Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Report on

STUDY OF A REFRIGERATION UNIT.

Course No: CHE 302

Course Name: Chemical Engineering Laboratory II

Submitted to:
Hridoy Roy Prottoy
Lecturer
Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET

Submitted By
Umma Hany Nawrin
ID: 1902057
Partner’s ID: 1902056
1902058
1902059
1902060
Group No: 06(A2)
Level-3/Term-1
Department of Chemical Engineering

Date of Performance: 03-12-2022

Date of Submission: 17-12-2022
Statement of Academic Integrity
I, hereby, declare and confirm that the report submitted is my own work based on my group’s
laboratory experiment and relevant literature survey and no part of it is directly copied from
any other sources.
--------------------
Signature

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Summery:
The refrigeration process is most used in the air conditioning industry, as well as in the
transportation, shipping, and preservation of commodities that might degrade, such food and
drink. It also finds large scale industrial applications in dehydration of gases and manufacture
of ice or subcooled liquids. Applications in the petroleum industry include lubricating oil
production, low temperature reactions and separation of volatile components. Thus, it can be
said that this process is of great interest, especially from a thermodynamic standpoint.
The objectives of the experiment are as follows:
• To observe the vapor compression refrigeration cycle, its’ various components and the
thermodynamic processes that occur in them
• To inspect the saturation pressure – saturation temperature relationship during evaporation
and condensation.
• To determine the effect evaporating and condensing temperatures have on the refrigeration
rate and condenser heat output.
• To study the effect of compressor pressure ration on system performance.
• To determine the overall heat transfer between R123b and water in the evaporator and
Condenser.
To visually inspect these relations saturation pressure vs saturation temperature for evaporator
and condenser, rate of heat transfer vs condenser temperature, and rate of heat transfer vs
compressor pressure ratio plot have been plotted.

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Acknowledgement:
I would like to express my gratitude towards my course teacher, Hridoy Roy Prottoy, Lecturer
of Chemical engineering department, BUET. His continuous co-operation, guidance and
suggestions regarding the execution of the experiment and the writing of this report made the
tasks much easier. I would also like to thank my fellow lab group teammates and the lab
demonstrator for their assistance in the conduction of the experiment.
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank our department for offering us with such an elaborately
designed course on mass and heat transfer, because of which we are able to acquire essential
practical knowledge and experience that will help us greatly to become a better engineer in our
respective fields.

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Contents
Summery: ................................................................................................................................... 2

Acknowledgement: .................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction: ............................................................................................................................... 7

Theory: ....................................................................................................................................... 8

The Second Law of Thermodynamic:.................................................................................... 8

Refrigeration: ......................................................................................................................... 8

Carnot Refrigerator: ............................................................................................................... 9

Vapor compression refrigeration cycle: ............................................................................... 10

Experimental work: .................................................................................................................. 11

Apparatus: ............................................................................................................................ 11

Experimental procedure: ...................................................................................................... 12

Experimental Setup: ............................................................................................................. 13

Result & Discussion:................................................................................................................ 14

Observed Data:..................................................................................................................... 14

Discussion: ........................................................................................................................... 17

Conclusion: .............................................................................................................................. 20

Reference: ................................................................................................................................ 21

Nomenclature: .......................................................................................................................... 22

Appendices:.............................................................................................................................. 23

Appendix A: Sample Calculation ........................................................................................ 23

Appendix B: ......................................................................................................................... 24

Appendix C .......................................................................................................................... 25

Appendix D .......................................................................................................................... 26

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List of Tables:
Table 1: Table for the observed data for the study of a refrigeration unit. .............................. 14
Table 2: Table for the calculated data the study of a refrigeration unit. .................................. 15

