GAGAN MISHRA

0192ME161037
ME-VI SEM.

REFRIGERATOR & REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

A refrigerator is A refrigerator is a
also called a machine that can
“fridge” make its inside
colder
 Before the refrigerator was
invented, some people
would use ice from frozen
lakes to keep food cool, but
it was difficult and
expensive to move so much
ice
 The first refrigerator used
by many people was the
"Monitor-Top" refrigerator
starting in 1927
 Home freezers started being
used in the U.S. in 1940
A Monitor-Top
Refrigerator
 Compressor : It is a hermitically sealed reciprocating
pump. It is the heart of the refrigeration system. It
pumps refrigerant gas to the different components to
effect the refrigeration cycle. Their sizes are from 1/12
horse power to 1 horse power. R-12 refrigerant gas is
commonly used. Newer environmentally friendly
refrigerant gas such as R-134a is being used for the
newer models.
 Condenser – It is made of serpentine copper tubes with
aluminum fins. The combine heat of gas refrigerant from
the evaporator and the heat of the compressed gas
refrigerant from the compressor is being dissipated into
the atmosphere, and changes the gas refrigerant into
liquid refrigerant.

 Filter/dryer – It filters the dirt and iron particles from the

refrigerant. Some filter Dryer have moisture absorbent
materials like, Silica gel or synthetic silicates, which
removes moisture from the refrigerant.
 Expansion Valve – copper capillary tube, or
"expansion valve", is widely used on refrigeration
appliances. Their outside diameter is 2.5mm, and their
length is between 8 feet to 12 feet. High pressure liquid
refrigerant leaves the capillary tube into low-pressure
low-temperature liquid refrigerant.

 Evaporator – is a serpentine aluminum tubes with

aluminum fins. It absorbs the heat in the freezing and
refrigerating compartments and transfers it to the
condenser. The low pressure liquid refrigerant turns to
gas after absorbing the heat. And is ready to make its
journey through the accumulator then to the
compressor.
 Accumulator – It is a refrigerant tank. It stores
refrigerant so that the evaporator will not run out of it.
Without an accumulator, the 2-door no-frost
refrigerating unit will exhibit the symptom of refrigerant
starvation.

 Refrigerator Fan motor – The fan motor of a 2-door

no-frost is situated at the back of the evaporator coils,
and it blows the air into the freezer-coils and distribute
the air into the freezing and refrigerating
compartments.

 Freezer-Fan-Motor – The fan motor of a freezer is

used to cool the compressor. It is situated beside the
compressor in the compressor room.
 When the temperature inside the refrigerator
is above a certain set temperature, the
thermostat turns on a compressor
 A thermostat is a thermometer that can turn
something on
 A compressor is a machine that can squeeze
a gas, which makes it have a smaller volume
 The compressor is what you hear humming
A compressor is
like an A thermostat
electricity- may look like
powered bicycle this
pump
 The compressor then squeezes the
refrigerant, which is a fluid used for cooling.
The refrigerant is a gas at this time
 This squeezing of the refrigerant causes it to
increase in pressure and temperature

Remember: P1 P
= 2
T1 T2
This shows how a gas
can be compressed
If pressure goes up,
(squeezed)
temperature goes up
 The very warm refrigerant goes through a coil
outside (usually behind) the refrigerator
where it loses heat to the air outside
 A coil is a long, snake-like tube
 This outside coil is called the “condenser coil”
because as it cools, the refrigerant changes
from a gas to a liquid (condenses) and gives
off heat
Left:
compressor

Right:
condenser
coils
 After the refrigerant has cooled down from
giving heat to the air outside the fridge, the
“expansion valve” opens to let the liquid
refrigerant pass through it, into the coils
inside the refrigerator
 A “valve” is a small hole that can be opened
or closed, and “expansion” means getting
bigger, so what does “expansion valve” mean?

