The Automotive Air Conditioning Cycle

Vapor Compression Cycle
The Automotive Air Conditioning Cycle The processes which constitute the cycle are:
 The vapor compression cycle is the most widely

used refrigeration cycle in practice.
In this cycle the vapor is compressed then
condensed to a liquid following which the pressure
is dropped so that the fluid can evaporate at low Refrigerants
pressure. R11 Trichloro-monofluro-methane
R12 Dichloro-difluro-methane
12 Compression
R22 Monochloro-difluro-methane
23 Heat Rejection R134a Tetrafluro-ethane
34 Expansion R717 Ammonia
41 Heat Addition R747 CO2
"The lecture presentations and slides are provided for educational purposes in this course. No part of them should "The lecture presentations and slides are provided for educational purposes in this course. No part of them should
be shared outside of the Blackboard Learn-University of Windsor platform." be shared outside of the Blackboard Learn-University of Windsor platform."
Slide # 1
Slide # 2
Vapor Compression Cycle Vapor Compression Cycle
Minor Components
Filter & Drier Receiver Accumulator
Oil Separator Sight glass
Heat absorbed by evaporator

Coefficient of Performance 
Work of the compressor
Slide # 3 Slide # 4
Example Example
A vapor compression cycle developing 10 KW of
refrigerator using R22 with a condensing temperature Solution.:
of 35°C and evaporating temperature of 5°C, 1354
calculate: kpa
a) the refrigerating effect in kJ/kg (a) h1  h4  407.1  243.1  164 kJ kg
b) the circulation rate of refrigerator in kg/s
c) the power required by the compressor in KW 10 kW
d) the COP (b) Flow rate   0.061 kg sec
164 kJ kg
e) the volume flow rate measured at the
compressor suction 
f) the power per KW of refrigeration (c) Compressor = m ( h2  h1 )  0.061(428  407.1)  1.27 kW
g) the compressor discharge temperature Power
10 kW
(d) COP   7.8
1.27 kW
Slide # 5 Slide # 6
1
Example A/C System
In general, operation of an A/C system may reduce fuel
(e) The volume flow rate at economy by as much as 10%. Automobile A/C systems range
1354
compressor inlet requires kpa in size and cooling capacity. Their output range is similar to
knowledge of the specific the one-to-four residential or commercial units. A cooling
volume, v1. capacity of 12000 BTU/hr (1 Ton) is minimum. Capacities up
to 48000 BTU/hr are available for vans or station wagons.
From table v=0.0404 m3/kg
Larger A/C system can consume as much as 8 hp (6 kW)
Volume flow rate = from the engine at high speeds. Capacity at this speed will
  be approximately 48000 BTU/hr. This means that
V  m v  (0.061)(0.0404)  0.0025 m  2.5 L s
3
2 hp (1.5kW) is used for each ton of refrigeration.

s
(f) Power of refrigeration 

1.28 kW
 0.13 kW kW
Compressor power per Compare this to 1 hp (0.75 kW) for each ton of
10 kW kW of refrigeration refrigeration in motor-driven, constant speed compressor
comparably built, with the evaporator and condenser more
(g) From Figure or tableT2= 48°C –constant entropy process ideally located.
Slide # 7 Slide # 8
A/C System Condenser and Evaporator

Is there an impact on fuel efficiency if I am driving
with my windows down versus with the A/C on?" The condenser is mounted in front of engine radiator.
It is usually constructed of copper or aluminium with
Both cases of "window up and the air conditioning on", & multiple rows or finned tubes.
"windows down and the air conditioner off" reduces the
fuel economy. At high speeds (greater than 80 km/hr), it The evaporator is often mounted next to the heater
is better to keep the air conditioning on and windows up. core assembly. Both are enclosed in a plenum chamber.
Note that when the windows are down, the drag increases Construction is similar to a condenser but much thicker
exponentially with the speed. At low speeds, there's less to provide a more compact design.
aerodynamic drag, thus you will use less gas by switching
the air conditioner off and rolling down the windows. Heat transfer analysis of condensation inside tubes is
complicated by the fact that is strongly influenced by
The more aerodynamic the vehicle, the more drag open
the vapor velocity and the rate of liquid accumulation
windows will create. At high speeds, the fuel efficiency
on the walls of the tubes.
may be reduced by 20 percent for a more aerodynamic
vehicle compare to 10% for a less aerodynamics vehicle.
Slide # 9 Slide # 10
Condenser Evaporator
The refrigerant enters the evaporator tube with a low
For low vapor velocities (see 3rd edition Cengel, page 591): fraction of vapor. As the refrigerant proceeds through the
1
tube, the fraction of the vapor increases, intensifying the
 g      v  kl3  agitation and increasing the heat transfer coefficient, when
 