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List of Figures:
Figure 1: Block diagram of a refrigerator. (Çengel & Boles, 2011) .......................................... 8
Figure 2:Temperature vs Entropy diagram of a Carnot refrigerator. ......................................... 9
Figure 3: The vapor compression refrigeration cycle and Temperature vs entropy diagram.
(SMITHet al.,2001). ................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 4: Schematic diagram for the experimental setup of the study of a refrigeration unit. 13
Figure 5: Plot for Saturation pressure vs Saturation temperature for Evaporator and Condenser.
.................................................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 6:Plot for Rate of heat transfer vs Condenser temperature for Evaporator and Condenser.
.................................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 7: Plot for Rate of heat transfer vs Compression ratio for Evaporator and Condenser.
.................................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 8: Theoretical plot of saturation pressure vs saturation temperature for evaporator and
Condenser for general refrigerant (R141b) .............................................................................. 17
Figure 9: Theoretical plot for the heat transfer vs condensing temperature/compression ratio
for the evaporator and condenser. ............................................................................................ 18

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Introduction:
Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from matter which may be a solid, a liquid, or a
gas. Removing heat from the matter cools it or lowers its temperature. There are several ways
of lowering temperatures, some of which are of historical interest only. In some older methods,
lowering of temperature may be accomplished by the rapid expansion of gases under reduced
pressures. Thus, cooling may be brought about by compressing air, removing the excess heat
produced in compressing it, and then permitting it to expand.
As known, two common methods of refrigeration are natural and mechanical. In the mechanical
refrigeration a refrigerant is a substance capable of transferring heat that it absorbs at low
temperatures and pressures to a condensing medium; in the region of transfer, the refrigerant
is at higher temperatures and pressures. By means of expansion, compression, and a cooling
medium, such as air or water, the refrigerant removes heat from a substance and transfers it to
the cooling medium. Refrigeration is one of the most important thermal processes in various
practical applications, ranging from space conditioning to food cooling. In these systems, the
refrigerant is used to transfer the heat. Initially, the refrigerant absorbs heat because its
temperature is lower than the heat source's temperature and the temperature of the refrigerant
is increased during the process to a temperature higher than the heat sink's temperature.
Therefore, the refrigerant delivers the heat.

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Theory:
The Second Law of Thermodynamic:
Out of all the thermodynamic laws, the second law is the one which dictates the direction in
which heat travels and introduces the concepts of entropy. Although there are multiple ways of
expressing or stating the second law of thermodynamics, the most heard statement is the one
given by German scientist Rudolf Clausius, according to which: “There exists no process as
such, which solely transfers heat from one temperature level to a higher one” (Clausius, 1854).
Thus, as a universal law, it is not only unnatural but rather impossible for heat to be transferred
from a low temperature source to a high temperature sink. However, achievement of such a
process is only restricted if the heat is expected to flow by itself without the influence by any
external stimuli. And it is indeed true that heat can be made to travel form a low temperature
source to a sink at a higher temperature with the help of refrigerator.
Refrigeration:
The process of refrigeration involves the use of a device called a refrigerator, capable of
transferring heat form a low temperature zone to a high temperature zone. The way this device
can achieve this, is by having work done onto it. A refrigerator performs like a reverse Carnot
engine, some amount of work is done on the unit which then uses this energy to transfer heat
against the temperature gradient. Figure-1 shows a block diagram, of a refrigeration unit.
(Çengel & Boles, 2011). According to the diagram QL amount of heat is absorbed from the
cold space and this requires Wnet, in amount of work to be done. QH amount of heat is then
rejected to the warm environment. This allows the refrigerated space to remain at a colder
temperature compared to that of its surroundings.

Figure 1: Block diagram of a refrigerator. (Çengel & Boles, 2011)

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Carnot Refrigerator:
An ideal refrigerator operates on a Carnot cycle. The steps involved in the Carnot refrigeration
cycle, with respect to Figure 2, are i) Isothermal absorption of heat, Qc from low temperature
source (Step 1 to 2), ii) Isentropic compression of the refrigerant with the help of a compressor,
rising its temperature to that of the heat sink (Step 2 to 3), iii) Isothermal rejection of heat, QH
the high temperature sink (Step 3 to 4) and finally iv) Isentropic expansion of the refrigerant
using a turbine dropping its temperature to that of the heat source.

Figure 2:Temperature vs Entropy diagram of a Carnot refrigerator.

