Waste Heat Recapture From Refrigeration Systems HONEY SINGH

REFRIGERTION SYSTEM SAVING HEAT ENERGY
CHAPTER - 1
Modern Institute Of Engg. & Tech.
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Waste Heat Recapture from Refrigeration Systems

1.1 Goals and Objectives The objective of this project was to determine the potential energy savings associated with improved utilization of waste heat from supermarket refrigeration systems. Existing and advanced strategies for waste heat recovery in supermarkets were analyzed, including options from advanced sources such as combined heat and power (CHP), micro-turbines and fuel cells. 1.2 Motivation and Benefits of Waste Heat Utilization Retail food stores and supermarkets operate their refrigeration systems continuously to maintain proper food storage conditions within their refrigerated display cases and storage areas. The continual operation of this equipment accounts for approximately 50% of the total electrical energy consumption of a typical supermarket (West phase, at 1996). Furthermore, a significant amount of waste heat is rejected by the condensers of supermarket refrigeration systems. Unfortunately, this waste heat is of low quality, meaning that its temperature is low. Thus, practical uses of waste heat from supermarket refrigeration systems are typically limited to space heating and water heating. In an effort to more effectively utilize waste heat, the temperature of the waste heat may be increased, to a limited degree, by raising the condensing pressure of the refrigeration system. However, studies have shown that raising the condensing pressure to achieve higher quality waste heat uses more energy than it saves. Reasons cited include poorly designed heat recovery systems and a lack of sophistication in the control systems for the refrigeration and HVAC systems. Recently, several researchers have attempted to more effectively utilize the waste heat from supermarket refrigeration systems using various other techniques. Use of waste heat to drive heat pumps for space heating and/or cooling has been proposed. In addition, waste heat may be used to preheat the regeneration air flow used in solid desiccant adsorption dehumidification systems or to preheat the liquid desiccant in absorption dehumidification systems. More advanced supermarket energy systems include the use of tri generation or combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) to efficiently produce power, cooling and heating. Fuel cell technology is also being used in a limited number of
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supermarkets in order to efficiently generate electrical power and to effectively utilize the resulting waste heat. 1.2 Amount of Waste Heat Available from Refrigeration Systems The waste heat recovered from a commercial refrigeration system typically consists of either only the heat which is required to de superheat the compressor discharge gas, or both the heat required to de superheat the discharge gas as well as the heat required to condense the refrigerant from a saturated vapor to a saturated liquid. The waste heat from the former is known as de superheating waste heat while that from the latter is known as full condensing waste heat. Less waste heat is recovered through only de superheating as compared to full condensing, however the quality of the heat recovered by only de superheating is higher, i.e., the temperature of the waste heat from de superheating is higher than that obtained from full condensing.
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Fig 1.1
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The quality and quantity of waste heat available for recovery depends upon the operation of the refrigeration system. The temperature of the compressor discharge gas determines the quality of the waste heat. This temperature in turn is dependent upon the temperature of the return gas at the compressor suction header. The compressor discharge temperature is also affected by the saturated condensing temperature. As the condensing temperature decreases, the discharge temperature decreases. The optimum conditions for operating the refrigeration system, i.e., operating at the highest suction pressure and lowest condensing pressure, leads to the minimum amount of available waste heat. However, it is much more effective to operate the refrigeration system at its most efficient conditions with a minimum amount of waste heat than it is to operate the refrigeration system less efficiently in order to produce more waste heat. The end use of the waste heat dictates whether only de superheating or full condensing heat recovery should be used. For example, a typical hot water system for a supermarket or big box retail store may require a water circulation temperature as high as 140F. At this temperature, only de superheating waste heat recovery can be effectively employed, and additional electric heaters may be required to achieve the desired water temperature (Royal 2010). Compared to water heating, preheating of ventilation air requires waste heat of lower quality. When preheating ventilation air with an air-cooled fluid cooler for heat reclaim, an entering water temperature of 60F and a leaving water temperature of 45F are typical (Royal 2010). Thus, the lower quality waste heat from full condensing may be used to preheat ventilation air. Typically, full condensing heat recovery applications are designed for use with water-cooled refrigeration systems. 1.3 Heat Recovery versus Floating Head Pressure The operation of vapor compression refrigeration systems always requires the rejection of waste heat to the environment. In colder climates, such as northern Europe or Canada, it would seem logical then to use this waste heat to provide heating for the supermarket space or for process water. However, in an attempt to increase the efficiency of the refrigeration system, the head pressure can be allowed to float, or follow, the outdoor ambient temperature. Thus, as the outdoor temperature decreases, the temperature of the refrigeration system
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waste heat decreases. Therefore, the amount of space heating or water heating that can be achieved at lower ambient temperatures decreases. As a compromise between utilizing either a heat recovery strategy or a floating head pressure control strategy in supermarket refrigeration systems, Arias and Lindquist (2006) propose to use both. In order to do so, Arias and Lindquist suggest that two refrigeration systems be used in place of one refrigeration system. Where one refrigeration system is optimized to operate with floating head pressure or heat recovery, two smaller systems can be used instead, with one system optimized to provide heat recovery while the other is optimized to operate with floating head pressure. Using a supermarket energy simulation tool, Arias and Lindquist modeled an existing Swedish supermarket using the following three strategies: 1. Heat recovery only 2. Floating head pressure only 3. Both heat recovery and floating head pressure Arias and Lindquist found that the energy rejected by the condenser should be sufficient to meet the space heating requirements of the supermarket. However, practical experience at the existing supermarket indicates that this is not the case, due to cyclic operation of the refrigeration system and the poor integration of heat recovery between the refrigeration system and the HVAC system. Furthermore, the simulation results indicated that the combined heat recovery and floating head pressure strategy was more economical than either only the heat recovery strategy or only the floating head pressure strategy. It was found that the total energy cost savings was approximately 7% to 8% by using both heat recovery and floating head pressure versus either heat recovery or floating head pressure alone. 1.4 Heat Pumps for Energy Recovery In an effort to increase the quality of refrigeration system waste heat, heat pumps which are driven by the waste heat have been used for supermarket space heating. These heat pumps can be integrated into the supermarket HVAC system either directly, where the heat pump evaporators serve as refrigeration system condensers, or indirectly, where water-source heat pumps receive refrigeration system waste heat via water-cooled condensers. An advantage of using heat pumps to recover waste heat is that the refrigeration system head pressure does not need to be maintained at a high level in order to reclaim usable heat.
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CHAPTER - 2
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INTRODUCTION
The job of a refrigeration plant is to cool articles or substances down to, and maintain them at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature. Refrigeration can be defined as a process that removes heat. The oldest and most wellknown among refrigerants are ice, water, and air. In the beginning, the sole purpose was to conserve food. The Chinese were the first to find out that ice increased the life and improved the taste of drinks and for centuries. At the beginning of the last century, terms like bacteria, yeast, mould, enzymes etc. were known. It had been discovered that the growth of microorganisms is temperature-dependent, that growth declines as temperature falls, and that growth becomes very slow at temperatures below +10 C. As a consequence of this knowledge, it was now possible to use refrigeration to conserve foodstuffs and natural ice came into use for this purpose. The first mechanical refrigerators for the production of ice appeared around the year 1860. In 1880 the first ammonia compressors and insulated cold stores were put into use in the USA. Electricity began to play a part at the beginning of this century and mechanical refrigeration plants became common in some fields: e.g. breweries, slaughter-houses, fishery, ice production, for example. After the Second World War the development of small hermetic refrigeration compressors evolved and refrigerators and freezers began to take their place in the home. Today, these appliances are regarded as normal household necessities. There are countless applications for refrigeration plants now. Examples are: Foodstuff conservation Process refrigeration Air conditioning plants Drying plants Fresh water installations Refrigerated containers Heat pumps Ice production Freeze-drying Transport refrigeration In fact, it is difficult to imagine life without air conditioning, refrigeration and freezing their impact on our existence is much greater than most people imagine.
Fundamental terms
On an international level, agreement has been reached on the use of the System International d Units - often referred to as the SI-system. For a number of countries the implementation of the SI-system is still an on-going process. In this booklet the SIsystem will be the primary unit system used. However, in many parts of the refrigeration
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community it is still practice to use metric units or other alternative units. Therefore, the practically used alternative units will be given in parenthesis where needed. The practical use of the SI-units is strongly associated with the use of the decade prefixes to avoid writing either very small or large numbers. A part of the prefixes used can be seen in the table below. Example: The atmospheric air pressure is 101325 Pa. Using the decade prefixes from the table below the best way of writing this would be 101.325 kPa. The choice of prefix is free but the best choice will normally be the one where the value written will be in the range from 0.1 to 999.9. Prefixes should not be used for combined SI-units except when [kg] is used. Example: 2000 W/m2 K should be written as 2.000 103 W/m2 K and not as 2 kW/m2 K.
