ME−412

REFRIGERATION &
AIR-CONDITIONING
Teacher In-charge
PROF. DR. ASAD NAEEM SHAH
[email protected]
 RAC PART-2
REFRIGERATION
TEXT BOOK (Recommended)
Refrigeration and Air conditioning, 2nd Edition
by
W. F. Stoecker & J. W. Jones.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 INTRODUCTION
 REFRIGERATION:
o Production of cooler/lesser temperatures than surrounding. It
is more of an art than a science.
o As per ASHRAE, “it is the artificial removal of heat from a
substance or a space to produce a temperature lower than
that which would exist under the influence of ambient
conditions”.
o Refrigeration may also be defined as the science of producing
and maintaining the temperature below the surrounding
temperature.
o Refrigeration deals solely with cooling − one of its most
important applications is air conditioning (AC).
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 INTRODUCTION Cont.
o Air conditioning deals with artificial tempering of the conditions
of air that may involve cooling as well as heating coupled with
ventilation, filtration, and air circulation.
o Generally, term AC is perceived as cooling of air. Control of
environment through supply of heat, however, is treated as
heating. Both refrigeration and air conditioning are very closely
related to each other as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Relationship of refrigeration and air conditioning.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS OF
REFRIGERATION
o Refrigeration has played an important role in the growth and
attainment of the present day standard of living. Because of
refrigeration, bulk of the perishable food-stuffs can not only be
preserved but also marketed to far flung corners of the world.
o Modern refrigeration is mostly applied in four general fields as
shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Applications of refrigeration.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS OF
REFRIGERATION Cont.
 ICE MAKING
o Over centuries natural ice was gathered/accumulated (i.e.
harvested) for subsequent use or transported to warmer
places lacking natural ice.
o The use of natural ice progressively increased as can be
appreciated from the fact that millions of tons of natural ice
were consumed in the United States in late nineteenth
century. This led to the introduction of large-scale artificial
refrigeration.
o With the introduction of refrigeration machinery, ice-plants
were built near the consumers to produce ice on a
commercial scale.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS OF
REFRIGERATION Cont.
 PRESERVATION AND TRANSPORTATION OF
PERISHABLES:
o Refrigeration is widely used for the preservation of foodstuffs.
Its purpose is to prevent or check spoilage, the more
important causes of which are:
• Excessive growth of microorganisms, bacterial and fungal
• Changes due to oxidation, giving off flavors
• Enzymatic and fermentive processes, causing rancidity
• Drying.
o Apart from dramatically reducing the spoilage of perishable
foodstuffs, refrigeration has altered the pattern of
consumption and movement of foodstuffs.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS Cont.
o With the parallel development of refrigerated transportation
including reefer ships, the transformation of supply
chain/system, as shown in Fig. 2, has done away with the
dependence on local markets as exporting to overseas
markets became possible.

(a)
(b)

