REFRIGERATION CYCLES

Objectives
• Introduce the concepts of refrigerators and heat
pumps and the measure of their performance.
• Analyze the ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
• Analyze the actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
• Review the factors involved in selecting the right refrigerant
for an application.
• Discuss the operation of refrigeration and heat pump
systems.

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• The transfer of heat from a low-
temperature region to a high-
temperature one requires special
devices called refrigerators.
• Another device that transfers heat
from a low-temperature medium to a
high-temperature one is the heat
pump.
• Refrigerators and heat pumps are
essentially the same devices;
they differ in their objectives only.

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Schematic of a Carnot refrigerator and T-s diagram of the reversed Carnot cycle.
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Process (1-2), the refrigerant absorbs heat isothermally from a
low-temperature source at TL in the amount of QL .
Process (2-3), isentropic compression to state 3 (temperature
rises to TH).
Process (3-4), rejects heat isothermally to a high-temperature
sink at TH in the amount of QH.
Process (4-1), expands isentropically to state 1 (temperature
drops to TL).
1- The refrigerant changes from a saturated vapor state to a
saturated liquid state in the condenser during process 3-4.
2- The coefficients of performance of Carnot refrigerators and
heat pumps are expressed in terms of temperatures as
TL 1
COPR ,Carnot = =
TH − TL TH / TL − 1
TH 1
COPHP,Carnot = =
TH − TL 1 − TL / TH
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COPHP,Carnot = COPR ,Carnot + 1
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Schematic and T-s diagram for the ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
1- The cycle that results is called the ideal vapor-compression
refrigeration cycle.
2- The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is the most widely
used cycle for refrigerators, air-conditioning systems, and heat
pumps. It consists of four processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression in a compressor.
2-3 Constant-pressure heat rejection in a condenser.
3-4 Throttling in an expansion device.
4-1 Constant-pressure heat absorption in an evaporator.
Then the COPs of refrigerators
and heat pumps operating on the
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle can
be expressed as,

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State 1

State 2

State 3

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State 4

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Schematic and T-s diagram for the actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
1- An actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle differs from
the ideal one in several ways, owing mostly to the
irreversibilities that occur in various components.
2- Two common sources of irreversibilities are fluid friction
(causes pressure drops) and heat transfer to or from the
surroundings.

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When designing a refrigeration system, there are
Several refrigerants from which to choose, such as,
1- Chlorofluorocarbons, (CFCs).
2- Ammonia, (NH3).
3- Hydrocarbons, (CnHm), (propane, ethane, ethylene, etc.).
4- Carbon dioxide,(CO2), air (in the air-conditioning of aircraft).
5- Water, (H2O) (in applications above the freezing point).
6- The right choice of refrigerant depends on the situation at
hand.
7- Of these, refrigerants such as R-11, R-12, R-22, R-134a, and
R-502 account for over 90 percent.

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A heat pump can be used to heat a house in winter and to cool it in summer.

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Any Questions Please ?