Major Components of

Refrigeration System
Course: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Course Code: 6023
Module: II

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Reciprocating Compressor
• In reciprocating compressor, the vapour refrigerant
is compressed by reciprocating motion of the
piston.
• Parts of reciprocating compressor:
1. Cylinder
2. Piston
3. Connecting rod
4. Crank and crank shaft
5. Suction and Discharge valves

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Working of Reciprocating Compressor
• Suction Stroke:
• The piston moves from Top Dead Centre (TDC) to
Bottom Dead Centre (BDC).
• During suction stroke, the refrigerant in the
clearance space expands and the suction valve opens
when the pressure of the refrigerant falls below the
atmospheric pressure. The vapour refrigerant starts
flowing into the cylinder. The discharge valve
remains closed during suction stroke.
• The suction valve closes when the the piston reaches
BDC.
• Compression Stroke:
• During compression stroke, the piston moves
upwards, the volume of the cylinder decreases and
the pressure inside the cylinder increases.
• When the pressure inside the cylinder becomes
greater than that on the top of the discharge valve,
the discharge valve gets opened and the vapour
refrigerant is discharged into the condenser and the
cycle is repeated.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
 Rotary Compressors
• In rotary compressors, the vapour refrigerant from • Types of rotary compressors:
the evaporator is compressed due to the movement 1. Single stationary blade type rotary
of blades. compressor.
• Rotary compressors are positive displacement type 2. Rotating blade type rotary compressor
compressors.
• The clearance in the rotary compressors is
negligible.
• Rotary compressors have high volumetric
efficiency.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Single Stationary Blade Type Rotary Compressor

• It consists of: • Working:

