1

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Topics:
• Introduction
• Evaporation Process
• Refrigeration Effect
• Unit of Refrigeration & COP
• Important Refrigerants
• Refrigerating Systems: Air Refrigeration System, Ammonia Absorption Refrigeration
System, Vapour Compression Refrigerating Systems
• Analysis of Vapour Compression Refrigerating Systems like COP, Mass Flow Rate,
Heat rejected from Condenser, Power Consumption etc.
• Window and Split Air Conditioning System - Principles and Working
There is no such thing as cold — only the absence of heat.
When an air conditioner or refrigerator is cooling a space, do not think about it as
adding cold air into the space. The purpose of the refrigeration cycle is to remove the
heat in a given area and reject it outside. Less heat means a colder room!!!

• Introduction
For specific applications, efficiencies of both living and non-living beings depend to a great
extent on the physical environment. The nature keeps conditions in the physical environment
in the dynamic state ranging from one extreme to the other. Temperature, humidity, pressure
and air motion are some of the important environment variables that at any location keep
changing throughout the year. Adaptation to these many a times unpredictable variations is not
possible and thus working efficiently is not feasible either for the living beings or the non-
living ones. Thus, for any specific purpose, control of the environment is essential.
Refrigeration and air-conditioning is the subject which deals with the techniques to
control the environments of the living and non-living subjects and thus provide them
comforts to enable them to perform better and have longer lives.

• Refrigeration
Literal meaning of refrigeration is the production of cold confinement relative to its
surroundings. In this, temperature of the space under consideration is maintained at a
temperature lower than the surrounding atmosphere. To achieve this, the mechanical
device extracts heat from the space that has to be maintained at a lower temperature and rejects
it to the surrounding atmosphere that is at a relatively higher temperature. Since the volume of
the space which has to be maintained at a lower temperature is always much lower than the
environment, the space under consideration experiences relatively higher change in
temperature than the environment where it is rejected.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 2

The precise meaning of the refrigeration is thus the following: Refrigeration is a process of
removal of heat from a space where it is unwanted and transferring the same to the
surrounding environment where it makes little or no difference.
To understand the above definition, let us consider two examples from the daily life. It is a
well-known fact that the spoilage of food and many other items reduces at a lower temperature.
At a lower temperature, molecular motion slows down and the growth of bacteria that causes
food spoilage also retards. Thus, to preserve many types of perishable food products for a
longer duration, we use refrigerators in our homes, canteens, hotels, etc. The temperature
of the food products has to maintained at a level below that of surroundings. For this we keep
the food products in a refrigerator. The inside volume of the refrigerator where we store food
products or any other items is much less than the volume of the room where the refrigerator is
kept. The room in this case is the surrounding environment. Food products in the refrigerator
initially were at a higher temperature than desired temperature, meaning that it had some
unwanted heat. If its heat is removed, its temperature will decrease. The refrigerator removes
unwanted heat from the food products and throws away that heat to the room – the surrounding
environment of the refrigerator. The amount of heat makes a big difference in temperature
inside the refrigerator and almost little or no difference in the temperature of the room.

Figure: Spoilage of Food Products in a Refrigerator Slows Down. Temperature in the Refrigerated
Space is Lower than the Room where Refrigerator is Kept. Refrigerator Throws Away Heat from the
Food Products to the Room

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 3

As a second example let us consider travel in a car in an Indian summer of Ahmedabad

where the temperature is in the range of 40 to 45 ºC. Outside temperature is very high. It is
highly uncomfortable. For a comfortable drive, now-a-days we have air-conditioned cars. You
will come to know later, that refrigeration is an integral component of air-conditioning. To
have a comfortable drive in the car, the temperature inside the car has to be lowered from about
40 ºC to 25 ºC. This means that heat of the space inside of the car and its occupants has to be
thrown outside. This is done by the refrigeration unit fitted in the car. The volume of the car is
much less than that of the surroundings. With the rejected heat there is an appreciable change
in the temperature inside the car, but no change in the temperature of the surroundings.
In many places and situations, environment temperature is lower than the temperature of
the space that we desire. As an example, consider car driving in the Winter of Delhi or
Kanpur. Temperature outside is about 2-6 ºC. For a comfortable drive with light clothing,
temperature inside the car has to be about 25ºC. This means that heat has to be supplied or
pumped inside the car and thus its temperature has to be increased. The machinery that
performs this operation is known as heat pump. But in applications such as that of the
comfortable driving in a car that depending upon the season requires temperature to be lower
or higher than the surroundings, heat has to be pumped to the car or rejected from the car. Since
both the operations are performed by the same unit in the car, in a much broader sense we can
say that a refrigeration unit controls the temperature of a space. In the normal
refrigeration system, this is done by reversing the operation.

