REFRIGERATION

Refrigeration cycles transfer heat from a lower temperature region to a higher temperature
one, at the expense of work input to the system.

Practical refrigeration cycles include :

Vapour-Compression Cycle : Refrigerant is vaporised and condensed alternatively at
different pressure levels.
Vapour-Absorption Cycle : The refrigerant is dissolved in a liquid before it is compressed.
Gas (air) refrigeration cycle : The refrigerant is in gaseous form throughout the cycle.

Other systems : Thermo-electric Refrigeration, Vortex-Tube Refrigeration etc.

Refrigeration Capacity
Ton of Refrigeration : It is the cooling capacity that can freeze 1 ton (2000 Ib) of liquid
water at 0C into ice at 0C in 24 hours.
1 ton Refrigeration = 200 BTU/min = 12000 BTU/h = 211kJ/min = 3024 Kcal/h = 3.516 kW

Refrigeration Performance: Co-efficient of Performance (COP)

COPref = Cooling effect / Work Input Ranging 3-6
EER = Energy Efficiency Rating EER = 3.412 COP Ranging 8-12

APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION

Ice production Water Cooling Cold Storage Fridges

Air Conditioning Liquefaction of Gases

IMPORTANT PROPERTIES OF A REFRIGERANT

 Latent heat of Vaporization should be high

 Specific heat should be low

 COP should be high, ie. Less power requirement for cooling in desirable

 Evaporator pressure must be above atmospheric (easier detection), Condenser

pressure should not be too high (higher equipment cost)

 Freezing point should be below the lowest operating temperature

 Refrigerant must be chemically stable, non-corrosive

 Refrigerant must be non-toxic, non-flammable (with exceptions, eg. R600a, R290)

 The cost of the refrigerant is a significant criteria, specially for large units

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REFRIGERANT TYPES

CFC Refrigerants : R-11, R-12 (CF2CL2, Di-chloro Di-floro Methane), Chlorine of Chloro-
Floro-Carbon (Freon) breaks up the atmospheric Ozone, causing depletion of Ozone
layer.

HCFC Refrigerants : Hydrogenated CFCs, eg. R-22, Structure contains H atoms which
react with Chlorine first as they breakup, saving the O3.

HFC Refrigerants : Hydrogenated Floro-Carbons, R-134a, does not contain any Chlorine
atom, so much more environment friendly.

HFO Refrigerants : Hydro-fluoro-olefins, contains only hydrogen, fluorine and carbon.

With zero Ozone depletion potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP), eg.
R-1234. Refrigerants like R600(Butane) and R290(Propane) are also used as intermediate
solution but they may have fire hazards if not used properly.

The problem was detected in early 70’s ; Montreal Protocol was signed in 1992 ; Hopefully
the depletion level will go back to pre-70 condition by 2025. GWP is the current concern.
Other Refrigerants : NH3 (R-717), CO2 (R-744), Water (R-718), Air (R-729), Azeotropes
(mixture of more than one refrigerant eg. R-410, R-502) etc.

Components of Typical Air Conditioning System (Vapour-Compression)

There are four major components in a vapour compression refrigeration system through
which the refrigerant flows successively:
1. Compressor 2. Condenser 3. Expansion Device 4. Evaporator

Compressor and Condenser are on the high pressure side. Expansion device and
Evaporator are on the low pressure side of the refrigerant flow circuit.

Components of Typical Air Conditioning System (Vapour-Compression)

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Compressor: It increases the pressure of refrigerant vapour. It needs energy supply (eg.
electricity) to do so. After compression both the pressure and temperature of refrigerant
vapour increases. Compressors may be – Reciprocating, Screw, Scroll type.

Condenser: It cools the high pressure refrigerant vapour. Condenser rejects the heat to
the atmosphere (typically air or water) and transforms the high pressure refrigerant vapour
to high pressure liquid.

Expansion Device: This part (typically a valve) reduces the pressure of cooled refrigerant
liquid. In the expansion device the enthalpy remains constant.

Evaporator: This is the coolest component of a refrigeration system. Here low pressure
refrigerant evaporates absorbing lot of heat typically from the refrigerated space. From the
evaporator the low pressure refrigerant vapour is re-circulated to the compressor.

Basically the closed circuit allows the same refrigerant to absorb heat from low
temperature at the evaporator (by vaporization at low pressure) and reject heat at high
temperature (by condensation at high pressure). Generally the cooling rate is varied by
controlling the mass flow rate of the refrigerant.

