Liquid Recirculation Systems Part I

These types of systems, like many other things in industrial refrigeration, have
various names that mean the same thing. The basic concept of this system is that
we are circulating excess liquid to the evaporators to improve the evaporator
performance.

Figure 1 below shows the major components of a liquid recirculation system. Some
items have been purposely omitted to simplify the discussion. Several distinctions
should be made regarding this system. First, there are multiple suction lines; dry
suction, wet suction, and pump suction. Secondly, there are also multiple liquid
lines; liquid make-up feed, and pump discharge.

Since we have vapor and liquid returning in a line from the evaporators to the low-
pressure receiver, we call this the wet suction line. In the low-pressure receiver,
the liquid is separated from the returning vapor and dry gas flows to the
compressors suction connections. The remaining suction line is required for the
refrigerant pump.

The two liquid lines: liquid feed make-up and pump discharge are the supply
methods for the recirculation system. As the refrigerant pump circulates liquid to the
evaporators, some of the liquid is evaporated. Eventually, the liquid level in the low-
pressure receiver will decrease. The liquid feed make-up line and some level control
device maintain the liquid level in the low-pressure receiver, i.e., a float switch or
capacitance probe.

Figure 1
Evaporator Valve Train

Wet Suction Line

Liquid Make-up Line

Dry Suction Line

Pump Discharge Line

Low-Pressure Receiver

Pump Suction Line

Refrigerant Pump
Liquid Recirculation
Recirculation rate (n) is the liquid feed rate into the evaporator coil(s) and is used for
sizing the required pump capacity. A recirculation rate where n=4 indicates a design
liquid flow rate of 4 times the refrigerant evaporation rate at 100% capacity.

Figure 2 shows the relative flow rates required on a 1 Ton (TR) basis where the
recirculation rate is 1:1 for ammonia. For example, at 10F the required flow rate
for ammonia is 0.062 GPM/TR @ 1:1 feed rate.

Assuming a load of 100 TR and a recirculation rate of 4:1 we have, 0.062 GPM/TR x
100 TR x 4:1 = 24.8 GPM required. The pump should be selected this flow rate for
to meet the 100 TR load with the evaporating temperature at 10F using ammonia
as the refrigerant.

Figure 2
0.074

0.072

0.07
G PM per Ton @ 1:1 rate

0.068

0.066

0.064

0.062

0.06

0.058

0.056
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Ev aporating T e mp. [F]

Liquid Overfeed
Overfeed is the mass fraction (liquid and vapor) exiting the evaporator coil and is
required information for proper coil circuiting. At full load where n=4 for a given
design, the evaporator will generate vapor on a ratio of 1 part vapor to 3 parts
liquid, or an overfeed ratio of 3:1.

A useful relationship is: Overfeed rate = Recirculation rate (n) -1. For an overfeed
rate of 3:1 the coil will be circuited for 25% of the entering liquid mass undergoing a
phase change to vapor, and 75% of the remaining mass existing as liquid. The
resulting vapor volume will allow the manufacturer to verify the design circuit
velocity through the evaporator for equivalent pressure drop in the design operating
condition.

By overfeeding the evaporator coil with liquid refrigerant, we can be assured of

complete wetting of the coil surface. This excess liquid with proper coil circuiting
provides relatively low circuit pressure drops and increases the evaporator capacity
approximately 10-15%. This capacity increase can be seen in the basic coil ratings
(Btuh/F TD) from any industrial refrigeration coil manufacturer for direct expansion
(DX), Flooded or Liquid Overfeed performance data. The DX rating will usually be
10-15% lower than the same total coil surface circuited for flooded or liquid overfeed
operation.

This capacity increase when using liquid overfeed is a function of the internal wetting
of the complete tube ID throughout the coil circuit length, where an on-going phase
change occurs in the refrigerant due to the applied heat load.

On DX circuited coils, approximately 10-15% of the total surface area of the coil is
used to provide superheat for thermal expansion valve control. Since the surface is
used for superheating the vapor (which is a sensible heat transfer process), the coil
capacity is lower than the same coil circuited for liquid overfeed where the entire
internal tube ID is wetted (phase change heat transfer process). Therefore, on a DX
evaporator the overfeed rate is 1:1, or 1 pound of liquid refrigerant in, and 1 pound
of superheated vapor out.

For an evaporator used in a liquid recirculation system with a recirculation rate of

4:1 we have the following:

Figure 3

Liquid Recirculation
IN (n=4, or 4:1)

Liquid Overfeed
OUT (=n-1, or 3:1)

The evaporator manufacturers concern is that the coil circuiting is correct for the
operating conditions, while the low-pressure receiver manufacturer is concerned
about the GPM required and the volume flow of vapor.

