Section

Chiller Systems
GENERAL
A liquid chilling system cools water, brine, or other secondary refrigerant liquid for
air-conditioning or refrigeration purposes. The system may be either factory
assembled and wired or shipped in sections for erection in the field. The most
frequent application is water chilling for air conditioning, although both brine cooling
for low temperature refrigeration and chilling of fluids in industrial processes are also
common uses.
The basic components of a liquid chilling system include a compressor, a liquid
cooler (evaporator), a condenser, a compressor drive, a refrigerant flow control
device, and a control center, and may also include a receiver, an intercooler, or a
subcooler. In addition, certain auxiliary components may be employed, such as an
oil cooler, an oil separator, an oil return device, a purge unit, an oil pump, a
refrigerant transfer unit and additional control valves.
Principles of Operation
Liquid (usually water) enters the cooler where it is chilled by refrigerant liquid
evaporating at a lower temperature. The refrigerant gas produced is drawn into the
compressor, which increases the pressure of the gas so that it may be condensed at
a higher temperature in the condenser. The condenser cooling medium is warmed
in the process. The condensed liquid then flows to the evaporator through a
metering device.
Both hermetic and external drive liquid chilling machines are available. An external
drive machine uses a compressor which may be driven by a turbine, an engine, or
an external electric motor. The compressor driver is easily accessible for repair or
replacement. A drive shaft seal is necessary to isolate the refrigerant and oil from
the atmosphere.
A hermetic unit employs a hermetic compressor with an electric motor totally
enclosed in a refrigerant atmosphere. The possibility of refrigerant leakage to the
outside through a shaft seal is eliminated and motor operating noise is subdued by
the housing. Since forced refrigerant cooling of the motor is very effective, smaller,
less expensive motors are used. The need for a heavy external base to preserve
motor to compressor shaft alignment is eliminated. Hermetic machines are less
expensive than external drive machines and are quieter.
External drive machines are often used because of a desire to apply steam turbine,
gas turbine, gas engine, or synchronous motor drives.
Liquid Chiller Controls
The chilled liquid temperature sensor sends an air pressure (pneumatic control
system) or electrical (electronic control system) signal to the control circuit, which
modulates compressor capacity in response to leaving or return chilled liquid
temperature change with load.
The water temperature controller is a thermostatic device which unloads or cycles
the compressor(s) when the cooling load drops below minimum unit capacity. An

anti-recycle timer is sometimes used to limit starting frequency.

On centrifugal or screw compressor chillers, a current limiter or demand limiter limits
compressor capacity during periods of possible high power consumption (such as
pulldown) to prevent excessive current draw.
Reciprocating Liquid Chillers
The reciprocating compressor is a positive displacement machine which maintains
fairly constant volume flow rate over a wide range of pressure ratios. Three types of
compressors are commonly used in liquid chilling machines:
Welded Hermetic
Semi-hermetic
Direct Drive Open
Open liquid chillers are usually more expensive than hermetic chillers, and are
declining in use for this reason. Hermetic motors are generally suction gas cooled in
which the rotor is mounted on the compressor crankshaft.
Condensers may be evaporative, air, or water cooled. Water cooled versions may
be either tube in tube or shell and coil for low cost, or shell and tube for
compactness. Most shell and tube condensers can be repaired, while the other
types must be replaced if a leak occurs on the refrigerant side.
Air cooled condensers are much more common than evaporative condensers. Less
maintenance is needed for air cooled heat exchangers than for the evaporative type.
Remote condensers can be applied with packages without condensers.
Coolers are usually direct expansion, in which refrigerant evaporates while flowing
inside tubes and chilled liquid is cooled as it is guided several times over the outside
of the tubes by shell side baffles. Tube in tube coolers are sometimes used with
small machines.
The thermal expansion valve modulates refrigerant flow from the condenser to the
cooler to maintain enough suction superheat to prevent any unevaporated refrigerant
liquid from reaching the compressor.
Oil cooling is not usually required for air conditioning. However, oil cooling may be
accomplished by a refrigerant cooled coil in the crankcase or by a water cooled oil
cooler. Oil coolers are often used when extra oil cooling ability is needed.
Control Considerations
A reciprocating chiller is distinguished from centrifugal and screw compressor
operated chillers by its use of increments of capacity reduction rather than
continuous modulation. Therefore, unique arrangements must be used to establish
precise chilled liquid temperature control while maintaining stable operation free from
excessive on/off cycling of compressors, or unnecessary loading and unloading of
cylinders.
To help provide good temperature control, return chilled liquid temperature sensing
is normally employed by units with steps of capacity control. Leaving chilled liquid
temperature sensing has the advantage of preventing excessively low leaving chilled
liquid temperatures if chilled liquid flow falls significantly below the design value.

Centrifugal Liquid Chillers

The centrifugal compressor offers a wide range of capacities continuously modulated
over a limited range of pressure ratios. By altering items such as number of stages,
compressor speed, impeller diameters, and choice of refrigerant, it can be used in
liquid chillers having a wide range of chilled liquid temperatures and cooling fluid
temperatures. Its ability to operate at greatly reduced capacity makes for more online time with infrequent starting.
Both open and hermetic compressors are used. Open compressors may be driven
by steam turbines, gas turbines or engines, or electric motors, with or without speed
changing gears.
Packaged electric drive chillers may be of the open or hermetic type and use two
pole,
Hz or
Hz polyphase electric motors, with or without speed increasing
gears. Hermetic units use only polyphase induction motors. Speed increasing gears
and their bearings in both open and hermetic type packaged chillers operate in a
refrigerant atmosphere and the lubrication of their contacting surfaces is
incorporated in the compressor lubrication system. Magnetic and SCR (silicon
controlled rectifier) motor controllers are used with packaged chillers.
Flooded coolers are commonly used, although direct expansion coolers are
employed by some manufacturers in the lower capacity ranges. The typical flooded
cooler uses copper tubes which are mechanically expanded into the tube sheets,
and in some cases, into intermediate tube supports as well.
Since refrigerant liquid flow into the compressor increases power consumption, mist
eliminators or baffles are often used in flooded coolers to minimize refrigerant liquid
entrainment in the suction gas.
The condenser is generally water cooled, with refrigerant condensing on the outside
of copper tubes. Very large condensers may have refrigerant drain baffles which
direct the condensate from within the tube bundle directly to the liquid drains,
reducing the thickness of the liquid film on the lower tubes.
Control Considerations
The chilled liquid temperature sensor in centrifugal systems is usually placed in
thermal contact with the leaving chilled water. In electrical control systems, the
electrical signal is transmitted to an electronic control module which in turn controls
the operation of an electric motor or motors positioning the capacity controlling inlet
guide vanes. A control limiter is usually provided on electric motor-driven machines.
An electrical signal from a current transformer in the compressor motor controller is
sent to the electronic control module. The module thus receives indications of both
the leaving chilled water temperature and the compressor motor current. The
portion of the electronic control module responsive to motor current is called the
control limiter.
Additional operating controls are needed for appropriate operation of oil pumps, oil
heaters, purge units and refrigerant transfer units. An anti-recycle timer also is
included to prevent excessively frequent motor starts. Multiple unit applications
require additional controls for capacity modulation and proper sequencing of units.
Safety controls must be provided for the protection of the unit under abnormal
conditions. Safety cutouts that may be required are:
High condenser pressure

Low evaporator refrigerant temperature or pressure

Low oil pressure
High oil temperature
High motor temperature
High discharge temperature

Screw Liquid Chillers

The screw or helical rotary compressor is a positive displacement machine with
nearly constant flow performance. Compressors for liquid chillers are oil injected,
resulting in several benefits over non-oil injected screw compressors, including:
Reduced operating noise
Lower operating speed
Increased thermal and volumetric efficiencies
Ability to operate at very high pressure ratios
Elimination of timing gears
Lower discharge temperature
Smaller condensers when a portion of the total heat rejection is accomplished by
an oil cooler
The cooler may be flooded or direct expansion. The flooded cooler is more sensitive
to freeze-up, requires more refrigerant, and requires closer evaporator pressure
control. The direct expansion cooler requires closer mass flow control, is less liable
to freeze, and returns oil to the oil system rapidly.
A suction gas high pressure liquid heat exchanger is sometimes incorporated into
the system to provide subcooling.
Flooded coolers are used in units with a capacity larger than about
expansion coolers are also used in larger units in the range up to

tons. Direct
tons.

The condenser may be included as part of the liquid chilling package when water
cooled. Air cooled liquid chilling packages are also available. When remote air
cooled or evaporative cooled condensers are applied to liquid chilling packages, a
liquid receiver generally replaces the water cooled condenser on the package
structure. Water cooled condensers are the cleanable shell and tube type.
Oil cooler loads are substantial because oil injected into the compressor absorbs a
portion of the heat of compression. Oil cooling is by one the following methods:
A water cooled oil cooler using condenser water, evaporative condenser sump
water, chilled water, or a separate water or glycol to air cooling loop.
An air cooled oil cooler using an oil to air heat exchanger
Refrigerant cooled oil cooler (where oil cooling load is low)
Liquid injection into the compressor
Condensed refrigerant liquid thermal recirculation
Control Considerations
The screw chiller provides continuous capacity modulation, from
percent
capacity down to
percent or less. Leaving chilled liquid temperature is sensed for
capacity control. Safety controls commonly required are:

Oil failure switch

High-low pressure cutout
Cooler flow switch
High oil or discharge temperature cutout
Hermetic motor inherent protection
Oil pump and compressor motor overloads.

FIGURE

- FLOODED TYPE LIQUID COOLER

The compressor is automatically unloaded before starting. Once it starts operating,

the slide valve is controlled hydraulically by a temperature load controller energizing
the load and unload solenoid valves.
The temperature load controller provides protection against motor overload due to
higher than normal condensing temperatures or low voltage conditions. An antirecycle timer is used to prevent overly frequent recycling. Oil sump heaters are
energized during the off cycle. A hot gas capacity control is used to prevent
automatic recycling at no load conditions such as is often required in process liquid
chilling. A suction to discharge starting bypass is sometimes used to aid starting and
to allow the use of standard starting torque motors.
Liquid Coolers
The liquid cooler, or evaporator, is the part of a chiller system in which the refrigerant
is vaporized, thereby producing a cooling effect on the water, brine, or any other
stable fluid.
Flooded Shell and Tube Type
In the flooded cooler, the refrigerant is vaporized on the outside of bare or
augmented surface tubes which are submerged in evaporating liquid refrigerant
within a closed shell. The cooled liquid flows through these tubes, which may be
straight, U-shaped, or coiled. See Figure - for a typical detail.
Space is usually provided above the tubes submerged in the boiling refrigerant for
the separation of liquid droplets from the leaving vapor. This space may or may not
contain liquid droplet eliminators, depending on the particular cooler design.

Ammonia flooded coolers are usually designed with bare steel tube surfaces, while
flooded coolers using other common refrigerants will usually be designed with
nonferrous tubes having extended or otherwise enhanced surface on the refrigerant
side.
Refrigerant feed methods for flooded coolers often control, in some manner, the
liquid level in the cooler, although the liquid refrigerant flow is sometimes metered in
accordance with operating conditions. This control can be accomplished by a low
pressure float valve, a high pressure float valve on single cooler systems, a constant
pressure expansion valve, a thermostatic expansion valve, a float switch and
solenoid valve combination, a restrictor, or a fixed or variable orifice.
The suction connections, or refrigerant outlets from coolers used with centrifugal
compressors, are usually high on the side of the shell, or at the top, above the
eliminator section. They may be round or take the form of a transition section from a
flared rectangular or elliptical opening to a round connection.
Coolers for centrifugal compressors ordinarily have integrally finned or otherwise
augmented nonferrous tubing for water cooling service. Ferrous tubes may be used
for material compatibility and prime surface tubes may be used when the relationship
of inside and outside heat transfer coefficients does not justify extra external surface.
Direct Expansion Coolers
A direct expansion cooler, as shown in Figure - , is generally of the shell and tube
type, with the evaporating refrigerant inside the tubes and the liquid cooled on the
shell side. Usually, a baffle arrangement (segmental type design) is provided on the
shell side to increase the shell side velocity across the tubes and thereby increase
the coefficient of heat transfer.
The refrigerant feed device is usually a thermostatic expansion valve controlled by
the amount of superheat in the refrigerant vapor leaving the evaporator. Dual valve
operation may be applied, particularly on large size chillers and where load variations
extend beyond the capability of one valve alone. A superheater may be used
beyond the liquid valve control point to further superheat suction vapor by heat
exchange with warm refrigerant liquid from the condenser.

FIGURE

- DIRECT EXPANSION TYPE LIQUID COOLER

The direct expansion cooler is especially suitable where the liquid is to be cooled to a
temperature approaching its freezing point. Any malfunction of the system that

results in freezing, unless repetitive, normally does not seriously damage the cooler.
Direct expansion coolers are paired with positive displacement compressors such as
reciprocating, rotary, or screw types. The liquid chilled is most commonly water,
although applications with brines are also common.
An important item in the performance of a direct expansion cooler is the number of
refrigerant passes through the shell. Increasing the number of passes increases the
uniformity of distribution of the liquid refrigerant among the individual tubes of the
various tube passes.