The net work done on the system, W is given by

W = IQHI – I QCI ………………… (1)
This is true as the change in internal energy of the working fluid is essentially zero after the
cycle is completed. The quantity used for representing the efficacy of a refrigerator is called its
coefficient of performance (COP), and it is defined as:
COP = (Heat absorbed at the low temp. source) / (Net work done on the system)
= QC/W …………………(2)
From Carnot’s theorem, it is known that for a Carnot engine operating between a source at
temperature TH and a sink at Temperature TC, the following relation holds true
𝑄𝐻 𝑇𝐻
= …………(3)
𝑄𝐶 𝑇𝐶

Substituting the value of W in Eq.1 into Eq.2 then performing some simple algebraic
reorganizations and finally using the relationship in Eq.3, we get
𝑇𝐶
COP = 𝑇 ………. (4)
𝐶− 𝑇𝐻

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Eq.4 is only applicable for a Carnot refrigerator, and it gives the maximum possible value of
COP for any refrigerating system operating between the temperatures TC and TH.

Vapor compression refrigeration cycle:

Due to inherent irreversibility’s in real-life systems, it is impractical to expect a refrigerator to
perform in a similar fashion to that of a Carnot’s refrigerator. As a result, several real-life
refrigeration cycles have been developed which serve as the blueprint for the development of
real-life refrigeration systems. The ideal vapor compression refrigeration cycle serves as a
model for the working principle for several modern-day refrigeration systems. Other types of
refrigeration cycles are discussed in the Appendix. Most of the impracticalities involved with
the use of the Carnot’s refrigeration cycle are avoided by allowing the refrigerant used in the
cycle to get vaporized completely before it undergoes compression, along with this change the
ideal vapor compression refrigeration cycle also replaces the turbine shown in the Carnot’s
refrigeration cycle in Figure 2 with a throttling device which can be served by an expansion
valve or a capillary tube. A block diagram representing the process of a vapor compression
refrigeration cycle along a temperature vs entropy diagram is shown in Figure 3 (SMITH et al.,
2001).

Figure 3: The vapor compression refrigeration cycle and Temperature vs entropy diagram. (SMITHet al.,2001).

The steps involved within the vapor compression refrigeration cycle are:
• Isobaric and Isothermal absorption of heat QC at the evaporator (Step 1 to 2)
• Isentropic compression at the compressor (Step 2 to 3, path traced by solid line from 2
to 3’ represents the irreversibility that are usually encountered)
• Isobaric rejection of heat QH at the condenser (Step 3 to 4)
• Isenthalpic expansion at the throttling valve (Step 4 to 1)

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Experimental work:
Apparatus:
A vapor-compression system that was made up of the following components:
• Compressor
• Condenser
• Evaporator
• Pressure gauge
• Manometer
• Condenser rotameter
• Evaporator rotameter
• Condenser inlet-outlet thermometer
• Evaporator inlet-outlet thermometer
• Throttle valve
• Control valve
• Switcher
• Capillary tube
• Water reservoir
• Chiller
• Thermocouple
Chemicals used were the following:
• R123-b
• Water

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Experimental procedure:
1. The various components of the vapor-compression unit were identified.
2. The piping and control systems for the unit were examined.
3. The cooling water supply was turned on and power was supplied to the unit by flipping the
switch.
4. Water supply to the unit from the chiller was turned on and the evaporator and condenser
flowrate was adjusted to 4 g/s and 40 g/s respectively.
5. The main switch was turned on, which resulted in the compressor turning on and the two
internal lights lighting up.
6. The evaporator and compressor pressure were adjusted to approximately -39 KN/m2 and
90 KN/m2 respectively.
7. The unit was allowed to run for a few minutes in order to reach a suitable temperature
and pressure.
8. The temperatures at various points and components were noted, the water flowrate and
pressure for the evaporator and condenser were also noted.
9. Steps 7 and 8 were repeated for condenser water flowrates of 36 g/s, 32 g/s, 28 g/s and 24
g/s.

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Experimental Setup:

Figure 4: Schematic diagram for the experimental setup of the study of a refrigeration unit.

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Result & Discussion:
Observed Data:
The following data were provided by the instructor:
Water coil surface area of condenser, Ac = 0.032 m2
Water coil surface area of evaporator, Ae = 0.032 m2
Specific heat capacity of water, Cp = 4.18 kJ/kg K
Refrigerant used: R123b
Local atmospheric pressure = 101.325 kN/m2
The data collected from the experimental run is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Table for the observed data for the study of a refrigeration unit.

