4.

2 Principles of the cooling

Cooling is a 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.

A cooling system is a combination of components and equipment connected in a sequential

order to produce the refrigeration effect. The refrigeration systems commonly used for air
conditioning can be classified by the type of input energy and the refrigeration process as
follows:

a) Vapour compression systems.

In vapour compression systems, compressors activate the refrigerant by compressing it to a

higher pressure and higher temperature level after it has produced its refrigeration effect. The
compressed refrigerant transfers its heat to the sink and is condensed to liquid form. This liquid
refrigerant is then throttled to a low-pressure, low temperature vapour to produce refrigerating
effect during evaporation. Vapour compression systems are the most widely adopted
refrigeration systems in both comfort and process air conditioning.

b) Absorption systems.

In an absorption system, the refrigeration effect is produced by thermal energy input. After
absorbing heat from the cooling medium during evaporation, the vapour refrigerant is absorbed
by an absorbent medium. This solution is then heated by direct-fired furnace, waste heat, hot
water, or steam. The refrigerant is again vaporized and then condensed to liquid to begin the
refrigeration cycle again.
c) Air or gas expansion systems.

In an air or gas expansion system, air or gas is compressed to a high pressure by mechanical
energy. It is then cooled and expanded to a low pressure. Because the temperature of air or gas
drops during expansion, a refrigeration effect is produced.

Basic Refrigeration Cycle

Digram: Basic Refrigeration Cycle

 Liquids absorb heat when changed from liquid to gas

 Gases give off heat when changed from gas to liquid.

 The refrigerant comes into the compressor as a low-pressure gas, it is compressed and
then moves out of the compressor as a high-pressure gas.
  The gas then flows to the condenser. Here the gas condenses to a liquid, and gives off
its heat to the outside air.

 The liquid then moves to the expansion valve under high pressure. This valve restricts
the flow of the fluid, and lowers its pressure as it leaves the expansion valve.

 The low-pressure liquid then moves to the evaporator, where heat from the inside air
is absorbed and changes it from a liquid to a gas.
 As a hot low-pressure gas, the refrigerant moves to the compressor where the entire
cycle is repeated.

4.2.1 Differentiate the air and water cycle and fuction in cooling system

Advantages Air cooling water cooling

Disadvantages
Install cost is generally lower
Less Maintenance depending
Advantages on application
No need for a mechanical room Indoor placement
Cooling Tower not needed
Condenser pumps not required
Generally less efficient
Disadvantages Life span is not as long
Usually have more operating
noise
Usually have a longer life
Higher efficiency
Larger tonnage capabilities
Refrigeration containment
Additional maintenance costs
Water treatment costs
Mechanical room needed

Table: Advantages & Disadvantages The Air And Water Cooling

Air cooled versus water cooled system specs

Air cooled systems remove heat from the unit by pushing it into the air. This hot air can be
pushed out directly into the outdoors with units that are outside the home, such as window units.
However, if the unit is inside then the hot air will need an exhaust duct or fan that leads outdoors.
An air cooled unit will also push out cold supply air into the room to cool it even more.

Since air cooled systems don’t need a water source, they can be installed anywhere in the home
within minutes, not hours. Air cooled units can also be moved around the home without any
concern for water sources. The costs of installing an air cooled chiller is also significantly lower
than water systems, because they don’t need cooling towers, water pumps, and other necessary
HVAC additions.

Water coolers on the other hand cost more when it comes to installations, require a water source,
and take a bit more for maintaining, but they are much more efficient at heat transferring and
cooling down hot air. The film coefficient, or heat flux and consistency of cooling, is 10-100
times more consistent with water than air. This means that a water cooler is going to always
cool hot air, and pump out even more cold air, at a constant and reliable rate.

Since the heat transfer properties of water are much more efficient, that makes water cooled air
conditioning systems efficient as well. This is great for home owners because the lower water
cooled running costs offsets the higher installation and maintenance costs.

Water cooler systems in general have also been identified by the Cooling Technology Institute
as being more energy efficient than air cooled systems, but also more environmentally friendly
due to controlled gas emissions.
4.2.2 Explain air and water cycles and cooling substances

Air cooling

Air Cooled Chillers do not use cooling towers, instead they dump their heat into the ambient
air and therefore need access to a lot of fresh air, in order to reject the unwanted heat from the
building.

The Air Cooled Chiller has 5 main components.

1. The compressor – typically screw, scroll or reciprocating

2. The condenser – a bundle of horizontal pipes which contain the hot refrigerant,
these are surrounded by a number of thin sheets of metal in the vertical axis. These
help distribute heat away from the tubes and into the air which is blown across the
tubes and thin sheets of metal.
3. Condenser fans – These suck air across the condenser coils, entering from the
sides, and then force this air out the top of the unit upwards into the ambient
atmosphere.
4. Expansion Valve – This expands the refrigerant before it enters the evaporator
5. Evaporator – This is where the chilled water is produced and the heat from the
warm return “chilled water” is extracted, to be sent to the condenser.

How refrigerant changes around an air cooled chiller

The compressor is the driving force of the refrigerant. The refrigerant first leaves the
compressor as a high pressure, high temperature, superheated vapour and then enters the
condenser. When the refrigerant enters into the condenser, it will run along the horizontal pipes
and transfer its thermal energy into the ambient air stream which is forced by the fans on top.

As the refrigerant transfers its thermal energy, it begins to condense into a liquid. By the time
the refrigerant leaves the condenser, it will be a high pressure, medium temperature, saturated
liquid.