Fig. 2: (a) Non-refrigerated supply system, (b) Integrated refrigerated supply system.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS OF
REFRIGERATION Cont.
 GLOBAL FROZEN FOOD CHAIN:
o A global frozen food chain has been firmly established,
opening the frontier of transcontinental transportation and
distribution of perishable foodstuffs.
o Typically, the chain consists of the following links: refrigerated
warehouses, refrigerated road transports, refrigerated (reefer)
ships, port facilities and domestic refrigerators.
o When a fully developed cold chain is in place, as shown in
Fig. 2(b), surplus agricultural and dairy products are
transported to production warehouses located near the
growing areas. From there the processed food is transported
to long-term warehouses for long-term storage.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 APPLICATIONS Cont.
o Canned food items are also transported to distribution
warehouses from where these are made available to
consumers through supermarkets or grocers. The final link of
the chain is the domestic freezer and refrigerator.
 SPECIAL INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES:
o Refrigeration plays an important role in manufacturing
chemicals, petroleum refineries, paper & pulp industries. It is
needed throughout the refining processes i.e., to crystalize wax
& separate it out.
o For desalination of water and for fractional distillation of lighter
hydrocarbons.
o For making concrete-mix (where ice or chilled water is used).
 AIR CONDITIONING:
o Refrigeration application to air conditioning enables taming the
natural climate into creating comfortable environment even in
blistering summer. Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
HISTORY OF REFRIGERATION
o In earlier times, food was kept in cold air in caves and wells to
keep it fresh for longer periods.
o In most remote times, two principles i.e. evaporation of water
(without understanding) through vases of porous pottery &
terrestrial radiation towards clear sky during the night, were
used in Egypt, India and China.
o Egyptian made ice by this means by putting porous earthen
pots on the roof of the house during the night. Thus
evaporation of water in cool dry air together with radiative heat
transfer (RHT) during a clear night caused ice formation even
when the ambient temperature was above the freezing
temperature.
o Artificial cooling to make ice was attempted first time in 1755
by Cullen through vaporization of water at reduced pressure.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
HISTORY OF REFRIGERATION Cont.
o In 1834, a phenomenon known as Peltier effect was
discovered which played an important role in the development
of thermo-electric refrigeration.
o In 1834, Perkins proposed a hand operated compressor
machine working on ether − an effort was made for the
production of cold by mechanical methods.
o In 1851, Gorrie developed air refrigeration − which was
followed by the development of absorption systems and vapor
compression systems using ammonia (𝑁𝐻3 ) as a refrigerant.
o Cryogenics−a field of very low temperature refrigeration was
introduced by Pictet through liquefied oxygen in 1877.
o By the end of 19th century, refrigerating industry started using
𝑁𝐻3 , 𝐶𝑂2 & 𝑆𝑂2 as refrigerants.
o In 1931, Ranque discovered vortex tube refrigeration.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CHANGE OF STATE CONCEPT
o The prerequisite to conversion of a solid to a liquid, and liquid
to a gas is to overcome the molecular forces. Figure 1 shows
the energy-state-temperature relationship for water.
o Consider 1kg of ice at point A (−10℃). On the addition of heat
to the ice, temperature increases to 0℃ which is detectable by
our senses, so this heat is called sensible heat.

Fig. 1: The T-h diagram

for water at various states.
CHANGE OF STATE CONCEPT Cont.
o Water (1 kg) is now at condition B still solid ice at a
temperature of 0℃.
o On further addition of heat to ice, no further temperature
change occurs, but ice starts to melt. Since this heat is not
bringing any change in temperature to be measured by
thermometer, but produces a change in state so it is called
latent heat (of melting) as shown by line BC.
o Latent heat of melting is defined as the heat which must be
added to 1 kg of solid (already at its melting point) to change
its sate to liquid at the same temperature. However, if the
same heat is removed, it is called latent heat of fusion.
o On further addition of heat (from C to D), there is again rise in
temperature from 0℃ to 100℃, leading to the sensible heat
again.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CHANGE OF STATE CONCEPT
Cont.
o On further addition of heat (from D to E), there is change in
state but not in temperature−the added heat is called latent
heat of vaporization (LHV).
o The temperature at which vaporization takes place at given
pressure is called saturation temperature.
o The LHV is the heat which must be added to 1 kg of liquid
(already at its boiling point temperature) to change its state to
vapor at the same temperature.
o Further heating will result in increasing the temperature of the
vapor (steam) and EF, therefore, leads to a sensible heat
process.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 UNIT OF REFRIGERATION
o The standard unit of refrigeration is 1 Ton which is defined as “the
rate of cooling produced when 1 Ton (907.185 kg or 2000lb) of
ice melts during one day” OR
o The heat transfer rate (HTR) required to produce 1 Ton of ice at
0˚C from water (at 0˚C) in 24 hours.
o The ice is assumed to be solid at 0℃ initially and becomes liquid
(water) at 0℃. The energy absorbed by the ice is the latent heat
(LH) of ice times the total weight, so:
𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 = 𝒒 = 𝑳𝑯 × 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝑞 = 336 × 907.185 ÷ 24 × 3600 ≅ 𝟑. 𝟓𝟑𝒌𝑾
o Thus, 1 Ton of refrigeration (TR) ≅ 3.53 kW ≅ 211.68 kJ/min =
144𝐵𝑡𝑢/𝑙𝑏×2000𝑙𝑏
12000 Btu/hr ∵ 1 𝑇𝑅 = = 12000 𝐵𝑡𝑢/𝑕
24ℎ
NOTE: 1 𝐵𝑡𝑢 = 1.005 𝑘𝐽; LH of ice = 336kJ/kg or 144 𝐵𝑡𝑢/𝑙𝑏.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
THE VAPOR-COMPRESSION
CYCLE (VCC)
(A vapor is compressed, then condensed to a liquid, and pressure
is dropped so that fluid can evaporate at low pressure)

