SECTION 5 COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION

UNIT 24 EXPANSION DEVICES

UNIT OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, the reader should be able to
List and describe the three most popular expansion devices Explain the operating characteristics of various expansion valves Explain how various expansion devices respond to load changes Describe the operation of balanced port, dual port and electronic expansion valves Explain how electronic controllers are used to control expansion valves

EXPANSION (METERING) DEVICES

Meters the correct amount of refrigerant to the evaporator Installed in the liquid line at the inlet of the evaporator Common devices: Automatic expansion valve, thermostatic expansion valve, fixed bore (capillary tube) Less common devices: High-side float, low-side float

Compressor

Condenser

Direction of Refrigerant Flow

Evaporator

Metering device

THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE (TXV)

Maintains a constant evaporator superheat If the evaporator superheat is high, the valve will open Superheat ensures that no liquid refrigerant leaves the evaporator Low superheat increases the net refrigerant effect

Transmission Line
Evaporator

Thermal Bulb

Thermostatic Expansion Valve

Liquid Line Direction of Refrigerant Flow

TXV COMPONENTS
Valve body Diaphragm Needle and seat Spring Adjustment and packing gland Sensing bulb and transmission tube

THE VALVE BODY

Machined brass or stainless steel Holds components together Provides means to connect valve to the piping circuit Fastened by flare, solder, or flange Has an inlet screen to stop any small particulate matter from entering valve

THE DIAPHRAGM
Moves the needle in and out of the seat in response to system load changes Flexes downward to open the valve Flexes upward to close the valve Made of thin, flexible stainless steel Located at the top of the valve

Bulb pressure pushes down to open the valve

Diaphragm

Evaporator pressure pushes up to close the valve

Spring pressure pushes up to close the valve

NEEDLE AND SEAT

Control refrigerant flow through the valve Needle is pushed into the seat to reduce refrigerant flow to the evaporator Made of stainless steel The greater the pressure difference across the needle and seat, the greater the amount of flow through the valve

Diaphragm

Push Rods

Seat Needle

Diaphragm pushed up

Needle pushed into the seat, closing the valve

Diaphragm pushed down

Needle pushed out of the seat, opening the valve

THE SPRING
One of the valves closing forces Acts to push the needle into the seat, causing the valve to close Spring pressure determines the evaporator superheat Spring tension can be field adjusted Only EXPERIENCED field technicians should do adjustments on the valve

The spring pushes up on the push rods to close the valve

THE SENSING BULB AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Senses temperature at the outlet of the evaporator This temperature is converted to a pressure and is transmitted to the top of the diaphragm The fluid in the bulb responds to a pressure / temperature relationship When the suction line temperature goes up, the bulb pressure goes up The bulb pressure is the only opening pressure that controls the valve

Transmission Line Valve body

Thermal Bulb

Saturated refrigerant to the evaporator

Liquid refrigerant from condenser or receiver

Superheat spring adjusting screw

TYPES OF BULB CHARGE

Bulb charge is the type and amount of refrigerant contained in the thermal bulb transmission line and the space above the diaphragm
Liquid charge Vapor charge Cross liquid charge Cross vapor charge

THE LIQUID CHARGE BULB

Bulb contains the same refrigerant as the refrigeration system Under all conditions, the bulb will ALWAYS contain some liquid The refrigerant in the bulb will always follow the pressure/temperature relationship of the system

THE CROSS LIQUID CHARGE BULB

Bulb contains a different refrigerant than the system Under all conditions, the bulb will ALWAYS contain some liquid The bulb does not follow the pressure/ temperature relationship of the system Valve closes during the compressor off cycle

THE VAPOR CHARGE BULB

Bulb contains the same refrigerant as the system Bulb only contains a small amount of liquid Also called a critical charge bulb At some predetermined temperature, all of the liquid in the bulb will boil until only vapor remains Any further increases in bulb temperature will have no effect on the bulb pressure

THE CROSS VAPOR CHARGE BULB

Bulb contains a different refrigerant than the system Bulb only contains a small amount of liquid Also called a critical charge bulb At some predetermined temperature, all of the liquid in the bulb will boil until only vapor remains Any further increases in bulb temperature will have no effect on the bulb pressure

EXAMPLE OF A TXV WITH INTERNAL EQUALIZER LIQUID-FILLED BULB Normal load conditions medium temperature application, R-134a, valve is in equilibrium Suction pressure 18.4 psig Suction line temperature 30F, PBULB= 26.1 psig PSPRING + PEVAPORATOR = PBULB Spring pressure + 18.4 psig = 26.1 psig Spring pressure = 7.7 psig

30F 26.1 psig

Spring pressure = ? Evaporator pressure 18.4 psig

26.1 psig = Ps + 18.4 psig Ps = 7.7 psig

R-134a

LOAD CHANGES WITH FOOD ADDED TO COOLER

Addition of warm food increases evaporator load Refrigerant boils faster and suction pressure rises Evaporator superheat rises Valve opens to feed more refrigerant to the evaporator Increased evaporator superheat causes temperature of remote bulb to rise

LOAD CHANGES WITH FOOD REMOVED FROM THE COOLER

Removal of food reduces load on the evaporator Refrigerant boils slower and suction pressure drops Evaporator superheat drops Valve closes to feed less refrigerant to the evaporator