4
 W 
hin  0.555  l l h fg  3 c pl  Tsat  Ts    2  the refrigerant is nearly all vaporized, the coefficient
   T  T  D 8
 m . C 
drops off to the magnitude applicable to vapor transferring
l sat s
V D heat by forced convection.

for Re vapor   v v   35000
  v  inlet
2
Expansion Valve Auxiliary Components
The expansion valve separates the high side of the A/C The magnetic clutch permits the engine to run without
system from the low side. Because the flow of running the compressor. The clutch engages or disengages
refrigerant is restricted in the valve, there is a pressure the compressor belt driven pulley and the compressor shaft.
drop across the valve.
The clutch is operated by forcing a clutch disk, mounted
The expansion valve has two main functions: throttles, to the compressor shaft, against the belt pulley, using
modulates & controls. electromagnetism. Disengaging the magnetic field will cause
The expansion valve is designed to meter the proper the belt pulley to “free wheel” on its bearings.
amount of liquid refrigerant into the evaporator as Many automotive systems use a low-side accumulator. The
required under varying heat load conditions to maintain accumulator is located between the evaporator outlet and
the proper cooling action. compressor inlet.
The expansion valve modulates from wide open position, The accumulator retains the liquid and releases mostly
to the closed position. The valve constantly seeks a vapor to the compressor. It includes a desiccant (moisture
balance between these two positions to ensure the absorbing material) to remove any contaminants from the
proper metering of refrigerant under all load conditions. system.
Auxiliary Components
AC Compressor
Some automotive A/C systems have a receiver or
receiver-drier located between the condenser and
expansion valve. The receiver serves as a storage
container for liquid refrigerant that enters from the The AC compressor has two functions,
condenser. -to compress gaseous refrigerants from a low
pressure to a high pressure
-to “pump” the refrigerant through the condenser,
flow device and evaporator.
Slide # 16
Slide # 15
AC Compressor AC Compressor
System Resistance and Compressor curve-
The intersection of the Compressor RPM curve and the Compressor characteristics
refrigerant system resistance curve defines the operating There are four basic compressor characteristics that are
point of the compressor. function of the compressor RPM, and compressor ratio, i.e.
volumetric efficiency, isentropic efficiency, compressor
capacity, and power capacity.
Compressor RPM: is a function of the vehicle speed if it
is engine driven.
Compression Ratio: is the ratio of the absolute
compressor discharge pressure and absolute suction
pressure
3
Volumetric efficiency: The volumetric efficiency is a
measure of how efficiently the refrigerant gas is drawn Compressor work: compressor work is the product of
into the compressor at a given compression ratio and the refrigerant flow and the compressor capacity.
compressor RPM. Note!
Isentropic efficiency: Refrigerant flow=comp displacement  RPM  Volumetric efficiency
(Ssuction  ( S disch arg e  S suction ))
Isentropic efficiency= 100
S suction Compressor Brake Power (HP or kW): The compressor
If there is no change in entropy across the compressor brake power is the actual power required to drive the
the isentropic efficiency is 100%. The greater the compressor and overcome the friction effects of the
isentropic efficiency, the better the AC system design. compressor and the refrigerant gas as it is pumped
through the AC system. The compressor brake power is
Compressor capacity: Compressor refrigeration capacity generally determined over a range of pressure ratio and
is the refrigerant enthalpy change between suction and RPM on a compressor dynamometer bench.
discharge sides of the compressor.
Scroll and piston compressor are used in mobile applications. Speed range: because compressors are belt-driven directly
from the engine, they must with-stand speeds of over 6000
They have the following characteristics: RPM and remain smooth and quiet down to 1000 RPM.
Displacement: fixed displacement compressors have The compressor ratio varies from about 5:1 to 8:1.
displacements of 6.1 to 12.6 in3 Pressure ratios above 8:1 place added loads on the pistons
and bearings in the compressor as well as very high
Variable displacement compressors have a minimum
temperatures that can cause oil break down.
displacement of 1 in3, about 10% of their maximum
displacement. Driving the piston by crankshaft is an operation very
similar to an automobile engine. The main difference is that
A typical variable capacity scroll compressor has a in a compressor the crankshaft drives the piston, where as in
maximum displacement of 7.3 in3 and a minimum an engine the piston drives the crankshaft.
displacement of just 3% of the maximum.
Automotive AC compressors, depending on design, have
several number of pistons.
Actual Volumetric Efficiency Clearance Volumetric Efficiency
Vc is minimum or clearance

