Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

(FEng 5192)

By: Tayto M.(MSc in Process Eng.)

March 2022,
Dilla University, Ethiopia

04-May-22
 Chapter 1
Principles of Refrigeration and Cold storage
Topics to be Covered in this chapter:
Refrigeration cycles
Vapor Compression cycles
Vapor Absorption cycles
Refrigerants, characteristics of different refrigerants
Components of a Refrigeration system
Low temperature methods of storage

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 Refrigeration:
 Refrigeration may be defined as a process of removing heat from
a substance and pumping it to the surroundings.
 In refrigeration, heat is pumped out from a lower temperature
space to a higher temperature environment.

 Naturally, heat always flow from hot body to

cold body.
 In refrigeration, we reverse the natural
process.
 The transfer of heat from a low-temperature
region to a high-temperature one requires
special devices called refrigerators.
Refrigerator:
 A refrigerator is a device which is designed to
remove heat from a space that is at lower
temperature than its surroundings.
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 Refrigerators are cyclic devices, and the working fluids used in
the refrigeration cycles are called refrigerants.

A refrigerator is shown schematically in Fig. (a).

 QL is the magnitude of the heat removed from
the refrigerated space at temperature TL ,
 QH is the magnitude of the heat rejected to the
warm space at temperature TH , and
 Wnet,in is the net work input to the refrigerator.
Another device that transfers heat from a low-
temperature medium to a high-temperature one is
the heat pump.
Refrigerators and heat pumps are essentially the
same devices; they differ in their objectives only.
The objective of a refrigerator is to remove heat
(QL) from the cold medium; the objective of a heat
pump is to supply heat (QH) to a warm medium.

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 Coefficient of performance (COP)
• The performance of refrigerators and heat pumps is expressed in
terms of coefficient of performance.

These relations can also be expressed in the

rate form by replacing the quantities QL, QH,
and Wnet,in by QL, QH, and W net,in,
respectively. Notice that both COPR and
COPHP can be greater than 1.
In reality, however, part of QH is lost to the
outside air through piping and other devices,
and COPHP may drop below unity when the
outside air temperature is too low.

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 When this happens, the system normally switches to the fuel (natural gas,
propane, oil, etc.) or resistance-heating mode.
Capacity of a Refrigeration Unit:
 Capacities of refrigerating machines are expressed by their cooling
capacity.
 The cooling capacity of a refrigeration system - that is, the rate of heat
removal from the refrigerated space—is often expressed in terms of tons
of refrigeration.
 The standard unit used for expressing the capacity of refrigerating
machine is ton of refrigeration.
 One ton of refrigeration is defined as ‘’the quantity of heat abstracted
(refrigerating effect) to freeze one ton of water into one ton of ice in a duration
of 24 hours at 0o c’’.
Refrigerating Effect (N):
 It is defined as the quantity of heat extracted from a cold body or space to be
cooled in a given time.

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 Refrigeration cycle
Equipment used for removing the heat continuously for maintaining a
low temperature in a space is called 'refrigerator' and the Cycle on which
it operates is called the refrigeration cycle.
Refrigeration cycle is thermodynamic cycle to generate refrigerating
effect with the use of evaporator, compressor, condenser & expansion
valve.

 This process is basically a thermodynamic

process where working fluid absorbs heat
from the surrounding at low temperature
and reject the heat to the atmosphere at
higher temperature.

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 Types of Refrigeration Cycles
There are various types of Refrigeration Cycles but majorly Two types
of Refrigeration are important and are as follows:
1. Vapor Compression Réfrigération Cycle
2. Vapor Absorption Réfrigérations Cycle
Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle:
 Vapor compression refrigeration systems are the most commonly used
among all refrigeration systems.
 The refrigerant undergoes phase changes in this cycle at least during
one process.
 The components of the VCRC are: Compressor, Condenser, Receiver,
Expansion Valve, and Evaporator.
 The working of Vapor Compression Refrigeration System can be
completed under 4 processes and are Compression, Condensation,
Expansion and Vaporization process.
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 Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle
The evaporator is the low-temperature (cooling) side of the system
and the condenser is the high temperature (heat-rejection) side of
the system.

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 Key components VCRC
The key components are discussed below.

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The detailed explanation of the above parts is as follows:
Compressor:
• The vapor at low pressure and low temperature enters the
compressor from the evaporator where it is compressed to high
pressure and high temperature.
• This high pressure and temperature vapor refrigerant are
discharged into the condenser through the discharge valve.
Condenser:
The condenser or cooler consists of coils of pipe in which the high
pressure and temperature vapor refrigerant are cooled and
condensed.
The refrigerant while passing through the condenser gives up its
latent heat to the surroundings condensing medium which is
normally air or water.
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Receiver:
 The condensed liquid refrigerant from the condenser is stored
in a vessel known as a receiver from where it is supplied to the
evaporator through the expansion valve.
Expansion Valve:
 It is also called a throttle valve. Its function is to allow the liquid
refrigerant under high pressure and temperature to pass
through it where it reduces its temperature and pressure.
Evaporator:
 It also consists of coils of pipe in which liquid-vapor refrigerant
at low pressure and temperature is evaporated and converted
into vapor refrigerant at low pressure and temperature.

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T-S and P-h Diagram of Vapor Compression Refrigeration System:
For ideal refrigeration cycle, T-S and P-h diagram is represented as
follows:

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 The cycle on T-S diagram:
 The refrigerant enters the compressor at state 1 as saturated
vapor and is compressed isentropically to the condenser
pressure.
 The refrigerant then enters the condenser as superheated vapor
at state 2 and leaves as saturated liquid at state 3 as a result of
heat rejection to the surroundings.
 The saturated liquid refrigerant at state 3 is throttled to the
evaporator pressure by passing it through an expansion valve or
capillary tube.
 The refrigerant enters the evaporator at state 4 as a low-quality
saturated mixture, and it completely evaporates by absorbing
heat from the refrigerated space.
 The refrigerant leaves the evaporator as saturated vapor and
reenters the compressor, completing the cycle.

