Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

An experimental investigation of a steam ejector

refrigerator: the analysis of the pressure profile along
the ejector
Kanjanapon Chunnanond, Satha Aphornratana *

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University,

P.O. Box 22, Thammasat Rangsit Post Office, Patumthani 12121, Thailand
Received 20 March 2003; accepted 24 July 2003

Abstract
In order to increase the efficiency of an ejector refrigerator, a better understanding of the flow and the
mixing through an ejector is needed. In this study, a 3 kW cooling capacity steam ejector refrigerator was
constructed. The static pressure along the ejector axis at various operating conditions was measured and
plotted. The analyzed experimental results introduced three new parameters. Using these data, the flow
characteristic through the steam ejector can be clearly understood and explained.
Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Refrigeration cycle; Ejector; Jet-pump; Experimental study

1. Introduction

Ejector refrigeration seems to be the most appropriate system for large scale refrigeration in the
present energy and environmental situation. It can utilize low-grade waste heat from power
plants, incinerators and industrial processes to generate the useful refrigeration. An ejector re-
frigeration system has a simple construction, few moving parts and no chemical corrosion.
Moreover, water, the most environmentally friendly substance can be used as the working fluid.
One weak point is its low COP and cooling capacity. If this problem can be solved, an ejector
refrigerator will become a serious competitor to other types of refrigeration.

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +662-986-9009x2210; fax: +662-986-9009x2201.
E-mail address: satha@siit.tu.ac.th (S. Aphornratana).

1359-4311/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2003.07.003
312 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

In order to improve the performance of an ejector, the flow characteristics through it should be
clearly explained. Many researchers have been attempting to explain this by establishing some
theories, models and assumptions without experimental support. In this study, a small scale steam
ejector refrigerator was constructed. The static pressure profile along the ejector axis was mea-
sured at various operating conditions. The test results were used to describe the phenomenon
which took place in the ejector.
A steam ejector refrigerator was first developed by Le Blance and Charles Parsons around 1901
[1]. It experienced a wave of popularity during the early 1930s for air conditioning systems of large
buildings. However, it was supplanted after the vapor compression system was launched. Fig. 1
shows a schematic diagram of an ordinary ejector refrigerator unit. This cycle is similar to the
conventional vapor compression system except that the compressor is replaced by a liquid cir-
culation pump, boiler and ejector. Briefly, as heat is added to the boiler, the evaporated refrigerant
is evolved at high temperature and pressure (2). This high pressure refrigerant, which can be called
either ‘‘primary fluid’’ or ‘‘motive fluid’’, expands through the primary nozzle in an ejector and
produces a very low pressure region at the primary nozzle exit plane (3). This low pressure allows
a liquid refrigerant in the evaporator to vaporize at low temperature to create the refrigeration
effect. Heat used to vaporize this refrigerant is the cooling load of the system. The evaporated
‘‘secondary fluid’’ will be entrained from the evaporator and mixed with the primary fluid in a
mixing chamber of the ejector. The mixed stream is discharged via the diffuser to a condenser (4),
where the vapor is condensed (5). The accumulated liquid refrigerant in the condenser is returned
back to the boiler by the feed pump (1) whilst the remainder is expanded through the throttling
valve to the evaporator (6), to complete the cycle.
Fig. 2 shows the schematic diagram of a typical steam ejector. Normally, a steam ejector
consists of four principal parts, which are the primary nozzle, the mixing chamber, the ejector
throat and the subsonic diffuser. Moreover, the diagram describes the operating characteristic of
an ejector. The high pressure primary steam (P) starts to accelerate as it enters a convergent
section of the nozzle and reaches the sonic level at the nozzle throat (i). The speed of primary flow
is further increased while expanding through a divergent section of the nozzle. At the exit plane,
the primary fluid expands out with supersonic speed and results the low pressure region (ii). This

Added
Heat
2 1
Boiler

Ejector 4 5
Condenser

3 Rejected Heat

6
Evaporator

Refrigeration

Fig. 1. Ordinary ejector refrigeration system.