To study the progresses from the classical Carnot cycle

to the actual vapor cycle

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 CARNOT REFRIGERATION
CYCLE
o The Carnot cycle is one whose efficiency can not be
exceeded when operating between two given temperatures.
Figure 1 (a) shows the Carnot heat engine, while the
corresponding T-s diagram is given in Fig. 1(b).
o The engine receives energy at a high level of temperature,
converts a portion of energy into work, and discharges the
remainder to a heat sink at a low level of temperature.

Fig. 1: (a) Carnot heat Engine, (b) T-s diagram.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CARNOT REFRIGERATION
CYCLE Cont.
o The Carnot refrigeration cycle, however, performs the reverse
effect of the heat engine i.e. it transfers energy from a low
level of temperature to a high level of temperature (Fig. 2).
o It requires the addition of external work for its operation.
1-2 Adiabatic compression
2-3 Isothermal heat rejection ( HR)
3-4 Adiabatic expansion
4-1 Isothermal heat absorption (HA)

Fig. 2: (a) Carnot refrigeration cycle, (b) T-s diagram.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CARNOT REFRIGERATION
CYCLE Cont.
o All the processes in the cycle are reversible.
o Thus processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic.
o The process 4-1 is the refrigeration step and is the entire
purpose of the cycle, as the withdrawal of heat from the low
temperature source occurs in this process.
o All the other processes help the low temperature energy to be
discharged to high temperature energy (heat) sink.
o Since the Carnot cycle consists of reversible processes which
make its efficiency higher than could be achieved in an actual
cycle, so it is called an ideal cycle.
o Following are the reasons to discuss the Carnot cycle:
1) It serves as a standard of comparison.
2) It provides a guide to achieve maximum effectiveness.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
o The performance index of the refrigeration cycle is the
coefficient of performance (COP), and it is given as:
𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝑈𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘
o The useful refrigeration, actually, is the amount of
cooling produced or amount of heat removed/absorbed
or the refrigeration effect (RE) produced.
o The COP is dimensionless.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
CONDITIONS FOR HIGHEST COP
o The useful refrigeration (the area under line 4-1), the heat
rejected from the cycle (the area under line 2-3) and the net
work (area enclosed in rectangle 1-2-3-4) are shown in Fig. 1.
o The working substance in a refrigeration system is called the
refrigerant.

𝑞1 = 𝑇1 𝑠1 − 𝑠4

Fig. 1: T-s diagram to show the useful refrigeration and net work.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

CONDITIONS FOR HIGHEST COP Cont.
o Areas beneath reversible processes on T-s diagram represent
the transfers of energy (heat), as heat transferred in reversible
process is 𝑞𝑟𝑒𝑣 = 𝑇 𝑑𝑠, so:
𝑞𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑞1
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = =
𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑞2 − 𝑞1

𝑇1 𝑠1 − 𝑠4
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
𝑇2 − 𝑇1 𝑠1 − 𝑠4
𝑇1
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = → (1)
𝑇2 − 𝑇1
o Thus, the COP is entirely a function of the temperature limits &
can vary from zero to infinity.
o For maximum COP, keep (a) 𝑻𝟏 high (b) 𝑻𝟐 low.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
CONDITIONS FOR HIGHEST COP Cont.
 TEMPERATURE LIMITATIONS:
o The transfers of heat with a difference in temperature i.e. HR &
HA are irreversible processes i.e. isothermal HR and HA are
impossible to achieve in practice. The Carnot cycle, however,
claims reversible processes (on constant temperature). This
implies that the cycle is merely a rectangular cycle on T-s
diagram.
o Moreover, if 𝑇1 = 𝑇2 ⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = ∞. It means certain temperature
requirements are always imposed upon the refrigeration
system.
o As per Eqn. (1), 𝑇2 should be kept low but it can not be reduced
below a certain limit. For example, if heat is rejected at 30℃
(303.15 K), 𝑇2 > 303.15 K (Fig. 2).
o Similarly, 𝑇1 should be kept high, but it can not be increased
beyond a certain limit. For example, if a cold room is maintained
at −20℃ (253 K), 𝑇1 < 253 K (Fig. 2).
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CONDITIONS FOR HIGHEST COP Cont.

𝑻𝟐 > 𝟑𝟎𝟑. 𝟏𝟓 𝐊

𝑻𝟏 < 𝟐𝟓𝟑 𝐊
Fig. 2

o Thus, only control over the temperature is to keep ∆𝑡 as small as

possible. Reduction of ∆𝑡 can be accomplished by increasing U or A in
the following equation:
𝑞 = 𝑈𝐴∆𝑡 → (2)
o In order to decrease ∆𝑡 to zero, either U or A would have to be infinite
leading to an infinite cost. Thus an ideal COP can not be achieved in
practice and actual COP is lower.
o Furthermore, conflict of speed makes implementation of the Carnot
cycle impossible, as unlike isentropic processes isothermal processes
need slower speeds of compressor.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CARNOT HEAT PUMP
o A heat pump (HP) operates for the purpose of delivering
heat at a high level of temperature.
o Even though the equipment used in a refrigeration cycle
and in an HP may be identical, the objectives are
different. Unlike refrigeration cycle, purpose of the HP is
to reject heat at higher temperature.
o Both the functions of cooling and heating may be served
by the HP system.
o Some units are available for air-conditioning applications
of cooling a building during summer and heating it during
winter.
o The performance index of a heat pump is expressed by
the performance factor (PF).
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 CARNOT HEAT PUMP Cont.
𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑃𝐹 =
𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑
o The PF is represented by areas on the T-s diagram of the
Carnot cycle (Fig. 1).
o The area under line 2-3 represents the HR, while the area 1-
2-3-4 represents the net work.
𝑇2
𝑃𝐹 =
𝑇2 − 𝑇1

Fig. 1: Carnot heat pump cycle.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 CARNOT HEAT PUMP Cont.
𝑇1
o As 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = , &
𝑇2 −𝑇1

𝑇2 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 + 𝑇1
𝑃𝐹 = =
𝑇2 − 𝑇1 𝑇2 − 𝑇1

⇒ 𝑃𝐹 = 𝐶𝑂𝑃 + 1 → (1)

o As COP varies from zero to infinity, therefore the PF can

vary from 1 to ∞.

