FALCULTY OF ENGINEERING AND BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 2B

Practical Title: Refrigeration Cycle

Name: Masibulele

Surname: Rixana

Student number:222085509

Lecturer: Ms W Heuvel

Course Code: CEL260S

Marking Criteria
Mark Allocation Student Mark

Structure 5

Abstract 5

Introduction 5

Experimental Procedure 5

Results 45

Discussion 25

Conclusion 5

Appendix 5

Total 100

Declaration

I Masibulele, certify that I worked alone to accomplish this submission on my own,

without assistance, and that I used the resources that were allotted as well as my own
research to finish the workings.
Abstract
To research the refrigeration cycle's impact and the underlying ideas that control it. The
temperature system Amatrol T7082 was employed. The concepts looked into the
thermodynamic analysis of the refrigeration cycle, including the compressor's work and the
evaporator's and condenser's heat duty. It is discovered that the condenser rejects more heat
than the evaporator absorbs, which is consistent with theory. Since the compressor applies
the overdesign factor, the applied work, while significant, is less than that of the condenser
and evaporator 0,130 is determined to be the C.O.P.
Introduction
According to (Evans, 1805) for centuries refrigeration technology like the use of stored ice,
water vaporization, and other evaporative techniques has been in use. Starting from the 1600s
until the mid-1700s, many researchers from different parts of the world worked on phase-
change physics; their initial findings became the basis for "artificial" (man-made) refrigeration.
An ancient technology that dates back a long way is refrigeration. The technique of removing
heat from a material or an enclosed space to keep it at temperatures that are lower than the
surrounding air is commonly referred to as refrigeration. (Emani & Roy, 2017)Perishable food
items and chemicals are the primary uses of refrigeration, which is widely employed in both
industrial and residential settings. Additionally, it can be used as a heat pump to provide heat
to areas with low temperatures. (Mohad Yusop, 2016)The unit's compressor, evaporator,
expansion valve, and condenser are the refrigerator's four primary parts. Each part cooperates
to carry out several tasks. The procedure incorporates a cooling water flow and a refrigerant
cycle. (Shinigdho, 2014) The AMATROL T7082 Thermal Systems Trainer is the refrigeration
unit utilized in the experiment. The purpose of the device is to help the user comprehend how
the refrigeration process operates. All The AMATROL T7082 Thermal Systems Trainer
instrumentation and components of the are mounted on a strong benchtop platform. The
objective of this experiment is to assess and evaluate a refrigeration system's performance in
a range of operating scenarios. Examine a refrigeration system's coefficient of performance
(COP) for various cooling loads and outside temperatures, for instance.
Experimental procedure
1.The first thing we did was to check the power switch and make sure it was off. After that, we
looked for the mode switch and it was given attention to see if STAND-BY was selected.

2.The adjusting of the dual pressure controller was carried out by following the subsequent
actions: the low-pressure cut-out scale was examined, and it was learned that it was fixed at
5 psi. If it was necessary, the adjustment screw was turned using a regular screwdriver. The
cut-in scale was checked to see if it was at 45 psi, and if necessary. The tone can be improved
a little bit.

3.Reset the refrigerant valves to the following positions (if necessary): V1: Open V4: Open V2:
Closed V5: Closed V3: Closed V6: Closed. The cord was located and plugged into a standard
household outlet. The notch 6 (of 8) the damper on the evaporator was closed to ¾.

4. Next the power switch was placed in the ON position. The LCD of the electronic temperature
controller showed the room (ambient) temperature, and this was recorded as our hot reservoir
temperature. Steps were taken to make sure that the electronic temperature controller was
set up on point.

5.The controller pressed the SET button This was done by pressing the up and down arrows
to select °F on the LCD. The SET button was pressed once more to fix the temperature. A set
point of 55°F was then selected with the arrow keys. However, when it hit this temperature,
the compressor kicked off.

6.The controller was set to a lower point (compared to room temperature) as this is necessary
for the machine to operate continuously. Press the SET button again and switch to temperature
difference mode. 10° F was changed with a pair of arrow keys from its original value.