 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322 313

Mixing Chamber Throat Subsonic Diffuser

Primary Nozzle
Primary Flow Expansion Wave
Secondary Flow
Pressure
Velocity

Sonic Velocity

P i S ii iii iv B
Distance along axis

Fig. 2. Typical steam ejector and flow characteristic in the ejector.

expanded wave (jet core) of the motive steam entrains and draws the secondary fluid into the
mixing chamber (S), where the secondary steam is accelerated and completely mixed with the
primary steam (iii). A normal shock wave is then induced in the ejector throat (iv), creating a
compression effect, and the flow speed suddenly drops to subsonic value. Further compression is
achieved when the mixed stream passes through the subsonic diffuser (B).
The work required to drive the liquid refrigerant pump is very small compared to the overall
thermal energy used by the boiler. Therefore, the mechanical pump work can be omitted. Coef-
ficient of performance, COP, of the system can be expressed as,
heat absorbed at the evaporator
COP ¼
heat input at the boiler

2. Experimental setup

The schematic diagram and photograph of an experimental steam ejector refrigerator is shown
in Fig. 3a and b respectively. This test facility consists of eight principal components: a steam
boiler, an evaporator, a superheater, a condenser, a receiver tank, a pumping system, a pressure
manifold and an ejector. The electric heaters were used as a simulated heat source and cooling
load at the 8 kW steam boiler and the 4 kW evaporator, respectively. In order to provide the
superheated primary fluid at different levels, a 500 W electric heater was installed before the
motive steam entering the primary nozzle of ejector. The vapor refrigerant from an ejector was
condensed at a water-cooled shell and coil type condenser. A liquid refrigerant in the receiver tank
is returned back to the boiler and the evaporator via the pumping system. The boiler and the
superheater were covered by a glass fiber wool with aluminum foil backing to prevent the thermal
loss from the machine. The evaporator shell was well insulated, by neoprene foam rubber, from an
unexpected heat gain from the environment. The required data and operating conditions at each
314 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

Fig. 3. Experimental refrigerator.

vessel can be measured and controlled separately by a data acquisition board connected to a
personal computer.
Geometries of the experimental ejector are described in Fig. 4. The ejector was designed based
on the methods provided in the literature [2,3]. There were three primary nozzle constructed with

NXP = 0
Negative Positive
Effective Area
Secondary Fluid

∅ = 19 mm
Primary Fluid

Expansion Angle
Mixing Chamber Throat Subsonic Diffuser

30mm 125 mm 95 mm 180 mm

30.0 40.0 20.0 20.0 40.0 27.5 27.5 40.0 35.0 35.0 35.0 35.0 20.0

45
40 Boiler Temperature 130 C
35
Evaporator Temperature 10 C
Pressure (mBar)

30
Condenser Pressure 40 mBar
25
20
Shocking Position
15
10
Effective Position
5
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Distance along Ejector (mm)

Fig. 4. Typical static pressure profile along ejector.

 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322 315

Table 1
Significant geometries of the experimental primary nozzles

Nozzle no. Geometries (mm)

A B C D
1 2.00 8.00 25.70 7.75
2 1.75 7.00 25.70 7.75
3 0.50 6.00 25.70 7.75

three different throat diameters, for the purpose of examining the influence of primary nozzle
geometry on ejector performance. These nozzles had the same area ratio (throat to the exit plane)
of 16 and included divergent angle of 10°. The significant geometries of the experiment nozzle
were listed in Table 1. The primary nozzle was mounted with a threaded shaft which allowed for
vertical movement of the nozzle, thus the distance between the nozzle exit and the mixing chamber
inlet can be adjusted in order to examine its influence on the performance of the ejector. Along the
ejector axis, a static pressure at each operating conditions was tapped and measured using the
pressure transducer attached with the pressure manifold. This information can be used to analyze
and explain the flowing and mixing characteristics of two working fluids through the ejector.

3. Experimental results and discussion

The experiment was designed to investigate the changing of the static pressure through the
ejector axis when the parameters affecting the ejector performance were varied. These parameters
were (1) the operating conditions at various points (boiler, condenser and evaporator), (2) the
superheated level of primary fluid before entering the primary nozzle and (3) the geometry and
position of the primary nozzle. The studies were done over the boiler temperatures 110–150 °C,
evaporator temperatures 5–15 °C, condenser pressures 25–60 mbar and superheated heat inputs of
0–180 W. The analyzed results provide a better understanding in the working characteristics of a
steam ejector.

