Actual Vapor – Compression and

Multi-pressure Refrigeration Systems

COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
OF REFRIGERATION CYCLE
 The coefficient of performance is an index of performance of
a thermodynamic cycle or a thermal system. Because the
COP can be greater than 1, COP is used instead of thermal
efficiency. The coefficient of performance can be used for the
analysis of the following:
 A refrigerator that is used to produce a refrigeration effect only, that is,
COPref
 A heat pump in which the heating effect is produced by rejected heat
COPhp
 A heat recovery system in which both the refrigeration effect and the
heating effect are used at thesame time, COPhr
Refrigeration processes of a vapor compression refrigerating
system
 Evaporation. In this process, the refrigerant evaporates at a lower
temperature than that of its surroundings, absorbing its latent heat of
vaporization.
 Superheating. Saturated refrigerant vapor is usually superheated to
ensure that liquid refrigerant does not flow into the compressor.
 Compression. Refrigerant is compressed to a higher pressure and
temperature for condensation.
 Condensation. Gaseous refrigerant is condensed to liquid form by being
desuperheated, then condensed, and finally subcooled, transferring its
latent heat of condensation to a coolant.
 Throttling and expansion. The higher-pressure liquid refrigerant is
throttled to the lower evaporating pressure and is ready for
evaporation.
Single stage vapour compression cycle
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE of
Single stage vapour compression cycle
Single stage vapour compression cycle
Actual vapor-compression cycle
Actual Vapor‐Compression Refrigeration Cycle
 1-In practice, the refrigerant enters
the compressor at state 1, slightly
superheated vapor, instead of
saturated vapor in the ideal cycle.
 2- The suction line (the line
connecting the evaporator to the
compressor) is very long. Thus
pressure drop and heat transfer to
the surroundings can be significant,
process 6-1.
 3- The compressor is not internally
reversible in practice, which increase
entropy. However, using a multi-stage
compressor with intercooler, or cooling the
refrigerant during the compression process,
will result in lower entropy, state 2’. 4- In
reality, the refrigerant leaves condenser as
sub-cooled liquid. The sub-cooling process is
shown by 3-4. Sub-cooling increases the
cooling capacity and will prevent entering
any vapor (bubbles) to the expansion
valve.
 5- Heat rejection and addition
in the condenser and
evaporator do not occur in
constant pressure (and
temperature) as a result of
pressure drop in the
refrigerant.
Actual Vapor-Compression Cycle
Example: The table provides steady-state operating
data for a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
using R-134a as the working fluid. For a refrigerant
mass flow rate of 0.08 kg/s, determine the
(a) compressor power, in kW,
(b) refrigeration capacity, in tons,
(c) coefficient of performance,
(d) isentropic compressor efficiency.

State 1 2s 2 3 4
h (kJ/kg) 241.35 272.39 280.15 91.49 91.49
Actual Vapor-Compression Cycle
State 1 2s 2 3 4
h (kJ/kg) 241.35 272.39 280.15 91.49 91.49

(a) The compressor power is

Wc  m
 (h2  h1 )

  kg  kJ 1 kW
Wc   0.08 (280.15  241.35)  3.1 kW
 s  kg 1 kJ/s
(b) The refrigeration capacity is

Q in  m
 (h1  h4 )

  kg  kJ 1 ton 60 s
Qin   0.08 (241.35  91.49)  3.41 tons
 s  kg 211 kJ/min min
Actual Vapor-Compression Cycle
State 1 2s 2 3 4
h (kJ/kg) 241.35 272.39 280.15 91.49 91.49

(c) The coefficient of performance is

(h1  h4 )
C.O.P 
(h2  h1 )
(241.35  91.49)kJ/kg
C.O.P   3.86
(280.15  241.35)kJ/kg
Actual Vapor-Compression Cycle
State 1 2s 2 3 4
h (kJ/kg) 241.35 272.39 280.15 91.49 91.49

