REFRIGERATION AND AIR

CONDITIONING

By Mrs.Katta.Deepika
Assistant professor
 UNIT – I Introduction to Refrigeration

 Necessity and applications

 Unit of refrigeration and C.O.P.
 Mechanical Refrigeration
 Types of Ideal cycle of refrigeration.
 Air Refrigeration: Bell Coleman cycle and Brayton Cycle, Open and Dense air systems
 Actual air refrigeration system
 Refrigeration needs of Air crafts- Air systems
 Application of Air Refrigeration, Justification
 Types of systems – Problems
UNIT – II Vapour compression refrigeration

 Working principle and essential components of the plant

 Simple Vapour compression refrigeration cycle
 COP – Representation of cycle on T-S and p-h charts
 Effect of sub cooling and super heating – cycle analysis
 Actual cycle Influence of various parameters on system performance
 Use of p-h charts – Problems.
UNIT - III System Components

 Compressors – General classification

 Comparison – Advantages and Disadvantages.
 Condensers – classification – Working Principles.
 Evaporators – classification – Working Principles.
 Expansion devices – Types – Working Principles.
 Refrigerants – Desirable properties
 common refrigerants used – Nomenclature
 Ozone Depletion – Global Warming
 Azeotropes and Zeotropes
UNIT - IV Vapor Absorption System

 Calculation of max COP

 Description and working of NH3 – water system
 Li – Br system.
 Principle of operation Three Fluid absorption system, salient features.
 Steam Jet Refrigeration System – Working Principle and Basic Components
 Principle and operation of (i) Thermoelectric refrigerator
 (ii) Vortex tube or Hilsch tube.
 UNIT – V Introduction to Air Conditioning
 Psychometric Properties & Processes
 Sensible and latent heat loads – Characterization
 Need for Ventilation, Consideration of Infiltration
 Load concepts of RSHF, ASHF, ESHF and ADP.
 Concept of human comfort and effective temperature
 Comfort Air conditioning
 Industrial air conditioning and Requirements
 Air conditioning Load Calculations.
 Air Conditioning systems - Classification of equipment, cooling,
 heating humidification and dehumidification, filters, grills and registers,
 deodorants, fans and blowers. Heat Pump – Heat sources
 different heat pump circuits – Applications.
TEXT BOOKS AND REFERENCE BOOKS

TEXT BOOKS:
 1. Refrigeration and Air conditioning / CP Arora / Mc Graw Hill
 2. Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning / RC Aora / PHI

REFERENCE BOOKS:
 1. Principles of Refrigeration - Dossat / Pearson
 2. Basic Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning / Ananthanarayanan / Mc Graw Hil
 INTRODUCTION
How does Refrigeration and air conditioning work?

 Refrigeration and air conditioning is used to cool products or a

building environment.

Refrigeration

 The term refrigeration means cooling a space, substance or

system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient
one (while the

 In other words, refrigeration is artificial (human-made) cooling.

Energy in the form of heat is removed from a low-temperature
reservoir and transferred to a high-temperature reservoir. removed
heat is rejected at a higher temperature).
INTRODUCTION
Air conditioning:

Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the

process of removing heat and controlling the humidity of air
in an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior
environment by use of powered 'air conditioners' or a variety
of other methods including passive cooling and ventilative
cooling . Air conditioning is a member of a family of systems
and techniques that provide 'heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning' (HVAC)
Application of Refrigeration

1. Storage and transportation of food

2. Preservation of medicine
3. Manufacturing of ice and rubber
4. Processing of petroleum
5. Liquefaction of gases like Nitrogen , oxygen etc …..
6. Cooling of water
• Domestic Refrigerator
• water coolers
• Commercial Refrigeration-Ice plant
• Commercial Refrigeration- Dairy , cold storage
Application of Air conditioning

• Comfort air conditioning of wide area

• Domestic Air Conditioners
• Automotive Air Conditioners
• Commercial Air Conditioning-Multiplex,
Hospitals
 Unit of refrigeration and C.O.P

