COURSE CODE : MEC303

COURSE NAME : REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING

Q2 a) i) A refrigeration system operates on the reversed Carnot cycle. The higher temperature of the refrigerant
in the system is 35ºC and lower temperature is -15ºC. The capacity is to be 12 tonnes. Neglect all losses.
Determine:
1. Coefficient of performance
2. Heat rejected from the system per hour
3. Power required
ii. A certain machine works on reversed Carnot cycle between temperature limits of -10ºC and 27 ºC. Find
its COP, when working as:
1. A refrigeration machine
2. An Heat pump [ 10 Marks ]

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 3.

OR
b) (i) Differentiate clearly between open and closed air-refrigeration systems. [ 5 Marks ]

(i) Open air refrigeration cycle: When cooled air from the turbine enters the cabin and comes in
physical contact with the occupants. It is not much in use because of moisture added to air in the
cabin.
(ii) Closed air refrigeration cycle OR dense cycle: When cooled air from the turbine passes through
the coil and a fan circulates and recirculates cabin air over it. The pressure of cooled air in such
systems is much higher than in the open system. Because of high pressure, volume is less and
hence density of air is high. It is therefore also called a dense system.
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 (ii) Discuss the methods for production of low temperatures. [ 5 Marks ]
Sensible cooling by cold medium
Endothermic mixing of substances
Phase change processes
Expansion of Liquids
Thermoelectric Refrigeration
Expansion of gases
Adiabatic demagnetization
Q3 a) Explain with neat sketch the working of reversed Brayton cycle. Derive an expression for C.O.P for an air
refrigeration system working on reversed Brayton cycle with P-V and T-S diagram? [ 10 Marks ]

OR
b) (i) Explain with diagram the actual vapor compression system. [ 5 Marks ]

For thermodynamic analysis of the refrigeration systems, we consider the ideal behaviour of the fluid and
neglect any extraneous factors.
In actual practice however, these factors have significant effect on the COP and refrigerating effect of the
refrigeration cycle.
In this section, we go for a detailed analysis of these external factors and their influence on the overall system
performance. The actual vapor compression cycle is shown in Figure 5.10. With the help of a T-s diagram for
the operating pressure limits p1 and p2. The actual compression follows 1 – 2 instead causing considerable
difference due to the irreversibilities associated with the compression process 1 – 2. Again, during condensation
and subcooling by about 5 to 10 K (2'-4) in the condenser, the pressure before throttling drops about of 2%. The
throttled condensate enters the evaporator at a pressure somewhat higher than the evaporator pressure p1.
These irreversibilities cause significant distortion in the ideal cycle, thereby indicating a significant
reduction in the COP. Also, if we consider the suction and discharge losses in the
compressor, the COP value would decrease further.

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 (ii) Explain the effect of sub-cooling and super-heating on the performance of VCRS. [ 5 Marks ]

Effect of Liquid Subcooling

It is always desirable to subcool the refrigerant before throttling. This effect is shown in the following
Figure (Figure 5.8(a) and 5.8(b)). It is seen from these figures that the refrigeration effect is increased
by an area under the process 5'-5. The magnitude of subcooling is usually kept between 5 to 10 K. If
there is too much subcooling, then the work input increases considerably, thus offsetting thegains from
the subcooling of the refrigerant.

It is a usual practice to admit slightly superheated vapor before the beginning of

compression to avoid the possibility of wet compression. Wet compression is
undesirable as there may be accumulation of liquid inside the cylinder, which in
turn will wash away the lubricant resulting in sever mechanical difficulties. Thus,
to avoid this, a 5 to 20 K superheat of the refrigerant is always desirable. The
vapor superheat has the following effects on the refrigeration cycle:

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Q6 a) What is the difference between winter air conditioning and summer air conditioning? Explain with neat
diagram the working of summer air conditioning System.
Winter Air Conditioning Systems
In winter the outside conditions are cold and dry. As a result, there will be a continuous transfer of sensible heat
as well as moisture (latent heat) from the buildings to the outside. Hence, in order to maintain required comfort
conditions in the occupied space an air conditioning system is required which can offset the sensible and latent
heat losses from the building. Air supplied to the conditioned space is heated and humidified in the winter air
conditioning system to the required level of temperature and moisture content depending upon the sensible and
latent heat losses from the building.
In winter the heat losses from the conditioned space are partially offset by solar and internal heat gains. Thus in
a conservative design of winter A/C systems, the effects of solar radiation and internal heat gain are not
considered.
Heating and humidification of air can be achieved by different schemes. Figure 31.4 shows one such scheme
along with the cycle on psychrometric chart. As shown in the figure, the mixed air (mixture of return
and outdoor air) is first pre-heated (m-1) in the pre-heater, then humidified using a humidifier or an air washer
(1-2) and then finally reheated in the reheater (2-s). The reheated air at state ‘s’ is supplied to the conditioned
space. The flow rate of supply air should be such that when released into the conditioned space at state ‘s’, it
should be able to maintain the conditioned space at state I and offset the sensible and latent heat losses (Q s
and Ql).
Pre-heating of air is advantageous as it ensures that water in the humidifier/air
washer does not freeze. In addition, by controlling the heat supplied in the
pre-heater one can control the moisture content in the conditioned space.

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Summer air conditioning

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 OR
b) (i) What is the difference between fan and blower? Also explain the various types of axial flow fans.
[ 5 Marks ]
Fan vs Blower 
 

The fan is a mechanical device that is used to create a continuous flow of gas such as air. In
any cooling system, which uses a gas as the working fluid, a fan is a compulsory unit which
creates the flow of air through the system. It can be a simple ceiling fan used in households
or an external cooling fan for internal combustion engines. When higher pressure is required
blowers are used instead of fans.

More about Fan

The fan usually consists of assembly vanes or blades fixed onto a hub, usually called an
impeller. A driver mechanism like a motor or a belt drive will be connected to create the
rotational motion of the impeller. The mechanism can be arranged so that the flow is either
centrifugal or axial.

Axial fans blow the gas along the axis of rotation, and they are commonly used as cooling
fans in households, automobiles, and even in computers. Larger fan structures are used in
turbojet engines, industrial air conditioning machines, and in wind tunnels, to provide the flow
of large volumes of gas.

Centrifugal fans blow the gas radially outwards from the axis of the impeller. They are also
known as Squirrel cage fans due similarity in appearance to the exercise cage used for pet
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squirrels. Gas sucked in from the cavity present in the centre of the impeller is driven
outwards by the centrifugal force acting on the gas due to rotational motion. Centrifugal fans
are the most commonly used type in the modern HVAC devices.

Compressor creates a flow of the gas with high pressure and low volume transfer rate, while
fans deliver low pressure and high volume transfer rate.

More about Blower

A centrifugal fan with a high pressure ratio (output pressure/ input pressure) is known as a
blower. Blowers deliver a high volume transfer rate with a relatively greater pressure ratio.
The pressure ratio of a fan is below 1.1 while blowers have a pressure ration of 1.1 to 1.2.

What is the difference between Fan and Blower?

• Fans produce a gas flow with less pressure and larger gas volume, while blowers produce a
relatively higher pressure ratio with the larger gas volume flow.

(ii) Explain with diagram the working of winter air conditioning system. [ 5 Marks ]
-- End of Question Paper --

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