes on to the cooling air turbine whose internal efficiency is 80%. Some
portion of air from the cooling turbine is led to the regenerative heat exchanger reducing the
temperature to 300C of the bled off compressed air. The cooling air gets heated to 920C before
discharging to atmosphere. The cabin is pressurized to 0.8 bar and maintained at 250C.
Determine the following:
a) The percentage of air extracted for regenerative cooling.
b) Power required to maintain the cabin at the required condition.
c) COP.
Assume the cooling turbine power to be used for air exhaust fan.

Prepared By
Dr. SPS Rajput