REFRIGERATION CYCLE
Hot Gas Valve
Scotsman Refrigeration 101
- Basic Refrigeration Cycle
- Refrigeration “Rules of Thumb” and Definition
- Common Units of Measure
- Common Terms
- Common Acronyms
- Refrigeration System Components
- Refrigeration Cycles
- Superheat and Subcooling
- Scotsman Refrigeration 201
Basic Refrigeration Cycle
Compressor
Evaporator Condenser
Expansion
Refrigeration “Rules of Thumb”
• Heat transfer
• heat transfer always occurs from a region of high energy to another
region of lower energy.
• The greater the temperature difference, the faster energy will flow
attempting to reach equilibrium.
• Temperature
• Indicates the velocity of molecules of a substance. As heat energy in
a substance increases, its molecules vibrate faster
• Pressure
• pressure drops when volume increases
Refrigeration Definition
The removal of heat from one place (water)
and depositing it to another (air/water) using
an intermediate medium (vapor compression
refrigeration system). This transfer of heat
from one place to another is done through
the evaporation and condensing of
refrigerant.
Common Units of Measure
• Units of Heat
• BTU (British Thermal Unit): heat required to raise 1
pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Substance Temp Rise from addition of 1 BTU
Water 1 deg. F
Ice 2 deg. F
Steam 2.08 deg. F
Aluminum 4.54 deg. F
Copper 11.11 deg. F
• Units of Power (energy/time)
• BTU/Hr: unit of measure for rate of heat transfer
• 1 Watt = 3.41 BTU/Hr
• Ton (heat required to melt a ton of ice in 24 hours):
1 Ton = 12,000 BTU/Hr
Common Units of Measure
• Units of Pressure
• PSIA (absolute pressure) – actual pressure at a given
position. Pressure at sea level: 14.696 psia.
• PSIG (gauge pressure) – different between absolute
pressure and local atmospheric pressure. Pressure gauge
open to atmosphere will read 0 psig. Gauge pressure below
zero is called vacuum pressure.
• Microns of Hg (unit to measure vacuum, millitorr):
• 1 psi = 51,700 microns of Hg
ACRONYMS
• TXV – thermal expansion valve
• SH – super heat
• SC – sub cooling
• CCD – crankcase differential
• BW – batch weight
• AHRI – Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute
• DOE – Department of Energy
• EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
• UL – Underwriter’s Laboratory
• ETL – Electrical Testing Laboratories
• NSF – National Sanitation Foundation
Vapor Compression System Components
• Compressor
• Condenser
• Drier
• Expansion Device
• TXV
• Capillary Tube
• Evaporator
• Hot Gas Valve
Vapor Compression System Components
Compressor
Evaporator
Hot Gas Valve
Condenser
Thermal Expansion Valve
Vapor Compression System Components
Compressor
• Emerson; Copeland
• Tecumseh
• Embraco
• Bristol
• Danfoss
Vapor Compression System Components
• Compressor – performs two primary functions:
• pulls low pressure vapor from the evaporator
• compresses this vapor into a high temperature, high pressure gas
so that it may be condensed
Compressor
Vapor Compression System Components
Condenser
• Modine (air cooled)
• Packles (water cooled)
Vapor Compression System Components
• Condenser – removes heat from refrigerant by providing a medium
at a lower temperature to which the heat may flow and be
dissipated. Superheated gas is converted to a subcooled liquid. Two
sources of this heat:
• heat absorbed by the evaporator
• heat added to the refrigerant during compression
Condenser
Vapor Compression System Components
• TXV (Thermal Expansion Valve)
• Emerson; Flow Controls
• Danfoss
[Link]
Vapor Compression System Components
• TXV – an expansion device which “throttles” high pressure liquid to
low pressure liquid (expands during this process). Meters
refrigerant into the evaporator based on temperature measured at
the evaporator outlet.
TXV
Vapor Compression System Components
• The TXV has only one [Link]
function. It meters the flow of
liquid refrigerant into the evaporator
in exact proportion to the evaporation
rate of the refrigerant in the evaporator.
By responding to the temperature
of the refrigerant gas leaving the
evaporator and the pressure of the evaporator, the TXV can control
the gas leaving the evaporator at a predetermined superheat.
Refrigeration System Components
High (pressure)
Side
Low (pressure) side
Vapor Compression System Components
• Filter Drier
• Emerson, Flow Controls
Vapor Compression System Components
• Filter Drier – serves three functions:
• absorbs moisture (desiccant called molecular sieve)
• filters non-soluble contamination/debris
• removes acid (activated alumina)
Vapor Compression System Components
• Evaporator – the low pressure liquid from the TXV has a
saturation temperature well below that of the surrounding
medium. This results in rapid boiling of the refrigerant with heat
being absorbed from the surroundings – the desired cooling
effect.
