University of Manchester

Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle

Sarah Al Binsaad
10743067
Laboratory Projects 2 CHEN20020

01/12/2022
Sarah Al Binsaad Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle
Group A19
1. Introduction
1.1. Learning Outcomes
This experiment aims to form an
understanding of vapour-compression cycles
and their industrial uses in refrigeration and
heat pumps. This experiment also investigates
the effects the condenser pressure has on the
overall performance of the vapour-
compression cycle.
1.2. Theory[1]
In a vapour-compression cycle, a refrigerant is
used to transfer heat from a low-temperature
stream to one of higher temperatures. Figure 1
shows a typical vapour-compression cycle. At
point A, work is applied on the saturated
vapour, ideally in an isentropic compression,
to form a superheated vapour at point B. In
reality, however, the compression is not
isentropic, which results in a higher enthalpy
state at B’. As a result, an actual compressor
would require higher power to have the same
performance as an ideal one. At points B and
B’ the superheated vapour enters a condenser,
where it undergoes a phase change. In this
step, heat is rejected from the refrigerant to the
environment as well. In this experiment, heat
is controlled to be transferred to water flowing
in the condenser coil. At point C, the saturated
liquid undergoes an adiabatic expansion
process via a throttle valve to form a mixture
of liquid and vapour at point D. Then, heat
from the evaporator coil is adsorbed by the
refrigerant. This forms the saturated vapour
present at point A. Thus, the same cycle is
repeated. A coefficient of performance, COP,
is defined to characterise vapour-compression
cycle performances as the ratio of heat rejected
in the condenser and the work applied to the
compressor (eq. 5).
Figure 1. Pressure-Enthalpy diagram for the working
fluid in vapour-compression cycle
Equations:
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1/12/2022
Qc =H B−H C [1]
Qe =H A −H D [2]
W =H B −H A [3]
Qc H B−H C
CO Pideal = = [4]
W H B−H A
Q̇c
CO P overall= [5]
Ẇ
1.3. Relevance[1-3]
Both refrigeration cycles and heat pumps are
made of one or several units and vapour-
compression cycles. They have various
applications that range from domestic to large-
scale industrial uses. In domestic applications,
refrigeration cycles are used in air
conditioning units and refrigerators, while heat
pumps are used in direct air heating, hydronic
heating, and water heating. As for industrial
applications, refrigeration cycles are widely
used in the food processing industry. The food
is kept at low temperatures to slow the
enzymatic reactions and prevent bacterial
growth, thus obtaining a long-term storage
period. Other industrial applications may
include the liquefication of natural gas, where
more complex refrigeration cycles are utilised
to reduce the temperature of the gas to below
its boiling point, so that it can be stored and
transferred in its liquid phase. The
refrigeration cycles are also used in several
chemical processes, such as manufacturing
synthetic rubber, textiles, chlorine, and
plastics.
2. Experimental Work [1]
2.1. Apparatus
In this experiment, R634 Refrigeration Cycle
Demonstration Unit (fig. 2) was used to
simulate real refrigeration cycles. In this
refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant used was
SES36 as the working fluid and water was set
to flow in the coils of both the condenser and
the evaporator, where it either supplies heat or
adsorbs it.
Sarah Al Binsaad Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle 1/12/2022
Group A19
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Saturated Pressure-Temperature
Chart for Solkatherm® SES36

Figure 2. Diagram of R634 Refrigeration Cycle

Demonstration Unit

2.2. Procedure
The valves were set to standard operation Figure 3. Saturated pressure-temperature chart for
settings. The water was allowed to flow in the Solkatherm® SES36 with experimental data
unit by turning on the water supply. Then, the
water flowrate was adjusted by the control Figure 3 shows that the experimental values
valves. Since the variable investigated in this obtained for the vapour pressure of the
experiment was only related to the condenser, condensation and evaporation steps follow the
the flowrate of water in the condenser coil was same trends as the curve provided. However,
set to various values (11, 9, 7, 5, 3 &1 g s-1), the experimental values clearly deviate from
whilst the flowrate of water in the evaporator theoretical ones as the temperature incereases.
coil was set to a constant value of 38 g s-1. In This is best explained by the pressure drops
each run, the flowrates were set to the desired due to the friction in the piping system along
values. Upon setting the flowrates, the system the cycle.
was allowed to reach a steady state. Then, the
measurements of the pressure, temperature and
power for the cycle were recorded. Upon
completing all runs, the system was shut down
by turning the main switch, and main water
supply and setting the valves to the shut-down
positions.
2.3. Hazards and Safety
Table 1. Risk assessment for this experiment

Precautions
Hazard Risk
to Take
Water Injuries such All spillages
as slips and must be Figure 4. Pressure-Enthalpy curve for the ideal and
trips due to mopped up actual vapour-compression cycles
water leaks. when they
3.2. Comparison between the ideal and
occur.
overall COP
Electrical Fire and Electrical
electrocution. equipment
must be
checked
regularly by a
technician for
visual checks
before
starting the
session.