Unit of Refrigeration:
 Rating for Refrigeration indicates the rate of removal heat. The unit of refrigeration is
expressed in terms of ton of refrigeration (TR). One ton of refrigeration is defined as the
amount of refrigeration effect (heat transfer rate) produced during uniform melting of one ton
(1000kg) of ice at 0°C to the water at the 0°C in 24 hours.
 Calculation for one ton of refrigeration
 Latent heat of ice is 335KJ/kg (heat absorbed during melting of one kg ice)
1 Ton of refrigeration, 1TR= 1000*335 in 24 hours
=(1000×335)/(24×60) in one minute
= 232.6 kJ/min

Theoretically one Ton of refrigeration taken as 232.6kJ/min, However in actual practice, it is

taken as 210kJ/min.
1 ton of refrigeration approximately equal to 3.5kW or 12,000 BTU/h
 Coefficient of Performance (COP):
 The coefficient of performance or COP of a heat pump, refrigerator or air conditioning
system is a ratio of useful heating or cooling provided to work (energy) required.

 Higher COPs equate to higher efficiency, lower energy (power) consumption and thus
lower operating costs.

 The COP usually exceeds 1, especially in heat pumps, because, instead of just converting
work to heat (which, if 100% efficient, would be a COP of 1), it pumps additional heat
from a heat source to where the heat is required.
 Most air conditioners have COP of 2.3 to 3.5. Less work is required to move heat than for
conversion into heat, and because of this, heat pumps, air conditioners and refrigeration
systems can have a coefficient of performance greater than one.
 Methods of Refrigeration:
 a) Natural Method: The natural method includes the utilization of ice or
snow obtained naturally in cold climate. Ice melts at 00 C. So when it is
placed in space or system warmer than 00 C, heat is absorbed by the ice
and the space is cooled. The ice then melts into water by absorbing its
latent heat at the rate of 324 kJ/kg. But, now-a-days, refrigeration
requirements have become so high that the natural methods are inadequate
and therefore obsolete.

 b).Mechanical or Artificial Refrigeration: Atmosphere (Thot) Refrigerated

System (Tcold) δQ1 Refrigerating System (R) δW δQ2 as shown in fig.
Reversed Carnot engine A mechanical refrigeration system works on the
principle of reversed Carnot
 Mechanical Refrigeration
 Mechanical refrigeration, often referred to simply as refrigeration, is a process by which heat is
removed from a location using a man-made heat-exchange system.
 The system of refrigeration can be cyclic, non-cyclic,thermoelectric or magnetic depending on
the application for which refrigeration is needed.
 computer room air conditioner (CRAC) is the most common use of mechanical refrigeration. It
typically involves cyclic heat absorption using a fluid refrigerant and a compressor system. The
actual cooling principle is based on the phase change of the refrigerant. The compressor causes
pressure changes between two segments of a cooling loop maintained at different pressures.
 When the refrigerant enters the low pressure cooling coil, the refrigerant changes state into a
vapor and absorbs heat. The compressor then moves the vapor into a higher pressure condenser
where the refrigerant is condensed back into a liquid, liberating its heat into a heat exchange coil
before being re-circulated back into the low pressure evaporator coil.
 In the early days of mechanical refrigeration, flammable chemicals such as ammonia were used
as refrigerant. This proved hazardous and the creation of Freon was thought to be the perfect
solution until the discovery of chlorofluorocarbons' (CFCs) harmful effects on the environment.
Since then, alternative refrigerants such as Puron have been developed for commercial use.
Types of Ideal cycle of refrigeration

• Air Refrigeration.
• Vapor-compression cycle.
• Vapor absorption cycle.
• Gas cycle.
• Reversed Carnot cycle.
 Refrigeration Cycle:
 Heat flows in direction of decreasing temperature, i.e., from high-temperature to low
temperature regions. The transfer of heat from a low-temperature to high-temperature requires
a refrigerator and/or heat pump. Refrigerators and heat pumps are essentially the same device;
they only differ in their objectives. The performance of refrigerators and heat pumps is
expressed in terms of coefficient of performance (COP):

 (COP)R=
 The Reversed Carnot Cycle:
 Reversing the Carnot cycle does reverse the directions of heat and work interactions. A refrigerator or
heat pump that operates on the reversed Carnot cycle is called a Carnot refrigerator or a Carnot heat
pump.
 Air Refrigeration cycle:
1. Air is used as working fluid.
2. No change of phase through out.
3. Heat carrying capacity/kg of air is very small compared with other refrigerant
systems.
4. High pressure air readily available in the Aircraft .
5. Low equipment weight.