Figure: Journey in a Car is Comfortable if the Temperature Inside the Car is Maintained
at about 25 ºC. To do so, in a Summer, Heat from inside the Car has to be Rejected to the
Surroundings
In refrigeration, heat is pumped out from a lower temperature space to a higher
temperature environment. We know from our experience in daily life that water flows from
a higher level to a lower level and heat flows from a body at a higher temperature to a body at
a lower temperature. The reverse, i.e., flow of water from a lower level to a higher level and

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 4

flow of heat from a body at a lower temperature to a body at a higher temperature do not
occur naturally. In practice these are achieved at the cost of external work (power) done on
the water and the carrier of heat (here the refrigerant) with help of a mechanical device.
Whether the space under consideration has to be maintained at a temperature lower or higher
than the surrounding environment, to pump out or in the heat, external power is always
required.

• Air Conditioning
Merely lowering or raising the temperature does not provide comfort in general to the machines
or its components and living beings in particular. In case of the machine components, along
with temperature, humidity (moisture content in the air) also has to be controlled and for
the comfort of human beings along with these two important parameters, air motion and
cleanliness also play a vital role. Air conditioning, therefore, is a broader aspect which looks
into the simultaneous control all mechanical parameters which are essential for the comfort of
human beings or animals or for the proper performance of some industrial or scientific process.
The precise meaning of air conditioning can be given as the process of simultaneous
control of temperature, humidity, cleanliness and air motion. In some applications, even
the control of air pressure falls under the purview of air conditioning. It is to be noted that
refrigeration that is control of temperature is the most important aspect of air
conditioning.
To understand the above definition in a better way, let us consider one example. In the summer,
the temperature in Delhi is about 10 ºC higher than in Kolkata where temperature varies in the
range of 32 ºC to 35 ºC. We feel uncomfortable in both places. Weather in Delhi is hot and dry
(moisture content in the air is low) whereas in Kolkata it is (mild) hot but humid (moisture
content in the air is very high). If we go to a hill-station, say Shillong in the summer, we feel
comfortable there. Temperature there remains about 25 ºC and relative humidity of the air is
also in the comfortable range, say about 65%. In Delhi, temperature is very high and humidity
is low, whereas in Kolkota, temperature is low but humidity is high. In Delhi if there is a rain,
we feel more comfortable whereas in Kolkata even with rain, the relative comfort is less. In
Delhi temperature falls down and humidity also increases towards the comfortable value. In
Koklata, temperature falls down but humidity still remains on the higher side. Thus, for
comfort, both temperature and humidity have to be in the specified range. This is true
for both human beings and scientific processes. Apart from the above two, from intuition
one can also say that purity or cleanliness of the air is an essential item for the comfort and
it has been established that the air motion is also required for the comfort condition.
Depending upon the requirement, air conditioning is divided into the summer air conditioning
and the winter air conditioning. In the summer air conditioning, apart from cooling the space,
in most of the cases, extra moisture from the space is removed, whereas in the winter air
conditioning, space is heated and since in the cold places, normally the humidity remains low,
moisture is added to the space to be conditioned. The summer air conditioning thus uses a
refrigeration system and a dehumidifier. The winter air conditioning uses a heat pump
(refrigeration system operated in the reverse direction) and a humidifier. Depending upon
the comfort of the human beings and the control of environment for the industrial products and
processes, air conditioning can also be classified as comfort air conditioning and industrial
air conditioning. Comfort air conditioning deals with the air conditioning of residential

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 5

buildings, offices spaces, cars, buses, trains, airplanes, etc. Industrial air conditioning includes
air conditioning of the printing plants, textile plants, photographic products, computer rooms,
etc. It has been mentioned above that the refrigeration and air conditioning are related.
Even when a space has to be heated, it can be done so by changing the direction of flow of the
refrigerant in the refrigeration system, i.e., the refrigeration system can be used as a heat pump.
However, some section of the people, treat refrigeration exclusively the process that deals with
the cooling of the space. They treat heating operation associated with the heat pump.

• Applications
➢ Comfort air conditioning of auditoriums, hospitals, residents, offices, hotels etc.
➢ Manufacturing and preservation of medicine.
➢ Storage and transportation of food stuffs such as dairy products, fruits, vegetables,
meat, fish etc.
➢ Processing of textiles, printing work and photographic materials.
➢ Manufacturing of ice.
➢ Spot heating
➢ Spot cooling
➢ Environmental laboratories
➢ Cooling of concrete for dam.
➢ Treatment of air for blast furnace.
➢ Processing of petroleum and other chemical products.
➢ Production of Rocket fuel.
➢ Computer functioning.
• Evaporation/ Evaporative Cooling
Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into
the gas phase.
Principle: Evaporation causes cooling because the process requires heat energy. The
energy is taken away by the molecules when they convert from liquid into gas, and this
causes cooling on the original surface.
When a liquid evaporates, its molecules convert from the liquid phase to the vapor phase and
escape from the surface. Heat drives this process. In order for the molecule to leave the liquid
surface and escape as a vapor, it must take heat energy with it. The heat that it takes with it
comes from the surface from which it evaporated. Since the molecule is taking heat with it as
it’s leaving, this has a cooling effect on the surface left behind. Evaporation causes cooling
naturally.
Evaporation and Human Perspiration:
An example of evaporated cooling is that of human perspiration. We have pores in our skin
from which liquid water internal to our skin is escaping and converting to water vapor in the

