ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION 11-35 With steam at 40 pois, hye = 933.7 and Ms = 278-4 12,000 468.3 933.7 Table 18 gives values, based on tests, of steam consumption for ammonin-absorption refrigeration plants without analyzers, When these are used approximately 3 Ib por hr 27 Ib steam per hr per ton. Table 18. Steam Consumption, Pounds per Hour per Ton of Refrigeration for ‘Various Condensing Pressur: (Evaporator pressure = 15.7 pela) 1 3 341 | 35.3 | 36.7 HEE eee 5 33.9 | 35.1 | 364 | 37.8 |''39.0 |: : 10 33.3 | 34.5 | 35.9 | 37.2 | 384 | 40.1 | 41.3 5 32.8 | 34.0 | 35.3 | 367 | 37.9 | 39.6 | 40.7 20 32.2 | 33.4 | 34.8 | 36.1 | 37.3 | 39.0 | 40.2 25 31.7 | 32.9 | 34.2 | 35.6 | 36.8 | 385 | 39.6 30 341 | 323 | 33.7 | 35.0 | 36.2 | 37.9 | 39.0 35. 30.6 | 31.8 | 33.1 | 34.5 | 357 | 37.3 | 38.5 40 30.0 | 31.2 | 32:5 | 33.9 | 35.1 | 36.8 | 37.9 4s 20.5 | 30.7 | 320 | 3a.4 } 346 | 362 | 37:4 50 290 | 30.1 | 31.4 | 32.8 | 34.0 | 35.7 | 36.8 per ton should be deducted from the tabular values. Moreover, modern designs with analyzers, rectificr rofluxing, and better arrangement of heat transfer surface reduce the tabular values to about 75% of the values given. APPLICATIONS OF ABSORPTION SYSTEM. Fuel and Investment Cost Considera- tions. Although absorption refrigeration machines are not designed as conventional production units, nevertheless the absorption refrigeration machine has a definite place in the picture of industrial refrigeration. Where thermal energy in the form of waste heat or low-cost fuel is available, the absorption machine has economic possibilities. Because of the appreciably larger amounts of heat-transfer surface, the investment cost of an absorption unit is generally higher than for a compression machine of corresponding capacity. Other Refrigerants. By far the greatest number of absorption machines utilize the ammonia, ammonia-water system for refrigerant, and solvent. Among other combinations which have been used are methylene chloride as a refrigerant, and the dimethyl ether of triethylene glycol as a solvent. In air-conditioning work, hygroscopic brines have been used with water as the refrigerant. Lithium chloride (LiCl) and lithium bromide (LiBr) have been most generally employed. Where water is the refrigerant, it must evaporate at very low pressure, so that. brine systems are always vacuum systems, Domestic. In the field of domestic refrigerators, the Electrolux refrigerator employs ammonia-water for tho absorbent and atnmonin for the refrigerant. ‘These refrigerators, ‘energized entircly by heat (a gas fame), use no pump but employ percolator and siphon action for moving the fluids throughout the system along with an ingenious application of Dalton’s law of partial pressures. In order for the refrigerant in the evaporator to boil at a low pressure, an inert gas is supplied which circulates back and forth between the absorber and the evaporator. For example, if the condonsing pressure of the system is 200 psia, this pressure must apply throughout the system, but to obtain the proper te:n= perature in the evaporator the ammonia must boil at cpproximately 40 psia. Thus in the evaporator and absorber, the inert gas, which is usually hydrogen, operates under a partial pressure of 160 psi, and the ammonia vapor vaporizes at its partial pressure of 40. This ingenious arrangement often goos under the name of the original co-inventors, whence it is called the Platen-Munters system. Silica gel (the common name for silicon dioxide [SiO3]) is a hard glassy material resem- bling quartz sand. It is chemically inert toward most refrigerants with the possible excep- tion of ammonia. Its structure consists of numerous ultramicroscopie pores in which it ‘ean adsorb large quantities of vapor. At one time it wax used in au inlerinittent refrigera- tion system that employed SOs as the refrigerant, the SO: being adsorbed in the pores of the gel. When the gel was heated after it had adsorbed its charge, the SO: was driven off and condensed in an ordinary refrigerant condenser. One pound of silica gel can adsorb 0.25 to 0.35 Ib of 80; During the process of adsorption, an amount of heat must be removed equivalent to the latent heat of the vapor itself plus an additional amount of11-36 REFRIGERATION AND ICE MAKING ‘heat associated with the bonding which takes place in the process. Roughly, this heat of bonding umounta to 0.2 to 0.4 of the latent heat. This system using SO2 is now obsolete. However, silica gel is extensively used as an agent for drying (dehumidifying) air and Tiquid refrigerants. In the air systems, the air to be dried is passed over beds or trays of silica gel and, in the process, the moisture content of the air is greatly reduced. The gel, during the process, rises in temperature from the heat of condensation as well as from the heat of bonding. For every pound of vapor adsorhed, about 200 Btu in oxcess of the latent heat are generatod because of the bonding effect. This bonding offect, in the case of water, fre- ‘quently goes under tho name of the heat of wetting. For each grain of moisture adsorbed per pound of air, these heat effects cause a rise in temperature of the air passing through the bed of approximately 0.7 F. The gel is reactivated after becoming charged with moisture, by heating to a temperature of 250 to 400 F. During the heating the excess moisture is driven off, and on cooling the gel is ready again to readsorb moisture. In drying refrig- erants to remove the moisture that entered the system during construction or eame into the eystom under vacuum operation or ontored with the refrigerant supplied to the system, it is customary to place in parallel with the liquid refrigerant line or the vapor refrigerant line a canister containing silica gel. The affinity of the silica gel for water is such that ‘as the system operates the gel progressively picks up a portion of the water in the system Water in the system is objectionable not only because it ean promote corrosion by hydrol- ysis but the moisture can freeze in the expansion valves, thereby stopping further flow. As refrigerant dehydrators, other chemicals are sometimes used, such as activated alumina, Drierite. and various proprietary combinations. 8 REFRIGERATION LOAD AND HEAT TRANSMISSION LOAD COMPONENTS. The load in a refrigeration system is the name applied to the quantity of heat that must be romoved per unit of time, expressed usually in Btu per hour or in tons of refrigeration. The items contributing to refrigeration load consist of: Conduction, heat which is transmitted through walls, partitions, floors, and ceilings surrounding the space being held at reducod temperature. Infiltration, the energy which must be removed from warmer air entering the refrigerated space. This air may be the air supplied under controlled conditions for ventilation or it may be merely leakage air which enters because of door opening or because of infiltration through cracks, otc. Product heat, which occurs from cooling the product at its entering temperature down to the temperature held in » refrigerated space. This may be merely lowering the tem- perature of the substance, but in some cases it may also mean freezing or solidifying the Tiquid parts contained in the substance, and then further cooling of the solidified product down to the storage temperature. An additional problem occurs in the case of leafy food- stuffs and fruite still undergoing living processes, as certain amounts of heat resulting from growth chemical change, enzyme action, ete., contribute additional heat load. This load is sometimes called product breathing. Heat sources, miscellaneous sources inside the space. Lights, motors, people working, fans, and pumps within the space, all contribute to heat load. ‘Such additional items as wash-down or cleaning the space with water, and the problem of defrosting also are included. Defrosting. Whenever moist products are stored, there is a tendency for moisture to Jeave the products to enter the air and, along with the normal humidity in the air, to deposit on the refrigeration heat-transfor surfaces. When these surfaces are below the freesing point, deposition occurs in the form of ice, eventually becoming a severe retardent for transferring heat to the refrigerant, or refrigerant brine. In refrigerators held above