System Components

Compressors – General classification –

comparison – Advantages and Disadvantages.
Condensers classification Working Principles
Evaporators classification Working Principles
Expansion devices Types Working Principles
 Condensers
Function:
To reject the heat from vapour-compression refrigeration
machine.
The refrigerant enters the condenser in a superheated state.
It is first de-superheated in the discharge line and in the first
few coils of the condenser
Then condensed by rejecting heat to an external medium at
saturated discharge temperature
The refrigerant may leave the condenser as a saturated or a
sub-cooled liquid, depending upon the temperature of the
external medium and design of the condenser
Heat rejection ratio:
The loading on the condenser per unit of
refrigeration.
 TYPES OF CONDENSERS
Classification is based on the type of cooling medium used
Air-cooled condensers.
 Water-cooled condensers.
Evaporative condensers.
Air-cooled Condensers:
 In air-cooled condensers air is the external fluid, i.e., the refrigerant
rejects heat to air flowing over the condenser.
 Used in applications with below 5 TR.
 Air-cooled condensers can be further classified into natural
convection type or forced convection type.
Natural convection type:
 In natural convection type, heat transfer from the condenser is by
buoyancy induced natural convection and radiation.
 The flow rate of air is small and the radiation heat transfer is also not
very high, the combined heat transfer coefficient in these condensers is
small.
 Large condensing surface is required to reject a given amount of heat.
 These condensers are used for small capacity refrigeration systems
like household refrigerators and freezers.
The natural convection type condensers are either plate surface
type or finned tube type.
In plate surface type condensers used in small refrigerators and
freezers, the refrigerant carrying tubes are attached to the outer
walls of the refrigerator.
 The finned type condensers are mounted either below the
refrigerator at an angle or on the backside of the refrigerator.

Schematic of a wire-and-tube type condenser used in small

refrigeration systems
 Forced convection type
 The circulation of air over the condenser surface is maintained by
using a fan or a blower.
 These condensers normally use fins on air-side for good heat transfer.
The fins can be either plate type or annular type.
 Forced convection type condensers are commonly used in window air
conditioners, water coolers and packaged air conditioning plants.

Plate fin-and-tube type condenser

 Water Cooled Condensers
 In water cooled condensers water is the external fluid.
Depending upon the construction, water cooled condensers can be
further classified into:
 Double pipe or tube-in-tube type
 Shell-and-coil type
 Shell-and-tube type
 Double pipe or tube in tube type
 Used up to 10 TR capacity
 The heat transfer coefficient
is
usually low because of poor
liquid refrigerant drainage
if the tubes are long.
 The cold water flows
through the inner tube, while
the refrigerant flows through
the annulus in counter flow
Shell-and-coil type

These condensers are used in systems up to 50 TR capacity

The water flows through multiple coils, which may have fins to
increase the heat transfer coefficient. The refrigerant flows through
the shell
Cleaning is done by circulating suitable chemicals through the coils
Shell-and-tube type
 This is the most common type of condenser used in systems from 2 TR
upto thousands of TR capacity
 The refrigerant flows through the shell while water flows through the
tubes in single to four passes.
 The condensed refrigerant collects at the bottom of the shell. The
coldest water contacts the liquid refrigerant so that some subcooling
can also be obtained.
 The liquid refrigerant is drained from the bottom to the receiver. There
might be a vent connecting the receiver to the condenser for smooth
drainage of liquid refrigerant.
 The refrigerant also rejects heat to the surroundings from the shell
 The most common type is horizontal shell type
 Vertical shell-and-tube type condensers are usually used with ammonia
in large capacity systems so that cleaning of the tubes is possible from
top while the plant is running.
Evaporative condensers
 Both air and water are used to extract heat from the condensing refrigerant.
 Used in medium to large capacity systems.
 The refrigerant first rejects its heat to water and then water rejects its heat
to air, mainly in the form of evaporated water. Air leaves with high
humidity as in a cooling tower. Combine the features of a cooling tower
and water-cooled condenser in a single unit.
 The heat transfer coefficient for evaporative cooling is very large.
 The refrigeration system can be operated at low condensing temperatures.
 This type of condenser requires a longer length of refrigerant tubing, which calls
for larger refrigerant inventory and higher pressure drops.
 These are normally cheaper compared to water cooled condensers
 Used in places where water is scarce
 When outside temperatures are very low, a heater is placed in the water tank.
When outside temperatures are very low it is possible to switch-off the water
pump and run only the blowers, so that the condenser acts as an air cooled
condenser
Air cooled vs water cooled condensers
Compressors
Function: Compression of the suction vapour from the evaporator to
the condenser pressure.
Classification:
 Positive displacement machines
 Positive displacement machines ensure positive admission and
delivery preventing undesired reversal of flow within the machine
as achieved by the use of valves in the case of reciprocating
compressors.
Reciprocating, rotary, scroll and screw compressors.
 Intermittent operation subjecting the fluid to non-flow processes
 Work is transferred by virtue of a hydrostatic force on the
moving boundary.
 Non-positive displacement machines
 Non-positive displacement machines have no means to prevent
the reversal of flow.
Centrifugal compressors
 The fluid is subject to flow processes
 The work is transferred by virtue of the change of momentum of a
stream of fluid flowing at a high speed over blades or vanes
attached to a rotor.
Reciprocating compressor