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 6

air. As this happens, it cools down our skin surface. This happens almost constantly to one
degree or another. When we are exposed to an environment that is hotter than what is
comfortable for us, the degree of perspiration or evaporation increases. And it follows that the
cooling effect increases. The more water molecules that are escaping from the liquid phase
from our skin surface and from our pores, the more cooling effect there is. Again, this is because
the liquid molecules, as they escape and become vapor, require heat and they take it with them.
Wind increases the effect of evaporative cooling, and this is a familiar concept. Anyone who's
ever been swimming and has come out of the water into a calm environment, versus one that's
windy, can attest to it feeling colder in the wind. The wind increases the evaporation rate of the
liquid water from our skin surface and accelerates the amount that's being converted to vapor.
This concept of evaporative cooling can be used in refrigeration system to produce low
temperatures.

• Refrigerator and Heat Pump

A refrigerator is an equipment used to remove the heat continuously from the space and
maintain the temperature below atmospheric temperature and reject the heat to the atmosphere
with the help of some external work input.
A heat pump is an equipment used to supply the heat continuously to the space and maintain
the temperature above atmospheric temperature by absorbing the heat from the atmosphere
with the help of some external work input.
Difference between Refrigerator and Heat pumps
1) Transfer of heat:
The main purpose of the refrigerator is to chill or cool or freeze the substance, by maintaining
very low temperature in the freezer. It absorbs the heat from the freezer or evaporator and
throws it to the atmosphere which is at high temperature.
The main purpose of the heat pump is to heat the room during winter seasons or when the
atmospheric temperature is very low. It absorbs the heat from the atmosphere which is at low
temperature and throws it to the room which is at high temperature and which is to be heated.
2) Location of the evaporator:
In the refrigerator the evaporator is located in the freezer section. The evaporator absorbs the
heat from the substance, which is to be cooled.
In the heat pump the evaporator is located outside the room which is to be heated. The
evaporator absorbs the heat, which is later thrown inside the room for heating it.
3) Location of the condenser:
In the refrigerator the condenser is located outside the refrigerator and it is exposed to the
atmosphere. It is through the condenser that the heat is thrown to the atmosphere.
In the heat pump the condenser is located inside the room and it acts as the heating devise.
4) Working of evaporator and condenser:
In the refrigerator the evaporator performs the main function of chilling or freezing, while the
condenser performs the function of delivering the heat to the atmosphere.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 7

In the heat pump, it is the condenser that performs the main function of heating the room, while
the evaporator performs the function of absorbing the heat from the atmosphere.

Comparison of Heat Pump with Electric Room Heater

The main purpose of the heat pump is to heat the room when the atmospheric temperature is
very low. The same purpose can also be served by the ordinary electric room heater. However,
for heating the same size of the room and adding same quantity of heat to the room, the power
consumed by the electric room heater is more than that consumed by the heat pump.
On the other hand, the heat pump is much more expensive than the electric room heater. Thus,
if you have to use the heater for longer hours of duration, the heat pump is more economical in
the long-run, but if you have to use the heater less frequently, you can opt for the electric room
heater since its initial cost is low.

• Refrigerating effect
The rate of heat absorbed from a body to be cooled is called refrigerating effect. Or It is the
amount of heat energy removed per unit time from the space to be cooled by the refrigeration
process. It indicates refrigerator capacity. Unit: kJ/s or kW

• Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a working substance used in refrigerating machines. It is a working medium
through which heat is transferred from a cold body to a hot body. The refrigerants commonly
used are: Air, Water, Ammonia (NH3), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) Freon
group, Methyl chloride (CH3CI), Methylene chloride (CH2CI2), Ethyl chloride (C2H5CI), R12
(CCl2F2), R22 (CHClF2), Chlorinated fluorocarbons (CFCs) etc.
Desirable Properties of Refrigerant
o Low Boiling Point
o Low Freezing Point.
o Low specific volume

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 8

o High Latent Heat of evaporation.

o Chemically Inert & stable.
o Low saturation pressure
o Cheaper and easily available
o High critical pressure
o High COP
o Non-Flammable
o Non toxic
o Should not react with lubrication oil of comp.
o Should not be corrosive
o Good thermal conductivity for rapid heat transfer

• Commonly used refrigerants

1. R11(Trichloro-monofluro methane) or Freon-11:
Properties: non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive.
Uses: It is used in small office building and factories for refrigeration.

2. R12 (Dichloro-difluro methane) or Freon-12:

Properties: non-toxic, non-flammable, non-explosive, High COP.
Uses: It is used in domestic refrigerator.

3. R22 (Monochloro-difloro methane) or Freon-22:

Properties: non-toxic, non-flammable, non-explosive, required less compressor
displacement.
Uses: It is used in air conditioning.

4. NH3 (Ammonia)
Properties: Highly-toxic, flammable, good thermal properties, highest refrigerating
effect per kg of refrigerant.
Uses: It is widely used in large industrial and commercial application. Mostly used
with vapour absorption cycle like ice plants, cold storage etc.

5. CO2 (Carbon dioxide)

Properties: Colourless, non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive, low refrigerating
effect per kg of refrigerant.
Uses: It is used in marine refrigeration system.

6. Air
Properties: Colourless, non-toxic, easily available without cost, low COP.
Uses: It is used in aircraft air-conditioning system.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 9

• Coefficient of Performance (COP)

The performance of heat engines is measured by thermal efficiency but performance of
refrigerating systems is measured by coefficient of performance (COP).
The coefficient of performance (COP) is defined as ratio of desired effect to work input.
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡
𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
In case of refrigerator, the desired effect is cooling effect and for that QL amount of heat is
transferred from the space to be cooled. In case of heat pump, the desired effect is heating effect
and for that QH amount of heat is supplied to the space to be heated.
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑄𝐿
𝐶𝑂𝑃 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑊𝑖𝑛
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑄𝐻
𝐶𝑂𝑃 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 =
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑊𝑖𝑛
𝑊𝑖𝑛 + 𝑄𝐿 = 𝑄𝐻
Dividing with Win
𝑊𝑖𝑛 𝑄𝐿 𝑄𝐻
+ =
𝑊𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑖𝑛
𝑪𝑶𝑷𝑯𝑷 = 𝟏 + 𝑪𝑶𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒇 for fixed values of 𝑄𝐿 & 𝑄𝐻

• Unit of Refrigeration
A ton of refrigeration (TR or TOR), also called a refrigeration ton (RT), is a unit used to
describe the heat-extraction capacity of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
It is defined as the rate of heat transfer that results in the freezing of 1 short ton (2,000 lb; 907
kg) of pure ice at 0 °C in 24 hours.
A refrigeration ton is approximately equivalent to 3.5 kW. Air-conditioning and refrigeration
equipment capacity is often specified in "tons" (of refrigeration).
The latent heat of ice is 334.9 kJ/kg.
Mass of ice x Latent heat of ice 𝑘𝐽
1 𝑇𝑅 =
24 × 3600 𝑠
907.18 x 334.9 𝑘𝐽
1 𝑇𝑅 =
24 × 3600 𝑠
𝟏 𝑻𝑹 = 𝟑. 𝟓𝟏𝟔 𝒌𝑾
𝒌𝑱
𝟏 𝑻𝑹 = 𝟐𝟏𝟏
𝒎𝒊𝒏

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 10

• Vapour Compression Refrigeration (VCR) System

The Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle is nearly 200 years old and the cycle is still
applicable in the industrial sphere.
Basically, vapor-compression refrigeration employs a heat engine run backwards, so heat
energy is taken from a cold reservoir and deposited into a hot reservoir. By the Second Law
of Thermodynamics, heat energy does not spontaneously transfer from a cold to a hot reservoir.
In order to have heat transfer in that direction (and not from hot to cold, as the system is
naturally inclined to do), it is necessary to do work on the system.
The vapor-compression uses a circulating liquid refrigerant as the medium (Such as R134a,
ammonia) which absorbs and removes heat from the space to be cooled and subsequently
rejects that heat elsewhere.

The Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle involves four components: compressor,

condenser, expansion valve/throttle valve and evaporator.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 11

Step 1: Compression (Isentropic)

The refrigerant enters the compressor at low temperature and low pressure. It is in a gaseous
state. Here, compression takes place to raise the temperature and refrigerant pressure. The
refrigerant leaves the compressor and enters to the condenser. Since this process requires work,
an electric motor may be used. Compressors themselves can be scroll, screw, centrifugal or
reciprocating types. Compressor is generally painted black and at the bottom side of domestic
refrigerator.
Compression work (Wc) = h2- h1 (kJ/kg)
Step 2: Condensation (Isobaric)
The condenser is essentially a non-contact type heat exchanger. The superheated refrigeration
vapour is converted in to saturated liquid refrigeration by rejecting heat in to atmosphere. It
may be air-cooled or water cooled depending upon the capacity of refrigeration. In domestic
refrigerator, condenser is on back side of refrigeration. It is having small diameter of tubes.
Heat rejection in condenser (Qc) = h2- h3 (kJ/kg)
Step 3: Throttling and Expansion (Isenthalpic)
When the refrigerant enters the throttling valve, it expands and releases pressure. Consequently,
the temperature drops at this stage. Because of these changes, the refrigerant leaves the throttle
valve as a liquid vapor mixture.
Throttling valves play two crucial roles in the vapor compression cycle. First, they maintain a
pressure differential between low- and high-pressure sides. Second, they control the amount of
liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator.
An expansion valve or capillary tube (a tube having very small diameter and long length) can
be used as a throttling device.
During this process, the enthalpy of refrigerant remains constant.
h3 = h4
Step 4: Evaporation (Isobaric)
At this stage of the Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle, the refrigerant is at a lower
temperature than its surroundings. Therefore, it absorbs the heat from the space to be cooled
and gets evaporated. Heat extraction from the refrigerant happens at low pressure and
temperature. An evaporator is also known as cooling coil.
Refrigerating (Cooling) Effect = h1 – h4 (kJ/kg)
Suction line conveys the low pressure vapor from the evaporator to the suction inlet of the
compressor. Discharge line delivers high pressure, high temperature vapor from the discharge
valve of the compressor to the condenser. Receiver tank stores the liquid refrigerant coming
from condenser and supplies it to the evaporator as per requirement. The liquid line carries the
liquid refrigerant from receiver tank to the expansion valve.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 12