2.2 Temperature
Temperature is a very central property in refrigeration. Almost all refrigeration systems have the purpose of reducing the temperature of an object like the air in a room or the objects stored in that room. The SI-unit for temperature Kelvin [K] is an absolute temperature because its reference point [0 K] is the lowest temperature that it in theory would be able to obtain. When working with refrigeration systems the temperature unit degree Celsius [C] is a more practical unit to use. Celsius is not an absolute temperature scale because its reference point (0 C) is defined by the freezing point of water (equal to 273.15 K). The only difference between Kelvin and Celsius is the difference in reference point. This means that a temperature difference of 1 C is exactly the same as a temperature difference of 1 K. In the scientific part of the refrigeration community temperature differences are often described using [K] instead of [C]. This practice eliminates the possible mix-up of temperatures and temperature differences. Fundamental terms The SI-unit for force is Newton (N) which is actually a [kg m/s2]. A man wearing skis can stand in deep snow without sinking very deep - but if he steps out of his skis his feet will probably sink very deep into the snow. In the first case the weight of the man is distributed over a large surface (the skis). In the second case the same weight is distributed on the area of his shoe soles - which is a much smaller area than the area of the skis. The difference between these two cases is the pressure that the man exerts on the snow surface. Pressure is defined as the force exerted on an area divided by the size of the area. In the example with the skier the force (gravity) is the same in both cases but the areas are different. In the first case the area is large and so the pressure becomes low. In the second case the area is small and so the pressure becomes high.
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In refrigeration pressure is mostly associated with the fluids used as refrigerants. When a substance in liquid or vapour form is kept within a closed container the vapour will exert a force on the inside of the container walls. The force of the vapour on the inner surface divided by its area is called the absolute pressure. For practical reasons the value for pressure is sometimes stated as pressure above atmospheric pressure meaning the atmospheric pressure (101.325 kPa = 1.013 bar) is subtracted from the absolute pressure. The pressure above atmospheric pressure is also often referred to as gauge pressure. The unit used should reflect the choice of absolute pressure or gauge pressure. An absolute pressure is indicated by the use of lowercase a and a gauge pressure is indicated by a lowercase g. Example: The absolute pressure is 10 bar(a) which converted to gauge pressure becomes (10 - 1.013) bar(g) 9 bar(g). The combination of the SI-unit for pressure [Pa] and the term gauge pressure is not recommended. Other units for pressure that are still used today are mm of mercury column [mmHg], and meter water gauge [mwg]. The latter is often used in connection with pumps to indicate the height of the water column that the pump is able to generate. Vacuum is defined as an absolute pressure of 0 Pa but since it is almost impossible to obtain this the term vacuum is used generally to describe a pressure much lower than the atmospheric pressure. Example: The absolute pressure is 0.1 bar(a) which converted to gauge pressure becomes (0.1 - 1.013) bar(g) 0.9 bar(g). Vacuum is also often described in Torr (1 Torr is equal to 10 Pa) and mill bar (a thousandth of a bar). 2.4 Heat, work, energy and Power Heat and work are both forms of energy that can be transferred between objects or systems. The transfer of heat is closely connected to the temperature (or temperature difference) that exists between two or more objects. By itself heat is always transferred from an object with high temperature to objects with lower temperatures. Heating of water in a pot on a stove is a good everyday example of the transfer of heat. The stove plate becomes hot and heat is transferred from the plate through the bottom of the pot and to the water. The transfer of heat to the water causes the temperature of the water to rise. In other words, heating an object is the same as transferring energy (heat) to the object. In many practical applications there is a need to reduce the temperature of an object instead of increasing it. Following the example above this can only be done if you have another object with a lower temperature than that of the object you wish to cool. Putting these two objects into contact will cause a transfer of heat away from the object you wish to cool and, consequently, its temperature will decrease. In other words, cooling an object is the same as transferring energy (heat) away from the object. The transfer of work is typically connected to the use of mechanical shafts like the one rotating in an electric motor or in a combustion engine. Other forms of work transfer are possible but the use of a rotating shaft is the primary method used in refrigeration systems. As mentioned both heat and work are forms of energy. The methods of transfer between objects are different but for a process with both heat and work transfer it is the sum of the heat and work transfer that determines the outcome of the process.
