TERM PAPER

Name: SPURSH SEHDEV

Section: E4911
Roll no. A29
Reg. no. 10907106
Sub. Thermodynamics (MEC203)
Topic:Working Principal of domestic refriragator.

Submitted to:
Mr. ANIL REDDY
 Acknowledgement
I take this opportunity to present my votes of thanks to all those
guidepost who really acted as lightening pillars to enlighten our
way throughout this project that has led to successful and
satisfactory completion of this study.
We are highly thankful to Mr. ANIL sir, for hIS active support,
valuable time and advice, whole-hearted guidance, sincere cooperation
and pain-taking involvement during the study and in completing the
assignment of preparing the said project within the time stipulated.
Lastly, I am thankful to all those, particularly the various friends , who
have been instrumental in creating proper, healthy and conductive
environment and including new and fresh innovative ideas for me during
the project, their help, it would have been extremely difficult for us to
prepare the project in a time bound framework.
Contents:
1. Introduction.

2. Basic working Principles.

3. Internal parts & their function.

4. Conclusion .

5. References .
Introduction
We must be using your refrigerator since a number of years, but do you know how it works?
Well, refrigeration is the process of maintaining temperature in a space lower than the
surroundings. In this process heat is removed from the source at low temperature and thrown out
to the source at higher temperature. Refrigeration is the process of heat transfer against the
natural flow of heat which is from high temperature to low temperature. This heat is carried by a
fluid, usually the Freon gas.

There are various parts of the refrigerator. Freon gas passes through these parts and undergoes
various phase transitions. The flow of this gas through various parts of the refrigeration system is
called a refrigeration cycle.

In very basic terms, refrigeration systems are used to remove heat from one area and transfer it to
another location. This article gives some details about the vapor compression refrigeration cycle,
which is very widely used for many types of refrigeration systems, including home refrigerators
and freezers, refrigeration air conditioning, and automobile air conditioners. Read on for
information about the vapor compression cycle, how it works, and how it is used in to provide
refrigeration.

The whole activity of the cooling mechanism is based on an exceptional attribute of the
refrigerant: first it has to evaporate at the low pressure and temperature and so take away the
warmth to its surrounding and second it has to condense at the higher pressure and temperature
and so deliver the warmth to its surrounding. The evaporation at the low temperature is the
essence of the cooling mechanisms, on the other hand the condensation at the higher temperature
is the essence of the thermal pumps which are used for heating.In the fridges with compressors
the refrigerant circles in such way, that the compressor (the black snarling thing behind) takes up
the refrigerant fumes from the evaporator (the box inside above, where the food-stuff get
chilled), presses them and force them into the condensator (the black grate behind), where they
condense. Than the refrigerant comes back into the evaporator. There the refrigerant evaporates
because it takes away the warmth from the food-stuff. The food-stuff is cooled down.
In the absorbent fridges the cooling is based on the principle of absorption – one substance
absorbs another one, which is accompanied with thermal changes. The main part of the absorbent
cooling mechanism is the evaporator, absorber, expeller and a condensator. By warming up the
refrigerant with water in the expeller (this can be done either with an electric heater – electric
absorbent fridges, or with a gas burner – gaseous absorbent fridges) the fumes of refrigerant are
expelled from water, these fumes course to condenser and here they condense. From here the
condensed refrigerant gets into the evaporator. Thus the cycle is the same as at the compressor
fridge (the compressor is replaced with an evaporator and an absorber). The advantage of the
absorbent fridges is their noiseless working. But they cannot cool the inner space to such low
temperature as the compressor fridges, because they have lower efficiency (and the running is
also more expensive).

Ironically, refrigerators keep things cold because of the nature of heat. The Second Law
of Thermodynamics essentially states that if a cold object is placed next to a hot object, the cold
object will become warmer and the hot object will become cooler. A refrigerator does not cool
items by lowering their original temperatures; instead, an evaporating gas called
a refrigerant draws heat away, leaving the surrounding area much colder. Refrigerators and air
conditioners both work on the principle of cooling through evaporation.

A refrigerator consists of two storage compartments - one for frozen items and the other for
items requiring refrigeration but not freezing. These compartments are surrounded by a series of
heat-exchanging pipes. Near the bottom of the refrigerator unit is a heavy metal device called a
compressor. The compressor is powered by an electric motor. More heat-exchanging pipes are
coiled behind the refrigerator. Running through the entire system is pure ammonia, which
evaporates at -27 degrees Fahrenheit (-32 Celsius). This system is closed, which means nothing
is lost or added while it is operating. Because liquid ammonia is a powerful chemical, a
leaking refrigerator should be repaired or replaced immediately.

