Experiment 4: Refrigeration and Heat Pump Unit

1. Objective:
The main objective of this experiment is to study some important aspects of a common
refrigeration system and illustrate how it is modeled thermodynamically. Measurements will be
performed for the calculation of key thermal performance indicators and theoretical
thermodynamic relationships.

2. Introduction and Theoretical Background

Vapor-compression refrigeration systems are the most common type in use today. A simple
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle consists of four components, namely: compressor,
condenser, evaporator, and expansion valve. The basic components of a cycle are shown in
Figure 1.

Figure 1. Illustration of a simple vapor-compression refrigeration cycle

The cycle consists of the following series of processes:

Process 1-2: Isentropic compression of the refrigerant (vapor state) from state 1 to the condenser
pressure at state 2.

Process 2-3: Heat transfer from the refrigerant as it flows through the compressor at a constant
pressure. At the condenser exit (state 3), the refrigerant is in liquid form.

Process 3-4: Expansion in the wet vapor region, throttling with zero enthalpy change, cooling
and partial evaporation.

Process 4-1: Isobaric evaporation and absorption of the evaporation enthalpy h4,1.

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This cycle is called an ideal cycle if:
• irreversibility within the evaporator, compressor, throttling valve and condenser can be
ignored,
• there are no frictional losses in the system,
• stray heat transfer to the surroundings is negligible, and
• the compression process is isentropic.

The ideal cyclic process of a heat pump system can be plotted on a p-h diagram (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. p-h diagram for an ideal cyclic process of a heat pump.

The most important difference between a real and ideal cyclic process is that compression is not
isentropic, due to friction and heat transfer. Figure 3 shows the P-h diagram of a real cycle,
where point 2 is displaced to 2*, due to internal friction in the working vapor and heat losses in
the compressor. Thus, more work is required by the compressor to achieve the same final
pressure. Furthermore, it is necessary to superheat the working vapor to 1-1*, prior to
compression in order to ensure that there is no possibility of liquid droplets entering the
compressor. Otherwise, the compressor could be damaged by the impact of liquid droplets. The
vapor content on entry to the evaporator is reduced by liquid supercooling, 3-3*. As a result,
more evaporation heating (4*-1) can be absorbed.

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 Figure 3. P-h diagram of a real cycle.

In this experiment, the effectiveness of the heat pump is measured. For this purpose, the actual output
coefficient is calculated and compared to the ideal cycle model.

3. Experiment Equipment
Figure 4 illustrates the layout and schematic sketch of the heat pump unit, respectively. The heat
pump and refrigeration demonstration system is a complete system that enables extensive
experiments and measurements to be performed.

The system is characterized by the following features:

• Well-organized arrangement of all components on a steel plate,
• Original components for heat pump / refrigeration engineering provide a link to practice,
• An environmentally acceptable refrigerant (R134a, CFC-free) is used,
• Numerous sensors in the refrigerant and water circuits and a sight glass, which make it
possible to precisely track the cyclic process,
• Measured values are shown on digital displays.

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1. Trolley 10. Coaxial Condenser
2. Compressor 11. Flowmeter (Water)
3. Pressostat 12. Tank
4. Pressure Transmitter 13. Control Valve
5. Evaporator with Fans 14. Circulation Pump
6. Expansion Valve 15. Drain Valve
7. Filter / Dryer 16. Cooling Water Connection
8. Sight Glass (Refrigerant) 17. Digital Displays
9. Temperature Sensor

Figure 4. Refrigeration/heat pump unit layout.

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 Figure 5. Schematic diagram of the refrigeration/heat pump unit.

4. Operating Instructions and Procedure

• Connect to the cold water supply using hoses.
• Switch on the main switch.
• Switch on the compressor.
• Switch on the fans.
• Switch on the circulation pump in the water circuit.
• At the control valve, adjust the flow rate in the hot water circuit, so that the flow rate is approx.
20 l/h.
• Leave the test stand running until the pressures on the suction and delivery sides of the circuit
have stabilized.
• Read the compressor power on the power meter.
• Read the hot water flow rate.
• Read the hot water inlet and outlet temperature.
• Record the pressure and temperatures at measuring points 1, 2, 3 and 4.
• Record the data in your worksheet.
• Plot the process on the p-h diagram.
• Calculate the effectiveness of the heat pump from the p-h diagram.

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5. Calculation and Analysis:
The actual coefficient of performance (COPact) can be calculated from the amount of heat extracted
from the condenser, using the hot water circuit and the power input to the compressor. All losses
due to radiation, heat conduction, friction, etc. are also taken into account.

Taking the condenser as the system, the following may be written:

  
On the water side: Q cond = m w C p , w (Tout − Tin ) = Vw ρ w C p , w (Tout − Tin ) (1)

Since the volume flow rate on the refrigerant side was not measured, the COPact is calculated using
Equation (1) as follows:

Vw ρ w C p , w (Tout − Tin )

COPact = (2)
Pel

Taking into account the appropriate temperature and pressure, the actual cycle can be plotted on a
p-h diagram and the output coefficient of performance can also be calculated as:

h2* − h3*
COPact , hp = (3)
h2* − h1*

Determine the COP values using both techniques, i.e. from the p-h diagram and the compressor
power/water circuit. Comment on any differences.

The theoretical coefficient of performance is calculated as follows (In order to get the theoretical
enthalpy value, please see Appendix how to plot the p-h diagram):

h2 s − h3s
COPth, hp = (4)
h2 s − h1s

The compressor isentropic efficiency is defined as below:

ℎ −ℎ
𝜂𝜂𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = ℎ2𝑠𝑠−ℎ1∗ (5)
2∗ 1∗

The compressor compression ratio can be calculated as:

Pcond P2 / 3
rcomp = = (6)
P evap P1 / 4

Comment on any differences between COP act, hp and COP th,hp.

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6. Worksheet for Data Recording

Meas. T1 T2 T3 T4 Tin Tout V

w
# (oC) (oC) (oC) (oC) (oC) (oC) (l/h)

Meas. Pel h1* h2* h3* h4* P1/4 P2/3 mw

# (W) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (bar) (bar) (kg/s)

7. Reference

1) Y. A. Cengel, M. A. Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 7th Edition,

McGraw Hill, 2011
2) Equipment for Engineering Education, Instruction and Operation Manuals, Gunt, Hamburg
(1998).

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8. Appendix—Plot the cyclic process on p-h diagram

1) The pressures for the suction and delivery sides form the top and bottom boundary isobars
of the cyclic process on the p-h diagram.

2) The intersection of the lower pressure isobar and the boundary curve between the wet and
dry saturated vapour states (x=1) is point 1 (evaporator outlet) of the cyclic process. The
intersection of the upper pressure isobar and the boundary curve between the liquid and
wet vapour states (x=0) is point 3 (condenser output).

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3) Point 4 (evaporator inlet) is the intersection between the suction pressure isobar and the
vertical through point 3 (expansion in the expansion valve).

4) From point 1 (evaporator output, compressor input) compression is performed

isentropically.

5) Point 2 (compressor outlet, condenser inlet) is the intersection between the isentrop and
the upper isobar. The ideal cyclic process is now fully defined by states 1-4.

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6) The output coefficient can thus be determined for the ideal cyclic process in a very
straightforward manner.

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