Refrigeration

Refrigeration is defined as the process of extracting heat

from a lower-temperature heat source, substance, or cooling
medium and transferring it to a higher-temperature heat
sink. Refrigeration maintains the temperature of the heat
source below that of its surroundings while transferring the
extracted heat, and any required energy input, to a heat sink,
atmospheric air, or surface water. Refrigeration is generally
produced in one of the following three ways :
(i) By melting of a solid.
(ii) By sublimation of a solid.
(iii) By evaporation of a liquid.
Important refrigeration applications :
1. Ice making
2. Transportation of foods above and below freezing
3. Industrial air-conditioning
4. Comfort air-conditioning
5. Chemical and related industries
6. Medical and surgical aids
7. Processing food products and beverages
8. Oil refining and synthetic rubber manufacturing
9. Manufacturing and treatment of metals
10. Freezing food products
11. Miscellaneous applications :
(i) Extremely low temperatures
(ii) Plumbing
(iii) Building construction etc.
 Refrigeration Systems
Refrigeration system is a combination of components and
equipment connected in a sequential order to produce the
refrigeration effect. All refrigeration systems must include at
least four basic units as given below :
(i) A low temperature thermal sink to which heat will flow
from the space to be cooled.
(ii) Means of extracting energy from the sink, raising the
temperature level of this energy, and delivering it to a heat
receiver.
(iii) A receiver to which heat will be transferred from the high
temperature high-pressure refrigerant.
(iv) Means of reducing of pressure and temperature of the
refrigerant as it returns from the receiver to the sink.
The main goal of a refrigeration system
the main refrigeration systems and cycles
that we deal with are :
vapor-compression refrigeration system
 absorption refrigeration systems
 air-standard refrigeration systems
 Refrigeration System Components

There are several mechanical components required in a

refrigeration system. In this part, we discuss the four major
components of a system and some auxiliary equipment
associated with these major components. These components
include:
compressors condensers
evaporators throttling device
addition to refrigerant lines and piping, refrigerant capacity
controls, receivers, and accumulators.
 Compressors
In a refrigeration cycle, the compressor has two main functions within
the refrigeration cycle. One function is to pump the refrigerant vapor
from the evaporator so that the desired temperature and pressure can
be maintained in the evaporator. The second function is to increase
the pressure of the refrigerant vapor through the process of
compression, and simultaneously increase the temperature of the
refrigerant vapor. By this change in pressure the superheated
refrigerant flows through the system.
Refrigerant compressors, which are known as the heart of the vapor-
compression refrigeration systems, can be divided into two main
categories:
displacement compressors and dynamic compressors.
Note that both displacement and dynamic compressors can be
hermetic, semi hermetic, or open types.
Compressor types
 Condensers
There are several condensers to be considered when making a
selection for installation. They are air-cooled, water-cooled,
shell and tube, shell and coil, tube within a tube, and
evaporative condensers. Each type of condenser has its own
unique application. Some determining factors include the size
and the weight of the unit, weather conditions, location (city or
rural), availability of electricity, and availability of water.
Condensers utilized in the refrigeration industry are commonly
of three types, as follows:
water-cooled condensers.
air-cooled condensers.
evaporative condensers
 Evaporators
Evaporator can be considered as the point of heat capture in a
refrigeration system and provides the cooling effect required for
any particular application. There are almost as many different
types of evaporators as there are applications of heat
exchangers. However, evaporators are divided into two
categories such as :
(i) direct cooler evaporators that cool air that, in turn, cools the
product .
(ii) indirect cooler evaporators that cool a liquid such as brine
solution that, in turn, cools the product.
 Throttling Devices
In practice, throttling devices, called either expansion valves or
throttling valves, are used to reduce the refrigerant condensing
pressure (high pressure) to the evaporating pressure (low pressure) by
a throttling operation and regulate the liquid-refrigerant flow to the
evaporator to match the equipment and load characteristics. These
devices are designed to proportion the rate at which the refrigerant
enters the cooling coil to the rate of evaporation of the liquid
refrigerant in the coil; the amount depends, of course, on the amount
of heat being removed from the refrigerated space. The most common
throttling devices are :
thermostatic expansion valves.
constant-pressure expansion valves.
float valves.
capillary tubes.
Refrigeration Cycles and Systems
Vapor-Compression Refrigeration Systems
The operation of this system is as follows:
(12) Reversible adiabatic compression. From the evaporator,
low-pressure saturated refrigerant vapor comes to the
compressor and is compressed into the condenser by volume
reduction and increased pressure and temperature.
(23) Reversible heat rejection at constant pressure. From the
compressor, high-pressure refrigerant vapor enters the condenser
and is liquefied by employing water or air.
(34) Irreversible expansion at constant enthalpy. From the
condenser, high-pressure saturated refrigerant liquid passes
through an expansion valve and its pressure and temperature are
reduced.
(41) Reversible heat addition at constant pressure. From the
expansion valve, low-pressure refrigerant liquid arrives in the
evaporator. It boils here and in the process absorbs heat from the
surrounding medium, thereby providing a cooling effect.
Energy Analysis of Vapor-Compression
Refrigeration Cycle:
For compressor:

where is mass flow rate of refrigerant, kg/s; h is enthalpy, kJ/kg;

and is compressor power input, kW.
For condenser:

where H is the heat rejection from the condenser to the high-

temperature environment.
For expansion valve:
For evaporator:

where L is the heat taken from the low-temperature

environment to the evaporator.
For the entire refrigeration system, the energy balance can be
written as

The coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigeration system

becomes

The isentropic efficiency of an adiabatic compressor is defined as

where h2s is the enthalpy of the refrigerant at the turbine exit, if

the compression process is isentropic (i.e., reversible and
adiabatic).
Air-Standard Refrigeration Systems
Basic AbsorptionRefrigeration Systems
(ARSs)
AmmoniaWater (NH3H2O) AbsorptionRefrigeration
Systems (ARSs)
 The Heat Exchanger
A heat exchanger is a device in which energy is transferred from
one fluid to another across a solid surface. Exchanger analysis
and design therefore involve both convection and conduction.
Radiative transfer between the exchanger and the environment
can usually be neglected unless the exchanger is uninsulated
and its external surfaces are very hot.
Heat exchangers are normally well-insulated devices that
allow energy exchange between hot and cold fluids without
mixing the fluids. The pumps, fans, and blowers causing the
fluids to flow across the control surface are normally located
outside the control surface.
how to work The Heat Exchanger ?
TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT EXCHANGERS IN REFRIGERATION

PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS

 TUBULAR HEAT EXCHANGER
 COAXIAL COIL HEAT EXCHANGER
 FINNED TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER