PressureEnthalpyExplained

WithinthenewFGascoursetherequirementforanunderstandingofPressureEnthalpy(Ph) graphsisprovingtobealargelearningcurveforthosewhohavenotcomeacrossthembefore. ManyexperiencedAirConditioningandRefrigerationFitters,TechniciansandEngineershaveeither neverusedthemorhavebeentaughtatcollegebutnowareslightlyrusty.InthisNewsFeedwe hopethatthosewhohaveneverexperiencedorarejustbrushingupPressureEnthalpygraphswill beabletogaintheunderpinningknowledgethatthecourserequires. Introduction

APressureEnthalpygraphisindividualforeachrefrigerant.Theyallowtheusertoquicklyidentify thestate,temperature,pressure,enthalpy,specificvolumeandentropyofarefrigerantatagiven point. EnthalpyisanotherwordforHeatEnergyandisusuallymeasuredinkilojoulesperkilogram. EnthalpyiscommonlyfoundontheyaxisofthePhgraph. PressureismeasuredgenerallyinMPa,KPaorBar(Absolute);itismostcommonlyfoundonthex axisofthePhgraph. TemperatureismeasuredinC/K.andcanbefoundaslinesofconstanttemperatureonthePh graph. Thestateoftherefrigerantcanbeeitherliquidorvapour.Astherefrigerantchangesbetweenthe twostatesitchangesfromasaturatedliquidtoasaturatedvapour.Totheleftofthesaturated liquidlinetherefrigerantisliquid.Totherightofthesaturatedvapourlinetherefrigerantisa vapour.Betweenthesaturatedliquidandsaturatedvapourlinestherefrigerantisinasaturated liquid/vapourmix,thepercentageofwhichiscanbeknownbythequalitylineswhichcurvedown fromthecriticalpoint(wherethesaturatedvapourandliquidlinesconverge). SpecificVolumeistheamountofspace(cubicmetres)thatonekilogramofrefrigeranttakesup. Entropyislooselydescribedastheamountoforder,disorder(chaos)inathermodynamicsystem. Thepressureenthalpychartdescribestheentropyoftherefrigerantwhichistheamountof enthalpyabletobetransferredperKelvin(K).

FIG1

Figure1providesaclearvisualunderstandingofthebehaviourofwateratapressureof1.01325bar absolutewhenheatenergyisaddedorremoved. ItisimportanttorememberthekeyvaluesforwatershowninFigure1asthesecanbeusedinmany calculationsforairconditioningandrefrigerationdesignandcommissioningwork. SteamTables Changesinthepressureaboveanyliquidorvapouraffectthetemperaturesatwhichachangeof stateoccursandtheamountofheatenergyinvolved.SteamTableslistthesedifferentvaluesovera widerangeofpressures.Table1liststhevaluesforwateratafewselectedpressures. TABLE1 Pressure (bar) 0.006112 0.006566 0.01227 0.02337 0.04242 0.07375 0.1233 0.1992 0.3116 0.4736 0.7011 1.01325 5.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 Saturation Temperature (C) 0.01 1.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 151.8 179.9 212.4 233.8 Specific Volume (m3/kg) 206.1 192.6 106.4 57.84 32.93 19.55 12.04 7.678 5.045 3.408 2.361 1.673 0.375 0.194 0.099 0.066 HeatEnergyContent Sens LatentTotal (kJ/kg) 0.0 4.2 42.0 83.9 125.7 167.5 209.3 251.1 293.0 334.9 376.9 419.1 639.0 762.0 907.0 1004.0 (kJ/kg) 2500.8 2498.3 2477.2 2453.7 2430.0 2406.2 2382.1 2357.9 2333.3 2308.3 2282.8 2256.7 2562.0 2584.0 2600.0 2603.0 (kJ/kg) 2500.8 2502.5 2519.2 2537.6 2555.7 2573.7 2591.4 2609.0 2626.3 2643.2 2659.7 2675.8 3201.0 3346.0 3507.0 3607.0

Notethesubstantialchangesthatoccurinspecificvolumeandtherateofchangeofpressurein relationtosaturationtemperature.Observethesubstantialamountoflatentheatenergytransfer involvedinthechangeofstatefromSaturatedLiquidtoSaturatedVapour(orfromSaturated vapourtoSaturatedLiquid)andhowthischangesconsiderablywithpressure.Thisisfargreater thanthesmallamountofsensibleheatenergyassociatedwithachangeintemperature alone.Clearly,acoolingsystemforairconditioningorrefrigerationusingacirculatingfluidwouldbe mosteffectiveifthelatentheatenergytransfercanbeharnessedthroughachangeofstate. TheVapourCompressionCycleandAbsorptionCycleusethischaracteristicveryeffectively.The DoubleEffectAbsorptionCycleactuallyuseswaterastheRefrigerant.TheSingleEffectAbsorption CycleusesammoniaastheRefrigerant.ARefrigerantcanbedefinedasareticulatingfluid transferringheatenergyfromonepartofthesystemtoanother. TheVapourCompressionCycleusesawiderangeofRefrigerantsaccordingtoapplication requirementsincludingoperatingtemperatures,pressures,ambienttemperaturesandefficiency. ComparethecharacteristicsofRefrigerantR22(Chlorodifluoromethane)inTable2withthoseof waterinTable1. TABLE2 Pressure Saturation Temperature (bar) 1.05161 1.63466 2.44438 3.53431 4.96256 5.82289 6.79153 7.87684 9.08749 (C) 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 m3/Mg 0.70924 0.72420 0.75046 0.75822 0.77778 0.78834 0.79949 0.81131 0.82387 m3/kg 0.20587 0.136244 0.093268 0.065692 0.047389 0.040561 0.034873 0.030105 0.026084 Liquid Volume Vapour Volume Liquid (kJ/kg) 55.98 66.62 77.50 88.62 100.00 105.79 111.66 117.61 123.65 Latent (kJ/kg) 232.61 226.67 220.30 213.43 205.99 202.02 197.88 193.55 189.01 Vapour (kJ/kg) 288.59 293.30 297.80 302.05 305.99 307.82 309.55 311.17 312.67 Heat EnergyContent

PressureEnthalpyDiagram ThefiguresinTable2havebeentakenfromTablesofRefrigerantProperties,whichfullydefineall thethermodynamiccharacteristicsofrefrigerantR22.Thedetailedoperatingcharacteristicsofa workingvapourcompressionsystemcanbeplottedonthisdiagram.

FIG2 TheVapourCompressionCycle Theprimarypurposeofanairconditioningorrefrigerationsystemistoremoveheatenergyatalow temperaturefromaconditionedspaceorbodyandtransfer(reject)thisheatenergyintoanother mediumatahighertemperature.Heatenergymayberejectedintoair,waterorsoil. Thisprocessisveryoftencontinuoussinceheatenergywillalwayscontinuetoflowfromhigher temperaturesurroundingsintotheconditionedspacebeingmaintainedatlower temperature.Insulationplaysamajorpartinminimisingthisheatenergyflowinlowtemperature applications.

AirConditioning&RefrigerationHeatLoad Heatenergyflowfromhighertemperaturesurroundingsthroughthefabricoftheconditionedspace aretermedTransmissionorConductedgains.Therearemanyothersourcesofheatgaintothe conditionedspaceandtheseincludeheatenergyfrom: Occupants(SensibleandLatent) Lighting,motors,machineryandcomputers(Sensible) Productsorprocesses(SensibleandLatent) Warm,moistairenteringtheconditionedspacethroughinfiltrationorventilation (Sensible&Latent) Solarradiationenergystrikingthesurfacesofthebuildingorcoldstore(Sensible)

ThesearecarefullycalculatedandthetotalispopularlyknownastheHeatLoadorCoolingLoad.The HeatLoadnormallycomprisesSensibleHeatandLatentHeatandtheairconditioningor refrigerationsystemmustbecapableofremovingthesecontinuously.ThesumofSensibleand LatentHeatenergyisknownasTotalHeatorTotalEnthalpy.Airconditioningandrefrigerationloads willbediscussedlaterintheseries. TheEvaporator Sincethecapacityofarefrigeranttoabsorbheatenergyisgreatestwhenchangingstatefromliquid tovapour,theheatexchanger(Evaporator)withintheconditionedspaceiscontinuouslysupplied withliquidrefrigerant,whichvaporisesinordertoabsorbheatenergyfromtheconditioned space.Airisusedtotransportsensibleandlatentheatenergyfromproducts,lights,machineryand occupantstotheEvaporator.Inorderforthistobeeffectiveandefficient,anEvaporatorFanisused topassreturnairovertheEvaporatorCoilandtodistributeconditionedairthroughoutthe space.SeeFigure3. IfliquidrefrigerantR22isallowedtovapouriseatapressureof1.01325bar,theSaturation Temperature(orEvaporatingTemperature)willbe40.8C.Astherefrigerantvaporises,heatenergy isabsorbedandistermedLatentHeatofVaporisation.TheLatentHeatofVaporisation (approximately140kJ/kg)requiredtovaporisetheliquidistakenfromtheconditionedspacethus providingcooling.Theheatenergyfromthespaceistransferredtothevapour.

 FIG3 However,inordertomaintaintheconditionedspaceatasuitabletemperatureforcomfortair conditioning(22C),itisnotnecessaryfortherefrigeranttochangestateatsuchalowtemperature (EvaporatingTemperature).Thedesignoftheevaporatorandtheamountofairflowwilldetermine whatEvaporatingTemperatureisrequiredforagivenleavingairtemperaturefromtheevaporator coil.IfanEvaporatingTemperatureof5Cwererequired,itwillbenecessarytoraisethe EvaporatingPressureto5bar.SeeFigure4.

 FIG4 Superheat Notethatsomeoftheheatenergyfromtheroomisalsoraisingthetemperatureoftherefrigerant abovetheSaturationTemperaturewithintheEvaporator.ThisSuperheatingoftherefrigerantis essentialtoprotectthecompressorfromtakinginliquidrefrigerant,whichwouldotherwiseresultin mechanicaldamageandfailure.However,assuperheatingthevapourdoesnotabsorbmuchheat energyfromtheconditionedspaceandalsomakespooruseoftheevaporator,itshouldbe maintainedataminimumlevelof5.07.0K. TheprocesstakingplacewithintheEvaporatorisshownonthePEDiagraminFigure5.Theamount ofenergyabsorbedbytherefrigerantduringvaporisationis167kJ/kg(LatentHeatofVaporisation) andafurther3kJ/kghasbeenabsorbedduringSuperheatingofthevapour.Thetotalofthese(170 kJ/kg)isequaltotheamountofcoolingperformedintheEvaporator(andthespace)andistermed theNetRefrigeratingEffect.

 FIG5 TheCompressor TheSuperheatedrefrigerantvapourleavingtheEvaporatormustberecycledandreturnedtoliquid formforuseattheEvaporator.Inorderfortherefrigeranttobereturnedtoaliquidstateitis necessarytoremoveheatenergybybringingtherefrigerantintocontactwithamedium(sink)ata lowertemperature.Ifthesystemistorejectthisheatenergytooutdoorairduringpeaksummer conditionswheretheairtemperaturemaybeashighas30C,theSaturationTemperatureofthe refrigerantmustberaisedfrom5Ctoahighertemperaturethan30C,say40C.Thisisachieved byraisingthepressureoftheSaturatedVapourleavingtheEvaporatorbypassingthevapour throughaCompressor.ThishigherSaturationTemperatureisknownastheCondensing Temperature.SeeFigure6.

 FIG6 TheprocesstakingplacewithintheCompressorisshownonthePEDiagraminFigure7.Notethat thecompressionprocessfollowsthelinesofConstantEntropy.Therefrigeranthastakenup23kJ/kg ofenergyduringthisprocessandthisistermedtheHeatofCompression.Theresultingleaving temperatureisnowmuchhigherthantheenteringtemperature(70C)andtheCondensingPressure hasbeenraisedto15bar.

 FIG7 TheCondenser TheCondensermustremoveheatenergyfromtherefrigerantandrejectthistoalowertemperature medium(sink),usuallyoutdoor(Ambient)air.AssuminganAmbientTemperatureof30Canda CondensingTemperatureof40C,atemperaturedifferenceof10Kexists.Thisisoftenknownasthe ApproachTemperature.SeeFigure8.

 FIG8 TotalHeatofRejection TheenergythatmustberejectedbytheCondensercomprisestheheatenergyremovedbyeach kilogramofrefrigerantpassingthroughtheEvaporator(170kJ/kg)andtheheatenergyaddedto eachkilogramofrefrigerantpassingthroughtheCompressor(23kJ/kg).Thetotalheatthatmustbe rejectedthereforeequals193kJ/kgandistermedtheTotalHeatofRejection(THR).TheCondenser coilisthereforenormallylargerthantheEvaporatorcoil. ThegasleavingtheCompressorandenteringtheCondenserisconsiderablysuperheated.The CondensermustthereforeDesuperheattherefrigerantfirstby30KuntiltheSaturationTemperature of40Cisreached.(7040=30K). WhentherefrigeranthasreachedtheSaturationTemperature,theCondenserwillthenremove substantiallatentheatenergyastherefrigerantchangesstatefromSaturatedVapourtoSaturated Liquid.ThisenergyisknownastheLatentHeatofCondensation.(417250=167kJ/kg). TheCondensernormallyholdsasmallamountofliquidrefrigerantatthebaseofthecoil.Ifthe systemisfittedwithaLiquidReceiver,theCondensercoilholdsverylittleliquidrefrigerant,asthisis

storedintheLiquidReceiver.Thisliquid,atastartingtemperatureof40C,losesfurtherheatenergy totheairpassingoverthecoilat30C(andwhilstresidinginaLiquidReceiver).Thiscausesthe liquidrefrigeranttobeSubCooledtoatemperaturebelowtheSaturationTemperature.

FIG9 Figure9showsalossof10kJ/kgduetoSubCoolingintheCondenserCoilandtheLiquidReceiver (250240kJ/kg).TheprocessthroughtheCondenserandLiquidReceiveronthePEDiagramis illustratedinFigure9. TheExpansionDevice Therefrigerantisnowavailableasahighpressure,SubCooledliquidforreturntotheEvaporator coilviatheExpansionDevice.Thisisnormallyaregulatingvalve(TEVThermostaticExpansion Valve)withasensorattachedtotheexternalsurfaceoftherefrigerantpipeleavingtheEvaporator coil.TheTEVregulatestheflowofliquidrefrigerantintotheEvaporatorcoilbymaintainingapre setSuperheatvalueattheEvaporatorcoiloutlet.ThisensuresthattheEvaporatorisadequately suppliedwithliquidrefrigeranttomeettheinstantaneouscoolingloadandthattheSuperheatis correctlymaintainedatalevel,whichensuresthebestutilisationofEvaporatorcapacity,whilst ensuringliquidrefrigerant,doesnotreturntotheCompressor.TheTEVwillbestudiedingreater detaillaterintheseries.LiquidrefrigerantenterstheTEVat15bar,aSaturationTemperatureof 40Candatatemperatureof32.5C.Astheliquidrefrigerantpassesthroughthevalvefromthe

highpressureregiontothelowpressureregion,thepressuredropstop5barcausingtheSaturation Temperaturetofallimmediatelyto5Cat5bar.

FIG10 FlashGas Thedropinpressureforcestherefrigeranttoimmediatelydropintemperaturefrom32.5Cto5C andaportionoftherefrigerantisvaporised(FlashGas)astheremainderrejectsheatenergy.Thisis effectivelyalossofrefrigerationcapacitysincelessliquidrefrigerantisnowavailableforsubsequent coolingwithintheEvaporator.Thebalanceofliquidrefrigerantremainingvaporiseswithinthe EvaporatorandisSuperheatedbyapproximately57K.Thecoolingeffectresultingfromthis processisknownastheNetRefrigeratingEffect. TheFlashGasprocessdoesnotresultinanychangeofenergysincetheremainingliquidhaslostan equalamountofenergytothatgainedbythevapourproduced.