THE IDEAL VAPOR-COMPRESSION

REFRIGERATION CYCLE
The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is the ideal model for
refrigeration systems. Unlike the reversed Carnot cycle, the
refrigerant is vaporized completely before it is compressed and
the turbine is replaced with a throttling device.

Schematic and T-s diagram for the ideal

vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
Subcooled
liquid

Superheated
vapor

Pressure
drop in the
piping
 Refrigerant 134a enters the compressor as a
superheated vapor at 0.14MPa and -10C at a
rate of 0.05 kg/s and leaves 0.8MPaand 50C.
The refrigerant is cooled in the condenser to
26C and 0.72MPa and is throttled to
0.15MPa. Determine:
a) the rate of heat removal from the
refrigerated space
b) the power input to the compressor
c) the efficiency of the compressor
d) the coefficient of performance
 a) rate of heat removal
State 1 : T1  10C 
 h1  246.36kJ / kg
P1  0.14 MPa 
s1  0.9724kJ /( kg.K )
Superheated refr  
State 2 : T2  50C 

P2  0.8MPa h2  286.69kJ / kg
Superheated refr  

State 3 : T3  26C 

P3  0.72 MPa h3 (@ 26C )  87.83kJ / kg
~ saturated liquid 

Q L  m h1  h4   0.05246.36  87.83  7.93kW
State 4 :
h4  h3  87.83kJ / kg
 b) power of the compressor
Win  m h2  h1   0.05286.69  246.36   2.02kW

c) the efficiency of the compressor

State 2 s : s2 s  0.9724kJ /( kg.K )

P2  0.8MPa h2 s  284.21kJ / kg

Superheated refr 

h2 s  h1 284.21  246.36
c    94%
h2  h1 286.69  246.36
d) the coefficient of performance

Q L 7.93
COP    3.93

Win 2.02
REFRIGERATORS AND HEAT PUMPS
The transfer of heat from a low-
temperature region to a high-
temperature one requires special
devices called refrigerators.
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.
Cascade refrigeration systems
Very low temperatures can be achieved by operating two or more vapor-
compression systems in series, called cascading. The COP of a refrigeration
system also increases as a result of cascading.
 A two-stage cascade refrigeration system
operates between the pressure limits of 0.8MPa
and 0.14MPa. Each stage operates on an ideal
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle with
refrigerant 134a as working fluid. Heat rejection
from the lower cycle to the upper cycle takes
place in counter-flow heat exchanger with 100%
efficiency where both flows enter at 0.32MPa. If
the mass flow rate through the upper cycle is
0.05kg/s, determine:
a) mass flow rate through the lower cycle
b) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated
space
c) the power input to each of the compressors
d) the coefficient of performance
 State 1 : 
 h1  239.16kJ / kg
P1  0.14 MPa 
 s1  0.94456kJ /( kg.K )
Sat vapor 
State 2 : s1  0.94456kJ /( kg.K )

P2  0.32 MPa h2  255.93kJ / kg

Superheated refr 
State 3 :  State 4 :

P3  0.32 MPa h3  55.16kJ / kg h4  h3  55.16kJ / kg
saturated liquid 

State 5 :  State 7 : 
 h5  251.88kJ / kg 
P5  0.32 MPa  P7  0.8MPa h7  95.47 kJ / kg
 s5  0.93006kJ /( kg.K ) saturated liquid 
Sat vapor  
State 6 : s5  0.93006kJ /( kg.K ) State 8 :

P6  0.8MPa h6  270.92kJ / kg h7  h8  95.47 kJ / kg

Superheated refr 
 a) mass flow rate through
the lower cycle
For the heat exchanger

m L h2  h3   m u h5  h8 

m u h5  h8 
m L   0.039kg / s
h2  h3 
the rate of heat removal
from the refrigerated space
Q L  m L h1  h4   0.039239.16  55.16   7.18kW
 c) the power input to
each of the compressors
WCL  m L h2  h1   0.039255.93  239.16   0.654kW

WCU  m u h6  h5   0.05270.92  251.88  0.952kW

d) the coefficient of
performance
Q L 7.18
COP    4.46

Win 0.654  0.952
A refrigerator with a single compressor can provide refrigeration
at several temperatures by throttling the refrigerant in stages.
Another way of improving the performance of a vapor-
compression refrigeration system is by using multistage
compression. The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle can
also be used with regenerative cooling to liquefy gases after
some modifications.
The power cycles can be used as refrigeration cycles by simply reversing them. Of
these, the reversed Brayton cycle, which is also known as the gas refrigeration cycle,
is used to cool aircraft and to obtain very low (cryogenic) temperatures after it is
modified with regeneration. The work output of the turbine can be used to reduce
the work input requirements to the compressor. Thus, the COP of a gas refrigeration
cycle is qL qL
COPR  
wnet , in wcomp , in  wturb , out
Another form of refrigeration that
becomes economically attractive
when there is a source of
inexpensive heat energy at a
temperature of 100 to 200oC is
absorption refrigeration, where the
refrigerant is absorbed by a
transport medium and compressed
in liquid form. The most widely
used absorption refrigeration
system is the ammonia-water
system, where ammonia serves as
the refrigerant and water as the
transport medium. The work input
to the pump is usually very small,
and the COP of absorption
refrigeration systems is defined as

Desired output Cooling effect QL Q

COPR     L
Required input Work input Qgen  Wpump ,in Qgen
A refrigeration effect can
also be achieved without
using any moving parts by
simply passing a small
current through a closed
circuit made up of two
dissimilar materials. This
effect is called the Peltier
effect, and a refrigerator
that works on this principle
is called a thermoelectric
refrigerator.