Evaporator
Vapor Compression System Components
• Hot gas valve
• Emerson; Flow Controls
Vapor Compression System Components
• Hot gas valve
• valve which is opened during the harvest cycle, allowing hot
gas to flow from compressor to evaporator.
• Hot gas warms the evaporator, which assists in releasing the
ice slab from the evaporator surfaces.
Hot Gas Valve
Ice Maker Vapor Compression Cycles
• Freeze cycle – portion of the cycle where refrigerant absorbs
heat (from water passing over the evaporator) at low
temperature & pressure and gives up this heat (to air/water) by
condensing at high temperature & pressure.
Condenser
Compressor
Hot Gas Valve
Evaporator
TXV
Ice Maker Vapor Compression Cycles
• Harvest cycle – portion of the cycle where heat is added to the
evaporator in order to remove the ice from the evaporator or
where the ice is harvested.
Condenser
Compressor
Hot Gas Valve
Evaporator
Superheat & Subcooling
• Saturated – condition of a liquid at its boiling
temperature, and of a vapor at its condensing
temperature:
• Superheated – vapor at a temperature above its
saturation temperature
• Subcooled – liquid at a temperature below its
saturation temperature
• Pressure and Saturation Relationship
• As the pressure increases, saturation temperature
will increase. As the pressure decreases, the
saturation temperature decreases.
Superheat & Subcooling
Superheated Vapor Region
Temperature (F)
Saturated Mixture
Subcooled Liquid Region
BTU's Added
Superheat, Subcooling, & CCD
• Pressure/Temperature Charts (PT Charts)
• saturation temperature can be “looked-up” at any
desired pressure
• Available For Most Natural Substances and Industry
Refrigerants
• Example #1 – Superheat Calculation
• Example #2 – Subcooling Calculation
Superheat, Subcooling & CCD R404A
PSIA
BUBBLE
TSAT
14.696 -51.82
Example #1: What is the superheat 16.00
18.00
-48.59
-44.02
20.00 -39.83
of R-404A at 50°F and 60 psia? 22.00
24.00
-35.95
-32.34
•SH = Ref. Temp. – Sat. Temp. 26.00
28.00
-28.95
-25.77
30.00 -22.75
•SH = 50°F – 10.4°F 32.00
34.00
36.00
-19.88
-17.15
-14.54
38.00 -12.04
40.00 -9.64
42.00 -7.33
44.00 -5.10
Answer: the superheat 46.00
48.00
-2.94
-0.86
50.00 1.16
would be 39.6°F 55.00
60.00
5.94
10.41
65.00 14.61
70.00 18.57
75.00 22.32
80.00 25.88
Superheat, Subcooling & CCD R404A
PSIA
BUBBLE
TSAT
40.00 -8.49
42.00 -6.19
• Example #2: What is the
44.00 -3.97
46.00 -1.83
48.00 0.24
50.00 2.25
subcooling of R-404A at 50°F 55.00
60.00
7.01
11.46
and 150 psia? 65.00
70.00
15.64
19.58
75.00 23.31
• SC = Sat. Temp. - Ref. Temp. 80.00
85.00
26.86
30.25
90.00 33.49
• SC = 64.6°F – 50°F 95.00
100 .00
36.59
39.58
110 .00 45.24
120 .00 50.52
Answer: 14.6°F of subcooling 130 .00
140 .00
55.48
60.17
150 .00 64.61
160 .00 68.83
Scotsman Refrigeration 201
- Refrigeration System Analogy (Heart, Brain & Body)
- Scotsman Cuber; Batch ice maker
- General refrigeration layout (air, water, remote condensing)
- Control System and sensors
- Scotsman Freeze operation (SH targets, CCD, anti-slush,
headmaster, LL, refrigerant charge, TXV-capillary tube, water
pump operation, Heat Exchange, )
- Scotsman Harvest operation (HGV sizing, HGV bypass, Harvest
assist, Water pump operation, )
- Scotsman Flaker/Nugget; Continuous ice maker
- General refrigeration layout
- Evaporator configuration
- Control System and sensors
Scotsman Engineering Continuing Education
- Refrigeration 101
- Refrigeration 201
- Scotsman Design 101
- Scotsman Design 201
- Engineering TR/Product Verification process 101
- Scotsman PDP/Project Management