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 COP for vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
 The condenser and the evaporator do not involve any work, and
the compressor can be approximated as adiabatic(q=0).
 Then the COPs of refrigerators and heat pumps operating on the
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle can be expressed as:

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 Heat (energy) flow for ideal VCRC
 All four components associated with the vapor-compression
refrigeration cycle are steady-flow devices, and thus all four
processes that make up the cycle can be analyzed as steady-flow
processes.
 The kinetic and potential energy changes of the refrigerant are
usually small relative to the work and heat transfer terms, and
therefore they can be neglected.
 Then the steady flow energy equation on a unit–mass( i,e. m= 1
kg/s) basis reduces to:

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 Worked Examples
1. A refrigerator uses refrigerant-134a as the working fluid and operates on an
ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle between 0.14 and 0.8 MPa. If the
mass flow rate of the refrigerant is 0.05 kg/s, determine:
(a) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space and the power input to
the compressor,
(b) the rate of heat rejection to the environment, and
(c) the COP of the refrigerator.

Graphically, it is shown as
follows

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 Actual Vapor-compression
Refrigeration Cycle
 An actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle differs from the
ideal one in several ways, owing mostly to the irreversibilities
that occur in various components.
 Two common sources of irreversibilities are:
 Fluid friction (causes pressure drops) and
 Heat transfer to or from the surroundings.
 In the ideal cycle, the refrigerant leaves the evaporator and enters
the compressor as saturated vapor. In practice, however, it may
not be possible to control the state of the refrigerant so precisely.
 Instead, it is easier to design the system so that the refrigerant is
slightly superheated at the compressor inlet.

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 Actual VCR cycle T-S and P-h diagram
It is also indicated as follows:

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 Examples
1. Refrigerant-134a enters the compressor of a refrigerator as superheated vapor
at 0.14 MPa and 2108C at a rate of 0.05 kg/s and leaves at 0.8 Mpa and 50oC. The
refrigerant is cooled in the condenser to 268C and 0.72 Mpa and is throttled to
0.15 MPa. Disregarding any heat transfer and pressure drops in the connecting
lines between the components, determine:
(a) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space and the power input to
the compressor,
(b) the isentropic efficiency of the compressor, and
(c) the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator.

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 Advantages and Disadvantages of VCRS
Advantages of VCRS:
 The temperature at the evaporator section can be controlled
employing regulation of expansion valve.
 It exhibits high Coefficient of Performance.
 The running cost is low because the volume circulation of the
refrigerant is low in the system.
Disadvantages of VCRS:
The disadvantages of Vapor Compression Refrigeration system are
as follows.
 Make sure that there should be no leakage of refrigerant from
the pipes/hose.
 Refrigerant can affect the atmosphere.
 The cost of the system is high.
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 Applications of VCRS:
The applications of VCRS are as follows:
 Refrigeration is extensively used for increasing the storage life of
perishable items especially food products, vegetables, fruits, milk,
beverages, chilling of water, ice formation, etc.
 Industrial applications include chemical manufacturing, petroleum
refinery, petrochemical plants, paper, and pulp industry, etc.
 Ice making
 Manufacturing and treatment of metals
 Industrial air-conditioning
 Transportation of food
 Chemical and related industries
 Freezing food products
 Medical and surgical aids
 Central air-conditioning
04-May-22
 Reading Assignment

1. Problems in the Vapor Compression Cycle.

2. Factors Affecting the Performance of Refrigeration
Plant

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 Vapor Absorption cycles
 Is one of the oldest methods of producing refrigerant effect.
 In the Vapor Absorption process, the compression process of the vapor
compression cycle is replaced by an absorber, a generator, and a pump.
 Use heat energy instead of mechanical energy as VCRS in order to
change the conditions of refrigerants required for the operation of the
refrigeration cycle.
 The VAR system required at least two liquids:
 One fluid acts as Refrigerant(Ammonia)and
 While other liquid acts as absorbent(Water)
 The components of Vapor Absorption Refrigeration Cycle are as
follows:
 Condenser
 Expansion Valve
 Evaporator
 Absorber
 Pump
 Generator
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 Components in VAR System:
Evaporator:
 The main function of the evaporators is to provide cooling to
the area with which it is in contact.
Absorbers:
 Are used to absorb refrigerants.
 When the ammonia Vapour from the evaporator reaches the
absorber, the water present in the absorber will absorb it.
 As the water absorbs the ammonia, a strong ammonia solution
and water will begin to form.
 When the water absorbs ammonia, the water will liberate from
the heat, and the absorptive capacity of the water will be
reduced.
 So, cold water is supplied to the absorber so that the absorptive
capacity is high so that it is continuously absent of ammonia
vapor.

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 Components in VAR System:
Pump:
 The pump will pump a strong solution of ammonia and
water from the absorber to the generator.
Generator:
 The generator is provided with auxiliaries heat from
outside.
 This auxiliary can be used to provide heat, steam or
hot water, or any type of heater.
 Heat is provided so that the solution of ammonia and
water is converted into vapor.

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 Components in VAR System:
Analyzer:
 The analyzers are placed on top of the generator.
 This analyzer is used to separate water particles from ammonia
vapor.
 If water particles move past the generator, it will reduce the
efficiency of the entire system. If the water particles move in
large quantities, it can also damage the system.
 So the analyzer condenses the water’s particles, but the
ammonia Vapour will pass through the analyzer and go further
into the system.
Pressure-Reducing Valve:
 After the ammonia Vapour passes through the analyzers, the
weak solution present in the generators will pass through the
pressure reducing valve and reach the absorber again.

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 Components in VAR system…
Condenser:
 Condensers are used to convert ammonia Vapour into the
liquid phase. These condensers can be either water-cooled
or air-cooled.
Expansion Valve:
 Its main functions are to convert the liquid to cold liquid and
pass it to the evaporator.
 At the expansion valve, the ammonia will come from the liquid
condenser, and the temperature and pressure of this liquid
ammonia will decrease, and this ammonia will become the
temperature of the liquid-cooled liquid ammonia, whose
temperature will be much lower.

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 Working of Vapor Absorption Refrigeration Cycle:
In this type of refrigeration system, the vapor produced in the evaporator passes
into the absorber.

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 Working of VAR System more simplified…
The figure given below show the basic working procedures of VAR
system.

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 COP of absorption refrigeration systems
The work input to the pump is usually very small, and the COP of
absorption refrigeration systems is defined as:

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 Advantages over Vapour compression system

 As there is no moving parts in the entire system, the operation

is essentially quiet and subjected to a very little wear, so that
the maintenance cost is low.
 The pump motor is quite small compared with the compressor
motor.
 Vapour absorption system is used the thermal energy, they can
be used in places, where electric power is hard to obtain.
 Absorption unit can be built in capacities well above 1000 tons
 Space requirement is less.

