MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DESIGN ART AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MEC 4205: AIR CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATION
END OF SEMESTER TWO FOURTH YEAR EXAMINATION
TIME: 2:00 P.M – 5:00 P.M DATE: FRIDAY 20TH MAY, 2016
MARKING GUIDE
Instructions
Attempt all questions.
:
State all assumptions used where necessary

QUESTION 1
a) Define air conditioning and explain why it is essential for human comfort [4 marks]
Ans
Air conditioning refers to any form of cooling, heating, ventilation or disinfection that
modifies the condition of air, typically for thermal comfort.
• Air-conditioning is essential because heat gains from human beings, sunlight,
electric lighting and business machines, in particular, may cause
unpleasantly high temperatures in rooms, and if windows are opened, noise
and dirt may enter the room and also mechanical ventilation without
refrigeration is only a partial solution since it may not help in achieving the
optimum conditions.

b) Define the following terms as applied in air conditioning [2 marks each]

i) Sensible heat load
Ans
Sensible heat load refers to the heat load that must be removed from a space due
to (or as a result of) a change in temperature without change in moisture content

ii) Room Sensible Heat Factor

Ans
Room Sensible Heat Factor (RSHF) is defined as sensible heat load divided by
total heat load in a room

iii) Contact Factor

Ans
Contact Factor represents the fraction of the contacted air as it passes over the
cooling coil of the refrigeration system. It is defined as the ratio of the
temperature difference between the entering coil air condition and the leaving coil
air condition and that between the entering air condition and coil apparatus dew

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 point. Alternatively, the Contact Factor is given by 1-BPF

iv) By-Pass Factor

Ans
By-Pass Factor represents the fraction of the uncontacted air as it passes over the
cooling coil of the refrigeration system. It is defined as the ratio of the
temperature difference between the leaving coil air condition and the coil
apparatus dew point and that between the entering air condition and coil apparatus
dew point.

c) Describe the processes of the Psychrometric chart shown below

[2 marks]
Ans
A Humidifying only
B Heating and humidifying
C Sensible heating only
D Heating and dehumidifying (or chemical dehumidifying)
E Dehumidifying only
F Cooling and dehumidifying
G Sensible cooling only
H Evaporative cooling only

d) Consider a room that contains air at 1 atm, 35°C, and 40 percent relative humidity. Using
the Psychrometric chart, determine
i) The Moisture content
Ans
Ω = 0.0142 kg H2O/kg dry air
ii) The enthalpy,
Ans
h = 71.5 kJ/kg dry air

iii) The wet-bulb temperature,

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 Ans
Twb = 24°C
iv) The dew-point temperature.
Ans
Tdp = 19.4°C

QUESTION 2
a) What is refrigeration and why is it important in food processing facilities? [2 marks]
Ans
Refrigeration is defined as the process of achieving and maintaining a temperature below
that of the surroundings. It is important in food processingbecause the growth of micro-
organisms is temperature-dependent, i.e growth declines as temperature falls, and growth
becomes very slow at temperatures below +10 °C.

b) Briefly explain the criteria for naming refrigerants as was formalized by ASHRAE
standard 34. Name the following refrigerants. [2 marks each]
Ans
Method for designating refrigerants
First digit on the right Number of fluorine atoms
Second digit from the right Number of hydrogen atoms plus one
Third digit from the right Number of carbon atoms minus one (not used
when equal to zero)
Fourth digit from the right Number of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in
the compound (not used when equal to zero)
i) CCl3F
Number of fluorine atoms =1
Number of hydrogen atoms plus one = 1
Number of carbon atoms minus one = 0
Number of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in the compound =0
Refrigerant name is R-11

ii) CClF3
Number of fluorine atoms =3
Number of hydrogen atoms plus one = 1
Number of carbon atoms minus one = 0
Number of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in the compound =0
Refrigerant name is R-13

c) A steady-flow Carnot refrigeration cycle uses refrigerant-134a as the working fluid. The
refrigerant changes from saturated vapor to saturated liquid at 30°C in the condenser as it
rejects heat. The evaporator pressure is 160 kPa. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram
relative to saturation lines, and determine

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 T43
12s

From Tables
@ 160 kPa, Te = 257.38 K
Given Tc = 303 K
i) The coefficient of performance,
1 1
COP R , C = = =5 . 64
TC 303
T ( )(
−1
e
257 .38
−1 )
ii) The amount of heat absorbed from the refrigerated space,
h3 =h g @ 300 C =266 . 66 kJ /kg
h4 =hf @ 300 C =93. 58 kJ /kg
Thus
q H =h 3−h4 =173 . 08 kJ /kg
From
qH T H 257. 38
=
qL T L
→ q L=173. 08
303 ( )
=147 . 03 kJ /kg

iii) The net work input.

W net ,in =q H −q L=26 . 05 kJ /kg

d) Briefly explain why a Carnot refrigerator executed within the saturation dome is not a
realistic model for refrigeration cycles? [1 marks]
Ans
The Carnot cycle is shown in the figure below
Process 4-1: isothermal expansion of the refrigerant.

Process 1-2: Isentropic compression of the low

temperature, low pressure vapour in the compressor.

Process 2-3: Isothermal condensation of the high

temperature saturated refrigerant.

Process 3-4: Isentropic expansion of the high pressure

saturated refrigerant

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 Practically, the reversed Carnot cycle cannot be used for refrigeration purpose as the
isentropic process requires very high speed of operation, whereas the isothermal process
requires very low speed of operation. During process 1-2, a mixture consisting of liquid
and vapour have to be compressed isentropically in the compressor. Such a compression
is known as wet compression and can lead to severe damages in high speed compressors
due to the presence of liquid droplets in the vapour. Additionally Using a turbine for
extracting work from the system during the isentropic expansion of liquid refrigerant is
not economically feasible, particularly in case of small capacity systems owing to the fact
that the specific volume of liquid is much smaller compared to the specific volume of a
vapour/gas and considering the inefficiencies of the turbine, the effect is too small
compared to the input.

e) How are refrigeration systems assessed to compare their energy efficiency? [2 marks]
Ans
The commonly used figures of merit for comparison of refrigeration systems are
– COP (coefficient of performance),

– EER (energy efficiency ratio)

Refrigerating Effect ( BTU/hour )
EER=
Work done (W )
– Cooing effect in terms of Ton of Refrigeration (TR)
– Specific power consumption (KW/TR)

QUESTION 3
a) Describe the principles of operation of vapor compression refrigeration cycles and
describe the practical difficulties of an ideal vapor compression cycle [1 mark]

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 Ans
Principles of operation of vapor compression refrigeration cycles

Condenser

Evaporator

Low
Low pressure
pressure liquid
liquid refrigerant
refrigerant
in
in evaporator
evaporator absorbs
absorbs heat
heat
and
and changes
changes to
to a
a gas
gas

T-s diagram

Practical difficulties
• Because of the irreversible nature of most processes of the cycle, the actual cycle
deviates from actual cycle
• Source of irreversibilities
– Pressure drop in fluid inside the coil
– Heat transfer with surroundings
• It is therefore difficult to get saturated vapor at compressor inlet.
– So in practice the refrigerant is slightly superheated at compressor inlet.
• It is also difficult to get saturated liquid at condenser exit.
– So in practice undercooling occurs
b) With the help of T-s diagrams explain how subcooling and superheating affect the
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 Ans
High Pressure Side

Compressor

Low Pressure Side

c) Air enters a 30-cm-diameter cooling section at 1 atm, 35°C, and 60 percent relative
humidity at a velocity of 120 m/min. The air is cooled by passing it over a cooling coil
through which cold water flows. The water experiences a temperature rise of 8°C. The air
leaves the cooling section saturated at 20°C. Determine:

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i) The rate of heat transfer
Ans
From tables,
 The saturation pressure of water at 35ºC is 5. 6291 kPa.
 Dew point temperature of the incoming air stream Tdp = Tsat @ Pv = Tsat @
0.6×5.6291kPa = 26°C

