Automotive Air Conditioning Systems

WHY AC SYSTEM?
Stopped in traffic on a may afternoon?
Sweat drips all over your body?
Hands feel like they are about to slip away from

the steering wheel due to sweat?

Need a luxurious and a comfortable ride?
Why dont you attach an automotive air
conditioning system to your ride, which 99% of
all new cars produced since 2010 are equipped
with?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Main function- to cool and remove humidity from

air inside the car.

Parts of a typical car AC system are:
(i)Compressor (ii)Condenser (iii)Receiver or
Dryer
(iv)Expansion valve
(v)Evaporator

COMPRESSOR
It is a pump driven by a belt attached to the engines

crankshaft.
Puts the refrigerant gas under pressure and forces it to
the condenser.
It cant compress liquids, only gases.
By increasing the pressure the refrigerant gas leaving
the compressor becomes hot.
Also called as heart of the air conditioning system.
Earlier freons(R-12) were used as refrigerants.
Nowadays they are replaced by environment friendly
HFC(R-134a).

CONDENSER
Identified as second radiator of the car that

shares air flow with main radiator.

Has its own cooling fans that become active
when AC is on.
Takes up the heat from the high pressure
refrigerant gas and cools it.
Condensing of the refrigerant gas causes it to
loose heat and form into a liquid.
Heat is expelled into the atmosphere by the air
flowing from the cooling fans.

RECEIVER OR DRYER
Small reservoir installed in the line of the

condenser.
Main function is to remove moisture and other
contaminants from the cool refrigerant liquid.
Contains small granules called desiccants that
attract water.
If water is not removed, it can form ice crystals,
thereby damaging the whole system.

EXPANSION VALVE
Here the pressure of refrigerant is reduced

causing expansion of the liquid, resulting in

further cooling.
Slowly the liquid reverts back into a gaseous
form.
Also the valve reduces pressure on the
refrigerant so it can easily move into the
evaporator.
The valve senses pressure and
regulates the flow of refrigerant,
which allows the system to
operate steadily.

EVAPORATOR
Radiator like device buried deep under the

dashboard.
Refrigerant gas enters the evaporator coils and
absorbs the heat inside the cars cabin and
moves out of the coils.
A fan blowing over the outside of the evaporator
coil blows cool air into the passenger
compartment.
Thus the evaporator takes humidity out of the
air in the car, which helps you feel cool.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM FOR EASY

UNDERSTANDING

CONCLUSION
An AC system not only cools the cabin, it

removes dust and dirt, leaving only with fresh air.

One has to remember to use only environment
friendly refrigerants and avoid CFCs as much as
possible.
The AC system can be recharged by adding fresh
refrigerant and removing the remaining one.
Care must be taken in the disposal of
refrigerants as they may affect the soil, rivers,
etc.,
Its also necessary to check the AC system for
leaks as it may lead to the loss of refrigerant as

Thank you
Anyways, let us minimize the usage of ACs and
go green!