MECHANICAL HEAT PUMP

1.0 OBJECTIVES
1. Define and describe the concept of refrigeration and heat pump
2. Determine the COP of the refrigeration and heat pump

2.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of laboratory session, student should be able to:
1. Describe the concept of heat pump and refrigeration system.
2. Explain the function of the main components of heat pump and
refrigeration system and the processes occur in it.
3. Apply the concept of Second Law of Thermodynamics to determine the
performance of refrigerators and heat pumps.

3.0 SYNOPSIS & THEORY

There is no difference in principle between a heat pump (Figure 1) and a

refrigeration system (Figure 2). In a heat pump the heat which is rejected by the
condenser or heat exchanger is used for heating purposes. The condenser is therefore
located within the space to be heated, such as a room within a building. On the other
hand, the evaporator is located externally and draws its supply of heat from a source at
a lower temperature than that in the condenser. In practical, the heat source of heat
pump is often the atmosphere, but sometimes a river or soil is used instead.

The only difference with air conditioning/refrigeration system is that the heat
pump system intended to cool a separate source of heat and disposes the heat into
the occupied area. Rating of heat pump is done by the ratio of heat output to
electrical input, which is called the Coefficient of Performance (COP).

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Both of those systems can be summarized in figures below.

Figure 1: Heat Pump System Figure 2: Air Conditioning/Refrigeration System

APPLICATION

Heat Pumps in Industry

Industrial heat pumps are used to recover or make best use of heat in manufacturing
processes or in public utilities such as energy generation & distribution. They vary
enormously in both size and concept, but most are specially designed for the application.
In the UK the best seller is the dehumidifier/dryer for batch drying ovens, e.g. for textiles
or wood, where duties of a few kW are typical. In Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands,
multi-MW heat transformers operating on the absorption cycle are used for waste heat
recovery in petrochemical and steel works.

Domestic Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are a feature of many homes in, for example, Switzerland, Norway and the
Netherlands, but not many systems have been installed in the UK.
Domestic heating only heat pumps can compete environmentally and economically with
gas heating. Reversible heat pumps, which can also provide summer cooling, are not as
efficient as those designed for heating only and are likely to result in higher heating bills
and overall greater environmental impact compared to other fuels. The output of
currently available domestic heat pumps is limited to approximately 5 kW so they are
best suited to small or very well insulated properties.

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4.0 EQUIPMENTS

Figure 3: Mechanical Heat Pump

5.0 PROCEDURES

Figure 4: Schematic diagram of Mechanical Heat Pump

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Experiment: Introduction of Heat Pump Cycle

Preparation

1. Boot up the computer DAQ software. (Heater system)

Procedure of start up

1. Switch OFF the compressor for 10 seconds. (SW2)

2. Select mode, by selecting the heat pump or refrigeration switch to “HP” refrigeration
mode (SW3).
3. Switch ON the compressor. (SW2)
4. Allow the system to run for 5 to 10 minutes, until the temperature and pressure reading
are in steady condition.
5. Record the temperature and pressure reading by fill into Table 2 below. Refer to DAQ
software screen or at the touch screen display unit for all the data.

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EXPERIMENTAL DATA

a) Table: Heat Pump process data

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 P1 P2 FM / Power
Water

ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC Bar Bar LPM Watt

63.8 -1.5 67.3 37.2 18.7 -6.3 19.5 17.8 2.9 8.4 8.9 3000

b) Please elaborate the process temperature, pressure and refrigerant phase

condition of the heat cycle.

Heat pump have four main component similar to the refrigeration cycle, which
includes compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator. The working
principle of a heat pump is similar to refrigerator except that heat pump release hot
air into room. In heating cycle, the evaporator and condenser exchange their roles
and direction of the fluid flow is reversed.

During heating mode, heat transfer occurs in the fluid inside the evaporator.
Evaporator absorbs heat from surrounding which results in liquid refrigerant
turns into vapor.

Then, inside the compressor, pressure and temperature of gas is increased. The
gas then flows into the condenser coils where the temperature of the gas is higher
than the space inside the coils resulting in heat transfer into room and condenses
back into liquid.

The liquid then enter the expansion valve where the pressure is reduced to
lower the temperature of the liquid before entering the evaporator to continue its
cycle.
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c) Why the COP for Heat Pump is higher than the COP of a refrigeration system? Please
explain.
COP in heat pumps is higher because, instead of just converting work to heat, it also
pumps additional heat from a heat source to where the heat is required. While refrigerator
only absorbs heat which requires lower work done.

For Refrigerator, COP = Q2/W, where Q2 is the heat released.

For Heat Pump, COP = Q1/W, where Q1 is the heat absorbed.

d) Based on the Table, list down the differences between the refrigeration cycle and
the heat pump. (Refer to previous experiment on Refrigeration Cycle)

Refrigeration Cycle Heat Pump

Has lower reading of temperature, pressure Has higher reading of temperature, pressure
and flow meter and flow meter
(example: T1 = 39.1˚C, P1 = 1.3 Bar, (example: T1 = 63.8˚C, P1 = 2.9 Bar,
FM = 100 LPM) FM = 3000 LPM)
Process from compressor starts at a lower Process from compressor starts at a higher
temperature temperature
Input power is lower (100 W) due to lower Input power is higher (3000 W) due to larger
COP COP

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 6.0 DISCUSSIONS

Conclude your finding in this experiment.

Component Descriptions
Liquid refrigerant inside evaporator absorbs heat
Evaporator
from surrounding air thus changes into gas.
Compressor increased the pressure and temperature
Compressor
of gas before entering condenser.
Inside the condenser coils, temperature of gas is
higher than the spaces inside the heated space. Due
Condenser
to this temperature difference, the heat transfer into
room and condenses back into liquid.
When liquid refrigerant enters expansion valve, it
expands and release pressure resulting in
Expansion valve
temperature drop. The refrigerant leaves the valve
in liquid state back into the evaporator.

From this experiment, it can be seen that the only difference between heat pump and
refrigeration cycle is the operating temperatures. The working temperature for heat pump is at
higher temperature and atmosphere while refrigeration cycle works at a lower temperature and
atmosphere. In addition, refrigeration is the reversed process of heat pump. This can be seen
when heat is transferred from lower temperature to higher temperature by applying external work
to maintain temperature below atmospheric temperature. While in heat pump, heat is transferred
from a higher temperature to a lower temperature and work is done during this process.

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7.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, heat pump cycle can be divided into four stages similar to
refrigeration cycle, which are:

i. Evaporation: absorption of heat from surrounding changing liquid refrigerant

into gas.
ii. Compression: compress gas from evaporator resulting in high pressure and
temperature.
iii. Condensation: heat transfer into room and condenses back into liquid due to
temperature differences in condenser and gas.
iv. Expansion: pressure is decreased allowing liquid to expand before going into
evaporator.

The cycle of heat pump involves change of states, energy consumption and heat
loss associated with the four stages. At the end of this lab, it can be concluded that both
heat pump and refrigeration cycle work on the same thermodynamic cycle (Second law
of thermodynamic). The only difference in heat pump and the refrigerator is that when it
comes to heat pump, we are concerned with the hotter region and when it comes to
refrigerator, we are concerned with the colder region.
The COP of heat pump is greater than that of a refrigerator because in heat pump,
heat rejected is always greater than heat absorbed (heat rejected = heat absorbed + work
done) in a thermodynamic cycle. Whereas in refrigerator, the heat is absorbed.

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