EXAMPLES

CHAPTER 2
VCRS

1
 Examples
1. A refrigerator uses refrigerant-134a as the
working fluid and operates on an ideal
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
between 0.14 and 0.8 MPa. If the mass flow
rate of the refrigerant is 0.05 kg/s,
determine (a) the rate of heat removal from
the refrigerated space and the power input
to the compressor, (b) the rate of heat
rejection to the environment, and (c) the
COP of the refrigerator.
2
 Examples
2. Refrigerant-134a enters the compressor of a
refrigerator as superheated vapor at 0.14 MPa and -
10oC at a rate of 0.05 kg/s and leaves at 0.8 MPa and
50oC. The refrigerant is cooled in the condenser to
26oC and 0.72 MPa and is throttled to 0.15 MPa.
Disregarding any heat transfer and pressure drops in
the connecting lines between the components,
determine (a) the rate of heat removal from the
refrigerated space and the power input to the
compressor, (b) the isentropic efficiency of the
compressor, and (c) the coefficient of performance of
the refrigerator.
3
 Examples
3. Consider a two-stage cascade refrigeration system operating
between the pressure limits of 0.8 and 0.14 MPa. Each stage
operates on an ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
with refrigerant-134a as the working fluid. Heat rejection from
the lower cycle to the upper cycle takes place in an adiabatic
counterflow heat exchanger where both streams enter at
about 0.32 MPa. (In practice, the working fluid of the lower
cycle is at a higher pressure and temperature in the heat
exchanger for effective heat transfer.) If the mass flow rate of
the refrigerant through the upper cycle is 0.05 kg/s, determine
(a) the mass flow rate of the refrigerant through the lower
cycle, (b) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space
and the power input to the compressor, and (c) the coefficient
of performance of this cascade refrigerator.
4
4) Consider a two-stage compression refrigeration system operating between
the pressure limits of 0.8 and 0.14 MPa. The working fluid is refrigerant-
134a. The refrigerant leaves the condenser as a saturated liquid and is
throttled to a flash chamber operating at 0.32 MPa. Part of the refrigerant
evaporates during this flashing process, and this vapor is mixed with the
refrigerant leaving the low-pressure compressor. The mixture is then
compressed to the condenser pressure by the high-pressure compressor.
The liquid in the flash chamber is throttled to the evaporator pressure and
cools the refrigerated space as it vaporizes in the evaporator. Assuming the
refrigerant leaves the evaporator as a saturated vapor and both
compressors are isentropic, determine:
a) the fraction of the refrigerant that evaporates as it is throttled to the flash
chamber,
b) the amount of heat removed from the refrigerated space and the
compressor work per unit mass of refrigerant flowing through the
condenser, and
c) the coefficient of performance.
5. Consider a two-stage cascade refrigeration system operating between the
pressure limits of 1.2 MPa and 200 kPa with refrigerant-134a as the working
fluid. The refrigerant leaves the condenser as a saturated liquid and is
throttled to a flash chamber operating at 0.45 MPa. Part of the refrigerant
evaporates during this flashing process, and this vapor is mixed with the
refrigerant leaving the low-pressure compressor. The mixture is then
compressed to the condenser pressure by the high-pressure compressor.
The liquid in the flash chamber is throttled to the evaporator pressure and
cools the refrigerated space as it vaporizes in the evaporator. The mass flow
rate of the refrigerant through the low-pressure compressor is 0.15 kg/s.
Assuming the refrigerant leaves the evaporator as a saturated vapor and the
isentropic efficiency is 80 percent for both compressors, determine,
a) the mass flow rate of the refrigerant through the high-pressure
compressor,
b) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space, and
c) the COP of this refrigerator. Also, determine
d) the rate of heat removal and the COP if this refrigerator operated on a
single-stage cycle between the same pressure limits with the same
compressor efficiency and the same flow rate as in part (a).