FPE 613 Cold Storage Engineering

V.Chandrasekar
[email protected]
 Expansion valve/ Throttle valve
 An expansion device is another basic component of a refrigeration system.
 In the throttling valve the pressure of the refrigerant reduces suddenly and excessively.
 With this the temperature of the refrigerant also reduces drastically.
 This low pressure and low temperature liquid refrigerant then enters the evaporator and absorbs heat from the
substance or the space to be cooled.
 The throttling valve is fitted between the condenser and the evaporator.
 The throttling or expansion device is in the form of a small orifice.
 When refrigerant passes through this small orifice its pressure reduces suddenly due to the friction.
 Cont…
 Expansion valve is a controlled device regulates the rate at which liquid refrigerant flows into the evaporator, it
maintains a proper supply of refrigerant by matching this flow rate against how quickly the refrigerant evaporates
(boils off) in the evaporator coil.

 The rate of the flow of refrigerant through the throttling device depends on the size and opening of the orifice.

 It also depends on the difference in pressure on the evaporator and the condenser sides.

 Without a properly sized valve the system will never operate at an efficient level.

 For valves that are oversized the result is poor controllability that may cause the system to hunt or cycle.

 Undersizing a valve will require a larger pressure drop across the valve to maintain adequate flow and may not
provide required capacity.

 This results in the pump working harder and leaves the valve susceptible to the effects of cavitation.
 Superheat
 Superheating is the controlling parameter for the expansion valve.

 Superheating, measured at the evaporator outlet, is defined as the difference between the actual bulb temperature and the
evaporating temperature, deduced from evaporator pressure.
 In order to prevent liquid refrigerant from entering the compressor, a certain minimum superheating value must be
maintained.
 In expansion valve operation, the following terms are used:

 Static superheating (SS): is defined as the superheat below which the valve
remains closed and above which the valve starts to open.
 Opening superheating (OS): this is the superheating, above the static
superheating, required to produce a given valve potential. It is the incremental
superheat above SS required to achieve Qn
 Working Superheat/Operating superheating (WS) : this is the sum of static
and opening superheating
 Subcooling
 Subcooling is defined as the difference between the condensing temperature (deduced from condensing pressure) and
the actual temperature at inlet valve.
 Subcooling generally increases the refrigeration system potential and must be accounted for when dimensioning an
expansion valve.
 Depending on system design, subcooling may be necessary to
prevent gas bubbles from forming in the liquid line.
 If gas bubbles form in the liquid line, the potential of the expansion
valve will be reduced significantly.
 Superheat, Subcooling & CCD R404A BUBBLE
R404A BUBBLE
Example 1: PSIA TSAT
14.696 -51.82 PSIA TSAT
What is the superheat of R-404A at 50°F and 60 psia?
16.00 -48.59 40.00 -8.49
•SH = Ref. Temp. – Sat. Temp. 18.00 -44.02
42.00 -6.19
•SH = 50°F – 10.4°F 20.00 -39.83
44.00 -3.97
•the superheat would be 39.6°F 22.00 -35.95
24.00 -32.34 46.00 -1.83
•Example 2: 26.00 -28.95
48.00 0.24
•What is the subcooling of R-404A at 50°F and 150 psia? 28.00 -25.77
30.00 -22.75 50.00 2.25
• SC = Sat. Temp. - Ref. Temp. 32.00 -19.88 55.00 7.01
• SC = 64.6°F – 50°F 34.00 -17.15
60.00 11.46
36.00 -14.54
•14.6°F of subcooling
38.00 -12.04 65.00 15.64
40.00 -9.64
70.00 19.58
42.00 -7.33
44.00 -5.10 75.00 23.31
Superheated Vapor Region 46.00 -2.94 80.00 26.86
48.00 -0.86
85.00 30.25
50.00 1.16
Temperature (F)

55.00 5.94 90.00 33.49

60.00 10.41
95.00 36.59
65.00 14.61
70.00 18.57 100.00 39.58
75.00 22.32 110.00 45.24
Saturated Mixture 80.00 25.88
120.00 50.52
Subcooled Liquid Region 130.00 55.48
140.00 60.17
BTU's Added 150.00 64.61
160.00 68.83
 Types of expansion devices
Basically, Four Categories and Seven types of expansion devices.:

