CH 2 Refrigeration Cycle

CHAPTER 2 Mr. S.G.
Mushan
REFRIGERATION CYCLE
CONTENTS
 Topics of discussion
 Introduction of Vapour Compression Cycle
 Functions of Parts of a Simple VCC
 VCC on Temperature Entropy diagram
 Factors affecting performance of Vapour Compression System
 VCC on p-h chart
 Actual VCC
 Comparison between Air cooled and Water Cooled Condenser
 Numericals
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TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
 Simple vapour compression cycle, Effect of liquid sub cooling & superheating, effect of evaporator
and condenser pressures, methods of sub cooling, use of P-h charts, Actual VCR cycle, Use of p -h
Charts, Comparison between air-cooled and water-cooled condenser based air conditioning systems.
Components: Types of condensers, evaporators, expansion devices, compressors and cooling
tower.
 Refrigerants: Desirable properties of refrigerants, ASHRAE numbering system for refrigerants.

Thermodynamic, Chemical and Physical properties, Secondary refrigerants, ODP and GWP, Montreal
protocol and India's commitment, Recent substitutes for refrigerants.
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INTRODUCTION OF VAPOUR COMPRESSION CYCLE
 Out of all refrigeration systems, the vapour compression system is the most important system from the
view point of commercial and domestic utility. It is the most practical form of refrigeration.
 Vapour compression cycle is an improved type of air refrigeration cycle in which a suitable working
substance, termed as refrigerant, is used.
 The refrigerant used, does not leave the system, but is circulated throughout the system alternately
condensing and evaporating. In evaporating, the refrigerant absorbs its latent heat from the solution
which is used for circulating it around the cold chamber and in condensing; it gives out its latent heat to
the circulating water of the cooler.
 The vapour compression refrigeration system is now-a-days used for all purpose refrigeration. It is
generally used for all industrial purposes from a small domestic refrigerator to a big air conditioning
plant.
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SIMPLE VAPOUR COMPRESSION CYCLE
In a simple vapour compression system
fundamental processes are completed in one
cycle.
These are :
1. Compression 2. Condensation 3. Expansion 4.

Vapourisation.
The flow diagram of such a cycle is shown in Fig
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 Functions of Parts of a Simple VCC
Compressor (Process 1-2):
The low pressure and temperature vapour
refrigerant from evaporator is drawn into the
compressor through the inlet or suction valve A,
where it is compressed to a high pressure and
temperature. This high pressure and temperature
vapour refrigerant is discharged into the condenser
through the delivery or discharge valve B. A B
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Condenser (Process 2-3):
The condenser or cooler consists of coils of pipe in
which the high pressure and temperature vapour
refrigerant is cooled and condensed.
The refrigerant, while passing through the

condenser, gives up its latent heat to the surrounding
condensing medium which is normally air or water
A B
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Receiver (Process 3-3):
The condensed liquid refrigerant from the condenser
is stored in a vessel known as receiver from where it
is supplied to the evaporator through the expansion
valve or refrigerant control valve.
A B
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Expansion Valve (Process 3-4):
It is also called throttle valve or refrigerant control
valve. The function of the expansion valve is to
allow the liquid refrigerant under high pressure and
temperature to pass at a controlled rate after
reducing its pressure and temperature.
Some of the liquid refrigerant evaporates as it

A B
passes through the expansion valve, but the greater
portion is vaporized in the evaporator at the low
pressure and temperature
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Evaporator (Process 4-1):
An evaporator consists of coils of pipe in which the
liquid-vapour. refrigerant at low pressure and
temperature is evaporated and changed into
vapour refrigerant at low pressure and
temperature.
In evaporating, the liquid vapour refrigerant

