Lesson 2

Carnot Cycle and Reversed Carnot Cycle

Refrigeration is that branch of science which deals with process of reducing and
maintaining the temperature of a space or material below the temperature of the
surrounding.
The standard unit of refrigeration is Ton of Refrigeration (TON/TR). One ton of
refrigeration (TR) is the rate of cooling required to freeze one ton of water at 32 0F (00C)
to ice at 320F (00C) in twenty-four hours.
The heat of fusion either from solid to liquid of from liquid to solid is 144 BTU/lb, thus;
𝐵𝑇𝑈 𝑙𝑏
144 𝑥 2000 𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝑙𝑏
𝑚𝑖𝑛
24ℎ𝑟 𝑥 60 ℎ𝑟
Hence
1 TR = 200 Btu/min
1 TR = 50.4 kcal/min
1 TR = 211 kJ/min = 3.516 kW

Unit of Force
The Unit of force in the SI system is the newton, denoted by the symbol N.
I kgf = 9.8066 N
1 lbf = 4.4484 N
1 lbf = 0.4536 kgf

Unit of Pressure
The SI unit of pressure is the pascal and is denoted by the symbol Pa.
1 Pa = 1 N/m2
1 bar = 100 kPa
1 psi = 6895 Pa
1 atm = 101.325 kPa
= 1.033 kg/cm2
= 14.696lb/in2

Unit of Energy of Work

The Si unit of work is the newton meter denoted by Nm or joule denoted by J.
1 Nm = 1 J
1 cal = 4.187 J
1 Btu = 252 cal
= 1055 J

Unit of Power
Romblon State University |Department of Mechanical Engineering
BS Mechanical Engineering
REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING | Second Semester | School Year 2017-2018

The SI unit of power is the watt, denoted by the symbol W. It is defined as the rate of
doing 1 Nm of work per second.
1 W = 1 J/s
1 Hp = 0.746 kW
= 42.4 Btu/min

Heat Engine and Refrigerating machine

A system operating in a cycle and producing a net quantity of work from a supply
of heat is called a heat engine and represented as shown below.
Hot reservoir (source of heat)

𝑤 = 𝑄𝑙 − 𝑄ℎ
𝑤 𝑄ℎ − 𝑄𝑙
𝑒= =
𝑄ℎ 𝑄ℎ
where,

Qh = the heat added

Ql = the heat rejected
L W = the net work
e= the thermal efficiency

Figure 2.1: Representation of Heat Engine

A refrigerating machine will either cool or maintain a body at a temperature

below that of its surrounding. A refrigerating machine may be represented by the
diagram below. The machine R absorbs heat Qa from the cold body at the temperature
T1 and rejects heat Qr to the surroundings at temperature T2 and, during the process,
requires work W to be done on the system.

𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑄ℎ − 𝑄𝑙
𝑄𝑙 𝑄𝑙
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = =
𝑊 𝑄ℎ − 𝑄𝑙
where,
L
Ql = the heat added
Qh = the heat rejected
W = the net work
COP= coefficient of performance

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Romblon State University |Department of Mechanical Engineering
BS Mechanical Engineering
REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING | Second Semester | School Year 2017-2018

Figure 2.2: Representation of refrigerating machine

The performance of the heat engine is expressed by its thermal efficiency. The
performance of a refrigerating machine is expressed by the ratio of useful result to work,
called energy ratio or coefficient of performance.

Carnot Cycle

T
T
a b
maximum temperature

d c minimum temperature
S
T – S Diagram

Figure 2.3: T-S Diagram of Carnot Cycle

The Carnot power cycle consists of the following reversible processes:
Process a – b: isothermal expansion Ta = Tb = TH
Process b – c: isentropic expansion, Sb = Sc
Process c – d: isothermal compression, Tc = Td = TL
Process d – a: isentropic compression, Sd = Sa

Heat added, Qa
Qa = TH (Sb − Sa )

Heat Rejection, Q R
Q R = TL (SC − SD )
= TL (Sb − Sa )

Work net
W = (Q A − Q R )

Efficiency
W
e=
QA
TH − TL
e=
TH

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Romblon State University |Department of Mechanical Engineering
BS Mechanical Engineering
REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING | Second Semester | School Year 2017-2018

Carnot Refrigeration Cycle

The carnot refrigeration cycle performs the reverse effect of heat engine,
because it transfers energy from a low level of temperature to a high level of
temperature.

c b maximum temperature

\
c
minimum temperature
d a
S
T – S Diagram
\
Figure 2.4: T-S Diagramc of Carnot Refrigeration Cycle

Cycle Analysis
Process a – b : isentropic compression, S1 = S2
Process b – c : isothermal heat rejection, Ta = Tb = TH
Process c – d : isentropic expansion, S3 = S4
Process d – a : isothermal heat addition, Td = TC = TL

Heat added,
Qa = TL (Sa − Sd )

Heat Rejection,
Q R = TH (Sb − Sc )
= TH (Sa − Sd )

Work net
W = (Q R − Q A )

Coefficient of Performance, COP

It is the ratio of heat added to the network of the cycle.
Qa
COP =
W
TL
COP =
TH − TL

Performance Factor or Carnot Heat Pump, PF

It is the ratio of heat rejected to the network of the cycle.

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Romblon State University |Department of Mechanical Engineering
BS Mechanical Engineering
REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING | Second Semester | School Year 2017-2018

QR
PF =
W
PF = COP + 1

Supplementary problems:
1. A carnot refrigeration cycle absorbs heat at -120C and reject it at 400C.
a. Calculate the coefficient of performance of this refrigeration cycle.
b. If the cycle is absorbing 15 kW at -120C temperature, how much power is
required?
c. If a carnot heat pump operates between the same temperature as the above
refrigeration cycle, what is the performance factor?
d. What is the rate of heat rejection at the 400C temperature if the heat pump
absorbs 15 kW at the -120C temperature?
2. The coefficient of performance of a reversed carnot cycle is 5.35 when
refrigeration is done at 255 K, s = 0.38 kJ/kg - K during the isothermal heat
interactions. Find;
a. The heat added in the cycle.
b. The temperature at which heat is added.
c. The network.
3. A refrigeration system operates on the reversed carnot cycle. If the heat added
and heat rejected in the system are 5,000 kJ/min and 6,500 kJ/min respectively,
draw the schematic diagram and find:
a. Coefficient of performance
b. The ratio of maximum temperature to minimum temperature
c. The power required.

Seatwork:
1. A reversed Carnot Cycle is used for refrigeration and rejects 1,000 kW of heat at
340 K while receiving heat at 250 K. Determine (a) COP, (b) the power required,
and (c) the refrigerating effect. Ans. 735.3 kW
2. A reversed Carnot cycle has a refrigerating COP of 4. (a)What is the ratio
Tmax/Tmin? (b) if the work input is 6 kW, what will be the maximum refrigerating
effect, kJ/min and tons. Ans. 1.25 and 6.826 TR
3. A reversed Carnot engine removes 40,000 kW from a heat sink. The temperature
of the heat sink is 260 and the temperature of the heat reservoir is 320 K. Determine
the power required of the engine. Ans. 9230.8 kW

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Romblon State University |Department of Mechanical Engineering
BS Mechanical Engineering
REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING | Second Semester | School Year 2017-2018

Reference:

A.B. Trillllana, N.C. Dela Rama, 1995, Simplified Design of Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning

C.P. Arora, 2009, McGraw-Hill International Edition, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

H.B. Sta.Maria, Third Edition, 2001, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

PN. Ananthanarayanan, 1999, Second Edition, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

R.S. Alcorcon, 2005, Power Plant Engineering

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