Basic Refrigeration

Evaporators Mainly
By Dhiren Mody
Engineered Refrigeration Supplies Inc.
Mesa, AZ. Phone 480-962-4129
E-mail: ersincaz@aol.com
ERS Inc: Dhiren
Mody 480-962-4129

Piping of basic system

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480-962-4129

Heat transfer
Some 45 years ago a professor of
mine made the following statements:
Without pressure drop there is no
heat transfer.
I did not understand it and hence
ignored it as not applicable to me.
Heat transfers from a hot surface to
a colder surface.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

Now on to Basic
Evaporator
.

ERS Inc:
Dhiren Mody
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Using Evaporators we remove

heat

All mechanical refrigeration systems have the

following: A compressor {located at the bottom and rear}
A condenser - {located at the back grid like}
An expansion devise {Capillary tube near the
floor}
An evaporator {located inside the refrigerator}
We want to remove heat from inside &
throw it outside. i.e. removing heat from
one place and dispersing it some where
else.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

You thought P-H diagram is

difficult to understand?

Expansion

Condensing

Evaporating

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480-962-4129

pressure drop in evaporator & condenser not shown here.

Most Basic Formulas

Q = Uo x A x LMTD
Where Q =Process heat load (Btu/hr)
Uo = Overall heat transfer coefficient
(Btu/hr sq. ft. F).
A = Surface Area (sq. ft.) required.
LMTD = log mean temperature (F)
Q =gpm x 500 x sp. ht x sp. gr x dt
500 = 8.33 Lb/gallon x 60 minutes/hr
(approximately).
sp.ht = specific heat, sp.gr=specific gravity
Of fluid flowing at mean temperature.

Uo

Uo = 1/ho +SR/hi + FFO +SR x FFI + X/k

Where
ho = outside heat transfer coefficient
SR = Surface ratio
hi = inside heat transfer coefficient.
FFO = outside fouling factor in shell.
FFI = inside fouling factor in tubes.
X = thickness of the tube
K = thermal conductivity of tube material

A condenser can have SR=4.32 while chiller with prime surface SR=
OD/ID

Rule of thumb
1) The dirtiest fluid has to be in the tubes in a shell &
tube heat exchanger, so that tubes can be cleaned
regularly after fouling takes place during operation.
2) Oil has to be in the shell due to high viscosity If
tube side then it leads to poor heat transfer (low
Reynolds #).
3) Normally in a flooded shell & tube heat exchanger
Ammonia refrigerant is in the shell and the fluid or
gas being cooled is in the tubes.
4) Design pressure drop in a shell & tube heat
exchanger can be 5 to 15 (Max.) PSI.
5) Remember without pressure drop there is no heat
transfer. Higher is the pressure drop, the smaller is
the heat exchanger and more cost effective
(cheaper) it is to supply.

Working out LMTD

for a chiller
30F

20F

PG

** R717 **

15F

GTD = 30-15 = 15F

LTD = 20-15 = 5F
LMTD =(15-5)/[Ln(15/5)] =9.10 F
For Plate & Frame heat exchanger LTD = 5F normally.
For Shell & tube LTD is normally 10F

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

What % of Glycol to select

Food Grade Propylene Glycol [PG]
must be used in Food application.
Since we do not want to freeze the
chiller, hence % concentration is
selected such that PGs freezing point
must be 10F below the suction
temperature.
Ethylene Glycol is normally used in
process cooling.

LMTD for water cooled

Condensers
Cooling tower outlet temperature =85F
Water temperature return to tower = 95F

** Refrigerant **
105F

95F
Water
85F
GTD =105-85 =20F & LTD=105-95=10F
Hence LMTD =[20-10]/[Ln(20/10)]=14.43F
Where Ln = log to the base e.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

DX Chiller

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480-962-4129

Flooded Shell & Tube Heat

Exchanger with baffles

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480-962-4129

Flooded Chiller for process

Refrigeration

Risers
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Flooded Ammonia Chiller for a

UC T650 air liquefaction plant
Packaged Single Pass Air Chiller to remove moisture
42 x 24 L -4P condenser

(2) Screws each 300 hp.

6 ft Tall man

54 x 17 L -1P Chiller with

(2600) SS tubes.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

With 30 x 15 L accumulator

How flooded chillers work

Evaporating R717 is on the shell side of the heat
exchanger.
The warm fluid / glycol (brine) to be cooled would
be on the tube side of the flooded heat
exchanger. This causes the refrigerant R717 to
boil in the shell.
Vapor & some liquid R717 enter the accumulator
on top of the chiller via the risers, where vapor is
separated due to large x sectional area of the
accumulator & Vapor goes to the compressor and
the liquid returns to the shell below.

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

Controls for Flooded

Chiller/Falling film/Air unit
Suction

Photo of a Falling Film with (28) wings in El Paso TX

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480-962-4129

Ammonia Flooded Accumulator with control

for a falling film chiller
Surge drum
w/float column

P.G. Pumps

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480-962-4129

Oil pot with controls

Flooded Ammonia Hydrocooler installed in 1985

Wet
Return
Surge Drum

Normal Level
float switch

Wet
Return

Very large Produce facility with (24)

recirculated air units - 450 Tr. in Yuma

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

PG air unit for 34F Milk Room

Air Units
can use
Cold Glycol
Instead
Of Refrigerant

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

Brazed heat exchanger, Plate

& Frame heat exchanger

For Industrial applications

as Chillers & water cooled
condensers normally SS.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

For smaller applications as chillers

& condensers. Both types have
smaller foot prints.

Exploded view of plate and

frame heat exchanger

How do the Plate & Frame

work?
R717 is contained in a cassette. i.e.
two plated welded together.
Glycol / Brine is with both sides of
the casket plates with gasket in
between.
The plates have chevrons
(herringbone) shape to increase fluid
velocity & hence improve heat
transfer and increases pressure drop.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

Expansion Devices to drop refrigerant

pressure from high pressure to low
pressure.

A) Capillary tube for domestic

refrigerator, chest freezers etc.
B) Thermostatic Expansion valve
used in larger Freon systems. All
Freon vapor return to compressor.
C) Hand expansion valve mainly
used for R717 systems.
D) Electronic expansion valves for DX
R717 operation to get low superheat.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

Dry Expansion (DX) Coil

Coil circuited for dry expansion with thermostatic expansion valve
(TXV) which is mechanical & needs superheat to operate correctly.
The coil surface is used to produce superheat and hence all the
surface is not utilized to produce cooling. If we reduce superheat
then liquid refrigerant can reach the compressor without an
adequately sized suction accumulator which can be a problem.
Remember liquid refrigerant does the cooling and not the
vapor.
Also remember compressors can compress vapor but not
liquid refrigerant from slugging.
Electronic expansion valve (motorized expansion valve) can
produce between 2 to 4 F of superheat. It is quicker to react due
to its electronic brain. This is better way of controlling.
Subcooling & maintaining reasonably constant head pressure is
very important especially in a DX system with TXV valves, but not
for Electronic expansion valves.
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129

Thermostatic Expansion
Valve
TXV is fixed orifice device & hence the
amount of R717 passes through it
depends upon the pressure difference.
There is a facility in Yuma which has DX
operation and they had to reduce
superheat on TXV valves to get decent
refrigeration capacity causing liquid flood
back.
They installed a very large suction
accumulator. In this facility due to very
long suction line the suction pressure drop
was very large.

Consult with someone

knowledgeable

If you need help then please give

me a call at 480-962-4129
e-mail: - ersincaz@aol.com.

ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody

480-962-4129

The End
ERS Inc: Dhiren Mody
480-962-4129