(d) The isentropic compressor

efficiency is

c 

W c / m s (h2 s  h1 )

W c / m (h2  h1 )

(272.39  241.35)kJ/kg
c   0.8 = 80%
(280.15  241.35)kJ/kg
 Refrigerant-134a enters the compressor of a refrigerator as
superheated vapor at 0.14 MPa and -10°C at a rate of 0.05 kg/s
and leaves at 0.8 MPa and 50°C. The refrigerant is cooled in the
condenser to 26°C and 0.72 MPa and is throttled to 0.15 MPa.
Disregarding any heat transfer and pressure drops in the connecting
lines between the components, determine (a) the rate of heat removal
from the refrigerated space and the power input to the compressor,
(b) the isentropic efficiency of the compressor, and (c) the coefficient
of performance of the refrigerator.
 A refrigerator operating on a
vapor-compression cycle is
considered.
1. The rate of refrigeration, the
power input,
2. the compressor efficiency, and
3. the COP are to be
determined.
 𝑃1 = 0.14𝑀𝑃𝑎
 0 = ℎ1 = 246.36𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑇1 = −10 𝐶
𝑃2 = 0.8𝑀𝑃𝑎
 0 = ℎ2 = 286.69𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑇2 = 50 𝐶
𝑃3 = 0.72𝑀𝑃𝑎
 0 = ℎ3 ≅ ℎ𝑓@260 𝐶 = 87.83 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑇3 = 26 𝐶
 ℎ4 ≅ ℎ3 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 → ℎ4 = 87.83 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
 𝑄𝐿 = 𝑚 ℎ1 − ℎ4 = 0.05𝑘𝑔/𝑠 246.36 − 87.83 𝑘𝐽/
𝑘𝑔=7.93𝑘𝑊
 𝑊𝑖𝑛 = 𝑚 ℎ2 − ℎ1 = 0.05𝑘𝑔/𝑠 286.69 − 246.36 𝑘𝐽/
𝑘𝑔=2.02𝑘𝑊
 ℎ2𝑠 −ℎ1
 Isentropic efficiency: 𝜂𝑐 =
ℎ2 −ℎ1
ℎ2𝑠 −ℎ1 284.21−246.36
 Enthalphy at state 2s
 𝜂𝑐 = = =
ℎ2 −ℎ1 286.69−246.36  𝑃2𝑠 = 0.8𝑀𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠2𝑠 = 𝑠1 =
0.939 𝑜𝑟 93.9% 0.974𝑘𝐽
; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒; ℎ2𝑠 =
𝑘𝑔 .𝐾
 The coefficient of performance of 284.21𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
the refrigerator
𝑄𝐿 7.93𝑘𝑊
 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑅 = = = 3.93
𝑊𝑖𝑛 2.02𝑘𝑊
 WHY MULTI-STAGE ???
 • The performance of single stage
systems shows that these are
adequate as long as the temperature
difference between evaporator and
condenser (temperature lift) is small.
 • The temperature lift can become
large either due to the requirement of
very low evaporator temperatures
and/or due to the requirement of
very high condensing temperatures.
 • For example, in frozen food
industries the required evaporator
can be as low as –40oC, while in
chemical industries temperatures
as low as –150oC may be
required for liquefaction of gases.
 • On the condenser side,
Refrigeration system is used as a
heat pump for heating
applications such as process
heating, drying etc.
 As the temperature lift increases the single stage
systems become inefficient and impractical.
 • As evaporator temperature
decreases:
 1. Throttling losses increase
 2. Superheat losses increase
 3. Compressor discharge
temperature increases
 4. Quality of the vapour at the
inlet to the evaporator
increases
 5. Specific volume at the inlet
to the compressor increases

