i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6

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The impact of fouling on the condenser of a vapor

compression refrigeration system: An
experimental observation

Bilal A. Qureshi, Syed M. Zubair*

Mechanical Engineering Department, KFUPM Box # 1474, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran
31261, Saudi Arabia

article info abstract

Article history: In this paper, an experimental study on the nature of the effects of condenser fouling on
Received 12 June 2013 some performance characteristics and properties of a simple vapor compression system is
Received in revised form presented. This is performed by gradually blocking the condenser air passage and
7 August 2013 measuring the change in condenser pressure, superheat temperature at the compressor
Accepted 9 August 2013 exit, compressor power consumption and COP. The room temperature is kept at approxi-
Available online 19 August 2013 mately 21
C while the ambient temperature is at 31.6
C with R22 as the cycle refrigerant.
The variation in the above-mentioned quantities is found to be logarithmic in nature and
Keywords: this is connected to heat exchanger theory for phase change processes. Comparison with
Vapor compression other works is also done and a consistent behavior is concluded for both properties as well
Experiment as performance parameters.
Refrigeration ª 2013 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
R22
Logarithmic
Condenser

L’impact de l’encrassement du condenseur d’un système

frigorifique à compression de vapeur : une observation
expérimentale
Mots clés : Compression de vapeur ; Expérience ; Froid ; R22 ; Logarithmique ; Condenseur

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ966 3 860 3135.

E-mail addresses: smzubair@kfupm.edu.sa, smzubair@gmail.com (S.M. Zubair).
0140-7007/$ e see front matter ª 2013 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2013.08.012
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6
Nomenclature
C_ min minimum value of the thermal capacitance rate
(kW K1)
COP coefficient of performance ()
FPI fins per inch ()
h specific enthalpy (kJ kg1)
m_ refrigerant mass flow rate (kg s1)
P pressure (kPa)
PN normalized pressure ()
Q_ rate of heat transfer (kW)
T temperature (K)
TN normalized superheat temperature at compressor
exit ()
1. Introduction
A sizable percentage of the electricity generated in the world is
consumed by refrigeration and air-conditioning systems that
are often air-cooled. These are used in homes, supermarkets
and various industries and processes. The impact of fouling on
vapor compression systems is an important aspect because one
of the main components of any cooling system are heat ex-
changers and a decrease in performance, due to fouling, can
potentially increase energy consumption and/or decrease effi-
ciency and cooling capacity. Airborne particulate matter, textile
fibers, human hair and dust etc. all constitute foulants as
explained by Siegel (2002). Bultman et al. (1995) simulated the
effect of partially blocked condensers of a 3-ton vapor
compression system and reported that the COP was predicted to
decrease by 7.6% when the airflow across the condenser was
reduced by 40% for a constant-speed fan. It was noted that the
increase in power consumption had a logarithmic nature as did
the decrease in COP. Pak et al. (2005) investigated experimen-
tally the effects of air-side fouling on the performance of various
condenser coils found in unitary air-conditioning systems and
established that, under fouled conditions, the heat transfer
performance degraded by 7e12% at the standard air face ve-
locity of 1.53 m s1. Ali and Ismail (2008) experimentally inves-
tigated evaporator air-side fouling of room air-conditioners
showing that COP decreased by more than 57% due to 300 g of
real foulant collected from various evaporator coils. Although it
was noticed that 110 g of this material did not deposit onto the
coils and R12 was used as the refrigerant, which has now been
phased out of use.
The effect of fouling on air-side pressure drop in plate-fin
and microchannel coils was experimentally studied by Bell
and Groll (2010). No appreciable effect on the heat exchanger
pressure drops was noted for Arizona Road Test Dust. On the
other hand, Siegel (2002) found through experiments that only
a 6.5% reduction in airflow occurred due to doubling in pres-
sure drop on the air-side. The results of these experiments
were applicable to small commercial and residential systems.
For finned tube heat exchangers, biofouling effects were
investigated by Pu et al. (2009) on air-side pressure drop and
heat transfer by synthetically accelerating the growth of
261
UA overall conductance (kW K1)
W_ power requirement (W or kW)
WN normalized compressor power consumption ()
Greek symbols
ε heat exchanger effectiveness
Subscripts
amb ambient
cd condenser
cp compressor
ev evaporator
in entering
microorganisms. A six fold increase in biofouled area ratio
decreased the air-side heat transfer coefficient twice as much.
Also, when the velocity of the air was from 0.5 to 2.0 m s1, it
resulted in a 21.8%e41.3% rise in pressure drop. Qureshi and
Zubair (2012a, 2012b) performed fouling simulation work for
a simple vapor compression cycle employing an integrated
and dedicated mechanical subcooling cycle, respectively. It is
noted that these simulations display a logarithmic variation in
the various parameters when examined with respect to
degradation in the conductance, i.e. the UA-value, of both the
condenser and evaporator.
The purpose of this experimental work is to complement
theoretical studies, which indicate that the effect of fouling on
various parameters of a vapor compression system have a
logarithmic characterization. Experimental data will show the
effect of fouling on compressor power consumption, COP,
condenser pressure and superheat temperature at the
compressor exit.
2. Experimental setup and procedure
The experimental vapor compression system is shown in
Fig. 1(a) while the schematic of the system is illustrated in
Fig. 1(b). Major system components include a condenser,
expansion valve, compressor and an evaporator. It should be
noted that the cycle uses R22 as a working fluid. The system is
a 1.5 ton split air-conditioning system used to cool a room of a
residence. It consists of a finned serpentine condenser having
a face area of 0.514 m2 (5/1600 copper tube with aluminum fins
e 16 FPI) for heat transfer after which there is a thermal
expansion valve (State 4, Fig. 1(b)). The refrigeration system
uses a three cylinder 2.14 kW hermetic reciprocating
compressor for the cycle. The refrigerant, after compression is
condensed and, before expanding, passes through a sight-
glass so that its liquid state can be verified. The evaporator
is a finned serpentine heat exchanger having a surface area of
0.22 m2 (7 mm copper tubes with aluminum fins e 16 FPI) for
heat transfer. At the evaporator exit (State 7, Fig. 1(b)), the
superheat vapor is compressed to the condenser pressure
(State 1, Fig. 1(b)).
262 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6

