Refrigeration System

Air-Cycle Refrigeration
ME141
Schematic Diagram of Air-Cycle Refrigeration System
(General Representation)
 Schematic Diagram of Air-Cycle Refrigeration

Closed or Dense-air System Open-air System

 Air-Cycle Refrigeration
• Air-Cycle Refrigeration: the only air cooling process
developed for wide commercial application in which a
gaseous refrigerant is used throughout the cycle.
• Compression is done by a reciprocating or centrifugal
compressor as in vapor-compression cycle.
• Condensation and evaporating processes are replaced
by sensible cooling or heating of the gas.
• Condenser and the evaporator are replaced by air
cooler and refrigerator, respectively.
• Expansion valve is replaced by an expansion engine or
turbine.
• Advantage over the Vapor-Compression Cycle: it
involves simple and lighter components, which require
less space, making it suitable for aircraft cooling.
• Disadvantage: relatively lower COP
• Types of Air-Cycle Refrigeration:
1. Closed or Dense-Air System: the air refrigerant flows
through the piping and the components of the system
at all times; refrigerator is maintained at pressure
above atmospheric pressure.
2. Open-Air System (or Open Cycle): the refrigerator is
the actual space to be cooled; air is expanded to
atmospheric pressure , circulated through the space
and compressed to the cooler pressure; limited to
operate at atmospheric pressure in the refrigerator.
Application of Open-Air System in Aircraft Cooling

Atmospheric air is compressed

by a compressor, cooled by
surrounding air, and expanded
in a turbine. The cool air
leaving the turbine is then
directly routed to the cabin of
the aircraft.
 Ideal Air-Refrigeration Cycle

Process 1-2: isentropic compression

Process 2-3: constant pressure heat rejection
Process 3-4: isentropic expansion
Process 4-1: constant pressure heat addition or heat absorption
 Analysis of Air-Refrigeration Cycle
1. Refrigerator
Refrigerating Effect, RE  m C p T1  T4 
where : m  mass flow rate of air, kg
s
C p  specific heat of air @constant pressure
 1.0062 kJ
kg  K
2. Cooler
Heat Rejected, QR  m C p T2  T3 
3. Compressor
a. Isentropic Compression
 k 1
  k 1

kPV  P  kmRT1  P2 
WkC  1 1  2   1     1
k k

1  k  P1   1  k  P1  
   
b. Polytropic Compression
 n 1
  n 1

nPV  P  nmRT1  P2 
WnC  1 1  2   1     1
n n

1  n  P1   1  n  P1  
   
4. Expander
a. Isentropic Expansion
 k 1
  k 1

kP3V3  P4   kmRT3  P4 
   1
k k
Wk E     1 
1  k  P3   1  k  P3  
   
b. Polytropic Expansion
 n 1
  n 1

nP3V3  P4   nmRT3  P4 
   1
n n
WnE     1 
1  n  P3   1  n  P3  
   
5. Net Work, Wnet  compressor work  expander work
6. Coefficient of Performance
RE
COP 
Wnet
 Sample Problem 1
• A dense-air refrigeration system operates on a capacity of 40 kW
with a cooler and refrigerator pressures of 1500 kPa and 440 kPa,
respectively. Air leaves the cooler at 25°C and exits the refrigerator
at 5°C. Assuming ideal processes for compression and expansion,
find (a) the mass flow rate, (b) compressor displacement volume,
(c) expander displacement volume, and (d) COP.

