Hand out 2 Refrigeration and Air-conditioning

Vapor-compression Refrigeration

Vapor-compression refrigeration is one of the many refrigeration cycles available for use. It has been and
is the most widely used method for air-conditioning of large public buildings, offices, private residences,
hotels, hospitals, theaters, restaurants and automobiles. It is also used in domestic and commercial
refrigerators, large-scale warehouses for chilled or frozen storage of foods and meats, refrigerated trucks
and railroad cars, and a host of other commercial and
industrial services. Oil refineries, petrochemical and
chemical processing plants, and natural gas processing
plants are among the many types of industrial plants
that often utilize large vapor-compression refrigeration
systems.

The vapor-compression uses a circulating liquid

refrigerant as the medium which absorbs and removes
heat from the space to be cooled and subsequently
rejects that heat elsewhere. Figure depicts a typical,
single-stage vapor-compression system. All such
systems have four components: a compressor, a
condenser, a Thermal expansion valve (also called a
throttle valve), and an evaporator.

Compressor
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. There are
various types of compressors available to use as gas compressor in a refrigeration system.

Compressors are often described as being open, hermetic, or semi-hermetic, to describe how the
compressor and motor drive is situated in relation to the gas or vapour being compressed. The industry
name for a hermetic is hermetically sealed compressor, while a semi- is commonly called a semi-
hermetic compressor.

In hermetic and most semi-hermetic compressors, the compressor and motor driving the compressor are
integrated, and operate within the pressurized gas envelope of the system. The motor is designed to operate
and be cooled by the gas or vapour being compressed. The primary advantage of a hermetic and semi-
hermetic is that there is no route for the gas to leak out of the system. Open compressors rely on either
natural leather or synthetic rubber seals to retain the internal pressure, and these seals require a lubricant
such as oil to retain their sealing properties. By comparison, a hermetic system can sit unused for years, and
can usually be started up again at any time without requiring maintenance or experiencing any loss of
system pressure.

1. Hermetic Compressor: A hermetic compressor uses a one-piece welded steel casing that
cannot be opened for repair; if the hermetic fails it is simply replaced with an entire new unit.
 2. Semi-hermetic Compressor: A semi-hermetic uses a large cast metal shell with gasketed
covers that can be opened to replace motor and pump components.

Hermit Compressor Semi-hermit compressor

The disadvantage of hermetic compressors is that the motor drive cannot be repaired or maintained,
and the entire compressor must be removed if a motor fails. A further disadvantage is that burnt
out windings can contaminate whole systems requiring the system to be entirely pumped down and
the gas replaced. Typically hermetic compressors are used in low-cost factory-assembled consumer
goods where the cost of repair is high compared to the value of the device, and it would be more
economical to just purchase a new device.

3. Open drive compressor- An open drive

compressor has a motor drive which is outside
of the refrigeration system, and provides drive
to the compressor by means of an input shaft
with suitable gland seals. Open compressor
motors are typically air cooled and can be fairly
easily exchanged or repaired without degassing
of the refrigeration system. The disadvantage
of this type of compressor is a failure of the
shaft seals, leading to loss of refrigerant.

Open motor compressors are generally easier to

cool (using ambient air) and therefore tend to
be simpler in design and more reliable, especially in high pressure applications where
compressed gas temperatures can be very high. An advantage of open compressors is that they
can be driven by non-electric power sources, such as an internal combustion engine or turbine.
However, open compressors that drive refrigeration systems are generally not totally
maintenance free throughout the life of the system, since some gas leakage will occur over
time.

Apart from above classification compressor can be classified according to their working mechanism:
1. Reciprocating compressor -Reciprocating compressors
use pistons driven by a crankshaft. They can be either
stationary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and
can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion
engines. Small reciprocating compressors from 5 to
30 horsepower (hp) are commonly seen in automotive
applications and are typically for intermittent duty.
Larger reciprocating compressors well over 1,000 hp
(750 kW) are commonly found in large industrial and
petroleum applications. Discharge pressures can range from low pressure to very high pressure
(>18000 psi or 180 MPa). In certain applications, such as air compression, multi-stage double-
acting compressors are said to be the most efficient compressors available, and are typically
larger, and more costly than comparable rotary units. [6] Another type of reciprocating
compressor is the swash plate compressor, which uses pistons which are moved by a swash
plate mounted on a shaft - see Axial Piston Pump. Household, home workshop, and smaller job
site compressors are typically reciprocating compressors 1½ hp or less with an attached
receiver tank