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Fundamental terms The SI-unit Joule [J] is used to quantify energy, heat and work. The amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kg of water from 15 to 16 C is 4.187 kJ. The 4.178 kJ can be transferred as heat or as work - but heat would be the most used practical solution in this case. There are differences in how much energy is required to increase the temperature of various substances by 1 K. For 1 kg of pure iron app. 0.447 kJ is needed whereas for 1 kg of atmospheric air only app. 1.0 kJ is needed. The property that makes the iron and air different with respect to the energy needed for causing a temperature increase is called the specific heat capacity. It is defined as the energy required to cause a temperature increase of 1 K for 1 kg of the substance. The unit for specific heat capacity is J/kg K. The rate at which energy is transferred is called power. The SI-unit for power is Watt (W). Example: If 10 J is transferred per second, the rate of energy transfer is stated as 10 J/s = 10 W. In the SI-system the choice of unit for power is the same for transfer of heat and work. In other unit systems the transfer rates for heat and work could have different units. All substances can exist in three different phases: solid, liquid, and vapour. Water is the most natural example of a substance that we use almost everyday in all three phases. For water the three phases have received different names - making it a bit confusing when using it as a model substance. The solid form we call ice, the liquid form we just call water, and the vapour form we call steam. What is common to these three phases is that the water molecules remain unchanged, meaning that ice, water, and steam all have the same chemical formula: H2O. When taking a substance in the solid to the liquid phase the transition process is called melting and when taking it further to the vapour phase the transition process is called boiling (evaporation). When going in the opposite direction 2.5 Substances and phase change taking a substance from the vapour to the liquid phase the transition process is called condensing and when taking it further to the solid phase the transition process is called freezing (solidification). 2.3 Heat, work, energy and power (cont.) At constant pressure the transition processes display a very significant characteristic. When ice is heated at 1 bar its temperature starts rising until it reaches 0 C - then the ice starts melting. During the melting process the temperature does not change - all the energy transferred to the mixture of ice and water goes into melting the ice and not into heating the water. Only when the ice has been melted completely will the further transfer of energy cause its temperature to rise. The same type of behavior can be observed when water is heated in an open pot. The water temperature increases until it reaches 100 C - then evaporation starts. During the evaporation process the temperature remains at 100 C. When all the liquid water has evaporated the temperature of the steam left in the pot will start rising. The temperature and pressure a substance is exposed to determine whether it exists in solid, liquid, or vapour form - or in two or all three forms at the same time. In our local environment iron appears in its solid form, water in its liquid and gas forms, and air in its vapour form.
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A refrigerant in liquid form will absorb heat when it evaporates and it is this conditional change that produces cooling in a refrigerating process. If a refrigerant at the same temperature as ambient is allowed to expand through a hose with an outlet to atmospheric pressure, heat will be taken up from the surrounding air and evaporation will occur at a temperature corresponding to atmospheric pressure. If in a certain situation pressure on the outlet side (atmospheric pressure) is changed, a different temperature will be obtained since this is analogous to the original temperature - it is pressure dependent. The component where this occurs is the evaporator, whose job it is to remove heat from the surroundings, i.e. to produce refrigeration.
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CHAPTER - 3
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COMPRESSOR
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Fig: 3.1
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas. Liquids are relatively incompressible, so the main action of a pump is to pressurize and transport liquids. Centrifugal compressors Main article: Centrifugal compressor Figure 1: A single stage centrifugal compressor Centrifugal compressors use a musk an rotating disk or impeller in a shaped housing to force the gas to the rim of the impeller, increasing the velocity of the gas. A diffuser (divergent duct) section converts the velocity energy to pressure energy. They are primarily used for continuous, stationary service in industries such as oil refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants and natural gas processing plants. Their application can be from 100 horsepower (75 kW) to thousands of horsepower. With multiple staging, they can achieve extremely high output pressures greater than 10,000 psi (69 MPa). Many large snow-making operations (like ski resorts) use this type of compressor. They are also used in internal combustion engines as superchargers and turbochargers. Centrifugal compressors are used in small gas turbine engines or as the final compression stage of medium sized gas turbines.
3.2 Types of Compressors

There are a number of different types of compressors used for refrigeration and air conditioning. Like pumps, all "heat pumps" can first be categorized as either positive displacement or non-positive displacement (centrifugal). Positive displacement compressors have chambers which decrease in volume during compression, while nonpositive displacement compressors have fixed-volume chambers. This video explains visually Beyond this distinction, each type differs based on its specific mechanism for fluid compression. The five main types of compressors are piston, rotary, screw, scroll, and centrifugal.
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3.2.1 Piston Compressors

Piston compressors, also called reciprocating compressors, use a piston and cylinder arrangement to provide compressive force - like combustion engines or piston pumps. The reciprocating motion of the piston due to external power compresses the refrigerant inside the cylinder. Piston compressors have a low initial cost and a simple, easy to install design. They have a large power output range and can reach extremely high pressures. However, they have high maintenance costs, potential vibration issues, and are not typically designed to run continuously at full capacity.
