1.

2.

LuciaVLCEANU, MihaelaFLORI

PERFORMANCECHARACTERISTICSOFVAPORCOMPRESSION
REFRIGERATIONSYSTEMS

12.

UNIVERSITYPOLITEHNICAOFTIMISOARA,FACULTYOFENGINEERINGHUNEDOARA,DEPARTMENTENGINEERING&MANAGEMENT,
HUNEDOARA,ROMANIA

ABSTRACT:Innature,theheattransferprocessoccursinthedirectionofdecreasingtemperature,thatis,fromhigh
temperatureregionstolowtemperatureoneswithoutrequiringanydevices.Refrigeratorsarecyclicdevicesthat
work with fluid refrigerants, having the objective to maintain the refrigerated space at a low temperature by
removingheatfromit.ThereversedCarnotcyclecanserveasastandardagainstwhichactualrefrigerationcycles
are compared. In the article is analyzed a vaporcompression refrigeration system using R12 refrigerant. With
experimental values of the evaporating and condensing temperatures and using the CoolPack program, the
systemperformancemaybeevaluated.
KEYWORDS:Vaporcompressionrefrigerationcycle,Thermocouple,Temperaturemeasurements,R12refrigerator

INTRODUCTION
In nature, the heattransfer process occurs in the direction of decreasing temperature, that is,
from hightemperature regions to lowtemperature ones without requiring any devices. The reverse
process,however,cannotoccurbyitself.Thetransferofheatfromalowtemperatureregiontoahigh
temperatureonerequiresspecialdevicescalledrefrigerators[14].Refrigeratorsarecyclicdevicesthat
work with fluid refrigerants, having the objective to maintain the refrigerated space at a low
temperaturebyremovingheatfromit.ThereversedCarnotcyclecanserveasastandardagainstwhich
actualrefrigerationcyclesarecompared.
Alternativesofrefrigerationcycles[2,3]:
Vaporcompression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is vaporized and condensed
alternately;
Gasrefrigerationcycleinwhichtherefrigerantremainsinthegaseousphasethroughout;
Cascaderefrigeration,wheremorethanonerefrigerationcycleisused;
Absorptionrefrigeration,wheretherefrigerantisdissolvedinaliquidbeforeitiscompressed;
Thermoelectric refrigeration, where refrigeration is produced by the passage of electric current
throughtwodissimilarmaterials.
The most commonly used system for industrial and
commercial refrigeration is the vapourcompression
refrigeration system. In this type of system, the refrigerant
flows through a closed cycle in the following four states:
compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation
(Figure1).
Theevaporationprocesstakesplaceatlowpressureand
temperature in the evaporator. Here the refrigerant absorbs
heat from the warm environment and thus cools it (q0). The
still cold refrigerant steam is aspirated by a compressor and
subjectedto higherpressurebyusingmechanicalenergy.The
refrigerantsteamheatsupduetothecompression.
Thehotrefrigerantsteamiscooleddowninacondenser
whereitcondenseswhiledischargingheattotheenvironment

(q1).Theliquidpressurizedrefrigerantisthenexpandedtothe
Figure1.Vaporcompressionsystemusedin
low evaporation pressure in an expansion element (capillary
domesticrefrigerators
tube)andreturnedtotheevaporator.
The refrigerant evaporates again and thus completes the circuit [5]. Moreover, these cycles are
welldescribedbythepressureenthalpydiagram[log(p)h]whichshowstheliquidandvapourstates
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ofthefluidduringthecycle(lines15,Figure2[5])andgiveadirectmeasureoftheenergytransferredin
theprocess.
Inaworkingcircuit,thevapourleavingtheevaporatorwillprobablybeslightlysuperheatedand
theliquidleavingthecondensersubcooled.Thegasleavingtheevaporatorissuperheatedtopoint1and
theliquidsubcooledto4.Also,pressurelosseswilloccuracrossthegasinletandoutlet,andtherewill
be pressure drops through the heat exchangers and piping. The final temperature at the end of
compression will depend on the working
limitsandtherefrigerant.
Taking these many factors into
account, the refrigerating effect and the
compressorenergymaybereadoffdirectly
in terms of enthalpy of the fluid. The
condenser receives the highpressure
superheatedgas,coolsitdowntosaturation
temperature, condenses it to liquid, and
finally subcools it slightly. The energy
removed in the condenser is seen to be the

refrigerating effect plus the heat of

Figure2.Pressureenthalpydiagram(b)[5]
compression.
Therealrefrigerationcycleconsistsofthefollowingchangesofstate(Figure2)[5]:
12polytropiccompressiontothecondensationpressure(forcomparison
12isentropiccompression)
23isobariccooling,deheatingofthesuperheatedsteam
34isobariccondensation
44isobariccooling,supercoolingoftheliquid
45isenthalpicexpansiontotheevaporationpressure
51isobaricevaporation
11isobaricheating,superheatingofthesteam
Themainparametersofrefrigerationsystemsare:
Thecoolingcapacity(heatabsorbedintheevaporator):
qo=h1h5[kJ/kg](1)
Theamountofheatrejectedinthecondenser(absolutevalue):
q1 =h2h4[kJ/kg](2)
Theworkconsumedbythesysteminabsolutevalue:
l r =h2h1[kJ/kg](3)
Therefrigerationefficiency(COPcoefficientofperformance):
h h
q
f = 0 = 1 5 [](4)
lr h2 h1