3.1. Effect of operating conditions

From the experiments, it was found that the primary fluid always chokes when expanding
through the primary nozzle. Thus, the critical mass flow through the nozzle was dependent on
saturation pressure of boiler and superheated level of primary fluid, upstream conditions of the
flow. However, the results indicated that the superheated level has very small impact on primary
mass flow through the nozzle when comparing with the boiler condition.
316 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

The variations of a cooling capacity and COP of the system from the tests are well agreed with
the study of Eames et al. [2] and Aphornratana and Eames [4]. From the collected results, the
static pressure distribution along an ejector axis at each setting operating condition can be plotted
and was similar to which were presented by Eames et al. [5] and Huang et al. [6]. These curves can
clearly explain the flowing and mixing characteristic of two working fluids through the ejector. As
shown in Fig. 4, after the primary fluid expands and accelerates through the primary nozzle, it
fans out into a mixing chamber without mixing with the secondary fluid, with some value of
‘‘expansion angle’’. This flow results in the converging duct for the secondary fluid, where its
speed raises with expenses of static pressure. In other words, this duct can be called the ‘‘entrained
duct’’. At some cross section along this converging duct, the secondary fluid flows with sonic
velocity and it chokes. This cross section was defined by Munday and Bagster [7] as the ‘‘effective
area’’. They also suggested that the mixing process begins after the secondary fluid chokes and this
causes an increasing of static pressure beyond the ‘‘effective position’’. Table 2 shows the com-
parison between the critical pressure, calculated from one dimensional analysis of ideal gas, and
the static pressure, measured at the effective position at various operating condition. It is obvious
that all collected values are smaller than the theoretical one. These experimental results can verify
the choking and sonic velocity of the secondary fluid at the effective position.
The velocity and pressure of the mixed stream remains constant while it passes through the
constant area throat section of an ejector. At a certain distance either in throat or diffuser section,
which can be called the ‘‘shocking position’’, a transverse shock wave is induced creating a
compression effect. Across this point, the velocity of mixed stream sudden drops to sonic value. A
further compression is achieved as the flow passes through the rest of subsonic diffuser. The curve
in Fig. 4 indicates a gradual rise in the static pressure rather than the sudden rise normally as-
sociated with a normal shock process (Fig. 2). This is probably because the flow area of the ejector
throat section is oversized. Therefore, the normal shock takes place in the divergent section and its
appearance is swallowed.
The system performance curve for the specified boiler and evaporator can be plotted, as shown
in Fig. 5a. At each setting of boiler and evaporator operating condition, the operation of the
ejector can be categorized into three regions: choked flow in the mixing chamber, unchoked flow
and reversed flow. When the ejector is operated under ‘‘critical condenser pressure’’ [6], COP and
cooling capacity remains constant. It can be seen in Fig. 5b, points A to E, shocking position
moves backward to the mixing chamber inlet as the condenser pressure increases without any

Table 2
The experimental static pressure at the effective position and the calculated critical pressure
Evaporator saturation Critical pressure, Static pressure at effective position, P (mbar)
pressure, P0 (mbar) P
(mbar) Boiler temperature (°C)
120 130 140
8.721 5.02 4.07 2.97 0.47
12.276 7.07 6.77 6.30 3.99
17.051 9.82 8.58 9.31 9.46
P
2 k=ðk1Þ
The critical pressure ratio, one dimensional analysis of ideal gas: P0
¼ ðkþ1 Þ , where k is the specific heat ratio.
If, P < P
then the flow chokes, Mach number ¼ 1.
 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322 317

COP
0.5
o
Boiler Temperature 130 C
Evaporator Temperature10 oC Unchoked Flow
0.4
Reversed Flow
A B C D E
0.3
G
Choked Flow
0.2

0.1 F
Critical Condenser Pressure

0
25 35 45 55 60
(a) Condenser Pressure (mBar)

Boiler Temperature 130 oC A B C D E F G

Evaporator Temperature 10 oC
50
Pressure (mBar)

40
30
20

10

0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
(b) Distance along Ejector (mm)

Fig. 5. Working characteristic of steam ejector refrigerator, effect of condenser pressure. (a) Operational mode of an
ejector, (b) static pressure profile along ejector.