 Basic elements: 1. Compressor 2. Heat exchanger 3. Expander 4. Refrigerator

Open system : The air used in the refrigerator is thrown into the atmosphere.

Closed system: Air used is recirculated

1 To increase C.O.P., T2 should kept low. But cannot be reduced below 25ºC –Atmospheric Temp.

2 T1 should be kept high. But cannot be increased above 0ºC. It is the required temperature.
ADVANTAGES OFAIR –REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS
Advantages
1.As the air is easily available compared with the other refrigerant, it is cheap.
2.The air used is non-flammable, so there is no danger of fire as in NH3 machine.
3. The weight of the air refrigeration system / T.R is quite low compared with the other
refrigeration systems which is one of the major causes selecting this system in air craft.

4. Other refrigeration systems have high COP but have severe impact on atmosphere.

Disadvantages

1. This system produces low COP because of which it has become obsolete.

2. Moreover these refrigerants are too expensive and handling of these refrigerants is
difficult.
 Air Refrigeration System And Bell-Coleman Cycle or
Reversed Brayton Cycle:

The components of the air refrigeration system are shown in Fig. In this
system, air is taken into the compressor from atmosphere and compressed. The
hot compressed air is cooled in heat exchanger up to the atmospheric
temperature (in ideal conditions). The cooled air is then expanded in an
expander.
 Air Refrigeration System And Bell-Coleman
Cycle or Reversed Brayton Cycle:
 The temperature of the air coming out from the expander is below
the atmospheric temperature due to isentropic expansion. The low
temperature air coming out from the expander enters into the

 evaporator and absorbs the heat. The cycle is repeated again. The
working of air refrigeration cycle is represented on p-v and T-s
diagrams in Fig.

 Assumptions:

 The compression and expansion processes are reversible

adiabatic processes.
1) There is a perfect inter-cooling in the heat exchanger.
2) There are no pressure losses in the system.
 Bell-Coleman cycle refrigeration system
 The Bell Coleman Cycle (also called as the Joule or "reverse" Brayton
cycle) is a refrigeration cycle where the working fluid is a gas that is
compressed and expanded, but does not change phase. Air is most often
this working fluid.

 This cycle is the modification of reverse Carnot cycle. Only difference

between reverse Carnot cycle and Bell Coleman Cycle is that in Carnot
Cycle there are two isothermal processes which are replaced by two Open Cycle
isobaric processes in in Bell Coleman Cycle.

Components of Bell-Coleman cycle refrigeration system:

⚫ Air Compressor
⚫ Heat Exchanger
⚫ Air Regulator
⚫ Evaporator (Cabin)
Closed Cycle
 Working of Bell-Coleman cycle
1. Isentropic compression process
2. Constant pressure cooling process
3. Isentropic expansion process
4. Constant pressure expansion process

Isentropic compression process: The cold air from the refrigerator or

atmosphere is drawn into the compressor cylinder where it is compressed
isentropically in the compressor as shown by the curve 1-2 on p-v and T-s
diagrams. During the compression stroke, both the pressure and temperature
increases and the specific volume of air at delivery from compressor reduce
from v1 to v2. We know that during isentropic compression process, no heat is
absorbed or rejected by the air.
Constant pressure cooling process: The warm air from the compressor is
now passed into the cooler where it is cooled at constant pressure P3 (equal to
P2), reducing the temperature from T2 to T3 (the temperature of cooling water)
as shown by the curve 2-3 on p-v and T-s diagrams. The specific volume also
reduces from v2 to v3. Heat dismissed by the air: Qr = Cp(T2 — T3 )
 Working of Bell-Coleman cycle
Isentropic expansion process: The air from the cooler is now drawn into the expander
cylinder where it is expanded isentropically from pressure P3 to the refrigerator pressure P4
which is equal to the atmospheric pressure. The temperature of the air during expansion falls
from T3 to T4 shown by the curve 3-4 on p-v and T-s diagrams. The specific volume of air at
entry to the refrigerator increases from v3 to v4. We know that during isentropic expansion of
air, no head is absorbed or rejected by the air.

