Seminar on

automotive air conditioning system

Abhijith Mohanan
S6 Mechanical
Roll no:2
WHY AC SYSTEM?
 Stopped in traffic on a may afternoon? Sweat drips all over your
body?

 Hands feel like they are about to slip away from the steering wheel
due to sweat?

 Need a luxurious and a comfortable ride?

 Why don’t you attach an automotive air conditioning

 system to your ride, which 99% of all new cars produced since 2010
are equipped with?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Main function- to cool and remove humidity from air inside the car.
Parts of a typical car AC system are:
(i)Compressor (ii)Condenser (iii)Receiver or Dryer (iv)Expansion valve (v)Evaporator
COMPRESSOR
 It is a pump driven by a belt attached to the engine’s crankshaft.
 Puts the refrigerant gas under pressure and forces it to the condenser.
 It cant compress liquids, only gases.
 By increasing the pressure the refrigerant gas leaving the compressor becomes
hot.
 Also called as heart of the air conditioning system.
 Earlier freons(R-12) were used as refrigerants. Nowadays they are replaced by
environment friendly HFC(R-134a).
Condenser

 Identified as second radiator of the car

that shares air flow with main radiator.
 Has its own cooling fans that become
active when AC is on.
 Takes up the heat from the high pressure
refrigerant gas and cools it.
 Condensing of the refrigerant gas causes
it to loose heat and form into a liquid.
 Heat is expelled into the atmosphere by
the air flowing from the cooling fans
RECEIVER OR DRYER
 Small reservoir installed in the line of
the condenser.
 Main function is to remove moisture
and other
 contaminants from the cool
refrigerant liquid.
 Contains small granules called
desiccants that attract
 water.
 If water is not removed, it can form
ice crystals, thereby
 damaging the whole system.
EXPANSION VALVE
 Here the pressure of refrigerant is
reduced causing
 expansion of the liquid, resulting in
further cooling.
 Slowly the liquid reverts back into a
gaseous form.
 Also the valve reduces pressure on
the refrigerant so it can
 easily move into the evaporator.
 The valve senses pressure and
 regulates the flow of refrigerant,
 which allows the system to
 operate steadily.
EVAPORATOR
 Radiator like device buried deep under
the dashboard.
 Refrigerant gas enters the evaporator
coils and absorbs the
 heat inside the car’s cabin and moves
out of the coils.
 A fan blowing over the outside of the
evaporator coil
 blows cool air into the passenger
compartment.
 Thus the evaporator takes humidity
out of the air in the
 car, which helps you feel cool.
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM FOR EASY UNDERSTANDING
 An AC system not only cools the cabin, it removes dust
 and dirt, leaving only with fresh air.
 One has to remember to use only environment friendly
 refrigerants and avoid CFCs as much as possible.
 The AC system can be recharged by adding fresh
 refrigerant and removing the remaining one.
 Care must be taken in the disposal of refrigerants as they
 may affect the soil, rivers, etc.,
 Its also necessary to check the AC system for leaks as it
 may lead to the loss of refrigerant as well as
 environmental hazards.
Thank you…

Anyways, let us minimize the usage of ACs and

go green!