Effect of Operating Conditions On COP of VCR

Effect of Operating Conditions on COP of Vapour Compression Cycle:
1 .Effect of decrease in evaporator pressure:
As evaporator pressure decreases:

• Refrigeration effect decreases
• Compressor work increases
• Specific volume increases, compressor size increases
• Volumetric efficiency of compressor decreases
• COP decreases
2 .Effect of increase in condenser pressure:
As condenser pressure increases;
• Refrigeration effect decreases
• Compressor work increases
• Volumetric efficiency of compressor decreases
• COP decreases
Methods of improving COP of simple cycle
1 .Effect of suction vapour superheat:
The temperature of heat source will be a few degrees higher than the evaporator temperature,
hence the vapour at the exit of the evaporator can be superheated by a few degrees.
(a) Superheating of suction vapour inside the evaporator:
• Increases refrigeration effect

• Increases specific volume of vapour, and therefore increases compressor size
• Increases compressor work
• Ensures complete vaporization of liquid before entering compressor
• COP may increase or decrease depending on relative increase of refrigeration effect and
compressor work. COP increases for R-12, and it decreases for R-22 and ammonia.
(b) Superheating of suction vapour outside evaporator:

Note
• Refrigeration effect remains same
•IfWork
the vapour
requiredentering compressor
by compressor is in wet region then at the end of compression,
increases
•theoretically,
COP decreases all refrigerant must convert to pure vapour, but actually some
refrigerant stays in liquid form. This vapour in liquid form has following drawbacks:
1. It transfers the piston force to cylinder head which tends to promote leakage.
2. It washes away the lubricating oil on cylinder wall resulting in more friction.
3. Due to these problems, it is always advisable that refrigerant entering the
compressor should be in vapour form.
2. Effect of liquid sub-cooling:
In actual refrigeration cycles, the temperature of the heat sink will be several
degrees lower than the condensing temperature to facilitate heat transfer. Hence it is
possible to cool the refrigerant liquid in the condenser to a few degrees lower than the
condensing temperature by adding extra area for heat transfer. In such a case, the exit
condition of the condenser will be in the sub-cooled liquid region. Hence this process is
known as sub-cooling.
• Refrigeration effect increases
• Compressor work remains same
• COP increases
3. Using liquid-suction heat exchanger.

Required degree of sub-cooling and superheating may not be possible, if one were to
rely only on heat transfer between the refrigerant and external heat source and sink. Also, if
the temperature of refrigerant at the exit of the evaporator is not sufficiently superheated, then
it may get superheated by exchanging heat with the surroundings as it flows through the
connecting pipelines (useless superheating), which is detrimental to system performance. One
way of achieving the required amount of sub-cooling and superheating is by the use of a
liquid-suction heat exchanger (LSHX). A LSHX is a counter-flow heat exchanger in which
the warm refrigerant liquid from the condenser exchanges heat with the cool refrigerant
vapour from the evaporator.
Fig.1 shows the schematic of a single stage VCRS with a liquid-suction heat
exchanger. Since the temperature of the refrigerant liquid at the exit of condenser is
considerably higher than the temperature of refrigerant vapour at the exit of the evaporator, it
is possible to sub-cool the refrigerant liquid and superheat the refrigerant vapour by
exchanging heat between them.
Fig.1: A single stage VCRS system with Liquid-to-Suction Heat Exchanger (LSHX)
• COP increases or decreases depending on whether effect of sub-cooling is more

or superheating is more. For R-12 COP increases and for R-22 and ammonia
COP decreases.
Actual Vapour Compression Refrigeration systems
The cycles considered so far are internally reversible and no change of refrigerant state takes
place in the connecting pipelines. However, in actual VCRS several ir-reversibilities exist.
These are due to:
1. Pressure drops in evaporator, condenser and LSHX
2. Pressure drop across suction and discharge valves of the compressor
3. Heat transfer in compressor
4. Pressure drop and heat transfer in connecting pipe lines
Figures given bellows shows the actual VCRS cycle on P-h and T-s diagrams
indicating various ir-reversibilities. From performance point of view, the pressure drop in the
evaporator, in the suction line and across the suction valve has a significant effect on system
performance. This is due to the reason that as suction side pressure drop increases the specific
volume at suction, compression ratio (hence volumetric efficiency) and discharge
temperature increase. All these effects lead to reduction in system capacity, increase in power
input and also affect the life of the compressor due to higher discharge temperature. Hence
this pressure drop should be as small as possible for good performance.
Actual VCRS cycle on P-h diagrams