Piston compressor diagram
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Fig 3.2 3.2.2 Rotary Compressors

Rotary compressors have two rotating elements, like gears, between which the refrigerant is compressed. These compressors are very efficient because the actions of taking in refrigerant and compressing refrigerant occur simultaneously. They have very few moving parts, low rotational speeds, low initial and maintenance costs, and are forgiving in dirty environments. However, they are limited to smaller volumes of the gas and produce less pressure than other types of compressors.
Rotary vane compressor diagram
Fig 3.3
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3.2.3 Screw Compressors
Screw compressors use a pair of helical rotors or screws which mesh together to compress the refrigerant between them. They can produce high pressure for a small quantity of gas and consume less power than reciprocating compressors. They have low to medium initial and maintenance costs and few moving parts. However, they have difficulty in dirty environments, high rotational speeds, and shorter life expectancies than other designs.
Screw compressor diagram
Fig 3.4
3.2.3 Scroll Compressors
Scroll compressors use two offset spiral disks nested together to compress the refrigerant. The upper disk is stationary while the lower disk moves in orbital fashion. Scroll compressors are quiet, smooth-operating units with few moving parts and the highest efficiency ratio of all compressor types. They also are more flexible for handling refrigerants in the liquid. However, as fully hermetic designs, scroll compressors cannot be easily repaired. They also typically cannot rotate in both directions. Scroll compressors are commonly used in automobile air conditioning systems and commercial chillers.
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Fig 3.5
3.2.4 Centrifugal Compressors
Centrifugal compressors use the rotating action of an impeller wheel to exert centrifugal force on refrigerant inside a round chamber (volute). Unlike other designs, centrifugal compressors do not operate on the positive displacement principle, but have fixed volume chambers. They are well suited to compressing large volumes of refrigerant to relatively low pressures. The compressive force generated by an impeller wheel is small, so systems that use centrifugal compressors usually employ two or more stages (impellers wheels) in series to generate high compressive forces. Centrifugal compressors are desirable for their simple design, few moving parts, and energy efficiency when operating multiple stages.
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Fig 3.6
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Capillary Tube A capillary tube is a long, narrow tube of constant diameter. The word capillary is a misnomer since surface tension is not important in refrigeration application of capillary tubes. Typical tube diameters of refrigerant capillary tubes range from 0.5 mm to 3 mm and the length ranges from 1.0 m to 6 m. The pressure reduction in a capillary tube occurs due to the following two factors: 1. The refrigerant has to overcome the frictional resistance offered by tube walls. This leads to some pressure drop, and 2. The liquid refrigerant flashes (evaporates) into mixture of liquid and vapour as its pressure reduces. The density of vapour is less than that of the liquid. Hence, the average density of refrigerant decreases as it flows in the tube. The mass flow rate and tube diameter (hence area) being constant, the velocity of refrigerant increases since = VA. The increase in velocity or acceleration of the refrigerant also requires pressure drop.
Fig 3.7
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Several combinations of length and bore are available for the same mass flow rate and pressure drop. However, once a capillary tube of some diameter and length has been installed in a refrigeration system, the mass flow rate through it will vary in such a manner that the total pressure drop through it matches with the pressure difference between condenser and the evaporator. Its mass flow rate is totally dependent upon the pressure difference across it; it cannot adjust itself to variation of load effectively.
3.4 Balance Point of Compressor and Capillary Tube The compressor and the capillary tube, under steady state must arrive at some suction and discharge pressures, which allows the same mass flow rate through the compressor and the capillary tube. This state is called the balance point. Condenser and evaporator pressures are saturation pressures at corresponding condenser and evaporator temperatures. Figure 24.1 shows the variation of mass flow rate with evaporator pressure through the compressor and the capillary tube for three values of condenser temperatures namely, 30, 40 and 50 C. The mass flow rate through the compressor decreases if the pressure ratio increases since the volumetric efficiency of the compressor decreases with the increase of pressure ratio. The pressure ratio increases when either the evaporator pressure decreases or the condenser pressure increases. Hence, the mass flow rate through the compressor decreases with increase in condenser pressure and/or with decrease in evaporator pressure. The pressure difference across the capillary tube is the driving force for the refrigerant to flow through it, hence mass flow rate through the capillary tube increases with increase in pressure difference across it. Thus the mass flow rate through the capillary tube increases as the condenser pressure increases and/or the evaporator pressure decreases. The variation of mass flow rate through capillary tube is shown for three condenser temperatures, namely, 30, 40 and 50C in This is the opposite of the effect of pressures on the compressor mass flow rate. Hence, for a given value of condenser pressure, there is a definite value of evaporator pressure at
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which the mass flow rates through the compressor and the evaporator are the same. This pressure is the balance point that the system will acquire in steady state. Hence, for a given condenser temperature, there is a definite value of evaporator temperature at which the balance point will occur.