In this case, wet vapour (fairly dry vapour refrigerant) leaves the evaporator and enters
compressor at point 1. The vapour is compressed isentropically to point 2. During compression,
the pressure and temperature increases. The temperature at point 2 should be greater than the
temperature of the condenser cooling medium (air/water). The vapour leaves the compressor
dry saturated and enters the condenser at point 2.
The vapour is condensed in the condenser and the latent heat of condensation is removed by
the air/cooling water.
The high-pressure saturated liquid (i.e., liquid at saturation temperature corresponding to upper
pressure) leaves the condenser and enters the throttle (expansion) valve at point 3. The
expansion of the high-pressure saturated liquid through the narrow opening of the expansion
or throttle valve from point 3 to 4, lowers the pressure and temperature of the working fluid

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 13

and at the same time causes it to partly evaporate. Hence, fluid will come out from the
expansion valve as a very wet vapour and at a very low temperature.
At point 4, the very wet vapour refrigerant enters the evaporator pipes, and as its (wet vapour
refrigerant) temperature is below that of the space to be cooled, it absorbs (takes) its latent heat
of evaporation from the space to be cooled and further evaporates (the liquid part of the very
wet vapor is changed into vapour), producing the refrigerating effect. The refrigerant will thus,
leave the evaporator as a fairly dry vapour and will enter the compressor at point 1. This
completes the cycle.
Processes:
1-2: Isentropic compression in compressor.
2-3: Constant pressure heat rejection in the condenser.
3-4: Throttling in an expansion valve. (Isenthalpic)
4-1: Constant pressure heat addition in the evaporator.
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡
𝐶𝑂𝑃 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 (𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘) 𝑊𝑖𝑛
𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉𝟒
𝑪𝑶𝑷 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 =
𝒉𝟐 − 𝒉𝟏

Factors affecting design of refrigeration system:

➢ Refrigerant
➢ Required cooling
➢ Load
➢ Ease of maintenance
➢ Physical space requirements
➢ Availability of utilities (water, power)
Advantages of VCR System:
➢ It has smaller size for the given capacity of refrigeration.
➢ It has less running cost.
➢ It can be employed over a large range of temperatures.
➢ The coefficient of performance is high.
Disadvantages of VCR System:
➢ The initial cost is high.
➢ The prevention of leakages of the refrigerant is the major problem in this system.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 14

• Vapour Absorption Refrigeration (VAR) System

The major drawback of the vapour compression refrigeration system is that it requires a
compressor to compress large volume of vapour which in turn requires large power for its
operation. If some means are adopted to reduce this volume of vapour before it is compressed,
there would be a reduction in both the bulk of the system and power required to operate it.
Some liquids have the ability of absorbing large quantities of certain vapours, thus greatly
reducing the total volume. A system that operates on this principle is called a vapour absorption
system.

Cold water in particular has the ability to absorb very large quantities of ammonia vapour. The
solution formed in termed as aqua-ammonia. In this case a pump is used to increase the pressure
of the solution to that desired in the condenser.
In order to separate ammonia vapour from the solution, aqua-ammonia solution is heated in a
heater or a generator. As the boiling temperature of ammonia is much lower than that of water,
major part of the ammonia vapour is driven out of the solution by heating. The vapour then
passes through the condenser, expansion (throttle) valve and evaporator as in case of vapour
compression system.
It will be seen from the diagram that an absorber, a pump and a generator (heater) replace the
compressor of a vapour compression system described earlier. Otherwise the two systems are
same, i.e., both systems are provided with a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator.
At low pressure, fairly dry vapour leaving the evaporator passes to the absorber where it is
dissolved in the weak ammonia solution contained in the absorber. The absorber is cooled by
circulating cold water through water pipes. The strong warm ammonia solution thus formed in
the absorber is then pumped to the generator and circulated through the system by the liquid

