Refrigeration - Basic Cycle Concepts

Tata Sharma

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REFRIGERATION

COMMON DEFINATIONS: Temperature: It is an indication of the level of heat in a substance.A substance at a temp. of 100 centigrade has more heat in it than the same substance at a temperature of 00centigrade. The temperature of a substance however does not give any idea of the amount of heat the substance has.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REFRIGERATION

Heat: It is a form of energy. Its units are BTU(British thermal unit in fps system)& calorie in the metric system. One calorie is the amount of heat to be added or removed to raise or lower the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REFRIGERATION

Latent Heat of Fusion:
It is the heat added to the substance at its melting point which is used to change its state from solid to liquid without rise in temperature. Heat added to ice at 00C changes the solid ice to liquid water. During this change of state the temperature remains constant,i.e. 00C. It requires a great deal of heat energy for this change of state, & the quantity of heat needed for this change is called latent heat of fusion. One kg of ice at 00C requires about 80 kcal of heat for changing its state to water at 00C.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REFRIGERATION

Latent heat of vaporization:
It is the heat required to be added to a substance at its boiling point to change its state from liquid to vapour without rise in temperature. Liquid water at 00C when heated rises in temperature, taking sensible heat(one kcal for one kg of water for 10C rise in temperature.This holds true up to 1000C. At 1000C any further addition of heat does not raise the temperature of water, but instead goes to change the liquid water to its gaseous form, namely steam. This heat is called latent heat of vaporization. One kg of water requires 538.75 kcal of heat to

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REFRIGERATION

Refrigeration:
It is the process of removing heat at a low temperature level & rejecting it at a relatively higher temperature level. By its nature, heat flows from a body at a higher temperature to another at a lower temperature. But it requires external energy to make the heat flow from a lower temperature to a higher temperature level. .

METHODS OF REFRIGERATION
Various methods of Refrigeration:

a)Vapour compression system b)Absorption system c)Steam jet refrigeration cycle

REFRIGERANTS
Refrigerants commonly used are; R-12,R22, R-717, R-134A, etc. A majority of these refrigerants have boiling points much below ordinary room temperature. So they exist as gases & only held in the liquid state by keeping them under pressure, such as in refrigerant cylinder.

REFRIGERANTS
A good refrigerant should have the following properties: High latent heat, low specific volume,low specific heat, low boiling & freezing points, low condensing pressure, high critical temperature, positive evaporative pressure, high thermal conductivity, no effect on moisture, safe & non toxic, capacity to mix with oil, no corrosive effect on metals, non poisonous, easily available & cheap.

REFRIGERANTS
Commonly used refrigerants: 1.Ammonia: Freezing temp: (-)77.80C Boiling temp: (-)33.30C It has high latent heat, moderate working pressure. Highly toxic, strong smell.It attacks brass & bronze, but non corrosive to iron & steel.

REFRIGERANTS
2. Carbon dioxide: Boiling point: (-)78.50C. It is non toxic, non corrosive & non inflammable. It finds applications where space is constraint, such as in ships.

REFRIGERANTS
3.Sulphur dioxide: Boiling temp: (-)25.60C It has low working pressure(4.5 kg/cm2). It is highly toxic, & is corrosive when in contact with moisture.It is used in small & domestic plants.

REFRIGERANTS
4. Forane 134a:

Boiling point: (-)26.40C Non flammable but break down at red heat to produce toxic fumes. Density relative to air is high. Refrigerant will settle in low points until diffusion occurs. Attacks magnesium but no other constitutional metals.

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS
Heat energy always flows naturally from a higher to a lower temperature level. That is, hot areas naturally cool off and cold areas naturally warm up. Therefore, moving heat from a lower to a higher temperature requires the input of work (or heat), usually to create a pressure differential in the cycle refrigerant. The refrigerant (acting as a heat transfer fluid) is used to transfer heat energy from a lower temperature to a higher temperature.

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS
The refrigerant is evaporated at a temperature lower than the desired temperature in the freezer or cooler. The condensing temperature of the refrigerant is increased by compression so that it can either be rejected to the environment or recovered as useful heat. The basic refrigeration cycle, with all steps combined, is shown:

REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
Step One, Evaporation: Liquid refrigerant at a sufficiently low pressure is brought into contact with the heat source (the medium to be cooled). The refrigerant absorbs heat and boils, producing a low-pressure vapor. The heat exchanger used for this process is called the evaporator.

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
Step Two, Compression:
The compressor raises the pressure of the refrigerant vapor, normally using an electric motor drive. This increases the temperature at which the vapors will condense to a temperature above the temperature of the heat sink. Most common compressors are reciprocating (piston and cylinder),screw or Centrifugal compressor.

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
Step Three, Condensing: The high-pressure refrigerant gas now carrying the heat energy absorbed at the evaporator plus the work energy from the compressor, enters the condenser. Since the refrigerants condensing temperature is higher than that of the heat sink, heat transfer will take place, condensing the refrigerant from a high-pressure vapor to a high-pressure liquid.

