Refrigerating Machine

a device used to remove heat from an object that is to be cooled to a temperature below the
environmental temperature. Refrigerating machines are used to obtain temperatures ranging
from 10°C to –150°C. The temperature range below –150°C is the subject of cryogenic
engineering.

The operation of refrigerating machines is based on the principle of a heat pump; that is, such
machines remove heat from an object to be cooled and, by expending energy (for example,
mechanical or thermal energy), transfer the heat to a cooling medium—usually water or
ambient air—that has a higher temperature than the object to be cooled. The operation is
characterized by the refrigerating capacity, which, for present-day machines, ranges from
several hundred watts to a few megawatts.

The following refrigerating systems are used in refrigerating engineering: vapor-compression,

absorption, steam-jet, and air-cycle. The operation of these systems is based on the principle
that the working fluid—that is, the refrigerant—completes a reverse thermodynamic cycle,
called a refrigeration cycle, owing to the expenditure of work. In vapor-compression,
absorption, and steam-jet refrigerating machines, cooling is achieved as a result of the boiling
of a liquid that has a low boiling point. In air-cycle refrigerating machines, cooling is
accomplished owing to the expansion of compressed air in an expansion valve.

The first refrigerating machines appeared in the middle of the 19th century. One of the oldest
such machines is the absorption machine, whose invention and design are associated with J.
Leslie (Great Britain, 1810), F. Carré (France, 1850), and F. Windhausen (Germany, 1878). The
first vapor-compression machine, which operated on ether, was built by J. Perkins (Great
Britain, 1834). Similar machines, which used methyl ether or sulfur dioxide as the refrigerant,
were developed later. In 1874, K. Linde (Germany) constructed an ammonia vapor-compression
refrigerating machine, which marked the beginning of refrigerating-machine building.

Vapor-compression machines are the most widely used and most versatile refrigerating
machines. The main components of such machines (Figure 1) are an evaporator, a refrigeration
compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve. The components, all of which should be well
sealed, are connected by piping provided with shutoff, control, and safety equipment.
According to the type of compressor used, vapor-compression refrigerating machines are
classified as reciprocating, turbine, rotary, or screw-type machines.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of a vapor-compression refrigerating machine: (1) evaporator, (2)

compressor, (3) condenser, (4) heat exchanger, (5) expansion valve

In a vapor-compression refrigerating machine, the refrigerant circulates in a closed cycle. In the

evaporator, the refrigerant boils at a low pressure p0 and a low temperature. The heat required
for boiling is removed from the object to be cooled, thus reducing the temperature of the
object to the boiling point of the refrigerant. The vapor formed is drawn into the compressor, is
compressed to the condensation pressure pc, and then passes into the condenser, where it is
cooled by water or air. Owing to the removal of heat in the condenser, the vapor condenses.
The liquid refrigerant thus obtained passes through the expansion valve, where its temperature
and pressure are reduced, and returns to the evaporator to be evaporated again, thereby
completing the machine’s refrigeration cycle.

In some cases, to improve the efficiency of a refrigerating machine (that is, to reduce the
energy expenditure per unit quantity of heat removed from the object to be cooled), the vapor
drawn into the compressor is superheated and the liquid is subcooled before expansion. On the
basis of this principle, a temperature below –30°C may be obtained by using multistage or
cascaded refrigerating machines. In multistage machines, the vapor is compressed in several
stages and cooled between the stages. In two-stage refrigerating machines, a refrigerant boiling
point of as low as –80°C may be obtained. Cascaded refrigerating machines consist of several
refrigerating machines connected in series and operating on different refrigerants, which,
according to their thermodynamic properties, are the most appropriate for given temperature
conditions. In cascaded machines, a boiling point of as low as –150°C may be obtained.

