Report in ME Laboratory

SUBMIT TED BY: CAPRANGCA, EVER NOE C.

Performance and
Efficiency Test of a
Refrigeration Plant
Refrigeration Systems
Refrigeration is a general term. It describes the process of removing heat from spaces,
objects, or materials and maintaining them at a temperature below that of the surrounding
atmosphere. To produce a refrigeration effect, the material to be cooled needs only to be
exposed to a colder object or environment. The heat will flow in its NATURAL direction-that is,
from the warmer material to the colder material. Refrigeration, then, usually means an artificial
way of lowering the temperature. Mechanical refrigeration is a mechanical system or apparatus
that transfers heat from one substance to another.
It is easy to understand refrigeration if you know the relationships among temperature,
pressure, and volume, and how pressure affects liquids and gases.
REFRIGERATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS
There are five basic components of a refrigeration system, these are:
- Evaporator
- Compressor
- Condenser
- Expansion Valve
- Refrigerant
; to conduct the heat from the product In order for the refrigeration cycle to operate successfully
each component must be present within the refrigeration system.
The Evaporator
The purpose of the evaporator is to remove unwanted heat from the product, via the liquid
refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant contained within the evaporator is boiling at a low-pressure.
The level of this pressure is determined by two factors:
- The rate at which the heat is absorbed from the product to the liquid refrigerant in the
evaporator
- The rate at which the low-pressure vapour is removed from the evaporator by the compressor
To enable the transfer of heat, the temperature of the liquid refrigerant must be lower than the
temperature of the product being cooled. Once transferred, the liquid refrigerant is drawn from
the evaporator by the compressor via the suction line. When leaving the evaporator coil the
liquid refrigerant is in vapour form.
The Compressor
The purpose of the compressor is to draw the low-temperature, low-pressure vapour from the
evaporator via the suction line. Once drawn, the vapour is compressed. When vapour is
compressed it rises in temperature. Therefore, the compressor transforms the vapour from a
low-temperature vapour to a high-temperature vapour, in turn increasing the pressure. The
vapour is then released from the compressor in to the discharge line.
The Condenser
The purpose of the condenser is to extract heat from the refrigerant to the outside air. The
condenser is usually installed on the reinforced roof of the building, which enables the transfer
of heat. Fans mounted above the condenser unit are used to draw air through the condenser
coils.
The temperature of the high-pressure vapour determines the temperature at which the
condensation begins. As heat has to flow from the condenser to the air, the condensation
temperature must be higher than that of the air; usually between - 12C and -1C. The high-
pressure vapour within the condenser is then cooled to the point where it becomes a liquid
refrigerant once more, whilst retaining some heat. The liquid refrigerant then flows from the
condenser in to the liquid line.
The Expansion Valve
Within the refrigeration system, the expansion valve is located at the end of the liquid line,
before the evaporator. The high-pressure liquid reaches the expansion valve, having come from
the condenser. The valve then reduces the pressure of the refrigerant as it passes through the
orifice, which is located inside the valve. On reducing the pressure, the temperature of the
refrigerant also decreases to a level below the surrounding air. This low-pressure, low-
temperature liquid is then pumped in to the evaporator
The Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a substance or mixture, usually a fluid, used in a heat pump and refrigeration
cycle. In most cycles it undergoes phase transitions from a liquid to a gas and back again. Many
working fluids have been used for such purposes.
Fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, became commonplace in the 20th century, but
they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion effects. Other common refrigerants
used in various applications are ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and non-halogenated hydrocarbons
such as propane.
The desired thermodynamic properties are a boiling point somewhat below the target
temperature, a high heat of vaporization, a moderate density in liquid form, a relatively high
density in gaseous form, and a high critical temperature. Since boiling point and gas density are
affected by pressure, refrigerants may be made more suitable for a particular application by
choice of operating pressures.
The Refrigeration Cycle
Performance Terms and Definitions
Tons of refrigeration (TR): One ton of refrigeration is the amount of cooling obtained by one ton of
ice melting in one day: 3024 kCal/h, 12,000 Btu/h or 3.516 thermal kW.
Net Refrigerating Capacity. A quantity defined as the mass flow rate of the evaporator water
multiplied by the difference in enthalpy of water entering and leaving the cooler, expressed in kCal/h,
tons of Refrigeration.
kW/ton rating: Commonly referred to as efficiency, but actually power input to compressor motor
divided by tons of cooling produced, or kilowatts per ton (kW/ton). Lower kW/ton indicates higher
efficiency.
Coefficient of Performance (COP): Chiller efficiency measured in Btu output (cooling) divided by Btu
input (electric power).
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER): Performance of smaller chillers and rooftop units is frequently
measured in EER rather than kW/ton. EER is calculated by dividing a chiller's cooling capacity (in
Btu/h) by its power input (in watts) at full-load conditions. The higher the EER, the more efficient the
unit.
To determine the net refrigeration
capacity
The test shall include a measurement of the net heat removed from the water as it passes
through the evaporator by determination of the following:
a. Water flow rate b. Temperature difference between entering and leaving water
The heat removed from the chilled water is equal to the product of the chilled water flow rate,
the water temperature difference, and the specific heat of the water is defined as follows The
net refrigeration capacity in tons shall be obtained by the following equation:
Methods of measuring the flow
In the absence of an on-line flow meter the chilled water flow can be measured by the following
methods
In case where hot well and cold well are available, the flow can be measured from the tank
level dip or rise by switching off the secondary pump.
Non invasive method would require a well calibrated ultrasonic flow meter using which the
flow can be measured without disturbing the system
If the waterside pressure drops are close to the design values, it can be assumed that the
water flow of pump is same as the design rated flow.
Measurement of compressor power
The compressor power can be measured by a portable power analyser which would give reading
directly in kW.
If not, the ampere has to be measured by the available on-line ammeter or by using a tong
tester. The power can then be calculated by assuming a power factor of 0.9

Power (kW) = 3 x V x I x cos

Performance calculations
The energy efficiency of a chiller is commonly expressed in one of the three following ratios:
First calculate the kW/ton rating from the measured parameters.
REFERENCES
1. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning by Richard C.Jordan & Gayle B.Priester - Prentice Hall of
India pvt.ltd.
2. Modern Air Conditioning Practice by Norman C.Harris - McGraw-Hill International Edition.