Air Cycle Refrigeration:-Bell - Coleman Cycle

AIR CYCLE REFRIGERATION:-BELL -
COLEMAN CYCLE
by
Dr. BIJAN KUMAR MANDAL

Professor
Department Mechanical Engineering
Bengal Engineering And Science University, Shibpur
Air Cycle Refrigeration
• Air cycle systems can produce low temperatures for

refrigeration by subjecting the gaseous refrigerant (air) to a
sequence of processes.
• Air cycle refrigeration is based on the reversed Joule (or
Brayton) cycle.
• Air cycles can be classified as closed, open or semi-
open/closed.
• Closed cycles are, by definition, sealed systems and
consequently there is no direct contact between the
working fluid and the product being cooled.
Comparison between open and closed
cycle
Open cycles can be open on either the low-pressure side or the

high-pressure side of the cycle. Cold air leaving the system passes
through the refrigerated space coming in direct contact with the
product being cooled.
Hence, in comparison with open and semi-open/closed cycles an
additional heat exchanger (with associated temperature
difference) is required for transferring heat from the refrigeration
load
Air cycle refrigeration system
Air cycle refrigeration on T-s

Air cycle refrigeration diagram
arrangement
BELL- COLEMAN/ REVERSED BRAYTON CYCLE:
• The ideal cycle considered for air refrigeration cycle is

called Bell-Coleman cycle. This consists of four
processes. They are
Icentropic compression process (process 1-2)

Constant pressure cooling process ( Process 2-3)
Icentropic expansion process (process 3-4)
Constant pressure expansion process ( Process 4-1)
.
Schematic Arrangement of Bell- Coleman Cycle
6
P-V and T-s diagram of Bell Coleman Cycle

T-s diagram of Bell- Coleman

P-V diagram of Bell- Coleman Cycle
Cycle
Cycle Analysis:
1. Isentropic compression process:The cold air

from the refrigerator is drawn into the compressor cylinder
where it is compressed isentropically in the compressor as
shown by the curve 1-2 on p-v and T-s diagrams
2. Constant pressure cooling process:The warm

air from the compressor is now passed into the cooler
where it is cooled at constant pressure p3 (equal to
p2),reducing the temperature from T2 to T3 as shown by the
curve 2-3 on p-v and T-s diagrams.
q  Q  cp (T T )
R 23 2 3
8
Cycle Analysis(Contd..)
3.Isentropic expansion process. The air from the

cooler is now drawn into expander cylinder where it is
expanded isentropically from pressure p3 to the refrigerator
pressure p4. The temperature of air during expansion falls from
T3 to T4 as shown by the curve 3-4 on the p-v and T-s diagrams.
q  q  cp(T T )
A 41 1 4
4. Constant pressure expansion process.
The cold air from the expander is now passed to the refrigerator
where it is expanded at constant pressure p4. The temperature of
air increases from T4 to T1 .This process is shown by the curve
9
Cycle Analysis
 1
T2  p 2 
 
We know, that for isentropic compression process 1-2, T1  p1 
 1
Similarly, for isentropic expansion process 3-4, T3  p3 

 
T4  p 4 
Since, p2 = p3 and p1 = p4, therefore from the above two equations , we get
T2 T3 T2 T1
 
T1 T4 T3 T4
10
Coefficient of performance(COP)
Heat absorbed qA c p (T1  T4 )

 
Work done q R  q A cp (T2  T3 )  cp (T1  T4 )
T1
 1)
T4 (
(T1  T4 ) T4
= 
(T2  T3 )  (T1  T4 ) T T
T3 ( 2  1)  T4 ( 1  1)
T3 T4
After substituting we get,

T4 1 1 1
COP     1
  1
T3  T4 T3
T4
1  p  
3
  1  rp   1
 p4 
11
Calculation of COP in polytropic
process
We know that work done by the compressor during the process

1-2 per kg of air
n n
wc   p2 v2  p1v1    RT2  RT1  ....(pv  RT)
n 1 n 1
And work done by the expander during the process 3-4 per kg of air,

n n
wE  (p3 v3  p 4 v 4 )  (RT3  RT4 )
n 1 n 1
Net work done during the cycle

n
per kg, w  w C  w E   R  T2  T1   (T3  T4 ) 
n 1
Heat absorbed dyring const p = c p (T1  T4 )
process 4-1,
12
(Contd.)
Heat absorped q A c p (T1  T4 )