1. Stationary Cylinder
2. Roller (impeller)
3. Shaft
• The shaft has an eccentric on which the roller is
mounted.
• A blade is set into the slot of the cylinder such that
it always maintains contacts with the roller by
means of a spring.
• The blade moves in and out of the slot to follow the
rotor when it rotates.
• It is called Sealing Blade since it separates the
suction and discharge ports.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Rotating Blade Type Rotary Compressor
• This consists of a cylinder and a slotted rotor
containing a number of blades.
• The centre of rotor is eccentric with centre of the
cylinder.
• The blades are forced against the cylinder wall by
the centrifugal action during the rotation of the
motor.
• The low pressure and temperature vapour
refrigerant from the evaporator is drawn through
the suction port.
• As the rotor turns, the suction vapour refrigerant
entrapped between the two adjacent blades is
compressed.
• The compressed refrigerant at high pressure and
temperature is discharged through the discharge
port to the condenser.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Centrifugal Compressor
• A single stage centrifugal compressor consists of an impeller to
which a number of curved vanes are fitted symmetrically.
• The impeller rotates in an air tight volute casing with inlet and
outlet points.
• The impeller draws in low pressure vapour refrigerant from the
evaporator.
• When the impeller rotates, it pushes the vapour refrigerant from
the centre of the impeller to its periphery by centrifugal force.
• The high speed of the impeller leaves the vapour refrigerant at a
high velocity at the vane tips of the impeller.
• The kinetic energy attained at the impeller outlet is converted into
pressure energy when the high velocity vapour refrigerant passes
over the diffuser.
• The volute casing collects the refrigerant from the diffuser and it
further converts the kinetic energy into pressure energy before it
leaves the refrigerant to the evaporator.
• The centrifugal compressors have no valves pistons and
cylinders.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Advantages and Disadvantages of Centrifugal
Compressor over reciprocating compressor
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Centrifugal compressors have no valves, pistons, • The main disadvantage of centrifugal compressor is
cylinders, etc. and therefore the working life of surging.
centrifugal compressors is more than reciprocating
compressor. • Increase in pressure per stage is less when compared to
reciprocating compressor.
2. Less vibration compared to reciprocating compressor.
• The refrigerants used with centrifugal compressors
3. Quite and calm operation when compared to should have high specific volume.
reciprocating compressor.
4. Centrifugal compressors run at high speeds and hence
can be directly connected to electric motors.
5. They can handle large volume of vapour refrigerant • Note:
compared to reciprocating compressor. • The reversal of flow of refrigerant from compressor
to evaporator when refrigeration load decreases is
6. Higher efficiency. called surging.
7. Less floor area requirement when compared to • This can cause severe stress conditions in the
reciprocating compressor. compressor.
Arun Kumar S L 8
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Hermetic Sealed Compressor
• In hermetic sealed compressor, the compressor and
the motor operate on the same shaft and are enclosed
in a common casing.
• Hermetic units are widely used for small capacity
refrigerating systems such as domestic refrigerators,
home freezers and window air conditioners.
• Merits:
1. Leakage of refrigerant is completely
eliminated.
2. Less noisy.
3. Requires small space.
4. Lubrication is simple since the motor and the
compressor operate in a sealed space with the
lubricating oil.
• Demerits:
1. Maintenance is difficult since the moving parts
are inaccessible.
2. A separate pump is required for evacuation and
charging of the refrigerant.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Expansion Devices
• It is a device that separates the high pressure side • Expansion Devices Types:
and low pressure side of a refrigeration system. 1. Capillary Tube
• Also known as metering device or throttling 2. Automatic Expansion Valve
device. 3. Thermostatic Expansion Valve
• Functions of expansion devices:
1. Reduces high pressure liquid refrigerant to
low pressure liquid refrigerant before being
fed to evaporator.
2. It maintains desired pressure difference
between high and low pressure sides of the
system so that the liquid refrigerant
vaporises at designed pressure in the
evaporator.
3. It regulated the flow of refrigerant
according to the cooling load on evaporator.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Capillary Tube
Merits of Capillary Tube:
1. Capillary tube is cheap when compared to other
• It is a long narrow tube of constant diameter. expansion devices.
• It is usually made of copper. 2. Capillary tube enables the use of low starting torque
• The length of the capillary tube varies depending upon motor.
application. 3. Receiver is not necessary if capillary tube is used.
• The internal diameter varies from 0.5 to 2.25 mm and Demerit of Capillary Tube:
length varies from 0.5 to 5 m. • The capillary tube once selected for a given set of
• It is installed between condenser and evaporator. conditions and load cannot operate efficiently at other
conditions.
• Working of Capillary Tube:
• The high pressure liquid refrigerant enters the
capillary tube.
• The frictional resistance offered by the tube
reduces the pressure of the refrigerant.
• This creates a greater pressure difference between
condenser and evaporator which is required for a
given flow rate of refrigerant.
• The frictional resistance offered by the capillary
tube is directly proportional to the length of the
tube and inversely proportional to the diameter of
the tube.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Automatic Expansion Valve
• Also known as Constant Pressure Expansion Valve.
• Also abbreviated as AXV
• The main parts of the automatic expansion valve
are:
1. Needle Valve
2. Valve Seat
3. Metallic Diaphragm
4. Spring
5. Adjusting Screw

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Automatic Expansion Valve - Working
• The valve maintains an evaporator pressure in
equilibrium with spring pressure and atmospheric
pressure.
• When the evaporator pressure falls down, the
diaphragm moves downwards to open the valve.
This allows more liquid refrigerant to enter into the
evaporator and thus increasing the evaporator
pressure till the desired evaporator pressure is
reached.
• When the evaporator pressure rises, the diaphragm
moves downwards to reduce the opening of the
valve. This decreases the flow the liquid refrigerant
to the evaporator which in turn lowers the
evaporator pressure till the desired evaporator
pressure is reached.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Thermostatic Expansion Valve
• It is also called Constant Superheat Valve.
• It consists of the following parts:
1. Needle Valve
2. Valve Seat
3. Metallic Diaphragm
4. Spring
5. Adjusting Screw
6. Feeler Bulb (Thermal Bulb)