Fig. 2 e Experimental plant with partially blocked

condenser.

purpose pressure transducers (P1 and P2 in Fig. 1(b)) were

Fig. 1 e a Experimental plant. b Schematic of a vapor
compression cycle.
To determine the temperature of the refrigerants at
required locations, 8 type K surface mount thermocouples
were used. They were placed over the surface of the pipes
while keeping them isolated from the environment using
insulation. The locations of the thermocouples are the same
as the states mentioned in Fig. 1(b). Furthermore, two general
employed at the suction and discharge of the compressor. A
wattmeter is used to determine the power consumption of
the compressor. Table 1 should be consulted for uncertainties
in the sensors used. Finally, the validity of the results is
assessed by applying the first law of thermodynamics on the
cycle (i.e. summation of the heat and work transfers should
be equal).
Beginning with the clean condition (see Fig. 1(a)), the sys-
tem was blocked by 10% intervals, which was calculated based
on the length of the heat transfer area. Fig. 2 shows the
experimental system when it is (partially) blocked to simulate
fouling. The system characteristics were studied at an
ambient condition of 31.6
C while the room temperature was
kept at approximately 21
C. It should be noted that data was
recorded for 2 to 3 h wherein the data acquisition system
recorded all relevant quantities at an interval of 30 s (See
Appendix A for one such sample set of raw data recorded for
the compressor power). Approximately 1 h was needed to
allow the system to reach steady state. After this, a 40-min
section of data from the second hour was selected for all
relevant quantities, which constituted 80 points each. The
average of these 80 points for each quantity was then taken
and considered as a representative of the condition of the
system. This procedure constitutes one averaged data point
for each relevant quantity. In this way, the system was
blocked up to 50% resulting in six averaged data points.

Table 1 e Uncertainties in measuring devices.

