Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

MEL 344: Refrigeration and

Air-Conditioning
Amit Gupta
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
1
st
Semester 2013-2014
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Overview
First commercial centrifugal compressor promoted by
Willis Carrier in 1920
Dominant type in large installations
Serve systems in the range 200-10,000 kW of
refrigerating capacity
Evaporating temperatures as low as -50 to -100 C
range
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Principle
Pressure rise: angular momentum into static pressure
Steady flow devices, unlike reciprocating compressors
less vibration and noise
Series of impeller wheels mounted on a steel shaft,
enclosed in an iron casing
Number of impeller wheels?
2-4 stages of compression are common
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal compressor
showing discharge scroll
Centrifugal Compressors Operation
Low pressure, low velocity
vapor (suction) drawn in inlet
cavity (eye) along the axis
of the rotor shaft
Vapor forced radially
outwards between impeller
blades by centrifugal force
developed by rotating wheel
Image Source: Eastop and McConkey
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal Compressors Operation
Vapor from blade tips
discharged into housing at
high velocity and increased
temperature (and pressure)
Vapor collected in specially
designed passages in casing
Reduce velocity and direct
vapor to inlet of next stage
impeller (to discharge
chamber in case of last stage
impeller)
Centrifugal compressor
showing discharge scroll
Image Source: Eastop and McConkey
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal Compressors Operation
Depending on presence or absence of inlet guide vanes,
refrigerant enters with pre-rotation or axially
Rotating impeller wheels only moving parts of the
machine
Action of impeller is such that both static and dynamic
pressures increase
Centrifugal force exerted on vapor confined between
blades of the impeller wheels causes self-compression
of vapor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal Compressors
Width of impeller decreases progressively as the density of the
refrigerant increases
Image Source: Principles of Refrigeration by R.J. Dossat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Impeller
Impeller wheel consists of two discs hub and cover
disc
Vanes or blades (backward, radial, forward) mounted
radially between them
Cutaway view of centrifugal compressor impeller wheel
Image Source: Principles of Refrigeration by R.J. Dossat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal Compressor System
Condenser
Water cooling evaporator
2
nd
Impeller
1
st
Impeller
Image Source: Stoecker and Jones
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Centrifugal compressor with flash gas
intercooler
High pressure liq.
drains from
condenser into
intercooler
Intercooler:
increases
refrigerating effect
per kg and reduce
flash gas in
evaporator
Flash vapor from
intercooler taken into
suction of second-
stage impeller
less compression
power required.
Cool vapor from the
intercooler reduces
temperature of
discharge vapor from
first-stage impeller
capacity and
efficiency increase
Image Source: Principles of Refrigeration by R.J. Dossat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Analytical Description
Tip speed to develop pressure can be estimated from
fundamental principles of turbomachinery
( )
2 2 1 1 t t
T m V r V r =
2
2
1
1
where
torque
mass flow rate
tangential velocity of refrigerant leaving the impeller
radius at exit of impeller
tangential velocity of refrigerant entering the impeller
radius at entrance
t
t
T
m
V
r
V
r
=
=
=
=
=
= of impeller
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Analytical Description
If refrigerant enters the impeller in radial direction,
Power required at the shaft will be
At low flow rates of the refrigerant and for radial blades,
V
2t
can be approximated with tip speed of impeller.
2 2 t
T mV r =
1
. . 0
t
i e V =
2 2 t
P T mV r e e = =
2 2 2
2t
P mr mV e = =
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Analytical Description
Another expression for ideal power can be derived from
isentropic work of compression
Equating
Provides an order-of-magnitude estimate of tip speed to
achieve a particular compression ratio
( )
1000 J/kJ
i
P m h = A
( )
2
2
1000 J/kJ
i t
P m h mV = A =
2
2
1000
t i
V h = A
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Example
Calculate the tip speed in order to compress R-11 and
ammonia from saturated vapor at 10 C to a pressure
corresponding to condensing temperature of 30 C.
R-11 NH
3
h
inlet
(kJ/kg) 393.9 1472
h
exit
(kJ/kg) 406.7 1560
h
i
(kJ/kg) 12.8 88
V
2t
(m/s)
113.1 297
I
s
e
n
t
r
o
p
i
c

