GROUP 3

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REFRIGERATION
PLANT
Contents
1. Introduction to Refrigeration
2. Refrigeration System Components
3. Types of Refrigeration Systems
4. Existing Facilities/Plants
5. Efficiency Issues/Problems Encountered and Solutions
6. New Technologies
7. Maintenance of the Refrigeration Plant
8. Role of the Mechanical Engineer

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1
Introduction
What is Refrigeration?
“
Refrigeration is the branch of Science
that deals with the process of cooling
of a space or substance below the
environmental temperature.
It is the process of removing heat from one location to
another in controlled conditions

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Refrigeration System
Assembly of Four Major Parts:
￮ Compressor
￮ Condenser
￮ Expansion Valve
￮ Evaporator
through which a very low boiling point
substance flow in a cycle and absorbs
heat from the immediate surroundings,
thereby producing cooling effect.

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Refrigeration Cycle
￮ Is a sequence of thermodynamic processes
whereby heat is withdraw from a cold body
and expelled to a hot body.
￮ A reverse thermodynamic cycle whereby
heat is transferred from a body with lower
temperature to a body with a high
temperature OWING TO THE EXPENDITURE OF
WORK.

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 REFRIGERANTS
o Working substance or mixture usually a “fluid”
used in heat pump and refrigeration cycle.
o In most cycles it undergoes phase transitions
from a liquid to gas and back again.
o A substance which produces a refrigerating
effect by its absorption of heat while
expanding and evaporating.

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 Refrigerants

Halocarbons Refrigerants Hydrocarbons Refrigerants

Contains one or more of the three Many hydrocarbons are suitable as
halogens; chlorine, fluorine and bromine. refrigerants especially for service in the
petroleum and petrochemical industry

R11- Trichlorofluoromethane CCl₃F

R12 R50 Methane CH4

R13 R70 Ethane C2 H6 R290 Propane C3 H8

R22 R40 R113 R114

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 Refrigerants

Inorganic Refrigerants Azeotropes

Consist of inorganic compounds: Azeotropic mixture of 2 substances in
R717 Ammonia NH3 one which cannot be separated into its
component by distillation.
R718 Water H2O R729 Air
R502 mixture of 48.8% R22 and 51.2% R115
R744 Carbon dioxide CO2
R764 Sulfur Dioxide SO2

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2
Refrigeration System
Components
Main Components

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Compressors
There are different types of compressors
that generally used in industry are:
• Reciprocating compressor
• Centrifugal compressor
• Rotary compressor
• Screw compressor
• Scroll compressor

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o The reciprocating and screw compressors are best suited for use with
refrigerants which require a relatively small displacement and
condense at relatively high pressure, such as R-12, R-22, Ammonia, etc.
o The centrifugal compressors are suitable for handling refrigerants that
require large displacement and operate at low condensing pressure,
such as R-11, R-113, etc.
o The rotary compressor is most suited for pumping refrigerants having
moderate or low condensing pressures, such as R-21 and R-114; this is
mainly used in domestic refrigerators.

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 Condensers
o The functions of the condenser are to de-
superheat the high pressure gas, condense it and
also sub- cool the liquid.
o Heat from the hot refrigerant gas is rejected in the
condenser to the condensing medium-air or
water. Air and water are chosen because they are
naturally available. Their normal temperature
range is satisfactory for condensing refrigerants.
o Like the evaporator, the condenser is also heat-
exchange equipment.
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Types of Condenser
Air- cooled
o Natural Convection Condenser
o Forced-air Circulation Condenser
Water-cooled
o Tube-in-Tube or Double Pipe
Condenser
o Shell-and-Coil Condenser
o Shell-and-Tube Condenser
Evaporative

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Evaporators
o The process of heat removal from the
substance to be cooled or refrigerated is
done in the evaporator. The liquid refrigerant
is vaporized inside the evaporator (coil or
shell) in order to remove heat from a fluid
such as air, water etc.
o Evaporators are manufactured in different
shapes, types and designs to suit a diverse
nature of cooling requirements.