Physical variable Measuring device Measurement and calibration range Uncertainty


Temperature Type K thermocouples 0e100 C 0.2
C
Pressure Pressure gauges 0e100 psig 2 psig
0e500 psig 10 psig
Compressor power Wattmeter 0e3 kW 60 W
consumption
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6 263

1.1
3. Analysis of experimental data

Normalized COP, COPN

1
The results from the experiments are discussed in this sec- 0.9
tion. The following assumptions were made during the
analysis: 0.8
Federov (2004)
0.7 Qureshi and Zubair (2011)
 The heat losses are negligible in the lines Current Experiment
0.6
 The pressure losses are negligible in the lines Bultmen et al. (1995)
0.5
Now, the heat transfer rate in the evaporator can be 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
determined form the following equation: Condenser Blockage (%)
 
Fig. 4 e Variation of normalized COP with percentage
Q_ ev ¼ εC_ min _ 7  h6 Þ
Tin; ev  T6 ¼ mðh (1)
ev increase in condenser blockage.
The heat transfer rate from the condenser is similarly
defined as follows:
 

Q_ cd ¼ εC_ min _ 2  h3 Þ
T3  Tin; cd ¼ mðh (2)  
cd 1
UA ¼ C_ min ln (5)
An energy balance on the compressor provides the 1ε
following equation: It should be kept in mind that C_ min is the thermal capaci-
tance rate of that fluid in the heat exchanger which is not
Q_ cp  W
_ cp ¼ mðh
_ 1  h8 Þ (3)
undergoing a phase change.
where Q_ cp is the heat transfer rate across the compressor shell Fig. 3 shows the change in normalized compressor power
and was assumed to be 5% of the power consumption of the consumption with percentage increase in condenser
compressor. It should be noted that various researchers blockage. It should be noted that the power consumption is
(Borges et al., 2011; Hermes et al., 2009; Waltrich et al., 2011) normalized with respect to the clean condition. For the
have modeled the compressor shell heat loss by assuming a experimental data obtained from Federov (2004) as well as the
constant value for the compressor shell thermal conductance current experiment, condenser blockage represents physi-
(UA). This implies that losses are not constant and vary with cally blocking the condenser by covering part of it. For the
temperature difference. simulation work of Bultman et al. (1995), it represents a
It should be noted that the COP is defined as the cooling decrease in the air mass flow due to blockage/fouling. For the
load divided by the work from the compressor. The reason for work of Qureshi and Zubair (2011), it is the percentage
not including the fan power requirement in the COP calcula- decrease in overall UA-value due to blockage/fouling. It should
tion is that, in commercial building energy usage, fan energy be kept in mind that decrease in the air mass flow rate reduces
consumption is usually only 9% of the total and it is much less the overall UA-value as was shown in Table 1 of Bultman et al.
in residential systems (Modera et al., 1999). (1995). The important point to observe is that all these works
show a consistent behavior; that is, the nature of change of
Q_ ev the normalized power consumption due to fouling is
COP ¼ (4)
W_ cp logarithmic.
Figs. 4e6 show the change in normalized COP, condenser
We know that when one of the fluids is undergoing a phase
pressure and superheat temperature at the compressor exit,
change, based on the fact that a major portion of the heat
respectively, with percentage increase in condenser blockage.
exchangers in this system is in two-phase region, we can write
As before, the relevant clean condition is used to normalize
from the heat exchanger theory (Incropera et al., 2006)

1.3 1.3
Normalized Pressure, PN
Normalized Power, WN

1.2 1.2

1.1 1.1

1 1
Federov (2004) Qureshi and Zubair (2011)
0.9 Qureshi and Zubair (2011) 0.9
Current Experiment
Current Experiment
0.8 0.8 Bultmen et al. (1995)
Bultmen et al. (1995)
0.7 0.7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Condenser Blockage (%) Condenser Blockage (%)

Fig. 3 e Variation of normalized compressor power with Fig. 5 e Variation of normalized condenser pressure with
percentage increase in condenser blockage. percentage increase in condenser blockage.
264 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6

1.2 logarithmic behavior in the compressor power consumption

Normalized Temperature, TN

as well.
1.1
Q_ cd  Q_ ev ¼ W
_ cp (6)