This is an expansion valve

 The pressure on the other side of the
expansion valve in the evaporator coils is
low
 The pressure is low because the
compressor has pulled the refrigerant out
of that side in step 1
 This low pressure makes the refrigerant
change from a liquid to a gas (evaporate)
and take in heat
Remember: p1/p2=t1/t2
Evaporator coils
If pressure goes down, the
inside a freezer
temperature also goes down
 The refrigerant expands (gets bigger) as it
goes through the expansion valve
 It also decreases in pressure and temperature
 The refrigerant absorbs (takes in) heat from
inside the refrigerator because it as a lower
temperature
 The refrigerant is now ready for step 1 again
 Step 2: The
Step 3: The
refrigerant
refrigerant liquid
goes through
goes through the
the condenser
expansion valve and
coils. It gives
turns back into a gas.
off heat to the
Pressure ↓, Temp.↓ surrounding
air and
condenses to
a liquid
Step 4: The
refrigerant goes
through the
evaporator coil and Step 1: The
absorbs (takes in) compressor squeezes
heat from inside the the refrigerant gas.
refrigerator Pressure. ↑, Temp.↑,
 The chemical arrangement of the refrigerants decides in
which group it should be considered. As per the various
manufacturers’ guidelines, there are four main
refrigerant types:
 CFCs – Chlorofluorocarbons
These are the refrigerants which contain chlorine,
fluorine, and carbon. R11, R12, R115, etc. are
included in CFC refrigerants. This type of coolant can
be used for commercial as well as daily purposes. It
was developed in the past – in the 30s – and at that
time it was non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-
reactive. But in the early 70s, it was proved that it is
hazardous for the layer of ozone and unfriendly for
the environment. So, CFCs were banned in the late 80s
because of adverse environmental effects. Nowadays,
it is estimated that half of the total CFCs have been
improved.
 R11, R12, R13, R113, R114, R500, R502, R503 are the
top refrigerants covered under the group of CFCs.
Some of them are also known for the greenhouse gas
effects.
 HCFCs – Hydro chlorofluorocarbons
HCFCs were referred to as the substitute of CFCs. It
contains hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. Of
course, it is not like this group’s refrigerants are not
at all affecting the layer of ozone, but they affect only
around 10%, which is extremely less than the CFCs.
HCFCs are non-toxic, cheap, and competent. But yes,
even if they do not harm the environment much, they
are known as greenhouse gases! They can also
deplete the ozone slowly, but continuously. R22,
R123, R124, R401A, R401B, R402A, R403B, R408A,
R409A, R414B, R416A are the refrigerants which are
covered under the group of HCFCs.
 HFCs – Hydro fluorocarbons
These refrigerants do not include any particles of
chlorine. So, they are not at all harmful to the
environment and do not deplete the ozone layer.
But just like any other refrigerant, they have some
powerful impact on global warming as compared to
natural refrigerants. When there was the ban of
HCFCs, this group comes in. It includes hydrogen,
fluorine, and carbon. So, if compared to other
refrigerants, it has the lower potential of global
warming. R23, R134a, R404A, R407C, R410A,
R417A, R422A, R422B, R422D, R507, R508B are
included in the HFC group. This group of
refrigerants is always in demand by refrigerant
manufacturers because of its environment
suitability.
 Natural Refrigerants
As the name suggests, natural refrigerants are
completely natural. They are not created by any men
like the other ones. They do not harm the nature,
environment, or the ozone layer. Moreover, they are
quite inexpensive as compared to other refrigerants.
Air, HC, ammonia, CO2, H2O, etc. are the examples of
natural refrigerants. They have zero ozone depletion
potential and negligible effects on global warming.

 What are the most common refrigerants nowadays?

 R134a (HFC)
 R-12 (CFC)
 R-410A (HFC)
 R-22 (CFC)
 R-404A (HFC)

This is the top common list of refrigerants. These

refrigerants can also be used in HVAC equipment. HVAC
is; : Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning.
 Non-cyclic refrigeration
This refrigeration method cools a contained area by
melting ice, or by sublimating dry ice. Perhaps the
simplest example of this is a portable cooler, where
items are put in it, then ice is poured over the top.
Regular ice can maintain temperatures near, but not
below the freezing point, unless salt is used to cool the
ice down further (as in a traditional ice-cream maker).
Dry ice can reliably bring the temperature well below
freezing.
 Cyclic refrigeration
This consists of a refrigeration cycle, where heat is
removed from a low-temperature space or source and
rejected to a high-temperature sink with the help of
external work, and its inverse, the thermodynamic
power cycle.
 A refrigeration cycle describes the changes that take
place in the refrigerant as it alternately absorbs and
rejects heat as it circulates through a refrigerator. Heat
naturally flows from hot to cold. Work is applied to cool
a living space or storage volume by pumping heat from
a lower temperature heat source into a higher
temperature heat sink. Insulation is used to reduce the
work and energy needed to achieve and maintain a
lower temperature in the cooled space. The operating
principle of the refrigeration cycle was described
mathematically by Sadi Carnot in 1824 as a heat engine.
Cyclic refrigeration can be classified as:
1. Vapor cycle, and
2. Gas cycle
Vapor cycle refrigeration can further be classified as:
1. Vapor-compression refrigeration
2. Vapor-absorption refrigeration
 Vapor-compression cycle

