FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

BDA 27501
ENGINEERING LABORATORY IV
THERMODYNAMICS
PROPOSAL

TITLE:
TOPIC 4: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF 2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
APPLICATION FOR REFRIGERATION PROCESS

GROUP: G4D

GROUP MEMBERS:
MUHAMMAD AZHAR BIN IBRAHIM (AD140168)
MUHAMMAD FIRDAUS BIN MOHD HAKEM (AD140041)
MUHAMAD IKRAM FIKRI BIN MOHD AMIZAN (AD140082)
NAZRIMSYAH BIN ARAHNI (CD140117)
MUHAMMAD QUSYARI BIN ISMAIL (CD140095)
TOPIC 5 : Understanding the concept of 2nd law of thermodynamics application for refrigeration
process.

LEARNING OUTCOME
At the end of this topic, students will be able to understand the air conditioning processes for
summer application qualitatively as well as quantitatively.

OBJECTIVE
To understand the concept of 2nd law of thermodynamics application for refrigeration process.

INTRODUCTION

In nature, heat flows from hightemperature regions to lowtemperature ones. The reverse
process, however, cannot occur by itself. The transfer of heat from a low temperature region to a
hightemperature one requires special devices called refrigerators. Refrigerators are cyclic
devices, and the working fluids used in the cycles are called refrigerant. Heat pumps transfer heat
from a lowtemperature medium to a hightemperature one. Refrigerators and heat pumps are
essentially the same devices; they differ in their objectives only. Refrigerator is to maintain the
refrigerated space at a low temperature. On the other hand, a heat pump absorbs heat from a
lowtemperature source and supplies the heat to a warmer medium.

The refrigerant enters the compressor as a vapor and is compressed to the condenser pressure. It
leaves the compressor at a relatively high temperature and cools down and condenses as it flows
through the coils of the condenser by rejecting heat to the surrounding medium. It enters a
capillary tube where its pressure and temperature drop drastically due to the throttling effect. The
low-temperature refrigerant then enters the evaporators, where it evaporates by absorbing heat
from the refrigerated space. The cycle is completed as the refrigerant leaves the evaporators and
reenters the compressor.
 Figure 1: Schematics of the Refrigeration Process

COMPRESSOR

Commonly referred to as the heart of the system, the compressor is a belt driven pump that is
fastened to the engine. It is responsible for compressing and transferring refrigerant gas. The A/C
system is split into two sides, a high pressure side and a low pressure side; defined as discharge
and suction. Since the compressor is basically a pump, it must have an intake side and a
discharge side. The intake, or suction side, draws in refrigerant gas from the outlet of the
evaporator. In some cases it does this via the accumulator. Once the refrigerant is drawn into the
suction side, it is compressed and sent to the condenser, where it can then transfer the heat that is
absorbed from the inside of the vehicle.

CONDENSER

This is the area in which heat dissipation occurs. The condenser, in many cases, will have much
the same appearance as the radiator in your car as the two have very similar functions. The
condenser is designed to radiate heat. Its location is usually in front of the radiator, but in some
cases, due to aerodynamic improvements to the body of a vehicle, its location may differ.
Condensers must have good air flow anytime the system is in operation. On rear wheel drive
vehicle, this is usually accomplished by taking advantage of your existing engine's cooling fan.
On front wheel drive vehicles, condenser air flow is supplemented with one or more electric
cooling fan(s).As hot compressed gasses are introduced into the top of the condenser, they are
cooled off. As the gas cools, it condenses and exits the bottom of the condenser as a high
pressure liquid.

THERMAL EXPANSION VALVE

Another common refrigerant regulator is the thermal expansion valve, or TXV. Commonly use on import
and aftermarket systems. This type of valve can sense both temperature and pressure, and is very
efficient at regulating refrigerant flow to the evaporator. Several variations of this valve are commonly
found. Another example of a thermal expansion valve is Chrysler's "H block" type. This type of valve is
usually located at the firewall, between the evaporator inlet and outlet tubes and the liquid and suction
lines. These types of valves, although efficient, have some disadvantages over orifice tube systems. Like
orifice tubes these valves can become clogged with debris, but also have small moving parts that may
stick and malfunction due to corrosion.

EVAPORATOR

Located inside the vehicle, the evaporator serves as the heat absorption component. The
evaporator provides several functions. Its primary duty is to remove heat from the inside of your
vehicle. A secondary benefit is dehumidification. As warmer air travels through the aluminum
fins of the cooler evaporator coil, the moisture contained in the air condenses on its surface. Dust
and pollen passing through stick to its wet surfaces and drain off to the outside. On humid days
you may have seen this as water dripping from the bottom of your vehicle. Rest assured this is
perfectly normal. The ideal temperature of the evaporator is 32 Fahrenheit or 0 Celsius.
Refrigerant enters the bottom of the evaporator as a low pressure liquid. The warm air passing
through the evaporator fins causes the refrigerant to boil (refrigerants have very low boiling
points). As the refrigerant begins to boil, it can absorb large amounts of heat. This heat is then
carried off with the refrigerant to the outside of the vehicle.