Actual VCRS cycle on T-s diagrams
Process State
Pressure drop in evaporator 4-1d
Superheat of vapour in evaporator ld-lc
Useless superheat in suction line lc-lb
Suction line pressure drop lb-la
Pressure drop across suction valve 1a-1
Non-isentropic compression 1-2
Pressure drop across discharge valve 2-2a

Pressure drop in the delivery line 2a-2b
Desuperheating of vapour in delivery pipe 2b-2c
Pressure drop in the condenser 2b-3
Subcooling of liquid refrigerant 3-3a
Heat gain in liquid line 3a-3b
The pressure drop depends on the refrigerant velocity, length of refrigerant tubing and
layout (bends, joints etc.). Pressure drop can be reduced by reducing refrigerant velocity (e.g.
by increasing the inner diameter of the refrigerant tubes), however, this affects the heat
transfer coefficient in evaporator. More importantly a certain minimum velocity is required to
carry the lubricating oil back to the compressor for proper operation of the compressor.
Heat transfer in the suction line is detrimental as it reduces the density of refrigerant
vapour and increases the discharge temperature of the compressor. Hence, the suction lines
are normally insulated to minimize heat transfer. In actual systems the compression process
involves frictional effects and heat transfer. As a result, it cannot be reversible, adiabatic
(even-though it can be isentropic). In many cases cooling of the compressor is provided
deliberately to maintain the maximum compressor temperature within safe limits
This is particularly true in case of refrigerants such as ammonia. Pressure drops across
the valves of the compressor increase the work of compression and reduce the volumetric
efficiency of the compressor. Hence they should be as small as possible. Compared to the
vapour lines, the system is less sensitive to pressure drop in the condenser and liquid lines.
However, this also should be kept as low as possible. Heat transfer in the condenser
connecting pipes is not detrimental in case of refrigeration systems. However, heat transfer in
the sub-cooled liquid lines may affect the performance.
In addition to the above, actual systems are also different from the theoretical cycles
due to the presence of foreign matter such as lubricating oil, water, air, particulate matter
inside the system. The presence of lubricating oil cannot be avoided, however, the system
design must ensure that the lubricating oil is carried over properly to the compressor. This
depends on the miscibility of refrigerant-lubricating oil. Presence of other foreign materials
such as air (non-condensing gas), moisture, particulate matter is detrimental to system
performance. Hence systems are designed and operated such that the concentration of these
materials is as low as possible.
Dry Versus Wet Compression

The compression process as shown in Figure below involves the compression of
wet refrigerant vapour at 1' to dry-saturated vapour at 2'. It is called wet
compression.
With a reciprocating compressor, wet compression is not found suitable due to
the following reasons:
Dry and wet compression processes
i. First, the liquid refrigerant may be trapped in the head of the cylinder and
may damage the compressor valves and the cylinder itself. Even though
the state of vapour at the end of wet compression is theoretically dry-
saturated, it is normal to expect some liquid droplets to remain suspended
in the gas, as the time taken by the compression process is quite small
compared to the time needed for evaporation of droplets. For example, in
a modern high-speed compressor, say, running at 2800 rpm, the time
available in one revolution is only 0.021 second.
ii. Secondly, liquid-refrigerant droplets may wash away the lubricating oil
from the walls of the compressor cylinder, thus increasing wear.
It is, therefore, desirable to have compression with vapour initially dry
saturated at 1 as shown in Figure above, or even slightly superheated if a
reciprocating compressor is used. Such compression is known as dry
compression. The state of the vapour at the end of compression will,
therefore, have to be at 2, at pressure pk which is the saturation pressure of
the refrigerant corresponding to the condensing temperature tk, instead of
being at 2", which would be the state point if the Carnot cycle were to be
executed. It results in the discharge temperature t2 being higher than the
condensing temperature tk. Consequently, the refrigerant leaves the
compressor superheated. The increased work of the cycle due to the
substitution of wet compression by dry compression appears as the area 2-2'
- 2", generally known as superheat horn.
It must, however, be stated here that wet compression in some cases is indeed
desirable, and also practicable with the use of a continuous flow machine like a
centrifugal or a screw compressor with no valves in place which are an essential
feature of a reciprocating compressor.

Effect of Operating Conditions On COP of VCR

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Effect of Operating Conditions On COP of VCR

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Effect of Operating Conditions on COP of Vapour Compression Cycle:

1 .Effect of decrease in evaporator pressure:

As evaporator pressure decreases:

Methods of improving COP of simple cycle

1 .Effect of suction vapour superheat:

• Increases refrigeration effect

(b) Superheating of suction vapour outside evaporator:

3. Using liquid-suction heat exchanger.

• COP increases or decreases depending on whether effect of sub-cooling is more

Actual VCRS cycle on P-h diagrams

Pressure drop across discharge valve 2-2a

Dry Versus Wet Compression

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