Observation No. 1 2 3 4 5

Evaporator gauge pressure, pe -39 -42 -40 -40 -41

(kN/m2 )
Absolute evaporator pressure, 62.3 59.3 61.3 61.3 60.1
Pe (kN/m2 )
Evaporator temperature, t5 19 16 14.5 14 13.7
(℃)
Evaporator water flowrate, ṁe 4 4 4 4 4
(g/s)
Evaporator water inlet 26 26 26 26 26
temperature, t1 (℃)
Evaporator water outlet 21.5 19 18.5 18.5 18.2
temperature, t2(℃)
Condensed liquid temperature, 31 34.4 37.1 38.7 38.9
t8 (℃)
Condenser gauge pressure, pc 90 99 110 115 119
(kN/m2)
Absolute condenser pressure, 191.3 200.3 211.3 216.3 220.3
Pc (kN/m2 )
Compressor discharge 43 45.5 48 49 49.5
temperature, t7 (℃)
Condenser temperature, t6 (℃) 30 33.5 34.4 36 36.5

Condenser water flowrate, ṁc 40 36 32 28 24

(g/s)
Condenser water inlet 26 26 26 26 26
temperature, t4 (℃)
condenser water outlet 26.5 27 27.5 28 28.5
temperature, t3 (℃)

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 Table 2: Table for the calculated data the study of a refrigeration unit.

Rate of Rate of Logarithmic mean

heat heat Overall heat transfer
temperature difference,
Compressor coefficient, U (W/m2.℃)
Observation transfer to transfer to
pressure ΔTLMTD (℃)
number water in water in
ratio
evaporator, condenser,
QE (W) QC (W) Evaporator Compressor Evaporator Compressor

1 75.60 84.00 3.07 4.37 3.74 540.55 701.04

2 117.60 151.20 3.38 5.81 6.99 632.09 676.15

3 126.00 201.60 3.45 7.10 7.73 554.43 815.46

4 126.00 235.20 3.53 7.65 8.96 514.94 820.05

5 131.04 252.00 3.65 7.76 9.19 527.90 856.59

Saturation pressure vs Saturation temperature for Evaporator and Condenser

250

200
Saturation pressure, P (kPa)

150

100

50

0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Saturation temperature, T (℃)

Evaporator Condenser

Figure 5: Plot for Saturation pressure vs Saturation temperature for Evaporator and Condenser.

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 Rate of heat transfer vs Condenser temperature for Evaporator and
Condenser
300

250
Rate of heat transfer, Q (W)

200

150

100

50

0
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
Condenser Temperature, T (℃)

Condenser Evaporator

Figure 6:Plot for Rate of heat transfer vs Condenser temperature for Evaporator and Condenser.

Rate of heat transfer vs Compression ratio for Evaporator and Condenser

300

250
Rate of heat transfer, Q (W)

200

150

100

50

0
3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7
Compression ratio

Evaporator Condenser

Figure 7: Plot for Rate of heat transfer vs Compression ratio for Evaporator and Condenser.

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Discussion:
The experiment was designed in such a way that it allowed for the one, conducting the
experiment to get familiarized with the working process of the refrigeration unit. Likewise, as
a requirement for the completion of the experiment, the curves as shown in Figure 5, Figure 6
and Figure 7 were needed to be plotted from the obtained results.
The refrigerant used during the entire process was Freon R123b. Some parameters must be
checked before choosing a refrigerator while doing the experiment. The refrigerant chosen
should be such that its vapor pressure at evaporator temperature should be greater than
atmospheric pressure, so that air cannot leak into the refrigeration system. Normally the
refrigerants which are high quality and easily available, their boiling point are at negative level
at the atmospheric pressure. So, in our unit operation lab at room temperature those refrigerants
must be in superheated vapor phase. So, it is quite very much difficult to compress those
superheated vapor and turn into liquid. That’s why for doing our experiment R123b refrigerant
had been used as its boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure is 26.67 ºC which is nearly
close to room temperature. So, at normal condition this refrigerant is liquid and easy to
compress its vapor and do the experiment without any difficulties.