c
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Significance of blade angle
From the velocity triangle, angle
varies as:
<90 for backward-curved
>90 for forward-curved
=90 for radial
Power required written as
From velocity triangles
2 2 t
P mu V =
2
2 2
2
cot
1
n
t
V
V u
u
|
| |
=
|
\ .
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Significance of blade angle
Input power
Thus, for a given tip speed, power required increases
with
Backward curved blades have low power requirements
2
2
2
2
cot
1
n
V
P mu
u
|
| |
=
|
\ .
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Design considerations
Two crucial impeller dimensions: wheel diameter and
spacing between impeller faces
Refrigerant
Larger the wheel, larger will be the tip speed and hence
higher pressure ratio
If motor operates at 60 rpm, the wheel diameter for R-11
will be 0.6 m, while for NH
3
is 1.58 m (impractical, both
from assembly and structural standpoint)
If NH
3
compression done in two stages with equal
enthalpy change, tip velocity reduced to 210 m/s
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Design Considerations
Width of the passage:
Capacity can be increased by increasing width between
faces of impeller, which also increases power requirement
Low density refrigerant allows using large width impeller
for given capacity
Efficiency decreases for machines of low capacity
Impeller width becomes narrow, and hence higher frictional
losses
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Performance Characteristics
Useful to find out
efficiency, flow rate at a
given pressure ratio and
speed or vice-versa
Iso-efficiency lines are
shown for various
speeds
For a constant speed,
pressure build-up
reaches a maximum
and then decreases
with increasing flow rate
D
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

t
o

s
u
c
t
i
o
n

p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

r
a
t
i
o
Flow rate
Image Source: Stoecker and Jones
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Surge
Occurs when refrigerating load is low or condensing
temperature is high
For e.g., increase in heat sink temperature increase in
discharge pressure
If pressure increase greater than design pressure
difference refrigerant flow reduces and finally stops
Further increase in condensing pressure causes reverse
flow causes increase of evaporator pressure
pressure difference reduces compressor starts
pumping refrigerant in the normal direction pressure
difference increases again with eventual reversal of flow
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Surge
Oscillation of flow in the compressor and rapid variation
in pressure difference is called surging
Produces noise and vibration
Bearings experience severe stresses leading to damage
Surging can be tolerated occasionally, but must be
avoided in the long run
Sometimes avoided by passing a small amount of
discharge vapor into evaporator increases the load
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Capacity Control
Capacity normally
controlled by adjusting
angle of guide vanes
Adjusting the vanes can
provide a swirl, thereby
introducing an inlet
tangential velocity
component
Efficient when vanes are
near fully open condition
At low angles, vanes act
as throttling devices
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Comparison with reciprocating
compressor at constant rpm
E
v
a
p
o
r
a
t
o
r

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
Tons refrigeration
reciprocating
centrifugal
Fixed Condensing Temperature
Large change in refrigerating
capacity possible with small
change in evaporating
temperature
Centrifugal compressors
maintain the evaporator
temperature at a fixed level
with changes in load as
compared to reciprocating
compressors
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Comparison with reciprocating
compressor at constant rpm
C
o
n
d
e
n
s
i
n
g

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
Tons refrigeration
centrifugal
reciprocating
Fixed Evaporator Temperature
Pumping
limit
Rapid reduction in capacity as
condensing temperature
increases
Possible to control centrifugal
compressor capacity by
varying quantity and
temperature of condenser
water
Change in capacity with
speed:
For reciprocating type,
proportional to
For centrifugal type, proportional
to
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Summary of compressor usage
Reciprocating: small refrigerating capacities to about 300
kW
Centrifugal: refrigerating capacities 500 kW and higher
Screw: 300-500 kW capacities; competes against large
reciprocating and small centrifugal compressors
Vane: competes against reciprocating primarily for
domestic refrigerators and air-conditioners