MENG11202 THERMODYNAMICS 1

The Heat Pump

Kaviraj Singh Khurana
kk14194@my.bristol.ac.uk

Personal Tutor: Richard Martin

Aerospace Engineering

Date of Laboratory: 27th November 2014

Date Submitted:

700 Words

Abstract
The task was to understand the performance of the heat pump, by finding the Coefficient of Performance
(COP). This can be calculated by dividing the rejected heat by the heat input. Several readings of different
variables were needed to obtain this. Few assumptions had to be taken for this experiment.
Air pressure was needed to calculate the air velocity and the air mass flow rate. The manometer was used
to calculate the air pressure. Water mass flow rate was measured using the rotameter. The inlet and outlet
temperatures of water and air were measured in order to calculate the heat input and the rejected. The
highest and lowest temperatures in the cycle were also measured to about the Carnot COP. Finally the
power of the compressor was also measured, which was used to find the Discrepancy in energy balance.
Using all of the above readings and calculations, we obtained the COP and the Ideal Carnot COP. This
gave us the performance of the heat pump and it was within the range of an average heat pump.

Introduction
The objectives of this experiment were to understand the performance of the heat pump by calculating the
Coefficient of Performance, the Carnot Coefficient of Performance and the Discrepancy in energy
balance.

COP =

QH
W

Carnot COP =

T H T L
TH

Results
Table 1 - Raw Data
Entity

Value

Atmosphere pressure,

1.007 mbar

Manometer reading,
H

43 mmH20

Rotameter reading

3 l/min

Compressor Power,

0.815 kW

W
Inlet temperature of air,
T1

23.9C

Outlet temperature of air,

T2

40.3C

Inlet temperature of water,

T3

22.3C

Outlet temperature of water,

T4

16.1C

Temperature of compressed refrigerant,

T5

72.7C

Temperature before compression,

T6

15.4C

Temperature after evaporation,

T7

15C

Temp during evaporation,

T8

16.1C

Temperature during condensation,

T9

72.7C

Temperature after condensation,

T10

44.1C

Table 2 Results from calculations

Entity

Results from calculations

Air Velocity,
vcl

27.5

ms1

Air mass flow rate,

m
air

0.122

kgs1

Water mass flow rate,

m
water

0.05 kgs1

Heat input,

Q
L

1.2958 kW

Rejected heat,

Q
H

2.01 kW

COP

2.466

Carnot COP

5.991

Discrepancy in energy balance

0.1008

Discussion

Few assumptions had to be taken before starting the experiment like, the process was in a steady state, no
instrumentation error taken into account and 100% water transfer was taken into account.
The discrepancy in energy balance of the heat pump was 0.1008 kW which is 7.77 percent of the heat
input, which is a small considered quite a small figure. Moreover, the Ideal Carnot COP was calculated
to show the value of 5.991 while the actual COP showed 2.466. The difference between them is not too
much which shows that this heat pump is quite an efficient one. An average heat pump has an average
COP of about 2-3.5 depending whether it is cooling or heating. The calculated COP is quite good
compared to this one, which again shows that the heat pump is rather a good one.
Few errors could have occurred during the experiment which may have reduced the accuracy of the
results. The instruments could have been calibrated better, as the greater accuracy in them could give us
more accurate results.
The fan provides cooling in the system while the compressor increases the pressure of the air. It was
needed to be switched off for 10 seconds in order to find out the exact work done by the compressor.
Doing this causes a slight error in the whole system causing temperatures in other reservoirs to fluctuate.
Conditions in the experiment need to be steadier. While taking other readings as well, caused fluctuations
in other variables which results in less accurate results.

Conclusion
The experimental results matched well with the simulated results of the heat compressor. The difference
between the Ideal Carnot COP and the actual COP was quite less, which shows that the heat pump has a
good performance.

References
ROGERS, G. & MAYHEW, Y. (1992) Engineering Thermodynamics: Work and Heat Transfer 4 th edition.
Longman Scientific.
WU, C. (2007) Thermodynamics and Heat Powered Cycles: A Cognitive Engineering
Approach. Nova Publishers.
RAJPUT, R.K. (2010) A Textbook of Engineering Thermodynamics. Firewall Media.

Appendix 1

Table 3 Formulas used

Entity

Formula used for calculations

4.2 h

Air Velocity,
vcl

0.96

Air mass flow rate,

m

air

v
60

Water mass flow rate,

m
water
Heat input,

Q
L
Rejected heat,

Q
H
COP

Avcl

air

Cp,water.(T3-T4)

water.

Cp,air.(T2-T1)

air.

H
Q

Carnot COP

Discrepancy in energy
balance

TH
T H T L

( Q

L+

T5
T 5T 7

W
)- Q