1 To substantiate the nature of these curves in a rigorous

manner, all of them were fitted to see how close each re-
sembles logarithmic behavior. It should be noted that these
0.9 Qureshi and Zubair (2011)
curves consist of performance parameters as well as prop-
Current Experiment
erties based on both experimental and numerical data.
0.8
Figs. 7(a) and (b) show samples of these fits on an
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Condenser Blockage (%) unblocked/unfouled percentage basis since logarithm of
zero does not exist. In Fig. 7(a) and (b), the R2 value is 0.972
Fig. 6 e Variation of normalized superheat temperature at and 0.983, respectively. A complete list is shown in Table 2
compressor exit with percentage increase in condenser wherein the R2 values range from 0.969 to 0.996 and the
blockage. average is 0.982.

the COP, pressure and temperature. This consistent behavior

is seen in these figures as well. The reason for this behavior is 4. Conclusions
understood from Eq. (5), which contains the logarithm func-
tion. As fouling/blockage occurs, the change in the effective- This work experimentally demonstrates the nature of the ef-
ness of the heat exchanger is logarithmic in nature (See fect of fouling on performance parameters (such as
Fig. 2(a) of Qureshi and Zubair (2011)) and this, in turn, varies compressor power consumption and COP) as well as proper-
the heat transfer in the heat exchanger in the same manner. ties (such as condenser pressure and superheat temperature
The power consumption is directly connected to the nature of at the compressor exit) using a simple vapor compression
the heat transfer in the heat exchanger through the first law of cycle in order to augment theoretical studies found in the
thermodynamics (See Eq. (6) below) and, hence, we see a open literature. The results of the experiments indicate that
the above-mentioned quantities demonstrate a logarithmic
behavioral change when the ambient and room temperatures
are kept constant. It is understood that this is inherently due
(a) to the governing equation for the phase change occurring in
1.3
the condenser.
y = -0.10 ln(x) + 1.473
Normalized Power, WN

1.2
R² = 0.972
1.1

1
Acknowledgments
0.9
Federov (2004) The authors acknowledge the support provided by King
0.8
Logarithmic Fit Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals through the project
0.7 IN121042. Also, the technical support provided by Mr. Syed
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Younus Ahmed and Mr. Peter Varghese is highly
Condenser Unblocked (%)
appreciated.
(b)
1.2
Normalized Temperature, TN

Table 2 e List of R2-values for plotted lines in Figs. 3e6.

1.1 Fig.# Reference R2-value
y = -0.18 ln(x) + 1.832
R² = 0.983 3 Federov (2004) 0.972
1
3 Qureshi and Zubair (2011) 0.989
3 Current experiment 0.969
0.9 Current Experiment 3 Bultman et al. (1995) 0.977
4 Federov (2004) 0.982
Logarithmic Fit
4 Qureshi and Zubair (2011) 0.991
0.8
4 Current experiment 0.976
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
4 Bultman et al. (1995) 0.987
Condenser Unblocked (%)
5 Qureshi and Zubair (2011) 0.984
Fig. 7 e (a) Logarithmic fitting of normalized power 5 Current experiment 0.973
5 Bultman et al. (1995) 0.996
consumption for data of Federov (2004). (b) Logarithmic
6 Qureshi and Zubair (2011) 0.988
fitting of normalized superheat temperature at compressor 6 Current experiment 0.983
exit for data of current work.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 6 0 e2 6 6 265

Appendix A: Experimental data for the compressor power consumption.