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Working of Thermostatic Expansion Valve
• There are three pressures acting on the thermostatic Expansion
Valve (TEV).
1. P1 is the pressure acting on the top of the diaphragm and
is caused by the refrigerant gas present in the feeler bulb.
2. P2 is the pressure acting below the diaphragm due to the
refrigerant pressure inside the evaporator.
3. P3 is the spring pressure which is constant.
• During normal working, the thermostatic expansion valve remains
open in a certain position.
• When the refrigeration load increases, the evaporator temperature
increases which is sensed by the feeler bulb.
• The gas in the feeler bulb and power element expands and the
pressure P1 increases. Thus the diaphragm moves downwards and
the valve opens further and increases the flow of refrigerant.
• When the refrigeration load decreases, the pressure P1 decreases
and the combined pressures P2 and P3 overcome pressure P1 that
leads to the partial closing of the valve so that the refrigerant flow
to the evaporator is reduced.
• Thus TEV regulates the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator as per
the required refrigeration load.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Condensers
• Condenser is a heat exchanger used in the • Types of condensers are:
refrigeration system for removing heat from the hot 1. Air Cooled Condensers
refrigerant coming from the compressor.
2. Water Cooled Condensers
• Condenser is attached to the high pressure side of 3. Evaporative Condensers
the refrigeration system.
• The coolant used in the condenser absorbs latent
heat. from the refrigerant from the compressor and
converts the gaseous refrigerant to liquid refrigerant

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Air Cooled Condensers
• In air cooled condensers, heat from the refrigerant • Types of air cooled condensers:
is removed by air. 1. Natural Convection Air Cooled Condenser
• It consists of a series of copper tubes through which 2. Forced Convection Air Cooled Condenser
the refrigerant flows.
• The size of the tube varies from 6 mm to 18 mm
outside diameter.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Natural Convection Air Cooled Condenser
• In natural convection air cooled condenser, the heat
transfer from condenser coil to air takes place Condenser tube
through natural convection.
• The warm air that comes in contact with the
condenser tube absorbs heat from the refrigerant
inside the tube.
• As the heat transfer rate is lower in this type of
condenser, it requires larger surface area when
compared to forced convection air cooled
condenser.
• They are used in small capacity applications such
as domestic refrigerators, water coolers, freezers,
room conditioners, etc.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Forced Convection Air Cooled Condenser
• In forced convection air cooled condensers, a fan is used to
force the air over the condenser to increase the heat transfer
capacity.
• It is mainly of two types:
1. Base mounted air cooled condensers:
• In this type, the condensers are mounted on the
same base of compressor, motor, receiver and
other units.
• The entire unit is called a condensing unit.
• These use propeller fans.
• These condensing units are used in packaged
refrigeration systems of 10 tonnes or lesser
capacity.
2. Remote air cooled condensers:
• These are used for systems between 10 and 125
tonnes.
• They can be located inside or outside the building.
• Remote condensers located outside the building
use propeller fans whereas that located inside use
centrifugal fans.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Water Cooled Condensers
• In water cooled condensers, water is used to
remove heat from the refrigerant.
• Different water cooled condensers are:
• It is used where clear inexpensive water is 1. Tube in Tube or Double Tube Condenser
available.
2. Shell and Coil Condenser
3. Shell and Tube Condenser