1. Manual valves
2. Variable Restriction Type
Three common types are Variable Restriction Type:
3. Automatic Expansion Valve (Pressure Control )
4. Thermostatic Expansion Valve
5. Float Valves
i) High side Float valve : In this it maintains the liquid at a constant level in the condenser.
ii) Low side Float valve: In this maintains the liquid at constant level in the Evaporator.
3.Constant restriction type
6. Capillary Tube in which it is merely along tube with a narrow diameter bore.
4.Electronic expansion valves
 Automatic expansion valve
This works in response to the pressure changes in the
evaporator due to increase in load( pressure increase) or
due to decrease in load( pressure decreases).
 This valve maintains a constant pressure throughout the
varying load on the evaporator controlling the quantity
of refrigerant flowing into Evaporator.
 The opening of the valve in the seat is controlled by the
two opposing forces. A. the tension in the spring B.
The pressure in the evaporator acting on
diaphragm.
 Cont…

 Once the spring is adjusted for a desired evaporator pressure and given load, the valve operates automatically.
 Assume the spring is adjusted initially to maintain a pressure of 1.5 bar in the evaporator at a given load.
 If the pressure falls below 1.5 bar due to decrease in load, the spring pressure will exceed the evaporator pressure
and causes the valve to open more and increases the flow of refrigerant.
 If the pressure in the evaporator increases due to increase in load above 1.5 bar, the evaporator pressure will exceed
the spring tension and valve move in closing direction.
 This reduces the quantity of refrigerant flow in the evaporator.
 Limitations of the Constant Pressure Expansion Valve
 The main aim of the constant pressure expansion valve is to maintain constant pressure inside the evaporator no
matter what the refrigeration load inside the evaporator is.
 When the load on evaporator is high or low, it won’t allow more flow of the refrigerant as per the requirement.
 Thus, the constant pressure expansion valve does not allow the control of the flow of the refrigerant through it
which is very important for the efficient operation of the refrigeration plant.
 Sometimes the load on the compressor is very less in such cases the liquid refrigerant floods to the compressor. This
can be very dangerous as the piston and cylinder of the compressor may break due to compression of the liquid.
 By changing the position of the spring one can change the pressure inside the evaporator.
 One can change the position of the spring to allow for higher flow of the refrigerant though the valve, but in that
case the compressor will work at high suction pressure or higher capacity even if the load is lower. This will lead to
lots of wastage of the power.
 Limitations of the Constant Pressure Expansion Valve
 On the other hand, if the spring pressure is adjusted to allow lesser flow of the refrigerant due to lesser evaporator
load the compressor would not work at full capacity when required.
 Thus the constant expansion valve actually puts the limitation on the capacity of the compressor and the whole
refrigeration plant. It is not really automatic in the real sense since it cannot automatically adjust the flow of the
refrigerant as per the requirement.
 Due to these limitations the constant pressure expansion valve is seldom used these days.
 In fact even the name automatic expansion valve is not correct for this valve; it was probably given to it since it
maintains the pressure inside the evaporator constant automatically.
 THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE
Thermostatic expansion valve controls the flow of refrigerant through the evaporator I such a way that the quality of the
vapour leaving the evaporator will always in superheated condition.
 Its operation is used for maintaining a constant degree of superheat at the evaporator outlet.

𝒑 𝑩 =𝒑 𝑺 +𝒑𝒆
CAPILARY TUBES
 CAPILARY TUBES
 The capillary is used as pressure reducing device to meter the flow of refrigerant given to the Evaporator.
 The Pressure drop through the capillary tube is due to the following two factors;
i. Friction due to fluid viscosity, resulting in frictional pressure drop.
ii. Acceleration due to the flashing of the liquid refrigerant into vapour resulting in momentum pressure drop.
 The cumulative pressure drop must be equal to the difference in pressure at the two ends of the tube.
 For a given state of refrigerant, the pressure drop is directly proportional to the length and inversely proportional to
the bore diameter of the tube.
 Capillary tube is the most commonly used expansion device in small refrigeration units, such as domestic
refrigerators, window type air conditioners, water coolers etc.
Cont…
 Cont…
 The advantage of a capillary tube are its simplicity , low cost and the absence of any moving parts.
 The disadvantages associated with this device is that the refrigerant must be free from moisture and dirt otherwise it
will choke the tube and stop the flow of refrigerant.
 It cannot be used with high fluctuating load conditions.