The refrigeration process begins with the compressor. Ammonia gas is compressed until it
becomes very hot from the increased pressure. This heated gas flows through the coils behind the
refrigerator, which allow excess heat to be released into the surrounding air. This is why users
sometimes feel warm air circulating around the fridge. Eventually the ammonia cools down to
the point where it becomes a liquid. This liquid form of ammonia is then forced through a device
called an expansion valve. Essentially, the expansion valve has such a small opening that the
liquid ammonia is turned into a very cold, fast-moving mist, evaporating as it travels through the
coils in the freezer. Since this evaporation occurs at -27 degrees F (-32 degrees Celsius), the
ammonia draws heat from the surrounding area. This is the Second Law of Thermodynamics in
effect. Cold material, such as the evaporating ammonia gas, tend to take heat from warmer
materials, such as the water in the ice cube tray.

As the evaporating ammonia gas absorbs more heat, its temperature rises. Coils surrounding the
lower refrigerator compartment are not as compact. The cool ammonia still draws heat from the
warmer objects in the fridge, but not as much as the freezer section. The ammonia gas is drawn
back into the compressor, where the entire cycle of pressurization, cooling and evaporation
begins anew.

BASIC REFRIGERATION PRINCIPLES

If you were to place a hot cup of coffee on a table and leave it for a while, the heat in the coffee would be
transferred to the materials in contact with the coffee, i.e. the cup, the table and the surrounding air. As
the heat is transferred, the coffee in time cools. Using the same principle, refrigeration works by
removing heat from a product and transferring that heat to the outside air.

First principle
The first principle involves the transfer of heat. We could discuss entropy and the laws of
thermodynamics, but we’re not going to do that. That isn’t really necessary to understand this
concept. It is one that we are all familiar with, whether we have any interest in science or not. If
you take your supper off the stove but don’t eat it right away, it gets cold. If you leave the milk
out on the counter, it gets warm. Actually, your supper and your milk would become the same
temperature, the temperature of the room. Because your supper is hotter than the room, heat
energy moves from it into the room. Because you milk is colder than the room, heat energy
moves from the room into the milk. This movement of heat energy affects the objects involved,
your supper or milk, changing their temperatures. This concept of moving heat has a direct
bearing on our lives. In the winter, we move heat from a fire, or a radiator, or an electric heater
into our house, changing its temperature. In summer, we want to do the opposite, move heat from
our house to somewhere else (we don’t really care where), again changing the temperature of our
house.

Second principle
The second principle that we need to understand is that it takes heat to change something from a
liquid to a gas (to make it boil or evaporate). Technically this is called the latent heat of
vaporization, but it is a principle that anyone that has ever boiled water understands. When you
put a pot of water on the stove and turn on the burner, two things happen. First, as you add heat
to the water, the water gets hotter. Eventually, the water reaches its boiling point and begins to
boil. Now, no matter how much heat we add, the water will not get any hotter. It can’t get hotter
because any heat that we add is being used to change it from a liquid to a gas (water to steam).
The same principle also applies to other liquids. Although they may have a boiling point that is
higher or lower than water, when they reach that boiling point, they boil or evaporate when we
add more heat.

Third principle
The third principle is related to the second. The boiling point of water, or any liquid, changes
with a change in pressure. Many cooks have learned this the hard way. For example, water boils
at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), at sea level. However, on the top of Mount
Everest, water will boil at 156.2 degrees Fahrenheit (69 degrees Celsius), making it harder to
cook something in boiling water. The opposite is also true; an increase in pressure will increase
the boiling point. This is why cooks use pressure cookers. As the water in the pressure cooker
boils, the steam created has nowhere to go. As more heat is added, more steam is created and a
larger quantity of steam has to squeeze into the limited volume of the pressure cooker. The
increased pressure created by the captured steam increases the boiling point of the remaining
water. Of course, the good news for the cook (and those waiting for supper), is that the higher
cooking temperature in the pot causes the contents to cook faster, which was the point of using
the pressure cooker in the first place. The point to remember is that the boiling, or evaporation,
point of a liquid is not fixed at an unchangeable temperature. It increases with an increase in
pressure and decreases with a decrease in pressure.
Modern refrigeration equipment makes use of these principles. It could use water to cool things
off. If you ever ran through the sprinklers as a child or went for a swim as an adult (or vice versa)
you know how well this works. As the water evaporates from your skin on a hot summer day,
you feel cooler. This is because it takes heat to change the water from a liquid to a gas. This heat
comes from your skin. (Perspiration is supposed to work the same way, but somehow swimming
pool water seems to work better.)

Instead of using water, most refrigeration equipment uses a chemical with a very low boiling
point. This chemical, or refrigerant, passes through four basic components, moving heat from
one place to another along the way. These basic components are the condenser, metering device,
evaporator, and compressor. Auxiliary devices may also be added for safety, control, or to
increase efficiency, but these four form a basic refrigerator or air conditioner.