The vapor-compression cycle is used in most household

refrigerators as well as in many large commercial and
industrial refrigeration systems. A circulating refrigerant
such as Freon enters the compressor as a vapor.
The vapor is compressed at constant entropy and exits
the compressor as a vapor at a higher temperature, but
still below the vapor pressure at that temperature. The
vapor travels through the condenser which cools the
vapor until it starts condensing, and then condenses the
vapor into a liquid by removing additional heat at
constant pressure and temperature. The liquid
refrigerant goes through the expansion valve (also called
a throttle valve) where its pressure abruptly decreases,
causing flash evaporation and auto-refrigeration of,
typically, less than half of the liquid. That results in a
mixture of liquid and vapor at a lower temperature and
pressure as shown at point 5. The cold liquid-vapor
mixture then travels through the evaporator coil or tubes
and is completely vaporized by cooling the warm air
(from the space being refrigerated) being blown by a fan
across the evaporator coil or tubes. The resulting
refrigerant vapor returns to the compressor inlet at point
1 to complete the thermodynamic cycle.
 Vapor absorption cycle
In the early years of the twentieth century, the vapor
absorption cycle using water-ammonia systems was
popular and widely used. After the development of the
vapor compression cycle, the vapor absorption cycle
lost much of its importance because of its low
coefficient of performance. The absorption cycle is
similar to the compression cycle, except for the method
of raising the pressure of the refrigerant vapor. In the
absorption system, the compressor is replaced by an
absorber which dissolves the refrigerant in a suitable
liquid, a liquid pump which raises the pressure and a
generator which, on heat addition, drives off the
refrigerant vapor from the high-pressure liquid. Some
work is needed by the liquid pump but, for a given
quantity of refrigerant, it is much smaller than needed
by the compressor in the vapor compression cycle. In an
absorption refrigerator, a suitable combination of
refrigerant and absorbent is used. The most common
combinations are ammonia (refrigerant) with water
(absorbent), and water (refrigerant) with lithium
bromide (absorbent).
 Gas cycle
When the working fluid is a gas that is compressed and
expanded but doesn't change phase, the refrigeration
cycle is called a gas cycle. Air is most often this working
fluid. As there is no condensation and evaporation
intended in a gas cycle, components corresponding to
the condenser and evaporator in a vapor compression
cycle are the hot and cold gas-to-gas heat exchangers
in gas cycles. The gas cycle is less efficient than the
vapor compression cycle because the gas cycle works
on the reverse Brayton cycle instead of the reverse
Rankine cycle. As such the working fluid does not
receive and reject heat at constant temperature. In the
gas cycle, the refrigeration effect is equal to the product
of the specific heat of the gas and the rise in
temperature of the gas in the low temperature side.
Therefore, for the same cooling load, a gas refrigeration
cycle needs a large mass flow rate and is bulky. Because
of their lower efficiency and larger bulk, air cycle
coolers are not often used nowadays in terrestrial
cooling devices. However, the air cycle machine is very
common on gas turbine-powered jet aircraft as cooling
and ventilation units.
The measured capacity of refrigeration is always
dimensioned in units of power. Domestic and commercial
refrigerators may be rated in kJ/s. For commercial and
industrial refrigeration systems, the kilowatt (kW) is the
basic unit of refrigeration. A refrigeration system's
coefficient of performance (CoP) is very important in
determining a system's overall efficiency. It is defined as
refrigeration capacity in kW divided by the energy input in
kW. Some of the systems typically use performance factor
(PF). A system's PF is defined as a system's energy input in
horsepower divided by its refrigeration capacity. Both CoP
and PF can be applied to either the entire system or to
system components.
The field of refrigeration and air-conditioning has
undergone tremendous changes in the last
century. More and more new refrigerants having
improved properties are being produced globally.
Research in this field is now directed towards
producing better environment friendly
refrigerants and in replacing old refrigeration
systems using halogenated refrigerants with the
newer ones. We can be sure that in the future,
refrigerants will be produced which will not only
match the performance characteristics of the
present day refrigerants, but also surpass them.
And all this will be done without causing any
destructive effect upon the environment.