AEng 173 Notes

AEng 173
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

Part 1.0 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 Definition of Terms, Principles, Importance and Scope

Refrigeration - the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or material and
maintaining the temperature of that space or material below the temperature of its
surroundings for storage purposes.

Air Conditioning - the simultaneous control of air temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and
distribution volume into air spaces for the comfort of occupants or the space conditions as
required by the industry.

Refrigerant - the working substance in a refrigeration system, a fluid that absorbs heat by
evaporating at a low temperature and pressure and gives up that heat by condensing at a higher
temperature and pressure.

Heat Engine, Power Cycle - a system that is operating in a cycle and producing a net quantity of
work from a supply of heat.

Refrigerating Machine, Heat Pump, Reversed cycle - a system that receives heat from a colder
body and delivers heat to a hotter body, not in violation of second law, but by virtue of work
input.

Unit of Refrigeration Capacity - the standard unit of refrigeration is ton of refrigeration (TR or
just ton). One ton of refrigeration is the rate of cooling required to freeze one ton of water at
320F into ice at 320F in one day.
1 TR = 12,000 Btu/h
= 200 Btu/min
= 4.72 hp
= 211 kJ/min
= 3.52 kW

1.2 Major Applications

1. Residential, Offices, and Large Buildings

– to supply comfortable air conditions to people, personnel, workers and occupants
and remove the heat generated internally by the people, lights and other electrical
equipment. Ex. homes, offices, hotels, theaters, hospitals

2. Industrial Plants
– controlling air conditions to be more favorable to the processing of some products
or materials. Ex. environmental laboratories, print shops, textiles, manufaturer of
precision parts, photographic shops.

3. Chemical Process Industries

– these include the manufacturers of chemicals, petroleum refineries, petrochemical
plants, paper and pulp industries, etc. Important functions served by refrigeration
are;
 separation of gases
 condensation of gases
 solidification of a substance to be separated
 maintenance of a low temperature of stored liquid
 removal of heat of reaction.

4. Transport vehicles

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AEng 173 Notes

– most conveyance vehicles are automobiles, buses, trains, trucks, sea crafts, and
aircrafts. Cooling load is mainly from solar radiation, and heat from people riders.

5. Agricultural
– most plant and animal product processing, preservation and storage functions
require much refrigeration and air conditioning. These include; crop storage
facilities, crop drying facilities, food processing plants and storage facilities, and
biological product preservations.

Important agricultural data needed in storage and processing designs:

1. Appropriate storage temperature range, T
2. Equilibrium relative humidity, RH
3. Particle density, kg/m3
4. Bulk density, kg/m3
5. Specific weight, N/m3
6. Specific heat, kJ/kg-K
7. Thermal conductivity, W/m-0C
8. Moisture content, %, etc...

1.3 Review of Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

1. Thermodynamic properties; specific, extensive, intensive properties

2. Pure Substance, Steam Quality, Refrigerant Charts
3. First Law, Energy Conservation, Bernoulli’s Principle
4. Second Law: Entropy Law
5. Ideal Gas Laws
6. Thermodynamic Processes
7. Gas Cycles/Engine: Power and Reversed Cycles
8. Modes of Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection, Radiation.

Example No. 1:

Water is pumped from a chiller in the basement where z1= 0 m, to a cooling coil located on the
twentieth floor of a building, where z2=80 m. What is the minimum pressure rise the pump must
be capable of providing if the temperature of the water is 40C? g = 9.81 m/s2, ρ =1000 kg/m3.

Hint: Use Bernoulli's Equation.

Given: z1= 0 m, z2= 80 m

g1= 9.81 m/s2
ρw=1000 kg/m3

Assume T = 40C, constant

v1= v2, inlet and outlet velocities are equal.

Find: ∆p = p2-p1, in kPa

Equation:
𝑣12 𝑝1 𝑔𝑧1 𝑣22 𝑝2 𝑔𝑧2
+ + = + +
2𝑘 𝜌 𝑘 2𝑘 𝜌 𝑘

𝑝2 −𝑝1 𝑔(𝑧1 −𝑧2 ) 9.81 𝑚/𝑠2 (0−80)𝑚

𝜌
= 𝑘
= 𝑘𝑔−𝑚 = −784.8 𝐽/𝑘𝑔
1
𝑁−𝑠2

𝐽 𝑘𝑔 𝑁−𝑚 1 𝑘𝑃𝑎
Δp = 𝑝2 − 𝑝1 = 𝜌𝑤 (−784.8 𝑘𝑔) = 1000 (−784.8 ) 103 𝑃𝑎
𝑚3 𝑘𝑔

Δp = -784.8 kPaa , decrease of pressure at the outlet top.

p1 = 784.8 kPaa, the minimum pressure the pump must provide.

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AEng 173 Notes

Example No. 2:
A refrigerating system operates on the reversed Carnot cycle. The higher temperature of the
refrigerant in the system is 1200F and the lower is 100F. The capacity is 20 tons. Neglect losses.
Determine:
(a) Coefficient of performance,
(b) Heat rejected from the system in Btu/min,
(c) Net work in Btu/min,
(d) Horsepower.

Given; T1 = 10 + 460 = 4700R

T2 = 120 + 460 = 5800F
QA = 20 TR * 200 Btu/min-TR = 4000 Btu/min

Find: COP, QR, W, hp

1 𝑇 470
(a) COP = 𝑇 −𝑇 = 580−470
= 𝟒. 𝟐𝟕𝟑
2 1

𝑄𝐴 4000
(b) ΔS = 𝑇1
= 470
= 8.511 Btu/min-0R

QR = T2 ΔS = 5800R * 8.511 Btu/min-0R = 4936 Btu/min.

(c) W = (T2 – T1) ΔS = (580 -470)0R (8.511 Btu/min-0R) = 936 Btu/min.

936 𝐵𝑡𝑢/𝑚𝑖𝑛
(d) W = 𝐵𝑡𝑢/𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 22.08 hp.
42.4
ℎ𝑝

Example No. 3
Air at 200C blows over a hot plate 50 by 75 cm maintained at 2500C. The convection heat
transfer coefficient is 25 W/m2-0C. Calculate heat transfer by convection in kW.
Given: Tw = 2500C
Ts = 200C
hc = 25 W/m2-0C
Find: Qcovec
𝑊
Equation; Q = hcA (Tw – Ts) = 25 𝑚2 −0 ( 0.5)(0.75)m2 ( 250 – 20)0C = 2,156.25 W
𝐶

Q = 2.156 kW

Example No. 4
Assuming that the plate in Ex. No. 3 is made of carbon steel (1%) 2 cm thick and that 300 W is
lost from the plate surface by radiation, calculate the inside plate temperature.
Given: k = 43 W/m-0C
Δx = 2 cm = 0.02 m
Qrad = 300 W, Qconv = 2,156 W
Find: Tin
Equation: Qcond = Qconv + Qrad
∆𝑇
-kA = 2,156 + 300 = 2,456 W
∆𝑥
(−2,456)(0.02)
ΔT = (0.5)(0.75)(43) = -3.050C

Tin = 250 + 3.05 = 253.050C