lOMoARcPSD|19972723

Refrigeration Cycles Lab Report (Thermofluid Mechanics)

Mechanical Engineering (Coventry University)

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Refrigeration Cycle

23/09/2021

Refrigeration Cycles Lab Report

NAME: DIBYAYAN BHATTACHARJEE

ID: 0460SHTZ
COURSE: BACHELOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MODULE: 207 MAE - THERMOFLUID MECHANICS
LAB TUTOR: MR MOHAMED ADIL BIN MOHD YUSOFF
LOCATION: PSB ACADEMY, SINGAPORE

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ABSTRACT
Refrigeration is the process of heat removal to cool down an
object or a space to a temperature that is lower than the
ambient temperature. It has a myriad of domestic and
commercial applications in the form of household
refrigerators, air conditioners, HVAC, industrial freezing,
cryogenics and more. Hence, it is crucial for us to get a better
understanding of refrigeration systems and make
developments in this field.

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AIM
The primary aim of the lab was to get a better understanding
of a refrigeration system under various conditions.
Objectives:
• To measure the Coefficient of Performance (COP) of a
refrigeration unit and analyse the differences between
actual and ideal refrigeration cycles
• Plot the vapour-compression cycle in a pressure-
enthalpy (p-h) graph
• Study the effects of temperature and pressure changes
via sub-cooling and valves respectively

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INTRODUCTION
Refrigeration involves heat transfer from low temperature to
high temperature. Its purpose is to reduce the temperature
of a body below that of its surroundings. It is basically a
reverse heat pump. The Second law of thermodynamics
states that this reverse movement of heat can only occur in
the presence of external work. In this lab, we studied the
workings of a refrigeration system and the effects of various
parameters like pressure and temperature on its
performance. A refrigeration system involves four processes:
Evaporation, Compression, Condensation and Expansion. The
working fluid that Is used in a refrigerator is called the
refrigerant. In this lab we used R-22 as our refrigerant.

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PROCEDURE
1. For the first test, Sub-cooler was turned off and throttle was set to
capillary
2. The compressor was then turned on
3. Measurements were recorded after allowing the unit to run for at least 15
to 20 minutes for it to reach approximate thermal equilibrium.
4. Throttle was then set to TXV and the measurements were recorded again
5. Sub-cooler was then turned on and the process was repeated
6. The temperature and pressure readings were tabulated in Table 1
7. The corresponding enthalpy values were recorded using the p-h chart for
R-22 [1]
8. The refrigeration cycle was plotted on the same p-h chart and compared
with the ideal reversed Carnot cycle.

Experiment Setup

Figure 1 Air conditioning equipment

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The following Table contains the Pressure and Temperature readings obtained
from the lab and their corresponding enthalpy values.
Room Pressure (kPa) 101.3
Room temperature (℃) 25

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

(capillary (TXV (capillary with (TXV with sub-
without sub- without sub- sub-cooling) cooling)
cooling) cooling)
Condenser inlet pressure P1 1250 1613 1662 1626
(kPa, gauge)
Condenser inlet temperature, 102.1 88.7 86.6 92.8
T1 (℃)
Specific Enthalpy, h1 (kJ/kg) 485 474 473 476

Condenser outlet pressure P2 1202 1549 1592 1563

(kPa, gauge)
Condenser outlet 30.8 30.4 32.8 30.4
temperature, T2 (℃)
Specific Enthalpy, h2 (kJ/kg) 235 237 240 237

Evaporator inlet pressure P3 177 496 600 502

(kPa, gauge)
Evaporator inlet temperature, -12.5 6 10.4 6.1
T3 (℃)
Specific Enthalpy, h3 (kJ/kg) 187 207 214 207

Evaporator outlet pressure P4 156 455 552 463

(kPa, gauge)
Evaporator outlet 16.1 13.1 17.2 16.4
temperature, T4 (℃)
Specific Enthalpy, h4 (kJ/kg) 424 422 425 424

Table 1

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This experiment follows the following 4 processes:

Step 1: Compression

The refrigerant is in gas form when it enters the compressor at low

temperature and low pressure. The compressor reduces volume and
creates high pressure gas causing temperature to rise.

Step 2: Condensation

The hot gas is cooled down by water and condensed to hot liquid
refrigerant in constant pressure.

Step 3: Throttling and Expansion

When the hot liquid refrigerant enters the throttling valve, it cools
down due to pressure decrease and becomes a liquid vapor mixture.
In this lab, we experimented with two different throttling valves, a
capillary valve and a thermostatic expansion valve to study their
effects which is discussed later.