P1  P4  440kPa
P2  P3  1500kPa
T1  5  273  278K
T3  25  273  298K
 k 1
1.4 1
 P2  k
1500  1.4
T2  T1    278  394.7 K
 P1   440 
k 1
1.4 1
 P4  k
 440  1.4
 
T4  T3    298   209.9 K
 3
P 1500
a. RE  m C p T1  T4 
40
m   0.584 kg
1.0062278  209.9  s
b. Compressor
 m RT1 0.5840.28708278 3
V1    0.106 m
P1 440 s
c. Expander
 m RT4 0.5840.28708209.9  3
V4    0.08 m
P4 440 s
d. Compressor
 k 1

km RT1  P2 
   1
k
WkC 
1  k  P1  
 
 1.4 1


1.4 0.5840.28708278  1500  1.4
 1  68.46kW
 
1  1.4  440  
 
Expander
 k 1

km RT3  P4 
   1
k
Wk E 
1  k  P3  
 
 1.4 1


1.4 0.5840.28708298  440  1.4
 1  51.69kW
 
1  1.4  1500  
 
Net Work, Wnet  68.46  51.69  16.77kW
Coefficient of Performance
RE 40
COP    2.385
Wnet 16.77
 Sample Problem 2
• (problem 6-2 from Refrigeration and Air Conditioning by HB Sta. Maria)
A 35-kW refrigeration load is to be carried by an air refrigerating system with a
discharge pressure of 1370 kPa and a refrigerator pressure of 345 kPa.
Compression and expansion are polytropic with n=1.37. The pressure at the start
of expansion is 1344 kPa and the temperature is 32°C. Air temperature leaving the
refrigerator is 0°C and entering the compressor is 5°C. Clearance for both
compressor and expander is 5%. Determine (a) the piston displacement of the
compressor and expander, (b) the net work and (c) the COP.

P1  P4  P5  345kPa
P2  1370kPa
P3  1344kPa
T1  5  273  278K
T3  32  273  305K
T5  0  273  273K
 n 1
1.37 1
 P2  n
1370  1.37
T2  T1    278  403.5K
 P1   345 
n 1
1.37 1
 P4  n
 345  1.37
 
T4  T3    298   211.3K
 P3  1344 
a. RE  m C p T5  T4 
35
m   0.564 kg
1.0062273  211.3 s
Compressor
 m RT1 0.5640.28708278 3
V1    0.13 m
P1 345 s
1 1
 P2  n
 1370  1.37
ηcv  1  c  c   1  0.05  0.05   0.9132
 P1   345 
V1 0.13 3
Actual VD    0.142 m
ηcv 0.9132 s
 Expander
 m RT4 0.5640.28708211.3 3
V4    0.099 m
P4 345 s
1 1
 P3 
n
 1344  1.37
 
ηcv  1  c  c   1  0.05  0.05   0.9151
 P4   345 
V4 0.099 3
Actual VD    0.108 m
ηcv 0.9151 s

b. Compressor
 n 1


nm RT1  P2 
   1
n
WnC 
1  n  P1  
 
 1.37 1


1.37 0.5640.28708278  1370  1.37
 1  75.21kW
 
1  1.37  345  
 
 Expander
 n 1

nm RT3  P4 
   1
n
WnE 
1  n  P3  
 
 1.37 1


1.37 0.5640.28708305  345  1.37
 1  56.20kW
 
1  1.37  1344  
 
Net Work, Wnet  75.21  56.20  19.01kW
RE 35
c. COP    1.84
Wnet 19.01
 Exercises
(from Refrigeration and Air Conditioning by HB Sta. Maria)
• An open air refrigeration system carries a load of 35
kW with a suction pressure of 103 kPa and a discharge
pressure of 690 kPa. The temperature leaving the
refrigerator is 5°C and that leaving the cooler is 30°C.
The compression is polytropic with n=1.33 and the
expansion is also polytropic with n=1.35. Determine
the power required and the COP. Ans. 23.77 kW, 1.47
• An air refrigeration system is required to produce 52.5
kW of refrigeration with a cooler pressure of 1448 kPa
and a refrigerator pressure of 207 kPa. Leaving air
temperatures are 29°C for cooler and 5°C for
refrigerator. Expansion is isentropic and compression is
polytropic with n=1.34. Determine the COP. Ans. 1.47