Volumetric efficiencies are the bases for predicting volume. V3 is maximum volume
performance of compressors. The actual volumetric in cylinder which occurs at
efficiency is defined as: the other end of the piston
stroke.
Volume flow rate entering compressor m3
 va  s
displacement rate of compressor m3

s Assume that suction
pressure is P1. Gas trapped in
the clearance volume must
Where the displacement rate is the volume swept first expand to volume V1
through by the piston in their suction strokes per before the pressure in the
unit time. cylinder is low enough for
suction valves to open and
draw in more gas.
4
Clearance Volumetric Efficiency Clearance Volumetric Efficiency
The clearance volumetric efficiency is
Also,
V3  V1
 vc   100
V3  Vc V1 vsuction Specific Volume of Vapor entering Compressor
 
Adding VC-VC to the numerator of the above expression, Vc vdisch arg e Specific Volume of Vapor after isentropic compression to Pd
gives V3  Vc  Vc  V1
 vc   100 Then  vsuction 
V3  Vc  vc  100  m   1
Vc  V1
v 
 100   100  disch arg e 
V3  Vc
V1  Vc The mass flow rate, w, kg/s, through compressor is
 100   100
V3  Vc  vc
Vc  V1  w  displacement rate  100
 100    1   100 vsuction
V3  Vc  Vc 
The power is
V  Vc
 100  m  1  1  where m, percent clearance, m   100 P ( kW )  w h
 Vc  V3  Vc
Example
EXAMPLE
First draw p-h diagram
From catalogue data for a six cylinder R-22.

Compressor operating at 29 r/s indicate a
refrigerating capacity of 96.4kW and a power
requirement of 28.9kW at an evaporating temperature
of 5°C and condensing temperature of 50°C. The
performance data are based on 3°C liquid sub-cooling
and 8°C superheating of the suction gas entering the
compressor. The cylinder bore is 67mm and the piston
stroke is 57mm. Compute:
(a) The clearance volumetric efficiency if the percent
clearance volume is 4.8% (m=4.8).
(b) The actual volumetric efficiency. "The lecture presentations and slides are provided for educational purposes in this course. No part of them should
"The lecture presentations and slides are provided for educational purposes in this course. No part of them should
Slide # 27
Slide # 28
Example Example
at T= 13°C, P=584kPa
h1  413.1kJ / kg  v 
( a )  vc  100  m  suction  1 
s1  1.7656 kJ / kg .k  s 2 v 
 disch arg e 
v1  43.2 L / kg  v suction  43.2 
 100  4.8   1
 14.13 
s2  s1  90.1%
P2  1942 kPa (b ) The compressor displacement is
h2  444.5 kJ / kg 
v2  14.13 L / kg
  6 cyl  29 r 
s  4 

0.067   0.057  m 3 / cyl .r 
2

v2  vdisch arg e  0.03497 m / s 3
 34.97 L / s
5
Example
• 
The actual flow rate of refrigerant is: Q  m  h

96.4
m  0.626 kg / s
413.1  259.1
The actual volumetric flow rate of the refrigerant at suction:

   
m   ;   m v

   0.626  43.2   27.04 L / s
27.04 L
 va  s  100  77.3%
34.97 L
s
"The lecture presentations and slides are provided for educational purposes in this course. No part of them should
be shared outside of the Blackboard Learn-University of Windsor platform."
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The Automotive Air Conditioning Cycle

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The Automotive Air Conditioning Cycle

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Vapor Compression Cycle

 The vapor compression cycle is the most widely

Vapor Compression Cycle Vapor Compression Cycle

Heat absorbed by evaporator

2 hp (1.5kW) is used for each ton of refrigeration.

(f) Power of refrigeration 

A/C System Condenser and Evaporator

V D heat by forced convection.

Actual Volumetric Efficiency Clearance Volumetric Efficiency

Vc is minimum or clearance

displacement rate of compressor m3

From catalogue data for a six cylinder R-22.

The actual volumetric flow rate of the refrigerant at suction:

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