REFRIGERATION

CYCLES:
systems and calculations
 GENERAL REFRIGERATION
CYCLES
 Refrigeration cycles are essentially power
cycles in reverse. It is necessary to do work on
the refrigerant in order to get it to discharge
energy to the high-temperature sink.
 A heat pump also operates on a refrigeration
cycle.
Heat pump / refrigerator
Heat pump / refrigerator
 Difference between a refrigerator
and a heat pump
 The refrigerator cools a low temperature area
as its main purpose and rejects the absorbed
heat to a high temperature area.
 The heat pump rejects the absorbed heat to a
high temperature area as its main purpose,
having obtained that heat from a low
temperature area.
refrigerator
Heat pump
 Applications

Heat pump in winter applications Refrigerators in the household

Standard Vapor Compression Cycle
 It has been and is the most widely used method for air-
conditioning of large public buildings, private residences,
hotels, hospitals, theaters, restaurants and automobiles.
 It is also used in domestic and commercial refrigerators,
large-scale warehouses for storage of foods and meats,
refrigerated trucks and railroad cars, and a host of other
commercial and industrial services.
 Oil refineries, petrochemical and chemical processing
plants, and natural gas processing plants are among the
many types of industrial plants that often utilize large
vapor-compression refrigeration systems.
Schematic Diagram

3 2

4 1
Standard Vapor Compression Cycle
 A common unit of refrigeration is the cooling
effect of 1 ton (2000 lbm) of ice melting at a
constant rate in one day. The latent heat of
fusion of ice is 334.9 kJ/kg (144 Btu/lbm), and
so the refrigeration produced by 907.18 kg of
ice (2000 lbm, or 1 ton) is 3.0384 X 10 5 kJ.
One ton of refrigeration is thus the removal of
3.0384 X 105 kJ (288,000 Btu) in a 24 – h
period. Hence
 1 ton = 3.516 kW = 200 Btu/min
 Ideal Vapor Compression
Refrigeration Cycle
 1-2: Isentropic Compression in a compressor
 2-3: Constant-pressure heat rejection in a
condenser
 3-4: Throttling in an expansion device
 4-1: Constant pressure heat absorption in an
evaporator.
 Coefficient of Performance
 The COP of a device operating on a
refrigeration cycle is defined as the ratio of
useful heat transferred to the work input. If Q in
is the heat absorbed from the low temperature
area, the COP for a refrigerator is:
Qin QL Cooling effect
COPrefrig   
Qout  Qin Win Work input
 Reversed Carnot Refrigeration
Cycle
 The reversed Carnot cycle can actually be
constructed if a condensable vapor, such as
ammonia or freon, is used. The COP of
performance are:
Tlow
COPrefrig 
Thigh  Tlow
Thigh
COPheat pump   COPrefrig  1
Thigh  Tlow
 Qin  Win Qin  Win
COPheat pump    COPrefrig  1
Qout  Qin Win

COP of a Heat Pump

 The COP for a heat pump includes the desired
heating effect of the compressor work input.

Qin  Win QH Heating Effect

COPheat pump   
Qout  Qin Win Work input
COPheat pump  COPrefrig  1
COP of ideal vapor compression
refrigeration cycle

h1  h4
COPR 
h2  h1
h2  h3
COPHP 
h2  h1
 Energy Efficiency Ratio
 A new term used to evaluate performance of
cooling devices is the Energy Efficiency Ratio
(EER) as defined in the equation

cooling in BTU hr
EER 
input power in KiloWatts
 Sample problem
 A domestic refrigerator which produces
refrigeration at -25°C (248 K) rejects heat at
ambient temperature of 60°C (333 K).
Determine the maximum possible COP.
 Determine the maximum possible COPHP.
 COP = 248/(333-248) = 2.9
 COPHP =333/(333-248) = 3.9
 COPHP = COP+1 = 2.9+1 = 3.9
 Exercise problem
 A standard vapor compression refrigeration
system produces 20 tons of refrigeration using
R12 as a refrigerant while operating between a
condenser temperature of 41.6 C and an
evaporator temperature of -25 C. Determine
the refrigerating effect in kJ/kg, the circulating
rate of R12 in kg/s, the power required, the
COP.
 Given data:
 Condenser exhaust: h3 = 76.17 kJ/kg
 Compressor inlet: h1 = 176.35 kJ/kg
 Compressor Exhaust: h2 = 213.46 kJ/kg
 From throttling process h3 = h4
 reminder: 1 TOR = 3.516 kW
Schematic Diagram

3 2

4 1
 solution
The refrigerating effect is the heat added per
unit mass,
 qin =h1 – h4 = 176.35 – 76.17 = 100.18 kJ/kg
The system capacity provides information regarding
the mass flow rate required,
Qin = 20 TOR(3.516 kW/ton)=70.32 kW = m(h1 – h4)
= m(100.18 kJ/kg)
m = 0.7019 kg/s
 solution
 The power is found from the compressor,
W = m(h2 - h1) = (0.7019 kg/s)(213.46-176.35)kJ/kg
W = 26.05 kW
 The heat rejected occurs in the condenser,
Qout = m(h2 – h3) = (0.7019 kg/s)(213.46-76.17 kJ/kg)
Qout = 96.36 kW rejected = - 96.36 kW

COP = Qin/Wnet = 100.18 kJ/kg / 37.11 kJ/kg

COP = 2.6995
 Multistage vapor compression
systems
 When the ratio of the compressor discharge pressure
to suction pressure becomes high, the performance of
the compressor is affected. The volumetric efficiency
is reduced, compressor efficiency falls off, and high
discharge temperatures can result.
 High ratios of compressor pressure occur in
refrigeration cycles when the evaporating temperature
is much lower than the condensing temperature.
 Compressing the gas in two or more stages can solve
many of these problems.
 The use of an intercooler between stages will lower
the gas discharge temperature and also improve
performance.
Multistage vapor compression
System
High Press Condenser
6
7

M2, mass 2 HP

8 5
Direct contact
heat exchanger
3 2

M1, mass 1
LP

4 1
Evaporator
 COP

Qin m1 h2  h1   m2 h6  h5 

COP  
W m1 h1  h4 
qin h2  h1  h6  h5
 
w h1  h4
 Homework
 Draw the schematic and discuss the other
refrigeration cycles.
 Absorption refrigeration
 Steam jet refrigeration

 Air refrigeration

 Multiple evaporators with one compressor

(Cascade System`)
 Cold storage systems
The end