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 Refrigerants, characteristics of different
refrigerants
Refrigerants:
Any substance which in the refrigeration system absorbs heat from a
low-temperature system and delivers the heat so absorbed to a
higher temperature system is referred to as a refrigerant.

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 Classification of Refrigerants:
1. On the basis of safety:

2. On the basis of working principle:

 Primary Refrigerants
 Secondary Refrigerants
Primary Refrigerants:
 The working mediums or heat carries which directly take part in the
refrigeration system and cool the substance by the absorption of latent heat
are called as Primary refrigerants.
 Example: Ammonia, SO2, CO2, Methyl chloride, etc…

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2. Secondary Refrigerants:
 These are circulating substances that are first cooled with the help of primary
refrigerants and then employed for cooling purposes.
 Example: Ice, Solid CO2, etc…
3. On the basis of Chemical composition:
3.1. Halocarbon refrigerants:
 Are all synthetically produced and were developed as the Freon family of
refrigerant..
 Are compounds of chlorine, fluorine and carbon.
 Examples are:

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3.2. Azeotropes
 This groups of refrigerants consists of different refrigerants which can’t
be separated under pressure and temperature and have fixed
thermodynamic properties.

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 Properties of Refrigerants:
The properties of Refrigerants are discussed below:
The Chemical Properties of Refrigerants are as follows.
 Non-toxic
 Non-flammable and non-explosive
 Non-corrosive to metal
Physical Properties of Refrigerants:
The Physical Properties of Refrigerants are as follows.
 Low specific heat
 A low specific volume of vapor
 Low viscosity
Thermodynamic Properties of Refrigerants :
The Thermodynamic Properties of Refrigerants are as follows.
 Low freezing point
 Low boiling point
 High latent heat of vaporization
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 Other Properties of Refrigerants:

The various other properties of Refrigerants are as

follows:
 Ease of leakage location
 Availability and low cost
 High COP

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 Designation of Refrigerants
 According to (ASHRAE): The refrigerants are internationally designated
as ‘R’ followed by certain numbers such as R-11, R-12, R-114, etc.
1. Fully saturated, halogenated compounds:
 These refrigerants are derivatives of alkanes (CnH2n+2) such as
methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6).
 A refrigerant followed by a two-digit number indicates that a refrigerant
is derived from methane base while a three-digit number represents
ethane bases.
 The general chemical formula for the refrigerant, either for methane or
ethane base, is given as:
CmHnClpFq in which n + p + q = 2m + 2.
Where:
 m = number of carbon atoms,
 n = number of hydrogen atoms,
 p = Number of chlorine atoms, and
 q = number of fluorine atoms.
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 Designation of Refrigerants
As discussed above, the number of the refrigerants is given by:
R(m -1) (n + 1) (q).
Let us consider the following refrigerants to find its chemical
formula and the number.
Example:

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 Designation of Refrigerants
2. Inorganic compounds:
 Inorganic compounds shall be assigned a number in the 700
series, identification numbers are formed by adding the relative
molecular mass of components to 700.
Examples:
 R717 = ammonia (molecular mass 17)
 R718 = water (molecular mass 18)
 R744 = CO2 (molecular mass 44)
3. Mixtures:
 Azeotropic mixtures are designated by 500 series, where as
zeotropic refrigerants (e.g. non-azeotropic mixtures) are
designated by 400 series.

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Examples:
Azeotropic mixtures:
 R 500: Mixture of R 12 (73.8 %) and R 152a (26.2%)
 R 502: Mixture of R 22 (48.8 %) and R 115 (51.2%)
Zeotropic mixtures:
 R404A : Mixture of R 125 (44%), R 143a (52%) and R 134a (4%)
 R407A : Mixture of R 32 (20%), R 125 (40%) and R 134a (40%)
Unsaturated organic Refrigerants:
 Are designated by putting an aditional number 1 before the
refrigerant.
Example:
 R120 – C2H4Cl3, that is trichloroethylene is designated as
R1120.

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 Letters at the end
 The last letter, if any, in the designation number means different
things:
 Lower-case letters describe the structure of the molecule.
For example:
 R134a..Here "a" is used to denote that it is an isomer. R134 and
R134a have same chemical formula and atomic weight but
different chemical structures.
 R134 has NBP of about -19 C whereas R134a has a NBP of about
-26C.
 And don't use capital 'A' in R134a …. "A" denotes that the
refrigerant is non -azeotropic.
 Capital letters describe specific mixing proportions of different
components.
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 Components of a Refrigeration system
Components of actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is
shown in Fig. given below.

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 Low temperature methods of storage
The two types of low temperature storage:
1. Chilling and
2. Freezing technique for preservation of food.
Chilling Technique:
 Chilling is a process of removing heat and can be achieved only by four
basic mechanisms: radiation, conduction, convection or evaporation.
 Most foods are chilled by convection of heat into the air or another
refrigerated medium and the rate of heat removal depends on the:
 Surface area available for heat flow,
 Temperature difference between the surface and the medium,
 Surface heat transfer coefficient.
 For the majority of chilled foods, air systems are used, primarily because of
their flexibility and ease of use. However, for certain foods, other systems can
offer much faster and more controlled chilling.

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 Freezing Technique:
 Freezing is the most successful technique for long term
preservation of food since nutrient content is largely retained
and the product resembles the fresh material more closely than
in appertized foods.
 Foods begin to freeze somewhere in the range — 0.5 to — 3 °C,
the freezing point being lower than that of pure water due to the
solutes present.
 As water is converted to ice during freezing, the concentration of
solutes in the unfrozen water increases, decreasing its freezing
point still further so that even at very low temperatures, e.g. —
60 °C, some water will remain unfrozen.
 The temperatures used in frozen storage are generally less than
— 18 °C. At these temperatures no microbial growth is possible,
although residual microbial or endogenous enzyme activity such
as lipases can persist and eventually spoil a product.
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 Cold storage:
 Cold storage is the one widely practiced method for bulk
handling of the perishables between production and marketing
processing.
 It is one of the methods of reserving perishable commodities in
fresh and whole some state for a longer period by controlling
temperature and humidity with in the storage system.
 The basic purpose of cold storage is to store the perishable food
products at optimum temperature to enhance the self life of the
products.
 The condition of storage in these cold storages is different
depending upon the nature of the product.
 For example, ice-cream is stored at - 25 ºC while milk is stored at
3-4 ºC. Similarly, many fruits and vegetables are also stored in
cold storages.
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 Practice Questions
1. Consider two vapor-compression refrigeration cycles. The refrigerant enters
the throttling valve as a saturated liquid at 30oC in one cycle and as sub-
cooled liquid at 308C in the other one. The evaporator pressure for both
cycles is the same. Which cycle do you think will have a higher COP?
2. When selecting a refrigerant for a certain application, what qualities would
you look for in the refrigerant?
3. What is absorption refrigeration? How does an absorption refrigeration
system differ from a vapor-compression refrigeration system?
4. In absorption refrigeration cycles, why is the fluid in the absorber cooled
and the fluid in the generator heated?
5. An absorption refrigeration system that receives heat from a source at 95oC
and maintains the refrigerated space at 0oC is claimed to have a COP of 3.1.
If the environmental temperature is 19oC, can this claim be valid? Justify
your answer.