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Types of Evaporator
Dry Expansion Evaporator
In the dry-expansion evaporator, the liquid refrigerant is
generally fed by an expansion valve. The expansion valve
controls the rate of flow of refrigerant to the evaporator in
such a way that all the liquid is vaporized and the vapour is
also superheated to a limited extent by the time it reaches
the outlet end.
Flooded Evaporator
In a flooded-type evaporator a constant refrigerant liquid
level is maintained. A float valve is used as the throttling
device which maintains a constant liquid level in the
evaporator.

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 Expansion Devices

There are different types of expansion or throttling

devices. The most commonly used are:
1. Capillary tube,
2. Float valves,
o Low-side Float Valve
o High-side Float Valve
3. Thermostatic expansion valve

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3
Refrigeration
Plant System
Types
Mechanical-Compression Refrigeration
Systems

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Multi-
Pressure
Systems
1 2 3

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Multi-pressure Systems
Multi-Compressor System

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Multi-pressure Systems
Multi-Evaporator Systems

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Multi-pressure Systems
Cascading Systems

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Vapor Absorption System

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Thermoelectric Refrigeration System

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Steam Jet Refrigeration

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Air Cycle Refrigeration

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4
REFRIGERATION PLANTS
AND FACILITIES
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION

￮ COMFORT AIR-CONDITIONING
￮ FOOD PROCESSING, PRESERVATION, AND DISTRIBUTION
￮ CHEMICAL AND PROCESS INDUSTRIES
￮ SPECIAL APPLICATIONS (SUCH AS COLD TREATMENT OF METALS, MEDICAL, ETC)

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Cabuyao Factory
￮ 25 - Hectare land area
￮ Barangay Niugan, Cabuyao, Laguna
￮ Est. 1976
￮ Products: Infant nutrition products

Cagayan De Oro Factory

￮ 25.67 - Hectare land area
￮ Barrio Tablon, Cagayan de Oro
￮ Operation: 1984
￮ Products: NESCAFÉ, BEAR BRAND

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Lipa Factory
￮ 29 – Hectare land
￮ Barangay Bagong-Pook, Lipa,
Batangas
￮ Operation: 1992
￮ Products: Cereals

Pulilan Factory
￮ Barangay Tibag, Pulilan, Bulacan
￮ Operation: 2009
￮ Products: NESTLÉ Ice Cream and
Chilled products

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 Nestlé established a phase-out program to replace ozone
depleting substances.

R22 – Chlorodifluoromethane
- Colorless gas
- Commonly used as refrigerant
- Being phased out in developed countries due to the
compound’s Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and high
Global Warming Potential (GWP)

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 The solution found by Nestlé’s engineers was to
use two natural substances:
R717 – Ammonia
• Acknowledged as the most efficient refrigerant
• Zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
• Zero Global Warming Potential (GWP)

R744 – Carbon Dioxide

• Safety Class A1 – Low Toxicity (ASHRAE 34)
• Non-flammable
• Zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
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5
COMMON
REFRIGERATION
ISSUES
 Common Refrigeration
Solution
Issues

Compressor malfunction Use a set of refrigeration gages

Temperature fluctuations Performance check with proper

gauges

Fan motor failures Regular cleaning

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6 NEW
TECHNOLOGIES IN
REFRIGERATION
PLANTS
Variable Refrigerant Flow
(VRF) Technology

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VRF Technology
o Variable-refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are an emerging
technology in the U.S. HVAC market and are gaining the attention
of maintenance and engineering managers in institutional and
commercial facilities. The systems are designed to increase
energy efficiency and can heat and cool separate spaces
simultaneously.

o A Japanese company developed VRF in the early 1980s as

variable-refrigerant volume before manufacturers renamed the
technology. VRF systems circulate the minimum and correct
phase of refrigerant required by the indoor unit to allow for
individual climate control within large air-conditioned systems.
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o VRF systems use a balancing box to control the heating and cooling
refrigerant for each indoor unit. The basic concept separating VRF systems
from other choices is the ability to vary refrigerant volume through the use of
inverter-driven compressors and individual outdoor units equipped with flow-
regulating valves. Varying the flow within a system allows multiple indoor room
devices to be assembled into one large system, much the way central
hydronic plants operate in larger facilities.