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CHAPTER - 4
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CONDENSER
The condenser coil of a refrigerator Fig 4.1 In systems involving heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state, typically by cooling it. In so doing, the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant. Condensers are typically heat exchangers which have various designs and come in many sizes ranging from rather small (hand-held) to very large industrial-scale units used in plant processes. For example, a refrigerator uses a condenser to get rid of heat extracted from the interior of the unit to the outside air. Condensers are used in air conditioning, industrial chemical processes such as distillation, steam power plants and other heat-exchange systems. Use of cooling water or surrounding air as the coolant is common in many condensers. [1]
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Example types of condensers
A surface condenser is an example of such a heat-exchange system. It is a shell and tube heat exchanger installed at the outlet of every steam turbine in thermal power stations. Commonly, the cooling water flows through the tube side and the steam enters the shell side where the condensation occurs on the outside of the heat transfer tubes. The condensate drips down and collects at the bottom, often in a built-in pan called a hot well. The shell side often operates at a vacuum or partial vacuum, often produced by attached air ejectors.
In chemistry, a condenser is the apparatus which cools hot vapors, causing them to condense into a liquid. See "Condenser (laboratory)" for laboratory-scale condensers, as opposed to industrial-scale condensers. Examples include the Liebig condenser, Graham condenser, and Allihn condenser. This is not to be confused with a condensation reaction which links two fragments into a single molecule by an addition reaction and an elimination reaction. In laboratory distillation, reflux, and rotary evaporators, several types of condensers are commonly used. The Liebig condenser is simply a straight tube within a cooling water jacket, and is the simplest (and relatively least expensive) form of condenser. The Graham condenser is a spiral tube within a water jacket, and the Allihn condenser has a series of large and small constrictions on the inside tube, each increasing the surface area upon which the vapor constituents may condense. Being more complex shapes to manufacture, these latter types are also more expensive to purchase. These three types of condensers are laboratory glassware items since they are typically made of glass. Commercially available condensers usually are fitted with ground glass joints and come in standard lengths of 100, 200, and 400 mm. Air-cooled condensers are unjacketed, while water-cooled condensers contain a jacket for the water.
Larger condensers are also used in industrial-scale distillation processes to cool distilled vapor into liquid distillate. Commonly, the coolant flows through the tube side and distilled vapor through the shell side with distillate collecting at or flowing out the bottom.
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A condenser unit used in central air conditioning systems typically has a heat exchanger section to cool down and condense incoming refrigerant vapor into liquid, a compressor to raise the pressure of the refrigerant and move it along, and a fan for blowing outside air through the heat exchanger section to cool the refrigerant inside. A typical configuration of such a condenser unit is as follows: The heat exchanger section wraps around the sides of the unit with the compressor inside. In this heat exchanger section, the refrigerant goes through multiple tube passes, which are surrounded by heat transfer fins through which cooling air can move from outside to inside the unit. There is a motorized fan inside the condenser unit near the top, which is covered by some grating to keep any objects from accidentally falling inside on the fan. The fan is used to blow the outside cooling air in through the heat exchange section at the sides and out the top through the grating. These condenser units are located on the outside of the building they are trying to cool, with tubing between the unit and building, one for vapor refrigerant entering and another for liquid refrigerant leaving the unit. Of course, an electric power supply is needed for the compressor and fan inside the unit.
4.2 .1 Direct contact condenser In this type of condenser, vapors are poured into the liquid directly. The vapors lose their latent heat of vaporization; hence, vapors transfer their heat into liquid and the liquid becomes hot. In this type of condensation, the vapor and liquid are of same type of substance.
