School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

Exp. 10: Visual Cycle Refrigeration Unit:

Objectives:
• Visualize all process of vapour compression cycle
• To determine the coefficient of performance of a vapour compression refrigeration
cycle.

Apparatus:
• Refrigeration Cycle Demonstration Unit

Working:
The evaporator is a vertical cylinder, made of glass, containing refrigerant R141B, closed on
both ends. Into the glass cylinder there is a nickel plated copper coil.
An hermetic compressor draws vapour from the evaporator and compresses this before
discharging it to the condenser. The low pressure of the evaporator causes the refrigerant to
boil. The water flowing through the coil heats the refrigerant causing the vapours generation
and the water temperature decreases.
From the compressor the high pressure vapour passes to the condenser.
The condenser, as the evaporator, is a glass recipient closed on both ends with a nickel-plated
copper coil into it. Vapour condenses on the surface of the coil and falls to the bottom of the
condender. The liberated heat by the refrigerant phase change is transferred to the cooling
water flowing through the coil.
 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

The float valve located at the base of the condenser, that works as an expansion valve,
controls the flow of high pressure refrigerant liquid returning to the evaporator.
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The refrigerant, after passing through the float valve, expands to form a liquid vapour mixture
at the same pressure as the evaporator and the cycle is repeated.

Procedure:
• Start water flow through the system.
• Switch on compressor.
• Set the volumetric flow rate of cooling and heating waters. Leave compressor to run for
a while so that a steady state condition is reached in the system. A steady state is evident
from the fact that the temperature at the outlet of the compressor T6 stops rising.
• Measure the temperatures from T1to T10 and also read the pressure in the condenser
and the evaporator, fill out observation table. On reading the pressure from pressure
gauges 1 bar must be added to the value read to obtain the actual pressure.
• Turn the compressor off.
• Turn the experimental unit off at the main switch.
• Turn off the water supply.

Results (Operating Parameters of Vapour Compression Refrigeration

Cycle):
Test # T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10
1

Test # Flow rate of water in Flow rate of water Condenser Evaporator Compressor Pressure
condenser in evaporator Pressure Pressure Power Ratio
1
 School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, NUST

ME-332 Heat Transfer & HVAC Lab (Spring 2023)

Task:
1) Calculate the following:
▪ Heat Absorbed by water
▪ Heat Tranfer by water
▪ COP of Refrigerator
▪ COP of Heat Pump
2) Create a schematic of Refrigeration Cycle Demonstration Unit.
3) Explain working of apparatus in your own words.
4) Fill following table:

Temperature: Correspoding state

T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9
T10

Instructions:
For instance if T1 correspondes to temperature after evaporater simply write “after evaporater” in
corresponding state.