A B
absorbs its latent heat of vaporization from the
medium (air, water or brine) which is to be cooled.
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Note :
In any compression refrigeration system, there
are two different pressure conditions. One is
called the high pressure side and other is
known as low pressure side.
A B
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VCC ON TEMPERATURE ENTROPY DIAGRAM
1] When the vapour is dry and saturated at the
end of compression
At point ‘1’ the vapour which is at low temperature
(T1) and low pressure enters the compressor’s
cylinder and is compressed adiabatically to ‘2’ when
its temperature increases to the temperature T2.
It is then condensed in the condenser (line 2-3) where
it gives up its latent heat to the condensing medium.
It then undergoes throttling expansion while passing
through the expansion valve and its again reduces to
T4, it is represented by the line 3-4.
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1] When the vapour is dry and saturated at the end of
compression
The work done during isentropic compression per kg of
refrigerant is given by
w = h2 - h1
Where
h1 = Enthalpy of vapour refrigerant at temperature T1, i.e. at
suction of the compressor, and
h2 = Enthalpy of the vapour refrigerant at temperature T2,
i.e. at discharge of the compressor.
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1] When the vapour is dry and saturated at the end of
compression
The refrigerating effect or the heat absorbed or extracted by
the liquid-vapour refrigerant during evaporation per kg of
refrigerant is given by
RE = h1 – h4 = h1 – hf3
Where
hf3 = Sensible heat at temperature T3, i.e. enthalpy of liquid
refrigerant leaving the condenser.
Coefficient of performance:-
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1] When the vapour is dry and saturated at the end of compression
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2] When the vapour is wet at the end of compression
A vapour compression cycle with wet vapour after compression
is shown on T-s diagram. In this cycle, the enthalpy at point 2 is
found out with the help of dryness fraction at this point. The
dryness fraction at points 1 and 2 may be obtained by
equating entropies at points 1 and 2.
Now the coefficient of performance may be found out as usual
from the relation,
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2] When the vapour is wet at the end of compression
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3] When the vapour is superheated at the end of
compression
If the compression of the vapour is continued after it has become
dry, the vapour will be superheated, its effect on T-s diagram is
shown in Fig. The vapour enters the compressor at condition ‘1’
and is compressed to ‘2’ where it is superheated to temperature
Tsup. Then it enters the condenser.
Here firstly superheated vapour cools to temperature T2’
(represented by line 2-2′) and then it condenses at constant
temperature along the line 2′-3; the remaining of the cycle ;
however is the same as before
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3] When the vapour is superheated at the end of
compression
Enthalpy of superheated vapour is calculated by formula:
h2 = h2’ + Cp (Tsup – Tsat)
Where,
h2’ = enthalpy of dry and saturated vapour at the point ‘2′’
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3] When the vapour is superheated at the end of compression
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4] When the vapour is superheated before compression
Enthalpy of superheated vapour before compression is calculated by
formula:
Where,
Enthalpy of superheated vapour after compression is calculated by

formula:
Where,
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4] When the vapour is superheated before compression
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5] When the vapour is subcooled after condenser
The value of hf3 may be found out from the relation,
hf3 = hf3' - Cp x Degree of undercooling
hf3 = hf3' - Cp x (T3’ – T3)
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5] When the vapour is subcooled after condenser
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FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE OF
VAPOUR COMPRESSION SYSTEM
1] Effect of Suction pressure
The suction pressure (or evaporator pressure)
decreases due to the frictional resistance of flow of
the refrigerant.
Let us consider a theoretical vapour compression
cycle 1-2-3-4 when the suction pressure decreases
from Ps to Ps’ as shown on p-h diagram in Figure.
Decrease in suction pressure results in
 Decrease in refrigerating effect from (h1 – h4) to
(h1’ – h4’)
 Increases the work required for compression from

(h2 – h1) to (h2’ – h1’)
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1] Effect of Suction pressure
Since the C.O.P, of the system is the ratio of refrigerating
effect to the work done, therefore with the decrease in suction
pressure, results in decrease in C.O.P. of the refrigerating
system for the same refrigerant flow.
Thus, with the decrease in suction pressure tends to reduction in
the refrigerating capacity of the system and increase in the
refrigeration cost
The C.O.P. of the cycle when suction pressure is decreased
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2] Effect of discharge pressure
In actual practice, the discharge pressure (or condenser
pressure) increases due to frictional resistance of flow of the
refrigerant. Let us consider a theoretical vapour compression
cycle l-2-3-4 when the discharge pressure increases from pD
to pD’ as shown on p-h diagram in Figure
Increase in discharge pressure results in
 Decrease in refrigerating effect from (h1 – h4) to (h1 – h4’)
 Increases the work required for compression from (h2 – h1)