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 15

pump. The pump increases the pressure of the solution to that desired in the condenser (about
10 bar).
In the generator (heater), the strong solution of ammonia is heated by the steam or heating coils
and the ammonia vapour is driven out of the solution and a satisfactory condenser pressure is
produced.
The ammonia vapour driven out of the solution then passes to the condenser, where it is
condensed to high pressure liquid ammonia.
The high-pressure liquid ammonia is then allowed to pass through the narrow opening of the
expansion valve or throttle valve. This process converts the high-pressure liquid into a very
wet vapour at low pressure (3 bar) and the temperature is -10°C.
The cold and very wet ammonia vapour is then passed into evaporating coils in the evaporator,
where it extracts the heat from the space or substance to be cooled. The ammonia vapour
coming out from the evaporator is now almost dry and enters the absorber and is allowed to
mix with the cold water contained in the absorber. This completes the cycle.
The hot weak ammonia solution left at the bottom of the generator is first throttled to low
pressure level (by passing it through a pressure reducing valve) and then passed into the
absorber.
In this system, we have used ammonia (NH3) as refrigerant and water (H2O) as absorbent.
Similarly, there is another type of system, in which Water (H2O) is used as refrigerant and
Lithium-Bromide (LiBr) as absorbent.
Advantages of VAR System:
➢ Saving in operation cost by using low-pressure low-cost steam [waste steam from other
processes]
➢ Elimination of heavy electrical loads.
➢ Simplicity in operation.
➢ Possible to install at outdoor conditions.
➢ Less maintenance because of fewer moving parts.
Disadvantages of VAR System:
➢ COP is very low, so it is used at places where waste heat is available.

• Comparison between VCR and VAR System

VCR VAR
Work operated Heat operated
This system has more wear and tear and Only moving part in this system is an aqua
produces more noise due to the moving parts pump. Hence the quieter in operation and
of the compressor. less wear and tear.
Electric power is needed to drive the system. Waste, Low grade heat/Solar power can be
used. No need of electric power.
COP is more. COP is less.
At partial loads performance is poor. At partial loads performance is not affected.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 16

Mechanical energy is supplied through a Heat energy is utilized.

compressor.
Charging of the refrigerating to the system is Charging of refrigerant is difficult.
easy.
Energy supplied is ¼ to ½ of the refrigerating Energy supplied is about one and half times
effect (less). the refrigerating effect (more).
Preventive measure is needed, since liquid Liquid refrigerant has no bad effect on the
refrigerant accumulated in the cylinder may system.
damage the cylinder.
Small systems are compact and large systems Small systems are bulky and large systems
are bulky. are compact.
Performance (COP and capacity) very Performance not very sensitive to evaporator
sensitive to evaporator temperatures. temperatures.
Regular maintenance is required. Very low maintenance is required.

• Air Refrigeration System

Refrigerators using air as the working medium (working substance) operate on either reversed
Carnot cycle, or reversed Joule cycle, more commonly known as Bell-Coleman cycle. Air as a
refrigerant has two outstanding advantages: it is available free of cost, and leakage will not
cause any trouble. Thermodynamically, air is a poor refrigerant and was abandoned (given up)

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 17

with the development of vapour refrigerants with superior thermodynamic properties.

However, air refrigeration is now increasingly used for cooling of aircrafts and cargo ships.
In this system, air is taken into the compressor from atmosphere and compressed in an
isentropic manner. Due to compression, pressure and temperature of air increases whereas
volume decreases. The hot compressed air is cooled in a cooler (heat exchanger) up to the
atmospheric temperature (in ideal conditions) at constant pressure. The cooled air is then
expanded in an expander. The temperature of the air coming out from the expander is below
the atmospheric temperature due to isentropic expansion. The low temperature air coming out
from the expander enters into the evaporator (of refrigerated system) and absorbs the heat. This
increases the temperature of air from T4 to T1. In order to reduce the work supplied & to
increase the efficiency of the system work produced by compressor is used to drive the
expander. The cycle is repeated again.
Advantages:
➢ Air is a cheaper refrigerant and available easily compared to other refrigerants.
➢ There is no danger of fire or toxic effects due to leakage.
➢ The total weight of the system per ton of refrigerating capacity is less.
Disadvantages:
➢ The quantity of air required per ton refrigerating capacity is far greater than other
systems.
➢ The COP is low and hence maintenance cost is high.
➢ The danger of frosting at the expander valves is more as the air taken into the system
always contains moisture.

• Air Conditioning System

Air conditioning may be defined as the simultaneous control of temperature, humidity
(moisture content), motion of air, (movement and circulation), and purity (filtering and
purification) of air within an enclosed space for the purpose of:
➢ Producing comfortable and healthy conditions for the occupants (persons) in
residences, theatres, office buildings, hospitals, railway coaches, etc.
➢ Increasing efficiency of the employees working in factories, offices and stores.
Conditioned air has a comfort effect, a health effect, and a psychological or emotional
effect on human beings, and
➢ Making possible more complete environmental condition for manufacturing processes
in industries - such industries include printing, textile manufacturing, chemical,
pharmaceutical, etc.

