IPPI Report

Evaporator

Submitted by:

Reyven C. delos Santos

Joan May G. Balbastro

Evaporator

Evaporator is an important component together with

other major components in a refrigeration system such
as compressor, condenser and expansion device. The
reason for refrigeration is to remove heat from air, water
or other substance.
It is here that the liquid refrigerant is expanded and
evaporated. It acts as a heat exchanger that transfers
heat from the substance being cooled to a boiling
temperature.
There are two types of evaporator.:

Forced Convection Type (h.e.)

uses a fan or pump to force the liquid being cooled

over the evap.
Air is forced over refrigerant coils
Fins are provided to increase heat transfer rate
More efficient than natural convection evaporators
Require less cooling surface and high evaporator
pressure can be used which save power input to the
compressor.
Natural Convection Type

has the liquid being cooled flows naturally to the

evaporator due to the density differences of the chilled
and warm liquid.

Low velocity
Velocity of air depends upon temperature difference
Circulation of air around coil depends upon its size
shape and location

Evaporator Construction Types

There are three types of evaporator construction that are

commonly being used today:

Bare-Tube and Plate Surface construction have the

entire surface in contact with the evaporating
refrigerant inside.

Plate surface

Plate surfaces of evaporators are of several kinds. As a bare-tube

evaporators, they are also called Prime surface coil. One popular
version, as shown below, consists of two flat sheets of metal. One in
the form of a coil pipe pressed into it, while other apartments. Two
welded together, forming a circuit through which the refrigerant
travel. Plate adds heat transfer surface area of the coil, but not to
such an extent that the fins to do. This type of evaporator popular
refrigerators and freezers.

Finned construction are bare-tube coils upon which

fins(metal plates usually Aluminium) are being
installed. A more detailed discussion on this type of
design will be provided here.
 The fins are added to the bare-tube to increase the
heat transfer capability. They act as heat collector
that pick up heat from the surrounding air and
conduct it to the refrigerant inside the tube hence
improving the efficiency in cooling the air of the
surrounding. They are best used in the air-cooling
space where the temperature is around 34F.
Having fins mean the surface area for heat transfer
has been extended. This means that the finned coils
can have more compact in design compared to the
bare-tube type of similar capacity.
In summary, finned coils help to reduce coil cost, size
and weight.
Thermal Contact and Fin Spacing
Good thermal contact between the fins and tubes is a
must to ensure efficient heat transfer. They can be
soldered together. The other more practical method is to
expand the fins by pressure such that they bite into the
tube surface hence a good thermal contact is
established.The spacing of the fin depend on the
operating temperature of the coil. Low temperature
application uses only 1 fin.
In air conditioning application, 14-16 fins per inch may
be used as long it is designed in such a way that frost
does not accumulates in the coils.Excessive finning may
reduce the capacity of the evap. by restricting the flow of
air over the coil hence the design engineers must do a
proper system calculation and simulation at design
stage.

Evaporator Design Factors

There are 3 main factors to consider in designing an
evap.

Pressure Drop The evaporator must have sufficient

space for the circulation of the refrigerant without
too much pressure drop between the outlet and the
inlet.

Temperature The evaporator must have enough

surface to absorb the required heat load in order to
ensure the temperature difference between the
 substance being cooled and the refrigerant is not
excessive.

Liquid and Refrigerant Vapor The evaporator

must have enough space for the liquid refrigerant
and the vapor to separate from the liquid.

THE SINGLE EFFECT EVAPORATOR

The typical evaporator is made up of three functional sections:
the heat exchanger, the evaporating section, where the liquid
boils and evaporates, and the separator in which the vapour
leaves the liquid and passes off to the condenser or to other
equipment. In many evaporators, all three sections are contained
in a single vertical cylinder.
In the centre of the cylinder there is a steam heating section, with
pipes passing through it in which the evaporating liquors rise. At
the top of the cylinder, there are baffles, which allow the vapours
to escape but check liquid droplets that may accompany the
vapours from the liquid surface. A diagram of this type of
evaporator, which may be called the conventional evaporator
MULTIPLE EFFECT EVAPORATOR
An evaporator is essentially a heat exchanger in which a liquid is
boiled to give a vapour, so that it is also, simultaneously, a low pressure
steam generator.
It may be possible to make use of this, to treat an evaporator as a low
pressure boiler, and to make use of the steam thus produced for
further heating in another following evaporator called another effect