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 Chapter 2:
Chilling and freezing equipments in food industries
Topics to be covered:
 Chilling equipment for liquid foods.
 Secondary refrigerants and direct expansion techniques in chilling.
 Chilled foods transport and display cabinets.
 Cool storages and their applications.
 Evaporative cooling and its applications
 Freezer types

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 1. Chilling:

 One of the key challenges in the food industry is the effective control or
better elimination of bacterial activity. In order to overcome this
challenge, we can use the most effective weapons in the fight against
bacteria like chilling and freezing techniques.
What is chilling:
 Chilling is unit operation in which the temperature of the food is reduced
to between 1°C and 8°C, i.e. above the freezing point of the food.
 The most common means of chilling includes:
 Wet ice (icing)
 Chilling by using ice slurry
 Other means of chilling are :
 Refrigerated air system
 Dry ice methods
 Gel ice malt methods

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 1. Chilling by Wet Ice(Icing):
 Icing is most common and useful way of chilling the fish catch.

 Cooling is effected by the

direct contact between the
melted ice and the fish.
 When ice is placed in close
contact with the fish; - heat
transferred from the warm
fish to the ice resulting to
the melting of ice; in turn
the fish is cooled down by
the melted ice

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 Chilling by Ice Slurry
 Ice slurry : a homogenous mixture of small ice particles and carrier liquid.
 The liquid can be either pure freshwater or a binary solution consisting of
water and a freezing point depressant.
 NaCl, ethanol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are four most
commonly used freezing point depressants in industry.

Advantages of CSW(Chilled Sea Water)

over icing:
 CSW chills fish much faster than wet
ice.
 Fish in CSW do not suffer from
physical damage due to crushing or
pressure from other fish.
 Fish in CSW are washed in the slurry.
 CSW chilled fish do not necessarily
keep longer than wet iced fish

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 Other Methods:
Refrigerated Air:
 Air chilling is commonly employed in big commercial
production.

 Chilled air is circulated by a

finned evaporator and fan.
 These units are often referred
to as air blowers.

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 Dry Ice Method:
 Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. Cooling is effected by the
evaporation of the dry ice.
 Due to its very low temperature (-
78.90C), dry ice should not be used in
direct contact with fish to avoid cold
burns.
 This method of chilling is preferred for air
shipment of fish, as this does not caused
leakage.
 The use of dry ice is subject to
restrictions because it expands from a
solid form into a gas and it may expel
oxygen, posing a hazard to the safety of
airplanes

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 Gel Ice Mat:
 Gel ice made by freezing a water-based gel.
 The advantage of gel ice is that all water is bound with no
chance of water leakage during thawing .
 Gel mat chilling is suitable for air transport of fish.

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 Chilling Equipments
 The most important types of equipment used in chilling process
may be summarized as follows:
 Blast chillers:
 Hydro coolers:
 Vacuum coolers and
 Store cooling
 For most prepared foods, air blast cooling chambers are used.
 Water immersion (hydro-cooling) is used for some vegetables
and vacuum coolers are used for leafy vegetables.
 For some fresh product which has a relatively long storage life,
cooling may be achieved using storage chambers.

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 Blast chillers
 They typically have multiple shelves where food pans or sheet pan
s can be stored and chilled at extremely low temperatures.
How Does a Blast Chiller Work?
 Blast chillers or freezers operate by
blowing forced cooled air over food
placed inside.
 These specialized freezers usually have
various settings that can be selected
depending on if your food is room
temperature, chilled, or hot.
 This rapid cooling process decreases the
number of ice crystals that appear on
food.
 When defrosting food, large ice crystals
melt and cause excess moisture to
release, which largely impacts the taste
and quality of your food products.
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 Hydro-coolers
 The use of chilled water either sprayed down through a chamber
or in an immersion tank, provides very rapid cooling with no risk
of freezing.
 It is applicable to fresh fruits and vegetables (that can withstand
water immersion) and can also be applied to vacuum packs of
prepared foodstuffs.

 Water is recirculated in such

systems, so great care is
necessary to ensure continued
cleanliness by regular flushing
out and addition of fungicides.

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 Vacuum coolers
 Vacuum coolers are highly specialized and expensive pieces of
equipment, well suited to the rapid cooling of pre-packaged
leafy vegetables.
 They operate at low pressure with wet produce in a sealed
chamber, under which conditions the cooling is mostly achieved
by low temperature evaporation of moisture.
 In the process, more heat is consumed, and in the absence of
an external heat source, a cooling effect is generated in the
vacuum chamber.
 The vacuum pre-cooling technology is simple in principle and
high in cooling rate, and is widely used in vegetable products
preservation, transportation and storage .

04-May-22
 Store cooling

 For large volumes of live produce, particularly fresh fruits and

vegetables, cooling may be achieved by placing cartoned or
binned produce in a cool store and allowing the circulation of
air in the store to provide all the cooling that is necessary.
 This is a slow process, taking several days and dependent on
the store air circulation and the stacking of the produce.
 Air is extracted through a uniform thickness of cartons, with air
entry other than through the cartons blocked by the curtain.
 If necessary, pallet bases are closed to air movement by the
insertion of plastic foam or other convenient material

04-May-22
 Secondary refrigerants and direct expansion
techniques in chilling
 In some refrigeration systems, the refrigerant is used directly. This
is done mainly out of safety considerations.
 For example, it is not desirable to use toxic refrigerants like
ammonia in home refrigeration systems.
 Therefore, the usual practice is to chill brine over the evaporator
coil and then air is cooled by passing over the brine coil.
 This method eliminates the dangers of toxification on account of
ammonia leakage into the air streams.
 In some cases, the size of the refrigerated space may be so large
that direct refrigeration may be uneconomical. In such case, an
indirect way is employed.
 The refrigerants used in this way, do not pass through the cyclic
process and are referred to as secondary refrigerants.
04-May-22
 A Basic Secondary refrigeration System:
The basic secondary refrigerant cycle is shown in the figure.