2. Rotary vane compressors consist of a

rotor with a number of blades inserted in
radial slots in the rotor. The rotor is
mounted offset in a larger housing which
can be circular or a more complex shape.
As the rotor turns, blades slide in and out
of the slots keeping contact with the
outer wall of the housing. Thus, a series
of decreasing volumes is created by the
rotating blades. Rotary Vane
compressors are, with piston
compressors one of the oldest of
compressor technologies. With suitable
port connections, the devices may be
either a compressor or a vacuum pump. They can be either stationary or portable, can be single
or multi-staged, and can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion engines. Dry vane
machines are used at relatively low pressures (e.g., 2 bar or 200 kPa; 29 psi) for bulk material
movement while oil-injected machines have the necessary volumetric efficiency to achieve
pressures up to about 13 bar (1,300 kPa; 190 psi) in a single stage. A rotary vane compressor
is well suited to electric motor drive and is significantly quieter in operation than the equivalent
piston compressor. Rotary vane compressors can have mechanical efficiencies of about 90%.
3. Rotary screw compressors use two meshed rotating
positive-displacement helical screws to force the gas into
a smaller space. These are usually used for continuous
operation in commercial and industrial applications and
may be either stationary or portable. Their application can
be from 3 horsepower (2.2 kW) to over 1,200 horsepower
(890 kW) and from low pressure to moderately high
pressure (>1,200 psi or 8.3 MPa).Rotary screw
compressors are commercially produced in Oil Flooded, Water Flooded and Dry type.

4. Scroll compressor, also known as scroll pump and

scroll vacuum pump, uses two interleaved spiral-
like vanes to pump or compress fluids such as
liquids and gases. The vane geometry may be
involute, Archimedean spiral, or hybrid curves.
They operate more smoothly, quietly, and reliably
than other types of compressors in the lower volume
range. Often, one of the scrolls is fixed, while the
other orbits eccentrically without rotating, thereby
trapping and pumping or compressing pockets of
fluid or gas between the scrolls. This type of
compressor was used as the supercharger on Volkswagen G60 and G40 engines in the early
1990s.

5. Centrifugal compressor -
Centrifugal compressors use a
rotating disk or impeller in a
shaped housing to force the gas to
the rim of the impeller, increasing
the velocity of the gas. A diffuser
(divergent duct) section converts
the velocity energy to pressure
energy. They are primarily used for continuous, stationary service in industries such as oil
refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants and natural gas processing plants. Their
application can be
The vapor-compression uses a circulating liquid refrigerant as the medium which absorbs and removes
heat from the space to be cooled and subsequently rejects that heat elsewhere. Figure depicts a typical,
single-stage vapor-compression system. All such systems have four components: a compressor, a
condenser, a Thermal expansion valve (also called a throttle valve), and an evaporator.

Condenser
A condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state. In so
doing, the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant. Condensers
are typically heat exchangers which have various designs and come in many sizes ranging from rather small
(hand-held) to very large industrial-scale units used in plant processes. For example, a refrigerator uses a
condenser to get rid of heat extracted from the interior of the unit to the outside air.

There are various types condensers used in refrigeration systems; examples are

1. Air cooled Condenser – In this condenser when the refrigerant vapour is passed through the
condenser as it exposed to air with higher temperature than the boiling point of the refrigerant
vapour, then vapour will turn in to the liquid naturally
There are 2 types of air cooled condensers
1.1 Natural convection type air cooled condenser – The condensation process will happened
as natural convection. For smaller refrigeration system this type is suitable.
1.2 Forced convetion type air cooled condenser – The condensation process will be forced
by passing hot air through the condenser coil to increase the efficiency of condensation.
For larger refigeration system this type is suitable

Natural convection type Forced convection type

2. Water cooled condenser – Water is used to remove the

heat from the refrigerant vapour during the condensation.
Water pumps are used to move the water within the
condensation system. More suitable for larger refrigeration
system
The vapor-compression uses a circulating liquid refrigerant as the medium which absorbs and removes heat
from the space to be cooled and subsequently rejects that heat elsewhere. Figure depicts a typical, single -
stage vapor-compression system. All such systems have four components: a compressor, a condenser, a
Thermal expansion valve (also called a throttle valve), and an evaporator.

Evaporator
Evaporator is a device used to turn (or allow to turn) the liquid form of
some chemical into its gaseous form. For example, an evaporator is
used in an air conditioning system to allow the compressed cooling
chemical (for example, Freon) to evaporate from liquid to gas,
absorbing heat in the process. The evaporators are other important parts
of the refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Through the
evaporators that the cooling affect is produced in the refrigeration
systems.