to (h2’ – h1)
Thus, the effect of increasing the delivery/discharge pressure
is just similar to the effect of decreasing the suction pressure
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Thus, the effect of increasing the delivery/discharge pressure
is just similar to the effect of decreasing the suction pressure
Note:
1] The only difference is that the effect of decreasing the

suction pressure is more predominant than the effect of
increasing the discharge pressure
2] The increase in discharge pressure is necessary for high

condensing temperatures and
3] Decrease in suction pressure is necessary to maintain
low temperature in the evaporator.
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The effect of superheating is to increase the refrigerating
effect but this increase in refrigerating effect is at the cost of
increase in amount of work spent to attain the upper pressure
limit.
Since the increase in work is more as compared to increase in
refrigerating effect, therefore overall effect of superheating
results in decrease in value of C.O.P. Thus, effects results in;
(a) Increase in the refrigeration effect per unit mass of the
refrigerant from H1' - H4, H1 - H4.
(b) The energy for compression of refrigerant vapour will
increase due to the diverging nature of the isentropic lines.
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It is a usual practice to admit slightly superheated vapour
before the beginning of compression to avoid the possibility
of wet compression. Wet compression is undesirable as there
may be accumulation of liquid inside the cylinder, which in
turn will wash away the lubricant resulting in sever
mechanical difficulties. Thus, to avoid this, a 5 to 20 K
superheat of the refrigerant is always desirable.
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4] Effect of liquid subcooling
Sub-cooling is the process of cooling the liquid refrigerant
below the condensing temperature for a given
pressure. From the figure we find that the effect of
subcooling is to increase the refrigerating effect.
Thus sub-cooling results in increase of C.O.P. provided that
no further energy has to be spent to obtain the extra cold
coolant required
Thus, the ultimate effect of the undercooling is to increase
the value of coefficient of performance under the same set
of conditions.
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4] Effect of liquid subcooling
The sub-cooling or undercooling may be done by any of the
following methods :
(i) Inserting a special coil between the condenser and the expansion
valve.
(ii) Circulating greater quantity of cooling water through the
condenser.
(iii) Using water cooler than main circulating water
Note:
In actual practice, the refrigerant is superheated after compression
AND undercooled before throttling.
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ACTUAL VCC
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ACTUAL VCC
The actual vapour compression cycle differs from
the theoretical cycle in several ways because of the
following reasons :
i] Frequently the liquid refrigerant is sub-cooled
before it is allowed to enter the expansion valve,
and usually the gas leaving the evaporator is
superheated a few degrees before it enters the
compressor. This superheating may occur as a result
of the type of expansion control used or through a
pick up of heat in the suction line between the
evaporator and compressor
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ACTUAL VCC
following reasons :
ii] Compression, although usually assumed to be
isentropic, may actually prove to be neither
isentropic nor polytrophic.
iii] Both the compressor suction and discharge valves
are actuated by pressure difference and this process
requires the actual suction pressure inside the
compressor to be slightly below that of the
evaporator and the discharge pressure to be above
that of condenser.
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ACTUAL VCC
following reasons :
iv] Although isentropic compression assumes no
transfer of heat between the refrigerant and the
cylinder walls, actually the cylinder walls are hotter
than the incoming gases from the evaporator and
colder than the compressed gases discharged to the
condenser.
v] Pressure drop in long suction and liquid line
piping and any vertical differences in head created
by locating the evaporator and condenser at
different elevations.
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ACTUAL VCC
The process of actual VCC are as follows:
Process 1-2-3:
This process represents passage of refrigerant
through the evaporator, with 1-2 indicating gain of
latent heat of vapourisation, and 2-3, the gain of
superheat before entrance to compressor. Both of
these processes approach very closely to the
constant pressure conditions (assumed in theory).
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ACTUAL VCC
Process 3-4-5-6-7-8:
This path/process represents the passage of the
vapour refrigerant from entrance to the discharge of
the compressor. Path 3-4 represents the throttling
action that occurs during passage through the suction
valves, and path 7-8 represents the throttling during
passage through exhaust valves. Both of these actions
are accompanied by an entropy increase and a slight
drop in temperature.
Compression of the refrigerant occurs along path 5-6,
which is actually neither isentropic nor polytrophic.
The heat transfers indicated by path 4-5 and 6-7
occur essentially at constant pressure.
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ACTUAL VCC
Process 8-9-10-11:
This process represents the passage of refrigerant
through the condenser with 8-9 indicating removal of
superheat, 9-10 the removal of latent heat, and 10-
11 removal of heat of liquid or sub-cooling.
Process 11-1:
This process represents passage of the refrigerant
through the expansion valve, both theoretically and
practically an irreversible adiabatic path.
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VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY
A compressor which is theoretically perfect would have neither clearance nor losses of any type and
would pump on each stroke a quantity of refrigerant equal to piston displacement.
But practically no actual compressor is able to do this, since it is impossible to construct a compressor
without clearance or one that will have no wire drawing through the suction and discharge valves, no
superheating of the suction gases upon contact with the cylinder walls, or no leakage of gas past the
piston or the valves.
All these factors effect the volume of gas pumped or the capacity of the compressor.
‘Volumetric efficiency’
It is defined as the ratio of actual volume of gas drawn into the compressor (at evaporator temperature
and pressure) on each stroke to the piston displacement.
If the effect of clearance alone is considered, the resulting expression may be termed clearance
volumetric efficiency.
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Clearance volumetric efficiency
Clearance volume’ is the volume of space between
the end of the cylinder and the piston when the
latter is in dead centre position. The clearance
volume is expressed as a percentage of piston
displacement. The piston displacement is shown as
4′-1.
During the suction stroke 4′-1, the vapour filled in
clearance space at a discharge pressure Pd
expands along 3-4 and the suction valve opens only
when pressure has dropped to suction pressure Ps,
therefore actual volume sucked will be (v1 – v4)
while the swept volume is (v1 – v4′).
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The ratio of actual volume of vapour sucked to the
piston displacement is defined as clearance
volumetric efficiency. Thus,
Clearance volumetric efficiency
Considering polytrophic expansion process 3-4, we