 Common secondary refrigerant

includes:
 Propylene Glycol
 Ethylene Glycol
 Brine Solution
 Hydro-fluro-ether

04-May-22
 Direct expansion techniques in chilling
 In direct expansion technique, the refrigerant evaporates inside
the tubes as the medium to be cooled flows through a baffled
course on the outside of the tube bundles.
 The common direct expansion (DX) chillers includes:
 Direct expansion (DX) shell and tube chiller
 Flooded Chiller
Direct expansion (DX) shell and tube chiller:
 In this chiller, heat is drawn from water which is located outside
the tube as refrigerant boils and evaporates inside.
 The tube is finned internally to increase heat transfer efficiency.
 The baffles assure proper mixing and increase rate of heat
transfer.
 Water is passed over the tubes and gives up heat energy to the
surface of the tubes at lower temperature.
04-May-22
 Direct Expansion System Schematic:
 The water therefore leaves the shell and tube chiller several
degrees lower than the entering water temperature.
 The water enters the side of the shell at one end and leaves
from the bottom.

04-May-22
 Flooded Chiller
 It is also a type of shell and tube chiller where the water runs
through the tubes and the refrigerant flows over the outside of
the tubes within a closed shell.
 Approximately 50% to 75% of the tubes are immersed in liquid
refrigerant and the space above provides an allowance for the
vapor generated through evaporation of the liquid below.

04-May-22
 Chilled foods transport and display cabinets
 Refrigerated transport of chilled foods is a total operation
involving the movement of chilled food from one storage area to
another.
 The refrigerated transport is basically temperature-controlled
transport. In cold winter conditions, it may be necessary to heat
chilled foods in order to prevent freezing damage and for many
fresh tropical fruits quite moderate temperatures can produce
chilling damage.
 For example, bananas should not be allowed to cool below about
13ºC. In areas of the world having severe winter conditions,
heating requirements can be considerable.
 Transport equipment is designed to maintain temperature and
not to provide cooling.
04-May-22
 Refrigerated display cabinets

 Refrigerated display, the final link in the commercial cold chain,

is where the consumer purchases the product.
 The aim is to show the produce to the best advantage whilst
maintaining it within prescribed temperature limits.
 The two major types of display cabinet are those that operate
from a remotely sited refrigeration plant (remote cabinets) and
those that operate from a refrigeration system integral to the
cabinet (sometimes termed plug-in units).
 Within each of these categories different types of cabinets exist.
 The most commonly used of these are;
 multi-deck;
 glass door, well and

04-May-22
 Multi-deck chill cabinets
 This type of cabinet offers excellent product display, and it is a
well-established principle that goods that can be seen are more
likely to be purchased than those hidden from sight.

 Rely on an air curtain to maintain the

temperature of products on the
shelves.
 However, even with careful air
management multi-deck cabinets
tend to have a proportionately larger
heat gain load than other types.
 Store managers will favour their use
where the turnover of goods is rapid.

04-May-22
 Glass door displays and well types
 Glass door displays and well types are more economical to run and
are widely adopted for frozen product.
 Users accept that there is a need to reduce wastage of energy and
are happy to shop for frozen goods from this type of display. Good
lighting and door seal heaters are necessary.

04-May-22
 Cool storages

 Cold storage is the storage of any temperature controlled

substance that prevents that substance from decaying or not
adhering to laws and regulations that apply to that item.
 Some examples of products that may require cold storage or at
least a temperature controlled warehousing solution:
 Perishable nutrient products
 Perishable food (vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood,
dairy products)
 Flowers and plants
 Biopharmaceutical products

04-May-22
 Types Of Cold Storage and their application
 There are many different types of cold storage, from individual units to entire
dedicated facilities.
Let’s explore some of these types:
Refrigerated Containers:
 Refrigerated containers are the most basic and often the most cost effective
option for cold storage of small quantities of temperature sensitive products.
 They can also be mobile, which gives them the advantage of extra flexibility.
Blast Freezers And Chillers:
 Blast freezers and chillers are ideal for companies who need to quickly cool and
store food before it reaches its end consumer.
 It’s common for some larger restaurants and catering companies to use them.
Cold Rooms:
 Cold rooms are exactly what they sound like. They are a larger alternative to
the options listed above.

04-May-22
 Types of Cold Storages …
Pharmaceutical Grade Cold Storage:
 Hospitals and research institutions may make use of pharmaceutical
grade cold storage units. These units are equipped with extra features
that make them ideal for biopharmaceuticals, blood, and certain vaccines.
Plant-Attached Cold Storage:
 Plant attached cold storage is the preferred option for some
manufacturers who want to keep their cold storage in house.
 Products can be transported via conveyor straight from manufacturing to
a dedicated cold storage facility on-site.
Dedicated Custom Cold Storage Facilities:
 As we discussed above, many companies that use cold storage have
complex needs based on the nature of their products and the preferences
of their end consumers. Those who choose to avoid the cost of an on-site
facility will optimum to use a custom or dedicated cold storage facility.

04-May-22
 Evaporative cooling and its applications
 Evaporative cooling is the process in which sensible heat is
removed and moisture is added to the air.
 When hot air is allowed to pass through
water spray, it gives up heat to water.
 At the same time, some of the water
evaporates and picks up heat from the air
equivalent to its latent heat.
 The vapors thus formed are carried along in
air stream.
 In this way, air is cooled and simultaneously
gets humidified.

 The wet-bulb temperature is a measure of the potential for evaporative

cooling. The greater the difference between the DBT and WBT, the greater
will be evaporative cooling effect.
 When the temperatures are the same, no net evaporation of water in air
occurs, thus there is no cooling effect.
04-May-22
 Methods of evaporative cooling
 Two principle methods of evaporative cooling are:
 Direct evaporative cooling
 Indirect evaporative cooling
 Direct cooling:
 Direct evaporative cooling introduces water directly into the supply airstream
(usually with a spray or some sort of wetted media). As the water absorbs heat
from the air, it evaporates and cools the air. In direct evaporative cooling the
dry bulb temperature is lowered but the wet bulb temperature remains
unchanged.

