Lecture 1

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

(ME 439)

Course instructor. Dr. Massab Junaid

Office # G-12, FME, GIK Institute, Ext. 2306

Email: massab@giki.edu.pk
Office Hours: 10:00pm ~ 12:00 pm

Teaching Assistance by Mr. Samar abbas

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 Course Learning Objectives & Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Learning Level
CLO # CLO Statement PLO

PLO2 C2
CLO1 Be able to understand refrigeration and air (Engineering (Comprehension)
conditioning systems knowledge)
Be able to analyze refrigeration and air conditioning PLO3 C4 (analysis)
CLO2 (RAC) systems (Application)

PLO7
CLO3 Be able to analyze the impact of HVAC on (Environment C4 (Analysis)
environment. and sustainability
Pre-Requisite:
ME 332 (Thermodynamics),
ME 333 (Heat transfer)
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Books:
Text books
1. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning: analysis and design, 6th edition by
McQuiston, Parker and Spitler. 6th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Refrigeration and air-conditioning, W.F Stoecker, J.W Jones. 2nd edition,

McGraw Hill.

Reference book

HVAC systems design handbook, 4th edition, Roger W. Haines, C. Lewis Wilson, Mc
Graw-Hill

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 Grading Policy

Assignment Sessions: 10%

Quizzes: 15%
Complex engg. problem 5%
Mid Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 45%

Attendance Policy
• 80% attendance is mandatory to appear in final exam.
• After 5 mins of start of class, no attendance will be marked.
• Institute leave policy will be followed.
• Re-take of quizzes/assignment session is not allowed. 4
 Course Contents (Pre-Mid Term)

1. Refrigeration: Refrigeration fundamentals, performance, compression cycles, refrigerants and their effect on
environment, components, compressors and their types, absorption refrigeration system and types

2. Air-conditioning: components of a complete system, introduction, air handling, heating equipment, boilers,
furnaces, pumps and piping, all-air systems, unitary air conditioners, heat recovery, thermal storage.

3. Introduction and fundamental physical concepts: background, heating, humidifying, cooling, dehumidifying,
cleaning, air motion, seasonal operation

4. Moist air properties and conditioning processes: moist air and standard atmosphere, fundamental
parameters, adiabatic saturation, psychometric chart, classic moist air processing using psychometric chart,
space air conditioning design conditions and off design condition

5. Comfort and Health: physiological considerations, environmental indices, comfort conditions, IAQ concerns,
contaminants, controlling contaminants, Impact of refrigerants on environment, carbon tax, GWP, GHE,

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 Course Contents (Post-Mid Term)
6. Heat transmission in building structures: modes of heat transfer, heat transfer coefficients for walls, roofs, windows, doors, floor
slabs, pipes (horizontal, buried), and moisture transmission.

7. Space heat load analysis: outdoor and indoor design conditions, transmission heat losses, infiltration, crack method, air-change
method, draft coefficient, calculation aids, heat losses in air ducts, auxiliary heat sources, heated structures, supply air and source
media for space heating.

8. Solar radiation: thermal radiation, radiant energy/radiation, global irradiation, total emissive power, black bodies, earth’s motion,
time, solar angles, hour angle, declination, solar altitude, zenith angle, solar azimuth angles, solar irradiation, solar heat gain
coefficients, energy calculations.

9. Cooling load analysis: basics and terminologies, design conditions, heat balance method, transient conduction, response factors and
CTF’s, opaque surfaces, absorbed solar heat gain, exterior surface heat balance formulation, fenestration, internal surface heat
balance formulation, modes of radiation, transparent surfaces, zone air heat balance, radiant time series method, application of
methods, supply air quality.

10. Fluid flow, pumps, and piping design: fluid flow basics and terminologies, flow measurement, centrifugal pumps, combined system
and pump characteristics, variable pump speed, piping design system, closed and open-loop systems, pipe sizing, air elimination,
large system design, steam heating systems.

11. Fans and building air duct design: fans and their performance, fan laws, fan types and selection, installation of fans, restrictions,
field performance testing, variable-air-volume systems, flow through ducts and fitting, duct systems, duct design
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 What is Refrigeration
Refrigeration is the process of producing and maintaining lower
temperature within a confined space, lower than the
temperature of the surrounding, up to target temperature.

Refrigeration means continuous extraction of heat from a body

whose temperature is already below the temperature of the
surrounding.

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 Units of Refrigeration
Ton of Refrigeration (TR)
Heat extraction capacity of refrigeration and air conditioning
equipment.
The rate of heat removal required to freeze a metric ton ( 1000 kg)
of water at 0 ℃ in 24 hours.

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Relation between Refrigeration and Air conditioning

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 Why RAC is important

• It has application from domestic to commercial units.

• Cold storage (Food, Beverage, Medicines)

• Processing and Preservation of food

• Refrigeration systems in Submarines, ships, air crafts, Space-

craft

• Water Coolers

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 Application in domestic used

A Freezer
A Refrigerator
An Ice Maker

A Refrigerator with Freezer 13

Automobiles Air Conditioning System

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Ammonia based refrigeration plant for a large cold storage according
To ASHRAE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers

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Chillers
of a Central Air Conditioning System

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Ice Block Machine Plant

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Methods of Producing Low Temperatures

1. Sensible cooling by cold medium

2. Phase change Process
3. Endothermic mixing of substance
4. Expansion of liquids
5. Expansion of gases
6. Thermoelectric refrigeration

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 6. Thermoelectric Refrigeration

Thermoelectric refrigeration uses a principle called the "PELTIER" effect to pump heat
electronically. The Peltier effect is named after a French scientist who discovered it in 1834

when an electrical current is applied across the junction of two dissimilar metals, heat is
removed from one of the metals and transferred to the other. This is the basis of
thermoelectric refrigeration.

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Thermoelectric modules are constructed from a series of tiny metal cubes of dissimilar
exotic metals which are physically bonded together and connected electrically. A small fan
helps to disperse the heat into the air.
Advantages:
The system is totally environmentally friendly and contains no hazardous gases, nor pipes
nor coils and no compressor. The only moving part is the small 12-volt fan.

Limitations:
Thermoelectric modules are too expensive for normal domestic and commercial
applications
They are ideally suited to recreational applications because they are lightweight, compact,
insensitive to motion or tilting, have no moving parts, and can operate directly from 12-volt
batteries

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Refrigeration Cycle
Refrigeration cycles can be categorized

 Gas cycle or air cycle

 Vapors cycle

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 Air Refrigerator working on Reversed Carnot Cycle

• Carnot Cycle is the ideal cycle with 100% efficiency.

• It is the ideal Engine and if we reverse it, it will be the ideal
Refrigeration Cycle.

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Carnot heat engine

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Carnot refrigeration cycle

T-s Diagram
Atmosphere at TH
T
P2
3
QH 2 QH
3 2
Condenser

P1
Turbine Compressor
Win
4 1
4
1
QL
Evaporator
QL s

Cooling space at TL
1-2 : Isentropic Compression
2-3 : Isothermal Heat rejection
3-4 : Isentropic Expansion
4-1 : Isothermal Heat addition 25
Carnot cycle consists of reversible processes which make its efficiency higher than
could be achieved in an actual cycle

Why? Discuss the Carnot cycle if it is unattainable idea?

There are two reasons:

I. It serves as a standard of comparison
II. It provides a convenient guide to the temperatures that should be maintained
to achieve maximum effectiveness

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Coefficient of Performance (COP)

Unlike Heat engine, we use COP in refrigeration system because the output in
process 2-3 is usually wasted.

Net work= Heat absorbed in evaporator-Heat rejected in condenser

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The heat transferred during isothermal processes 2-3 and 4-1 are given by:

Net Work output =Heat rejected- Heat absorbed

Wnet=Q2-3 – Q4-1
Wnet=Th(S2 – S3) – TL(S1-S4)

Heat .absorbed Q41

COPCarnot  
Work .input Wnet
TL ( S1  S 4 ) TL
COPCarnot  
Th ( S 2  S3 )  TL ( S1  S 4 ) Th  TL 28
 TL
COPCarnot 
Th  TL

• COP can be maximized by maximizing TL (target temperature)

• and minimizing Th (ambient temperature)
• In summer performance of refrigerator decreases because Th increases.
• In Refrigerator the value of TL is less than for AC, so COP of AC is higher
than COP of Refrigerator.

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Air Cycle
• In a typical gas cycle, the working
fluid (a gas) does not undergo phase
change
• In gas cycles, heat rejection and
refrigeration take place as the gas
undergoes sensible cooling and
heating.
Applications:
• Passenger air craft, jet aircraft
• Missiles
Vapor Cycle
• In a vapor cycle the working fluid
undergoes phase change and
refrigeration effect is due to the
vaporization of refrigerant liquid.
• The required mass flow rates for a
given refrigeration capacity will be
much smaller compared to a gas cycle.
• subdivided into vapour compression
systems, vapour absorption systems,
vapour jet systems
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 Temperature Limitation

1. Higher temperature should be more than the temperature of cooling

air to which heat is to be rejected
2. Lower temperature should be less than the temperature of substance
to be cooled

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What control do we have?
We can concentrate on keeping the ∆T as small as possible.
Reduction of ∆T can be accomplished by increasing A or U in the
equation

In order to decrease ∆T to zero, either U or A would have to be

infinite. Since infinite values of U and A would also require an infinite
cost; the actual selection of equipment always stops short of reducing
∆T to zero. 32
Bell-Coleman or Reversed Brayton Cycle

Process 1-2: Reversible, adiabatic compression in a compressor

Process 2-3: Reversible, isobaric heat rejection in a heat
exchanger
Process 3-4: Reversible, adiabatic expansion in a turbine
Process 4-1: Reversible, isobaric heat absorption in a heat
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exchanger
 Property relationships
 Perfect gases obey equation of state at any state.

Power Plants, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – 34/32

GIK Institute Pakistan.
Process 1-2: Gas at low pressure is compressed isentropically from
state 1 to state 2.

Process 2-3: Hot and high pressure gas flows through a heat
exchanger and rejects heat sensibly and isobarically to a heat sink.

Process 3-4: High pressure gas from the heat exchanger flows
through a turbine, undergoes isentropic expansion and delivers net
work output.

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Process 4-1: Cold and low pressure gas from turbine flows through
the low temperature heat exchanger and extracts heat sensibly and
isobarically from a heat source

Heat .absorbed C P (T1  T4 )

COP  
Work .done C P (T2  T3 )  C P (T1  T4 )
T1  T4
COP 
(T2  T3 )  (T1  T4 )
T1
T4 [  1]
T4

T T
T3 [ 2  1]  T4 [ 1  1]
T3 T4

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 For.isentropic. process.1  2,
 1  1

T2  P2  T3  P3 
 

 .and . 
T1   T  
 P1  4
 P4 
P2  P3 , and .P1  P4

Therefore COP of the cycle can be written as

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Comparison of reverse Carnot and reverse Brayton cycle

• COP of reverse Brayton cycle decreases as the pressure ratio rp

increases
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Vapor Compression Refrigeration
Cycle
The cycle widely used in the world for cooling and
freezing

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 Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle

 Liquid Refrigerant is used

 Based on reversed Rankine cycle

Advantages-

It has smaller size for the given capacity of refrigeration.

 It has less running cost
 It can be employed over a large range of temperatures.
The C.O.P is quite high.

Disadvantages-

 The prevention of leakage of the refrigerant is the major problem in vapor compression
system.

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Typical Vapor-Compression Cycle
Process 1-2 Isentropic Compression Process, s=const.: Compressor, sat.vap  superheat vapor

Process 2-3 P = const. Heat Rejection Process: Condenser, superheat vapor  sat.liquid

Process 3-4 Throttling Process, h=const.: Expansion Valve, sat. liquid  mixture

Process 4-1 P = const. Heat Addition Process : Evaporator, Mixture  sat. vapor
Schematic Diagram

Environment T-s Diagram

T
QH P2

Condenser 2
Win
3 2
QH
3
P1

Expansion Valve
Compressor
Win

4 1
4
1
Evaporator QL
QL
s
Refrigerated Space
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 3
(a) Expansion device
h3  h4
Expansion
Valve

4 1
(b) Evaporator Evaporator

q  h1  h4 QL

(c) Compressor Compressor

Win

w  h1  h2 1

QH 2
(c) Condenser 3
Condenser
q  h3  h2

o
QL
(d) COP  o
Win 42
 Types of Vapor Compression Cycles

1. Cycles with dry saturated vapor after compression

2. Cycles with wet vapor after compression

3. Cycle with superheated vapor after compression

4. Cycle with superheated vapor before compression

5. Cycle with sub-cooling of refrigerant

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 1. Cycle with dry saturated vapor after compression

T-s Diagram P-h Diagram

T P
P2

3 QH
2
QH P2

3 2 P1
Win
Win

4 1 P1
4 1
QL
QL
h
s h 4= h 3 h1 h2 44

1-2 Isentropic compression S1=S2

2-3 Condensing process at constant pressure and constant temperature
3-4 Expansion process at constant enthalpy h3=h4
4-1 Vaporizing process at constant pressure and temperature
 2. Cycle with wet vapor after compression,

T-s Diagram P-h Diagram

T P
P2

3 QH
2
QH P2
3 P1
2 Win

Win

4 1 P1
4 1
QL
QL
s h
h4= h1 h1 h2 45

Enthalpy at point 2 is found out with the help of dryness fraction at this point.
1-2 Isentropic compression S1=S2
2-3 Condensing process at constant pressure and constant temperature
3-4 Expansion process at constant enthalpy h3=h4
4-1 Vaporizing process at constant pressure and temperature
 3. Cycle with dry superheated vapor after compression

T-s Diagram P-h Diagram

T P
P2

2
Win 3 QH 2
QH P2
3
P1

Win

4 1 P1
4 1
QL QL

s h
h4= h3 h1 h2

 Super heating increases refrigeration effect and the amount of work done in the compressor.
 Increase in refrigeration effect is less as compared to the increase in work done
 Net effect of super heating is to have low COP

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4. Cycle with superheated vapor before compression

T-s Diagram P-h Diagram

T P
P2 2

3 QH 2
QH Win P2
3 P1

1 Win

4 1’ P1
4 1
QL QL

s h
h 4= h 1 h1 h2

 Super heated vapor at the end of evaporator

 Refrigeration effect increases
 Compressor work input decreases
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 Overall C.O.P of the cycle increases
 5. Cycle with sub-cooling of refrigerant

T-s Diagram P-h Diagram

T P
P2

2
Win 3 QH 2
QH P2
3
P1

3’
Win

4 1 P1
4 1
QL QL

s h
h4= h1 h1 h2

 Objective is to increase the C.O.P under same set of condition.

 By circulating more quantity of cooling water through condenser or by using water colder than
the main circulating water
 Refrigerating effect is increased by adopting sub-cooling 48
 Effect of Suction Pressure

QH

Condenser
3 2

Expansion Valve
Compressor
Win

4
1
Evaporator
QL

 Suction pressure decreases due to the frictional resistance of flow

 The suction pressure decreases from ps to ps’

 Decrease the refrigerating effect from (h1-h4) to (h1’-h4’)

 Increases the work required for compression from (h2-h1) to (h2-h1’)

 Net effect is to decease the COP of the refrigerating system

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 Effect of Discharge Pressure

QH

Condenser
3 2

Expansion Valve
Compressor
Win

4
1
Evaporator
QL

 Discharge pressure increase due to the frictional resistance of flow

 The discharge pressure increases from pD to pD’

 Decrease the refrigerating effect from (h1-h4) to (h1’-h4’)

 Increases the work required for compression from (h2-h1) to (h2’-h1)

 Net effect is to decease the COP of the refrigerating system

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 By introducing the Flash Chamber
 By using the Accumulator or pre-cooler
 By Sub-cooling the liquid refrigerant by the vapor refrigerant
 By Sub-cooling the liquid refrigerant leaving the condenser by liquid refrigerant
from the expansion valve.

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 1. By introducing Flash Chamber

 High pressure refrigerant from condenser passes through throttling valve, some of it evaporates known as flash.
 Vapor formed during expansion is of no use to produce refrigerating effect.

 Flash chamber separates the liquid and vapors due to centrifugal effect
 Objective is to reduce the mass of refrigerant passing through the evaporator
 Hence reduction in size of evaporator 52
Same, C.O.P, Power required is obtained as that of a simple Vapor compression cycle.
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2. By introducing Accumulator or Pre-cooler

 The objective of Accumulator is to supply dry saturated vapors to compressor

 Sometimes, Liquid refrigerant passing through the evaporator is not completely

evaporated.

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Same, C.O.P, Power required is obtained as that of a simple Vapor compression cycle.
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 Actual Vapor-Compression cycle

Process 1-2-3. Flow through evaporator

Process 3-4-5-6-7-8 Flow through compressor
Process 8-9-10-11 Flow through condenser
Process 11-1 Throttling process

• Vapor refrigerant leaning evaporator is superheated

• Compression is neither isentropic nor polytropic
• Sub-cooled before entering the expansion valve.
• Pressure drop in evaporator and condenser

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1. Sensible Cooling by Cold Medium

If a substance is available at a temperature lower than the

required refrigeration temperature, then it can be used for
sensible cooling by bringing it in thermal contact with the
system to be refrigerated.

For example, a building can be cooled to a temperature lower

than the surroundings by introducing cold air into the building.

Cold water or brine is used for cooling beverages, dairy

products and in other industrial processes by absorbing heat
from them.

Q  mc p T
The energy absorbed by the substance is given by

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2. Phase Change Process
Refrigeration is produced when substances undergo endothermic phase
change processes
For example, sublimation, melting and evaporation
when ice melts it produces a refrigeration effect in the surroundings by
absorbing heat.
Example of Melting:
It is well-known that pure water ice at 1 atmospheric pressure melts at a
temperature of about 0 ℃ and extracts about 335 kJ/kg of heat from the
surroundings.
Example of Sublimation:
At 1 atmospheric pressure, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) undergoes
sublimation at a temperature of –78.50℃, yielding a refrigeration effect of
573 kJ/kg.
Example of Evaporation:
the working fluid (refrigerant) provides refrigeration effect as it changes
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its state from liquid to vapor in the evaporator.
For all phase change processes, the amount of refrigeration
produced is given by:

Where
Q is the refrigeration produced (heat transferred),
m is the mass of the phase change substance
and Δhph is the latent heat of phase change.
If the process is one of evaporation then Δhph is the latent heat of
vaporization
From the above equation it can be seen that substances having
large latent heats require less amount of substance (m) and vice
versa.

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3. Endothermic mixing of substance
This is one of the oldest methods known to mankind. It is very
well-known that low temperatures can be obtained when certain
salts are dissolved in water.
Dissolving of these salts in water is an endothermic
process, i.e., heat is absorbed from the solution leading to its
cooling.
For example, when salts such as sodium nitrate, sodium
chloride, calcium chloride added to water, its temperature falls.
Practical Limitation:
• the refrigeration effect obtained is very small (the
refrigeration effect depends on the heat of solution of the
dissolved substance, which is typically small for most of the
commonly used salts)
• recovery of the dissolved salt is often uneconomical
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 4. Expansion of Liquids

When a high pressure liquid flows through a turbine delivering a net work
output, its pressure and enthalpy fall.

In an ideal case, the expansion process can be isentropic, so that its entropy
remains constant and the drop in enthalpy will be equal to the specific work
output

When a high pressure liquid is forced to flow through a restriction such

as a porous plug, its pressure decreases due to frictional effects. No net work
output is obtained, and if the process is adiabatic then enthalpy of the liquid
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remains constant. This process is called throttling.
Whether or not the temperature of the liquid drops significantly during
the isentropic and isenthalpic expansion processes depends on the inlet
condition of the liquid.

If the inlet is a saturated liquid (state 1 in Fig. 8.2(a)), then the outlet condition lies
in the two-phase region, i.e., at the outlet there will be some amount of vapor in addition
to the liquid for both isentropic expansion through the turbine as well as isenthalpic
process through the porous plug.
if the liquid at inlet is sub cooled to such an extent that when it expands from the same
inlet pressure p 1to the same outlet pressure p2, the exit condition is in a liquid state, we
observe that the temperature drop obtained is much smaller, i.e., (T3-T4,4’) << (T1-
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T2,2’)
 5. Expansion of gases

Steady flow expansion of a high pressure gas through

a turbine or an expansion engine results in a net
work output with a resulting decrease in enthalpy.
This decrease in enthalpy leads to a decrease in
temperature.
Reversible adiabatic expansion with a net work
output always produces a decrease in temperature
irrespective of the initial temperature.

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 Limitations of Carnot cycle:

• Difficulty of achieving isothermal heat transfer during processes 2-3

and 4-1. For a gas to have heat transfer isothermally, it is essential to
carry out work transfer from or to the system when heat is transferred to
the system (process 4-1) or from the system (process 2-3). This is
difficult to achieve in practice.

• Frictional effects in compressor leads to irreversibility, hence

completely isentropic compression is not possible to achieve.

• Perfect insulation cannot be made practically

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