effect on the entrainment of secondary fluid. Further increasing of the condenser pressure higher
than the critical value, the influence of shocking interrupts the entrainment and mixing process of
two streams (points F and G). The static pressure of the choking position rises higher than the
critical value and secondary fluid is no longer choking. Thus, the COP and cooling capacity of
the system decreases with the increasing of condenser pressure. If the condenser pressure is fur-
ther increased, the ejector loses its function completely; the flow will reverse back into the
evaporator.
Fig. 6a shows the variation of the system COP when the boiler condition was changed with a
fixed evaporator operating temperature. The results show that, decreasing boiler saturation
pressure causes the COP and cooling capacity of the system to rise with the expenses of critical
condenser pressure. The flowing and mixing through the ejector can be described, using Figs. 6b
and 7. When the ejector was operated with lower boiler saturation pressure, a smaller primary
mass left the nozzle with lower speed. This caused an expanded wave to fan out with smaller
momentum and, thus, smaller expansion angle. The longer and larger entrained duct resulted
318 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

COP
0.60 o
Boiler Temperature ( C) 120 130 140
0.50 Evaporator Temperature 10 C
o

0.40 Superheated Power 0 W

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00
25 35 45 55 65 75
(a) Condenser Pressure (mBar)

Pressure (mBar)
35.00
30.00 Boiler Temperature (oC) 120 130 140
o
Evaporator Temperature 10 C
25.00
Superheated Power 0 W
20.00
Condenser Pressure 30 mBar
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
(b) Distance along Ejector (mm)

Fig. 6. Working characteristic of steam ejector refrigerator, effect of boiler temperature. (a) Experimental performance
(COP), (b) static pressure profile along ejector axis.

(effective position moved downstream). According to this flow pattern, higher secondary mass can
be entrained through the mixing chamber. Thus, the system had higher COP and cooling capacity.
On the other hand, the momentum of a mixed stream decreased with a higher amount of low
speed secondary fluid entrained from the evaporator. From Fig. 6b, the shocking position moves
upstream and the ejector has lower critical condenser pressure.
From the test, it was found that the COP and cooling capacity of the system can increase
together with the increasing of critical condenser pressure when the system is operated with a
higher refrigerated temperature (Fig. 8a). It was thought that the expansion wave faced more
compression effect from the increasing of an evaporator saturation pressure (higher static pressure
in the mixing chamber). As seen in Fig. 8b, the effective position moved downstream with an
increasingly higher evaporator temperature. The resultant longer entrained duct can handle
higher amounts of secondary fluid pushed out of the evaporator and therefore, the system has a
higher COP. The ejector can be operated at higher critical condenser pressure since the mo-
mentum of the mixed stream increased with the incoming larger portion of pressurized secondary
stream.
 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322 319

Entrained Duct
Secondary Fluid
Effective Area
Primary Fluid

Expansion Angle

(a)

Secondary Fluid Entrained Duct

Effective Area
Primary Fluid

Expansion Angle

(b)
Fig. 7. Entrainment and mixing process in the mixing chamber, effect of operating conditions.

COP
0.60
o
Evaporator Temperature ( C) 5 10 15
0.50 Boiler Temperature 130 C
Superheated Power 100 W
0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00
25 35 45 55 65 75
(a) Condenser Pressure (mBar)

Pressure (mBar)
45.00
Evaporator Temperature ( C) 5 10 15
40.00
35.00 Boiler Temperature 130 C
30.00 Superheated Power 100 W
25.00 Condenser Pressure 40 mBar
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 40 450
(b) Distance along Ejector (mm)

Fig. 8. Working characteristic of steam ejector refrigerator, effect of evaporator temperature. (a) Experimental per-
formance (COP), (b) static pressure profile along ejector axis.
320 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

3.2. Effect of superheated primary fluid

From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the superheated level of motive fluid,
before entering the primary nozzle, does not have much influence on either the COP of the system
or the critical condenser pressure of the ejector. This conclusion has confirmed the recommen-
dation of ESDU [3] that the superheater has no other advantage than to prevent the damage of
the ejector caused by the wetted motive stream.

3.3. Effect of geometries and position of primary nozzle

The influences of geometries and position of the primary nozzle on system performance were
similar to that of the boiler operating condition. Either using smaller primary nozzle or retracing
the nozzle out of mixing chamber can increase the COP and the cooling capacity of the system. On
the other hand, the ejector can operate at lower critical condenser pressure.