Constant pressure expansion process: The cold air from the expander is now passed to the
refrigerator where it is expanded at constant pressure P4 (equal to P1). The temperature of air
increases from T4to T1. This process is shown by the curve 4- 1on p-v and T-s diagrams. Due to
heat from the refrigerator, the specific volume of the air changes from v4 to v1. Heat
consumed by the air: Qa = Cp( T1 — T4)
Work done during the cycle per kg of air = Heat rejected — Heat absorbed
 = Cp(T2 — T3 ) — Cp( T1 — T4)
C.O.P during the cycle per kg of air = Heat absorbed / work done
 = Cp( T1 — T4 ) / Cp(T2 — T3 ) — Cp( T1 — T4)
 Open and Dense air systems
Air cycle refrigeration is one of the earliest methods used for
cooling. The key features of this method is that, the refrigerant air
remain gaseous state throughout the refrigeration cycle. Based on
the operation, the air refrigeration system can be classified into

 Open air refrigeration cycle

 Closed refrigeration cycle
Open air refrigeration cycle
 In an open refrigeration system, the air is directly passed over the space is to be cooled, and
allowed to circulate through the cooler. The pressure of open refrigeration cycle is limited
to the atmospheric pressure. A simple diagram of the open-air Refrigeration system is
given below.

Advantages and application

• It eliminates the need of a heat exchanger.
• It is used in aircraft because it helps to achieve cabin pressurization and air conditioning at
once
Disadvantages
 The air supplied to the refrigeration system is at atmospheric pressure, so the volume of air
handled by the system is large. Thus the size of compressor and expander also should be
large.
 The moisture is regularly carried away by the circulating air, this leads to the formation of
frost at the end of the expansion process and clogs the line, and hence a use of dryer is
preferable to the open air refrigeration system.
 Closed refrigeration system / Dense air refrigeration
cycle
 In closed or dense air refrigeration cycle, air refrigerant is contained within pipes and
component part of the system at all time. The circulated air does not have to direct
contact with the space to be cooled. The air is used to cool another fluid (brine), and this
fluid is circulated into the space to be cooled. So the disadvantages listed in open air
refrigeration can be eliminated.
Advantages
• The suction to the compressor may be at high pressure, therefore the volume of air
handled by the compressor and expander is low when compared to an open system.
Hence the size of compressor and expander is small compared to the open air system.
• The chance of freezing of moister and choke the valve is eliminated.
• In this system, higher coefficient of performance can be achieved by reducing operating
pressure ratio.
Difference between Open and Closed Air Refrigeration
System

Open System Closed System

Air is directly led to the space to be Dense air passed through pipes all the time.
cooled.

Since air is supplied to the refrigerator at Suction pressure is higher than atmospheric
atmospheric pressure, the volume of air pressure so a smaller volume of air is to be
handled by the compressor is large. handled by the compressor.

Moisture leads to the formation of frost Pressure ratio can be reduced which results
at the end of expansion thus drier is in higher COP.
used.
 Refrigeration needs of Air crafts-
 Aircraft air refrigeration systems are required due to heat transfer from many
external and internal heat sources (like solar radiation and avionics) which increase
the cabin air temperature.

 Applications of Aircraft air refrigeration systems

 External Heat gain due to solar radiations
 Heat released b the occupants
 Internal heat gain due to Electrical and Mechanical Equipment used
Methods of Air Refrigeration Systems

1. Simple air cooling system,

2. Simple air evaporative cooling system,
3. Boot strap air cooling system,
4. Boot strap air evaporative cooling system,
5. Reduced ambient air cooling system, and
6. Regenerative air cooling system.
1.SIMPLE AIR COOLING SYSTEM

Simple air cooling system

T-S DIAGRAM FOR SIMPLE AIR CYCLE COOLING SYSTEM
If v is the aircraft velocity or the velocity of air relative to the
aircraft in meters per second, then kinetic energy of outside
air relative to aircraft,

From the energy equation, we know that

v 2
h2  h1 
2000
V2
c p .T2  c p .T1 
2000
V2
 T2  T1 
2000 c p

T2  1 V2
T1 2000 c p .T1
and
T2 '  1 V2
T1 2000 c p .T1
• We know that C.O.P. of the air cycle

m a c p (T6  T5 ') T6  T5 '

 
m a c p (T3 'T2 ') T3 'T2 '
 If Q tonnes of refrigeration is the cooling
load in the cabin, then the air required for
the refrigeration purpose,

