Chapter One

Basic Concepts in
Refrigeration
 Introduction to Refrigeration
and Air Conditioning

 In this course, we will introduce you to the fundamentals of refrigeration and air conditioning.
 We will discuss the basic principles of refrigeration, the different types of refrigeration systems, and the components
of a typical refrigeration system.
 We will also discuss the principles of air conditioning and the different types of air conditioning systems.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 2

 Principles of Refrigeration

Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from a substance.

The basic principle of refrigeration is that a refrigerant is evaporated at a low pressure and
then condensed at a high pressure.
The refrigerant absorbs heat as it evaporates and releases heat as it condenses.
NB: The refrigeration cycle is a continuous process. The refrigerant is circulated through the
system by a compressor. The refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator, where it absorbs
heat from the substance being cooled. The refrigerant is then compressed and condensed in
the condenser,
Wednesday, Decemberwhere
6, 2023 it releases heat to
Basicthe surrounding
Concepts in Refrigeration air. 3
 Types of Refrigeration Systems

FIG. Schematic Representation of the Steps

There are three main types of refrigeration systems:
1. Vapor-compression refrigeration systems
2. Absorption refrigeration systems
3. Adsorption refrigeration systems
NB: Vapor-compression refrigeration systems are the most common type of refrigeration system. They use a
refrigerant that is compressed and condensed in a compressor and condenser, respectively.
Absorption refrigeration systems use a refrigerant that is absorbed by a solution and then desorbed from the
solution.
Adsorption refrigeration systems use a refrigerant that is adsorbed by a solid and then desorbed from the solid.
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 Components of a Refrigeration System

The main components of a refrigeration system are:

 Compressor
 Condenser
 Evaporator
 Expansion valve
 Refrigerant
NB: The compressor compresses the refrigerant gas. The condenser condenses the refrigerant gas
into a liquid. The evaporator evaporates the refrigerant liquid into a gas. The expansion valve
controls the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator. The refrigerant is the substance that absorbs heat
and releases heat 6,during
Wednesday, December 2023 the refrigeration cycle.
Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 5
 Here are some examples of these components
and what they look like
1. The Compressor:
The Compressor is the heart of the refrigeration cycle and comes in a vast array
of sizes. In smaller systems it is usually found inside the outdoor unit, but in
large applications of multiple compressors, they are usually found inside a plant
room.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 6

2.The Condenser:
The condenser is often referred to as the ‘outdoor unit’, and that’s usually
where you will find it – outdoors, mounted on the floor, wall or roof.

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 3. EXPANSION VALVE

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 4. The Evaporator.

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 REFRIGERANT

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 10

 Principles of Air Conditioning

Air conditioning is the process of removing heat and moisture from the air.
The basic principle of air conditioning is that a refrigerant is evaporated at a
low pressure and then condensed at a high pressure.
The refrigerant absorbs heat and moisture from the air as it evaporates and
releases heat and moisture to the surrounding air as it condenses.
NB: The air conditioning cycle is a continuous process. The refrigerant is
circulated through the system by a compressor. The refrigerant is evaporated in
the evaporator, where it absorbs heat and moisture from the air. The refrigerant
is then compressed and condensed in the condenser, where it releases heat and
moisture to the surrounding air.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 11
 Types of Air Conditioning Systems
There are two main types of air conditioning systems:
1. Split-system air conditioning systems
2. Window-mounted air conditioning systems
NB: Split-system air conditioning systems are the most common type of air
conditioning system. They consist of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit.
The indoor unit contains the evaporator and the blower fan.
The outdoor unit contains the compressor and the condenser. Window-
mounted air conditioning systems are less common than split-system air
conditioning systems. They are installed in a window opening. They contain all
of the components of a refrigeration system in a single unit.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 12

 Refrigeration effect and unit of
refrigeration
• The rate at which heat is absorbed from space to be cooled is termed
as the refrigeration effect

• The refrigeration effect can be compared with the production of ice

• In the refrigeration industry, the unit used is ton

• A tone of refrigeration is equivalent to the rate of heat transfer

needed to produce 1 ton of ice at 0 oC from water at 0 oC in 24 hours

• A machine capable of producing a net refrigeration effect of 211

kJ/min or 3.5 kW is called a 1 ton machine
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 13
 Conclusion
Refrigeration and air conditioning are two important technologies that have a
significant impact on our lives.
Refrigeration is used to preserve food and other products.
Air conditioning is used to cool our homes, businesses, and vehicles.
NB: Refrigeration and air conditioning are essential for our modern way of life.
They help to keep us safe and comfortable.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 14