COP
0.50
Primary Nozzle Exit Position (mm) 20 10 0 -10

0.40 Boiler Temperature 130 oC

Evaporator Temperature 5 o C
Superheated Power 0 W
0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00
30 35 40 45 50 55
(a) Condenser Pressure (mBar)

Pressure (mBar)
40.00
35.00 Primary Nozzle Exit Position (mm) 20 10 0 -10
Boiler Temperature 130 oC
30.00 Evaporator Temperature 5 oC
25.00 Superheated Power 0 W
20.00 Condenser Pressure 35 mBar

15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
(b) Distance along Ejector (mm)

Fig. 9. Working characteristic of steam ejector refrigerator, effect of primary nozzle exit position (NXP). (a) Experi-
mental performance (COP), (b) static pressure profile along ejector axis.
 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322 321

When smaller primary nozzle was used, smaller amount of primary mass expanded through a
smaller throat. Thus, higher static pressure at the nozzle exit plane was shown. The enlarging of
the entrained duct can be investigated from the moving downstream of the effective position. In
the same manner, a larger converging duct also can be achieved by moving the nozzle out of the
mixing chamber (Fig. 9). It was thought that, the expanded wave experienced more compression
effect and resulted in the smaller expansion angle, while the nozzle came closer to the evaporator
outlet. Therefore, the system can reach higher COP and cooling capacity because more secondary
fluid can be entrained and accelerated through the mixing chamber. It was noticed that, Fig. 9b,
the momentum of mixed stream decreased with the increasing portion of low speed secondary
fluid and the shocking position moved upstream. Thus, an ejector with a smaller nozzle and the
retracing primary nozzle can cause the lowering of critical condenser pressure.

4. Conclusion

In this study, an experimental steam ejector refrigerator was constructed. The experiment was
designed to examine the influences of the operating conditions, the superheated level of the pri-
mary fluid, and the geometry, including the position of the primary nozzle, on the system per-
formance. At each operating condition setting, the static pressure along an ejector axis was
measured. The analyzed experimental data introduced three new parameters which consist of the
expansion angle, the effective position and the shocking position. These three parameters, com-
bining with the ideas proposed in the literature can clearly explain the flowing and mixing
characteristic through the steam ejector.
It can be concluded that there are two parameters involved with the performance of an ejector
refrigerator. These parameters are (1) the amount of secondary fluid passing through the mixing
chamber, which determines the COP and cooling capacity of the system and (2) the momentum of
the mixed stream, which indicates the critical condenser pressure. From the test, decreasing boiler
pressure, using a smaller nozzle and retracing the nozzle out of a mixing chamber can reduce the
expansion angle of the expanded wave. Larger amounts of the secondary fluid can be entrained
through the resultant longer and larger entrained duct. Thus, the higher COP and cooling ca-
pacity refrigerator can be obtained. Note that the enlarging of the entrained duct can be inves-
tigated by the moving downstream of the effective position. On the other hand, a larger portion of
low speed secondary mass decrease the momentum of the mixed stream. The shocking position
moves upward and the ejector has to operate at a lower critical condenser pressure. However, the
system COP can increase together with the critical condenser pressure only when the system
operates at higher refrigerated (evaporator) temperature. The longer entrained duct, which results
from higher evaporator compression effect, can handle larger amounts of the secondary fluid
pushed out of the evaporator. Therefore, the system has a higher COP and cooling capacity. The
influx of pressurized secondary mass increases the momentum of the mixed stream. The shocking
position moved downstream and the ejector can operate at higher critical condenser pressure.
The characteristics of the steam ejector refrigerator and the phenomena that took place in an
ejector were clearly explained. A lot of factors, e.g., the operating conditions and the size and
position of the nozzle, were found to affect the system performance. Moreover, the observed
results indicate the complication of the flowing and the mixing process through the ejector. The
322 K. Chunnanond, S. Aphornratana / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 311–322

experimental results from this study can be used to validate the results gained from either nu-
merical or computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. The better understanding in flow
characteristics through an ejector may lead to further improvement of ejector refrigeration sys-
tem.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Royal Golden Jubilee Program of Thailand Research
Fund (TRF) and National Energy Policy Office (NEPO) for their financial support.

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