UTTERWQRTH

I N E M A

hzt J. R~frig. Vo]. 18, No. 6, pp. 378 386, 1995

N

Elsevier Science Ltd and llR

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0140-7007/95/$10.00 + 0.00

A theoretical and experimental study of a small-scale steam jet

refrigerator
I. W. Eames*, S. Aphornratana and H. Haider
D e p a r t m e n t o f M e c h a n i c a l a n d Process Engineering, University o f Sheffield, M a p p i n
Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, U K
Received 26 M a y 1994; revised 12 April 1995

The paper provides the results of a theoretical and experimental study of a steam jet refrigerator. A smallcapacity steam jet refrigerator has been tested with boiler temperatures in the range 120-140C. The
experimental data were found to be within 85% of the theoretical values. The experiments showed that
choking of the secondary flow in the mixing chamber of the ejector plays an important role in the system
performance. Maximum COP was obtained when the ejector was operated at its critical flow condition. Offdesign performance characteristics of the system are provided.
(Keywords: refrigeration; ejector; jet pump; cycle; experimental; theoretical; study)

Etude th6orique et exp6rimentale d'un r6frig6rateur de petite

taille 5. jet de vapeur
On prOsente les rdsultats d'une Otude th~orique et exp~rimentale d'un rdfrig~rateur de petites dimensions h jet de
vapeur. On a essayd eelui-ci dans une gamme de tempdratures de gOndrateur allant de 120 h 140C. Les donnOes
expOrimentales ont correspondu aux valeurs th~oriques. Les expdrienees ont montr~ que l'~tranglement de
l'~coulement secondaire dans la caisson de mdlange de l'~jecteur joue un r6le important dans la performance du
systkme. On a obtenu le COP le plus dlevd lorsqu'on a fait fonctionner l'Ojecteur dans des conditions
d'~coulement critique. On indique des caractdristiques de performance non prOvues dans son projet.

(Mot cl6s: froid; 6jecteur; pompe ~ jet; cycle; 6tude exp6rimentale; 6tude th6orique)

A steam jet refrigerator was first developed by Le Blanc

and Parson as early as 19011 . Its first wave of popularity
came in the early 1930s for air conditioning of large
buildings 2. However, steam jet refrigerators have been
supplanted generally by systems using mechanical
compressors. The latter type were superior in their
coefficient of performance (COP), flexibility and compactness in manufacture and operation. Today, however,
with ever-increasing awareness and pressures for protecting the environment, refrigerants used in conventional vapour compression systems have come under
attack, and many alternatives have been and are still
being developed. Leaving the usual performance measures aside for the moment, it is worth noting that steam
would fall on the other extreme regarding the environmental criteria: it is the most economical and environment-friendly fluid medium for refrigeration.
Steam jet refrigerators, like absorption-based systems,
are powered by heat,which is a very low-grade energy
and hence is significantly cheaper than electricity or
mechanical (work) related power. Another often understated advantage of heat-powered refrigeration systems
is their unique phasal relationship with the availability of

the power source to drive them. This is very obvious

when such systems harness solar energy, for example.
When more refrigeration is required (e.g. when the
ambient weather is hot) there inherently is more and
hotter sunshine to drive the refrigerator or air-conditioner. Perhaps less obvious but equally important is
their potential in combined heat and power systems
running on gas or fossil fuel. Such systems run on
minimal capacity in the summer (or hot season) to
provide direct hot water and/or simply keep the pipe
networks clean and circulating. Running steam jet
refrigerator based systems can exploit this unutilized
capacity at exactly the time when it is surplus.
The above advantages warrant a serious re-visit to the
technology, especially to re-evaluate the potential and
feasibility of developing practical small-capacity steam
jet refrigerator systems. After a very brief description of
the principle of operation, the paper will elaborate on
the processes involved in the technology, from both the
theoretical and practical perspectives.
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a jet refrigeration cycle. As heat is added to the boiler, the highpressure and temperature refrigerant vapour, known as
primary or motive fluid, is evolved. This enters the
primary nozzle of the ejector, where it expands to

* To w h o m all correspondence should be addressed

378

Downloaded from http://www.elearnica.ir

A small-scale steam jet refrigerator

379

Nomenclature
A
COP
h
I
k
m
M
NXP
P
Rrn
T
V

Area (m 2)
Coeffient of performance
Specific enthalpy (kJ kg J)
Electric current (A)
Specific heat ratio
Mass flow (kg s I)
Mach number
Nozzle exit position (see Figure 7)
Pressure (bar)
Entrainment ratio
Temperature (K, "C)
Voltage

Greek letters
'qd
%

qm
t)
1-

Diffuser efficiency
Primary nozzle efficiency
Mixing chamber efficiency
Density
f,/fp

Upstream of the mixing chamber throat (see

Figure 2)
3

Upstream of the normal shock wave (see

Figure 2)
4

Downstream of the normal shock wave (see

~ u r e 2)
Boiler
Condenser
Exit
Evaporator
Saturated liquid
Inlet
Stagnation state
Primary fluid
Secondary fluid
Primary nozzle throat
Saturated vapour

boiler
con
e
evap
f
i
o
p
s
t
v

Superscripts
'
"

Subscripts
1

Primary fluid
Secondary fluid

Primary nozzle exit plane (see Figure 2)

constant area
mixing section

boile~

primary
flow

condenser

--~ evaporator

tor

subsonic diffuser

PlZ-~~
t~__
-j J ~

secondary flow

combined flow

COllstanl

pi-Pssurt

mixin~ section

P
r=,

7.

Figure I

I ) I S I ~ \ ( I : ~I,ON(;XXIS

Schematic representation of a jet refrigerator cycle

Figure 1 Diagramme sch&natique d'un cycle JHgorifique ~ jet de vapeur

Figure 2

Schematic representation of an ejector

Figure 2 Sch&na d'un ~!jecteur ,~upervoniquc lvpique

produce a supersonic flow within a low-pressure region.

The partial vacuum created by the supersonic primary
flow is fed by a secondary flow consisting of entrained
refrigerant vapour coming from the evaporator. The
primary and secondary fluids combine in the mixing
chamber of the ejector and discharge through a diffuser
to the condenser, where the refrigerant vapour can be
liquefied at ambient temperature. The liquid refrigerant
is returned to the boiler via a feed-pump while the
remainder is expanded through the throttling or expansion valve to the evaporator to complete the cycle.

Small-capacity jet refrigerators using R11, RI2 and

R13 as the working fluids have been reported 3 5
However, the authors are not aware of any smallcapacity systems operated with low-pressure steam.
Normally, steam ejectors are operated using steam
supplied from industrial-scale boilers with saturation
pressures in the range 5 20 bar.
In the sections below, the specific aim is to provide the
basic background in theory and operation of a steam jet
refrigerator. The theoretical and experimental study

380

I. W. Eames et al.

focused on a steam jet refrigerator with a fixed geometry

ejector, designed to operate with relatively low boiler
temperatures (120-140 C) or 2-3.6 bar pressures.

Ejector theory
The ejector is a critical component of the jet refrigeration
cycle. The concept of an ejector is not new. Steam-driven
ejectors have been used extensively in power generation,
chemical processing and the nuclear industry for many
years. The most notable uses have been to produce or
maintain a practical vacuum in gas-filled vessels 6. The
main advantage of ejectors over conventional compressors or pumps is that they have no moving parts and thus
require little maintenance.
A typical supersonic ejector is shown schematically in
Figure 2. High-pressure primary fluid (P) enters the
primary (supersonic) nozzle, through which it expands to
produce a low pressure at the exit plane (1). The highvelocity primary stream draws and entrains the secondary fluid (S) into the mixing chamber. The combined
streams are assumed to be completely mixed at the end of
the mixing chamber (3) and the flow speed is supersonic.
A normal shock wave is then produced within the
constant-area section, creating a compression effect, and
the flow speed is reduced to subsonic value. Further
compression of the fluid is achieved as the combined
streams flow through the subsonic diffuser section.
The performance of an ejector can be defined in terms
of the entrainment ratio or mass .flow ratio, which is the
ratio between the secondary and the primary fluid mass
flowrates:
Rm = --m~
mp

Along with these governing equations, the following

simplifying assumptions were made:
1. Friction losses were introduced by applying isentropic efficiencies to the primary nozzle, diffuser and
mixing chamber.
2. The primary and secondary fluids were supplied at
zero velocity at P and S respectively.
3. At the primary nozzle plane (1) where the two
streams first meet, the static pressure was assumed to be
uniform.
4. Mixing of the two streams was complete before a
normal shock wave occurred at the end of the mixing
chamber (3).

Mach number of the primary fluid at the nozzle exit plane

High-pressure primary fluid at P expands through a
converging-diverging nozzle and leaves the nozzle at 1'
with supersonic speed. Applying the energy equation
between P and 1', it can be simplified to:
V~, = 2%(hp - h,,)

(5)

where % is an isentropic efficiency of the primary nozzle.

The relation between the pressure ratio across the
nozzle and Mach number at the exit of the nozzle is given
as

[2,,p

iI

( 1)

Mach number of the secondary fluid at the nozzle exit

plane

The performance of ejectors can be predicted using onedimensional compressible flow theory. The first models
were presented by Keenan and Neumann 7 to analyse air
ejectors. Their first was a one-dimensional model based
on ideal gas dynamics in conjunction with the principles
of conservation of mass, momentum and energy. Heat
and friction losses were ignored. Their approach
provided solutions for ejectors with constant-area
mixing chambers, and excluded the diffuser section.
Later they extended the theory to include a constantpressure mixing chamber and a diffuser 8. However, this
later model still did not include friction or heat loss. In
this current paper, the authors have modified Keenan's
model to include irreversibilities associated with the
primary nozzle, mixing chamber and diffuser. The
analysis is based on the well-known steady-state and
steady-flow equations of energy, momentum, and continuity as follows:

As the low pressure is formed at the primary exit plane,

the secondary fluid at S expands to 1". Similarly to the
primary nozzle, the Mach number of the secondary fluid
at the nozzle exit plane is given as

Energy equation for an adiabatic process:

Zmi(hi

+ I/'2/2) = Z

me(he + V~/2)

(2)

Momentum equation:

Pi Ai + Z mi Vi = Pe Ae + Z me Ve

(7)

The mixing process

Applying the momentum equation with ideal lossless
mixing between 1 and 3:
PI Al + mp V1, -4- m s Vv, = P3 A3 + (mp + ms) V3
The mixing process between primary and secondary
fluids is assumed all to occur between 1 and 3 at constant
static pressure (PI = P3) and where the cross-sectional
areas at the inlet and exit of the mixing chamber are
assumed to be equal (Ai ----A3).
Therefore
mp Vr + m s VI,, = (mp -{- ms) V3

(3)

This relation describes fully idealized mixing; it can be

made more realistic by including T/m as an efficiency for
the whole mixing chamber:

(4)

~]m(mp VI' + m s VI,,) = (mp + m s ) V 3

Continuity equation:

Z p i ViAi = Z p e VeAe

(8)

A small-scale steam jet refrigerator

Thus the velocity of the mixed fluid at 3 can be explicitly
expressed as
V3=

r / m [ m p VI'

+ms V,,,]

(9)

mp + in s

Equation (9) can be written in terms of the Mach

number:

,vt

+ Rm

(10)

x/(1 + R~)(1 + Rm T~/Tp)

(k + 1)M2/2
1 + (k - 1)M2/2

the flow speed is reduced to zero at the end of the diffuser

(b). The pressure lift ratio across the diffuser can be
obtained from

Pbp4- (r/d(k
_- 1) M,~v + 11 ~
~.

(14)

where qd is the isentropic efficiency of the diffuser.

Sohttion

qf Equations

( 5 ) - ( 14 )

It is assumed that the temperature, pressure and mass

flowrate of the primary and secondary fluids are all

where the relation between M and M* is given as

M*

381

(11)
b~fihl I~'lltpt'l :it Llr t'

2.8

I ~*(Io(

( ()P

Pressure ratio across a normal shock wave

12.5 =

At some section within the constant-area mixing

chamber, a normal shock wave occurs if the velocity of
the mixed fluid entering the constant-area section is
supersonic. A shock wave is a process where a sudden
change in fluid velocity and pressure takes place in
supersonic flow and would have infinitesimal thickness.
The one occurring between 3 and 4 would therefore be an
irreversible compression process in which the Mach
number suddenly falls to less than unity. The Mach
number of the mixed fluid after the shock wave is
obtained from

1)
=

I,z,,~tp

:~1 c:l i ; l l i o

(o()

2.0
1.6
1.2
0.8
11.4
II.|l

(12)

. . . .

2.4

IN

22

26

.14

:ql

3~

I ,.,m / o(

The pressure lift ratio across the shock wave is obtained

as follows:

P4
P3

1 + k M4
1 + k ]l,I~

(13)

Figure 4 Theoretical COP of jet refrigerators versus

saturation temperature

condenser

Figure 4 R~sultats du calcul de la per/ormance de.~ r~!/?ig~;rateurs

jimctionnant h d(ff~;rentes temp~;ratures

1.4

Pressure rift ratio across the subsonic diffuser

I ~ :q,~,l:lt,,I

Further compression of the mixed fluid is achieved as it

passes through the subsonic diffuser. It is assumed that

1.2

IcIIIpL r:tlut'~
(

~o(

()1'

1.11

2.11
I)p/Pb = 60
i.5

2(10~

I).1~

Rm

()

1.0

L,\l),.,rinl,.,iHal d:l[ll (bc'~l *,:llue~)

L,M~L.,rimelvtal data (I) pie41 ~ ; l l u u ~
ihcot clic:ll ,. ;i hit's

IJ.4
[ h.ih'r

0.5

O.2
] "~0o(

~t

0.0

12

16

Pb/Ps

O.ql

IN

22

2~',

~0

I c,H~ I'(

t4

38

Figure 3 Comparnson between experimental and theoretical entrainment ratio (primary pressure ratio = 60)

Figure 5 Theoretical COP of jet refrigerators versus

saturation temperature

3 CorrOlation avec donn~es expOrimentales fournies par

/'Engineering Sciences Data Unit (EDSU)

Figure 5 R~sultats du calcul de la perfbrmance des r(!fHg~;rateurs

fonctionnant h d(~rentes temp~;ratures

Figure

condenser

382

I. W. Eames et al.

super he:Her

steamdrum

boiler

[~ ~

i,U,nl,

': :il e . l e c t r

.~-]

[ .i ;

,~-.

I~'oI':H o r

'4
i

t(, d u a i r :

- -- J

-]
--Figure 6

Figure 6

cooling water

Schematic diagram of the experimental steam jet refrigerator

Sehdma de l'appareil d'essai

known. The following procedure can be used in order to

obtain the ejector exhaust pressure.
1. As the pressure at the nozzle exit plane is not known,
it can be determined by an iteration process. First, the
value of PI/Ps is assumed.
2. Calculate the Mach numbers of the primary and
secondary fluids at the nozzle exit plane, M~ and M~',
from Equations (6) and (7).
3. Calculate the Mach number of the mixed fluid, M 3,
from Equation (10), and
4. Calculate the Mach number of the mixed fluid after
the shock wave, M 4, from Equation (12).
5. Calculate a pressure lift ratio across the shock wave,
P4/P3, from Equation (13).
6. Calculate a pressure lift ratio across the diffuser,
P b / P 4 , f r o m Equation (14).
7. Now, the ejector exhaust pressure Pb can be
calculated, since P4/P3, Pb/P4 and P I / P s are all known.
8. Repeat step (1) with a new value of Pl/Ps until the
maximum Pb is obtained.
The primary nozzle, diffuser, and mixing chamber
efficiencies of 0.85, 0.85, and 0.95 respectively were
found to provide an acceptable correlation with the

' I

~' I
VJI

i"

li

0
nozzle exit l)osilion
t)rimary I~ozzle throat d i a m e t e r : 2ram
primary nozzle exit diameter : 8 mm
a:=40mm

b := 100 mm
c =40 nun

mm
e = 2-1 mm diameter
f = 18 mm diameter
d:210

g -- 4 0 m m d i a m e t e r

Figure 7 Dimensions of the experimental ejector (not to scale)

Figure 7 Dimensions de base de l'~jecteur utilis~ pour les essais

A small-scale steam jet refrigerator

experimental data plrovided by the Engineering Sciences
Data Unit (ESDU) 6, as shown by Figure 3. It must be
remembered, however, that this method can be used only
when an ejector is operated at its designed condition.
Theoretical

performance

o f a s t e a m j et r e f r i g e r a t o r

The thermodynamic performance of a jet refrigeration

cycle is usually evaluated through its coefficiem of
perJormance (COP), which is the ratio between the
evaporator heat load and the energy input to the boiler.
Because the power input to the feed pump was negligible,
it was omitted from the performance calculation. If the
entrainment ratio is known, the COP can be calculated
from

(15)

COP -- Rm [ hv.ev~p - hr.co~]

Lhv,boiler - - hf.con/

Figures 4 and 5 show the results of the calculated

performance of steam jet refrigerators over a range of
operating temperatures. The ejector performance

25
0.5

I c,,n (()()
31

28

34

37

nozzleexilimsition26.15mill e~aporalorlenlperalure=IlL0"(

0.4

' '~
-- --

0.3

Tboiler= 120.((sa()

"
m

.........
Tlmik.r
13~((MII)
l"hoil(r = 1 4 0 , ) ( ( s a t )

=~125oC(sat)
, i ~ Thoiler
" 'i"('{'('
("1')
=

~
--

(OI'

1. A cycle designed to operate at high boiler and

evaporator temperatures and low condenser temperature
would have higher COP values and require an ejector
with larger area ratio (A4/At) than another cycle.
2. For one particular ejector or ejectors with similar
area ratio (A4/At), with the given evaporator temperature, any rise in the boiler temperature would cause the
COP to fall. However, the cycle could then be operated
at a higher condenser temperature.
3. For one particular ejector or ejectors with similar
area ratio (A4/At), with a given boiler temperature, an
increase in the evaporator temperature would cause the
COP to rise. Here also, the cycle could be operated at a
higher condenser temperature.
t e s t s o n a s t e a m jet r e f r i g e r a t o r

Experimental set-up

ILl

0.0
3il

40

50

60

])~,)n

(fill)ill')

Figure 8 Variation in measured COP with boiler temperature and

condenser pressure
Figure 8

obtained from Equations (5)-(14) was the best value

for the given conditions. Thus the performance shown by
the solid-line curves does not represent the value of one
single optimized system, since any point on the solid line
requires a particular ejector (operated at its design
condition). The performance of ejectors with similar area
ratio (A4/At) was calculated by scaling based on
continuity, the ideal gas law and an isentropic compression process with conditions at any section normalized
by reference to the primary nozzle throat. Such scaling is
well described in standard fluid mechanics texts l and
produced results shown by the dotted lines in Figures 4
and 5.
From the plots of Figures 4 and 5, the following were
observed:

Experimental

0.2

Courbes du COP mesur# h di#~rentes temp#ratures de

g#ndrateur

The test set-up is shown schematically in Figure 6. The

boiler design was based on the thermo-syphon principle.
Heat energy was directly transferred to the water by two
3.5 kW electric heaters. The evaporator design was based
on spray and falling film column. A single 3.25 kW heater
was used to simulate the evaporator cooling load. All the
electric heaters were controlled using variable transformers. A shell and coil condenser was used, cooled by
water.

1 c,,,, (')()

I<,,,(,,( )
25
0.5

383

28

31

n()zllCexilposili(m26.15

34

22

37

34

38

0.6

e',aporalor
lenlperalure5.0"(

nmL

30

26

0.5
I).4

(()p

TboilLr , 120o("(sail
]'l)()ilcr=

0.3

125,)(-" ( s i l l )
l'l)oiler
I .II()o( ( ~,~lI )
'I h<,ilcr
I .~5~)((sat)
l'h.ihr =

1411')((n;ll)

('OP

125-(

0.3

130o(
-" ~

135-(

I).2

\
o.l

l i,,fih,= 1 2 0 - (

0.4

"

' -~

l~(),,(
liP(

7.5"(

0.I

]'e~ap

0.0
311

4(I

Peon

St)

25

60

(lllb;Ir)

F i g u r e 9 V a r i a t i o n in m e a s u r e d C O P with boiler t e m p e r a t u r e a n d
c o n d e n s e r pressure

Figure 9

g#n#rateur

Courbes du COP mesur# h diff{rentes temp#ratures de

35

45

55

O5

|)con (Inhar)

Figure l0
erator

M e a s u r e d C O P characteristics o f the e x p e r i m e n t a l refrig-

F i g u r e 10 Courbes de perJormance cah'uh;es h partir des donn#es

ohserv#es Iors du./bnctionnement ~ la pression critique du condenseur

I. W. Eames et al.

384
Table 1

Performance at off-design operation, as shown in Figures 10 and l l

Tableau 1 Per/brmance lors du Jonctionnement ~t des conditions non pr~vues dans le projet, comme on peut voit dans les Figures 10 et 11
Operating point
on the figures
a
b
d
e
f
g

Temperature ( C )

COP

Cooling
capacity
(W)

Evaporator

Boiler

Pressure (mbar)
condenser

0.207
0.207
0.221
0.239
0.278
0.197

710
7 l0
710
752
936
690

7.5
7.5
7.0
7.5
10.0
7.5

130.0
130.0
127.2
126.9
130.0
131.7

45.7
42.5
42.5
42.5
47.6
47.6

Note: The data provided in this table are obtained graphically from the figures

22

lc.n luC)
3tl

26

34

on the evaporator, this COP estimate was therefore the

overall worst-case performance, as it included all the
unwanted heat losses and gains to the system due to
imperfections in the insulation.
Figures 8 and 9 show plots of the COP measured at
different boiler temperatures, from which it was possible
to observe the following:

38

1400

Tl,,,ilcr = 120,,C
~'
.]

125"("

IOOO

13o.(

=t

135~(

II1"(

.z

600

=5"(

'

200

25

35

',

4'~
Pcon (m ba r)

"l'e, ....
,

55

65

Figure 11 Measured cooling capacity characteristics of the experimental refrigerator

Figure 11 Courbes de performance calculOes h partir des donnOes
observOes lors du fonetionnement h la pression critique du condenseur

Figure 7 is a sketch showing the essential dimensions of

the ejector used in the tests. The cross-sectional area was
obtained from the scaling considerations described
earlier. Other geometrical design parameters were
based on the standard recommendation by ESDU 6.
Performance characteristics o f a steam jet refrigeration
unit
Tests on the steam jet refrigerator were carried out over a
range of boiler, condenser and evaporator conditions. In
each situation, the system was set and left to reach
equilibrium with respect to all temperatures, and therefore all heat/energy inputs and outputs were steady. The
electric power inputs to the boiler and to the evaporator
were measured in real time with a computer dataacquisition system. Sampling of the voltage (V) across,
the electric current (I) through each heater, and logging
their real-time product (V x I) gave an indication of the
instantaneous heat power added in each case. These data
logs provided very accurate measurements of the actual
heat input to the boiler and the electrically imposed load
on the evaporator.
The COP of the whole system in this equilibrium state
could be estimated according to the following:
COPelec _

( V x I)evap
( V X /)boiler

(16)

Based on the electric power input to the boiler, and load

1. The COP was independent of the condenser pressure

until an upper limit of the latter was reached, where the
COP fell rapidly to zero. The condenser pressure at
which the COP started dropping is termed the critical
condenser pressure 5.
2. For a given constant evaporator temperature (load
set point), increasing the boiler pressure (and temperature) resulted in worse COP, but the cycle could be
operated at higher critical condenser pressure and would
therefore be less susceptible to changing condenser (or
ambient) conditions in real applications.
3. With a constant boiler pressure (and temperature), a
higher COP was achievable if the evaporator temperatures (set-points) were allowed to rise, and this further
allowed the cycle to be operated at higher critical
condenser pressures.
When the cycle was operated at a condenser pressure
below the critical value, the COP was constant as the
ejector entrained the same amount of secondary fluid.
According to Huang et al. 5 and Munday and Bagster 9,
this phenomenon may have been caused by choking of
the secondary flow within the mixing chamber. They
explained that, after expanding through the primary
nozzle, the primary fluid fans out without mixing with
the secondary fuid. This results in an effectively
converging duct for the secondary fluid, through which
it is entrained and accelerated to sonic velocity at some
cross-section defined as an effective area. Mixing of the
two streams is thought to begin after the secondary flow
chokes 9. When the ejector is operated with secondary
choking or condenser pressure below the critical value, a
transverse shock that creates the major compression
effect will appear in the constant-area mixing section.
When the condenser pressure is higher than critical, the
transverse shock tends to move back (opposite to the
direction of flow), and the secondary fluid flowrate starts
to fall rapidly to zero.
If the ejector was operated with zero entrainment ratio
(i.e. no secondary fluid was entrained) and the condenser
pressure was further increased, this would cause all the
primary fluid to reverse back into the evaporator. This
would be manifested experimentally by a sudden increase

A small-scale steam jet refrigerator

Table 2

385

Experimental and theoretical performance of a steam jet refrigerator at critical condenser pressure operation

Tableau 2

Performances e.xp&imentales et th~oriques d'lm rt{lHg&ate ." t),jet de rapelo Iors du,lbnctiomlement t't la pres.~ion critique du condenseur
Temp (C)
Boiler

Condenser

Pressure (mbar)
. . . .
Condenser

5.0

120
125
130
135
140

26.5
27.8
30.8
33.4
34.4

34
37
44
51
54

0.2386
0.1971
0.1566
0.1270
0.1019

0.4044
0.3442
0.2756
0.2513
0.1779

0.5081
0.4660
0.3645
0.3161
0.2765

1(/2
Ill
109
111
122

7.5

120
125
130
135
140

27.3
29.5
31.5
33.4
35.3

36
41
46
51
57

0.3063
0.2504
0.2070
0.1733
0.1383

0.5004
0.4189
0.3553
0.2965
0.2334

0.5966
0.5052
0.4356
0.3786
0.3284

98
99
103
t08
114

10.0

120
125
130
135
140

28.3
30.0
31.9
34.0
36.3

38
42
47
53
60

0.3693
0.3276
0.2884
0.2365
0.1884

0.5862
(I.5374
0.4734
0.3892
0.3093

0.6849
0.6074
0.5299
0.4544
0.3822

94
98
101
104
106

Evap

CO P~.k,.

COP,,,~,~

C()Pth,..

Calculated a
area ratio

a The experimental ejector has an area ratio of 90. The calculated area ratio is obtained using the theoretical data

22

I,.,m (,,()
31)

26

34

38

nozzle exit position = 26.15 m m

0.8
~ t
.;-4..~.

0.6

7"

~
.....

experimental (COPmass)
theoretical ( C O P m a s s )

+" .......:

o, 4

.~..... /

('Ol'
(I,4
120o(

. . . 4 . le, ap

/....,.,,,,
130o(

(1.2

~ 7 . 5 0
135~(~5oC
140oC

0.0
25

35

45

55

65

l)Oll ( n| |)[I F)

Figure 12 Comparison between theoretical COP predictions and

experimental results
Figure 12

COP and the cooling capacity essentially remaining

constant*. This is due to the choking phenomenon of the
secondary fluid in the mixing chamber when the ejector
discharge pressure is lower than the critical value, as
explained earlier. In order to improve the cycle
performance with such reduction in condenser pressure
(from 45.7 to 42.5mbar), the ejector must be made to
operate at a new critical condition by one of the
following methods.

Comparaisons entre les pr&isions du modbte et les r&ultats

de I'essai

in temperature due to the hot stream flowing into the

evaporator.

Operation of the system

The tests showed that, at constant evaporator and
condenser pressures, the maximum performance was
achieved when the cycle was operated with such a boiler
temperature that forced the ejector to run at its critical
pressure condition. The performance contour plots
shown in Figures 10 and 11 were protected from the
data at critical condenser pressure operation. An
example of how these plots, together with Table 1, may
be used for design and optimization applications is as
follows.
The cycle may normally be designed to operate at
point "a' with a critical condenser pressure of, say,
45.7mbar. If the condenser pressure fell to 42.5 mbar
owing to a reduction of cooling water temperature while
the boiler and evaporator temperatures stayed the same,
the cycle operating point would move to 'b' with the

Constant cooling capacity, lower evaporator temperature,

higher COP. If a boiler temperature reduction from 130
to 127.2C was to accompany the condenser pressure
drop from 45.7 to 42.5 mbar, the cycle operating point
would move to point 'd' (with the critical condition).
This would produce a constant cooling capacity at the
lower evaporator temperature (approximately 7.0"C).
The COP would also be higher, owing to the reduction
in boiler heat input.
Constant evaporator temperature, higher cooling capacity,
higher COP. If the cycle was already operating at point
"d', and the boiler temperature was further reduced
from 127.2 to 126.9C, the evaporator temperature
would return to 7.5 C. The cycle operating point would
move to point 'e' (with the critical condition). The COP
and the cooling capacity would rise.
If the condenser pressure rose higher than the design
point (e.g. on a hot day), the ejector would operate in an
unstable condition (with fixed boiler temperature and
cooling load). The ejector would temporarily fail its
function and the evaporator temperature would rise
rapidly, forcing the ejector to establish a new critical
operating condition at the higher condenser pressure.
However, since the cooling load is fixed, the evaporator
temperature would have now dropped, and again the
* If the boiler and evaporator temperatures were fixed, for any
condenser pressure lower than 45.7mbar, the COP and the cooling
capacity would remain constant as shown by the horizontal lines ' a - c '
on Figures 10 a n d / / . However, the ejector would no longer be at the
critical condition

386

I. W. Eames et al.

ejector would temporarily lose its function. Points 'f' and

'g' show two such possible operating conditions when the
condenser pressure is increased to 4.6 mbar. Being higher
than the critical value, new critical operation could only
be established with higher boiler or/and evaporator
temperatures.
C o m p a r i s o n s b e t w e e n e x p e r i m e n t a l and theoretical results

To make a comparison between theoretical performance

predictions and the experimental tests, the water
evaporation rates from the boiler and the evaporator
were measured with the cycle operating in the steady
state. The errors produced by unwanted heat gains (at
the evaporator) and losses (at the boiler) in the system
were thus avoided. The evaporation rates were obtained
by measuring the drop of liquid volume in the boiler
and evaporator over a finite time interval. The coefficient
of performance of the experimental cycle was then
calculated from Equation (15). The results of the tests
indicated that the average boiler heat loss was approximately 25% at all temperatures, and the average
evaporator heat gains were found to be approximately
22%, 20% and 18% at evaporator temperatures of 5, 7.5
and 10 C respectively. Thus the COP based on electric
power input was found to be approximately 60% of
the COP based on evaporation rates. The latter was
obviously used for comparison in judging the theory.
The pressure loss in the suction line was determined by
measuring the pressure at the inlet of the mixing
chamber. The difference between this and the saturated
pressure in the evaporator was found to be between 1
and 1.5 mbar, which is equivalent to an average pressure
loss of 12%. The pressure loss of the primary steam was
not measured directly, but it was estimated theoretically
as a frictional loss in a pipe as described in any standard
fluid mechanics text l0 . Such estimates in average pressure
loss of the primary steam amounted to approximately
5%. These pressure loss factors were then incorporated
in the theoretical computer model to estimate the cycle
performance at critical condenser pressure operation.
Table 2 and Figure 12 show comparisons between the
model predictions and the test results, The measured
COP were found to lie between 70 and 90% (average
83%) of the theoretical values. The overall discrepancies were thus never above 30%, which proved that the
odelling technique used provided a useful design tool for
such systems. It is important to note that the measured
data were always lower than what the theoretical model
predicted. This points clearly to the possibility that
areas still exist in the modelling where too much
idealization has been assumed. Further tuning of the
model is thus invited, and should prove an interesting
task for a future investigation.

between 120 and 1 4 0 C , and evaporator temperatures

between 5 and 10 C , produced results in which the effects
of various parameters on the overall operation were
coherently illustrated. The overall coefficient of performance of the cycle measured experimentally was, on
average, within 17% of the theoretical predictions. Such
discrepancy was never worse than 30%, even near the
outer bounds of the operating range.
For a fixed-geometry ejector, the cooling capacity was
found to be limited by the condenser pressure, which
would itself be governed by the ambient conditions in an
application. Given such a constraint, and the availability
of a fixed boiler pressure in an application, the cooling
capacity could be improved with a higher set evaporator
temperature. On the other hand, with lower condenser
pressures, larger cooling capacity could be achieved with
even lower boiler pressures.
Therefore small-capacity steam jet refrigerator systems may be practically useful. They can be operated
with low-grade heat energy with the modest temperature
ranges (120-140 "~'C). The systems are simple to operate
and reliable, with two mechanical pumps being the only
moving parts. However, the system flexibility at offdesign operation is limited by the performance characteristics of an ejector. If an ejector was designed with
variable geometry (e.g. cross-section areas and nozzle
position), the cooling capacity could be made independent of the operating temperatures in a given range.
Finally, the test results being always lower than the
theory pointed to the need for further non-ideal
processes to be identified and catered for in the
modelling. Such refinements promise more accurate
and precise predictions, resulting ultimately in a very
robust design tool, which would serve the industry well.

References

1
2
3

4
5
6
7
8

9
Conclusion

Both the theoretical and experimental studies on the

steam jet refrigerator, carried out with boiler temperatures

10

ASHRAESteam-jet refrigeration equipment ASHRAE Guide

andData Book ASHRAE, USA (1969) Ch. 13
Stoeeker,W. F. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning McGrawHill, New York (1959)
Hammer,R. M. An investigation of an ejector-compression
refrigeration cycle and its applications to heating, cooling and
energy conservation Ph.D. thesis The University of Alabama,
Birmingham, USA (1978)
Zeren,F. Freon-12vapour compressionjet pump solar cooling
systems Ph.D. thesis Texas A&M University, USA (1982)
Huang,B. J., Jiang, C. B., Hu, F. L. Ejector performancecharacteristics and design analysis of a jet refrigeration system
A S M E J Eng Gas Turbines Power (1985) 107 (July) 792 802
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Keenan,J. H., Neumann,E. P. A simpleair ejectorA SME J Appl
Mech (1942) (June) A75 A81
Keenan,J. H., Neumann, E. P., Lustwerk, F. An investigationof
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Munday,J. T., Bagster, D. F. A new ejector theory applied to
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442-449
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