• Window Air Conditioning System

These types of AC are designed to be fitted in window sills. A single unit of Window Air
Conditioner houses all the necessary components, namely the compressor, condenser,
expansion valve or coil, evaporator and cooling coil enclosed in a single box. Since a window
AC is a single unit, it takes less effort to install as well as for maintenance. This is the most
commonly used air conditioner for single rooms.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 18

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 19

It is the simplest form of an air conditioning system and is mounted on windows or walls. It is
a single unit that is assembled in a casing where all the components are located.
This refrigeration unit has a double shaft fan motor with fans mounted on both sides of the
motor. One at the evaporator side and the other at the condenser side.
The evaporator side is located facing the room for cooling of the space and the condenser side
outdoor for heat rejection. There is an insulated partition separating this two sides within the
same casing.
Front Panel
The front panel is the one that is seen by the user from inside the room where it is installed and
has a user interfaced control be it electronically or mechanically. Older unit usually are of
mechanical control type with rotary knobs to control the temperature and fan speed of the air
conditioner.
The newer units come with electronic control system where the functions are controlled using
remote control and touch panel with digital display.
The front panel has adjustable horizontal and vertical (some models) louvers where the
direction of air flow is adjustable to suit the comfort of the users.
The fresh intake of air called VENT (ventilation) is provided at the panel in the event that user
would like to have a certain amount of fresh air from the outside.
Various Components and its functions
Cooling Coil with an air filter mounted on it. The cooling coil is where the heat exchange
happens between the refrigerant in the system and the air in the room.
Fan Blower is a centrifugal evaporator blower to discharge the cool air to the room.
Capillary Tube is used as an expansion device. It can be noisy during operation if installed too
near the evaporator.
Operation Panel is used to control the temperature and speed of the blower fan. A thermostat
is used to sense the return air temperature and another one to monitor the temperature of the
coil. Type of control can be mechanical or electronic type.
Filter Drier is used to remove the moisture from the refrigerant.
Drain Pan is used to contain the water that condensate from the cooling coil and is discharged
out to the outdoor by gravity.
Compressor is used to compress the refrigerant.
Condenser Coil is used to reject heat from the refrigeration to the outside air.
Propeller Fan is used in air-cooled condenser to help move the air molecules over the surface
of the condensing coil.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 20

Operations
During operation, a thermostat is mounted on the return air of the unit. This temperature is used
to control the on or off of the compressor. Once the room temperature has been achieved, the
compressor cuts off.
The evaporator blower fan will suck the air from the room to be conditioned through the air
filter and the cooling coil. Air that has been conditioned is then discharge to deliver the cool
and dehumidified air back to the room. This air mixes with the room air to bring down the
temperature and humidity level of the room.
The introduction of fresh air from outside the room is done through the damper which is then
mixed with the return air from the room before passing it over the air filter and the cooling coil.
The air filter which is mounted in front of the evaporator acts as a filter to keep the cooling coil
clean to obtain good heat-transfer from the coil. Hence, regular washing and cleaning of the air
filter is a good practice to ensure efficient operation of the air conditioner.
The window air conditioner works on Vapour Compression Refrigeration cycle as discussed
earlier.
It is available in size up to 2 tons capacity.
Disadvantages of Window Air Conditioner:
➢ It produces noise in the room because of compressor is very near to the room.
➢ The evaporator and condenser are enclosed in single unit. Therefore, evaporator
cannot be used as an interior of room because condenser requires outside air for
cooling.
➢ It requires appropriate size of window or hole in wall in order to fit conditioner.

• Split Air Conditioning System

The split air conditioner can be considered as bifurcation of window air conditioner into two
units i.e., the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.
The indoor unit consists of evaporator coil (cooling coil) with blower driven by an electric
motor and capillary tube. The cooling coil is mounted in a cabinet and is fixed inside the room.
Hence, it is named as indoor unit. The cooling coil may be wall mounted at certain convenient
height or a floor mounted with suitable base frame or ceiling mounted.
The outdoor unit consists of compressor and condenser with separate fan driven by an electric
motor. They are kept inside the casing and mounted outside the room. The indoor and outdoor
units are connected by small diameter tubes. Therefore, a small hole is required in wall for
installation of split air conditioner. This modification in window air conditioner will eliminate
all the disadvantages of window air conditioner. The split air conditioning units are available
in capacity range 1 to 3 tons. The distance between indoor and outdoor unit should not be more
than 10 to 12 m. Also, elevation difference between indoor and outdoor unit should not be more
than 5 m. Working of split air conditioner is similar to that of window air conditioner as both
work on vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) cycle.

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 21

Advantages of Split Air Conditioner:

➢ The compressor is outside of the room, therefore no compressor noise in the in the
room.
➢ No window opening and fixing needed.
➢ The first part can be located in the room with decorative display. The first unit can be
mounted on floor, ceiling and wall or behind a decorative structure.

