Maintenance of Chiller HVAC – Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning
HVAC is the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort or conditioning
the air to human comfort. As per the ISHRAE standards air conditioning means
maintaining the air space
(i) At a temperature of 21 ± 1°C
(ii) Relative humidity between 45% and 55%
(iii) Odour free
(iv) Dust free
HVAC – Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning
REFRIGERATION:
It is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or a substance.
TONS OF REFRIGERATION:
The unit of an Air Conditioner is Tons of Refrigeration (TR). A ton of
refrigeration is approximately equal to the cooling generated by one ton of ice.
1TR is also defined as 12,000 BTU (British Thermal Unit) per hour or 3517
Watts. HVAC – Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning
CFM:
Short for cubic feet per minute, a measurement of the velocity at which air
flows into or out of a space.
BTU:
BTU is a British thermal unit. It’s a unit of heat energy.
The amount (quantity) of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound of
water to 1 degree F.
1 Watt = 3.413 BTU and 1 kilo Watt = 3413 BTU
HVAC – Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning
Humidity: The moisture content in air is referred to as humidity. RH = Percentage (%) at temperature (⁰C) RH is the ratio between the moisture that can be held in a given volume of air and the theoretical moisture that can be held in the same volume of air at the same pressure and temperature Moisture that can be held in a given volume of air % RH= --------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 100 Theoretical moisture that can be held in given volume of air Must be maintain Relative Humidity between 45% and 55% Below 20% will cause the ESD and above 80% will cause the shorts in circuit boards and will increase the speed of corrosion. PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING HVAC Refrigerant Cycle Operation and Maintenance of Chiller
• A Chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid by vapor-compression Cycle.
Chiller have a two types Condensation System
1. Water Cooled Chiller
2. Air Cooled Chiller.
• Water Cooled Chiller cools the refrigerant by water cooled condensation and
refrigerant which produces chill water (Approx. 7 Degree C ~ 12 Degree C).
• The Chill water circulated to air-handlers in order to transfer heat from air to water. WATER COOLED CHILLER WATER COOLED CHILLER
Operation Cycle,
A Chiller unit consists of four major elements, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion
valve and an evaporator.
• The cycle starts when refrigerant enters the compressor in a low pressure (suction
pressure), low temperature and gaseous form. The refrigerant is compressed by the
compressor to a high pressure (discharge pressure) gaseous state.
• The high pressure Refrigerant gas then enters the condenser.
• The condenser precipitates the high pressure Refrigerant gas to a high temperature
Liquid Refrigerant by transferring heat to a lower temperature medium (air/water),
usually ambient air.
WATER COOLED CHILLER
• The high temperature liquid then enters the expansion valve allows liquid
Refrigerant by further expansion by reducing pressure to enter evaporator.
• In evaporator the heat is transferred to the liquid refrigerant from the water. Thus
liquid refrigerant gets converted to low pressure gaseous state, further the cycle
repeats. Air Cooled Chiller Circuit Operation Cycle
Operation Cycle, A Chiller unit consists of four major elements, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator.
• The Low pressure Super heater vapor compressed in the Compressor and leaving as
High Pressure Super-heated Vapor with mixing of oil.
• This mixer Refrigerant flow to the Oil Separator, due to centrifugal force oil settled
down in the oil separator tank bottom and refrigerant flows to the Condenser coil.
• In the Condenser coil the heat rejected from the refrigerant (Condenser cooling fan)
to atmosphere and changed to High pressure sub cooled liquid.
Operation Cycle
• This High pressure liquid expands in the Expansion Valve changed as Low pressure Wet vapor. • This Low pressure wet vapor flows to the Evaporator coil. The shell type Evaporator coil has the inside tubes and water flows around the tubes. The chilled state wet vapor flows through the tubes the outside water absorbs the chillness. • Leaving from the Evaporator Refrigerant is in the state of Low pressure Super heated Vapor and again it goes to the compressor for next cycle. This process is continuous till the setting temperature is reached.
REFRIGERANT:
Type: R-407C / R-410A/ R-134A
It is the vehicle that collects heat from the area to be cooled, moves it outside and
releases it into the outdoor air.
Types of Compressor
COMPRESSOR:
The purpose of the compressor is to draw the low-temperature, low-pressure vapour from
the evaporator via the suction line.
The compressor transforms the vapor from a low-temperature vapor to a high-
temperature vapor, in turn increasing the pressure.