04-May-22
 Indirect Evaporative Cooling (closed circuit)
 An indirect system is constructed with two distinct fluid circuits and no
direct contact between the air and the water being cooled.
 In indirect cooling, one stream of air, known as primary air, is sensibly cooled
(without the addition of moisture) by a heat exchanger, while secondary air
transports away the heat energy from the main air.
 A heat exchanger separates the internal and exterior systems in an indirect
system. There is no chance that one system will contaminate another. Any
contaminants in the external water source will not reach the internal system.

04-May-22
 Applications of EC
 Evaporative cooling is especially suitable for climates where the air is hot
and humidity is low.
 Desert coolers (based on evaporative cooling) are used to cool the room
(space).
 A simple vapor compression refrigeration system: also uses evaporative
cooling, but the evaporated vapor is within a sealed system, and is then
compressed ready to evaporate again, using energy to do so.
 Janata cooler: is simple designs of evaporative coolers that can be used in
the home. It is the modification of “pot-in-pot” cooler. This system uses
two clay pots of slightly different size. The smaller pot is placed inside the
larger pot and the gap between the two pots is filled with sand. The inner
pot stores food item. The pot is then covered with a moist cloth.
 Charcoal Cooler: The charcoal is sprayed with water which provides
evaporative cooling. Food products (vegetables and fruits) are placed
inside it.

04-May-22
 2. Freezing
 Freezing is the removal of heat from the packaged or whole
foods resulting in the temperatures between slightly below the
freezing point of food to -18°C.
 It is an advance method over chilling.
 Frozen foods last many months without spoiling however, some
quality loss may occur.
 Different types of freezing systems are available for foods.
 The two main types of freezing methods are: cryogenic freezing
and mechanical freezing.
 The selection criteria of a freezing system will depend on the
type of the product, reliable and economic operation, easy
cleanability, hygienic design and desired product quality.

04-May-22
 Cryogenic freezing:

 With cryogenic freezing, the food ingredients are sprayed or

immersed directly in liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
 This causes the product to be frozen almost immediately, while
the freezing sustenance is evaporated in the atmosphere.
 Mostly used for individual quick frozen (IQF) products, such as:
 Frozen peas,
 individual chicken wings, and other
 bulk packaged foodstuffs where separate pieces are necessary.
 Cryogenic freezing is sometimes a preferred as a low-cost method
with getting new products quickly to the market.

04-May-22
 Mechanical Freezing Equipment
 Use electrical power to generate chilled air.
 The cold air will be uninterruptedly blowing over the food
product and therefore removing heat.
 These systems are relatively more expensive to operate compared
to cryogenic freezing.
 Common refrigerants like ammonia or carbon dioxide are used.
 Mostly this process engages in a standard mechanical
refrigeration cycle.
 Typically involves higher capital costs than cryogenic systems, due
to the fact that they require additional supporting systems.
However, when you look at the long-term, they are usually more
efficient and cost-effective in their use.
 Applied for the high-volume production of raw and finished
products.
04-May-22
 Freezer Types and Their Applications
 There are many different types of freezers. Some are specifically
designed for certain product types, as the application may differ in
process conditions and quantities.
 A superior product quality can be ensured through choosing the
right freezing equipment with the most efficient freezing process.
 Some types of universally used freezers are listed below, together
with a brief description of standard purposes and functions:
1. Process Freezers:
 Process freezers are usually integrated into the production line,
right before the end-of-line packaging part of the production line.
Examples:
 IQF
 Spiral
 Tunnel and Plate

04-May-22
 Individual Quick Freezing
 Individual Quick Freezing, also abbreviated as IQF, is a freezing
method used in the food processing industry.
 The freezing process only takes a few minutes; the exact time
depends on the product and on the type of IQF freezer that is being
used for the preparing of frozen food.
 Used for food products that are smaller in size: berries, fruits and
vegetables, but also seafood such as shrimps, small fish, meat,
poultry that are diced and sliced, and even cheese, pasta and
grains.
 Has the ability to separate the product units during the freezing
process, which produces a higher quality product compared to
block freezing.

04-May-22
 Spiral freezers:
 Spiral freezers can be both mechanical or cryogenic.
 This type of freezer moves the foods onto a conveyor that spirals
inside an insulated enclosure for a certain amount of time to the
point of freezing.
 Spiral freezers are able to freeze a
large number of content at the same
time while still maintaining high
quality of the product, it’s texture,
moisture, and flavor throughout the
entire freezing process.
 One of the benefits of a spiral freezer is
not only the ability to continuously freeze
your products, but also the compact form
of spiral freezers compared to tunnel
freezers which need more space.
04-May-22
 Tunnel Freezer
 Tunnel freezers work in a similar way as spiral freezers, but they
move the product in a linear pattern.

 Food cooling tunnels are used to

process large quantities of jam, jelly
and beverages but also meat, poultry,
fish, vegetables, fruits, pastries,
pastas and other prepared food. Their
main function is to minimize product
weight loss.
 Cooling food using a cooling tunnel is
an extremely efficient way of
processing your food.

04-May-22
 Plate freezer
 A plate freezer is a special hollow plate that has liquid refrigerant
flowing through it.
 Products are placed between two plates and then evenly cooled
to freezing temperatures.
 These freezers are ideal for flat foods or brick-shaped packaged
foods, for example frozen meals.
Blast Freezers:
 Blast freezers are mechanical freezing type systems. They are
commonly used to mass freeze products in bulk on pallets.
 Blast cells are separated from manufacturing, and not part of the
production line like process freezers; the food is airtight in a blast
cell and stays there for several days as cold air is continuously
distributed throughout the room.
04-May-22
 Practice Questions
1. What is chilling and describe the different methods of chilling of
food products?
2. Explain the difference between chilling and freezing process.
3. Discuss about the most common chilling equipments in food
industries.
4. Clearly explain about chilling by secondary refrigerants and direct
expansion techniques.
5. What is evaporative cooling? How evaporation process cause
decrease in temperature?
6. Discuss on the methods of evaporative cooling.
7. What is freezing? Describe clearly about the methods of freezing.
8. Write on the different types of freezer and their applications.

04-May-22
 Chapter 3
Vapor absorption refrigeration system
Topics to be covered:
 Difference b/n the vapor compression and vapor absorption
systems
 Thermodynamic analysis and performance of the ideal vapor
absorption cycle
 Actual vapor absorption system
 Water-lithium bromide absorption chiller

04-May-22
 What is Vapor absorption refrigeration system
 The vapor absorption refrigeration system is one of the oldest methods of
producing refrigerating effect.
 The vapor absorption system uses heat energy, instead of mechanical energy
as in vapor compression systems, in order to change the conditions of the
refrigerant required for the operation of the refrigeration cycle.