• Numerical Problem
• Find the capacity of vapor compression refrigeration system to be used for the bulk milk
cooler from the following data:
Capacity of the bulk cooler: 1000 liters
Initial temperature of supply milk: 37 ºC
Temperature to which milk is to be cooled: 2 ºC
Time for cooling: 3.5 hour
Specific gravity of milk = 1.032
Specific heat of milk = 3.89 kJ/kg ºC
Ans:
1 TR=3.516 kW = 211 kJ/min =12600 kJ/hour
Total heat to be removed from the milk Q = m Cp ΔT
Q = (1000 ×1.032) × 3.89 × (37 - 2)
Q = 140506.8 k J
Heat removed / hour = 140506.8 / 3.5
Heat removed / hour = 40144.8 kJ/h
Hence, Capacity of refrigeration system required = 40144.8 / 12600
Capacity of refrigeration system required = 3.186 TR

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 22

• A simple vapour compression refrigeration plant produces 5 tonnes of refrigeration, the

enthalpy values at inlet to the compressor, at the exit of compressor and at the exit from
condenser are 183.19, 209.41 and 74.59 kJ/kg respectively.
Estimate: (i) the refrigerant flow rate, (ii) the COP, (iii) the power required to drive the
compressor, (iv)the rate of heat rejection to the condenser.

Ans.
Data given:
h1 = 183.19kJ/kg,
h2 = 209.41kJ/kg,
h3 = 74.59 kJ/kg =h4
m=?,
COP=?,
Power=?,
Rate of heat rejection=?
The system produces 5 tonnes of refrigeration
= 5×3.516
= 17.58kJ/s
[1tonnes of refrigeration = 3.516kJ/s or 210kJ/min]
So, Refrigeration Effect = h1 – h4
=183.19 - 74.59
=108.6kJ/kg
Refrigerant flow rate,
m = 17.58/108.6
m = 0.1618kg/s

Refrigerating Effect h1 − h4 183.19 − 74.59

COP of Refrigerator = = = = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟒𝟐
Work done h2 − h1 209.41 − 183.19

Power = m (h2 – h1)

= 0.1618 (209.41-183.19)
= 4.242 kW
Rate of heat rejection = m (h2-h3)
= 0.1618 (209.41-74.59)
= 21.813 kJ/s
• A refrigerating machine using F12 as working fluid works between the temperatures 18
°C and 37 °C. The enthalpy of liquid at 37°C is 455 kJ/kg. The enthalpies of F12
entering & leaving the compressor are 563.15 and 595.4 kJ/kg respectively. The rate of
circulation of refrigerant is 2 kg/min & efficiency of compressor is 0.85.
Estimate: the capacity of the plant in tonnes of refrigeration and the power required to
run the plant.
Ans.
Data given:
h1 = 563.15 kJ/kg,
h2 =595.4 kJ/kg,
h3 = 455 kJ/kg = h4,

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod

 23

m = 2 kg/min,
ηc = 0.85
Capacity of plant in tonnes of refrigeration = ?,
Power = ?,
m (h1 − h4 ) 2 (563.15 − 455)
Capacity of plant in tonnes of refrigeration = = = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟑 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔
3.5 60 × 3.5

m (h2 − h1 ) 2 (595.4 − 563.15)

Power = = = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟔𝟓 𝒌𝑾
ɳ𝑐 60 × 0.85

• A F12 vapour compression refrigeration system has a condensing temperature of 50 °C

and evaporating temperature of 0 °C. the refrigeration capacity is 7 tons. The liquid
leaving the condenser is saturated liquid & compression is isentropic.
Determine: (i) The refrigerant flow rate,
(ii) The power required to run the compressor,
(iii) The heat rejected in the plant,
(iv) COP of the system
Temp (ºC) Pressure (Bar) hf (kJ/kg) hg (kJ/kg) sf (kJ/kgK) sg (kJ/kgK)
50 12.199 84.868 206.29 0.3034 0.6792
0 3.086 36.022 187.39 0.1418 0.6960
Take enthalpy at the end of isentropic compression = 210 kJ/kg
Ans.
h1 = 187.397kJ/kg,
h2 = 210kJ/kg,
h3 = 84.868 kJ/kg=h4,
m=?,
Power=?,
Heat rejected=?,
COP=?
7 × 3.5 7 × 3.5
The refrigerant flow rate = = = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟒 𝒌𝒈/𝒔
(h1 − h4 ) 1867.397 − 84.88
Power = m (h2 – h1)
= 0.24 (210-187.39)
= 5.4 kW
Heat rejected = m (h2-h3)
= 0.24 (210-84.868)
= 29.9 kW

Refrigerating Effect h1 − h4 187.39 − 84.868

COP of Refrigerator = = = = 𝟒. 𝟓𝟒
Work done h2 − h1 210 − 187.39

Prepared By: Jignesh Rathod