Figure 8: Theoretical plot of saturation pressure vs saturation temperature for evaporator and
Condenser for general refrigerant (R141b)

Theoretically saturation pressure increases with the saturation temperature for both evaporator
and condenser and their curve stays closer to each other as shown in figure 8. Here figure 8
represent the relation between saturation pressure and saturation temperature of R141b
refrigerant which represent the characteristics of general refrigerant as theoretical graph of

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R123b is not available in the literature. In the figure-5 the plot which has been generated by
doing the experiment has the relation of proportionality of saturation pressure and saturation
temperature for both condenser and evaporator. But those curves are not closer to each other.

Figure 9: Theoretical plot for the heat transfer vs condensing temperature/compression ratio for the
evaporator and condenser.

Theoretically heat transfer rate vs condensing temperature/compressor pressure ratio for

condenser should be downward sloping and for evaporator it should be horizontal to the x-axis
means constant. But in the figure 6 and figure 7 for the evaporator the line is not exactly
horizontal. Rather than horizontal it is slowly increasing which can be said that experimental
result is close to the theoretical. For the condenser it is exactly opposite to the theoretical one.
Though the experiment was performed carefully and under close inspection from the
instructors, several inaccuracies can be seen from the plots. Some possible reasons are given
below
• Before the starting the experiment, the compressor should be vacuumed properly. The
compressor was vacuumed quite a long time ago. This might cause some errors.
• There was continuous fluctuating on condenser pressure, so it was tough to take exact
condenser pressure.
• After starting the experiment, after some times the amount of refrigerant had become
less than needed. Then again refrigerant was poured into the system. This interruption
might cause error in the result.
• It was assumed that the refrigerant would only exchange heat with its surroundings to
condense and evaporate, but this cannot be ensured to happen.

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 • Before using R123b for the experiment, in the same setup R141b refrigerant had been
used for years. So unwanted mixing might happen.
The refrigeration unit can be properly insulated so that heat exchange with environment cannot
happen might give a better observation.

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Conclusion:
In this experiment, a vapor-compression refrigeration unit was studied to understand and
observe the functions of the major components of the system. In a vapor-
compression refrigeration system, the liquid refrigerant evaporates by absorbing heat from
the refrigerated space in an evaporator and the gas is then compressed in a compressor
and then condensed by rejection of heat into the environment.
The relationship between saturation pressure and saturation temperature, rate of heat transfer
and compressor pressure ratio, rate of heat transfer and condenser temperature for both
evaporator and condenser were studied and observed. Graphs were also plotted for those
relations to understand the refrigeration system. As plotted graphs deviates a lot from the
theoretical ones, their possible reasons and solutions were also discussed.
It is necessary for chemical engineers to understand not only how the refrigeration system
works, but also the conceptual framework and thermodynamic concepts. The experiment
achieved its goals since it not only gave a visual representation of how a refrigeration cycle
operates but also made it possible to learn more about the intricate thermodynamic details of
contemporary refrigeration systems.

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Reference:
1. Çengel, Y., & Boles, M. (2011). Thermodynamics. McGraw-Hill.
2. SMITH, J., VAN NESS, H., & ABBOTT, M. (2001). Introduction to chemical
engineering thermodynamics (8th ed.)
3. Perry, R.H. and Green, D.W. (1997). Perry’s chemical engineers’ handbook, 7th
edition, McGraw-Hill publishing company limited.