have
Clearance ratio:
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Thus,
Hence clearance volumetric efficiency,
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COMPARISON BETWEEN AIR COOLED AND WATER
COOLED CONDENSER
Air Cooled Condenser Water Cooled Condenser
Condensing medium used is air Condensing medium used is water
Simple construction. Initial and maintenance cost is Complicated construction. Initial and maintenance
low cost is high
Hot air can easily dispose Problem of disposal of used water (unless there is
an recirculating system)
No handling problem Difficult to handle
Since thermal conductivity of air is low it results in High thermal conductivity of water favors high heat
low heat transfer capacity. carrying capacity
Corrosion free operation Water causes corrosion of condenser tubes and has
high chances of fouling effect
Used generally for low capacity plants Used for large capacity plants
Do not require complex piping arrangement for Piping arrangement is required for carrying water
carrying the air
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CHAPTER 2 Mr. S.G.

 Refrigerants: Desirable properties of refrigerants, ASHRAE numbering system for refrigerants.

1. Compression 2. Condensation 3. Expansion 4.

The flow diagram of such a cycle is shown in Fig

The refrigerant, while passing through the

Some of the liquid refrigerant evaporates as it

In evaporating, the liquid vapour refrigerant

Enthalpy of superheated vapour after compression is calculated by

 Increases the work required for compression from

The C.O.P. of the cycle when suction pressure is decreased

 Increases the work required for compression from (h2 – h1)

1] The only difference is that the effect of decreasing the

2] The increase in discharge pressure is necessary for high

Considering polytrophic expansion process 3-4, we

Hence clearance volumetric efficiency,

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