Internal Parts of the Domestic Refrigerator

The internal parts of the refrigerator are ones that carry out actual working of the refrigerator.
Some of the internal parts are located at the back of the refrigerator, and some inside the main
compartment of the refrigerator. Some internal parts of the domestic refrigerator are

1) Refrigerant: The refrigerant flows through all the internal parts of the refrigerator. It is the
refrigerant that carries out the cooling effect in the evaporator. It absorbs the heat from the
substance to be cooled in the evaporator (chiller or freezer) and throws it to the atmosphere via
condenser. The refrigerant keeps on recirculating through all the internal parts of the refrigerator
in cycle.

2) Compressor: The compressor is located at the back of the refrigerator and in the bottom
area. The compressor sucks the refrigerant from the evaporator and discharges it at high pressure
and temperature. The compressor is driven by the electric motor and it is the major power
consuming devise of the refrigerator.

3) Condenser: The condenser is the thin coil of copper tubing located at the back of the
refrigerator. The refrigerant from the compressor enters the condenser where it is cooled by the
atmospheric air thus losing heat absorbed by it in the evaporator and the compressor. To increase
the heat transfer rate of the condenser, it is finned externally.

4) Expansive valve or the capillary: The refrigerant leaving the condenser enters the
expansion devise, which is the capillary tube in case of the domestic refrigerators. The capillary
is the thin copper tubing made up of number of turns of the copper coil. When the refrigerant is
passed through the capillary its pressure and temperature drops down suddenly.

5) Evaporator or chiller or freezer: The refrigerant at very low pressure and temperature
enters the evaporator or the freezer. The evaporator is the heat exchanger made up of several
turns of copper or aluminum tubing. In domestic refrigerators the plate types of evaporator is
used as shown in the figure above. The refrigerant absorbs the heat from the substance to be
cooled in the evaporator, gets evaporated and it then sucked by the compressor. This cycle keeps
on repeating.

6) Temperature control devise or thermostat: To control the temperature inside the

refrigerator there is thermostat, whose sensor is connected to the evaporator. The thermostat
setting can be done by the round knob inside the refrigerator compartment. When the set
temperature is reached inside the refrigerator the thermostat stops the electric supply to the
compressor and compressor stops and when the temperature falls below certain level it restarts
the supply to the compressor.
7) Defrost system: The defrost system of the refrigerator helps removing the excess ice from
the surface of the evaporator. The defrost system can be operated manually by the thermostat
button or there is automatic system comprising of the electric heater and the timer.

Conclusion:
The natural tendency of heat is to flow from high temperature to low temperature reservoir.
Refrigeration is the process of transferring heat from low temperature reservoir to the high
temperature reservoir. This is against the natural flow of heat hence power is required to enable
this transfer. Refrigeration is also defined as science that deals with the process of reducing and
maintaining the temperature of a space or material below the temperature of the surroundings.

The process of refrigeration helps you to chill water, make ice and delicious ice cream. It helps
you preserve your fruits, vegetables and other food items. The food items get damaged at
atmospheric temperature because bacteria can easily survive in these conditions. At temperatures
below 4 degree Celsius, the bacteria cease to exist and hence the food items remain safe and
fresh. You can also keep your medicines safe in refrigeration. There are number of other
applications of refrigeration.

The refrigeration system comprises of various components like Freon gas, compressor,
condenser, evaporator, thermostat etc, which are all enclosed in a casing. The most commonly
used refrigeration machines are the household refrigerator and deep freezer, though these
machines are available in many other forms.

Household refrigerators are available in various forms and sizes. The size of the refrigerator is
defined in terms of the total internal volume of the refrigerator. The volume of the typical
household refrigerator can be 10, 14, 16, 18, 20 square feet and even more. These refrigerators
can have single door, double door, or side doors.

The larger the size of the refrigerator, the more food items that can be kept in the refrigerator.
Accordingly the amount of heat that is to be removed from the refrigerator to maintain the
desired temperature also increases. The rate at which this heat must be removed from the
refrigerated space is called refrigeration load, cooling load or heating load.

In the freezer section of the refrigerator, temperature below zero degrees Celsius is maintained,
hence water and other food items get frozen when kept here. In the main body of the refrigerator,
temperatures ranging from 0 to 4 degree Celsius are maintained depending upon the distance of
the compartment from the freezer section.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/35435.aspx#ixzz1JJlrlt17
2. Shet, U.S.P, Sundararajan, T, and Mallikarjuna, J.M., Simple Vapor Compression
Refrigeration System, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

3. Manning, L, The Ideal Vapor-Compression Refrigeration Cycle, Department of

Mechanical Engineering, Univ of Nevada Reno
4. http://www.quido.cz/objevy/chladnicka.a.htm
5. http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-a-refrigerator-work.htm
6. http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/855.aspx
7. http://www.blurtit.com/q4313080.html