Step 4: Evaporation

The refrigerant evaporates and turns back into gas as it is at a lower

temperature than its surroundings. It draws heat away from the
contents of the refrigerator. [2]

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Calculations :

In Table 2, the following calculations were performed.

1. Heat transfer in the evaporator: 𝑞𝑒

2. Heat transfer in the condenser: 𝑞𝑐
3. Compressor
The delivered pressure ratio is given by 𝛽 = 𝑝𝑐 ⁄𝑝𝑒 , where 𝑝𝑐 and
𝑝𝑒 are the compressor pressure (abs) and the evaporator pressure
(abs), respectively.
4. Coefficient of performance (COP)
For the refrigeration cycle,
refrigeration effect ℎ4 − ℎ3
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 = =
compressor work ℎ1 − ℎ4

For a reversed Carnot refrigeration cycle,

1
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓,𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 =
𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟
𝑇𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 − 1

[3]

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Using the formulas above, the following calculations were made:

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

Specific Enthalpy, h1 (kJ/kg) 485 474 473 476

Specific Enthalpy, h2 (kJ/kg) 235 237 240 237

Specific Enthalpy, h3 (kJ/kg) 187 207 214 207

Specific Enthalpy, h4 (kJ/kg) 424 422 425 424

Compressor pressure Pc 1303.3 1650.3 1693.3 1664

(kPa, abs)
Evaporator pressure Pe 257.3 556.3 653.3 564.3
(kPa, abs)
Condenser Temperature (K) 303.8 303.4 305.8 303.4
𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟
Evaporator Temperature (K) 289.1 286.1 290.2 289.4
𝑇𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 3.88 4.13 4.39 4.17

𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓,𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 19.66 16.53 18.60 20.67

𝑞𝑒 = ℎ4 − ℎ3 (kJ/kg) 237 215 211 217

𝑞𝑐 = ℎ2 − ℎ1 (kJ/kg) -250 -237 -233 -239

𝛽 = 𝑝𝑐 ⁄𝑝𝑒 , 5.06 2.96 2.59 2.94

Table 2

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The following are the refrigeration cycles. The blue line indicates the
Ideal reversed Carnot refrigeration cycle and the green line
represents the actual cycle based on the results in the lab.

Ideal Reversed Carnot Cycle :

Test 1 (Capillary without sub-cooling): 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 3.88

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Test 2 (TXV without sub-cooling): 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 4.13

Test 3 (Capillary with sub-cooling): 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 4.39

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Test 4 (TXV with sub-cooling): 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 4.17

Discussion:
It was found that the actual COP based on real world data was less from
the COP of an ideal cycle. This is because of the assumptions we make
while considering a theoretical ideal cycle. In the real world there are also
many variables which reduces the efficiency. For example, constant
pressure heat transfers are not possible in the real world. Then there is
transfer of heat between the equipment and the surrounding.
Furthermore, the room temperature and pressure is not always constant
just to name a few.
It was also found that temperature and pressure had a significant effect
on the COP. Test 3 had the highest COP among the four. The difference
between the actual COP and the ideal Carnot COP was also the lowest in
Test 3. Hence, we can deduce that the best setting for the refrigeration
system was sub-cooling the refrigerant and using a capillary valve before
it entered the evaporator. Subcooling is beneficial because sometimes
vapour is left over even after condensation, so subcooling ensures that
only liquid enters the throttling device.

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CONCLUSION
The lab helped us understand the workings of a refrigeration system
and the various processes it involves. We also studied the effects of
temperature and pressure variations, with the use of sub-cooler and
various throttling devices on its COP. The cycles plotted on the p-h
graph helped us understand how an actual cycle differs from an ideal
cycle. It was concluded that COP of an actual refrigeration system is
significantly lower than the ideal theoretical cycle because of various
real world variables which are not accounted for in an ideal cycle.
We further concluded, based on the data of this lab, that the use of
sub-cooler and capillary tube helps increase the COP of a refrigeration
system because the sub-cooler ensures any left-over vapour is
converted into liquid before it enters the evaporator.

REFERENCES
[1] SWEP, DOVER Company, Appendix B - Log P/h diagrams for refrigerants,

https://www.swep.net/refrigerant-handbook/appendix/appendix-b/

[2] White, Gordon, ARCH News (2019), A Simple Guide to the Refrigeration Cycle and How
Air Conditioners Work
https://www.achrnews.com/articles/143790-a-simple-guide-to-the-refrigeration-cycle-and-
how-air-conditioners-work

[3] Coventry University Version 3.4 Faculty of Engineering and Computing (2021), Lab. 1:
Refrigeration Cycle

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