Thecoolingcapacityofthesystem(Qo)whichrepresenttheheatabsorbedbytherefrigerantfluidin
time:
D(h1 h5 )
D q0
[W](5)
Q0 =
10 3 =
3600
3 ,6
where:Distheflowofrefrigerantagent,in[kg/h].
IfisrequiredfromarefrigeratortoachieveaspecificcoolingcapacityQo,therelation(5)isused
todeterminetheflowofrefrigerantneeded.
Powerrequiredtorunthecompressor:
D lr
D (h2 h1 )
P=
=
[kW](6)
3600 c m 3600 c m
where: m isthemechanicalproductivityoftransmission;
c istheproductivityofcompressor.
Thepropertiesofthreerefrigerantscommonlyusedinhouseholdapplications,aregiveninTable1.
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Table1.Refrigerantsdatacomparison
Refrigerant
R600a
R134a
Name
Isobutane Tetraflouroethane
Formula
(CH3)3CH
CF3CH2F
Criticaltemperature,in[C]
135
101
Molecularweight,in[kg/kmol]
58.1
102
Normalboilingpoint,in[C]
11.6
26.5
Pressureat25C(absolute),in[bar]
0.58
1.07
Liquiddensityat25C,in[kg/l]
0.60
1.37
Vapourdensityatto25/+32C,in[kg/m]
1.3
4.4
Volumetriccapacityat25/55/32C,in[kJ/m]
373
658
Enthalpyofvaporizationat25C,in[kJ/kg]
376
216
Pressureat+20C(absolute),in[bar]
3.0
5.7

R12
Dichlorodifluoromethane
CF2Cl2
112
120.9
29.8
1.24
1.47
6.0
727
163
5.7

EXPERIMENTALANDANALYSISDETAILS
As a refrigerator system is used an ARCTIC domestic refrigerator operated with a mechanical
compressorandthatusesR12refrigerant.Themaincomponentsofthesystemaregivenschematically
in Figure 1. Also, two thermocouples are used for the evaporating (T1) and condensing (T2)
temperatures measurements. In Figure 1, by the arrows are indicated the locations of temperature
sensors. It should be noted that to obtain accurate data, the temperature sensor is bonded with a
thermalsubstance.
Temperature values are measured in a 30 minutes interval, at each 5 minutes and then a mean
value is calculated. Next the CoolPack program is used for refrigeration system parameters
determination.
Thisprogramisseparatedintosixcategories,eachcanbeopenedbyclickingthewindowtitlebar
(seeFigure3):Refrigerationutility;Cycleanalysis;Design;Evaluation;Auxiliary;Dynamic.

Figure3.ThewindowtitlebarofCoolPackprogram

Figure4.TheRefrigerationutilitywindow

Figure5.TheLog(p)handShowinfowindows

For calculation of standard refrigeration cycle performance the Refrigeration utility section is
used. After selecting the log(p)h Diagram button (see Figure 4) and after choosing the refrigerant

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type, the evaporating and condensing temperatures, the program draws the refrigeration cycle (see
Figure 5). Moreover, some parameters of the refrigeration cycle are calculated (described by the
relations14)andtheenthalpiesinthecriticalpointsofthecyclearegiven(seeFigure5).
So, the cooling capacity of the system Qo (relation 5) and the power required to run the
compressor(relation6)maybecalculated.
CONCLUSIONS
Thermodynamic performance of a refrigeration system is defined by evaluating the cooling
efficiency, which permit the quantitative assessment of heat losses, qualitatively described by the
secondprincipleofthermodynamics.
If the evaporating and condensing temperatures are measured at selected locations on the
refrigerationsystem,therefrigerationcyclemaybedrowninlog(p)hdiagramusingCoolPackprogram.
Thisprogrampermitsthedesign,sizing,analysisandoptimizationofrefrigerationcycles.
Also, a real appreciation of the quality of thermodynamic refrigeration cycle can be properly
assessed only by comparison of system efficiency with an ideal machine that works after reversed
Carnotcycle.Thedifferencesmayarisefrom:
pressurelossinsystemelementswiththeexceptionofmechanicalcompression;
heatlossbetweenthesystemandtheenvironment;
lossesduetovaporswhichdeviatefromperfectgasbehavior.
All these real irreversible effects influence the system performance involving a quantity of
additionalenergyusedbythecompressor.
REFERENCES
[1.] Y.A.Cengel,M.A.BolesThermodynamics:Anengineeringapproach,McGrawHill,5thedition,2006.
[2.] M.J.Moran,H.N.Shapiro,FundamentalsofEngineeringThermodynamics,5thed.,JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,
2004.
[3.] R.E.Sonntag,C.Borgnakke,G.J.VanWylen,FundamentalsofThermodynamics,5thed.,JohnWiley&Sons,
Inc.,1998.
[4.] S.R.Turns,Thermodynamics:ConceptsandApplications,CambridgeUniversityPress,2006
[5.] M.Mohanraj,S.Jayaraj,C.Muraleedharan,Comparativeassessmentofenvironmentfriendlyalternativesto
R134aindomesticrefrigerators,EnergyEfficiency(2008)1:189198.
[6.] L.Vlceanu,Transferdeclduriinstalaiitermice,CermiPrintingHouse,2008.

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