The traditional pump/receiver package consists of the following components:

Low-pressure receiver
(2) Refrigerant pumps (one operating/one standby)
Float column w/level control devices
Liquid feed valve train
Oil recovery device
Local control panel

Low-pressure Receiver
As with any system, the components selected must work together properly to
achieve the desired results. The low-pressure receiver in Figure 1 performs multiple
functions:

Separates liquid, from the vapor and liquid mixture flowing into the vessel,
 Provides adequate volume to accommodate large liquid volumes returning
through the wet suction line during defrost
Sufficient volume of liquid that provides a reserve for the pump operation.

Vessel Design Parameters

One key feature of the vessel is the pump suction line connections. While these look
like any other vessel stub connection, they serve a useful purpose more than a
connection alone. These connections should be fitted with a device called a vortex
breaker. During pump operation, the downward flow of liquid refrigerant through
the pipe creates a vortex funnel in the liquid. Figure 4 shows the typical
construction details of this device and some useful secondary components that may
be found in a low-pressure receiver.

Figure 4

Top View

If a vortex breaker is not used, a swirling motion in the liquid is created much like a
tornado, which appears as an open funnel. The interior of the cone is vapor and is
present to the bottom of the funnel. This in effect reduces the liquid head on top of
the pump and reduces the available net positive suction created.

Figure 5
The liquid refrigerant flows from the vessel into this connection in the following
sequence:

1. Around the perimeter of the impingement plate

2. Into the cone, which provides a transition zone for the liquid into the actual
pipe ID
3. Past the vortex breaker
4. Into the pump suction connection
5. Typically through an elbow and valve
6. Possibly through a reducer
7. In addition, into the pump suction connection.

A liquid level (low level pump cut-out float level) is necessary above these
components to generate sufficient head to compensate for these losses. Once these
pressure losses are accounted for, the refrigerant is close to its saturation pressure
where boiling can begin at the outlet of the bottom connection.

Therefore, you can see that there are some pressure losses inside of the low-
pressure receiver. The liquid level, above the pump suction connection, provides a
static head to compensate for the pump suction connection pressure losses. If all of
these pressure losses are considered, the Net Positive Suction Head Available
(NPSHA) starts at the pump suction connection on the low-pressure receiver.

The Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR) for the pump requirement must
account for these pressure losses. NPSHA and NPSHR will be discussed in the
following section.

Head
Static head (pressure) is generated by a column of liquid, for a given change in
elevation and liquid density. The height of the column of liquid producing that
pressure is known as the static head above some reference point. For our purposes,
this reference point is the centerline of the refrigerant pump suction connection.

Dynamic head is a pressure required to compensate for flow losses. The refrigerant
pump creates this pressure. Dynamic losses are a combination of fixed losses due to
valves and fittings plus the friction loss of the liquid flowing through the pipe, plus
the static head plus the thermal lift of the system, if any.

Liquid recirculation systems have two requirements to operate correctly: Pressure lift
and thermal lift. Pressure lift is the dynamic head of the fixed and friction losses,
while thermal lift is the equivalent pressure difference between the saturated
temperatures of the coil evaporating temperature and the low-pressure receiver
pressure. This generally only occurs when a back pressure regulator is used to
control the coil evaporating temperature at a higher level. The second section of this
presentation describes back pressure regulators operating on liquid recirculation
systems.

NPSHA Net Positive Suction Head Available

Amount of head (pressure) produced by change in elevation of liquid level above
pump suction centerline minus dynamic losses.
NPSHR - Net Positive Suction Head Required
Amount of head (pressure) required by pump under the prescribed operating
conditions.

NPSHA is the pressure available due to the useful static head. Notice the operative
term is useful. From our earlier discussion on the pump suction connections on the
low-pressure receiver, we discovered these connections have a NPSHA requirement.

Therefore, as far as the pump is concerned, the NPSHA is measured from the bottom
of the pump suction connection on the low-pressure receiver to, the pump suction
centerline. This assumes that the vortex breaker is doing its job, or the vapor funnel
discussed earlier may be present deeper inside of the pump suction line.

NPSHR is the energy it takes to force a given volume flow thru the impeller eye.
Smaller impeller eyes require higher NPSHR, than larger eyes for the same volume
flow at a given speed.