freesing, defrosting is accomplished by circulating warm air over the coils which melts off the ice, In low-temperature refrigeration, it is usually necessary to employ a warm- water or brine wash directed over the coils to melt off tho ice on the surfaces. The hot ‘gas leaving the condenser may be rodirected by proper control of valves to pass through ‘the evaporator coils which brings the surfaces of the coils to a sufficiently high temperature to melt off the ice. In cabinet-type units it is also possible to use electric heaters to warm ‘up the inside of the cabinet space to cause defrosting. Whatever the method used, defrost ing entails additional refrigeration load on the system. HEAT TRANSMISSION OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. Calculation of Con- @uction. The walls, floors, ceilings, and partitions in refrigerated structures must be built to have the structural strength and lif requisite for the type of building under consideration, and must be furnished with sufficient insulating material to keep the heatREFRIGERATION LOAD, HEAT TRANSMISSION 11-37 gain within reasonable economic limits. Heat is transferred through a wall (partition. ete.) whenever a temperature difference exists between the two sides of the wall. The heat @) flowing through each square foot of area per hour can be computed from q = UAAt (63) where U = overall coefficient of heat transfer for the wall in Btu per (hr)(sa {t)(°F), A = wall surface urea in square feet, At = temperature difference between the spaces adjacent to each side of the wall. ‘The value of U can be read from Tablo 20 for typical walls or computed for a composite wall not listed in the table by use of iq. 54 and suitable coefficients of heat transfer from Table 19. : Us i yi ie to CooL Here f, and f, = surface coefficients of heat transfer on the outside and inside of a partition respectively. ‘They may be taken asf, = 1.6 Btu per (hr)(sq ft)(°F) for the still air such as usually exists on an insido wall and up to 6 if on an outside wall with a moderate wind Table 19. Conductivity (x) or Conductance (C) for Insulating and Cold-storage Materials kis in Btu per (hr) (sq ft)(°F) per inch of thickness Cia an Btu per (br) (oq £1)(°F) for duckness uf block af eee Matorial b c Matariat k c Arm Spaces PLaster, Vertieal, over 8/4 in, 1.10 Cement 8.00 Vertical, faced with Gypsum @/s in.) 8.80 aluminum foil 0.46 ‘Metal lath (3/4 in.) 4.40 Brice Wood lath 2.50 Common 48 Rock Core Face (4 in. thick) 2.30 ‘Mineral in blocks 0.32 Face brick and eomman Strmeacr Connucranen, 44 4 = Bin, 0.77 Fiftocn mph wind 6.00 Concrete Stull air 165 Cinder aggregate 49 me Sand and gravel 12.0 Hollow clay 4 in, 1.00 Conx Hollow clay 6 in. 0.64 Board (dense) 0.32 Hollow clay 8 0.60 Board (low density) 0.27 Hollow clay 12 0.40 ‘Regranulated 0.30 Woon Insvzativa Boanns Oak or maple Cement and asbestos 2.70 Yellow pine Cane fiber boards 0.33 Gypsum board 1.40 Wood fiber boards 0.33 Inavtation Loose, Diatomaceous earth 0.31 Glass wool 0.27 Hair felt 0.25 Rock wool 0.27 Sawdust oat ‘Treo bark 0.31 Vermiculite 0.32 blowing (15 mph); 21, 2% zn = thickness in inches of the insulation or structural material of each particular type; hi, ks, kn = coefficients of heat transfer in Btu per (hr) (sq ft) (°F) per inch of heat path; a = conductance of an air space if prosont; C = conductance of a construction unit (such as a 4-in, hollow tile) where conductance has units of Btu per (hr) (eq ft) (°F), for its actual thickness (not per inch). Exaurue, An outside wall of a cold-storage warchouse consists of &-in. concrete, an asphalt binder against which is laid 4 in, of dense composition corkboard and 1/2 in. of cement plaster. Outside is ‘88 F and inside is —5 F. Find heat gain through each square foot of wall surface. If the inside walle, floor, and ceiling are adjacent to similar storage space, compute the gain through the 30 ft by 12 ft outside wall area. ‘By eq. 54 and using values from Table 19, 1 = nd 0.071 Btu per 10CR) ig + Sia + 470.32 + 0.57804 1/165 ~ 140 eee Qe = U(l)At = (0.071)(1){85 — (—5)] = 6.30 Beu/(eq ft) (hr) Qe = UAAt = (0.071)(80 X 12)[85 — (—5)] = 2300 Btu per hour total gain u