04-May-22
 Basic components of VAR system
 The refrigerant, commonly used in a vapour absorption system, is
ammonia.

04-May-22
 Basic components of VAR system…
In VAR system:
 Compressor is replaced by generator, pump, absorber and pressure
reducing valve.
 In this system, the vapor refrigerant from the evaporator is drawn in to
an absorption unit where it is absorbed by the weak solution of the
refrigerant forming a strong solution.
 This strong solution is pumped to the generator where it is heated by
external source.
 During the heating process, the vapor refrigerant is driven off by the
solution and enters into the condenser where it is liquefied.
 The liquid refrigerant then flows into the evaporator and thus the cycle
is completed.

04-May-22
 Refrigerant - solvent properties
 The desirable properties of a solvent and those of a refrigerant-
solvent combinations are described below:

04-May-22
 Comparison between vapor compression and vapor
absorption systems

 The difference between the two system id described as follows:

04-May-22
 Simple vapor absorption system

 Ammonia is used as refrigerant while water is used as absorbent.

04-May-22
 Practical Absorption Refrigeration Cycle:
 In order to make improvements certain additional auxiliary items are provided
in the system. They include analyzer, a rectifier, and two heat exchangers.

04-May-22
 Let’s see the detail:
Analyzer:
 The ammonia vapours leaving the generator may contain certain
moisture, and therefore it should be freed from any trace of
water vapour before passing on to the condenser and then to the
expansion valve, otherwise the water vapour is likely to freeze in
the small valve passage and choke the flow.
 The function of the analyzer is to remove the moisture as far as
possible. It is an open types of cooler and forms an integral part
of the generator, mounted on its top.
Rectifier:
 It is a closed type of cooler and is actually a miniature condenser
where any traces of water vapour left in the ammonia vapour, are
removed by condensation .
04-May-22
 Heat Exchangers:

 Two heat exchangers are provided to internally exchange heat

from the higher temperature fluid to the lower temperature
fluid so that one is cooled and the other is heated.
 One heat exchanger is provided between liquid receiver and
evaporator so that the liquid is sub-cooled and vapour is
heated up.
 Another heat exchanger is located between generator and
absorber so that the strong aqua is heated up before going on
to the analyzer and weak aqua is cooled before entering the
absorber.

04-May-22
 Performance of Vapor Absorption System:
 On an absorption refrigeration processes, the COP (coefficient of
performance) is used to define the efficiency of the process.

04-May-22
 Maximum coefficient of performance of heat operated
vapor absorption system:
 We know that refrigerant vapors are liberated from the strong solution when
heated in a generator. This type of the machine or system is called a heat
operated machine.

04-May-22
 COP max…
 Then;

 We can also write:

04-May-22
 Cop max…
 From this equation, we note the following remarks:

04-May-22
 Examples
Example 1: In a vapor absorption refrigeration system, heat addition in the
generator is at 90 OC, heat rejection is at 30 OC, and refrigeration takes place
at the temperature of -5 OC. Find the maximum COP of the system.

2:

04-May-22
 Vapor Absorption
Refrigeration Systems
Based On Water-Lithium Bromide Pair
The basic principle:

 Since water is used as a refrigerant, therefore, the refrigeration

temperature must be kept above the freezing point of
water(0𝑜 C).
 Hence it is used only in applications requiring refrigeration at
temperatures above 0oC.

04-May-22
 Working principle:
 It operates between two pressures as describe below.

04-May-22
 Working principle…
Thus, let’s have a look the following:

04-May-22
 Working principle…
Then;

04-May-22
 Working principle…
• Having this,

04-May-22
 Working principle…

04-May-22
 Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of the system:

Disadvantages of the system:

04-May-22
 Practice Questions
Answer the following Questions:

04-May-22
 Chapter 4
Air refrigeration system
Topics to be covered:
 Limitation of the carnot cycle with gas as a
refrigerant
 Reversed Brayton or Joule or Bell Coleman cycle
 Reversed Stiriling cycle
 Application of the gas refrigeration cycle

04-May-22
 Introduction:
 Air cycle refrigeration systems belong to the general class of gas
cycle refrigeration systems, in which a gas is used as the working
fluid.
 The gas does not undergo any phase change during the cycle,
consequently, all the internal heat transfer processes are
sensible heat transfer processes.
 In air refrigeration system, the air is used as a refrigerant. Since
air doesn’t change its phase ,i.e. remains gaseous throughout
the cycle, therefore, the heat carrying capacity per kg of air is
very small compared to vapor absorbing system.
 The air cycle refrigeration systems, as originally designed and
installed are now practically obsolete because of their low COP
and high power requirements.

04-May-22
 Types of air refrigeration system
Based on the operation, the air refrigeration system can be
classified into
 Open air refrigeration system
 Closed air refrigeration system
1. Open air refrigeration system:
 In an open refrigeration system,
the air is directly passed over
the space is to be cooled, and
allowed to circulate through the
cooler.
 The pressure of open
refrigeration cycle is limited to
the atmospheric pressure.

04-May-22
 Closed air refrigeration system
 In closed or dense air refrigeration cycle, air refrigerant is
contained within pipes and component part of the system at all
time.

 The circulated air does not have

to direct contact with the space to
be cooled.
 The air is used to cool another
fluid (brine), and this fluid is
circulated into the space to be
cooled.
 So the disadvantages listed in
open air refrigeration can be
eliminated.

04-May-22
 Limitation of the Carnot cycle with gas as a refrigerant
What is the Carnot cycle?
 The Carnot cycle describes the transfer of heat from a source to a sink wherein
some of this energy is directed to perform useful work.

 In a Carnot cycle, the system

executing the cycle undergoes a
series of four internally reversible
processes:
 two isentropic processes
(reversible adiabatic) alternated
with two isothermal processes:

04-May-22
 Reversed Carnot Cycle
 Carnot cycle is a reversible cycle, and it becomes the Carnot refrigeration
cycle when the process reversed.
 The direction of heat and work
interactions are totally reversed.
 Thus, Heat absorbed from low-
temperature-reservoir is Ql.
 Heat rejected to a high-temperature-
reservoir is Qh.
 Reversed Carnot cycle is the same as
that of the conventional Carnot Cycle
except for the direction of the
processes.

