AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

EXPERIMENT
PROPOSAL

COURSE CODE BDA37201

COURSE ENGINEERING LABORATORY V

SEMESTER /
SEM 2 SESSION 2018/2019
SESSION

SHAKTIVELL A/L M.LETCHUMANAN (DD160012)

MUHAMMAD AMIR BIN KUHAMMAD (CD160028)

NAME & SYAHRUL NIZAR BIN ANUAR (AD160189)

MATRIX TEO TING HE (DD160016)

NARENDRAAN RAO A/L SUBBA RAO (DD160013)

SECTION 9
1.0 ABSTRACT

In keeping with the focus on physically applying the concepts learned in the classroom, our team
of engineering students has compiled a laboratory experiment displaying the basic
thermodynamic cycle found in air conditioning systems. This vapor compression cycle is
displayed on a visualization board that features all four major components of the system: the
compressor, the evaporator, the condenser, and the throttling valve. Students will take
measurements of temperature and pressure at each stage in the cycle and also gauge the power
draw from the compressor to gain an understanding of how performance come into play for these
devices. Students will also understanding key cycle parameters in order to grasp the effects of
pressure and temperature values on system capability.

2.0 INTRODUCTION

An open-ended lab is where students are given the freedom to develop their own experiments,
instead of merely following the already set guidelines from a lab manual or elsewhere. Making
labs open-ended pushes students to think for themselves and think harder. The students here have
to devise their own strategies and back them with explanations, theory and logical justification.
This not only encourages students to come up with their experiments, but requires them to
defend themselves and their experiment, if questioned.

3.0 OBJECTIVE

• To study the air refrigeration cycle

• To construct the experiment that measure the COP of the air conditioning system and
construct P-h diagram.
• To understand the psychrometric processes and analyze using psychrometric chart.
4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Vapour compression refrigeration cycle

A vapour compression refrigeration system is an improved type of air refrigeration system in

which a suitable working substance, termed as refrigerant is used. It condenses and evaporates at
temperatures and pressures close to the atmospheric conditions. The refrigerant used does not
leave the system but is circulated throughout the system alternately condensing and evaporating.
The vapour compression refrigeration system is now days used for all-purpose refrigeration. It is
used for all industrial purpose from a small domestic refrigerator to a big air conditioning plant.

The vapour compression refrigeration cycle is based on the following factor:

- Refrigerant flow rate.

- Type of refrigerant used.

- Kind of application viz air-conditioning, refrigeration,

dehumidification etc. The operation design parameters.

- The system equipments/ components proposed to be used in the system.

The vapour compression refrigeration cycle is based on a circulating fluid media, viz, a
refrigerant having special properties of vaporizing at temperatures lower than the ambient and
condensing back to the liquid form, at slightly higher than ambient conditions by controlling the
saturation temperature and pressure. Thus, when the refrigerant evaporates or boils at
temperatures lower than ambient, it extracts or removes heat from the load and lower the
temperature consequently providing cooling. The super-heated vapour pressure is increased to a
level by the compressor to reach a saturation pressure so that heat added to vapour is dissipated/
rejected into the atmosphere, using operational ambient conditions, with cooling medias the
liquid from and recycled again to form the refrigeration cycle. The components used are:

1. Evaporator
2. Compressor
3. Condenser and receiver
4. Throttling device

The working of vapour compression refrigeration cycle and function of each above
component is given below.
Evaporator:

The liquid refrigerant from the condenser at high pressure is fed through a throttling device to an
evaporator at a low pressure. On absorbing the heat to be extracted from Media to be cooled, the
liquid refrigerant boils actively in the evaporator and changes state. The refrigerant gains latent
heat to vaporizes at saturation temperature/ pressure and further absorbs sensible heat from
media to be cooled and gets fully vaporized and super heated. The “temperature-pressure relation
chart” table can determine the pressure and temperature in the evaporator.

Compressor:

The low temperature, pressure, superheated vapour from the evaporator is conveyed through
suction line and compressed by the compressor to a high pressure, without any change of
gaseous state and the same is discharge into condenser. During this process heat is added to the
refrigerant and known as heat of compression ratio to raise the pressure of refrigerant to such a
level that the saturation temperature of the discharge refrigerant is higher than the temperature
of the available cooling medium, to enable the super heated refrigerant to condense at
normal ambient condition.
Condenser :

The heat added in the evaporator and compressor to the refrigerant is rejected in
condenser at high temperature/ high pressure. This super heated refrigerant vapour enters
the condenser to dissipate its heat in three stages. First on entry the refrigerant loses its
super heat, it then loses its latent heat at which the refrigerant is liquefied at saturation
temperature pressure. This liquid loses its sensible heat, further and the refrigerant leaves
the condenser as a sub cooled liquid. The heat transfer from refrigerant to cooling medium
(air or water) takes place in the condenser. The sub-cooled liquid from condenser is
collected in a receiver (wherever provided) and is then fed through the throttling device by
liquid line to the evaporator.
There are several methods of dissipating the rejected heat into the atmosphere by
condenser.