 For fluorocarbon and ammonia
based refrigeration systems:
 • Single stage system is used up to
an evaporator temperature of –
30oC.
 • A two-stage system is used up to
–60oC and
 • A three-stage system is used for
temperatures below –60oC.
 • Multi-stage systems are also
used in applications requiring
refrigeration at different
temperatures.
 • For example, in a dairy plant
refrigeration may be required at
–30oC for making ice cream and
at 2 oC for chilling milk.
 • In such cases it may be
advantageous to use a multi-
evaporator system
 • A multi-stage system is a
refrigeration system with two or
more low-side pressures.
 • Multi-stage systems can be
classified into:
 a) Multi-compression systems
 b) Multi-evaporator systems
 c) Cascade systems, etc.
 • Two concepts which are
normally integral to multi-
pressure systems are,
 i) flash gas removal, and
 ii) intercooling.
 Cascade and multi – stage vapour compression cycles
 Very low temperatures can be achieved by operating two or more vapor
– compression system in series, called cascading. The COP of a
refrigeration system also increases as a result of cascading.
 The performance of an ordinary vapour compression cycle can be
improved in a number of ways, at the expense of extra capital costs. The
work required for an adiabatic (isentropic) compression process.
𝛾−1
𝑅𝑇1 𝑃2 𝛾
 𝑤= −1
𝛾−1 𝑃1

