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Lecture 17

Refrigerators and heat pumps transfer heat from a low-temperature medium to a high-temperature one using refrigerants in a vapor-compression cycle. The efficiency of refrigerators and heat pumps is expressed using the coefficient of performance (COP), which represents the ratio of heat transferred to work input. The COP of an ideal heat pump would be greater than 1, while the COP of an actual heat pump is typically between 2-3. Irreversible processes like friction and heat transfer across a temperature difference are unavoidable and reduce the COP below the theoretical maximum. The second law of thermodynamics prohibits a refrigerator or heat pump from achieving a COP greater than 1 without an external work input.

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11 views11 pages

Lecture 17

Refrigerators and heat pumps transfer heat from a low-temperature medium to a high-temperature one using refrigerants in a vapor-compression cycle. The efficiency of refrigerators and heat pumps is expressed using the coefficient of performance (COP), which represents the ratio of heat transferred to work input. The COP of an ideal heat pump would be greater than 1, while the COP of an actual heat pump is typically between 2-3. Irreversible processes like friction and heat transfer across a temperature difference are unavoidable and reduce the COP below the theoretical maximum. The second law of thermodynamics prohibits a refrigerator or heat pump from achieving a COP greater than 1 without an external work input.

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REFRIGERATORS AND HEAT PUMPS

• The transfer of heat from a


low-temperature medium to a
high-temperature one requires
special devices called
refrigerators.
• Refrigerators, like heat engines,
are cyclic devices.
• The working fluid used in the
refrigeration cycle is called a
refrigerant.
• The most frequently used
refrigeration cycle is the
vapor-compression
refrigeration cycle.
In a household refrigerator, the freezer
compartment where heat is absorbed by
the refrigerant serves as the evaporator,
and the coils usually behind the
refrigerator where heat is dissipated to the
kitchen air serve as the condenser. 1
Coefficient of Performance

The efficiency of a refrigerator is expressed


in terms of the coefficient of performance
(COP).
The objective of a refrigerator is to remove
heat (QL) from the refrigerated space.

Can the value of COPR be


greater than unity?
2
Heat Pumps

for fixed values of QL and QH

Can the value of COPHP


be lower than unity?
What does COPHP=1
represent?

3
• Most heat pumps in operation today have a
seasonally averaged COP of 2 to 3.
• Most existing heat pumps use the cold outside air as
the heat source in winter (air-source HP).
• In cold climates their efficiency drops considerably
when temperatures are below the freezing point.
• In such cases, geothermal (ground-source) HP that
use the ground as the heat source can be used.
• Such heat pumps are more expensive to install, but
they are also more efficient.
• Air conditioners are basically refrigerators whose
refrigerated space is a room or a building instead of
the food compartment.
• The COP of a refrigerator decreases with decreasing
refrigeration temperature.
• Therefore, it is not economical to refrigerate to a
lower temperature than needed.

Energy efficiency rating (EER): The amount of


heat removed from the cooled space in Btu’s for 1
Wh (watthour) of electricity consumed.

4
The Second Law of
Thermodynamics: Clasius Statement

It is impossible to construct a device that


operates in a cycle and produces no effect
other than the transfer of heat from a
lower-temperature body to a
higher-temperature body.

It states that a refrigerator cannot operate unless


its compressor is driven by an external power
source, such as an electric motor.
This way, the net effect on the surroundings
involves the consumption of some energy in the
form of work, in addition to the transfer of heat
from a colder body to a warmer one.
To date, no experiment has been conducted that
contradicts the second law, and this should be
taken as sufficient proof of its validity.

5
Equivalence
of the Two
Statements

Proof that the


violation of the
Kelvin–Planck
statement leads
to the violation
of the Clausius
statement.

The Kelvin–Planck and the Clausius statements are equivalent in


their consequences, and either statement can be used as the
expression of the second law of thermodynamics.
Any device that violates the Kelvin–Planck statement also
violates the Clausius statement, and vice versa. 6
PERPETUAL-
MOTION
MACHINES

Perpetual-motion machine: Any device that violates the first or the second law.
A device that violates the first law (by creating energy) is called a PMM1.
A device that violates the second law is called a PMM2. 7
Despite numerous attempts, no perpetual-motion machine
is known to have worked.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 8
REVERSIBLE AND IRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES
Reversible process: A process that can be reversed without leaving any trace
on the surroundings.
Irreversible process: A process that is not reversible.
• All the processes occurring in nature are irreversible.
• Why are we interested in reversible processes?
• (1) they are easy to analyze and (2) they serve as
idealized models (theoretical limits) to which actual
processes can be compared.
• Some processes are more irreversible than others.
• We try to approximate reversible processes. Why?

Reversible processes deliver the most


and consume the least work. 9
• The factors that cause a process to be
irreversible are called irreversibilities.
• They include friction, unrestrained expansion,
Friction mixing of two fluids, heat transfer across a finite
renders a temperature difference, electric resistance,
process inelastic deformation of solids, and chemical
irreversible. reactions.
• The presence of any of these effects renders a
process irreversible.

Irreversibilities

(a) Heat
transfer through
a temperature
difference is
irreversible, and Irreversible
(b) the reverse compression
process is and
impossible. expansion
processes. 10
Internally and Externally Reversible Processes
• Internally reversible process: If no irreversibilities occur within the boundaries of
the system during the process.
• Externally reversible: If no irreversibilities occur outside the system boundaries.
• Totally reversible process: It involves no irreversibilities within the system or its
surroundings.
• A totally reversible process involves no heat transfer through a finite temperature
difference, no nonquasi-equilibrium changes, and no friction or other dissipative
effects.

11

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