These are water-cooled, air cooled or evaporative cooled condensers.

In the water-cooled condenser there are several types viz. Shell and tube, shell and coil,
tube in tube etc. In Evaporative cooled condenser, both air and water are used. Air-cooled
condensers are prime surface type, finned type or plate type.

The selecting of the type depends upon the application and availability of soft water.
.
Throttling device:

The high-pressure liquid from the condenser is fed to evaporator through device, which should
be designed to pass maximum possible liquid refrigerant to obtain a good refrigeration effect.
The liquid line should be properly sized to have minimum pressure drop.
The throttling device is a pressure-reducing device and a regulator for controlling the refrigerant
flow. It also reduces the pressure from the discharge pressure to the evaporator pressure without
any change of state of the pressure refrigerant. The types of throttling devices are: Capillary
tubes

- Thermostatic expansion valves Hand

- expansion valves
- Hand valves.

The most commonly used throttling device is the capillary tube for application upto approx. 10
refrigeration tons. The capillary is a copper tube having a small dia-orifice and is selected, based
on the system design, the refrigerant flow rate, the operating parameters (such as suction and
discharge pressures), type of refrigerant, capable of compensating any variations/ fluctuations in
load by allowing only liquid refrigerant to flow to the evaporator.
The most commonly used throttling device is the capillary tube for application up to approx. 10
refrigeration tons. The capillary is a copper tube having a small die-orifice and is selected, based
on the system design, the refrigerant flow rate, the operating parameters (such as suction and
discharge pressures), type of refrigerant, capable of compensating any variations/ fluctuations in
load by allowing only liquid refrigerant to flow to the evaporator.

This same system plotted on a graph of temperature vs. entropy is shown in Figure 2. The cycle
moves from points 1 to 5 in Figure 2 in the same manner as Figure 1. The best way to understand
this cycle is to look at the two figures as if they were one.

The compressor absorbs work energy from an electricity source (ẆC), such as a wall plug,
which is the pure compression from state 1 to 2 in Figure 2. The condenser then releases heat
energy to the environment (Q̇ out), leaving that environment warmer, which is the process from
2 to 4. The expansion device controls the rate of flow of refrigerant while keeping the internal
energy constant, which is the process 4 to 5. The evaporator absorbs heat energy from the
environment (Q̇ in), leaving that area colder, which is the process 5 to 1. This cycle then repeats
itself to provide cooling for long periods of time

5.0 THEORY

COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE, COP

The coefficient of performance, COP, of a refrigerator is defined as the heat removed from
the cold reservoir Qcold, (i.e. inside a refrigerator) divided by the work W done to remove the heat
(i.e. the work done by the compressor).

As can be seen, the better (more efficient) the refrigerator is when more heat Qcold can be
removed from the inside of the refrigerator for a given amount of work. Since the first law of
thermodynamics must be valid also in this case (Qcold + W = Qhot), we can rewrite the above
equation:

For an ideal refrigerator (without losses and irreversibilities) can be derived that:

These formulas are applied also for an air conditioner, which works very much like a
refrigerator.
On the other hand, the COP for heating and cooling are different.
Analyze using psychrometric chart

In the design and analysis of air conditioning plants, the fundamental requirement is to identify
the various processes being performed on air. Once identified, the processes can be analyzed by
applying the laws of conservation of mass and energy. All these processes can be plotted easily
on a psychrometric chart. This is very useful for quick visualization and also for identifying the
changes taking place in important properties such as temperature, humidity ratio, enthalpy etc.
The important processes that air undergoes in a typical air conditioning plant are discussed
below.

a) Sensible cooling:
During this process, the moisture content of air remains constant but its temperature decreases as
it flows over a cooling coil. For moisture content to remain constant, the surface of the cooling
coil should be dry and its surface temperature should be greater than the dew point temperature
of air. If the cooling coil is 100% effective, then the exit temperature of air will be equal to the
coil temperature. However, in practice, the exit air temperature will be higher than the cooling
coil temperature. Figure 28.1 shows the sensible cooling process O-A on a psychrometric chart.
The heat transfer rate during this process is given by:

Sensible cooling process O-A on psychometric chart

b) Sensible heating (Process O-B):

During this process, the moisture content of air remains constant and its temperature increases as
it flows over a heating coil. The heat transfer rate during this process is given by:

Sensible heating process on psychometric chart

c) Cooling and dehumidification (Process O-C):

When moist air is cooled below its dew-point by bringing it in contact with a cold surface as
shown in Fig.28.3, some of the water vapor in the air condenses and leaves the air stream as
liquid, as a result both the temperature and humidity ratio of air decreases as shown. This is the
process air undergoes in a typical air conditioning system. Although the actual process path will
vary depending upon the type of cold surface, the surface temperature, and flow conditions, for
simplicity the process line is assumed to be a straight line. The heat and mass transfer rates can
be expressed in terms of the initial and final conditions by applying the conservation of mass and
conservation of energy equations as given below:
 Cooling and dehumidification process (O-C)

d) Heating and Humidification (Process O-D):

During winter it is essential to heat and humidify the room air for comfort. As shown in
Fig.28.5., this is normally done by first sensibly heating the air and then adding water vapour to
the air stream through steam nozzles as shown in the figure.