 Refrigerants: The Lifeblood of Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning
In this presentation, we will delve into the world of refrigerants, the
essential fluids that power refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
We'll explore
their properties,
classifications,
environmental considerations, and
their role in ensuring our comfort and preserving our food.
 Introduction to Refrigerants
Refrigerants are fluids that undergo a phase change, typically from liquid to
gas and vice versa, to absorb and release heat, making them crucial
components in refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
NB: Refrigerants play a pivotal role in refrigeration and air conditioning
systems. They absorb heat from the substance being cooled, such as food in a
refrigerator or air in a room, and release it to the surrounding environment.
This heat transfer process is the basis for these systems to achieve their
desired cooling effect.
 Properties of Refrigerants
Key properties of refrigerants include:
Boiling point: The temperature at which a refrigerant transitions from liquid to gas at a
given pressure.
Vaporization enthalpy: The amount of heat absorbed when a refrigerant changes from
liquid to gas at a constant pressure.
Condensation pressure: The pressure at which a refrigerant condenses from gas to liquid
at a given temperature.
Ozone depletion potential (ODP): A measure of a refrigerant's ability to deplete the ozone
layer in the Earth's stratosphere.
Global warming potential (GWP): A measure of a refrigerant's ability to trap heat in the
atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
NB: These properties determine the suitability of a refrigerant for specific applications and
influence its environmental impact. For instance, a refrigerant with a low boiling point is
desirable for low-temperature applications, while one with a high vaporization enthalpy can
absorb more heat per unit volume.
 Classifications of Refrigerants

Refrigerants are classified according to their chemical composition and structure:

Halogenated refrigerants: These contain halogen atoms, such as chlorine, fluorine,
or bromine, and are further categorized into chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydro
chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Hydrocarbon refrigerants: These are composed solely of hydrogen and carbon
atoms, such as propane (R290) and isobutane (R600a).
Ammonia (R717): An inorganic refrigerant with a long history of use in refrigeration.
Natural refrigerants: These include carbon dioxide (R744) and water (R718),
considered environmentally friendly alternatives.
NB: Each refrigerant classification has its unique properties and environmental
considerations. Halogenated refrigerants have been phased out due to their ozone-
depleting potential, while HFCs are being replaced with more environmentally friendly
alternatives. Hydrocarbons and natural refrigerants offer promise due to their low
GWP and non-ozone-depleting nature.
Environmental Considerations for Refrigerants

Refrigerants can impact the environment through ozone depletion and global
warming.
Ozone depletion: Some refrigerants, particularly CFCs, can break down
stratospheric ozone, leading to increased ultraviolet radiation reaching
Earth's surface.
Global warming: Refrigerants, especially HFCs, contribute to greenhouse
gas emissions, trapping heat in the atmosphere and contributing to global
warming.
NB: Environmental considerations are crucial in selecting refrigerants. The
Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol aims to reduce HFC production
and consumption, promoting the adoption of low-GWP alternatives.
 Refrigerant Selection

Refrigerant selection for refrigeration and air conditioning systems involves considering
various factors:
1. Application requirements: The desired cooling temperature, capacity, and efficiency
demands.
2. Environmental impact: The refrigerant's ozone depletion potential and global warming
potential.
3. Safety considerations: The refrigerant's flammability, toxicity, and compatibility with
system components.
4. Cost and availability: The refrigerant's cost, availability, and future regulatory
landscape.

NB: Careful consideration of these factors is essential to select the most suitable refrigerant
for a specific application, ensuring optimal performance, environmental responsibility, and
long-term sustainability.
Refrigerant selection criteria:

• Selection of refrigerant for a particular application is based on the

following requirements:

I. Thermodynamic and thermo-physical properties.

II. Environmental and safety properties, like: ozone depletion potential, global
warming potential, and combustibility
III. Economics.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 21

 Cont…
Thermodynamic and Thermo-physical Properties
The requirements are:
a) Suction pressure: At a given evaporator temperature, the saturation pressure
should be above atmospheric for prevention of air or moisture and non-
condensable gases ingress into the system and ease of leak detection. Higher
suction pressure is better as it leads to smaller compressor displacement
b) Discharge pressure: At a given condenser temperature, the discharge pressure
should be as small as possible to allow light-weight construction of compressor,
condenser , pipe, etc.
c) Pressure ratio: Should be as small as possible for high volumetric efficiency
and low power consumption
d) Latent heat of vaporization: Should be as large as possible so that the
required mass flow rate per unit cooling capacity will be small