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ANALYSIS OF PULSE TUBE REFRIGERATORS Enthalpy and Entropy Flow Model The refrigeration power of the PTR is derived using the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics for an open system. Because of the oscillating flow the expressions are simplified if averages over one cycle are made. Even though the time-averaged mass flow rate is zero, other time-averaged quantities, such as enthalpy flow, entropy flow, etc., will have nonzero values in general. We define positive flow to be in the direction from the compressor to the orifice. The First Law balance for the cold section is shown in Figure . No work is extracted from the cold end, so the heat absorbed under steady state conditions at the cold end is given by where <H> is the time-averaged enthalpy flow in the pulse tube, and <Hr> is the time-averaged enthalpy flow in the regenerator, which is zero for a perfect regenerator and an ideal gas. The maximum, or gross, refrigeration power is simply the enthalpy flow in the pulse tube, with the enthalpy flow in the regenerator being considered a loss. Combining the First and Second Laws for a steady-state oscillating system gives the time-averaged enthalpy flow at any location as where Pd is the dynamic pressure, V is the volume flow rate, To is the average temperature of the gas at the location of interest, and is the timeaveraged entropy flow. The first term on the right hand side represents the potential of the gas to do reversible work in reference to the average pressure Po if an isothermal expansion process occurred at To in the gas at that location. Since it is not an actual thermodynamic work term, it is sometimes referred to as the hydrodynamic workflow, hydrodynamic power, or acoustic power shows that the acoustic power can be expressed as an availability or energy flow with the reference state being Po and To. The specific availability or energy is given as h Tos. Processes within the pulse tube in the ideal case are adiabatic and reversible. In this case entropy remains constant throughout the cycle, which gives even if the flow and pressure are not sinusoidal functions of time. If they are sinusoidal, the acoustic power can be written as where P1 is the amplitude of the sinusoidal pressure oscillation, V1 is the amplitude of the sinusoidal volume flow rate, is
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the phase angle between the flow and the pressure, R is the gas constant per unit mass, and m1 is the amplitude of the sinusoidal mass flow rate. Equations can be combined to give the maximum or gross refrigeration power in terms of acoustic power as This simple expression is a very general expression and applies to the Stirling and Gifford- McMahon refrigerators as well. In those two refrigerators the acoustic work is converted to actual expansion work by the moving displacer. That work is easily measured by finding the area of the PV diagram. In the case of the pulse tube refrigerator there is no moving displacer to extract the work or to measure a PV diagram. Thus, the volume or mass flow rate must be measured by some flow meter to determine the acoustic power. Such measurements are difficult to perform inside the pulse tube without disturbing the flow and, hence, the refrigeration power. Because there is no heat exchange to the outside along a well-insulated pulse tube, the First Law shows that the time-averaged enthalpy flow through the pulse tube is constant from one end to the other. Then, the acoustic power remains constant as long as there are no losses along the pulse tube to generate entropy. The instantaneous flow rate through the orifice is easily determined by measuring the small pressure oscillation in the reservoir and using the ideal-gas law to find the instantaneous mass flow rate. The instantaneous pressure is easily measured in the warm end of the pulse tube, and the product of it and the volume flow is integrated to find the acoustic power.
Effect of Phase between Flow and Pressure Shows that for a given pressure amplitude and acoustic power, the mass flow amplitude is minimized for Such a phase occurs at the orifice, that is, the flow is in phase with the pressure. However, because of the volume associated with the pulse tube, the flow at the cold end of the pulse tube then leads the pressure by approximately 30 in a correctly sized pulse tube. The gas volume in the regenerator will cause the flow at the warm end of the regenerator to lead the pressure even further, for example, by 50 to 60 . With this large phase difference the amplitude of mass flow at the warm end of the regenerator must be quite large to transmit a given acoustic power through the regenerator. This large
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amplitude of mass flow leads to large pressure drops as well as to poor heat exchange in the regenerator. These losses are minimized when the amplitude averaged throughout the regenerator is minimized. This occurs when the flow at the cold end lags the pressure and flow at the warm end leads the pressure. Testing or replacing compressor starting relays.
Problem: The compressor hums for a few seconds and then trips the overload. Compressor will not start. Equipment: Smaller 1/2 horsepower or less refrigeration units such as a domestic fridge, reach in cooler, window AC, ice machine etc...