Heating and humidification process

e) Cooling & humidification (Process O-E):

As the name implies, during this process, the air temperature drops and its humidity increases.
This process is shown in Fig.28.6. As shown in the figure, this can be achieved by spraying cool
water in the air stream. The temperature of water should be lower than the dry-bulb temperature
of air but higher than its dew-point temperature to avoid condensation (T< T< TDPT w O).

Cooling and humidification process

6.0 APPARATUS

1. Compressor
- Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can
transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also
reduces the volume of a gas. Liquids are relatively incompressible; while some can be
compressed, the main action of a pump is to pressurize and transport liquids.
2. Water Meter gauge
- This meter gauge measures water flow in m3/h.
3. Power Meter Gauge
- This meter measures the power used in unit of kW.
4. Water Flow Exchanger
- A heat exchanger is a device used to transfer heat between two or more fluids. In
other words, heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The
fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct
contact.
7.0 EXPERIMENT PROCEDURES

PRE-OPERATION

1. Check the refrigerant pressure by observing the pressure gauges. In the balance condition,
when the system is not active, the normal pressures should be 145 psig (1 bar=14.5 psig)
at the suction as well as at the discharge.
2. Make sure that steam generator water inlet is connected to water source and the water
tank is filled with fresh water for approximately 19 liter.
3. Fill the water reservoirs on the wet bulb sensors with distilled water.
4. Set the manometer to zero scale by turning the zero set.
5. Make sure that selector switches (steam generator, pre-heater, re-heater and compressor)
on control panel are in OFF position.
6. Make sure that thermostats (steam generator, pre-heater and re-heater) is adjusted to 0 oC.
7. Switch ON all of the circuit breakers (F1-F10).

EXPERIMENT 1: OPERATION FOR CALCULATING COP AND ENTHALPY

CHANGE RATE OF AIR AND REFRIGERANT

1. Press the “START” push button on the control panel box.

2. Turn ON and adjust the fan speed to maximum position by turning the fan speed control.
3. Set the thermostat pre-heater and re-heater to 50oC – 60oC.
4. Adjust the pre-heater switch to 1 kW of power usage.
5. Adjust the re-heater power switch to 0.5 kW of power usage.
6. Switch ON the compressor power and let the system running for about 15 minutes.
7. When the system running, observe and record the following conditions in table.
8. After completing the observation, switch OFF the pre-heater, re-heater, and the
compressor.
9. Let the fan running for about 5 minutes to circulate the air and the press the STOP push
button.
10. Use the pressure-enthalpy diagram to complete the result data in table.

EXPERIMENT 2: OPERATION FOR COOLING AND HUMIDIFYING PROCESSES

After completing the experiment 1, do the following steps to conduct the experiment 2.

1. Press the “START” push button on the control panel box.

2. Set the steam generator thermostat to 105oC.
3. Turn ON and adjust the fan speed to maximum position by turning the fan speed control.
 4. Adjust the steam generator switch to 5kW of power usage and allow it working for about
20 minutes.
5. Observe and record the following in the table.
6. After completing this experiment, switch OFF the steam generator switch and adjust the
corresponding thermostat to 0oC.
7. Let the fan running for about 5 minutes to circulate the air and the press the STOP push
button.

8.0 DATA SHEET

Table 1: Pressure and temperature measurement

No. Measurement Point Value Unit

1 Discharge pressure PSIG
2 Suction pressure PSIG
3 Before condenser temperature (5A)
ºC
4 After condenser temperature (6A) ºC
5 Before TXV temperature (7A) ºC
6 After evaporator temperature (8A) ºC
7 Before ºC

Table 2: Thermodynamics properties of the refrigerant in system

No. Measurement point Value Unit

1 Discharge pressure Mpa
2 Suction pressure Mpa
3 Start compressing enthalpy point (h1) kj/kg
4 Start condensation enthalpy point (h2) kj/kg
5 End condensation enthalpy point (h3) Kj/kg
6 Start evaporation enthalpy point (h4) Kj/kg

Table 3: Humidifying

NO. Measurement Temperature (ºC) Value

1 Inlet air T1A dry bulb
T2B wet bulb
2 Outlet air T2A dry bulb
T2B wet bulb
9.0 REFERENCE

1. Lab Manual _ REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING (2161908)

2. Air-conditioned University Laboratories: Comparing CO2 Measurement for

Centralized and Split-unit Systems, August 2014, Journal of King Saud University

3. Çengel, Y. A., & Boles, M. A. (2001). Thermodynamics: An engineering approach.

Boston: McGraw-Hill.