7.This correction told the controller to turn on the compressor 10°F higher than what was set
i.e., 65°F (heating is only available in Active Temperature 2 stage). Enclosure TEST button
pushed once more, and unit transitioned from HEAT mode back to normal COOL mode.
8.Cooling mode was entered using the LCD arrow keys selecting"C1." The room temperature
could finally be displayed on the LCD by pressing SET, once an again. The flow meter was
found, and we made sure that the knob fully open by turning it counterclockwise. The mode
switchfulfillment was used to select the COOLING mode. The compressor clicked on, and the
blower fans started.

9.The trainer was initially allowed to run until steady-state conditions had been reached and
no bubbles were present in the flow meter. This took five to twenty minutes. The ball height
noted the flow in the flow meter It was measured from the centre of the ball as well on a scale
so to be made an appropriate record.

10. The air temperature exiting the evaporator (evaporator output temperature) was noted
before turning off the trainer. This temperature was displayed on the Electronic Temperature
control panel and represented the temperature of the cold reservoir.

11.The power switch was then turned to the OFF position after setting the mode switch to
STAND-BY to turn off the trainer.

Figure 1:Amatrol T7082 Thermal System Trainer

List of Apparatus

• Condenser
• Evaporator
• Expansion Valve
• Compressor
• Refrigerant R134a
Figure 2:The flowmeter taken at steady state with no bubbles
Results
Table 1:The temperature,pressure and enthalpy at various points.

TS-1 1̊C TS-3 32̊C

PS-1 2,5 bar PS-3 7,6 bar
H1 410kj/kg H3 250kj/kg

TS-2 35̊C TS-4 1̊C

PS-2 7,6 bars PS-4 2,5bar
H2 434kj/kg H4 245kj/kg

The recordings in table 1, show the temperatures and pressure as recorded by the
thermometer in the thermal system. The enthalpies were found using P-h diagram for
Refrigerant R-134a in the appendix.

• For the refrigerant to evaporate after passing through the valve.

Since the refrigerant is in a saturated liquid condition, the liquid at 1°C was determined
using graph R-134a in the appendix and to be 245kJ/kg (H4).
• Saturated vapour refrigerant flows from the evaporator to the compressor; its enthalpy
at 1°C, approximately 410 kJ/kg, using the P-h diagram R134a (H1).
• At 35°C and 7,6 bars, the refrigerant flowing to the condenser is a superheated vapor.
The P-h diagram in Appendix is used to find the enthalpy at 0.861MPa.
• The supercooled refrigerant is supercooled at constant enthalpy, 245 kJ/kg(H4) until it
is superheated.

Table 2:Properties of the Refrigerant calculated.

Power of Heat of the Heat duty of Theoretical Actual power

the evaporator(𝑘𝑤) condenser(𝑘𝑤) Power performance
compressor performance
0,0621 0,0612 0,4692 6,88 0,985

• Measure the height of the ball at its center against the scale to determine the height in
millimeters (mm); the height is 21,4mm. Using Table 3, the volumetric flow rate may be
determined. The measured value is interpolated to be 0,324𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ.
This is converted to 2,548× 10−3 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
• By multiplying the volumetric flow rate by the density at 32°C, one can determine the
mass flow rate. According to (Cengel & Boles, 2011), the density is 1163.467 kg/m3.
The mass flow rate is therefore 2,9645kg/s
Discussion
The findings indicate that the evaporator's heat duty is 71,148 kJ/hr, which is in line with
expectations given that the evaporator will draw heat from the surroundings to provide the
cooling effect. The saturated liquid in the throttle valve is evaporated by the heat. In
comparison to the energy required in the evaporation stage, the compressor's additional work
68,243kj/hr is relatively insignificant. Its purpose is to heat the saturated vapour to the
superheated temperature of 35°C. The labor done in this stage is only sufficient to fulfill the
necessary task since the overdesign guarantees that the refrigerant is entirely evaporated
when it enters the condenser.

The refrigerant is subcooled in the condenser due to an overdesign factor, which ensures that
all of the vapor has liquified. The heat released is approximately 545,468 kJ/kg, which is
slightly higher than the heat of vaporization in the evaporator because it is not desirable to
send the liquified refrigerant to the throttling valve before it is fully condensed.

The phrase "coefficient of performance," or C.O.P., is used to describe the refrigeration cycle's
performance. It was discovered that this value is 0,130.
Conclusion
The experiment was carried out using the Amatrol T7082 thermal system, and R-134a
refrigerant was chosen because of its clean nature, broad applicability, and availability of
access. The mass flow rate of refrigerant is 2,9645 kg/hr. In order to ensure full vaporization
and condensation in the evaporator and condenser, respectively, overdesign factors are
applied, which results in superheated vapour into the condenser and subcooled liquid to the
throttle valve. It is discovered that the heat is absorbed in the evaporation stage, generating
the refrigeration effect.
References

Cengel, Y. A. & Boles, M. A., 2011. THERMODYNAMICS an engineering approach. 8th ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Emani, M. S. & Roy, R., 2017. Development of refrigerants:A brief review. Elseveir, pp.
175-181.

Evans, O., 1805. The Abortion of Young Steam Engineers Guide. Philadephia: Oliver
Evans.

Mohad Yusop, S. H. B., 2016. Variation in refrigeration coefficient of performance at

various operating, Shah Alam: Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Shinigdho, S., 2014. Refrigeration lab report. [Online]

Available at: https://www.scribd.com/
Appendix

1. Calculating the mass flowrate in kg/s

Start by calculating the absolute pressure:

𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝐺𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 + 𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒

To calculate the absolute pressure, covert each pressure from bar to kPa.

1𝐵𝑎𝑟 = 100𝑘𝑃𝑎

𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 250𝑘𝑃𝑎 + 101,324

𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 351,325𝑘𝑃𝑎

Then convert each pressure to MPa by using the conversion 1MPa = 1000kPa

The pressure in MPa: 𝑃𝑆 − 1: 0,3513𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 760𝑘𝑃𝑎 + 101,325𝑘𝑃𝑎

𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 861,325𝑘𝑃𝑎

The pressure in MPa:𝑃𝑆 − 2: 0,861𝑀𝑃𝑎

Height of the rotameter is 21.5mm

Interpolation was used to get the corresponding Volumetric Flowrate( )

(𝑋2 − 𝑋1 )
𝑋 = 𝑋1 + (𝑌 − 𝑌1 )
(𝑌2 − 𝑌1 )

0,324𝑓𝑡 3
𝑄=
ℎ
𝑚̇ = 𝜌 × 𝑄
𝑓𝑡 3 𝑚3
Conversions were made from 𝑡𝑜
ℎ 𝑠

0,324𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ = 2,548 × 10−6 𝑚3 /𝑠

𝑚̇ = 2,548 × 10−6 × 1000

𝑚̇ = 0,00255𝑘𝑔/𝑠

2. Heat Duty of the evaporator:

The enthalpies:ℎ1 , ℎ2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ3 are found on the R-134a graph

𝑄 = 𝑚̇ × (ℎ1 − ℎ2 )

𝑄 = 0,00255(434 − 410)

𝑄 = 0,0612𝑘𝑊
 3. Heat Duty of the condenser:

𝑄 = 𝑚̇ × (ℎ2 − ℎ3 )
𝑄 = 2,9645(434 − 250)

𝑄 = 545,468𝑘𝑊

4. Power at the compressor:

𝑊 = 𝑚̇(ℎ2 − ℎ3 )

𝑊 = 2,9645(434 − 410)

𝑊 = 71,148𝑘𝑊

5. Theoretical coefficient performance:

ℎ1 − ℎ2
𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
ℎ2 − ℎ1
410 − 245
𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
434 − 410
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = 6,88

6. The actual coefficient performance:

𝑄𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝐶𝑂𝑃 =
𝑊𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑟
71,148
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = 545,468

𝐶𝑂𝑃 = 0,130
Table 3:Determination of the Volumetric Flow rate

Height of the rotameter(𝑚𝑚) Corresponding volumetric flow rate(𝑓𝑡 3 /

ℎ)
0 0.00
5 0.08
10 0.15
15 0.23
20 0.30
25 0.38
30 0.45
35 0.53
40 0.61
45 0.68
50 0.76
55 0.83
60 0.91
65 0.98