 COP   
Work done w n
 R  T2  T1 )  (T3  T4  
n 1
We know that, R  cp  c v  c v (  1)
13
Actual cycle
The actual cycle will differ from the ideal (Bell- Coleman)
cycle due to two main reasons. They are
(i)Irreversibilities in the compressor and expander.: - The

process of compression and expansion are no more isentropic.
This is taken care of by the isentropic efficiencies of the
compressor h2 '  h1 T2 '  T1
isentroic work
ηisen = = 
actual work h2  h1 T2  T1

For expander
actual work h3  h4 T3  T4
ηisen = = 
isentropic work h3  h4' T3  T4'
14
(Contd.)
Pressure drops due to flow of gas through the refrigerator
• .
and cooler
The acual cycle has been shown on T-s diagram in Fig, where
pk and p0 represent pressure drops in the cooler and

refrigerator respectively.
15
ADVANTAGES OF AIR REFRIGERATION CYCLE
 Since air is used as cooling medium, no cost of refrigerant is

involved- quite cheap.
 As the main compressor is employed for the compressed air
source, there is no problem for extra space, extra fixation of
the compressor. Also there is no additional vibration.
 The chilled air is directly used for cooling; the costs of
separate evaporator and its weight are eliminated. there is
efficient heat transfer due to direct mixing between the cold
air and warm air in the cabin.
 As the air is refrigerant, minor leakage of the same is
tolerated vis-à-vis that of the costly refrigerant
16
ADVANTAGES OF AIR REFRIGERATION CYCLE(Contd.)
 The pressure in the whole system is quite low, the piping,

ducting, etc are quite simple to design, fabricate and
maintain.
 No complicated parts are involved rendering low maintaining
cost.
 It is light weight per ton of refrigeration compared to other
refrigeration system.
 Air is non-toxic, non-flammable as the desired properties of
refrigerant
17
DISADVANTAGES OF AIR REFRIGERATION CYCLE
 Low COP of the system.

 No evaporation (only sensible cooling)
 Moisture in air may freeze.
18
AIRCRAFT REFRIGERATION:
 The gas cycle or air cycle refrigeration is widely used for the
air conditioning of different types of aircrafts.
 COP of this cycle is much less than that of vapour

compression cycle, it is preferred for aircraft refrigeration
system due to its less weight and other advantages.
 Normally , in an aircraft, a compressor is already present for

the gas turbine power cycle. A part of the compressed air is
used for air conditioning purpose as shown in the next slide
19
AIRCRAFT REFRIGERATION
In an actual aircraft air

conditioning, the above cycle
is modified using the ram
effect of high velocity air jet
and more number of
compressors and heat
exchanger. The initial
compression is done by using
the ram effect of air entering
into the high velocity aircraft
20
Simple aircraft refrigeration cycle with
ram compression
The scheme has been
shown in fig on T-s
diagram.
Other improved
systems used for
aircraft refrigeration
after the
modification of the
basic systems
include Bootsrap
system ,Regenerative
system and reduced
ambient system
21

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AIR CYCLE REFRIGERATION:-BELL -

Dr. BIJAN KUMAR MANDAL

• Air cycle systems can produce low temperatures for

Open cycles can be open on either the low-pressure side or the

Air cycle refrigeration on T-s

• The ideal cycle considered for air refrigeration cycle is

Icentropic compression process (process 1-2)

T-s diagram of Bell- Coleman

1. Isentropic compression process:The cold air

2. Constant pressure cooling process:The warm

3.Isentropic expansion process. The air from the

Similarly, for isentropic expansion process 3-4, T3  p3 

Heat absorbed qA c p (T1  T4 )

After substituting we get,

We know that work done by the compressor during the process

Net work done during the cycle

Heat absorped q A c p (T1  T4 )

(i)Irreversibilities in the compressor and expander.: - The

pk and p0 represent pressure drops in the cooler and

 Since air is used as cooling medium, no cost of refrigerant is

 The pressure in the whole system is quite low, the piping,

 Low COP of the system.

 COP of this cycle is much less than that of vapour

 Normally , in an aircraft, a compressor is already present for

In an actual aircraft air

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