ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

ASEN 3113 Experimental Laboratory 1 Basic Refrigerant Training Unit (BRTU)

RE%U#RE& &EL#$ERABLES
Attendance at every lab period is required to run the experiment, record data, analy e results, and prepare your report. !nstructions for weekly tasks and the individual report will be presented during the scheduled lab time. "repare a written report of your laboratory experiment with results, analysis, discussions and conclusions. #uidelines for report content and format will be provided in a future lab session.

T'eory
1. Review of Basic Refrigeration Principles $.$ %ackground Refrigeration is the process of extracting heat from a space or a material and rejecting that heat -typically-to the surroundings. The devices that produce refrigeration are refrigerators and heat pumps. The most common refrigeration cycle is the vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is vaporized, condensed and compressed. It is well known that heat flows from the direction of decreasing temperatures. This heat transfer process occurs in nature without the need of any device. The reverse process, however, cannot take place without energy input. The transfer of heat from a low temperature space to a higher temperature one re uires the use of refrigeration devices. !oth refrigerators and heat pumps are devices that transfer heat from low to high temperature medium. They are "asically the same devices, "ut differ in their function. The refrigerator is used to maintain the refrigerated space at low temperatures "y a"sor"ing heat, and discharge that heat into a higher temperature environment. The role of the heat pump, on the other hand, is to maintain a heated space at higher temperatures. This o"jective is accomplished "y a"sor"ing heat from a low temperature source such as the outside environment in the winter and supplying this heat to a warmer medium such as a house. #chematics of a refrigerator and a heat pump are shown in $igures %&a' and &"'.

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$igure %- !asic operation of &a' a Refrigerator, and &"' a .eat /ump. The coefficient of performance &01/' is a measure of the efficiency of refrigerators and heat pumps. The definition of the coefficient of performance is the desired output over the re uired input. It is defined as$or a refrigerator 01/refrigerator 2 34 ) 5net,in $or a heat pump 01/heat pump 2 3. ) 5net,in where 34 is the cooling effect or the desired output for the refrigerator ,3 . is the heating effect or the desired output for the heat pump, and 5net,in is the work input or the re uired input.

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$.& 'eversed (arnot (ycle The 0arnot cycle is a totally reversi"le cycle and consists of two reversi"le isothermal and two isentropic processes. The cycle is an ideal cycle and has the maximum thermal efficiency for given low and high temperature limits. This cycle serves as a reference cycle to evaluate the relative efficiency for actual power cycles. 0arnot cycles can also "e used to analyze the coefficient of performance of refrigeration cycles. 5hen all the four processes that comprise the 0arnot cycle are reversed, the 0arnot cycle is called the reversed 0arnot 0ycle. Reversing the cycle will also reverse the direction of any heat and work interaction. 6 refrigerator, which operates in a reversed 0arnot cycle, is called a 0arnot refrigerator. $igure * shows a schematic of the processes involved in a 0arnot refrigerator. The refrigerant a"sor"s heat isothermally from a low-temperature source at T4 in the amount of 34 in process &%*'. The refrigerant is compressed isentropically to state +, and its temperature rises to T +. Then, the heat is rejected isothermally to a high-temperature sink at T. in the amount of 3 . in process &+-('. $inally the refrigerant expands isentropically to state %, where the temperature drops to T4.

$igure *- !asic processes for a 0arnot refrigerator. The coefficient of performance of reversed 0arnot refrigerator and heat pump is a function of the heat source and heat sink a"solute temperatures and can "e expressed as follows$or a 0arnot refrigerator01/refrigerator 2 % ) &T.)T4-l' $or a 0arnot heat pump01/heat pump 2 l ) &%-T4)T.'

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$.)

!deal *apor-(ompression 'efrigeration (ycle

There is some impracticality associated with the reversed 0arnot cycle that can "e eliminated "y vaporizing the refrigerant completely "efore it is compressed, and "y replacing the tur"ine with a throttling device. Throttling devices are flow restricting devices such as an expansion valve or capillary tu"e. The result is a cycle that is called the ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. $igure +&a' shows the schematic of the ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The processes of the ideal refrigeration cycle are shown in $igure +&"'.

$igure +- Ideal 7apor 0ompressor Refrigeration 0ycle. &%-*' Isentropic compression in a compressor. &*-+' / 2 constant heat rejection in a condenser. &+-(' Throttling is an expansion device. &(-%' / 2 constant heat a"sorption in an evaporator.

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$.+ Actual *apor-(ompression 'efrigeration cycle 6ny refrigeration cycle consists of four main components as shown in $igure +&a'. The components shown in $igure +&a' are a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. $or a refrigeration mode, the evaporator is located in the conditioned space, while the condenser is located in the environment. The location of the condenser and evaporator is reversed in the case of heat pump mode. 8ue to irreversi"ilities that occur in various components in the refrigeration cycle, actual vaporcompression cycle differs from an ideal cycle. Two common sources of irreversi"ilities are fluid friction that causes pressure drop, and heat transfer from or to the surrounding. The saturation line of an actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is shown in $igure (.

$igure (- 6ctual 7apor-0ompression Refrigeration 0ycle.

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

2. General Test Setup and Operation Procedure &.$ ,quipment -etup $igure 9 depicts the !asic Refrigeration and 6ir 0onditioning Training :nit and figure ; is a photograph of the unit in the IT44. The following list identifies the various parts of the e uipment unit. <ote that the thermocouples are added to measure temperature at appropriate locations. &%' 0ompressor &*' 0ondenser &+' =vaporator &(' Thermal =xpansion 7alve &9' 6utomatic =xpansion 7alve &;' 0apillary Tu"e &>' 6ccumulator &?' Receiver &@' /ressure gages &%,' 7alves &%%' Thermocouple wires

()*+)*,%(

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$igure 9. #chematic of !asic Refrigeration Training :nit &!RT:'

()*+)*,%(

>

ASEN 3113

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Fall 2005

$igure ;. /hotograph of the !asic Refrigeration Training :nit &!RT:'

()*+)*,%(