UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Refrigeration / Heat Pump

Cycle
ENGN 2610: Thermofluids I

Phong Trinh – 317726
12/2/19

ENGN 261 Group A5 Phong Trinh – 317726

1. Introduction
This experimental lab demonstrated and examined the refrigeration cycle. Specifically, the variation
in temperature and pressure of a fluid flowing through the compressor-condenser-expansion-
evaporator, and the resulting heat transfer with the surroundings are investigated.

The refrigeration cycle is a sequence of thermodynamic processes whereby heat is withdrawn from
a cold body and transferred to a hot body. Basically, heat is transferred from high-temperature
mediums to low-temperature ones. The reverse process in the refrigeration cycle, however, requires
special devices called cyclic devices such as refrigerators, heat engines. The working fluid used in the
refrigeration cycle is called a refrigerant. In general, a refrigerator uses the evaporation of a
refrigerant at low pressure and low temperature to absorb heat from the medium, creating cooling
or freezing temperatures inside the refrigerator. The most frequently used refrigeration cycle
involves four main components: a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator
(Figure 1).

Figure 1: Basic components of a refrigeration system

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2. Materials and Equipment

The equipment required to perform the experiments is a Refrigeration Cycle Demonstration Unit
R634 (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Refrigeration Cycle Demonstration Unit R634

3. Setup and Procedure

To operate the Refrigeration Cycle Demonstration Unit R634, the ball valves are first opened as
indicated for the regular operation (Figure 3). Students noted all system temperatures and pressures
through a digital indicator and manual dial indicators, respectively. After that, water supplies turn on
slowly. Control valves on the evaporator water flow meter and condenser water flow meter are
adjusted to 10-12 gs-1 and 20-30 gs-1, respectively. Then the expansion valve on the refrigerant flow
meter is fixed to an indicated flow of roughly 0.9-1.5 gs-1. Finally, the main switch is turned on to start
the compressor process. Two internal lamps should light up. Once the apparatus reaches a stable
state, which is around 5 to10 minutes, students record all temperatures and pressures parameters.

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Figure 3: The Normal Operation Indication of Unit R634

4. Results
a. For the Coolant Water Loop

The rate of heat transfer in the evaporator:

Q̇# = ṁc' (T* − T, ) = (27 gs-1)( 4.18Jg-1K-1)(281 -280.2)K = 38.456 Js-1 = 90.288 W

The rate of heat transfer in the condenser:

Q̇. = ṁc' (T/ − T0 ) = (11.5 gs-1)( 4.18Jg-1K-1)(284.6 -281)K = 406.296 Js-1 = 173.052 W

b. For the Refrigerant Loop

The rate of heat transfers in the fluid in the evaporator: Q̇# = ṁ1 (h3 − h. )

The rate of heat transfers out of the fluid in the condenser: : Q̇6 = ṁ1 (h7 − h. )

With ṁ1 : The flow rate of the refrigerator (g/s)

ha ,hb ,hc : enthapy at state a, b, c (kJ/kg) (Figure 4)

à W9:;,=9 = Q̇6 − Q̇# = ṁ1 (h7 − h3 )

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ENGN 261 Group A5 Phong Trinh – 317726

Figure 4: P-h Diagram for the Refrigerant Fluid

a – b: Isentropic compression

b – c: Constant pressure heat rejection (Condenser) - Heat is rejected

c – d: Adiabatic expansion in a throttling device

d – a: Constant pressure heat absorption (Evaporator) - heat is entering the system from the coolant
water

5. Discussion
The evaporator consists of a closed, thick-walled glass chamber containing a pool of a refrigerant into
which is immersed in a specially treated copper coil with water inside (Figure 2). After passing
through the expansion valve, the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant then enter the
evaporator, where it evaporates by absorbing heat from the water flowing through the coil. The
temperature of the water in the coil of the evaporator decrease. After that, the low-pressure and low-
temperature vapor refrigerant, which is generated in the evaporator, flows into a hermetic
compressor and is compressed to the condenser pressure. It leaves the compressor at a high-
temperature and high-pressure vapor refrigerant. Then it flows into the condenser, which is of
similar construction to the evaporator but contains a nickel-plated water-cooled copper coil (Figure
2). It cools down and condenses on the surface of the coil and falls to the bottom of the chamber. The

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heat rejected by the refrigerant phase change is transferred to the cooling water flowing through the
cooling coil; therefore, the temperature of the water in the coil increases.

While this apparatus is running, the temperature of the lab which is close to the condenser and
evaporator chamber can slightly change. Specifically, the temperature around the evaporator
chamber slightly decreases because the refrigerant absorbs heat from the water flowing through the
coil as well as the surroundings to vaporize. Conversely, the temperature which is close to the
condenser chamber will slightly increase due to the rejected heat of the refrigerant. If the flow rate
of cooling water (gs-1) increases, the rate of heat transfer of cooling water in the evaporator (W)
increases. The refrigerant absorbs more heat from the cooling water and vaporizes faster; therefore,
the temperature of the lab which is close evaporator chamber decreases. On the contrary, if the flow
rate of cooling water increase, the temperature around the condenser chamber increase because
more heat is rejected to the surroundings.

Being a reversible cycle, the Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle operating between two specified
temperature limits. The efficiency of Carnot is determined by the equation as η;?,6319@; = 1 − TB /TD .
This is the highest efficiency a heat engine operating between the two thermal energy reservoirs at
temperatures TL and TH can have. Although the Carnot cycle cannot be achieved in reality, the
efficiency of actual cycles can be improved by attempting to approximate the Carnot cycle more
closely. As can be seen, the efficiency of a Carnot heat engine increases as TH is increased, or as TL is
decreased. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of actual heat engines can be maximized by supplying
heat to the engine at the highest possible temperature and rejecting heat from the engine at the
lowest possible temperature.

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References
[1]. Çengel, Yunus A, Robert H. Turner, and John M. Cimbala. Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences
5th edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.

Appendix A
Table 1: Collected Data at a Steady State

Pressure
Condenser 58 kPA
Evapovabor - 80kPA
Temperature
T1 8 oC
T2 7.2oC
T3 11.6 oC
T4 8 oC
T5 1.5 oC
T6 24.4 oC
T7 50.4 oC
T8 19.1 oC
T9 20.3 oC
Other parameters
Power 192 W
Flow rate of coolant condenser 11.5 g/s
Flow rate of coolant evaporator 27 g/s
Flow rate of the refrigerator 1.3 g/s

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