TXV WITH EXTERNAL EQUALIZER

Used if an evaporator has more than a 2.5 psig drop from inlet to outlet The evaporator pressure is sensed at the outlet of the coil instead of the inlet Used to prevent the coil from starving Connected to the evaporator outlet after the thermal bulb Used to compensate for pressure drop in the evaporator

External equalizer line connected to the outlet of the evaporator coil

Diaphragm Solid brass divider

Evaporator pressure pushing up on the diaphragm Saturated refrigerant to the evaporator Liquid refrigerant to the expansion valve

TXV RESPONSES TO LOAD CHANGES

When load increases
Refrigerant boils faster and the suction line temperature increases Valve opens to feed more refrigerant to the evaporator

When load decreases

Refrigerant takes longer to boil Valve closes to feed less refrigerant to the evaporator

BALANCED PORT TXV

Designed to operate in low ambient conditions Used if any of the following conditions exist - Large varying head pressures - Large varying pressure drops across the TXV - Widely varying evaporator loads - Very low liquid line temperatures Have larger-than-normal orifices

DUAL PORT TXV

Used when systems need a larger TXV for short periods of time Dual-port valves have two independent capacities - Larger port for periods of high load - Smaller port for periods of normal load - TXV capacity is doubled when larger port is open all the way

PRESSURE LIMITING TXV

Allows evaporator pressure to only reach a predetermined pressure If the evaporator pressure exceeds this pressure, the valve will close Desirable on low-temperature applications

SENSING ELEMENT (BULB) INSTALLATION

Bulb should be mounted on the suction line as close to the evaporator as possible Suction line should be clean and straight Bulb should be mounted securely Follow manufacturers instructions For small suction lines, the bulb is usually secured to the top of the line

Thermal bulb mounted on top of the line

Use strapping material supplied with the valve to hold bulb securely to the suction line

Suction line smaller than 3/4

Thermal bulb located 45 below horizontal

Suction line larger than 3/4

THE SOLID-STATE CONTROLLED EXPANSION VALVE

Uses a thermistor as a sensing element Electrically controlled When coil is energized, the valve opens Responds very quickly to temperature changes Suitable for heat pump applications

STEP MOTOR EXPANSION VALVES

Uses a small motor to control the valve port Valve port controls evaporator superheat Temperature sensor sends a signal to the controller The controller sends a signal to the motor The motor turns a fraction of a rotation for each controller signal

ALGORITHMS AND PID CONTROLLERS

Proportional Controllers - Generate an analog output signal - Difference between actual superheat and superheat set point is the offset or error Integral Controller Modes - Helps reduce the error or offset - Calculates error size and the length of time the error exists Derivative Controller Modes - Estimate rate of change of temperature/time curve

AUTOMATIC EXPANSION VALVE

Maintains constant pressure in the evaporator When the evaporator pressure drops, the valve opens The spring pressure pushes to open the valve The evaporator pressure pushes to close the valve Turning the adjustment screw into the valve increases the spring pressure

Spring pressure pushes down to open the valve

Diaphragm

Two pressures control the automatic expansion valve

Evaporator pressure pushes up to close the valve

Diaphragm pushed up

Needle pushed into the seat, closing the valve

Caused by an increase in evaporator pressure

Diaphragm pushed down

Needle pushed out of the seat, opening the valve

Caused by a decrease in evaporator pressure

Spring pressure Spring Diaphragm

Needle and Seat Saturated refrigerant to the evaporator Liquid refrigerant from condenser or receiver Evaporator pressure

AUTOMATIC EXPANSION VALVE RESPONSE TO LOAD CHANGES

Responds in reverse to load changes If the load increases
Refrigerant boils faster in the evaporator The evaporator pressure increases The valve closes

Used where the load is fairly constant

THE CAPILLARY TUBE METERING DEVICE

Controls refrigerant flow by the pressure drop across it Diameter and length of the tube determine flow at a given pressure Does not maintain evaporator pressure or superheat Used when the load is relatively constant No moving parts to wear out

OPERATING CHARGE FOR THE CAPILLARY TUBE SYSTEM

Capillary tube systems are critically charged All refrigerant in the system circulates at all times when the system is running Capillary tube sometimes fastened to the suction line for heat exchange Responds very slowly to system load changes

UNIT SUMMARY - 1
Expansion devices meter the correct amount of refrigerant to the evaporator according to system operating conditions Common expansion valves include the capillary tube, automatic expansion valve and the thermostatic expansion valve The thermostatic expansion valve is designed to maintain constant superheat in the evaporator

UNIT SUMMARY - 2
Three pressures control the operation of the TXV: the bulb pressure, the spring pressure and the evaporator pressure Thermal bulb can be liquid-charged, vapor-charged, cross liquid-charged, or cross vapor-charged Internally equalized TXVs get the evaporator pressure from the inlet of the coil, while externally equalized TXVs get the evaporator pressure from the outlet of the coil

UNIT SUMMARY - 3
Special TXVs include the balanced port TXV, the dual port TXV and the electronic TXV The automatic expansion valve maintains a constant evaporator pressure Two pressure control the AXV: the spring pressure and the evaporator pressure The capillary tube is a fixed bore metering device The capillary tube meters refrigerant depending on the pressure drop across the tube