HVAC Lab Manual Wah Engineering College

Lab Experiment # 09
Objective:
To study the basic components and working principle of Mechanical Heat pump.

Introduction:

Heat Pump:

A heat pump is a device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a
"heat sink". Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of
spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one.

Mechanical Heat Pump Working:

Among the different types of heat pumps that have been developed, the mechanical heat pump is the
most widely used. Its operating principle is based on compression and expansion of a working fluid,
or so called 'refrigerant'. A heat pump has four main components: evaporator, compressor, condenser
and expansion device. The refrigerant is the working fluid that passes through all these components.
In the evaporator heat is extracted from a waste heat source. In the condenser this heat is delivered to
the consumer at a higher temperature level. Electric energy is required to drive the compressor and
this energy is added to the heat that is available in the condenser. The efficiency of the heat pump is
denoted by its COP (coefficient of performance), defined as the ratio of total heat delivered by the
heat pump to the amount of electricity needed to drive the heat pump.

Fig 1: Mechanical Heat Pump Working

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Types Of Heat Pump:

Gas Engine Heat Pump:

The gas engine heat pump consists of a mechanical heat pump and a gas engine. Different to a
conventional heat pump, where the compressor is driven with an electric motor, the compressor of a
gas engine heat pump is driven by a gas engine. The heat from the motor cooling and flue gases of
the gas engine can be utilized. Therefore the heat pump capacity can be lower.

Absorption Heat Pump:

The principle of operation of an absorption heat pump is based on evaporation of a refrigerant and its
absorption into an absorbing medium. Well known combinations of refrigerant and absorbing
medium are Lithium-Bromide and Water and Ammonia and Water. Driving force in this type of heat
pump is thermal energy. Absorption heat pumps can be very useful when both heating and cooling
are necessary.

Adsorption Heat Pump:

Although based on the same principles as the absorption heat pump, the adsorption heat pump uses a
solid instead of a fluid as absorption medium.

Transcortical Co2 Heat Pump:

Above 31°C CO2 falls in the trans-critical range; meaning that no distinction can be made between
fluid or gaseous phase. Due to this phenomenon, heat can be released at a range of temperatures
instead of a fixed temperature.

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HVAC Lab Manual Wah Engineering College

Hybrid Heat Pump:

A hybrid heat pump is the combination of a mechanical and an absorption heat pump. The principle
of operation is based on the fact that absorption of Ammonia in Water takes place at much higher
temperatures as compared to condensation of Ammonia at constant pressure.

Thermoacoustic Heat Pump:

A thermo-acoustic heat pump uses the physical principal that temperature differences can generate
sound waves. Or, the other way around: a sound wave can generate a temperature difference. Low
temperature waste heat is used to generate a sound wave. This wave is used to create a temperature
difference in another valuable high temperature medium. Thermo-acoustic systems are not yet
commercially available.

Fig 2: NH3 Heat Pump System

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Coefficient of Performance:
The Coefficient of Performance, (COPH) of a heat pump cycle is an expression of the cycle
efficiency and is stated as the ratio of the heat removed in the heated space to the heat energy
equivalent of the energy supplied to the Compressor.
COPH = Heat removed from heated space / Heat energy equivalent of the energy supplied to the
compressor.

𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡
COPH = 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

4. Specifications of mechanical heat pump:

Refrigerant =R 134 a
Swept volume =8.85cm3 /rev
Compression speed =2800 rpm
Condenser type =plate heat exchanger
Medium =water
Evaporator type =fan cooled
Expansion valve type =thermostatic
Energy meter rate =digital type

5. Detail of Components:
There are four main components of heat pump: compressor, condenser, expansion valve and
evaporator.

1) Compressor:
Compressor is the one of the most important parts of the heat pump. Inside the compressor
the refrigerant is compressed to extremely high pressures, where its temperature is also increased.
The refrigerant enters the compressor at low pressure and low temperature in gaseous state and
leaves the compressor at high pressure and high temperature in gaseous state.

2) Condenser:
The next important part of the heat pump is condenser. The function of the heat pump is
to heat the room, and it is the condenser that produces the heating effect inside the room. The main
purpose of the refrigerator is to cool the substance or materials and this effect is produced by the
evaporator. Thus, while the evaporator acts as the main component in refrigerators producing the
cooling effect, the condenser acts as the main component of the heat pump producing the heating
effect. In the air conditioner the condenser is placed outside the room which is to be cooled, but in
the heat pump the condenser is placed inside the room which is to be heated.

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3) Expansion Valve:
The expansion valve is the pressure reducing devise. When the high pressure, and medium
temperature refrigerant enters the expansion valve its pressure reduces suddenly and along with it its
temperature also becomes very low suddenly. The expansion valve most commonly used in
the heat pumps is copper capillary tube. The refrigerant leaves the expansion valve at extremely low
pressure and low temperature in partially liquid state and partially gaseous state.
4) Evaporator:
While in the air conditioners the evaporator is located inside the room, in heat pumps the
evaporator is located outside the room and exposed to the atmosphere which is at very low
temperature. Just like condenser the evaporator is also made up of copper coil. The low pressure and
low temperature refrigerant enters the evaporator coil, due to this the temperature of the coil also
reduces drastically and it becomes even lower than the atmospheric temperature.

Conclusion:

Yourself

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