An absorption refrigerating machine (Figure 2) consists of a boiler, a condenser, an evaporator,

an absorber, a pump, and an expansion valve. The working fluid is a binary solution in which the
two components have different boiling points at the same pressure. The component with the
lower boiling point is the refrigerant; the second component is called the absorbent. In the
temperature range from 0°C to –45°C, absorption machines are used in which the working fluid
is a solution of ammonia (the refrigerant) and water. At cooling temperatures above 0°C,
absorption machines that operate on a solution of water (the refrigerant) and lithium bromide
are mainly used.

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of an absorption refrigerating machine: (1) evaporator, (2)

absorber, (3) pump, (4) expansion valve, (5) boiler, (6) condenser

In the evaporator of an absorption refrigerating machine, the refrigerant is evaporated by heat

removed from the object to be cooled. The vapor thus produced is absorbed in the absorber.
The strong solution formed in the absorber is pumped into the boiler, where the refrigerant is
vaporized by thermal energy from an external source, and the remaining solution is returned to
the absorber. The refrigerant vapor then flows from the boiler to the condenser, where it is
condensed; the resulting liquid passes through the expansion valve and to the evaporator,
where it evaporates a second time.
The use of absorption machines is very advantageous in industrial enterprises that have
secondary energy resources, such as spent steam, hot water, or flue gases from industrial
furnaces. Absorption refrigerating machines may be of the single-stage or the two-stage type.

Steam-jet refrigerating machines (Figure 3) consist of an ejector, an evaporator, a condenser, a

pump, and an expansion valve. The refrigerant is water, and the energy source is steam at a
pressure of 0.3–1 meganewton per m2 (3–10 kilograms-force per cm2). The steam enters the
ejector nozzle, where it is expanded. As a result, the pressure in the ejector and, therefore, in
the evaporator of the machine is reduced to a value that corresponds to a boiling point of
water of somewhat above 0°C, usually of the order of 5°C. Owing to partial evaporation, the
water that is circulated to the cooling load is chilled in the evaporator. The water vapor drawn
from the evaporator and the motive steam from the ejector pass into the condenser, where
they become liquid water and give up heat to a cooling medium. Some of the water from the
condenser is pumped into the evaporator to replenish the supply of chilled water.

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of a steam-jet refrigerating machine: (1) ejector, (2) evaporator, (3)
cooling load, (4) pump, (5) expansion valve, (6) condenser

Air-cycle refrigerating machines are gas refrigerators that use air as the refrigerant. At
temperatures above –80°C, the efficiency of air-cycle machines is lower than that of vapor-
compression machines. A more efficient type of air-cycle machine is the regenerative air-cycle
refrigerating machine, in which the air is cooled in either a counterflow heat exchanger or a
regenerator. Depending on the pressure of the compressed air used, air-cycle refrigerating
machines are divided into high-pressure machines and low-pressure machines. A distinction is
also made between open and closed air-cycle machines.
Reversed Carnot Cycle
The Carnot heat-engine cycle described is a totally reversible cycle. That is all the processes that
compose it can be reversed, in which case it becomes the Carnot refrigeration cycle. This time,
the cycle remains exactly the same except that the directions of any heat and work interactions
are reversed. Heat is absorbed from the low-temperature reservoir, heat is rejected to a high-
temperature reservoir, and a work input is required to accomplish all this. The P–V diagram of
the reversed Carnot cycle is the same as for the Carnot cycle except that the directions of the

processes are reversed cycle.

The cycle consists of

1-2: Adiabatic Compression

2-3: Isentropic Compression

3-4: Adiabatic Expansion

4-1: Isentropic Expansion

(1-2) Adiabatic compression of the working fluid with the aid of external work. The temperature
of the fluid rises from T2 to T1.

(2-3) Isothermal compression of the working fluid during which heat is rejected at constant high
temperature T1.

(3-4) Adiabatic expansion of the working fluid. The temperature of the working fluid falls from
T2 to T1. (4-1) Isothermal expansion of air where heat is absorbed at low temperature T2 from
the space being cooled. Reversed Carnot Cycle Reversed Carnot Cycle Q1 Q2 T1 T2 Adiabatic
Comp Adiabatic Exp Isothermal Comp Isothermal Exp Q1 Q2