This compressor thus helps us to utilize the natural air or water which are available in plenty
at temperatures from 25°C to 45°C for condensing the refrigerant vapor into its liquid. PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Types of Compressor - Scroll
The Scroll compressor
The compressor exists of two spiral elements. One moves
in eccentric circles and the other one is stationary.
Air gets trapped between the two spirals at the suction
side and get transported to the center of the spiral.
This way the air is compressed. It takes about 2.5 turns
for the air to reach the center exhaust pipe.
PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Types of Compressor - Scroll PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Screw Compressor
A rotary-screw compressor is a type of gas compressor that uses a rotary-type positive-
Displacement mechanism.
The screw compressors comprise of the pair of meshing screws between which the
refrigerant gets compressed.
They can produce high pressure for small
Quantity of gas. They consume less power
than the reciprocating compressors and
are being used widely.
PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Screw Compressor Compressor Critical Parameter
CRITICAL PARAMETERS
The critical parameters are Suction pressure & discharge pressure. Low Suction pressure
& High discharge pressure has to be avoided.
SUCTION PRESSURE
It is also said LOW SIDE PRESSURE. In air conditioning systems, the suction pressure is the
intake pressure generated by the system compressor while operating.
Reasons for Low Suction Pressure
Shortage of Refrigerant
Leakage in Refrigerant Compressor Critical Parameter
DISCHARGE PRESSURE:
It is also called as HIGH SIDE PRESSURE / HEAD PRESSURE. It is the pressure generated
on the output side of a gas compressor in a refrigeration or air conditioning system.
Reasons for High Discharge Pressure
• Scale formation in condenser coil
• Cooling Tower’s Fan is not functioning
• Water Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) high
• Scale formation in Cooling Tower
• Drier Choke, Inert gas presence
Compressor Protection
Protection from increasing discharge temperature
• This function is activated to stop the operation of compressor when the discharge temperature increases to or above a predetermined value. Protection from increasing oil temperature • This function is activated to stop the operation of compressor when the oil temperature increases to or above a predetermined value. Protection from abnormally high pressure • This function is activated to stop the operation of compressor when the discharge pressure becomes abnormally high due to compressor disoperations or water supply stop to condenser. It prevents explosion of equipment components. Protection from abnormally low suction pressure • This function is activated to stop the operation of compressor when the suction Pressure lowers to or below a predetermined value. Compressor Protection
Protection from abnormal oil pressure
• This function is activated to stop the operation of compressor and thus prevent any compressor failure due to abnormal wear or seizure of sliding parts, when the differential pressure for lubrication (lubrication piping pressure minus discharge pressure) lowers to or below a predetermined value due to shortage of refrigerant oil, plugging of filters, or refrigerant entry to refrigerant oil. Protection from filter differential pressure • This function stops the compressor when the differential pressure between discharge pressure and lubrication pressure lowers to or below a predetermined value due to plugging of filters or other reasons. Protection from low oil level • This function constantly senses the oil level in the oil separator and stops the compressor when it reached to the lower limit. Compressor Protection
Protection from motor overcurrent
• This function is activated to stop the operation of the compressor when current exceeding a predetermined level flows. Oil Heater for Oil Separator • To preserve the temperature of the lubricant before starting the compressor operation, install an oil heater on the oil separator. In cold districts, install a band heater to the oil supply piping if necessary. Suction Strainer • When miscible oil is used, the mesh size of suction strainer should be not less than 200 meshes. When non-miscible oil is used, it should be not less than 100 meshes. PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Thermostatic Expansion Valve
Thermostatic Expansion Valve uses a valve
mechanism to control the flow of liquid refrigerant
into the evaporator coil. The flow is controlled by
the pressure in the evaporator.
This type of metering device is able to operate well
when the load fluctuates and hence is suitable for
use in air conditioning system. When the
evaporator warms, the valve provides a higher flow
rate and when it cools, it reduces the flow rate.
PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Thermostatic Expansion Valve PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING The electronic expansion valve (EEV)
• EEVs control the flow of refrigerant
entering a direct expansion evaporator. They do this in response to signals sent to them by an electronic controller. • A step small motor is used to open and close the valve port, controlled by an electronic controller and rotate a fraction of a revolution for each signal sent to them by the electronic controller. • The step motor is driven by a gear train, which positions a pin in a port in which refrigerant flows. PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING The electronic expansion valve (EEV)
• Step motors can run at 200 steps per second and can return to their exact position very quickly. The controller remembers the number of step signals sent by the controller. This makes it possible for the controller to return the valve to any previous position at any time. This gives the valve very accurate control of refrigerant that flows through it. • EEVs have 1,596 steps of control and each step is 0.0000783 inches. Sensors • The electronic signals sent by the controller to the EEV are usually done by a thermistor connected to discharge airflow in the refrigerated case. • A thermistor is nothing but a resistor that changes its resistance as its temperature changes. • Pressure transducers can also be wired to the controller for pressure/temperature and superheat control. SUBCOOL ECONOMIZER
• Economizer operation mode improves both cooling capacity and efficiency by means
of a sub-cooling circuit.