Next the refrigerant enters the expansion valve. The expansion valve meters the flow of
refrigerant around the system. The most basic type is the thermal expansion valve which
controls the flow of refrigerant by measuring the pipe temperature at the evaporator outlet and
will adjust the flow rate to keep the temperature within a desired set point.

The expansion valve holds back the refrigerant and maintains the high pressure of the
condenser. Inside the expansion valve, a small orifice allows a restricted amount of refrigerant
to continue to flow. As it flows through this restriction it reaches the low pressure side of the
valve. This sudden pressure drop allows the refrigerant to expand from a liquid into a
liquid/vapour mixture. As this occurs it will drop in pressure and temperature. The same amount
of refrigerant flows through, it just has more space so it expands to fill this gap.

The refrigerant then enters the evaporator and will pass through a series of horizontal tubes
which are surrounded by the “chilled water” and these will flow in the opposing, counter flow
to each other. By the time the refrigerant leaves the evaporator, it will have picked up the
unwanted heat from the return chilled water and will leave as a low pressure, low temperature
saturated vapour. The chilled water will have given its thermal energy up to the refrigerant and
will leave around 6°C (42.8°F).
Water cooling

The chilled water types of central air conditioning plants are installed in the place where whole
large buildings, shopping mall, airport, hotel, etc, comprising of several floors are to be air
conditioned. While in the direct expansion type of central air conditioning plants, refrigerant is
directly used to cool the room air; in the chilled water plants the refrigerant first chills the water,
which in turn chills the room air.

In chilled water plants, the ordinary water or brine solution is chilled to very low temperatures
of about 6 to 8 degree Celsius by the refrigeration plant. This chilled water is pumped to various
floors of the building and its different parts. In each of these parts the air handling units are
installed, which comprise of the cooling coil, blower and the ducts. The chilled water flows
through the cooling coil. The blower absorbs return air from the air conditioned rooms that are
to be cooled via the ducts. This air passes over the cooling coil and gets cooled and is then
passed to the air conditioned space.

Central Air Conditioning Chilled Water System

Various Parts of the Chilled Water Air Conditioning Plant

a) Central Air Conditioning Plant Room:

The plant room comprises of all the important components of the chilled water air conditioning
plant. These include the compressor, condenser, thermostatic expansion valve and the
evaporator or the chiller. The compressor is of open type and can be driven by the motor directly
or by the belt via pulley arrangement connected to the motor. It is cooled by the water just like
the automotive engine

The condenser and the evaporator are of shell and tube type. The condenser is cooled by the
water, with water flowing along the shell side and refrigerant along the tube side.The
thermostatic expansion valve is operated automatically by the solenoid valve.

The evaporator is also called as the chiller, because it chills the water. If the water flows along
the shell side and refrigerant on the tube side, it is called as the dry expansion type of chiller. If
the water flows along tube side and the refrigerant along the shell side, it is called as the flooded
chiller. The water chilled in the chiller is pumped to various parts of the building that are to be
air conditioned. It enters the air handling unit, cools the air in cooling coil, absorbs the heat and
returns back to the plant room to get chilled again. The amount of water passing into the chiller
is controlled by the flow switch.

In the central air conditioning plant room all the components, the compressor, condenser,
thermostatic expansion valve, and the chiller are assembled in the structural steel framework
making a complete compact refrigeration plant, known as the chiller package. Piping required
to connect these parts is also enclosed in this unit making a highly compact central air
conditioning plant.
b) Air Handling Unit Rooms

The air handling units are installed in the various parts of the building that are to be air
conditioned, in the place called air handling unit rooms. The air handling units comprise of the
cooling coil, air filter, the blower and the supply and return air ducts. The chilled water flows
through the cooling coil. The blower absorbs the return hot air from the air conditioned space
and blows it over the cooling coil thus cooling the air. This cooled air passes over the air filter
and is passed by the supply air ducts into the space which is to be air conditioned. The air
handling unit and the ducts passing through it are insulated to reduce the loss of the cooling
effect.

c) Air Conditioned Rooms

These are the rooms or spaces that are to be air conditioned. These can be residential or hotel
rooms, halls, shops, offices, complete theatre, various parts of the airport etc. At the top of these
rooms the supply and the return air ducts are laid. The supply air ducts supply the cool air to
the room via one set of the diffusers, while the return air ducts absorbs the hot return air from
the room by another set of the diffusers. The hot return air enters the air handling unit, gets
cooled and again enters the room via supply duct to produce air conditioning effect.

d) Cooling Tower

The cooling tower is used to cool the water that absorbs heat from the compressor and the
condenser. When water flows through these components some water gets evaporated, to make
up this loss some water is also added in the cooling tower. The cooling tower is of evaporative
type. Here the water is cooled by the atmospheric air and is re-circulated through the compressor
and the condenser.
References

Books

 Shan K. Wang (2000). Handbook Of Air Conditioning And Refrigeration 2nd Edition

Websites

 https://www.swtc.edu/Ag_Power/air_conditioning/lecture/basic_cycle.htm
 https://www.researchgate.net/post/Why_are_water_cooled_chillers_favoured_over_air
_cooled_chillers
 https://a-techheatingandcooling.com/air-cooled-vs-water-cooled-air-conditioning-
system/
 https://www.brighthubengineering.com/hvac/50160-chilled-water-central-air-conditioning-
systems/