Mechanical Heat Pump

Introduction –
A heat pump is a device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a
"heat sink". Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of
spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one. A
heat pump uses some amount of external power to accomplish the work of transferring energy
from the heat source to the heat sink.

While air conditioners and freezers are familiar examples of heat pumps, the term "heat pump" is
more general and applies to many HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) devices
used for space heating or space cooling. When a heat pump is used for heating, it employs the
same basic refrigeration-type cycle used by an air conditioner or a refrigerator, but in the
opposite direction - releasing heat into the conditioned space rather than the surrounding
environment. In this use, heat pumps generally draw heat from the cooler external air or from the
ground. In heating mode, heat pumps are three to four times more efficient in their use of electric
power than simple electrical resistance heaters.

In heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) applications, the term heat pump usually
refers to easily reversible vapor-compression refrigeration devices optimized for high efficiency
in both directions of thermal energy transfer. Heat spontaneously flows from warmer places to
colder spaces. A heat pump can absorb heat from a cold space and release it to a warmer one.
"Heat" is not conserved in this process, which requires some amount of external high grade (low-
entropy) energy, such as electricity.

Heat pumps are used to provide heating because less high-grade energy is required for their
operation than appears in the released heat. Most of the energy for heating comes from the
external environment, and only a fraction comes from electricity (or some other high-grade
energy source required to run a compressor). In electrically powered heat pumps, the heat
transferred can be three or four times larger than the electrical power consumed, giving the
system a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3 or 4, as opposed to a COP of 1 for a
conventional electrical resistance heater, in which all heat is produced from input electrical
energy.
Heat pumps use a refrigerant as an intermediate fluid to absorb heat where it vaporizes, in the
evaporator, and then to release heat where the refrigerant condenses, in the condenser. The
refrigerant flows through insulated pipes between the evaporator and the condenser, allowing for
efficient thermal energy transfer at relatively long distances.

Now-a-days, energy conservation is becoming very important. Hence, Engineers have started
using heat pump systems for commercial and industrial buildings to save energy. Heat pump is
the modern expression for a refrigeration system in which heat discharged at the condenser, is of
prime importance.

The Apparatus –

Mechanical Heat Pump is a table mounted model which uses water as a heat source and sink for
both cooling and heating purposes i.e., it is a water to water heat pump.

On the unit, the compressor is mounted centrally and both evaporator and condenser are mounted
on either sides of compressor. All the components are mounted on the main unit and separated
control panel is provided in which measurement of temperature and compressor power is also
provided.

Specifications –

Compressor - Kirloskar Make, Hermetically Sealed

Model – KCJ444HAG (CAJ34G)

Capacity – 433 Kcal / hr

Expansion Device – Thermostatic Expansion Valve

Danfoss Make

Pressure Gauges - i) 0 – 300 psig for H.P.

ii) -30’’ of Hg to 150 psig for L.P.

Wika Make

HP / LP Coutout - Danfoss Make

Refrigerant – R134a (Noc CFC)

Rotameter for Liquid – Eureka Make

Refrigerant flow measurement – Range 6.6 to 66 LPH

Rotameter for water flow measurement – Eureka Make

Range – 60 to 600 LPH

Energy meter – For Compressor input power measurement

Multichannel Digital Temperature Indicator with Thermocouples – 0 – 300°C with 1°C L.C.

Procedure –

1. Start the water supply for both, Condenser and Evaporator, and adjust the flow rate to a
predetermined value.

2. Put ON the main switch and then pump motor.

3. Now, start the compressor, within a short period, clear liquid refrigerant flow will be seen in
the rotameter.

4. After sometime, the pressure of refrigeration cycle will become stable. Allow the plant to run
for atleast half an hour. During testing, see that water flow rates are constant and not varying.

5. Allow the plant to attain steady state. Check for steady state by taking the readings
periodically.

6. Take all readings as mentioned in the observation table, completing one set of observations.

7. By varying the water flow rate of condenser, effect of sub-cooling can be studied. Similarly,
by varying water flow rate of evaporator, load on the plant can be varied.
Observation Table –

A) Refrigeration Cycle –

Sr.No. Description Symbol Readings

01 Condensing Pressure Pc

02 Evaporation Pressure Pe

03 Flow rate of Refrigerant m

04 Condensing inlet temperature T1

05 Condensing outlet temperature T2

06 Evaporator inlet temperature T3

07 Evaporator outlet temperature T4

Compressor Energy
08 t
Time for 25 flashes

B) Condenser Side –

01 Water flow rate in LPH mc

02 Water inlet temperature °C

03 Water outlet temperature °C

C) Evaporator Side -
01 Water flow rate in LPH me

02 Water inlet temperature °C

03 Water outlet temperature °C

Calculations –

A) Plant Operating as Refrigeration Cycle –

1) Theoratical COP =

Where,

Heo – Enthalpy at Evaporator outlet

Hei - Enthalpy at Evaporator inlet
Hci - Enthalpy at Condenser inlet
Hco - Enthalpy at Condenser outlet

2) Actual COP =

Heat absorbed in evaporator = me cp ΔTe Kcal / hr

Where,

me = Mass flow rate of water in evaporator kg/hr

cp = Specific heat of water = 1 Kcal / kg °C

Te = Temperature difference of water in evaporator, °C

Compressor Work =

tc = Time for 25 flashes of Energy meter, sec

EMC = Energymeter constant = 3200 flashes / kW hr

3) Condenser Heat Output = mc cp ΔTc

Where,

mc = Mass flow rate of condenser water in kg/hr

cp = Specific heat of water = 1 Kcal / kg °C

Tc = Temperature difference of water in condenser, °C

4) System Energy Balance = Heat added in evaporator + Work done by Compressor = Heat
taken away in condenser

There is difference in the above balance due to various factors like losses in evaporator and
condenser, heat carried away by compressor cooling air etc.

5) Cooling Capacity of the plant = tons of refrigeration

B) CYCLE OPERATING AS A HEAT PUMP –

1) Theoratical COP =

Where,

Hci - Enthalpy at Condenser inlet

Hco - Enthalpy at Condenser outlet
Heo – Enthalpy at Evaporator outlet

2) Actual COP =

3) Heating Capacity of cycle = tons of refrigeration

4) Mass flow rate of refrigerant = MR =

Where,
LPH = Rotameter reading
Sg = Specific Volume of liquid at condensing pressure
Precautions –

 Make Proper earthing for the unit

 Do not start the equipment , if
 Pressures on H.P. and L.P. sides are not equalized.
 Condenser / Evaporator flow rates are not maintained.
 The charging valve provided should not be opened unless required for charging.
 Do not increase water flow rates beyond limit.
 Operate all switches gently.
 Property Table for R134a
Pressure Temp Volume (m^3/kg) Enthalpy (kJ/kg) Entropy (kJ/kg.K)
kPa °C vf vg hf hfg hg sf sfg sg
60 -36.9 0.0007098 0.3112 3.9 223.9 227.8 0.0164 0.9481 0.9645
80 -31.1 0.0007185 0.2376 11.3 220.2 231.5 0.0472 0.9100 0.9572
100 -26.4 0.0007259 0.1926 17.3 217.2 234.5 0.0720 0.8799 0.9519
120 -22.3 0.0007324 0.1621 22.5 214.5 237.0 0.0928 0.8550 0.9478
140 -18.8 0.0007383 0.1402 27.1 212.1 239.2 0.1110 0.8337 0.9446
160 -15.6 0.0007437 0.1235 31.2 209.9 241.1 0.1270 0.8150 0.9420
180 -12.7 0.0007487 0.1104 35.0 207.9 242.9 0.1415 0.7982 0.9397
200 -10.1 0.0007534 0.0999 38.5 206.0 244.5 0.1547 0.7831 0.9378
220 -7.6 0.0007578 0.0912 41.7 204.3 245.9 0.1668 0.7693 0.9361
240 -5.4 0.0007620 0.0839 44.7 202.6 247.3 0.1780 0.7566 0.9347
260 -3.2 0.0007661 0.0777 47.5 201.0 248.6 0.1885 0.7448 0.9333
280 -1.2 0.0007699 0.0724 50.2 199.5 249.7 0.1984 0.7338 0.9322
300 0.7 0.0007737 0.0677 52.8 198.1 250.9 0.2077 0.7234 0.9311
320 2.5 0.0007773 0.0636 55.2 196.7 251.9 0.2165 0.7137 0.9301
340 4.2 0.0007808 0.0600 57.5 195.4 252.9 0.2248 0.7044 0.9293
360 5.8 0.0007842 0.0567 59.8 194.1 253.8 0.2328 0.6956 0.9284
400 8.9 0.0007907 0.0512 64.0 191.6 255.6 0.2477 0.6793 0.9270
500 15.7 0.0008060 0.0411 73.4 186.0 259.3 0.2803 0.6438 0.9241
600 21.6 0.0008200 0.0343 81.5 180.9 262.4 0.3081 0.6138 0.9219
700 26.7 0.0008332 0.0294 88.8 176.2 265.1 0.3324 0.5876 0.9200
800 31.3 0.0008459 0.0256 95.5 171.8 267.3 0.3541 0.5643 0.9184
900 35.5 0.0008581 0.0227 101.6 167.7 269.3 0.3739 0.5431 0.9170
1000 39.4 0.0008701 0.0203 107.4 163.7 271.0 0.3920 0.5237 0.9157
1200 46.3 0.0008935 0.0167 117.8 156.1 273.9 0.4245 0.4886 0.9131
1400 52.4 0.0009167 0.0141 127.3 148.9 276.2 0.4533 0.4573 0.9106
1600 57.9 0.0009401 0.0121 136.0 141.9 277.9 0.4792 0.4287 0.9080
1800 62.9 0.0009640 0.0106 144.1 135.1 279.2 0.5031 0.4020 0.9051
2000 67.5 0.0009888 0.0093 151.8 128.3 280.1 0.5252 0.3767 0.9020
2500 77.6 0.0010569 0.0069 169.7 111.2 280.9 0.5755 0.3170 0.8925
3000 86.2 0.0011413 0.0053 186.6 92.6 279.2 0.6215 0.2578 0.8792