Power required for the refrigeration system

ma c p (T3 'T2 ')
p kW
60
and C.O.P. of the refrigerating system
2.Simple Air Evaporative Cooling system
T-s Diagram
 3.BOOT-STRAP AIR COOLING SYSTEM
• The term Bootstrap as used in Air Cycle Refrigeration
indicates a system in which the pressure of the working fluid is
raised in two levels by using two compressors, before the
working fluid which is air, expands in the turbine section
The main components of this system are:
• Two heat exchangers (air cooler and after cooler)
• A secondary compressor, which is driven by the turbine
of the cooling system
4.Boot-strap Air Evaporative Cooling System
T-S Diagram
If Q tones of refrigeration is the cooling load in the cabin,
then the quantity of air required for the refrigeration purpose
will be
5.Regenerative air cooling system

Regenerative air cooling system

Diagram for regenerative air cooling system
6. Reduced Ambient Air Cooling System
Reduced ambient air cooling system
T-S diagram for reduced ambient air cycle cooling
system
ADVANTAGES
 Comparison of Various Air Cooling Systems
used for Aircraft
• Comparison of Various Air Cooling Systems used for Aircraft are
shown in Fig.
• These curves show the dry air rated turbine discharge temperature
(DART) against the Mach number.
• we see that the simple air cooling system gives maximum cooling effect
on the ground surface and decreases as the speed of aircraft increases.
• .The boot strap system on the other hand, requires the air plane to be
in flight so that the ram air can be used for cooling in the heat
exchangers
• For high speed aircrafts, the boot strap evaporative or
regenerative systems are used because they give lower
turbine discharge temperature than the simple cooling
system.

Performance curves for various air cooling systems.

 Ques1.
An aircraft refrigeration plant has to handle a cabin
load of 30 tonnes. The atmospheric temperature is
17°C. The atmospheric air is compressed to a
pressure of 0.95 bar and temperature of 30° C due
to ram action. This air is then further compressed in
a compressor to 4.75 bar, cooled in a heat
exchanger to 67°C, expanded in a turbine to I bar
pressure and supplied to the cabin. The air leaves
the cabin at a temperature of 27°C. The isentropic
efficiencies of both compressor and turbine are 0.9.
Calculate the mass of air circulated per minute and
the C.O.P. For air, = 1.004 kJ/kg K and 1.4.
Q=30 TR ; T1=17° C=17+237=290 K ; p2=0.95 bar ; T2=30° C=30+273=303 K
; p3=p3'=4.75 bar ; T4=67° C=67+273=340 ;p5=p5'=1 bar ;
T6=27° C=27+273=300 K ; ; cp=1.004 kJ/kg K; cp/cv= =1.4
0.9

Let
Let
T2 = Temperature of air at the end of ramming or
entering the main compressor,
T3’ = Temperature of air leaving the main compressor
after isentropic compression,
T4 = Temperature of air leaving the heat exchanger, and
T5 ‘= Temperature of air leaving the cooling turbine
 Ques.2
A boot-strap cooling system of 10 TR capacity is used in an
aeroplane. The ambient air temperature and pressure are 20°C
and 0.85 bar respectively. The pressure of air increases from
0.85 bar to 1 bar due to ramming action of air. "The pressure of
air discharged from the main compressor is 3 bar. The discharge
pressure of air from the auxiliary compressor is 4 bar. The
isentropic efficiency of each of the compressor is 80%, while
that of turbine is 85%. 50% of the enthalpy of air discharged
from the main compressor is removed in the first heat
exchanger and 30% of the enthalpy of air discharged from the
auxiliary compressor is removed in the second heat exchanger
using rammed air. Assuming ramming action to be isentropic,
the required cabin pressure of 0.9 bar and temperature of the
air leaving the cabin not more than 20° C, find : 1. the power
required to operate the system, and 2. the C.O.P. of the system.
Draw the schematic and temperature -entropy diagram of the
system. Take =1.4 and cp =1 kJ/kg K
 solution
Given : Q= 10 TR ; T1 =20°C=20+273=293K; p1 = 0.85 bar ; p2 = 1 bar ;
P3=P3'=P4=3 bar ;p5 = p5 ' = p6 =4 bar ; C1 C2 80% =0.8 ; T =
0
85% = 0.85 ; p7  p7 ' p8  0.9 bar ; T8 =20 C= 20+273 =293 K ; y=
1.4; cp =1kJ/kgK