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 22

 Cont…

• From the above equation, it can be seen that for given condenser and
evaporator temperatures as the latent heat of vaporization increases, the
pressure ratio also increases. Hence a trade-off is required between the latent
heat of vaporization and pressure ratio.
e) Isentropic index of compression: Should be as small as possible so that the
temperature rise during compression will be small.
f) Liquid specific heat: Should be small so that degree of sub-cooling will be
large leading to smaller amount of flash gas at evaporator inlet

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 23

 Cont…
g) Vapour specific heat: Should be large so that the degree of superheating
will be small
h) Thermal conductivity: Thermal conductivity in both liquid as well as vapor
phase should be high for higher heat transfer coefficients
i) Viscosity: Viscosity should be small in both liquid and vapor phases for
smaller frictional pressure drops

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 24

 Cont…
Environmental and Safety Properties
• In fact, at present the environment friendliness of the refrigerant is a major
factor in deciding the usefulness of a particular refrigerant. The important
environmental and safety properties are:

a) Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): According to the Montreal protocol, the

ODP of refrigerants should be zero, i.e., they should be non-ozone depleting
substances.
 Refrigerants having non-zero ODP have either already been phased-out (e.g.
R 11, R 12) or will be phased-out in near-future(e.g. R22).
 Since ODP depends mainly on the presence of chlorine or bromine in the
molecules, refrigerants having either chlorine (i.e., CFCs and HCFCs) or
bromine cannot be used under the new regulations.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 25
 Cont…
b) Global Warming Potential (GWP): Refrigerants should have as low a
GWP value as possible to minimize the problem of global warming.
 Refrigerants with zero ODP but a high value of GWP (e.g. R134a) are likely
to be regulated in future.
c) Total Equivalent Warming Index (TEWI): The factor TEWI considers
both direct (due to release into atmosphere) and indirect (through energy
consumption) contributions of refrigerants to global warming.
 Naturally, refrigerants with as a low a value of TEWI are preferable from
global warming point of view.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 26

 Cont…
d) Toxicity: Ideally, refrigerants used in a refrigeration system should be non-
toxic. However, all fluids other than air can be called as toxic as they will
cause suffocation when their concentration is large enough.
 Thus toxicity is a relative term, which becomes meaningful only when the
degree of concentration and time of exposure required to produce harmful
effects are specified.
 Some fluids are toxic even in small concentrations. Some fluids are mildly
toxic, i.e., they are dangerous only when the concentration is large and
duration of exposure is long.
 Some refrigerants such as CFCs and HCFCs are non-toxic when mixed with
air in normal condition. However, when they come in contact with an open
flame or an electrical heating element, they decompose forming highly toxic
elements (e.g. phosgene-COCl2). In general the degree of hazard depends on:
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 27
 Cont…
 Amount of refrigerant used vs total space
 Type of occupancy
 Presence of open flames
 Odor of refrigerant, and
 Maintenance condition
e) Flammability: The refrigerants should preferably be non-flammable and
non-explosive. For flammable refrigerants special precautions should be taken
to avoid accidents.
• Based on the above criteria, ASHRAE has divided refrigerants into six safety
groups (A1 to A3 and B1 to B3).
• Refrigerants belonging to Group A1 (e.g. R11, R12, R22, R134a, R744, R718)
are least hazardous, while refrigerants belonging to Group B3 (e.g. R1140) are
most hazardous.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 28
 Cont…

Economic properties:
The refrigerant used should preferably be inexpensive and easily
available.
• Figure shows the classification of fluids used as refrigerants in vapor
compression refrigeration systems.
• Since a large number of refrigerants have been developed over the years for a
wide variety of applications, a numbering system has been adopted to
designate various refrigerants.
• From the number one can get some useful information about the type of
refrigerant, its chemical composition, molecular weight etc.
• All the refrigerants are designated by R followed by a unique number.