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
Step Four, Expansion: The condensed liquid pressure is reduced (called throttled) to the lower pressure evaporator using a valve, orifice plate or capillary tube device. In actual practice, the condenser cools the refrigerant a bit more, sub cooling it below the condensing temperature.

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
This is an important efficiency improving attribute to the cycle, since it reduces the amount of refrigerant liquid that has to evaporate (it is called flashing at this stage in the cycle) to a gas in the expansion valve to reduce the pressure and temperature of the liquid entering the evaporator. This reduction in flash gas is important to improve system performance

CONDENSER SELECTION
The type of condenser selected depends largely on the following considerations: 1. Size of the cooling load, 2. Refrigeration used, 3. Quality and temperature of available cooling water (if any), 4. Amount of water that can be circulated, if water use is acceptable.

CONDENSER SELECTION
Common types of refrigerant condensers for commercial refrigeration use are: Water Cooled, Evaporative Cooled & Air Cooled. There are three types of condensers which fall under water cooled condensers: Tube in tube or double pipe, shell & coil, shell & tube.

SHELL & TUBE CONDENSER

Hot refrigerant gas enters at the top of the shell & gets cooled & condensed to a liquid at high pressure& temperature by coming in contact with horizontal tubes which convey the cooling water.

SHELL & TUBE CONDENSER

The capacity of a condenser to reject heat depends on the difference of temperature between the condensing refrigerant & the cooling water. Thus its capacity can be increased by raising the condensing temperature or by increasing the rate of water flow.

THROTTLING DEVICES
Throttling devices are used to reduce the pressure of the liquid refrigerant from the condenser /receiver so that it can vaporize at the desired temperature in the evaporator. There are different types of throttling devices. The most commonly used are : hand expansion valve, capillary tube, constant pressure expansion valve, thermostatic expansion valve, float valves etc.

THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE(TEV)

It has two different functions. 1)The primary function is to reduce the pressure from the high value prevailing in the condenser to the low one in the evaporator. 2)Secondary function is to meter the flow of the refrigerant so that the mass flow pumped by the compressor equals that fed through the evaporator.

THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE(TEV)

3) It also meters the flow of refrigerant so that the vapour leaving the evaporator is somewhat superheated, the purpose being to ensure that only gas is pumped & that no liquid enters the compressor under any circumstances.

EVAPORATORS
Liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator absorbs heat from the air being cooled or the water chilled & boils, to effect the refrigeration duty. Two types of evaporator are in use: 1. Flooded- used mostly for water chilling. 2. Dry expansion used for both chilled water & cooling air.

EVAPORATORS
Flooded shell & tube type: 1.These are best used when there is a small temperature difference between the fluid being chilled & the refrigerant. 2.Water passes through the inside of the tubes & is chilled by heat transfer to the boiling refrigerant on the outside of the tubes, which often have an extended surface.

EVAPORATORS
Sufficient space is left in the shell above the refrigerant level for the liquid droplets to separate from the vapour removed through the suction inlet. Liquid eliminators are provided for this purpose. Liquid levels are controlled by a low or high side float valve.

COMPRESSORS
Types of refrigeration compressors used are: Reciprocating,Screw & Centrifugal compressors. The reciprocating & screw compressors are best suited for use with refrigerants which require a relatively small displacement & condense at relatively high pressure, such as R-12,R-22, Ammonia, etc.

COMPRESSORS
The centrifugal compressor is generally suitable for handling refrigerants that require large displacement & operate at low operating pressure.

COMPRESSOR SELECTION
The compressors are most often purchased as part of a complete refrigeration chiller package consisting of compressor, drive, chiller (evaporator), condenser, internal piping and necessary safety and operating controls. Reciprocating and screw compressor units are frequently used in field assembled systems. Centrifugal compressors are usually included in large packaged chillers

CAPACITY CONTROLS
Centrifugal compressor: Capacity of an evaporator is directly proportional to the rate of flow of the refrigerant in the system, the capacity of the chiller can be reduced by bringing down the rate of flow of the refrigerant. So for capacity control modulation, the rate of flow of refrigerant from the chiller to the compressor suction is controlled by suction guide vane.

ABSORBTION COOLING

VAPOUR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

The operation of the absorption cycle is as follows: The evaporator is connected to another vessel containing a substance capable of absorbing the vapour. Thus, if the refrigerant were water, a hygroscopic material such as lithium bromide could be used in the absorber. The substance used for this purpose is termed as absorbent.

VAPOUR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

The absorber & generator together take the place of the compressor in the vapour compressor cycle. As far as refrigerant is concerned, the rest of the absorption cycle is similar to the compression cycle. As for the absorbent, on leaving the generator it is, of course, returned to the absorber for another cycle.

VAPOUR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

In an absorption refrigeration system cooling water is required for both condenser & the absorber. The principal advantages of the absorption cycle over other refrigeration systems are that it can operate with low grade energy in the form of heat, indirectly as steam or high temperature hot water, or directly as gas, oil, hot exhaust gases, or solar heat.

VAPOUR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

This low pressure and vapor generation are maintained by the absorbent concentrate. The vapor flows into the absorber where it comes into contact with the strong solution from the generator. This solution is then transferred back to the generator to complete the cycle.

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