• Where,
 Pc and Pe are the condenser and evaporator pressures, Pa;

 P is the pressure drop, Pa; fD is the Darcy friction factor;

 L is the length of the capillary, m;
 D is the diameter of the capillary,
  is the density of the refrigerant, kg/m 3;
  is the velocity of the refrigerant, m 2/s.
 Electronic expansion valves
 Electronic expansion valves are an evolution on the
thermal expansion valve.
 They are much more sophisticated and allow the
refrigeration system to operate much more accurately
and efficiently.
 EEV or EXV.
 Benefits to using an electronic expansion are
1. Precise control
2. Fast and accurate response to load change
3. Wider part load variation than TXV
4. Maintains maximum capacity control even at part
loads
5. Injects exactly the right amount of refrigerant
6. Energy savings ~15%
 Selection of Expansion valve
The following design conditions must be adopted to correctly select a thermo expansion valve
 Type of refrigerant
 Evaporator capacity, Qe
 Evaporating temperature/pressure, Te/ pe
 Lowest possible condensing temperature/pressure, pc
 Liquid refrigerant temperature, Tl
 Pressure drop in the liquid line, distributor and evaporator, ∆p or MOP of an expansion valve refers to the maximum value
that the suction pressure is allowed to rise to before the expansion valve tends to close off and restrict a further increase in flow.
 This is accomplished at the point where the gas in the expansion valve’s has become superheated and can exert only slightly
more opening pressure as the temperature rises.
 The purpose of MOP is to prevent the suction pressure from rising so high that the compressor motor cannot start due to too high
of an initial load.
 An MOP type valve tends to serve the same function as a crankcase pressure regulating (CPR) valve; however, it will not control
as precisely as the CPR valve.
1. Nominal capacity (Qn) is defined as the capacity given by the valve manufacturer at nominal rating conditions.
2. Maximum capacity (Qmax) is defined as the highest capacity at nominal rating conditions.
3. Reserve capacity (Qr ) is defined as difference between Qmax. & and Qn
4. .
 Maximum Operating Pressure
Step 1: Determine the pressure drop across the valve. The pressure drop is calculated by the formula

where:
 Pc = condensing pressure
 Pe = evaporating pressure at Dew Point
 ∆pL: Pressure drop through entire liquid line
 ∆pF: Pressure drop through liquid line filter drier
 ∆pSI: Pressure drop through liquid line sight glass
 ∆pSO: Pressure drop through liquid line solenoid valve
 ∆pLD: Pressure drop through liquid distributor to evaporator
 ∆pE: Pressure drop through evaporator
 Pi is the inlet pressure of refrigerant to the valve, Psi
 Pv is the vapour pressure of the refrigerant at inlet temperature, psia;
 rc is the critical pressure ratio, psia
 Selection of Expansion valve
Step 2: Subcooling Temperature
Subcooling liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator increase the evaporator capacity, so that a smaller valve may be
required. The subcooling is calculated by the formula:

Step 3: Determine required valve capacity.

From the subcooling corrector factor table find the appropriate corrector factor Fsub corresponding to the Δ∆Tsub
calculated and determine the required valve capacity by the formula:

Step 4: Capacity correction based on the application.

To obtain a correct regulation with this valve, it is necessary it be oversized so that its closing period is 25% to 50% of
the regulator’s total period, T.

QA is the Actual capacity of the valve

 Selection of Expansion valve
Step 5 : Determine the required valve size.