Starting Relay
On smaller single phase compressors, starting relays and capacitors are used. Two windings in the compressor, start and run windings, work together to move the rotor and piston. The start winding moves the rotor in one direction and the run winding keeps the rotor in motion. On small compressors, the start winding is powered only during the first few seconds, then power is switched to the run winding. When this switching relay fails, the compressor will just hum for a few seconds and then click off on the overload. The compressor will also due this if it has seized or from low voltage at start up or a blown capacitor. With a failed relay the compressor rotor may start to move and pump for a few seconds or it could just remain stationary. In either case the windings draw high amps and trip off on the external or internal overload after a few seconds. Due to the design and location of these starting relays, it can be difficult to determine if the problem is the starting relay or the compressor without actually replacing the relay, but replace a relay is much easier and less costly then a compressor replacement. In many cases it's cheaper to buy new equipment then a compressor replacement. Look for obvious indications of a problem first. Is the compressor being powered by the controls. A single phase compressor has 2 wires which feed power from the control systems. This will be 120VAC or 208-240VAC. If the power is not getting t the compressor the problem is in the controls or power
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supply. If you can hear the compressor hum while it is starting and trip or is warm to the touch it is likely getting the power and the problem is in the starting components or the compressor. Turn the power off and remove the compressor terminals cover. Small compressors usually have the starting relay and over load plugged directly onto the compressor terminals. Larger compressors will have the starting components in a electrical box beside the compressor and just the 3 wires will be under the terminal cover. Check the relay and wiring for signs of over heating or melting. If the relay is a blob of melted plastic and copper then you know the relay is shot, but the compressor could be OK still. If the wires on the relay connections are burnt then repair them. This is a common problem that is easily fixed with new connectors. External overloads are used on small compressors are connected to the C terminal of the compressor. Found under the compressor terminal cover and clip to the side of the compressor. These are a normally closed switch which open if the unit draws high amps or gets too hot. Use an ohm meter to check for continuity. It should be either open or closed, when closed the resistances should be zero, even a few ohms is problem. Removed the starting relay or wires to expose the compressor terminals, don't forget to mark which wire goes where. The connections to the compressor terminals should be tight but the relay should pull away from the compressor with a minimum amount of force. Use an Ohm meter to test the compressor windings for continuity and shorts to ground. Place one lead on the copper piping and the other on any of the 3 terminals and set the meter to to read the highest setting - IE 20Meg ohm- The path to ground should be infinite but maybe as low as 5 meg ohms and the compressor would still run. There are 3 terminals, C=Common, S=Start, and R=Run. The start winding is measured between S & C and the run winding is between R & C. On most compressors there is an internal overload on the C terminal.
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CHAPTER - 5
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5.1 Compressor Operation - The Refrigeration Cycle

Refrigerant compressors work by taking in low pressure gas on the inlet and compressing it mechanically. Different types of compression mechanisms are what differentiate compressors (discussed below). This compression creates a high temperature, high pressure gas - an essential step in the overarching refrigeration cycle.
5.2 Refrigeration Cycle

The refrigeration cycle or heat pump cycle is the model describing the transfer of heat from regions of lower temperature to regions of higher temperature. It defines the operating principles behind refrigerators, air conditioners, heaters, and other "heat pumping" devices. This diagram presents a visual overview of the refrigeration cycle:
Fig 5.1
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The letters A-D indicate the different system components. The numbers 1-5 indicate the different physical states of the refrigerant fluid as it moves through the system. State 1 is the state after the refrigerant passes through an evaporator (D), where warm air heats the fluid and converts it completely to vapor. State 2 is the state after the fluid passes through a compressor (A) which increases the fluid's pressure and temperature up to superheated levels. States 3 and 4 are when the fluid passes through an evaporator (B), which transfers heat to the ambient and condenses the fluid to liquid. State 5 is the state after the fluid passes through an expansion valve or metering device (C), which lowers the pressure of the fluid. This cools the fluid and subsequently turns the liquid into a liquid/vapor mixture. Temperature-entropy and pressure-enthalpy diagrams are often used to construct and describe these systems. They define the properties of the fluid at different stages in the system.
Temperature-entropy diagram of a typical refrigeration cycle
Fig 5.2
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Pressure-enthalpy diagram of a typical refrigeration cycle.
Fig 5.3
5.3 Refrigerants
Usually compressors are designed to work with a particular type of refrigerant. Selecting a proper refrigeration compressor or air conditioning compressor requires finding a compressor rated for the desired refrigerant for the application. Refrigerants are given names such as R-12 or R-134a from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Ideal refrigerants have favorable thermodynamic properties and are chemically inert (noncorrosive), environmentally friendly (degradable), and safe (nontoxic, nonflammable). The desired fluid should have a boiling point somewhat below the target temperature, a high heat of vaporization, moderate liquid density, high gas density, and a high critical temperature.
5.3 Specifications
There are a number of specifications to consider when selecting compressors. These include capacity, condensing temperature, evaporating temperature, flow rate, and power.
Capacity(Btu/hr) measures the ability of a refrigerant compressor to remove heat from the refrigerant gas. Nominal capacity ratings are based on a standard set of conditions which include condensing temperature (CT), evaporative temperature (ET), refrigerant, and motor revolutions per minute (rpm). Typically, refrigeration compressors and air conditioning compressors can run at many different values for these parameters, with corresponding changes in their cooling capacity. Once
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in use, compressors can be tweaked and adjusted to the desired capacity and operating conditions. Charts like this one are provided by the compressor's manufacturer, allowing engineers to make these adjustments properly once in the system:
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Waste Heat Recapture From Refrigeration Systems HONEY SINGH

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REFRIGERTION SYSTEM SAVING HEAT ENERGY

Modern Institute Of Engg. & Tech.

REFRIGERTION SYSTEM SAVING HEAT ENERGY