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Tube in Tube Condenser
Water Refrigerant
• Also known as Double Tube Condenser.
• It consists of a water tube inside a large refrigerant
tube.
• The water absorbs heat from the refrigerant and the
condensed refrigerant flows at the bottom.
• Some heat from the refrigerant is absorbed by ambient
air as the refrigerant tube is exposed to ambient air.
• There are two types of double tube condensers:
1. Counter Flow System in which water enters
from the bottom and flows in the direction
opposite to refrigerant.
2. Parallel Flow System in which water enters
from the top and flows in the direction parallel
to the refrigerant.
• The rate of heat transfer is higher in counter flow
system.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Shell and Coil Condenser
• In this system, the hot refrigerant gas enters at the
top of the shell and gets surrounded by the water
coils.
• The condensed refrigerant is collected by the
receiver.
• The shell and coil type condenser usually uses
counter flow system as it is more efficient than
parallel flow system.
• The water coils in shell and coil condensers are
cleaned by chemical means.
• It is used in units up to 50 tonnes capacity.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Shell and Tube Condenser
• In this type of condenser, the hot refrigerant enters
the top of the shell and condenses as it comes in
contact with the water tubes.
• The condenser tubes are made from copper or steel
with or without fins.
• Steel tube are used if ammonia is used as
refrigerant since ammonia corrodes copper.
• Intermediate supports may be provided in the shell
to avoid sagging of tubes.
• The condensed liquid refrigerant drops at the
bottom and is collected by the receiver.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Flash Chamber
• A flash chamber is added between expansion
device and evaporator.
• The flash chamber separates the unwanted vapour
generated during expansion process from the
evaporator.
• The unwanted vapour refrigerant is supplied to the
compressor and only the liquid refrigerant is sent to
the evaporator.
• Flash chamber can be added if there is a fixed load
on the vapour compression cycle.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Accumulator
• An accumulator is placed between the evaporator
and the compressor.
• Accumulator prevents liquid refrigerant from
entering the compressor.
• The accumulator ensures that the refrigerant will
boil sufficiently and enter the compressor as a
vapour.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Frosting Evaporator
• In frosting type evaporators, the coil frosts
continually when in use and it must be removed at
regular intervals either manually or automatically
for most efficient operation.
• These evaporators always operate at temperatures
below 00C.
• The frost which forms on the evaporator comes
from the moisture in the air.
• Frosting decreases the cooling efficiency until the
ice and frost is removed.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Non-Frosting Evaporator
• Non-frosting operators always operate at a
temperature above 00C.
• It operates at temperatures close to freezing (0.60C
to 10C).
• Non-frosting evaporator maintains a relative
humidity of 75 to 85% and this helps in keeping the
food fresh and stops shrinking in weight.
• Their use is limited to high temperature work such
as air conditioning, bakery refrigeration and candy
storage.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Defrosting Evaporator
• A defrosting evaporator is one in which the frost
accumulates on the coils when the compressor is
running and melts after the compressor shuts off.
• During the running of compressor, the evaporator
temperature remains at -70C to -60C and at these
temperatures, frost forms on the surface.
• When the compressor stops, the coil warms up
above 00C and the frost melts before the
compressor starts again.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Need of Defrosting and Defrosting Methods
• Need for defrosting: • Methods of defrosting:
• When air is cooled below its dew point 1. Manual Defrosting Method
temperature, it gives up moisture and deposits 2. Pressure Control Defrosting Method
on the nearest colder surface.
3. Temperature Control Defrosting Method
• In a refrigerator, the colder surface is the
4. Water Defrosting Method
evaporator and hence the moisture deposits on
the evaporator surface. 5. Reverse Cycle Defrosting Method
• When the temperature on the evaporator falls 6. Simple Hot Gas Defrosting Method
below 00C, the moisture deposited on the 7. Automatic Hot Gas Defrosting Method
surface of the evaporator freezes and forms a 8. Thermobank Defrosting Method
coating of frost.
9. Electric Defrosting Method
• If this frost is not removed periodically, it
acts as an insulator and retards the heat
transfer rate between the air and the
evaporator which causes the compressor to
run at a lower suction pressure.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Manual Defrosting Method
• It is the simplest method of defrosting.
• In this method either the compressor is stopped or
the refrigerant to the evaporator is closed until the
accumulated ice or frost is melted.
• After melting of the frost, the compressor is started
or the refrigerant valve is re-opened.
• The major drawback of manual defrosting requires
long period for defrosting.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Pressure Control Defrosting Method
• Frosting on the surface of the evaporator causes the
compressor to run at a lower suction pressure.
• When the pressure falls below the predetermined
value due to the accumulation of the frost, the
pressure operated control comes into action and
stops the compressor.
• The control is set in such a way so as to permit the
coil to warm up to 00C, and defrost before it starts
again.
• The stopping and starting of the system is done
automatically according to change in pressure.

Arun Kumar S L
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering