Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722

Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

First and Second Law Analysis of Cascade Refrigeration System Using

Refrigerant Pair R744-R1234ze(E)
Vipin Kumar1, Salma Khatoon2, Munawar Nawab Karimi3, Sandeep Kumar Kamboj4
1,2
Ph. D Scholar, 3,4Professor
1,2,3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vidya College of Engineering, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

Correspondence author: ervipinkumar09@gmail.com

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION
The performance of a two-stage cascade
refrigeration system using environment friendly Cascade refrigeration system is the process
refrigerant pair R744 in low temperature cycle of combining two vapour compression system in
and R1234ze(E) in high temperature cycle has series in order to get low temperature range between
been examined by mathematical simulation in -40℃ to -130℃. Low temperature refrigeration has
EES (Engineering Equation Solver). The become essential in many industrial applications.
operating parameters considered in this study Though there are many environmental issues with
are evaporator temperature and condenser the refrigerants that circulate in heating, ventilation
temperature. The results show that with increase and air conditioning (HVAC&R) cycles. In last
in condenser temperature, total exergy loss is some decades, phase-out regulations got effective
increasing and total COP is decreasing. The for established refrigerants, which has necessitated
similar effect has been seen with increase with the adoption of suitable replacements, related to the
evaporator temperature but rate of increase of need for data on the thermo physical properties of
total exergy loss and rate of decrease of total COP potential alternative working fluids.
with evaporator temperature is low. European commission has taken a step
forward by regulation EU No 517/2014 to reduce the
Keywords--Exergy, Cascade Refrigeration, EES, fluorinated refrigerants which are having high
R1234ze(E) global warming potential in Europe. Due to this
restriction the most affected area is centralized
refrigeration. This regulation established a ban to the
NOMENCLATURE use of fluorinated refrigerants with global warming
potential higher than 150[1].
ṁ Mass flow rate (kg/s) In recent years, the interest in natural
h Enthalpy (kJ/kg) refrigerants has grown up due to its low global
W Work (kW) warming potential as compared to HFC refrigerants.
E Exergy Rate (kW) Despite having many nature friendly characteristics
Q Cooling Capacity (kW) of CO2 as a refrigerant, due to its high heat rejection
S Entropy (kJ/kg-K) temperature, CO2 does not match the HFC’s high
COP Coefficient of Performance [-] energy efficiency so some extra measures need to be
taken to achieve high COP when using CO2[2].
Greek Symbols Another environment friendly refrigerant are new
Ƞ Efficiency [-] HFO refrigerants, which are having very low global
ȠII Second law efficiency [-] warming potential and low ozone depletion potential.
Ƞm Mechanical Efficiency [-] R1243zf can be a suitable alternative of R134a[3].
Vipin K. et. al.[4] studied a cascade
refrigeration system using different refrigerant pairs
Subscripts
and found that R717-R13 are the suitable refrigerant
o Atmospheric condition
for cascade refrigeration system. The temperature
LTC Low temperature circuit
requitement to preserve sperm, blood and organs in
HTC High temperature circuit
biomedical fields are in the range of -80℃ to -120℃
evap Evaporator
and to achieve this temperature range a cascade
comp Compressor
refrigeration system is used[5]. Hansaem P. Et. al.
con Condenser
[6] studied a cascade refrigeration system for water
cas Cascade
heating using refrigerant R134a-R410A and found
ExD Exergy destruction
that when the condensing temperature of R134a
increases , the optimal heat exchanger intermediate

14 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering
www.matjournals.com
temperature also increases and corresponding COP
is decreases.
A.D. Parekh and P.R. Tailor[7] performed
thermodynamic analysis of a cascade refrigeration
system with refrigerant R507A and R23. R507 is a
azeotropic mixture and R23 is single component
refrigerant. Antonio M and Domenico P[8] worked
on different refrigerant pairs in cascade refrigeration
system and found that a cascade refrigeration
system using natural refrigerants is an interesting
alternative to cascade system with synthetic
refrigerants for environmental, exergy and security
reasons. Refrigeration is used for chilling/freezing
of final solid or liquid products in many industrial
applications. In ethylene plants, refrigeration means
to cools different process streams with different
temperature ranging from 23 to -100.8℃[9]. A.S.
Dalkilic performed theoretical analysis of a cascade
refrigeration system with various alternative
refrigerants and he considered thermo physical
properties, limitations, restriction related to safety
and environmental impact for selecting a new
Figure 1: Cascade Refrigeration System
.
15 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved
e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)
refrigerant for cascade system. He worked on CFC-
12,CFC-502, HCFC-22 and their alternatives R134a,
R152a, R404a, R407c, R290, R600a, and found that
the alternative refrigerants of R152a and R717 has
higher COP [10].
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
A large temperature difference between
evaporator and condenser allow us to use
refrigeration at more than one stage. And this can be
achieved by a cascade refrigeration system. Figure 1
shows a two-stage cascade refrigeration system in
which two vapour compression refrigeration system
has been combined in series. In low temperature
circuit R744 and in high temperature circuit
R1234ze(E) are used. The evaporator of high
temperature circuit is taking heat from condenser of
low temperature circuit. Figure 2 shows the
corresponding pressure enthalpy diagram.
 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

Figure2: P-h Diagram.

• Pressure and heat loss in pipe network or

THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS
system components are neglected.
GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS • The mechanical efficiency of each
compressor is assumed to be 0.85.
• The system operates at steady state • The cooling demand of refrigeration
condition. system is 70kW.
• The kinetic and potential energy changes The ambient temperature is 30°C.
are negligible.

Table 1: Properties of Refrigerant Used.

S.N. Properties Refrigerant

R-744 HFO-1234ze(E)
1 Molecular Weight (g/mol) 44 114
2 Boiling Point at 1 atm (°C) -78.5 -18.95
3 Critical Temperature (°C) 31 109.4
4 Critical Pressure (kPa) 7382 3636
5 Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) 0 0
6 Global Warming Potential (GWP) 1 <1

GOVERNING EQUATIONS FOR MATHEMATICAL MODELING

The mass, energy and exergy balance equation are applied for all the components in proposed system.
Mass balance equation
∑in ṁ = ∑out ṁ (1)
Where ṁ is mass flow rate.

Energy balance equation

Q̇ + ∑in ṁ ℎ = 𝑊̇ + ∑out ṁ ℎ (2)
WhereQ̇ is, heat transfer rate and 𝑊̇ is work transfer rate and h is specific enthalpy
Exergy balance equation
Σ𝐸̇𝑋 𝑖𝑛 = Σ𝐸̇𝑋 𝑜𝑢𝑡 + 𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 (3)
Where 𝐸̇𝑋 𝑖𝑛 and 𝐸̇𝑋 𝑜𝑢𝑡 are exergy rate at inlet and outlet of system respectively. 𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 is exergy destruction rate.
Exergy balance for control volume
𝑇
𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 = Σ[(1 − 0)𝑄̇ ]𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑊̇ + Σ(𝑚̇𝑒)𝑖𝑛 − Σ(𝑚̇𝑒)𝑜𝑢𝑡 (4)
𝑇

16 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

Specific equation for each components of cascade refrigeration system:

For high temperature circuit:

1. Compressor
mass balance:
𝑚̇6 = 𝑚̇5 (5)
Energy balance:
𝑚 (ℎ −ℎ )
𝑊̇𝐻𝑇𝐶 = 5 6𝑠 5 (6)
𝜂𝑚,𝐻𝑇𝐶
Where 𝑊̇𝐻𝑇𝐶 is work rate and 𝜂𝑚,𝐻𝑇𝐶 is mechanical efficiency of compressor of high temperature cycle
Exergy balance:

(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑊̇𝐻𝑇𝐶 − 𝑚̇5 [(ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆6 − 𝑆5 )] (7)

Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 is exergy destruction rate of compressor of high temperature cycle

2. Expansion Valve
mass balance:
𝑚̇8 = 𝑚̇7 (8)
Energy balance:
ℎ7 = ℎ8 (9)
Exergy balance:
(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 = 𝑚̇8 𝑇0 (𝑆7 − 𝑆8 ) (10)
̇
Where (𝐸𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 is the exergy destruction rate of expansion valve of high temperature cycle.

3. Condenser
mass balance:
𝑚̇7 = 𝑚̇6 (11)
Energy balance:
𝑄̇𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚̇7 (ℎ6 − ℎ7 ) (12)
Where 𝑄̇𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 is the heat rate of condenser of high temperature cycle.
Exergy balance:
(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚̇7 [(ℎ6 − ℎ7 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆6 − 𝑆7 )] (13)
Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 is exergy destruction rate of condenser of high temperature cycle.

4. Cascade Condenser
mass balance:
𝑚̇5 = 𝑚̇8 , 𝑚̇3 = 𝑚̇2 (14)
Energy balance:
𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚̇5 (ℎ5 − ℎ8 ) = 𝑚̇3 (ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) (15)
Where 𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 is heat rate of condenser of low temperature cycle.
Exergy balance:

(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚̇5 [(ℎ8 − ℎ5 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆8 − 𝑆5 )] − 𝑚̇3 [(ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆3 − 𝑆2 )](16)

Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 is exergy destruction rate of condenser of low temperature cycle.

For low temperature circuit

5. Compressor
mass balance:
𝑚̇1 = 𝑚̇2 (17)
Energy balance:
𝑚̇ (ℎ −ℎ )
𝑊̇𝐿𝑇𝐶 = 1 2𝑠 1 (18)
𝜂𝑚,𝐿𝑇𝐶
Where 𝑊̇𝐿𝑇𝐶 is work transfer rate of compressor of low temperature circuit.

17 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

Exergy balance:

(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑊̇𝐿𝑇𝐶 + 𝑚̇1 [(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆2 − 𝑆1 )] (19)

Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 is exergy destruction rate of compressor of low temperature cycle.

6. Expansion Valve
mass balance:
𝑚̇4 = 𝑚̇3 (20)
Energy balance:
ℎ4 = ℎ3 (21)
Exergy balance:
(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 = 𝑚̇3 𝑇0 (𝑆3 − 𝑆4 ) (22)
Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 is exergy destruction rate of expansion valve of low temperature cycle.

7. Evaporator
Mass balance:
𝑚̇1 = 𝑚̇4 (23)
Energy balance:
𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 = 𝑚̇1 (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) (24)
̇
Where 𝑄𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 is heat transfer rate of evaporator of low temperature cycle.
Exergy balance:

𝑇0
(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 = (1 − )𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 + 𝑚̇1 [(ℎ4 − ℎ1 ) − 𝑇0 (𝑆4 − 𝑆1 )] (25)
𝑇𝐸

Where (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 is the exergy destruction rate of evaporator of low temperature cycle.
The COP of high temperature cycle has been calculated by the following equations:
𝑄̇𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝐻𝑇𝐶 = (26)
𝑊̇𝐻𝑇𝐶

And for low temperature cycle

𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝐿𝑇𝐶 = (27)
𝑊̇𝐿𝑇𝐶

The cascade system total COP is calculated by the following equation:

𝑄̇𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = (28)
𝑊̇𝐻𝑇𝐶 +𝑊̇𝐿𝑇𝐶

And the Carnot COP is calculated by

𝑇𝐸
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 = (29)
𝑇𝑐 +𝑇𝐸

Second law efficiency is calculated by:

𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
𝜂𝐼𝐼 = (30)
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡

Total Exergy destruction rate is calculated by:

(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 ) 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 + (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 + (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐻𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 + (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑛 + (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑚 +
(𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑥𝑝 + (𝐸̇𝑋 𝐷 )𝐿𝑇𝐶,𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 (31)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS the performance of cascade refrigeration system
based on first and second law analysis. Fig. 3 depicts
A set of mathematical equation has been the variation of total exergy with condenser
developed in engineering equation solver to evaluate temperature which has been varied from 41℃ to

18 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

50℃. The other operating parameters kept constant.
The total exergy loss is increased from 31.35 to
41.51 as condenser temperature decreased.
The variation of total COP with condenser
temperature can be seen in figure 4. The results show
that the COP is decreasing with increase in
condenser temperature and it decreased from 1.54 to
1.31. Figure 5 shows the variation of total exergy
loss with evaporator temperature and it can be seen
from figure 5 that the total exergy loss is increasing
with decrease in evaporator temperature. Figure 6
depicts the variation of total COP with evaporator
temperature which has been varied from -36℃ to -
45℃. The COP is decreased from 1.68 to 1.43 with
variation of evaporator temperature. This decrease is
due to the fact that a lower evaporator temperature,
the temperature difference between ambient and
cooling increases and this increase makes the system
inefficient.

44

42

40
Total Exergy Loss (W)

38

36

34

32

30
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Condenser Temperature (℃)

Figure3: Effect of Condenser Temperature on Total Exergy Loss.

1.6

1.55

1.5

1.45
Total COP

1.4

1.35

1.3

1.25

1.2

1.15
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Condenser Temperature (℃)

Figure 4: Effect of Condenser Temperature on Total COP.

19 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

34
33

Total Exergy Loss (W)

32
31
30
29
28
27
26
-36 -37 -38 -39 -40 -41 -42 -43 -44 -45
Evaporator Temperature (℃)

Figure5: Effect of Evaporator Temperature on Total Exergy Loss.

1.75
1.7
1.65
1.6
Total COP

1.55
1.5
1.45
1.4
1.35
1.3
-36 -37 -38 -39 -40 -41 -42 -43 -44 -45
Evaporator Temperature (℃)
Figure 6: Effect of Evaporator Temperature on Total COP.

CONCLUSIONS • R1234ze(E) can be a better alternative to HFC,

s.
The first and second law analysis of a
cascade refrigeration system using R744- REFERENCES
R1234ze(E) have been presented to see the effect of
operating parameters on total exegy loss and COP of 1. D. Sánchez, R. Llopis, R. Cabello, J. Catalán-
the system. The following observations have been Gil, and L. Nebot-Andrés (2017), “Conversion
made based on the above analysis. d’un système commercial frigorifiqueen
• Total exergy loss is increased by about 16% cascade (HFC134a/CO2) passant d’un mode
when the evaporator temperature is reduced direct à un mode indirect : analyse de
by -36℃ to -45℃. l’impacténergétique,” Int. J. Refrig., volume 73,
• Total COP of cascade system id reduced by pp. 183–199, 2017, Available at
about 14% when the evaporator temperature https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2016.09.012
is reduced by -36℃ to -45℃. The similar 2. J. M. Winkler and R. Radermacher (2008),
effect has been seen with increase in “Simulation and Validation of a R404A / CO2
condenser temperature. Cascade Refrigeration System,” Int. Refrig. Air
• Total exergy loss is increasing with increase Cond. Conf. Pap. 942., pp. 1–8, Available at
in condenser temperature and it is increased https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi
by about 24% when condenser temperature ?article=1941&context=iracc
increased by 41℃ to 50℃. 3. V. Kumar, M. N. Karimi, and S. K. Kamboj
(2020), “Mathematical Simulation of Fourth

20 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved

 Journal of e-ISSN: 2581-3722
Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume-6, Issue-3 (September-December, 2020)

www.matjournals.com

Generation Refrigerant R1243zf in Single Stage of a cascade refrigeration system”,

and Double Stage Vapour Compression International Conference on Computational
Refrigeration System,”Int. J. Inn. & Exp. and Experimental Science and Engineering,
Tech.Issue 4, pp. 1706–1710, Available at doi: Volume 130, pp. 101-106, Available at
10.35940/ijitee.D1502.029420. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rabi_Kar
4. V. Kumar, M.N. Karimi, S.K. Kamboj (2020) aali/publication/307613000_Thermodynamic_
“Comparative Analysis of Cascade Analysis_of_a_Cascade_Refrigeration_System
Refrigeration System Based on Energy and /links/57d323d308ae601b39a42744.pdf
Exergy Using Different Refrigerant Pairs,” J. 8. Messineo, A., & PANNO, D. (2012),
Therm. Eng., volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 106–115, “Performance evaluation of cascade
Available at 10.18186/thermal.671652. refrigeration systems using different
5. M. I. Alhamid, D. R. B. Syaka, and Nasruddin refrigerants”, International Journal of Air-
(2010), “Exergy and energy analysis of a Conditioning and Refrigeration, Volume 20,
cascade refrigeration system using R744+R170 Issue 3, pp.1250010, Available at
for low temperature applications,” Int. J. Mech. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010132512500101
Mech. Eng., volume 10, Issue 6, pp. 1–8, 9. Zhang, J., & Xu, Q. (2011), “Cascade
Available at refrigeration system synthesis based on exergy
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary? analysis”, Computers & chemical
doi=10.1.1.369.2219 engineering, Volume 35, Issue 9, pp.1901-
6. Park, H., Kim, D. H., & Kim, M. S. (2013), 1914, Available at
“Thermodynamic analysis of optimal https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2011.0
intermediate temperatures in R134a–R410A 2.015
cascade refrigeration systems and its 10. Dalkilic, A. S. (2012), “Theoretical analysis on
experimental verification”, Applied thermal the prediction of performance coefficient of
engineering, Volume 54, Issue 1, pp.319-327, two-stage cascade refrigeration system using
Available at various alternative refrigerants”, 1st
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013. BilimiveTekniğiDergisi, J. of thermal science
01.005 and technology, Volume 32, Issue 1.
7. Karaali, R. (2016), “Thermodynamic analysis

21 Page 14-21 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved