HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF HEAT AND REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING

LABORATORY GUIDE FOR THE COURSE

“THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER”

Experiment No.1: DETERMINING THE STATE OF MOIST AIR AND

CALCULATING THE HEAT BALANCE OF AIR DUCT

1.1 EXPERIMENTAL OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

1.1.1 Experimental objectives
- Knowing how to measure the temperatures (dry and wet bulb temperature), air flow,
pressure and volume;
- Understanding the cooling and dehumidifying process of humid air;
- Understanding the working principle and main components of a basic refrigeration cycle;
- Calculating the heat balance in air duct;
1.1.2 Requirements

Students carefully read the following sections in theory before doing the experiment:

- Pure substance;
- Moist air;
- Refrigeration cycle;

1.2 EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTION

1.2.1 Equipment and supplies
- Air duct;
- Refrigeration cycle;
- Dry and wet bulb thermometers;
- Anemometer;

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 1

 - Volume measuring device; - Vernier caliper.

1.2.2 Description

Moist air is blown through a cooling coil of a refrigeration system. The dry and wet bulb
thermometers are put in front of and behind the cooling coil to determine the state of humid air.

At the outlet of air duct, an anemometer is used to measure the speed and temperature of moist
air.

Refrigerant in refrigeration system is R22

Figure 1: Experimental model of an air duct

1.3 RIQUIREMENTS OF EXPERIMENT

- Student fills in the component names of the experimental system corresponding to the
number in the following table.

Table 1
1: 5: 9: 13:
2: 6: 10:
3: 7: 11:
4: 8: 12:

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 2

 - Using dry and wet bulb thermometers to determine the state of moist air at the inlet (it is
also the surrounding temperature) and outlet of the cooling coil.

- Using anemometer to measure the velocity and temperature at outlet of air duct in order to
estimate airflow.
- Determining the evaporating and condensing temperature of refrigeration system.
- From above data, student determines:
Demonstrating the processes of humid air on the t-d diagram (or I-d)
The heat released when humid air passes through the cooling coil
Moisture is removed at cooling coil according to theoretical calculations and
experiments.
Demonstrating the states of refrigerant on the T-s diagram (corresponding with
theoretical refrigeration cycle, neglecting the superheat and subcooling processes)

1.4 Experimental data

When the system operates at steady state, the condensing water appears on the cooling coil,
student starts doing the experiments with the following requirements:

Student conducts two experiments (Note: after getting the experimental data, student changes the
airflow through the cooling coil).

Experiment 1: Experimental time is 15 minutes, the number of data collection are 3 times

Experiment 2: Experimental time is 10 minutes, the number of data collection are 4 times.

Table 2 & 3: The state parameters of moist air

Experiment 1

Moist air at the inlet of coil Moist air at the outlet of coil
tk(oC) tư(oC) d(g/kg) I(kJ/kg) tk(oC) tư(oC) d(g/kg) I(kJ/kg)
The 1st time
The 2nd time
The 3th time

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 3

 Experiment 2

Moist air at the inlet of coil Moist air at the outlet of coil
tk(oC) tư(oC) d(g/kg) I(kJ/kg) tk(oC) tư(oC) d(g/kg) I(kJ/kg)
The 1st time
The 2nd time
The 3th time
The 4th time

Table 4 & 5: Other parameters of moist air

Experiment 1
Temperature at
Velocity at outlet Water condensed
outlet of air duct
of air duct v(m/s) (ml)
(oC)
The 3th time
The 3th time
The 3th time

Experiment 2
Temperature at
Velocity at outlet Water condensed
outlet of air duct
of air duct v(m/s) (ml)
(oC)
The 1st time
The 2nd time
The 3th time
The 4th time

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 4

 Table 6 & 7: The parameters of refrigeration cycle

Experiment 1
Evaporating Condensing
Evaporating Condensing
pressure pressure
temperature temperature
(Gauge) (Gauge)
(oC) (oC)
(kgf/cm2) (kgf/cm2)
The 1st time
The 2nd time
The 3th time

Experiment 2
Evaporating Condensing
Evaporating Condensing
pressure pressure
temperature temperature
(Gauge) (Gauge)
(oC) (oC)
(kgf/cm2) (kgf/cm2)
The 1st time
The 2nd time
The 3th time
The 4th time

EXPERIMENT No. 2: DETERMING THE COEFFICIENT OF

PERFORMANCE (COP) OF A REFRIGERATION CYCLE USING
AIR-COOLED CONDENSER AND AIR-COOLED EVAPORATOR

2.1 EXPERIMETNAL OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1.1 Experimental objectives

- To help students combine theoretical and practical knowledge.

- To know the fundamental principle of the air conditioning system incorporating some
auxiliary devices.

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 5

 - To help students measure the parameters such as temperature, pressure and calculate the
actual heat and COP.

2.1.2 Requirements

- Students must understand the refrigeration cycle.

- Knowing to apply the mathematic formulas for refrigeration cycle.

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTION

2.2.1 Equipment and supplies
-The model of air conditioning system
-The temperature sensors
2.2.2 Description

To cool the air in the air-conditioning room, the diagram of the experimental model using
refrigeration system with refrigerant of R12 is illustrated in figure 1. The compressor (A)
compresses the vapor of R12 from the evaporating pressure P0 to the condensing pressure Pk. Then,
this vapor is condensed to liquid at the air-cooled condenser (B) before entering the high-pressure
receiver (C). The liquid of R12 at the receiver (C) passes through the expansion valve (I) where
the pressure is reduced from Pk to P0 and then this vapor goes to the air-cooled evaporator (J). The
heated refrigerant vapor at (J) is sucked into the compressor (A) and the principle of operation is
repeated again.

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 6

 Figure 1

The refrigeration cycle is represented in the logp-I and T-s graphs including the following
processes:

(Students draw these graphs by themselves in the final experimental report)

1-2: the process of adiabatic compression in the compressor.

2-3: the process of isobaric condensation in the condenser.

3-4: the process of constant - enthalpy expansion in the throttling valve.

4-1: the process of isobaric evaporation in the evaporator.

The measurement positions of temperature and pressure in the refrigeration cycle

The manometers P1 and P2 are used to measure the suction and discharge pressures at the throttling
valve, respectively and also the discharge pressure of the compressor.

The temperatures of the R12 refrigerant entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser (B) are
measured by the sensors of T1 and T2.

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 7

 The temperatures of the air entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser (B) are measured
by the sensors of T3 and T4, respectively.

The temperatures of the R12 refrigerant entering and leaving the air-cooled evaporator (B) are
measured by the sensors of T5 and T9, respectively.

The temperature of the air in the air-conditioning room is measured by the sensors of T6.

2.3 EXPERIMENTAL TASKS

In this experiment, the students are required to collect the data on the suction and discharge
pressures; the temperatures of the refrigerant entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser, the
temperatures of the refrigerant entering and leaving the air-cooled evaporator, the temperatures of
the air entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser and the temperatures of the air entering and
leaving the air-cooled evaporator. Then, combining with the computing results to determine:

- The state properties of the actual refrigeration cycle.

- COP ( ) of the theoretical and actual refrigeration cycle

- The heat load of the air-cooled condenser, Qk

- The necessary air flow to receive the heat rejection from the condenser, Gkk

2.4 EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Table 1: The measured data of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 8

 Pressure

At the discharge line of the compressor (Pk) At the suction line of the compressor (P0)

Table 2: The measured temperatures of air

Air Temperature

Surrounding temperature (Ta)

At the outlet of condenser At the air conditioning room
(T4) (T6)

Note: Temperature of the air entering the condenser T3 is also the surrounding temperature Ta

Table 3: The properties of R12 in refrigeration cycle

State
Parameter
1 2 3 4

Pressure p (bar)

Temperature t (0C)

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 9

 Enthalpy i (kJ/kg)

Entropy s (kJ/kg.K)
Calculating section
a. Determining the state properties of the refrigerant

From the pressure data in table 1, the thermodynamic properties of saturated refrigerant R12 and
the thermodynamic properties of superheated refrigerant R12, the students determine the state
properties of R12 at specific states on the refrigeration cycle and fill in table 3.

b. Calculating the heat load of the air-conditioning room

The heat load of the air-conditioning room is the amount of heat from the surrounding environment
that passes through the walls due to the difference in the temperature.

i. Calculating the heat flux q (W/m2) that transfers across each wall as follows:

q 1 T3n Ti 6 1 (2.1)

1 i 1 i 2

where

i Thickness of the layer i, m

i – Thermal conductivity of the layer i (From table 4), W/mK

1 - The convection heat transfer coefficient outside the air-conditioning room, W/m2K
Select 1 = 6 W/m2K
2 - The convection heat transfer coefficient inside the air-conditioning room, W/m2K
Select 2 = 12 W/m2K
2i. The amount of heat transfers across each wall (W)
Q = F.q (2.2)
F is the area of flat wall, m2
3i. The heat load of the air-conditioning room (W)

Q0 Q (2.3)
(Neglecting the heat which cools the room volume)

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 10

 Table 4: Thermal conductivity of some materials
Material Thermal conductivity ( ), W/mK

Mica 0,58

Insulation 0,04
material

Wood 0,15

c. Determining the flow rate of R12 (kg/s) in refrigeration cycle (Ignore the heat loss to the
surrounding environment)

Q0 (2.4) GR12
i1 i4
where
Q0 - The heat load, kW
i1, i4 - Enthalpy of R12 at point 1 and 4 in table 4, kJ/kg

d. Determining the heat load of the condenser Qk (kW)

e. Determining the air flow rate passing through the condenser (kg/s)
f. Determining the adiabatic compression work of compressor W (kW). g. Determining
(COP).

EXPERIMENT No. 3: CALCULATION OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

3.1 EXPERIMETNAL OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

3.1.1 Experimental objectives

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 11

 - Observing the heat transfer processes of helical-coil heat exchanger and shell and tube heat
exchanger.
- Calculating the heat exchanger efficiency and understanding the factors that affect the heat
transfer processes.
3.1.2 Requirements

Students carefully read the following contents before conducting the experiments:

- The types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, radiation;

- The formula for calculating the heat rate that water received and rejected;
- The formula for calculating the overall heat transfer coefficient and Reynold number.

3.2 EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTION

3.2.1 Equipment and supplies
The equipment consists of two heat exchangers (helical-coil and shell and tube heat exchanger)
in which two fluids flow in parallel flow or in counter flow.

Figure 1: Helical-coil heat exchanger

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 12

 Figure 2: Shell and tube heat exchanger

Figure 3: Flowmeters of hot water (FI1) and cold water (FI2)

- There are 4 temperature sensors which are used to measure the temperatures of hot and
cold water at inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger. The temperatures are shown on the
display screens.

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 13

 Figure 4: The working principle of heat exchangers

 Technical specifications:
a. The helical - coil heat exchanger:
- The helical-coil heat exchanger has the heat transfer area of 0,1m2, symbol E2.
- The coil made of stainless steel AISI 316. Other parameters include the outside diameter
of 12mm, the thickness of 1mm, the length of 3500mm.
- The outside tube made of borosilicate glass with the inside diameter of 100mm
b. The shell and tube heat exchanger:
- The shell and tube heat exchanger has the heat transfer area of 0,1m2, symbol E1.
- There are five tubes which made of stainless steel AISI 316. Other parameters include the
outside diameter of 10mm, the thickness of 1mm, the length of 900mm.
- The shell made of borosilicate glass with the inner diameter of 50mm
- There are 12 baffles and baffle cut of 25% shell diameter
3.2.2 Description
 Before starting the experiment:
- Checking the inlet and outlet of water to make sure that they are connected to water pipe.
- Checking the power source. - Checking the hot water tank
- Closing the exhaust valves.
- Turning on the digital temperature switch
- Turning on the hot and cold water pump
- The hot and cold water flow through the heat exchanger. The temperatures are shown on
display screens
3.3 EXPERIMENTAL TASKS

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 14

  Conducting the following experiments and collecting data:
a. Running E1 (Shell and tube heat exchanger) in parallel flow:
Opening valves as V1, V6, V7, V8 and V10.
Closing valves as V2, V3, V4, V5, V9 and V11.
b. Running E1 (Shell and tube heat exchanger) in counter flow:
Opening valves as V1, V6, V7, V9 and V11.
Closing valves as V2, V3, V4, V5, V8 and V10.
c. Using E2 (Helical-coil heat exchanger) in parallel flow:
Opening valves as V3, V4, V5, V8 and V10.
Closing valves as V1, V2, V6, V7, V9 and V11.
d. Using E2 (Helical-coil heat exchanger) in counter flow:
Opening valves as V3, V4, V5, V9 and V11.
Closing valves as V1, V2, V6, V7, V8 and V10.

- Changing the hot and cold water flow rate by adjusting the valves as mentioned above. After
adjustment, waiting for 2-3 minutes until the temperature sensors are stable, students start getting
the experimental data.

3.4 EXPERIMENTAL DATA

E1 (Shell and tube heat exchanger) in parallel flow:
Test FI1 FI2 TI1 TI2 TI3 TI4 ΔT(Hot) ΔT(Cold)
1
2
3
4
5

E1 (Shell and tube heat exchanger) in counter flow:

Test FI1 FI2 TI1 TI2 TI3 TI4 ΔT(Hot) ΔT(Cold)
1
2
3
4
5

E2 (Helical-coil heat exchanger) in parallel flow:

Test FI1 FI2 TI1 TI2 TI3 TI4 ΔT(Hot) ΔT(Cold)
1
2

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 15

 3
4
5

E1 (Helical-coil heat exchanger) in counter flow:

Test FI1 FI2 TI1 TI2 TI3 TI4 ΔT(Hot) ΔT(Cold)
1
2
3
4
5

EXPERIMENTAL REPORT:
Tabulating according to the following form:
Test FI1 FI2 TI1 TI2 TI3 TI4 ΔT(Hot) ΔT(Cold) Q(Hot) Q(Cold) η ΔT ln k 𝝎 Re
1
2
3
4
5

Note: Each of following formula is used for one test. Student do not average data in each
row.
a. Calculating the heat transfer and overall efficiency at several flow rate:

Qhot = FI1.ρhot.(cp)hot.ΔThot
Qcold = FI2.ρcold.(cp)cold.ΔTcold
Where, ρ and cp are taken at the average temperature of inlet and outlet water. η
= (Qcold / Qhot).100
b. Calculating the overall heat transfer coefficient in case of parallel and counter flow and
making comments:
𝑸 𝒉𝒐𝒕
𝒌= 𝑨.
∆𝑻𝒍𝒏
Where:
Heat transfer area: 𝐴 = 𝜋. 𝑑𝑚.𝐿
L: Length, dm = (dout + din)/2

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 16

 ∆𝑻𝒊𝒏 − ∆𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒕

∆𝑻𝒍𝒏 = 𝒍𝒏 ∆∆𝑻𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏

c. Determining Reynolds number and making comments:

𝝎𝑳
𝑹𝒆 =
𝝂
L: The characteristic dimension (m) (For the pipe flow, L is the inner diameter of the
pipe) ω: the average velocity of the fluid, m/s ν: the kinematic viscosity of the fluid (m2/s)

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 17

EXPERIMENT No. 4: DETERMINATION OF THE HEAT BALANCE OF
THE CONDENSER AND EVAPORATOR IN THE WATERCOOLED
REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

4.1 EXPERIMETNAL OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

4.1.1 Experimental objectives
- To help students combine theoretical and practical knowledge.

- To know the fundamental principle of the air conditioning system incorporating some
auxiliary devices.

- To help students measure the parameters such as temperature, pressure and calculate the
actual heat and the actual COP.

4.1.2 Requirements

- Students must understand the refrigeration cycle.

- Knowing to apply the mathematic formulas for refrigeration cycle.

4.2 EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTION

4.2.1 Equipment and supplies
-The model of water-cooled and air-cooled system
-The built-in temperature sensors
4.2.2 Description

To cool the water in the chamber, this experiment using the refrigeration system with refrigerant
of R22, has the diagram which is illustrated in figure 1. The compressor (A) compresses the vapor
of R22 from the pressure P0 to the pressure Pk. Then, R22 vapor is condensed to liquid at the air-
cooled condenser (B) before entering the high pressure receiver (C). The liquid of R22 at the
receiver (C) passes through the expansion valve where the pressure is reduced from P k to P0 and
then this vapor goes to the spiral water-cooled evaporator (K) and the air-cooled evaporator (J).
The R22 vapor at pressure of P0 leaving from (K) and (J) are sucked into the compressor (A) and
the principle of operation is repeated again.

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 18

 Figure 1

The refrigeration cycle is represented in the logp-I and T-s graphs including the following
processes:

(The students draw these graphs by themselves in the final experimental report)

1-2: the process of adiabatic compression in the compressor.

2-3: the process of isobaric condensation.

3-4: the process of constant-enthalpy expansion in the throttling valve.

4-1: the process of isobaric evaporation in the evaporator.

4.3 EXPERIMENTAL TASKS

In this experiment, the students are required to collect the data on the pressures of P k, P0; the
temperatures of the refrigerant entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser, the temperatures of
the refrigerant entering and leaving the spiral water-cooled evaporator, the temperatures of the air
entering and leaving the air-cooled condenser and the water temperatures entering and leaving the
evaporator. Then, combining with the computing results to determine:

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 19

 - The necessary air flow to receive the heat rejection from the condenser, Gkk

- The heat load of the air-cooled condenser, Qk

4.4 EXPERIMENTAL DATA
- Measuring the starting time of the water-cooled refrigeration system until the
end of the experiment. After the system operating at steady state, students read and fill in the
data of air and refrigerant into table 1 and 2.

Table 1 – The air temperature (0C)

Air Temp. entering Air Temp. leaving Water Temp. Surrounding Temp.
the condenser T3 the condenser T4
T8 Ta = T 3

Table 2 – The measured data of refrigerant in refrigeration system

Working pressure

At the discharge line of the compressor (Pk) At the suction line of the compressor (P0)

Note: Temperature of the air entering the condenser T3 is the surrounding temperature Ta

Table 3: The properties of R22 in refrigeration cycle

State
Properties
1 2 3 4

Pressure p (bar)

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 20

Temperature t (0C)

Enthalpy i (kJ/kg)

Entropy s (kJ/kgK)

4.5 CALCULATING SECTION

a. Determining the state properties of the refrigerant

From the pressure data in table 2, based on the thermodynamic properties of saturated refrigerant
R22 and the thermodynamic properties of superheated refrigerant R22, the students determine the
properties of R22 at specific states on the refrigeration cycle and fill in table 3.

b. Calculating the heat load of the cooling chamber

The heat load of the cooling chamber is the amount of heat from the surrounding environment that
passes through the walls due to the difference in the temperature.

i. Calculating (approximation) the heat flux q (W/m2) that transfers across each wall as
follows:

q 1 T3n Ti 8 1 (5.1)

1 i 1 i 2

where,

i - Thickness of the layer i, m

i - Thermal conductivity of the layer i (From Table 4), W/mK

1 - The convection heat transfer coefficient of air outside the cooling chamber, W/m2K
Select 1 = 6 W/m2K

2 - The convection heat transfer coefficient of water inside the cooling chamber, W/m2K
Select 2 = 1000 W/m2K

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 21

 ii.The amount of heat transfers across each wall (W)
Q = F.q (5.2)
F is the area of flat wall, m2 iii.
The heat loss of the walls (W)
Qtth = ∑Q (5.3)
iv. The water cooling load

Q0’ = V cpn(T8’ -
T8)1000/ .4)
where,
V - The volume of water, m3

- The density of water, = 1000 kg/m3

T8 - The water temperature after cooling, 0C

T8’ - The water temperature before cooling, 0C

- Time measured to cool water from T8’ to T8, second.

cpn - The specific heat of water, kJ/kgK

Select cpn = 4,18 kJ/kgK

v. The heat load of cooling chamber (W)
Q0 = Qtth + Q’0 (5.5)

Table 4: Thermal conductivity of some materials

Material Thermal conductivity ( ), W/mK

Mica 0,58

Insulation Material 0,04

Wood 0,15

c. Determining the flow rate of R22 (kg/s) in refrigeration cycle (Ignore the heat loss to the
surrounding environment)
THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 22
 Q
GR22 0
(5.6)
i1 i4

where,
Q0 - The heat load of cooling chamber, kW i1, i4
- Enthalpy of R22 at point 1 and 4 in Table 4, kJ/kg

d. Determining the heat load of the condenser Qk (kW)

e. Determining the air flow rate passing through the condenser (kg/s)
f. Determining the adiabatic compression work of compressor W (kW).
g. Determining (COP).

THERMODYNAMICS & HEAT TRANSFER 23