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 Designation of refrigerants:
I. Fully saturated, halogenated compounds:
• These refrigerants are derivatives of alkanes (CnH2n+2) such as methane
(CH4), ethane (C2H6).
• These refrigerants are designated by R XYZ,
where:
 X+1 =m, indicates the number of Carbon (C) atoms
 Y-1=n, indicates number of Hydrogen (H) atoms, and
 Z=p, indicates number of Fluorine (F) atoms
 q, indicates number of chlorine (Cl) atoms.
 N + p + q=2m + 2
 The balance indicates the number of Chlorine atoms. CmHnFpClq,
• Only 2 digits indicates that the value of X is zero.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 31
 Cont…
Ex: R 22
X = 0 ⇒ No. of Carbon atoms = 0+1 = 1 ⇒ derivative of methane (CH4)
Y = 2 ⇒ No. of Hydrogen atoms = 2-1 = 1
Z = 2 ⇒ No. of Fluorine atoms = 2
The balance ⇒ No. of Chlorine atoms = n+p+q=2m+2,
=1+ 2+q=2*1+2, q=1
∴The chemical formula of R 22 = CHClF2
• Similarly it can be shown that the chemical formula of:
• R12 = CCl2F2
• R134a = C2H2F4 (derivative of ethane)
• (letter a stands for isomer, e.g. molecules having same chemical
composition but different atomic arrangement, e.g. R134 and R134a)
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 32
 Cont…
II. Inorganic refrigerants: These are designated by number 7 followed by
the molecular weight of the refrigerant (rounded-off).
• Ex.: Ammonia: Molecular weight is 17, ∴ the designation is R 717
• Carbon dioxide: Molecular weight is 44, ∴ the designation is R 744
• Water: Molecular weight is 18, ∴ the designation is R 718

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 Cont…

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 34

 Cont…
III.Mixtures: Azeotropic mixtures are designated by 500 series, where as
zeotropic refrigerants (e.g. non-azeotropic mixtures) are designated by 400
series.
Azeotropic mixtures:
• R 500: Mixture of R 12 (73.8 %) and R 152a (26.2%)
• R 502: Mixture of R 22 (48.8 %) and R 115 (51.2%)
• R503: Mixture of R 23 (40.1 %) and R 13 (59.9%)
• R507A: Mixture of R 125 (50%) and R 143a (50%)
Zeotropic mixtures:
R404A : Mixture of R 125 (44%), R 143a (52%) and R 134a (4%)
R407A : Mixture of R 32 (20%), R 125 (40%) and R 134a (40%)
R407B : Mixture of R 32 (10%), R 125 (70%) and R 134a (20%)
R410A : Mixture of R 32 (50%) and R 125 (50%)
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 35
 Cont…
Hydrocarbons:
• Propane (C3H8) : R 290
• n-butane (C4H10) : R 600
• Iso-butane (C4H10) : R 600a
• Unsaturated Hydrocarbons: R1150 (C2H4)
R1270 (C3H6)

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 36

 Requirements of Refrigerant
• There are certain desirable characteristics which a fluid used as a refrigerant should
posses:
non-poisonous
Non-explosive
Non-corrosive
Non-inflammable
Leaks should be easily detected
Leaks should be easy to locate
Should operate under low pressure
Stable gas

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 37

 Cont…
 Parts moving in the fluid should be easy to lubricate
 Non- toxic
 Well balanced enthalpy of evaporation per unit mass
 Small relative displacement to obtain a certain refrigerating effect
 A minimum difference between the vaporizing and condensing pressure is desirable

 The standard comparison of refrigerants as used in refrigeration industry is based on an

evaporator temperature of -15oC and condensing temperature of 30oC

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 38

 Identification Refrigerant by Number
Refrigerant No Name and chemical formula
R-11 Trichloromonofluoromethane (CCl3F)
R-12 Dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl2F2)
R-22 Monochlorodifluoromethane (CHClF2)
R-500 Mixture of 73.8% R-12 and 26.2% R-152a
R-502 mixture of 48.8% R-22 and 51.2% R-115
R-717 Ammonia (NH3)
R-134a Tetrafluoroethane (CH2FCl3)

Formula generation C m H n F p Cl q
Designated by R-(m-1)(n+1)(P)

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 39

 Classification of Refrigerants
• The National Refrigeration Safety Code, USA (NRSC) catalogues all the refrigerants into
three groups. Some of these are:
• Group one – ( Safest of the refrigerants)
R-113, R-11, R-21, R-114, R-12, R-30, R-22, R-744, R-502, R-13, R-14, R-500, R-134a

• Group two- (Toxic and somewhat Inflammable Refrigerants)

R-1130, R-611, R-160, R-764, R-40, R-717

• Group Three- (inflammable Refrigerants)

R-600, R-290, R-170, R-1150, R-50

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Basic Concepts in Refrigeration 40

The end