Refrigerators are cyclic devices and the working fluids that use in the refrigeration cycles are
called refrigerants. There are a lot of types of refrigerants that can be used such as:
R-22

Most shipboard refrigeration systems now use R-22 (chlorodifluoromethane) or as a refrigerant.

R-22 has such a low boiling point that it cannot exist as a liquid unless it is confined in a
container under pressure. The cycle of operation and the main components of R-22 systems are
basically the same as those in other refrigeration and air-conditioning plants.

R-134a

R134a is also known as Tetrafluoroethane (CF3CH2F) from the family of HFC refrigerant. With
the discovery of the damaging effect of CFCs and HCFCs refrigerants to the ozone layer, the
HFC family of refrigerant has been widely used as their replacement. It is now being used as a
replacement for R-12 CFC refrigerant in the area of centrifugal, rotary screw, scroll and
reciprocating compressors. It is safe for normal handling as it is non-toxic, non-flammable and
non-corrosive.

Currently it is also being widely used in the air conditioning system in newer automotive
vehicles. The manufacturing industry uses it in plastic foam blowing. Pharmaceuticals industry
use it as a propellant .It exists in gas form when expose to the environment as the boiling
temperature is -14.9F or -26.1C.

This refrigerant is not 100% compatible with the lubricants and mineral-based refrigerant
currently used in R-12. Design changes to the condenser and evaporator need to be done to use
this refrigerant. The use of smaller hoses and 30% increase in control pressure regulations also
have to be done to the system.
THEORY AND LITERATURE VIEW
Refrigeration is a general term. It describes the process of removing heat from cold spaces, objects, or
materials and maintaining them at a temperature below than the surrounding atmosphere. To produce
a refrigeration effect, the material to be cooled need only to be exposed to a colder environment. The
purpose of a refrigerator is to remove heat, from the refrigerated space. To accomplish this purpose,
it requires a work input of . Then, the COP of a refrigerator can be expressed as

Then the COP relation becomes

1
= =
1

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 relationship among temperature,
pressure, and volume, and how pressure affects liquids and gases. The most frequently used
refrigeration cycle is the vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. Refrigeration systems can be thought to
be comprised of four basic components compressor, condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator.
While the function and associated grey areas of the other components are easy to find, thermostatic
expansion valves by their very nature can be a little dicey. They are not only difficult to install and adjust,
but can also be a pain when trying to troubleshoot the system, due to their high sensitivity.

Air-cooling is provided by vapor compression refrigeration system with pressure, temperature

and refrigerant flow measurement. This allows the construction of a full cycle diagram and the
balancing of refrigerant system energy balance against the airside energy transfer. Air condition
is recorded before and after each process using precision wet and dry bulb thermometers.
Instrumentation allows the electrical power to each resistive load to be measured and balanced
against the air enthalpy change and mass flow.
Figure 2: P-S diagram Figure 3: T-S diagram

Figure 4: Schematic diagram of air conditioning laboratory RAD-ACL-1

EQUIPMENT
A) P.A. Hiltons Air-conditioning unit model A573 manometer
B) pressure gauge
C) thermometer.

Label part of machine:

2 3 4
1

9 8
1. Switch button
2. Speed of fan
3. Evaporator
4. Switch compressor
5. Thermometer
6. Condenser
7. Pressure gauge
8. Compressor
9. Valve
Pre-cautions:
1. Refrigerator hi-pressure cut out (with manual reset)
2. All moving parts are enclosed.
3. All electrical components are individually fused.
4. To ensure heaters are not switched on without air flowing, the fan speed regulator is
preset to give an adequate airflow as soon as the three-phase mains switch is closed.

Procedure:
1. Switch on the refrigerator system and push start button for the refrigerator machine.
2. Make sure the fan of the refrigerator system runs stable. Next adjust the voltmeter to 250V
which voltage used for housing area.
3. Set pre-heater switch to 1(small).
4. Then switch on the compressor power and wait for a few minutes before proceed to the next
step.
5. Adjust the temperature selector to 5A,6A, 7A, 8A, and 9A
6. Record the value for temperature for every temperature points for 9A =T1, 5A=T2, 6A=T3,
7A=T4, 8A=T5
7. Also, record for P1(low pressure) for compressor inlet pressure, and P2(high pressure) for
compressor outlet pressure.
8. Then repeat step 5 and 7 for free heater which is set to 2(big) and 3(both) and record all data
into the table in results.
Results :

Pre- Compressor Inlet Compressor Outlet Condenser Outlet Valve Outlet Evaporator Outlet
heater Temperature, Temperature, Temperature, Temperature, Temperature,
switch [9A=T1](C) [5A=T2](C) [6A=T3](C) [7A=T4](C) [8A= T5](C)
(kW)

Pre- Compressor Inlet Compressor Condenser Outlet Valve Outlet Evaporator Outlet
heater Pressure, P1(kpa) Outlet Pressure, Pressure, P3(kpa) Pressure, P4(kpa) Pressure, P5(kpa)
switch P2(kpa)
( kW)
low high low high low high low high low high

Refrigerant Flow Meterr = _______________(l/min)

= _______________(kg/s)

Voltmeter, V = __________ V
Steam Generator Switch= __________kW