What Refrigeration Cycle is Composed of and How it Works

The refrigeration cycle is composed of 5 main components which will be explained in this essay. There are many different factors that allows refrigeration to work. We’ll also go over the basic principles of refrigeration, how the refrigeration cycle works, and types of heat transfer.

First, I will discuss exactly what happens on the low pressure, low temperature side of the refrigeration system. The refrigerant runs through the expansion valve which regulates the flow of the refrigerant between the high and low side. The low pressure, cool liquid then goes to the evaporator where heat from the inside air is absorbed and changes the liquid to a gas. The hot, low pressure gas then moves to the compressor where it then compressed to a high pressure, hot gas.

Next, the refrigerant moves on to the next side of the refrigeration cycle, which is the high pressure side. The refrigerant leaves the compressor as a high temperature, high pressure gas and then moves to the condenser. At the condenser, the hot gas is condensed back to a liquid and it’s heat is given to the outside air. The refrigerant then moves from the condenser to the expansion valve where the amount of flow is restricted and lowers the pressure as the refrigerant leaves the expansion valve.

There are three different types of ways heat can be transferred, and that is conduction, convection, and radiation. Radiation is a heat transfer that involves heat absorption such as the sun producing heat and the Earth absorbing the heat. Second is conduction, which is the process of heat being transferred through metal. an example of this would be heating up one end of a metal pipe and the other end of the pipe will begin to get hotter. Lastly is convection, which is heat transf...

... middle of paper ...

... heat. The tube-within-a-tube is constructed by placing one tube within a second tube. The shell and tube condenser uses cool water in the tubes and feeds the hot refrigerant in and condenses the refrigerant when it comes in contact with the tubes. Evaporative condenser uses open spray or spilled water to cool a condenser.

The metering device of a refrigeration unit regulates the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator and divides the high from the low pressure side of the system. Capillary tube usually consists of a predetermined length of tubing having a small inside diameter. A thermostatic expansion valve meters the refrigerant based on different temperatures and pressure. The type that operates in response to the evaporator pressure is called an automatic expansion valve. The refrigerant lines carry the refrigerant liquid and vapor between the system components.