 𝑅 is the universal gas constant

 𝛾is the ratio of specific heat capacity
Cascade Refrigeration Systems
 • In a cascade system a series of
refrigerants with progressively lower
boiling points are used in a series of
single stage units.
 • The condenser of lower stage system
is coupled to the evaporator of the
next higher stage system and so on.
 • The component where heat of
condensation of lower stage
refrigerant is supplied for
vaporization of next level refrigerant
is called as cascade condenser
 The two cycles are connected through the heat
exchanger in the middle, which serves as the
evaporator for the topping cycle (cycle A) and
the condenser for the bottoming cycle (cycle B).
 Assuming the heat exchanger is well insulated
and the kinetic and potential energies are
negligible, the heat transfer from the fluid in
the bottoming cycle should be equal to the heat
transfer to the fluid in the topping cycle. Thus,
the ratio of mass flow rates through each cycle
should be
 𝑚𝐴 = ℎ5 − ℎ8 = 𝑚𝐵 ℎ2 − ℎ3
𝑄𝐿 𝑚𝐵 ℎ1 −ℎ4
 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑅,𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒 = =
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝐴 ℎ6 −ℎ5 +𝑚𝐵 ℎ2 −ℎ1
 Problem
 Consider a two-stage cascade
refrigeration system operating
between the pressure limits of 0.8
and 0.14 MPa. Each stage operates
on an ideal vapor-compression
refrigeration cycle with refrigerant-
134a as the working fluid. Heat
rejection from the lower cycle to the
upper cycle takes place in an
adiabatic counter-flow heat
exchanger where both streams enter
at about 0.32 MPa.
 If the mass flow rate of the
refrigerant through the upper
cycle is 0.05 kg/s, determine
 (a) the mass flow rate of the
refrigerant through the lower
cycle,
 (b) the rate of heat removal from
the refrigerated space and the
power input to the compressor,
and
 (c) COP
 The enthalpies of the refrigerant at all
eight states are determined from the
refrigerant tables and are indicated on
the T-s diagram.
 The T-s diagram of the refrigeration cycle
is shown in figure. The topping cycle is
labeled cycle A and the bottoming one,
cycle B. For both cycles, the refrigerant
leaves the condenser as a saturated
liquid and enters the compressor as
saturated vapor.
 (a) The mass flow rate of the refrigerant
through the lower cycle is determined from
the steady-flow energy balance on the
adiabatic heat exchanger
 𝑚𝐴 ℎ5 − ℎ8 = 𝑚𝐵 ℎ2 − ℎ3
 0,05𝑘𝑔/𝑠 251.88 − 95.47 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 =
𝑚𝐵 225.93 − 55.16 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
 𝑚𝐵 = 0.0390 kg/s
 (b) The rate of heat removal by
a cascade cycle is the rate of
heat absorption in the
evaporator of the lowest stage.
The power input to a cascade
cycle is the sum of the power
inputs to all of the compressors:
 𝑄𝐿 = 𝑚𝐵 ℎ1 − ℎ4 = 7.18𝑘𝑊
 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝐴 ℎ6 − ℎ5 +
𝑚𝐵 ℎ2 − ℎ1 = 1.61𝑘𝑊
 𝑄𝐿
 𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑅,𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒 = =
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑚𝐵 ℎ1 −ℎ4
= 4.46
𝑚𝐴 ℎ6 −ℎ5 +𝑚𝐵 ℎ2 −ℎ1
Cascade system
Cascade system (different refrigerants, equipment, oil)
Multistage Compression Refrigeration Systems
 Consider a two-stage compression refrigeration system operating between
the pressure limits of 0.8 and 0.14 MPa. The working fluid is refrigerant-
134a. The refrigerant leaves the condenser as a saturated liquid and is
throttled to a flash chamber operating at 0.32 MPa. Part of the refrigerant
evaporates during this flashing process, and this vapor is mixed with the
refrigerant leaving the low-pressure compressor. The mixture is then
compressed to the condenser pressure by the high-pressure compressor. The
liquid in the flash chamber is throttled to the evaporator pressure and cools
the refrigerated space as it vaporizes in the evaporator. Assuming the
refrigerant leaves the evaporator as a saturated vapor and both compressors
are isentropic, determine (a) the fraction of the refrigerant that evaporates as
it is throttled to the flash chamber, (b) the amount of heat removed from the
refrigerated space and the compressor work per unit mass of refrigerant
flowing through the condenser, and (c) the coefficient of performance.
 The enthalpies of the refrigerant
at various states are determined
from the refrigerant tables and
are indicated on the T-s diagram
 (a) The fraction of the refrigerant that
evaporates as it is throttled to the flash
chamber is simply the quality at state 6,
which is
 ℎ6 = 𝑥6 ℎ𝑓𝑔 + ℎ𝑓 = 95.47
 𝑥6 = 0.2049
 (b) The amount of heat removed from the
refrigerated space and the compressor
work input per unit mass of refrigerant
flowing through the condenser a
 𝑞𝐿 = 1 − 𝑥6 ℎ1 − ℎ8 = 146.3𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
 𝑤𝑖𝑛 = 𝑤𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 𝐼 + 𝑤𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 𝐼𝐼 =
 = 1 − 𝑥6 ℎ2 − ℎ1 + 1 ℎ4 − ℎ9
 = The enthalpy at state 9 is determined from an
energy balance on the mixing chamber: 1 ℎ9 =
1 − 𝑥6 ℎ3 + 𝑥6 ℎ2
 ℎ9 = 255.10𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
 𝑠9 = 0.9416𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝐾
 Thus enthalpy at state 4 0.8𝑀𝑃𝑎; 𝑠4 = 𝑠9 : ℎ4 =
274.48𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
32.71𝑘𝐽
 𝑤𝑖𝑛 =
𝑘𝑔
𝑞𝐿
 𝐶𝑂𝑃 = = 4.47
𝑤𝑖𝑛
MULTISTAGE VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS

Two-stage compound system with a flash cooler:

(a) schematic diagram; (b) refrigeration cycle.
 MULTISTAGE VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS -
interstage pressure
Interstage pressure is usually set so that the compression
ratio at each stage is nearly the same for higher COPs.
For a two-stage compound system, interstage pressure pi,
psia (kPa abs.), can be calculated as:

For a multistage vapor compression system with z stages,

the compression ratio Rcom for each stage can be calculated
as
where pcon condensing pressure, psia (kPa abs.)
pev evaporating pressure, psia (kPa abs.)
MULTISTAGE VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS

Heat balance of entering and leaving refrigerants in a flash

cooler and at the mixing point: (a) in the flash cooler; (b) at the
mixing point 3 before entering the second-stage impeller.
MULTISTAGE VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS –
Coefficient of Performance
THREE-STAGE COMPOUND SYSTEM WITH
A TWO-STAGE FLASH COOLER
THREE-STAGE COMPOUND SYSTEM WITH
A TWO-STAGE FLASH COOLER - COP
TWO-STAGE COMPOUND SYSTEM WITH
A VERTICAL INTERCOOLER (ammonia)
 Flash gas removal using flash tank
 • Flash gas does not contribute to
 • To improve the COP of the
the refrigeration effect as it is
system, remove the flash gas at
already in the form of vapour,
an intermediate pressure using
and it increases the pressure drop
a flash tank.
in the evaporator.
 • It is possible to improve the COP
of the system if the flash gas is
removed as soon as it is formed
and recompressed to condenser
pressure but it is not practical.
 • A flash tank is a pressure vessel,
wherein the refrigerant liquid and
vapour are separated at an
intermediate pressure.
 The refrigerant from condenser is
first expanded to an intermediate
pressure corresponding to the
pressure of flash tank, 𝑃𝑖 using a
low side float valve (process 6-7).
 • The float valve also maintains a
constant liquid level in the flash
tank.
 • In the flash tank, the refrigerant
liquid and vapour are separated.
 • The saturated liquid at point 8 is fed
to the evaporator after throttling it to
the required evaporator pressure, 𝑃𝑒
(point 9) using an expansion valve.
 • Depending upon the type of the
system, the saturated vapour in the
flash tank (point 3) is either
compressed to the condenser pressure
or throttled to the evaporator pressure
Intercooling in multi-stage
compression

 • Specific work input reduces as

specific volume, 𝑣1 is reduced.
 • At a given pressure, the
specific volume can be reduced
by reducing the temperature.
 • This is the principle behind
intercooling in multi-stage
compression.
 • Intercooling of the vapour
may be achieved by using
either a water-cooled heat
exchanger or by the refrigerant
in the flash tank.

 • With water cooling the
refrigerant at the inlet to the
high stage compressor may not
be saturated.
 • Intercooling not only reduces
the work input but also reduces
the compressor discharge
temperature leading to better
lubrication and longer
compressor life.
 • Intercooling using liquid refrigerant
from condenser in the flash tank may or
may not reduce the power input to the
system, as it depends upon the nature of
the refrigerant.
 • The heat rejected by the refrigerant
during intercooling generates additional
vapour in the flash tank, which has to be
compressed by the high stage
compressor.
 • Thus the mass flow rate of refrigerant
through the high stage compressor will be
more than that of the low stage
compressor.
 • For ammonia, the power input usually
decreases with intercooling by liquid refrigerant.
 • For refrigerants such as R12, R22, the power
input marginally increases. • Thus intercooling
using liquid refrigerant is not effective for R12
and R22.
 • Using both water-cooling and flash-tank, the
amount of refrigerant vapour handled by the
high-stage compressor reduces leading to lower
power consumption.
Selection of suitable intermediate pressure
 • For air compressors with  • For refrigerants, correction
intercooling to the initial factors to the above equation
temperature, the theoretical are suggested.
work input to the system will be
minimum when the pressure
ratios are equal for all stages.
Multi-stage system with flash gas removal and
intercooling
 • The above system offers several
advantages,
 a) Quality of refrigerant entering the
evaporator reduces thus giving rise to higher
refrigerating effect, lower pressure drop
and better heat transfer in the evaporator
 b) Throttling losses are reduced as vapour
generated during throttling from P c to P i is
separated in the flash tank and
recompressed by Compressor-II.
 c) Volumetric efficiency of compressors will
be high due to reduced pressure ratios d)
Compressor discharge temperature is
reduced considerably.
 • One disadvantage of the
above system is that since
refrigerant liquid in the flash
tank is saturated, there is a
possibility of liquid flashing
ahead of the expansion valve
due to pressure drop or heat
transfer in the pipelines
connecting the flash tank to the
expansion device.