04-May-22
 P-v and T-S diagram of reversed Carnot cycle
using air as refrigerant
 It is shown as below:

04-May-22
 Basic process…
 The four process of the reversed Carnot cycle are the following:

04-May-22
 Basic process…

04-May-22
 Basic process…

04-May-22
 Reversed Brayton or Joule or Bell Coleman cycle
 The Bell Coleman Cycle (also called as the Joule or "reverse" Brayton
cycle) is a refrigeration cycle where the working fluid is a gas(air) that is
compressed and expanded, but does not change phase.
 It is the modification of reversed Carnot cycle.
 This refrigeration system components consists of:
 a compressor,
 cooler,
 Expander, and refrigerator.
 In this process, heat absorption and rejection follows at the constant
pressure; the compression and expansion of process are isentropic.
 In general, the Brayton cycle describes the workings of a constant-
pressure heat engine.
 Today, modern gas turbine engines and air breathing jet engines are also
constant-pressure heat engines.
04-May-22
 P-v and T- S diagram of Bell-Coleman refrigeration
system
 The following Figure shows P-V and T-S diagram of bell coleman refrigerator.
 Here P1, V1, T1, S1 represents the pressure, volume, temperature, entropy of
air respectively at point 1. And so on.
 It represents the corresponding condition of air when it passed through the
component.

04-May-22
 Basic process:
1-2: Isentropic Compression
 The Air drawn from refrigerator to air compressor cylinder where it
compressed isentropically (constant entropy).
 No heat transfer by the air. During compression, the volume decreases
while the pressure and temperature of air increases.
2-3: Constant pressure cooling process.
 The warm compressed air is then passed through cooler, where it
cooled down at constant pressure.
 The heat rejected per kg of air during this process is equal to
Qr= q2-3 = Cp(T2-T3)
3-4: isentropic expansion
 No heat transfer takes place. The air expands isentropically in expander
cylinder. During expansion, the volume increases, Pressure P3 reduces
to P4. (P4 = atmospheric pressure).
 Temperature also falls during expansion from T3-T4.

04-May-22
 Basic process:
4-1: Constant pressure expansion
 Heat transfer from the refrigerator to air.
 The temperature increases from T4 to T1.
 Volume increases to V4 due to heat transfer.
 Heat absorbed by air per kg during this process is equal to:
q4-1 = Cp(T1-T4)

04-May-22
 Equation of Coefficient of performance (COP) of
Bell Coleman cycle
 Heat absorbed during cycle per kg of air q4-1 = Cp(T1-T4)
 Heat rejected during cycle per kg of air q2-3 = Cp(T2-T3)
Then the work done per kg of air during the cycle is
Heat rejected – Heat absorbed = Cp(T2-T3) - Cp(T1-T4)

04-May-22
 For isentropic compression process 1-2

04-May-22
 Since, P2 = P3 and P1 = P4, therefore from equation (ii) and (iii)
Substitute equation (iv) in (i)

 Sometimes, the compression and expansion process takes place

according to the law constant. In such case, the COP is obtained
from the fundamentals given below.

04-May-22
 We know that the work done by the compressor during process
1-2 per kg of air is given by:

 And work done by expander during the process 3-4 per kg of air
is:

04-May-22
04-May-22
 Advantages and application of air refrigeration system
1. Cheap and abundant refrigerant, highly reliable:
2. Charging of refrigerant is very easy.
3. Design and construction is simple, No complicated parts and its
maintenance cost is low
4. Refrigerant (Air) is non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive.
5. There is no phase change (liquid- gas) during the operation of
system
6. The cold air can be directly used for refrigeration;
7. It is useful in aircraft refrigeration at high altitude.
8. There would be no significant change in the performance of air
refrigeration if it is operated much away from its design conditions.
9. It can produce very high temperature differences between hot and
cold region. So the same system can be used for both cooling and
heating effects. It also helps to achieve very low temperature.
10. Air refrigeration is used in aircraft due to availability cold air at high
altitude and it can achieve both air-conditioning, as well as the
pressurization of the cabin.
04-May-22
 Disadvantages of air refrigeration system
1. Lower C.O.P. compared to other refrigeration cycle.
2. Running cost is high.
3. The mass of air required to circulate in the system is
very high when compared to other type of
refrigeration cycle due to low specific heat capacity.
4. System components are bulky, large space per ton of
refrigeration.
5. The chance of frosting at expander is more due to
moisture content in the air.
6. Air contains pollutant particle, so do regular cleaning
of air filter in open system.

04-May-22
 Reversed Stiriling cycle
 In Stirling cycle, Carnot cycle’s compression and expansion
isentropic processes are replaced by two constant-volume
regeneration processes.
 During the regeneration process heat is transferred to a thermal
storage device (regenerator) during one part and is transferred
back to the working fluid in another part of the cycle.
 The regenerator can be a wire or a ceramic mesh or any kind of
porous plug with a high thermal mass (mass times specific heat).
 The regenerator is assumed to be reversible heat transfer device.

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 Working principle:
 The system includes two pistons in a cylinder with a regenerator in the middle.
 Initially the left chamber houses the entire working fluid (a gas) at high
pressure and high temperature TH.
 1-2, isothermal heat transfer to the gas at TH from external source. As gas
expands isothermally, left piston moves outward, doing work and the gas
pressure drops.
 2-3, both pistons move to the right at same rate, keeping const. volume, until
the entire gas pushed to the right chamber (passing thru the regenerator).
Heat is transferred to the regenerator and gas temperature drops to TL.
 3-4, the right piston is moved to the left, compressing the gas. Heat transfers
(isothermally) from the gas to the external heat source at TL, so the gas
temperature remains at TL while the pressure rises
 4-1 both pistons are moved to the left at the same rate (keeping const volume)
forcing the gas thought the regenerator into the left chamber. The gas
temperature rises to TH and cycle completes

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 Efficiency
Notes:
 Unlike internal combustion engines, a Stirling cycle does not exchange
the working gas in each cycle, the gas is permanent.
 The heat is supplied outside the engine, so any heat source can be
used, e.g.: coal, gas, solar energy, nuclear power, etc.
 Stirling engine can reach higher thermal efficiencies than Otto and
Diesel engines, since heat transfer occurs at constant temperatures, i.e.,
its thermal efficiency is the same as the Carnot cycle:

 The pressure changes are very smooth and its torque is uniform, it has
no valves, exhaust pipes, etc. Thus, Stirling cycle is quiet and has less
maintenance points.
 To achieve competitive efficiency, it needs to work on high pressures
which cause tremendous problems of sealing.
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 T-s and P-v diagrams for Stirling cycle

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