Time Power Time Power Time Power Time Power Time Power Time Power
(min) (W) (min) (W) (min) (W) (min) (W) (min) (W) (min) (W)

0 2205 14 2139 28 2124 42 2104 56 2097 70 2154

0.5 2159 14.5 2156 28.5 2122 42.5 2119 56.5 2102 70.5 2101
1 2170 15 2136 29 2093 43 2102 57 2108 71 2134
1.5 2179 15.5 2135 29.5 2125 43.5 2116 57.5 2130 71.5 2140
2 2152 16 2139 30 2116 44 2100 58 2125 72 2157
2.5 2134 16.5 2120 30.5 2107 44.5 2115 58.5 2125 72.5 2130
3 2169 17 2134 31 2118 45 2097 59 2139 73 2146
3.5 2143 17.5 2126 31.5 2114 45.5 2119 59.5 2136 73.5 2132
4 2138 18 2135 32 2118 46 2104 60 2141 74 2127
4.5 2158 18.5 2111 32.5 2122 46.5 2091 60.5 2152 74.5 2134
5 2161 19 2137 33 2114 47 2099 61 2133 75 2151
5.5 2153 19.5 2147 33.5 2126 47.5 2092 61.5 2134 75.5 2131
6 2160 20 2141 34 2129 48 2122 62 2138 76 2131
6.5 2135 20.5 2138 34.5 2131 48.5 2095 62.5 2143 76.5 2132
7 2152 21 2123 35 2133 49 2110 63 2124 77 2137
7.5 2130 21.5 2127 35.5 2111 49.5 2101 63.5 2151 77.5 2120
8 2124 22 2140 36 2126 50 2107 64 2128 78 2137
8.5 2169 22.5 2111 36.5 2139 50.5 2104 64.5 2139 78.5 2137
9 2161 23 2132 37 2119 51 2094 65 2130 79 2129
9.5 2125 23.5 2142 37.5 2119 51.5 2101 65.5 2138 79.5 2134
10 2118 24 2115 38 2127 52 2101 66 2136 80 2115
10.5 2121 24.5 2144 38.5 2109 52.5 2094 66.5 2102 80.5 2140
11 2146 25 2140 39 2112 53 2087 67 2144 81 2115
11.5 2143 25.5 2120 39.5 2115 53.5 2097 67.5 2104 81.5 2120
12 2160 26 2119 40 2129 54 2099 68 2131 82 2141
12.5 2158 26.5 2123 40.5 2118 54.5 2104 68.5 2120 82.5 2120
13 2131 27 2134 41 2120 55 2102 69 2141 83 2145
13.5 2144 27.5 2114 41.5 2098 55.5 2114 69.5 2093 83.5 2146
84 2112 95 2125 106 2114 117 2105 128 2102 139 2115
84.5 2121 95.5 2100 106.5 2117 117.5 2112 128.5 2100 139.5 2106
85 2123 96 2121 107 2111 118 2128 129 2065 140 2129
85.5 2118 96.5 2117 107.5 2111 118.5 2116 129.5 2120 140.5 2123
86 2087 97 2140 108 2113 119 2115 130 2123 141 2112
86.5 2087 97.5 2094 108.5 2124 119.5 2109 130.5 2118 141.5 2110
87 2108 98 2114 109 2114 120 2118 131 2115 142 2114
87.5 2122 98.5 2108 109.5 2101 120.5 2108 131.5 2111 142.5 2115
88 2137 99 2109 110 2120 121 2117 132 2104 143 2128
88.5 2132 99.5 2135 110.5 2112 121.5 2128 132.5 2121 143.5 2110
89 2092 100 2122 111 2065 122 2124 133 2109 144 2105
89.5 2106 100.5 2118 111.5 2105 122.5 2116 133.5 2120 144.5 2123
90 2118 101 2129 112 2112 123 2094 134 2122 145 2106
90.5 2107 101.5 2131 112.5 2116 123.5 2128 134.5 2100 145.5 2118
91 2124 102 2127 113 2099 124 2131 135 2115 146 2126
91.5 2110 102.5 2118 113.5 2100 124.5 2125 135.5 2117 146.5 2124
92 2127 103 2119 114 2104 125 2107 136 2107 147 2122
92.5 2134 103.5 2093 114.5 2111 125.5 2100 136.5 2101 147.5 2103
93 2121 104 2132 115 2123 126 2117 137 2110 148 2107
93.5 2120 104.5 2141 115.5 2121 126.5 2105 137.5 2101 148.5 2101
94 2122 105 2121 116 2107 127 2110 138 2110
94.5 2116 105.5 2094 116.5 2109 127.5 2123 138.5 2103

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