Inside the refrigeration evaporator, refrigerant is changing state from a liquid to a vapor (boiling), at a
pressure and temperature that's about 15° to 20° below the desired final temperature of the space or product
being cooled. The system is designed so that the refrigerant will be almost totally vaporized by the
combination of the pressure drop through the metering device and the heat load being absorbed from
whatever the system is cooling. In a medium temperature reach-in or walk-in refrigerator, evaporating
temperature at or near design conditions should be about 20° to 25°. In a reach-in or walk-in freezer;
evaporating temperature at or near design conditions should be about -10° to -20°. With both medium
temperature and low temperature fan coil evaporator units, my experience has been that once the box has
cooled to within about 10° of desired temperature, a temperature difference of 4° to 6° between entering air
and leaving air is normal. If the temperature difference is less than 3° or more than 10°, check the
refrigeration evaporator coil and fan, and check all of the system's operating characteristics.

In the evaporator the refrigerant enters at very low pressure and temperature after passing through the
expansion valve. This refrigerant absorbs the heat from the substance that is to be cooled so the refrigerant
gets heated while the substance gets cooled. Even after cooling the substance the temperature of the
refrigerant leaving the evaporator is less the than the substance. The refrigerant leaves the evaporator in
vapor state, mostly superheated and is absorbed by the compressor.

Types of Evaporators

In the large refrigeration and air conditioning plants the evaporator is used for chilling the water. In such
cases shell and tube type of heat exchangers are used as the evaporators. In such plants the evaporators or
the chillers are classified as:

1) Dry expansion type of evaporators

2) Flooded type of the evaporators

In case of the dry expansion type of chillers or evaporators the flow of the refrigerant to the evaporators is
controlled by the expansion valve. The expansion valve allows the flow of the refrigerant depending on the
refrigeration load. In case of the shell and tube type of evaporators the refrigerant flows along the tube side,
while the substance to be chilled (usually water or brine) flows long the shell side. In case of the flooded
the evaporator is filled with the refrigerant and constant level of the refrigerant is maintained inside it. In
these evaporators or the chillers the refrigerant is along shell side while the substance to be chilled or freezer
flows along the tube side of the heat exchanger.

Though this classification is also applicable to the domestic refrigerators and the air conditioners, the
evaporators used in these systems are classified based on their construction. The evaporators are classified
based on the construction as:

1) Bare tube or plane coil evaporators

2) Plate surface evaporators

3) Finned evaporators

The bare tube evaporators are the

simple copper coil evaporators over
which the substance to be cooled
flows. The plate surface evaporators
are commonly used in the household
refrigerators. These evaporators are
also in the form of coil which is
attached to the plate. The finned
evaporators are also made of copper
coil with fins on the external surface as
well on the internal surface.

The vapor-compression uses a circulating liquid refrigerant as the medium which absorbs and removes
heat from the space to be cooled and subsequently rejects that heat elsewhere. Figure depicts a typical,
single-stage vapor-compression system. All such systems have four components: a compressor, a
condenser, a Thermal expansion valve (also called a throttle valve), and an evaporator.

Thermal expansion valve (often abbreviated as TEV, TXV or TX valve)

Thermal expansion valve is a component in refrigeration and air conditioning systems that controls the
amount of refrigerant flow into the evaporator thereby controlling the superheating at the outlet of the
evaporator. Thermal expansion valves are often referred to generically as "metering devices".

Flow control, or metering, of the refrigerant is accomplished by use of a temperature sensing bulb filled
with a similar gas as in the system that causes the valve to open against the spring pressure in the valve
body as the temperature on the bulb increases. As temperatures in the evaporator decreases, so does the
pressure in the bulb and therefore on the spring causing the valve to close. An air conditioning system with
a TX valve is often more efficient than other designs that do not use one.
A thermal expansion valve is a key element to a refrigeration
cycle; the cycle that makes air conditioning, or air cooling,
possible. A basic refrigeration cycle consists of four major
elements, a compressor, a condenser, a metering device and
an evaporator. As a refrigerant passes through a circuit
containing these four elements, air conditioning occurs. The
cycle starts when refrigerant enters the compressor in a low
pressure, low temperature, and gaseous form. The refrigerant
is compressed by the compressor to a high pressure and
temperature gaseous state. The high pressure and temperature
gas then enters the condenser. The condenser precipitates the
high pressure and temperature gas to a high temperature
liquid by transferring heat to a lower temperature medium,
usually ambient air. The high temperature liquid then enters
the expansion valve where the TX valve allows a portion of
the refrigerant to enter the evaporator. In order for the higher
temperature fluid to cool, the flow must be limited into the
evaporator to keep the pressure low and allow expansion back
into the gas phase.

Types of expansion valve

Thermostatic expansion valve – The process of the valve action is same as the
normal expansion valve, but according to the temperature of the refrigerating
environment thermo stat will control refrigerant flow to the evaporator through
the valve by closing and opening the valve to the evaporator. Used in Larger
refrigeration systems.