It is the most widely used compressor

with cooling capacities ranging from a few
Watts to hundreds of kilowatts.

Modern day reciprocating compressors

are high speed (≈ 3000 to 3600 rpm),
single acting, single or multi-cylinder (upto
16 cylinders) type.
Construction and working
Reciprocating compressors consist of a piston moving back and forth in a cylinder,
with suction and discharge valves to achieve suction and compression of the refrigerant
vapor.
Its construction and working are somewhat similar to a two-stroke engine, as suction
and compression of the refrigerant vapor are completed in one revolution of the crank.
The suction side of the compressor is connected to the exit of the evaporator, while the
discharge side of the compressor is connected to the condenser inlet.
The suction (inlet) and the discharge (outlet) valves open and close due to pressure
differences between the cylinder and inlet or outlet manifolds respectively. The
pressure in the inlet manifold is equal to or slightly less than the evaporator pressure.
Similarly the pressure in the outlet manifold is equal to or slightly greater than the
condenser pressure.
ROTARY COMPRESSORS
 Rolling piston type.
 Rotating vane type.
Rolling piston type:

• Used in small refrigeration

systems
Construction:
Cylinder
Roller with eccentric shaft
Fixed vane or blade with spring
Discharge port
[Link]
Rotating vane type
Construction and working
It consist of a rotor mounted eccentrically
in a circular casing and is supported by ball
and roller bearing
A set of spring loaded vanes made of non
metallic material are mounted in the slots on
the rotor
When the rotor rotates the centrifugal
forces acts on the vanes which throws the
vanes out to make contact with casing for all
angular positions of the rotor
The vanes divide the space between the
rotor and casing in to a number of
compartments
Two consecutive vanes forms one
compartment and due to eccentric motion of
the rotor the volume of the each compartment
keep changing
Rotating vane type
Construction and working
The suction side open to the larger area of
the vane thus as the rotor rotates the volume
V1 and pressure P1is trapped between the
vanes of rotor and casing
The delivery side opens to much smaller
area, thus the space between the rotor and
casing reduces results in smaller volume and
high pressure

[Link]
 Scroll compressor
 Scroll compressors are currently preferred in residential and
commercial refrigeration air-conditioning, heat pump, and
automotive air-conditioning applications.
 Capacities of a single compressor range from 1 to 14 TR only. For
larger capacity, multiple units can be used.
 The compressor gives high efficiency, and has low noise level. As
such, it has come to replace reciprocating and even rotary machines
in these capacities.
 These type of Compressor requires machining of scroll members
which have close tolerances. Such machining has become possible
only recently with the developments in precision manufacturing
processes.
Constriction and working
The fixed and orbiting
scrolls have geometrically
matching surfaces.
The two scrolls are fitted to
form pocktes of gas.
The fixed scroll is attached
to the compressor body
The Orbiting scroll is
attached to crank shaft
Suction port
Discharge port
 Suction gas is sealed in pockets of a given volume at the
outer periphery of the scrolls.
 Compression is achieved by progressively reducing the size
of these pockets, as the motion of the orbiting scroll, relative
to the fixed scroll, moves the pockets ‘inwards’ towards the
discharge port.
 The outermost pockets are sealed off. Suction gas is trapped just before
compression begins as shown in (a)
 At stage (b), orbiting motion moves the gas to the centre. Pocket volume
progressively reduces, and pressure rises, as shown in (c).
 At (d), the gas reaches the discharge port in the centre, and discharge takes
place. Simultaneously, suction begins at the outer periphery.
 [Link]
Screw compressors
 screw compressor combines many
advantageous features of both centrifugal
and reciprocating compressors.
 As it is a positive displacement machine,
high pressure refrigerants as in
reciprocating compressors, such as R 22
and ammonia are used in it. As it is a high
speed rotary machine, a large volume, as
in centrifugal compressors, can be
handled by it and no surging problems
 It is, therefore, found extremely suitable
for large capacity low temperature
applications such as in food refrigeration,
and also in large capacity central air
conditioning plants, with R 134a and R
22, as alternative to R 11 (CFC 11)
centrifugal compressors.
Construction and working
 The machine essentially consists of two helically-
grooved rotors which rotates in a housing.
 The male rotor consists of lobes and is normally the
driving rotor.
 The female rotor has gullies and is normally the
driven rotor.
 The compressor has no suction and discharge valves.
 When the male rotor turns clockwise, an interlobe
space between a pair and housing, nearest to the
suction end, opens and is filled with the gas. There
are four such pairs to be filled during one revolution
in a four-lobe rotor and the suction periods overlap
one another.
 When remeshing starts, the volume decreases and
the pressure rises. The charge is moved helically and
compressed until the trapped volume reaches the
discharge end. The compression ratio is thus fixed.
Centrifugal compressor
 In these compressors the required pressure rise takes place due to the
continuous conversion of angular momentum imparted to the refrigerant
vapour by a high-speed impeller into static pressure.
 Unlike reciprocating compressors, centrifugal compressors are steady-flow
devices hence they are subjected to less vibration and noise.
 Construction
 An inlet casing to accelerate the fluid to the impeller inlet.
 An impeller to transfer energy to the fluid in the form of increased static
pressure (enthalpy) and kinetic energy.
 A diffuser to convert the kinetic energy at the impeller outlet into enthalpy
resulting in pressure rise.
 A volute casing to collect the fluid and to further convert the remaining

kinetic energy into enthalpy resulting in further pressure rise.

 As shown in the figure, low-pressure refrigerant enters the compressor
through the eye of the impeller (1).
 The impeller (2) consists of a number of blades, which form flow
passages (3) for refrigerant.
 From the eye, the refrigerant enters the flow passages formed by the
impeller blades, which rotate at very high speed. As the refrigerant flows
through the blade passages towards the tip of the impeller, it gains
momentum and its static pressure also increases.
 From the tip of the impeller, the refrigerant flows into a stationary
diffuser (4). In the diffuser, the refrigerant is decelerated and as a result
the dynamic pressure drop is converted into static pressure rise, thus
increasing the static pressure further.
 The vapour from the diffuser enters the volute casing (5) where further
conversion of velocity into static pressure takes place due to the
divergent shape of the volute. Finally, the pressurized refrigerant
leaves the compressor from the volute casing (6).
Expansion devices
 An expansion device is another basic component of a refrigeration
system. The basic functions of an expansion device used in refrigeration
systems are
 One is the thermodynamic function of expanding the liquid refrigerant
from the condenser pressure to the evaporator pressure.
 The other is the control function which may involve the supply of the
liquid to the evaporator at the rate at which it is evaporated. The latter has
an important role and determines the efficiency with which the evaporator
surface is utilized.
 The expansion devices used in refrigeration systems can be divided into
fixed opening type or variable opening type.
 In fixed opening type the flow area remains fixed.
 In variable opening type the flow area changes with changing mass flow
rates.
Types:
 Automatic expansion valve
 Thermostatic expansion valve
 High-side float and the low side float valve
 Capillary tube
 Automatic Expansion Valve (AEV)
 An Automatic Expansion Valve (AEV) also known
as a constant pressure expansion valve acts in such
a manner so as to maintain a constant pressure and
thereby a constant temperature in the evaporator.
 The valve consists of an adjustment spring that can
be adjusted to maintain the required temperature in
the evaporator.
 Forces on diaphragm
 spring exerts force Fs on the top of the
diaphragm.
 The atmospheric pressure, Po also acts on top
of the diaphragm and exerts a force of Fo = Po
Ad, Ad being the area of the diaphragm.
 The evaporator pressure Pe acts below the
diaphragm. The force due to evaporator
pressure is Fe = Pe Ad.
 The net downward force Fs + Fo - Fe is fed to
the needle by the diaphragm.
 Automatic Expansion Valve (AEV)
 The net force along with the force due to
follow-up spring Ffs controls the location
of the needle with respect to the orifice and
thereby controls the orifice opening.
 If Fe + Ffs > Fs + Fo the needle will be
pushed against the orifice and the valve will
be fully closed.
 If Fe + Ffs < Fs + Fo, the needle will be
away from the orifice and the valve will be
open.
 Hence the relative magnitude of these
forces controls the mass flow rate through
the expansion valve.
The adjustment spring is usually set such that during off-cycle the valve is
closed, that is, the needle is pushed against the orifice.
off cycle condition: Feo + Ffso > Fso + Fo
on cycle condition (Feo - ΔFe) + Ffso < Fso + Fo valve opens