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 THE AIR CYCLE
(MODIFIED CARNOT CYCLE)
o As the Carnot refrigeration cycle is the most efficient cycle,
every attempt should be made to reproduce it with actual
equipment. Certainly the reversible processes cannot be
duplicated, but at least the rectangular shape on the T-s
diagram should be maintained. Doing so means that all the heat
can be received at one temperature level and rejected another.
o If a gas, such as air, is used as the refrigerant, the rectangle of
the Carnot cycle would be modifies as shown in Fig. 1.
• Processes 2-3 & 4-1 are isobaric now,
and thus the cycle differs by the areas
x & y.
• This means T4 must be lower than the
cold-room temperature, and gas rises
to a temperature no higher than that
of the cold room.
• For similar reasons T2 must be above
Fig. 1: Refrigeration cycle the atmospheric temperature.
when a gas is the refrigerant. Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 THE AIR CYCLE Cont.
o The effect of area x is to increase the work required, which
decrease the coefficient of performance.
o The effect of area y is twofold:
a) To increase the work required.
b) To reduce the amount of refrigeration.
o Both these effects of area y reduce the coefficient of
performance.
o The air cycle may also be called as the Bell-Coleman cycle (or
Reversed Joule cycle).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BELL-COLEMAN CYCLE:
o 1-2: Isentropic compression process
o 2-3: Isobaric HR process ⇒ 𝑞1 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 𝑇2 − 𝑇3
o 3-4: Isentropic expansion process
o 4-1: Isobaric HA process ⇒ 𝑞2 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 𝑇1 − 𝑇4
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 THE AIR CYCLE Cont.
∵ 𝑤𝑖/𝑝 = 𝑞1 − 𝑞2 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 𝑇2 − 𝑇3 − 𝑇1 − 𝑇4
𝑇1 − 𝑇4 𝑇4 𝑇1 𝑇4 − 1
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = =
𝑇2 − 𝑇3 − 𝑇1 − 𝑇4 𝑇3 𝑇2 𝑇3 − 1 − 𝑇4 𝑇1 𝑇4 − 1
𝑇2 𝑇3 𝑇2 𝑇1
∵ = ∴ =
𝑇1 𝑇4 𝑇3 𝑇4
𝑇4 1 𝑇3 𝛾−1
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = = 𝐵𝑢𝑡 = 𝑃3 𝑃4 𝛾
𝑇3 − 𝑇4 𝑇3 𝑇4 − 1 𝑇4
1 𝑃3 𝑃2
⇒ 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = 𝛾 ; where 𝑟𝑝 = =
𝑃4 𝑃1
𝑟𝑝 𝛾−1 − 1
𝛾
o For higher COP, 𝑟𝑝 𝛾−1 should be slightly higher than 1 i.e. 𝑟𝑝
should be as low as possible. Thus ideally, the discharge
pressure should only be slightly higher than the inlet pressure
for good performance.
Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah
 PROBLEM
A refrigeration system working on reversed Carnot
cycle requires 1.5 kW power for every one TR (ton of
refrigeration) at −23℃. Find the following:
a) The COP
b) The higher temperature of the cycle
c) The heat rejected in kJ/min
d) The COP when this unit is used as a heat pump

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 SOLUTION
a) For refrigerator:
𝑅𝐸 1 𝑇𝑅 3.516𝑘𝑊
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟 = = = = 𝟐. 𝟑𝟒
𝑊𝐷 1.5 𝑘𝑊 1.5 𝑘𝑊
b) Also,
𝑇1 250
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟 = ⇒ 2.34 =
𝑇2 − 𝑇1 𝑇2 − 250
⇒ 𝑇2 = 𝟑𝟓𝟔. 𝟔 𝑲
c) For heat pump, heat rejected or supplied to a space at 𝑇2 :
𝑞𝑟 = 𝑞𝑎 + 𝑊 = 3.516 + 1.5 = 𝟓. 𝟎𝟏 𝒌𝑾
𝑞𝑟 5.01
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑝 = = = 𝟑. 𝟑
𝑊 1.5

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

 PROBLEM
A refrigerator having a capacity of 10 Ton works on the
Bell-Coleman cycle. The refrigerating pressure is 1.4
bar and the cooler pressure is 4.2 bar. The air is cooled
to a temperature of 50℃ in the cooler, while the
temperature of air at inlet to compressor is −20℃.
Determine the following:
a) The COP of the cycle (2.71)
b) Mass flow rate of the refrigerant (124.86 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑖𝑛)
c) Piston displacement of the compressor (64.76 𝑚3 /min)
d) Ideal COP (3.61)
e) Heat rejected in condenser (47.86 𝑘𝑊)

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

SOLUTION

Arranged by Prof. Dr. Asad Naeem Shah

THANKS