Capillary tube – A long length of small diameter tubing which connect the
liquid line and the evaporator. Capillary tube reduce the refrigerant liquid
temperature by reducing flow diameter and as the liquid enter the evaporator
the diameter increases and reduce the pressure of the refrigerant liquid. Used
in smaller refrigeration systems
Automatic expansion valve - An expansion valve which
operate according to the pressure inside the evaporator. As
the pressure within the evaporator is reduced the expansion
valve open and allow refrigerant liquid to move into the
evaporator and get evaporated. Hence, these types of valve
maintain constant pressure within the evaporator.

Refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle usually including, for enhanced efficiency, a reversible
phase change from a liquid to a gas. Traditionally, fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, were
used as refrigerants, but they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion effects. Other
common refrigerants used in various applications are ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and non-halogenated
hydrocarbons such as methane.

Properties

The ideal refrigerant has favorable thermodynamic properties, is uncreative chemically, and
safe. The desired thermodynamic properties are a boiling point somewhat below the target
temperature, a high heat of vaporization, a moderate density in liquid form, a relatively
high density in gaseous form, and a high critical temperature. Since boiling point and gas
density are affected by pressure, refrigerants may be made more suitable for a particular
application by choice of operating pressure. These properties are ideally met by the
chlorofluorocarbons. Corrosion properties are a matter of materials compatibility with the
mechanical components: compressor, piping, evaporator, and condenser. Safety considerations
include toxicity and flammability.

Application of refrigerants

Natural refrigerants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and non-halogenated hydrocarbons

preserve the ozone layer and have no (ammonia) or only a low (carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons)
global warming potential. They are used in air-conditioning systems for buildings, in sport and
leisure facilities, in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, in the automotive industry and above
all in the food industry (production, storage, and retailing). New applications are opening up for
natural refrigerants for example in vehicle air-conditioning.

Emissions from automotive air-conditioning are a growing concern because of their impact on
climate change. From 2011 on, the European Union will phase out refrigerants with a global
warming potential (GWP) of more than 150 in automotive air conditioning (GWP = 100 year
warming potential of one kilogram of a gas relative to one kilogram of CO 2 ). This will ban
potent greenhouse gases such as the refrigerant HFC-134a—which has a GWP of 1410—to
promote safe and energy-efficient refrigerants. One of the most promising alternatives is the
natural refrigerant CO 2 (R-744). Carbon dioxide is non-flammable, non-ozone depleting, has a
global warming potential of 1, but is toxic and potentially lethal in concentrations above 5% by
volume. R-744 can be used as a working fluid in climate control systems for cars, residential air
conditioning, hot water pumps, commercial refrigeration, and vending machines. R12 is
compatible with mineral oil, while R134a is compatible with synthetic oil. GM has announced
that it will start using Hydrofluoric olefin, HFO-1234yf, in all of its brands by 2013. This new
refrigerant has a GWP rating of 4 and is not a blend. Dimethyl ether (DME) is also gaining
popularity as a refrigerant. Some refrigerants, such as tetrafluoroethane, are seeing rising use as
recreational drugs, leading to an extremely dangerous phenomenon known as inhalant abuse.

Examples of Refrigerants

 R-401A is a HCFC zeotropic blend of R-32, R-152a, and R-124. It is designed as a replacement
for R-12.
 R-404A is a HFC "nearly azeotropic" blend of 52 wt. % R-143a, 44 wt. % R-125, and 4 wt. % R-
134a. It is designed as a replacement of R-22 and R-502 CFC. Its boiling point at normal pressure
is -46.5 °C; its liquid density is 0.485 g/cm3 .
 R-406A is a zeotropic blend of 55 wt. % R-22, 4 wt. % R-600a, and 41 wt. % R-142b.
 R-407A is a HFC zeotropic blend of 20 wt.% R-32, 40 wt.% R-125, and 40 wt.% R-134a.
 R-407C is a zeotropic hydrofluorocarbon blend of R-32, R-125, and R-134a. The R-32 serves to
provide the heat capacity, R-125 decreases flammability, R-134a reduces pressure.
 R-408A is a zeotropic HCFC blend of R-22, R-125, and R-143a. It is a substitute for R-502. Its
boiling point is -44.4 °C.
 R-409A is a zeotropic HCFC blend of R-22, R-124, and R-142b. Its boiling point is -35.3 °C. Its
critical temperature is 109.4 °C.
 R-410A is a near-azeotropic blend of R-32 and R-125. The US Environmental Protection Agency
recognizes it as an acceptable substitute for R-22 in household and light commercial air
conditioning systems. [16] It appears to have gained widespread market acceptance under several
trade names.
 R-500 is an azeotropic blend of 73.8 wt. % R-12 and 26.2 wt. % of R-152a.
 R-502 is an azeotropic blend of R-22 and R-115