Cavitation
Cavitation is a phenomenon, which takes place whenever the pressure of the liquid is
reduced below the saturation pressure and occurs when NPSHR is greater than the
NPSHA. For one example, saturated liquid ammonia exists at 20F and 33 psig. If
the pressure is reduced, vapor (flash gas) begins to form. If the pressure is
increased, the liquid is subcooled. Therefore, on the pump suction side, we are
concerned with flash gas forming, and on the pump discharge side, we have
subcooled liquid flowing to the evaporators.

Pumps cavitate for 3 reasons. They are as follows:

1. Lack of sufficient available NPSH to satisfy conversion of pressure to velocity,
in the eye of the impeller (operating NPSH).
2. Lack of sufficient available NPSH to satisfy the conversion of pressure to
acceleration, in the suction line, as the pump is started (starting NPSH).
3. Lack of sufficient available NPSH to overcome the frictional losses in the
suction piping and the connection nozzle.

Cavitation is a vapor-binding situation where the pump does not provide the required
liquid flow. Any bubble formation that is not vented before entering the pump
suction can collect in the pump volute. As the pressure of the liquid increases, the
vapor bubbles collapse or implode.

This implosion can be heard as a rumbling noise caused by vapor bubbles in liquid
stream imploding upon reaching a high-pressure area in the pump. When vapor
bubbles implode, the collapse of the bubble allows high velocity liquid jets to form
trying to fill the void occupied by the vapor. This ultimately results in erosion of
material from the pump impeller.

A visual indication of cavitation is seen by loss or fluctuation of pump discharge

pressure. The pump volute contains vapor bubbles, which upon collapse lead to
erratic flow or complete loss of pumping ability.
Table 1

Possible causes of Potential Remedies

Cavitation
The liquid is pumping out
faster than make-up valve is
supplying liquid.
The pumping system is being
operated outside of the
balance point on the pump
curve.
Re-circulation tank pressure
decreases rapidly.
Large, sudden evaporator loads are being applied,
or the make-up valve train capacity is too small.
Double check pump discharge valve and by-pass
line to ensure pump is operating at correct point on
pump curve.
Occurs when the compressors load up too quickly,
after defrost or large loads are being applied. Rule
of thumb is to limit pressure decrease to 1-psi
reduction per minute.

Other potential cures are:

Increase liquid level in low-pressure receiver but be careful, higher liquid
levels decrease surge volume capability.
Increase NPSHA by lowering the pump suction location to a lower level.
Change the pump to a larger model operating at a lower speed to reduce
NPSHR.
Subcool the liquid in the pump suction line.
Increase the tank pressure.

Makeup Liquid Valve Train

Recent developments in control valve technology have occurred which provide for
very stable liquid feed control over float switch activated solenoid valves. The new
stepper motor technology allows the liquid feed valve to maintain constant operation
and reduces the pressure spikes so often seen when a float switch or capacitance
probe controls a solenoid valve. When stepper motors or solenoid valves are utilized
for liquid feed control they must be sized for the mass flow rate required and the
available pressure drop.

If we assume a liquid makeup solenoid, controlled by a float switch is used for liquid
level control we must accommodate the time off cycle of the liquid make-up valve
train. A reasonable time off cycle is less than half of the duration used. Assuming a
5-minute interval and a time off value of 2-minutes we find that we must supply the
desired liquid refrigerant make-up mass flow in 3-minutes. In other words, the
make-up mass flow of liquid must be accomplished during the time on interval.

Hand Expansion Valves (HEV)

The term expansion applied to these valves is really a misnomer. They do not
provide expansion capability as we use the term because an expansion process does
not take place in a HEV used in liquid recirculation systems. A hand expansion valve
is used as a head-balancing valve between other coils and the pumped liquid supply
to ensure that all coils connected to the pumped liquid supply are fed.

For example, the pump increases the pressure of the liquid; the HEV reduces the
pressure back down to the equivalent boiling pressure of the evaporator. For flow to
occur, the entering pressure must be higher than the exiting pressure of the coil.
Therefore, if the HEV is properly adjusted, the pressure of the refrigerant exiting the
hand expansion valve is the sum of the coil evaporating pressure plus the coil
pressure drop.

The hand expansion valve acts as a throttling device only from the aspect of
reducing the pump head in the liquid refrigerant, down to essentially the saturated
evaporating pressure of the coil.

As the liquid refrigerant leaves the HEV, it is at a pressure slightly above the coil
evaporating pressure to accommodate the coil pressure drop. At this point, a subtle
amount of subcooling still exists in the liquid. As soon as the liquid absorbs sufficient
heat to burn-off the subcooling, a phase change begins vigorously within the coil.

The final section of this discussion will focus on the fine points of liquid recirculation
systems.