Throttling effect as it pertains to a refrigeration system is simply the process of reducing the pressure of liquid refrigerant as it passes thru

the expansion device. By reducing pressure, we cause the liquid refrigerant to flash into vapor which creates a cooling effect. To understand why reduced pressures are associated with lower temperatures, one can look at the ideal gas law: PV = RT, where P pressure, V = volume, R = gas constant, and T = temperature. We can equate two different states of an ideal gas as follows: P1*V1/T1 = P2*V2/T2, since R is constant in both cases. If we hold volume constant, we get: P1/T1 = P2/T2, i.e., pressure is proportional to temperature. So if we have an ideal gas at 200 psia and 530R (70F), and we wish to reduce this pressure to 100 psia while holding volume constant, we must lower the gas temperature to: T2 = 100*530/200 = 265R (-195F). One can observe this cooling effect by simply opening a nitrogen bottle to atmosphere. As the compressed nitogren is expelled to atmosphere, its temperature is reduced.