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Sarah Al Binsaad Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle 1/12/2022
Group A19

Figure 5. Overall COP and ideal COP vs. the pressure
ratio
It can be seen from figure 5 that the ideal COP
is always higher than the overall COP. This is
primarily due to the irreversibilities that occur
in various components of the cycle. For
instance, two common sources of
irreversibilities are fluid friction, which causes
pressure drops, and heat transfer to or from the
surroundings. Figure 5 also shows a general
trend where both the ideal COP decreases with
higher values of pressure ratio. As for the
overall COP, it remains more or less the same
at various pressure ratios. This indicates that
other factors play a more significant role in
determining the performance of the actual
vapour-compression cycles.
One main factor that governs the COP of
actual vapour-compression cycles is the
possible heat loss or gain. Since the refrigerant
temperature is higher than the surroundings
during the condensation, expansion and
compression, heat loss occurs in those cycles'
steps. In addition, possible heat loss occurs
when the refrigerant flows in the tubes.
Another primary source of irreversibility is the
pressure drops due to fluid friction.
3.3. Effect of Pressure Ratios on the
performance and other parameters
of the cycle
Figure 6. Power supplied, heat rejected at the
condenser, and heat gained at the evaporator vs.
pressure ratio
Figure 7. Power supplied, heat rejected at the
condenser, and heat gained at the evaporator vs. the
condenser temperature
The pressure ratio is the ratio between the
pressure of the condenser and the evaporator.
In this experiment, the pressure ratio was
increased by decreasing the flowrate of the
water that flows in the condenser coil. As the
operating pressure of the condenser increases,
its temperature increases as well as shown in
figure 7. This leads to a higher specific volume
of the refringent throughout the cycle. Thus, a
higher power is required to compress the fluid
at the compressor. The higher the power
consumption in the cycle, the lower the COP
of the cycle (eq. 5). This is also shown in
figure 5, where the COP decreases at higher
pressure ratio values.
3.4. Flowrate of the Refrigerant
Table 2. Calculated Flowrates of the refrigerant and
water at the evaporator and condenser

Flowrate Flowrate Flowrate Flowrate

of of of the of the
Water in Water Refringen Refringent
the in the t in the in the
Condense Evaporato Condense Evaporato
r Coil (g s- r Coil (g s- r (g s-1) r
1 1
) ) (g s-1)

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Sarah Al Binsaad Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle 1/12/2022
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11 0.98 0.91 4. Conclusion

9 1.01 0.95 In conclusion, vapour-compression cycles are
7 1.30 1.24 important concept in the chemical engineering
38
5 1.14 0.98
3 1.16 1.01
field. One of the widely used devices that are
1 0.96 1.07 built on the principles of vapour-compression
cycles is the refrigeration cycle. For a
Table 3 shows the flowrates of the refrigerant refrigeration cycle, the actual ‘overall’ COP is
in both the evaporator and condenser. These always lower than the ideal one due to the
values were obtained by performing an energy occurrence of inevitable irreversibilities.
balance between the water flowing in the coils Moreover, the effect of varying the pressure of
and refrigerant flowing in the heat exchanger the condenser is investigated in this report. It
unit of the evaporator and condenser. Table 3 was found that with higher condenser pressure,
also shows a general trend where the the COP of the cycle is lowered since
refringent flowrate in the condenser increases refrigerant with higher pressures requires
as the flowrate of water decreases. It can be higher work to be compressed.
seen from table 3 that the refrigerant flowrate
at the evaporator changes corresponding to the 5. Nomenclature
refringent flowrate in the condenser. This Symbo Meaning Unit
phenomenon is predicted as all compounds of l
the cycles are connected. In addition, as the Q Heat transfer rate J s-1
water flowrate at the evaporator is held Heat gained by
Qe kJ kg-1
constant, the flowrate in the condenser is the refrigerant
main factor affecting the flowrate in the Heat released by
evaporator. Moreover, subtle fluctuations
Qc kJ kg-1
refrigerant
occurred due to the build-up of pressure. H Enthalpy kJ kg-1
3.5. Error Analysis Work Done by the
The major error in this experiment arises from W kJ kg-1
Compressor
fluctuations in the power, temperature, and Ws Power Supplied J s-1
pressure readings. There exist three main types
of errors in this experiment: instrumental, T Temperature K
observational, and random errors. Fluctuations cp Specific heat
kJ kg-1K-1
mainly occur because of the instrumental capacity of water
errors, and they affect all measurements taken. Coefficient of -
COP
As for random errors, they specifically affect performance
the flowrate measurement as random build-ups
of pressure give higher flowrate readings. The 6. References
error magnitude of the used in this
experiment is shown in table 3 below. [1] School of Chemical Engineering and
Analytical Science (2022). Experiment
19: Refrigeration Cycle [online]
Table 3. The uncertainty of the devices used in this
experiment.
Blackboard. Available at:
https://online.manchester.ac.uk/webapps
Device Error /blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?
Magnitude course_id=_72671_1&content_id=_138
Thermocouple ± 1.8 ℃ 60840_1&mode=reset [Accessed 5 Dec.
2022].
Pressure Gauge ± 10 kPa
Flowmeter of the −1
± 0.5 g s [2] Dincer, I. (2017). Refrigeration Systems
Condenser Coils
−1 and Applications. [online] Wiley.
Flowmeter of the ±2g s doi:10.1002/9781119230793.
Evaporator Coils
Wattmeter ± 1W
−1
‌[3] NARAYANAN, K.V. (2013). A
Enthalpy values (fig. 4) ± 5 kJ k g TEXTBOOK OF CHEMICAL

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Sarah Al Binsaad Experiment 19: Refrigeration Cycle 1/12/2022
Group A19
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