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Nomenclature:

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Appendices:
Appendix A: Sample Calculation
Sample Calculations for observation number 2

Absolute pressure = Gauge reading + Atmospheric Pressure

Saturation pressure of evaporator, Pe = pe + P

= 59.3 KPa

Saturation pressure of condenser, Pc = pc +P

= 200.3 KPa

Rate of heat transfer, Q = mCpΔt

Rate of heat transfer for the evaporator, Qe = meCp(t1- t2) = 117.6 W

Rate of heat transfer for the condenser, Qc = meCp(t3- t4) = 151.2W

𝑃𝑐
Compressor pressure ratio, r = = 3.378
𝑃𝑒

Logarithmic mean temperature difference for evaporator,

(𝑡1 −𝑡5 )−(𝑡2 −𝑡5 )
ΔTLMTD = 𝑡 −𝑡 = 5.81 ºC
𝑙𝑛 1 5
𝑡2 −𝑡5

𝑄
Overall heat transfer coefficient for evaporator, U = = 632.09 Wm2/ ℃
𝐴𝛥𝑇𝐿𝑀𝑇𝐷

Logarithmic mean temperature difference for condenser,

(𝑡6 −𝑡4 )−(𝑡6 −𝑡3 )
ΔTLMTD = 𝑡 −𝑡 = 6.99 ºC
𝑙𝑛 6 4
𝑡6 −𝑡3

𝑄
Overall heat transfer coefficient for condenser, U = = 676.15 Wm2/ ℃
𝐴𝛥𝑇𝐿𝑀𝑇𝐷

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Appendix B:
Component of a vapor compression cycle
Compressor
The first step that occurs in the refrigeration cycle is Compression. The refrigerant, in the form
of cold vapor, at low temperature and low pressure, heads to the first component, the
compressor. It is in the gaseous state. Here, compression takes place to raise the weather and
the pressure of the refrigerant.
The compressor has two functions –
o To create the flow of refrigerant
o To create a pressure difference across the refrigeration cycle.
In this section, the cool, gaseous refrigerant is transformed into a very hot and high-pressured
vapor.
Condenser
After the compressor, the refrigerant moves to the condenser, whose job is to cool the
refrigerant and change it from a gas into a liquid.
The condenser has two functions –
o To move out the heat of the refrigerant
o To convert the vapor refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant.
In the condenser, the refrigerant is at high temperature compared to its outer surrounding
because of which the condenser throws out its heat as heat always flow from high temperature
to low temperature. Consequently, the vapor refrigerant changes into the liquid. Warm air from
outside, when blown across the condenser coil filled with hot gaseous refrigerant, allows the
heat transfer between the refrigerant and the outdoor air. This heat transfer turns the gaseous
refrigerant into liquid.
Expansion Device
Now, the refrigerant enters the expansion device whose sole purpose is to reduce the refrigerant
pressure.
By quickly driving the pressure of the refrigerant down, the expansion device makes it easier
to boil and evaporate. As a result of this rapid drop in the pressure, the refrigerant turns into a
combination of a cold liquid and vapor. Consequently, the temperature drops at this stage.
Evaporator:
Now cool and vapor form refrigerant enters the last, but not the least, stage of the refrigeration
cycle, that is Evaporator. The evaporator is an important part of the refrigeration cycle.

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Evaporator has two functions
o To absorb the heat of the outer surrounding
o To convert the liquid refrigerant into the vapor
In the evaporator, the refrigerant has a lower temperature compared to the surrounding
temperature because of which the heat of outer surrounding moves to the evaporator. This
creates a cooling effect outside.

Appendix C
Cascade Refrigeration System
Generally, almost all the refrigeration systems used commercially and domestically have
similar principle of operation. They conduct refrigeration by vapor compression cycle.
However, in some cases it is more effective to use an advanced configuration. One of these
refrigeration setups is called Cascade Refrigeration System.
Cascade Refrigeration System uses multiple refrigeration cycles coupled with each other via
heat exchanger. Each refrigeration cycle is called stage and consists of its own refrigerant. Due
to additional refrigeration cycles, cascade system allows lower temperature and better
efficiency compared to conventional refrigeration systems.
The refrigerants that are used in each cycle have different boiling points, freezing points and
critical pressures. This mainly depends on the lowest temperature that must be achieved and
refrigeration effect required at evaporation coil.
There are multiple cycles in cascade refrigeration system. A two-stage cascade system has high
temperature cycle and low temperature cycle. The selection of refrigerant is also based upon
cycle in which the refrigerant is flowing.

25
Appendix D
Saturation Temperature and Pressure Data for R-123 refrigerant

26
 Formal Report on
Study of Refrigeration Unit

Name: Umma Hany Nawrin

Student ID: 1902057

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