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Magnetic Refrigeration Technology

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o Magnetic refrigeration is one such emerging, innovative and
potential low carbon technology. The interest in it as a new
heating or cooling technology – and as an alternative to
conventional vapour compression – has grown considerably
over the past 15 years.

o The principle of magnetic refrigeration is based on a

phenomenon known as the magnetocaloric effect (MCE).
Discovered by Emil Warburg in 1881, this was related to the
property of exotic materials – such as gadolinium and
dysprosium – that heat up when a magnetic field is applied to
them and cool down when the magnetic field is removed.
o
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Sure Chill

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o A brand new kind of cooling system. It doesn’t need a
constant power source. In an on-grid situation with
intermittent power, it works perfectly well. In an off-grid
situation, where a solar panel may be used, a Sure Chill
powered refrigerator doesn’t even need a rechargeable
battery.

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o Water surrounds a Sure Chill refrigeration compartment. When it
has power, the water cools and forms ice above the
compartment leaving only water at four degrees cooling the
contents. When the power is switched off, the water warms and
rises while the ice begins to melt, keeping only four-degree water
cooling the contents of the compartment. So it has its own
internal and entirely natural energy store that maintains a
completely steady temperature. The system can operate like this,
without power, for days and weeks.

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7 MAINTENACE IN
REFRIGERATION
PLANTS
Keep a Daily Log
o The daily log is still the first step toward maintaining an
efficiently-run refrigeration plant. The log allows you to
build a history of operating conditions including
temperatures, pressures, fluid levels, and flow rates.
Remote monitoring technologies allow you to inspect
machines continually rather than monthly or every
other month. And, it allows you to easily generate trend
reports that help to identify maintenance needs before
they become an issue.

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Keep tubes clean for
efficient heat transfer
o Heat transfer efficiency has the greatest single
effect on refrigeration performance, so clean heat
transfer is fundamental to maintaining high
efficiency. Contaminants such as minerals, scale,
mud, algae and other impurities increase thermal
resistance and reduce overall performance.
Approach temperatures are a good indicator of heat
transfer efficiency. Higher approach temperatures
are prime indicators that heat transfer efficiency is
decreasing. Condenser tubes should be brush
cleaned at least annually, or per your demand
maintenance schedule to keep them free of
contaminants.

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Report and repair any
pipework that is vibrating
o Vibrating pipe work is more likely to fracture,
causing a major refrigerant leak. You may
need to use anti-vibration pipe
mountings/arrangements and/or a length of
flexible pipework

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Keep the plant room as cool
as possible
o Running the plant hotter than
necessary will reduce reliability and
performance. Ventilate the plant room,
preferably with an extractor fan that is
switched on when the temperature
gets too high. Make sure air can get out
of, as well as into, the plant room.

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Make sure the control settings
for the plant are easy to find
o Make sure the control settings for the plant are easy
to find There are several controllers and cut outs on
refrigeration plants. These are set at
commissioning, but will drift and may be re-
adjusted at any time during maintenance. If the
best set-points are not easy to find, the technician
will choose a setting to cover most eventualities (i.e.
to keep the plant running), but which is not
necessarily the best one for your situation. If the
settings are not displayed, get your contractor to
check all of them, optimize them and put labels
nearby showing what they should be.
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8
Roles of the Mechanical
Engineer in the
Refrigeration Plant
Roles
￮ surveying buildings where cooling systems are to
be fitted
￮ discussing requirements with customers
￮ giving quotes for work
￮ designing and installing systems
￮ running quality checks to make sure systems are
working properly and safely
￮ diagnosing and fixing faults
￮ planned maintenance

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Related Skills
￮ Ability to understand technical plans
￮ Attention to detail
￮ Communication
￮ Problem solving
￮ Teamwork

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Thanks!

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