 Where, Q is the capacity ,

 Cv is the valve sizing coefficient : The valve flow coefficient (Cv) is a number which represents a valve's ability to

pass flow. The bigger the Cv, the more flow a valve can pass with a given pressure drop.
 Cav is the actual valve size
 P id pressure differential
 g is the specific gravity of refrigerant
 K = Viscosity correction factor for fluids
 Selection of Expansion valve
Step 6 : Selection of required valve
 The Cv value should be used as a guide in the valve selection, but before trying to match a valve with the calculated
Cv value, some other considerations are:
 Decide what type of valve will be used for a given process characteristic;
 Never use a valve that is less than half the pipe size;
 Avoid using the lower 10% and upper 20% of the valve stroke.
 The valve is much easier to control in the 10 to 80% stroke range.
 Use the pressure drop across the valve, the evaporating temperature and the calculated evaporator capacity to select
the corresponding orifice size from the capacity table corresponding to the chosen refrigerant
 Selection of Expansion valve
Step 7: Determine if external equalizer is required.
External equalizer is always required if a distributor is used or if there is an appreciable difference in pressure from
the valve outlet to the bulb location and when there is significant pressure drop in the evaporator coil. They are
commonly needed in large capacity units or systems where pressure drop in the evaporator is above the rated valve
pressure drop.

An external equalizer-type TXV (Thermostatic Expansion Valve) is specifically required when there is significant
pressure drop in the evaporator coil which prevents proper valve operation. By measuring the pressure at the outlet
of the evaporator, the external equalizer allows the TXV to control the superheat more accurately as per system
demands. This enhances the efficiency of the cooling system.
 Problem on Expansion valve
Solution
Example :
a. Type of refrigerant: R134a
b. Evaporator capacity, Qe 6 [kW]
c. Evaporating temperature/pressure, Te -10 [°C]
d. Lowest possible condensing temperature/pressure, Tc 30 [°C]
e. Liquid refrigerant temperature, Tl 22 [°C]
f. Pressure drop in the liquid line, distributor and evaporator, ∆p 1,5 [bar]

Step 1: Determine the pressure drop across the valve. The pressure drop is calculated by the formula

• Condensing pressure at + 30 °C – Pc = 6.71 bar

• Evaporating pressure at – 10 °C – Pe = 1.01 bar
• Pressure drop in the liquid line, distributor and evaporator, ∆p 1,5 [bar]
 Problem on Expansion valve
Step 2: Subcooling Temperature

 Lowest possible condensing temperature/pressure, Tc 30 [°C]

 Liquid refrigerant temperature, Tl 20 [°C]

Step 3: Determine required valve capacity.

 Evaporator capacity, Qe 6 [kW]

 From the subcooling corrector factor table 5b, we find the appropriate corrector factor Fsub equal to 1,05 for
∆Tsub = 10 °C.
 Example
Step 4:Capacity correction based on the application:
According to the above criterion, a correction of + 25% is applied to the calculated capacity:

=6.93 Kw
Step 5 : Determine the required valve size.
Step 6 : Determine required orifice size.
Cont…
Use the pressure drop across the valve, the evaporating temperature and the calculated evaporator capacity to select the
corresponding orifice size from the capacity table corresponding to the chosen refrigerant.
 Pressure drop across the valve = 4.2 bar
 Evaporating temperature = - 10 °C
 Calculated evaporator capacity = 7 kW
 Cont…
Step 7: Determine if external equalizer is required.
External equalizer is always required if a distributor is used or if there is an appreciable difference in pressure from
the valve outlet to the bulb location and when there is significant pressure drop in the evaporator coil. They are
commonly needed in large capacity units or systems where pressure drop in the evaporator is above the rated valve
pressure drop.
An external equalizer-type TXV (Thermostatic Expansion Valve) is specifically required when there is significant
pressure drop in the evaporator coil which prevents proper valve operation. By measuring the pressure at the outlet
of the evaporator, the external equalizer allows the TXV to control the superheat more accurately as per system
demands. This enhances the efficiency of the cooling system.
 Exercise 8
• Design a reciprocating compressor for a cold storage storing 1000 kg of potato per day at 10 oC. The
ambient temperature is 40oC. The refrigerant used is Refrigerant R-134a.

a. Type of refrigerant: R134a

b. Evaporator capacity, Qe 6 [kW]
c. Evaporating temperature/pressure, Te 2.5[°C]
d. Lowest possible condensing
temperature/pressure, Tc 46.3 [°C]
e. Liquid refrigerant temperature, Tl 22 [°C]
f. Condensing pressure at + 30 °C – Pc = 1200
kpa
g. Evaporating pressure at – 10 °C – Pe = 320 kpa
h. Pressure drop in the liquid line, distributor and
evaporator, ∆p 1,5 [bar]