The Domestic Fridge

Domestic refrigerator contains - a hermetically sealed compressor pressurising the

refrigerant, a condensing unit located at the back an expansion device(capillary tube) and
a evaporator. The evaporator is located at the ice chamber, which really cools the system.
Depending on the load requirement the compressor may be kept on and off intermittently.
The storage space with sub-zero temperature is called – freezer and remaining cold space
is termed as refrigerator. Often gross/net storage space is expresses in m3 or cft.

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AIR CONDITIONING

Broadly Air conditioning is the process of a combination of control of –

Temperature, Humidity, Cleanliness, Noise - aimed for human comfort.

Air conditioning is the automatic control of temperature and humidity to values which
provide a sense of comfort for human beings.

This is achieved by –

 Regulation of Temperature and Humidity

 Supply and control of Fresh Air
 Filtration of removal of dust particles
 Proper distribution of conditioned air
 Noise control (indirect control)

Typically we are comfortable at around 20°C temperature and 60% Relative Humidity.

CLASIFICATIONS

Based on type of Application :

Comfort Air Conditioning : Purpose is to create atmosphere conducive to human beings

- eg. Residential/Commercial buildings, Auditorium, Community centres, Hotels.

Industrial air conditioning : Purpose is to create atmospheric conditions suitable for

conducting certain manufacturing, production, physical and chemical processing eg.
Textile, Pharmaceuticals and Electronic industry.

Special Air conditioning : Purpose is to create a special environment where the

temperature, relative humidity, air purity etc needs to be modulated for a certain task eg.
space training, military training, amusement/sports resorts etc.

Based on type of configuration :

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Unitary Systems (Direct Expansion Systems)

These are air conditioning units which are mass produced, which are installed within or
near the conditioned space. Here the air comes in to direct contact of the cooling coils in
which the refrigerant evaporates extracting heat. They are manufactured to limited
capacity (much less than 50 tons) and the system layout can not be changed very much.

This type of air conditioners are packaged as self-contained Window type and divided
Split type packages.

Window Air conditioner (Room Air Conditioner) :

These are self contained units

mainly used for residential or
office air conditioning. Typical unit
capacity varies 0.5 ton – 3 tons.
These may be window mounted
or through the wall mounted.
Components consist of
hermetically sealed compressor,
direct expansion coil, condenser,
filters and fans. Manual and
remote control of cooling and
ventilation are generally provided.

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Split Air Conditioning System

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Here the evaporator coil with a fan is installed in the conditioned space, while the remote
unit contains the compressor, condenser and the expansion device. This system allows
keeping noise, vibration and maintenance away from the conditioned space. Typical units
are made from 1.5 tons – 25 tons capacity. However ventilation arrangement may be
needed to circulate fresh air in the conditioned space.

Brief Comparison between Split and Window type AC

 A split AC comes in two parts while a window AC comes in just one.

 Split ACs can be installed in any wall, Window AC requires a wall open to outside.
 Split ACs can have higher cooling capacity than window ACs.
 Split ACs are more silent than window ACs, but lack of fresh air circulation.
 Split ACs can be less efficient than window ACs.

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ALL AIR SYSTEM

In all air system meets all the cooling required by cold air supplied by a central air handling
unit (AHU), which is distributed to various parts of a building as per requirement. The air
from the room is returned back to the AHU, mixed with some fresh ventilation, cooled and
sent to the rooms again. This system is more expensive but makes good humidity control.

ALL WATER SYSTEM

In all water system meets all the cooling required by chilled water supplied by a central
refrigeration system, which is distributed to various parts of a building as per requirement.
In each room Fan-Coil Units (FCU) are used to cool the room air. In the FCU a fan draws
in a mixture of room air with some fresh air and blows it across the cooling colid of chilled
water. This system is less costly but can not achieve good humidity control.

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 Typical Fan Coil Unit (FCU)

WATER-AIR SYSTEM

This system employs a combination of both air and water circulation to control the room air
condition. This may require less air to be circulated through AHU as part of the heat is
taken away by smaller FCU. Make the system more cost effective in large or high rise
buildings.

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COOLING LOAD

Cooling load in a room can be estimated by summing the possible heat gains through
various ways. These may include -

Standard calculation procedures are used for the cooling load calculation, eg. using
ASHRAE code.

ASHRAE : American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

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