REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING

Two related areas in Mechanical Engineering.

Refrigeration : Preservation of certain materials by
cooling them to predetermined low temperature.
Air conditioning : Maintaining the temperature,
humidity and purity of certain closed space to provide
human comfort or to facilitate certain industrial
processes.
Involves, Heating / Cooling and Humidifying /
Dehumidifying.
Comfort conditions : 20 to 25C and 50 to 55 Relative
Humidity.
Cryogenics: Study of very low temperatures and how
materials behave at these temperatures.
Normally below 150C.

SPECIFIC & RELATIVE HUMIDITIES

Specific humidity, = =
As more water vapor/moisture is added,
increases till the air is saturated.
Any further addition of moisture leads to
condensation.
Relative humidity, RH =
where, mg max. water vapor air can hold.

REFRIGERANTS
Working fluid in the Refrigerators / Air conditioners
R12

CCl2F2

R22

CHClF2

R134 C2H2F4
Properties:
Low Boiling point
High value of hfg
Non-flammable
Non-toxic
Non-corrosive
Low cost, etc.

VAPOR COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

Schematic and p-h diagrams

DOMESTIC REFRIGERATOR

TONNE OF REFRIGERATION (TR)

It is the measure of cooling capacity.
A cooling that can produce 1 ton (approx. 900
kg) of ice at 0C from water at 0C in 24
hours.
1 TR = 12,600 kJ/hr (211 kJ/min.)

WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER

WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER