Unit 3 Air Cycle Refrigeration

1. Explain in brief Aircraft cooling systems

In an aircraft, cooling systems are required to keep the cabin temperatures at a comfortable level.
Even though the outside temperatures are very low at high altitudes, still cooling of cabin is
required due to:
1 Large internal heat generation due to occupants, equipment etc.
2 Heat generation due to skin friction caused by the fast moving aircraft
3 At high altitudes, the outside pressure will be sub-atmospheric. When air at this low
pressure is compressed and supplied to the cabin at pressures close to atmospheric,
the temperature increases significantly. For example, when outside air at a pressure of
0.2 bar and temperature of 223 K (at 10000 m altitude) is compressed to 1 bar, its
temperature increases to about 353 K. If the cabin is maintained at 0.8 bar, the
temperature will be about 332 K. This effect is called as ram effect. This effect adds
heat to the cabin, which needs to be taken out by the cooling system.
4 Solar radiation

For low speed aircraft flying at low altitudes, cooling system may not be required, however,
for high speed aircraft flying at high altitudes, a cooling system is a must.
Even though the COP of air cycle refrigeration is very low compared to vapour compression
refrigeration systems, it is still found to be most suitable for aircraft refrigeration systems as:
1 Air is cheap, safe, non-toxic and non-flammable. Leakage of air is not a problem
2 Cold air can directly be used for cooling thus eliminating the low temperature heat
exchanger (open systems) leading to lower weight
3 The aircraft engine already consists of a high speed turbo-compressor, hence separate
compressor for cooling system is not required. This reduces the weight per kW
cooling considerably. Typically, less than 50% of an equivalent vapour compression
system
4 Design of the complete system is much simpler due to low pressures. Maintenance
required is also less.

Advantages:
a) Air is a cheaper refrigerant and available easily compared to other
refrigerants.
b) There is no danger of fire or toxic effects due to leakage.
c) The total weight of the system per ton of refrigerating capacity is less.

Disadvantages:
(a) The quantity of air required per ton refrigerating capacity is far greater than
other systems.
(b) The COP is low and hence maintenance cost is high.
(c) The danger of frosting at the expander valves is more as the air taken into the
system always contains moisture.
 2. Explain in brief Simple aircraft refrigeration cycle:

Figure shows the schematic of a simple aircraft refrigeration system and the operating cycle on
T-s diagram. This is an open system. As shown in the T-s diagram, the outside low pressure and
low temperature air (state 1) is compressed due to ram effect to ram pressure (state 2). During
this process its temperature increases from 1 to 2. This air is compressed in the main compressor
to state 3, and is cooled to state 4 in the air cooler. Its pressure is reduced to cabin pressure in the
turbine (state 5), as a result its temperature drops from 4 to 5. The cold air at state 5 is supplied to
the cabin. It picks up heat as it flows through the cabin providing useful cooling effect. The
power output of the turbine is used to drive the fan, which maintains the required air flow over
the air cooler. This simple system is good for ground cooling (when the aircraft is not moving) as
fan can continue to maintain airflow over the air cooler.
Due to irreversibilities, the actual pressure at the end of ramming will be less than the pressure
resulting from isentropic compression. The ratio of actual pressure rise to the isentropic pressure
rise is called as ram efficiency, ηRam.

3. Explain Bootstrap system:

Figure 9.6 shows the schematic of a bootstrap system, which is a modification of the simple
system. As shown in the figure, this system consists of two heat exchangers (air cooler and
aftercooler), in stead of one air cooler of the simple system. It also incorporates a secondary
compressor, which is driven by the turbine of the cooling system. This system is suitable for high
speed aircraft, where in the velocity of the aircraft provides the necessary airflow for the heat
exchangers, as a result a separate fan is not required. As shown in the cycle diagram, ambient air
state 1 is pressurized to state 2 due to the ram effect. This air is further compressed to state 3 in
the main compressor. The air is then cooled to state 4 in the air cooler. The heat rejected in the
air cooler is absorbed by the ram air at state 2. The air from the air cooler is further compressed
from state 4 to state 5 in the secondary compressor. It is then cooled to state 6 in the after cooler,
expanded to cabin pressure in the cooling turbine and is supplied to the cabin at a low
temperature T7. Since the system does not consist of a separate fan for driving the air through the
heat exchangers, it is not suitable for ground cooling. However, in general ground cooling is
normally done by an external air conditioning system as it is not efficient to run the aircraft
engine just to provide cooling when it is grounded.
Other modifications over the simple system are: regenerative system and reduced ambient
system. In a regenerative system, a part of the cold air from the cooling turbine is used for
precooling the air entering the turbine. As a result much lower temperatures are obtained at the
exit of the cooling turbine, however, this is at the expense of additional weight and design
complexity. The cooling turbine drives a fan similar to the simple system. The regenerative
system is good for both ground cooling as well as high speed aircrafts. The reduced ambient
system is well-suited for supersonic aircrafts and rockets.
4. Explain Vortex Tube Refrigeration System:-

The vortex tube also known as Hilsch or Ranque tube is a simple device having no moving parts,
which produces hot and cold air streams simultaneously at its two ends from a source of
compressed air. The gas is expanded through the vortex tube, where in effect, the potential
energy it possess as a result of being compressed is expended in producing a temperature
difference between the two outlet flows.
In a vortex tube, the outer (hot) air stream is a free vortex. The inner (cold) air stream is a forced
vortex. The rotational movement of the forced vortex is controlled by the free vortex (hot air
stream). The turbulence of both the hot and cold air streams cause the layers to be locked
together in a single rotating mass.

The inner air stream flows through the hollow core of the outer air stream at a slower velocity
than the outer air stream. Since the energy is proportional to the square of the velocity, the cold
air stream loses its energy by heat transfer. This allows energy to flow from the inner air stream
to the outer air stream as heat creating a cold inner air stream.
It consists of a long tube having a tangential nozzle near one end and a conical valve at
the other end, as shown schematically in Figure. A diaphragm called cold orifice, with a suitable
sized hole in its centre is placed immediately to the left of the tangential inlet nozzle. The
compressed air is then introduced into the tube through this nozzle. The tangential flow imparts a
whirling or vortex motion to the inlet air, which subsequently spirals down the tube to the right
of the inlet nozzle. Conical valve at right end of the tube confines the exiting air to regions near
the outer wall and restricts it to the central portion of the tube from making a direct exit. The
central part of the air flows in reverse direction and makes exit from the left end of the tube with
sizeable temperature drop, thus creating a cold stream. The outer part of the air near the wall of the tube
escapes through the right end of the tube and is found to have temperature higher than that of inlet air.
 Vortex Tube advantages include:

 No moving parts to wear out

 No electricity or chemicals
 Small, lightweight
 Low in cost
 Maintenance free
 Instant cold air
 Durable, stainless steel construction
 Adjustable temperatures from -50°F to +260°F

Applications

Vortex Tubes provide a reliable, maintenance-free solution to a variety of spot cooling problems.
 Cooling electronic controls
 Cooling machining operations
 Cooling CCTV cameras
 Setting hot melts
 Cooling soldered parts
 Cooling gas samples
 Electronic component cooling
 Cooling heat seals
 Cooling environmental chambers

5. Explain Thermoelectric Refrigeration Systems:

In 1821 the German physicist T.J. Seebeck reported that when two junctions of dissimilar metals
are kept at two different temperatures, an electro motive force (emf) is developed, resulting in
flow of electric current. The emf produced is found to be proportional to temperature difference.
In 1834, a Frenchmen, J. Peltier observed the reverse effect, i.e., cooling and heating of two
junctions of dissimilar materials when direct current is passed through them, the heat transfer
rate being proportional to the current. In 1838, H.F.E. Lenz froze a drop of water by the Peltier
effect using antimony and bismuth (it was later found that Lenz could freeze water as the
materials used were not pure metals but had some impurities in them). In 1857, William
Thomson (Lord Kelvin) proved by thermodynamic analysis that Seebeck effect and Peltier effect
are related and he discovered another effect called Thomson effect after his name. According to
this when current flows through a conductor of a thermocouple that has an initial temperature
gradient in it, then heat transfer rate per unit length is proportional to the product of current and
the temperature. As the current flow through thermoelectric material it gets heated due to its
electrical resistance. This is called the Joulean effect, further, conduction heat transfer from the
hot junction to the cold junction transfers heat. Both these heat transfer rates have to be
compensated by the Peltier Effect for some useful cooling to be produced. For a long time,
thermoelectric cooling based on the Peltier effect remained a laboratory curiosity as the
temperature difference that could be obtained using pure metals was too small to be of any
practical use. Insulating materials give poor thermoelectric performance because of their small
electrical conductivity while metals are not good because of their large thermal conductivity.
However, with the discovery of semiconductor materials in 1949-50, the available temperature
drop could be increased considerably, giving rise to commercialization of thermoelectric
refrigeration systems. Figure shows the schematic of the thermoelectric refrigeration system
based on semiconductor materials. The Russian scientist, A. F. Ioffe is one of the pioneers in the
area of thermoelectric refrigeration systems using semiconductors. Several domestic refrigerators
based on thermoelectric effect were made in USSR as early as 1949. However, since 1960s these
systems are used mainly used for storing medicines, vaccines etc and in electronic cooling.
Development also took place in many other countries. In USA domestic refrigerators, air
conditioners, water coolers, air conditioned diving suits etc. were made using these effects.
System capacities were typically small due to poor efficiency. However some large refrigeration
capacity systems such as a 3000 kcal/h air conditioner and a 6 tonne capacity cold storage were
also developed. By using multistaging temperatures as low as –145oC were obtained. These
systems due to their limited performance (limited by the materials) are now used only in certain
niche applications such as electronic cooling, mobile coolers etc. Efforts have also been made to
club thermoelectric systems with photovoltaic cells with a view to develop solar thermoelectric
refrigerators.
Advantages Of Thermoelectric Refrigeration

 COMPACT SIZE : Very little space is required by the cooling system. The thermoelectric module is
the size of a matchbook.
 LIGHTWEIGHT: A 36 qt. capacity unit weighs only 17 lbs. PORTABLE: Carries with one hand
and is unaffected by motion or tilting.
 LOWER PRICED : 20% to 40% less expensive than compressor or absorption units.
 LOW BATTERY:Averages approximately 4.5 amps - less than your cars headlights.

Applications
Thermoelectronic devices are used in a variety of applications. They are used by the military for
night vision equipment, electronic equipment cooling, portable refrigerators, and inertial
guidance systems. Military quality night vision binoculars useful to the military during war and
training because they are reliable, small, and quiet. Another advantage to these thermoelectric
products is that they can be run on batteries or out of a car lighter. The medical community uses
thermoelectric applications for hypothermia blankets, blood analyzers, and tissue preparation and
storage. The main advantage of thermoelectric devices to the medical community is that the
devices allow doctors precise temperature control, which is useful in handling tissue samples.
Hypothermia blankets are pads that patients rest on during surgery to keep their body at a certain
temperature. Many people have thermoelectric products in their homes such as beer keg coolers,
wine cellar chillers, water coolers, and picnic basket coolers.