 Air is cooled to 20°C, which is below its dew point temperature,

Therefore some of the moisture in the air will condense such that (
ω2 <ω1 ).
 From the Psychrometric chart
h1 =90 . 3 kJ /kg . da
ω1 =0 . 0215 kg H 2 O / kg . da
v 1 =0 . 904 m3 /kg . da and
h2 =57 .5 kJ /kg . da
ω2 =0 . 0147 kg H 2 O/ kg . da
v 2 =0 . 851 m3 /kg . da
hw ≡hf @200 C =83 . 93 kJ /kg
.
πD 2 π ( 0 . 3 )2
V 1 =V 1 A 1 =V 1×
.
4
=120 ×
4 ( ) 3
=8. 48 m /min

. V 1 8 . 48 m 3 /min
ma1 = = = 9. 38 kg /min
v 1 0 . 904 m3 /kg . da
Water mass balance
. . .
m a 1 ω1 =m a 2 ω2 + m w
. .
⇒m w =m a1 ( ω1 −ω2 )=9. 38 ( 0 .0215−0 . 0147 )=0. 064 kg /min
Energy balance
. . . . . .
( )
Qout =ma 1 h1 − ma 2 h2 +mw hw =ma1 ( h1 −h2 ) −mw hw
.
⇒Q out=9.38 ( 90 .3−57 .5 )−0 .064×83.93=302 .3 kJ /min
ii) The mass flow rate of the cooling water
Ans
Noting that the heat lost by the air is gained by the cooling water, the mass flow

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 . .

rate of the cooling water is determined from Qcooling water =mcooling water c p ΔT
.
. Q out 302 . 3
⇒m cooling water = = =9 . 04 kg /min
c p ΔT 4 .18×8

iii) The exit velocity of the airstream

Ans
From the conservation of mass of dry air
. .
ma 1=ma 2
. .
V1 V2 V1A V 2A
⇒ = → =
v1 v2 v1 v2
v2 0 .851
⇒V 2 = V 1= ×120=113 m /min
v1 0 .904

d) Two airstreams are mixed steadily and adiabatically. The first stream enters at 32°C and
40 percent relative humidity at a rate of 20 m 3/min, while the second stream enters at
12°C and 90 percent relative humidity at a rate of 25 m 3/min. Assuming that the mixing
process occurs at a pressure of 1 atm, determine:
Schematic diagram

Properties of each inlet stream are determined from the psychrometric chart to be
h1 =62 .7 kJ/kg dry air
ω1 =0 . 0119 kg H2 O/kg dry air
v 1 =0 . 882 m 3 /kg dry air
and
h2 =31 .9 kJ/kg dry air
ω2 =0 . 0079 kg H 2 O/kg dry air
v 2 =0 . 819 m 3 /kg dry air
The mass flow rate of dry air in each stream is

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 . .
. V1 20
. V2
25
ma 1= = =22. 7 kg /min and ma2 = = =30. 5 kg /min
v1 0 . 882 v 2 0 . 819
. . .
⇒ ma3 =ma 1 +ma 2=53. 2 kg /min

i) The specific humidity [1 mark]

.
ma 1 ω2 −ω 3
From .
=
ω3 −ω 1
ma 2
22 .7 0 . 0079−ω3
⇒ = ⇒ω 3 =0 .0096 kg H 2 O /kg dry air
30 .5 ω3 −0 . 0119

ii) The relative humidity [1 mark]

.
ma 1 h2 −h3
.
=
h3 −h1
ma 2
22 .7 31 . 9−h3
⇒ = ⇒ h3 =45 . 0 kJ /kg dry air
30 .5 h3 −62. 7
φ3 =63. 4 % From the Psychrometric chart

iii) The dry-bulb temperature [1 mark]

0
T 3 =20 . 6 C From the Psychrometric chart

iv) The volume flow rate of the mixture. [1 mark]

3
v 3 =0 . 845 m /kg dry air From the Psychrometric chart
. .
⇒V 3 =m a 3 v 3 =53 . 2×0 . 845 =45 m3 /min

***END***

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