• A plate type heat exchanger is utilized as a liquid sub cooler. A part of the refrigerant
mass flow from the condenser enters the sub cooler via an expansion device, and
evaporates upon absorbing heat from the main liquid refrigerant line.
• Liquid refrigerant gets sub cooled and the vapor refrigerant enters the compressor
Through ECO suction port.
SUBCOOL ECONOMIZER PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Filter driers
Filter driers are usually installed in the liquid line of a dry-expansion refrigeration system,
where they have a dual function.
First, they trap coarse particulate contamination and copper shavings, and second they
capture any moisture present in the system.
PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING Sight Glass Moisture Indicator
Sight Glass Moisture Indicator is usually fitted in the liquid line immediately after the filter drier to measure the moisture content of the refrigerant. If the indicator is yellow, there is a problem with the moisture content of the refrigerant. Excessive moisture content can cause icing of the expansion valve. if the evaporating temperature is 0 °C or lower. Frothing in the sight glass indicates either a shortage of refrigerant or that the refrigerant in the liquid. WATER COOLED CHILLER
WATER COOLED CONDENSER (SHELL & TUBE)
In this, the tube carries water and the shell carries the refrigerant)
Condenser Approach
This is the difference between the liquid refrigerant temperature and the temperature of
water leaving the condenser. Normally when the condenser is clean, this difference must
be less than 1 deg C. if the condenser approach is more than 4 deg C this indicates the
Condenser needs de-scaling.
WATER COOLED CHILLER CIRCUIT WATER COOLED CHILLER
COOLING TOWER:
The entire heat gained from the conditioned space is finally discharged into the
atmosphere by the cooling tower.
The cooling tower uses the water evaporation͛ principle to cool the condenser water. WATER COOLED CHILLER WATER COOLED CHILLER
RANGE: Difference between the temperatures of inlet and outlet water of the cooling tower Range (°C) = inlet water temp – outlet water temp Higher the RANGE BETTER the PERFORMANCE APPROACH: Difference between cooling tower outlet water temperature from cooling tower and the ambient wet bulb temperature: Approach (°C) = outlet water temp from cooling tower – Wet bulb temp Lower the APPROACH (in °C) BETTER the performance Ideally a cooling tower can cool the condenser water to the wet bulb temperature. But this will be very expensive. Any cooling tower will be designed to reduce the water temperature 5⁰C above the wet bulb temperature. WATER COOLED CHILLER
BLOW DOWN:
The portion of the circulating water that is removed in order to maintain the amount of
dissolved solids and other impurities at an acceptable level is called cooling tower blow
down.
It may be noted that if we can, somehow, maintain higher TDS (total dissolved solids)
concentration in the circulating water, it will result in reduced blow down and hence water
conservation.
However, the higher the TDS concentration, the greater is the risk of scale, biological
growth and corrosion.
WATER COOLED CHILLER
WATER COOLED CHILLER MAINTENANCE:
• In cooling tower water the TDS should be less than 1000 PPM.
• Make up water should be added at regular intervals for better performance
• Water treatment should be checked and cleaned regularly.
• Check all electrical connections
• Check water pump
WATER COOLED CHILLER
• Remove and clean strainers
• Cooling tower fan and its motor should be maintained in good condition
• During chiller startup, condenser and chiller barrel water flow must first be established WATER COOLED CHILLER
• Water flow can be verified by pressure drops
• Condenser water flow must be established
• Water-cooled systems required chemical water treatment
• An operation log should be kept for the chiller water-cooled require more maintenance
Than Air-Cooled systems
• Inspect complete power circuit for hot spots and discolored wires
• Inspect evaporator tubes for cracks/imperfections
• Cooling tower should be cleaned and scrubbed regularly
WATER COOLED CHILLER WATER COOLED CHILLER PRECISION AIR CONDITIONING AIR COOLED CHILLER TROUBLESHOOTING AIR COOLED CHILLER AIR COOLED CHILLER AIR COOLED CHILLER Thank You
