Parts of a Refrigeration System

The refrigerator, and your fridge at home, each work using similar parts. Refrigeration systems, from the refrigerator in your kitchen to the gigantic freezer aisles in your local grocery store, operate on the same scientific principles. Several machine parts each serve a specific Evaporator
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Refrigerators operate on the principles of vapor compression cooling. These devices create a cold environment by compressing a chilled gas into a liquid, then circulating that liquid in and out of the device and continuously removing heat from the air inside the refrigerator. The evaporator performs the task of cooling and pressurizing the refrigerant and sending it to the compressor.

Compressor
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The compressor draws the cooled vapor out of the evaporator. The evaporator is inside of the refrigerator where the temperature has been lowered by the refrigerant. The compressor is on the outside of refrigerator, where it raises the temperature of the vapor and increase the vapor pressure. The warmer, high-pressure vapor then travel

Condenser
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The condenser removes heat from the vapor and transfer it to the warmer air outside of the refrigerator. It does this task using either water, which cools the vapor in the condenser's coils, or cool air, produced by a fan. As the vapor cools, it becomes a liquid again. The vapor liquefies, but remains at a high level of pressure. The liquid then goes through another coiled line to the expansion valve.

Expansion Valve
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The expansion valve is at the end of the coiled liquid line. It rapidly decreases the pressure of the liquid and sends it to the evaporator through another coiled line. The rapid decrease in pressure cools the liquid refrigerant further. The valve is actually the most complex component of the refrigeration system, in terms of the number of subparts.

Refrigerant
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The refrigerant in most refrigeration systems is a fluid that is able to change from a gas to a liquid. Commonly used refrigerants include Freon, R-32, R-152a and R-124. Each of these refrigerants cools at a different rate because each turns to vapor at a different temperature. Some other refrigeration systems (vapor absorption systems) are able to cool areas by simply raising and lowering the temperature of the refrigerant without changing it from a liquid to a gas. Sodium chloride brine and some alcohols are the refrigerants used in vapor absorption systems.

Refrigeration cycle in detail

Introduction to the refrigeration cycle
Before I talking in detail about the refrigeration cycle , we must review some physical lows which all of refrigeration cycles depends on it , its only five laws : Laws of refrigeration cycle 1Fluids absorb heat when it converted from liquid to gas and giving heat when it converted from gas to liquid . 2345Fluid can switch to another phase at the same temperature degree and pressure . Heat transfer only from the high temperature body to the lower one . Metal parts of condenser and evaporator must be have a good connecting to heat . Thermal energy and other form of energy can switch to another one .

Basic refrigeration cycle

As I say the basic idea is to absorb heat which happen by converting liquid to gas or on another word evaporating liquid and after that we pump the gas by using compressor and at this point the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant raise, so we getting this raise .. out by the condenser which convert the gas to liquid by losing the heat . So the main parts of the refrigeration cycle will be : 1-compressor 2-condenser 3-expansion valve 4-evaporator

Vapor compression refrigeration cycle

To make it simple for you, I will start the vapor compression refrigeration cycle from the end , after evaporation the refrigerant at the evaporator the low pressure gas or vapor- send to compressor we can assume that point is the start of the refrigeration cycle- which the compressor start to compression the gas , the gas coming from the compressor with high temperature and pressure then its cooled at the condenser and converting back to liquid . But the problem of the liquid coming from the condenser at the refrigeration cycle is its pressure we knowing that the temperature Direct proportion to the pressure so if we need low temperature We must have a low pressure also ..but why we need low temperature .

The answer is to make the refrigerant boiling with the atmospheric pressure ,so the pressure coming from the condenser isn't suitable to evaporate by the normal condition temperature and pressure of the room in the evaporator . So we using new part to solve this problem its called by the expansion valve which can reduce the pressure to the require pressure , then the refrigerant coming to the evaporator with the suitable temperature and pressure and absorb heat from the load food etc and converting to gas . Then the gas coming back to the compressor and start the refrigeration cycle again from the compressor to the condenser and then the expansion valve and the evaporator and back to the compressor again and again . Its the simple refrigeration cycle which used with any application like food storage and ice tanks etc of the refrigeration cycle applications , some different can be founding but its the basic parts in all of them .

Thermostatic Expansion Valve Overview

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Sensing Bulb Pressure to Top of Diaphragm

A Thermostatic Expansion Valve (TXV) is a metering device that will attempt t,o maintain a constant level of suction vapor superheat over a wide range of heat load and outdoor air temperature range combinations. The superheat level maintained by the TXV is about 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit. The TXV is able to maintain a constant superheat level by regulating the size of its' internal orifice in response to changes in heat load and liquid pressure. The size of the TXV orifice is controlled by an opening force and a closing force (Fig 1). The opening force consists of pressure from the TXV Sensing Bulb which is placed to the top side of the TXV Diaphragm assembly. The closing force is internal spring tension pushing on the bottom of the orifice, and evaporator outlet pressure placed at the underside of the TXV Diaphragm via the Equalizer line connection. The amount of spring tension determines how much superheat will be maintained by the expansion valve. Typically, this pressure is about 15 PSI which equals 10 degrees saturation temperature when working with R-22 systems. The sensing bulb contains an internal charge of refrigerant. When the sensing bulb senses a warm suction line, the pressure in the sensing bulb rises. If the suction line temperature falls, the pressure in the sensing bulb will also fall. If the evaporator is starving for refrigerant, the suction line gets warm which raises the sensing bulb pressure. When the evaporator coil floods, the suction line gets cold, the sensing bulb pressure drops. This pressure is directed to the top of the Diaphragm assembly.

See all 5 photos

The operation of the valve is very simple. If the spring tension and evaporator outlet pressure are greater than the sensing bulb pressure, the orifice will go to a more closed position thereby throttling back refrigerant flow. If the evaporator outlet pressure and spring tension are less than sensing bulb pressure, the orifice will move to a more open position thereby increasing refrigerant flow. The two opposing forces allow the TXV to feed the proper amount of refrigerant into the evaporator coil as changes in suction line temperature occur. When the pressure on top of the diaphragm is greater than the evaporator outlet and spring tension, the orifice opens. When sensing bulb pressure is less than evaporator outlet and spring tension, the orifice closes. There are some differences in the operation of a mechanical refrigeration system using an expansion valve metering device in place of a fixed type device. Differences in cycle operation include how the system reacts to changes in evaporator heat load, system charge, and changes in the outdoor air temperature.

Using Refrigeration Gauges and Metering Device

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Using Refrigeration Gauges to Convert Pressure to Saturation Temperature

The only reason you use refrigeration gauges is to convert your pressure readings to saturation temperature. When you convert your suction pressure to saturation temperature, you now know the temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator circuiting. When you convert your liquid pressure to saturation temperature, you now know the temperature of the refrigerant that is condensing from a hot gas into a liquid in the condenser coil. The use of these two temperatures is critical to proper service of an air conditioning system because both saturation temperatures are used in the process of calculating superheat and sub-cooling levels.

Fig. 2 (click to enlarge)

The Purpose of the Metering Device

The metering device can be a simple piston that has a hole through it's center (fixed metering), or a more complicated expansion valve (TXV)(Fig 2). Regardless of what type of metering device is being used, its' purpose is to act as a pressure drop. The device forces the liquid refrigerant to drop its' pressure from high to low (Fig 3). This process is needed because the refrigerant will also drop to a low or cold saturation temperature when at a low pressure. By dropping the saturation temperature of the refrigerant to a cold level, the refrigerant leaving the metering device is colder than the air to be conditioned. The refrigerant is also now in a saturated state where any addition of heat will cause a change of state.