 The required refrigeration capacity
of a vapour compression
refrigeration system (with R-22 as
refrigerant) is 100 kW at –30oC
evaporator temperature. Initially
the system was single-stage with a
single compressor compressing the
refrigerant vapour from evaporator
to a condenser operating at 1500
kPa pressure. Later the system was
modified to a two-stage system
operating on the cycle shown
below.
 At the intermediate pressure of 600
kPa there is intercooling but no
removal of flash gas. Find:
 a) Power requirement of the
original single-stage system;
 b) Total power requirement of the
two compressors in the revised two-
stage system.
 Assume that the state of refrigerant
at the exit of evaporator, condenser
and intercooler is saturated, and
the compression processes are
isentropic.
 Multi-Evaporator System
 Individual evaporators and a
single compressor with a pressure-
reducing valve
 1. Individual expansion valves
 The mass flow rates through
evaporators 1 and 2 are respectively:
𝑄01 𝑄01
 𝑚1 = =
𝑞01 ℎ7 −ℎ5
𝑄02 𝑄01
 𝑚2 = =
𝑞02 ℎ6 −ℎ4 𝑃𝑘

 The enthalpy the vapour mixture

entering the compressor is 𝑃02
𝑚1 ℎ7 +𝑚2 ℎ6
 ℎ1 = 𝑃01
𝑚1 +𝑚2
 𝑊 = 𝑚1 + 𝑚2 ℎ2 − ℎ1
Multipurpose Refrigeration Systems with a Single
Compressor
 The high temperature evaporator
(Refrigeration capacity 5 TR) of a
multi-evaporator VCR system,
working with ammonia, is
operating at –6 oC and the low
temperature evaporator
(Refrigeration capacity 10 TR) is
operating at –34oC. The
condenser pressure is 10.99 bar.
The system using individual
expansion valves for each
evaporator.
 Assuming saturated conditions at
the exit of evaporators and
condenser and isentropic
compression:
 a) Find the required power input
and COP if a single compressor is
used.
 b) If individual compressors are
used for both stage find the power
input and COP.
 c) Compare both cases.
 2. Multiple expansion valves
 The refrigerating effects of the
evaporators are
 𝑞01 = ℎ8 − ℎ6
 𝑞02 = ℎ7 − ℎ4
 The mass flow rates of the refrigerant
comprising the liquid and vapour fractions
are:
𝑄01 𝑄01
 𝑚1 = = (Evaporator 1)
𝑞01 ℎ8 −ℎ6
𝑄01 𝑥4
 𝑚2 = + 𝑚1
𝑞01 1−𝑥4
Multi-evaporator system with individual compressors
and multiple expansion valves
Multi-evaporator system with multicompression,
intercooling and flash gas removal
 • The mass flow rate of refrigerant  𝑚5 + 𝑚2 = 𝑚7 + 𝑚3
through the high-stage compressor  𝑚5 = 𝑚3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚2 = 𝑚7 = 𝑚1
which can be obtained by taking  𝑚5 ℎ5 + 𝑚2 ℎ2 + 𝑄𝑒,𝐼𝐼 =
a control volume which includes the
𝑚7 ℎ7 + 𝑚3 ℎ3
flash tank and high temperature
evaporator (as shown by dashed
line in the schematic) and applying
mass and energy balance
 In an ammonia system one
evaporator is to provide 180 kW of
refrigeration at -300C and another
evaporator is to provide 200 kW at
5 0C. The system uses two stage
compression with intercooling and
flash gas removal as shown below.
The condensing temperature is 400C.
Calculate the power requirement and
COP of the system.
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Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive Statistics