R.A.

9299 Republic of the Philippines June 25, 2004

NEGROS ORIENTAL STATE UNIVERSITY

NOHS (1907) I NOTS (1927) I EVSAT (1956) I CVPC (1983)

Kagawasan Ave., Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines 6200

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Main Campus II, Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City 6200

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Multipressure Systems and Cascade Systems

Deevlyn Durango
BSME -III
Multipressure Systems
Multipressure systems in industrial refrigeration A multipressure system is a refrigeration system
that has two or more low-side pressures. The low-side pressure is the pressure of the refrigerant
between the expansion valve and the intake of the compressor. A multipressure system is
distinguished from the single-pressure system, which has but one low-side pressure.
Flash Gas Removal Using Flash Tank
➢ Problems with high temperature lift applications is the high quality of vapor (flash gas) at the inlet
to the evaporator.
➢ Flash gas does not contribute to the refrigeration effect as it is already in the form of vapor, and it
increases the pressure drop in the evaporator.
➢ It is possible to improve the COP of the system if the flash gas is removed as soon as it is formed
and recompressed to condenser pressure.
➢ However, continuous removal of flash gas as soon as it is formed and recompressing it immediately
is difficult in practice.
➢ One way of improving the performance of the system is to remove the flash gas at an intermediate
pressure using a flash tank.

In flash tank the refrigerant liquid and vapor are

separated at an intermediate pressure, Pi using a
low side float valve (process 6-7). The float valve
also maintains a constant liquid level in the flash
tank.

The saturated liquid at point 8 is fed to the

evaporator after throttling it to the required
evaporator pressure, Pe (point 9) using an expansion
valve.
The saturated vapor in the flash tank (point 3) is
either compressed to the condenser pressure or
throttled to the evaporator pressure.
 Intercooling
Instead of compressing the vapor in a single
stage from state 1 to state 2', if the refrigerant is
compressed from state I to an intermediate
pressure, state 2, inter cooled from 2 to 3 and
then compressed to the required pressure (state
4), reduction in work input results. Intercooling
not only reduces the work input but also reduces
the compressor discharge temperature leading to
better lubrication and longer compressor life.

Examples:

1. Calculate the power required by a system of one compressor serving two evaporators. On
evaporator carries a load of 45 kW at 15°C and the other a load of 100 kW at -5°C. A back-
pressure valve reduces the pressure in the 15°C to that of the -5°C evaporator. The
condensing temperature is 40°C. The refrigerant is ammonia. What is the COP?

Solution:

h3 = h4 = h7 = hf 40°C = 390.587 kJ/kg

h5 = h6 = hg at 15°C = 1475.88 kJ/kg
h8 = hg at -5°C = 1456.3 kJ/kg

3 2
Pressure, kPa

40°C

6
729.79 kPa 5
4
355.71 kPa 8 15°C
7
1
-5°C

Enthalpy, kJ/kg
 15°C evaporator
45 45
Mass flow rate, m4 = ℎ = 1475.88−390.587 = 0.0415 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
5− ℎ4

-5°C evaporator
100 100
Mass flow rate, m7 = ℎ = 1456.3−390.587 = 0.0938 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
8− ℎ7

Total mass flow rate, m1 = m6 + m8 = m4 + m7 = 0.0415 + 0.0938 = 0.1353 kg/s

m1h1 = m6h6 = m8h8
(0.1353)h1 = (0.0415)(1475.88) + (0.0938)(1456.3)
h1 = 1462.3 kJ/kg
h2 = h at 1557 kPa and s2 equal to s1 = 1672 kJ/kg
Power = (m1)(h2 – h1) = (0.1353)(1672-1462.3) = 28.37 kW
45+100
COP = = 5.11
28.37

2. Calculate the power required in an ammonia system with serves a 210𝑘𝑊 evaporator at
−20℃. The system uses two-stage compression with intercooling and removal of flash
gas. The condensing temperature is 32℃.

Solution:

𝑃1 = 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡
− 20℃ = 190.74 𝑘𝑃𝑎
𝑃4 = 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 32℃
= 1239.6 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Intermediate pressure for minimum

work,

𝑃2 = √𝑃1 𝑃4 = √(190.74)(1239.6)
= 486.3 𝑘𝑃𝑎
 𝑘𝐽
ℎ1 = ℎ𝑔 𝑎𝑡 − 20℃ = 1437.2
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ2 = ℎ 𝑎𝑡 486.3 𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠2 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠1 = 1563
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ3 = ℎ𝑔 𝑎𝑡 486.3 𝑘𝑃𝑎 = 1465.5
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ4 = ℎ 𝑎𝑡 1239.6 𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠4 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠3 = 1615
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ5 = ℎ6 = ℎ𝑓 𝑎𝑡 32℃ = 351.5
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ7 = ℎ8 = ℎ𝑓 𝑎𝑡 486.3 𝑘𝑃𝑎 = 215.3
𝑘𝑔

Mass flow rate through evaporator,

𝑄𝑒 210 𝑘𝑊 𝑘𝑔
𝑚1 = = = 0.172
ℎ1 − ℎ8 (1437.2 − 215.3) 𝑘𝐽 𝑠
𝑘𝑔

𝑚1 = 𝑚2 = 𝑚7
Mass balance about intercooler
𝑚2 = 𝑚7 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚3 = 𝑚6

Energy balance about intercooler

𝑚2 ℎ2 + 𝑚6 ℎ6 = 𝑚7 ℎ7 + 𝑚3 ℎ3
0.172(1563) + 𝑚3 (351.5) = 0.172(215.3) + 𝑚3 (1465.5)
𝑘𝑔
𝑚3 = 0.208
𝑠

Low stage power = (𝑚1 )(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = 0.172(1563 − 1437.2) = 𝟐𝟏. 𝟔 𝒌𝑾

High stage power = (𝑚3 )(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = (0.208)(1615 − 1465.5) = 𝟑𝟏. 𝟏 𝒌𝑾

Total power = 21.6 + 31.1 = 𝟓𝟐. 𝟕 𝒌𝑾

Cascade System
➢ In a cascade system a series of refrigerants with progressively lower boiling points are used
in a series of single stage units.
➢ The condenser of lower stage system is coupled to the evaporator of the next higher stage
system and so on.
➢ The component where heat of condensation of lower stage refrigerant is supplied for
vaporization of next level refrigerant is called cascade condenser.

➢ The system employs two different refrigerants operating in two individual cycles. They are
thermally coupled in the cascade condenser. The refrigerants selected should have suitable
pressure-temperature characteristics.
➢ An example of refrigerant combination is Carbon Dioxide (NBP = -78.4°C, Tcr = 31.06°C)
in low temperature cascade and ammonia (NBP = -33.33°C, Tcr = 132.25°C) in high
temperature cascade.
➢ It is possible to use more than two cascade stages, and it is also possible to combine multi-
stage systems with cascade systems.

m1 = mass of refrigerant flowing through low temperature cascade system

m2 = mass of refrigerant flowing through high temperature cascade system
210𝑄
𝑚1 = 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑖𝑛
(ℎ1 − ℎ4 )
The mass of refrigerant m2 required in high temp. cascade system in order to liquify the
refrigerant of low temp. cascade system in cascade condenser is obtained by heat balance of
both systems.
 (Heat Absorbed in High Temp. Cascade System) = (Heat Absorbed in Low Temp. Cascade
System)

𝑚2 (ℎ5 − ℎ8 ) = 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 )
𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 ) 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ4 )
𝑚2 = = 𝑘𝑔/ min {∴ ℎ3 − ℎ4 }
(ℎ5 − ℎ8 ) (ℎ5 − ℎ8 )

COP of Two Stage Cascade System

Work done by low temperature cascade system

𝑊1 = 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 )𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑖𝑛

Work done by high temperature cascade system

𝑊2 = 𝑚2 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 )𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑖𝑛
Work done by the cascade system

𝑊 = 𝑊1 + 𝑊2 = 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) + 𝑚2 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 )𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑖𝑛

Power required
𝑊 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) + 𝑚2 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 )
𝑃= = 𝑘𝑊
60 60

Refrigerating Effect
𝑅𝐸 = 210𝑄𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑖𝑛

COP of the system

𝑅𝐸 210𝑄
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = =
𝑊 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) + 𝑚2 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 )

Examples:

1. Consider a two-stage cascade refrigeration system operating between the pressure limits
of 0.80.8 and 0.14 MPa. Each stage operates on the ideal vapor-compression refrigeration
cycle with refrigerant-134a as the working fluid. Heat rejection from the lower cycle to the
 upper cycle takes place in an adiabatic counterflow heat exchanger where both streams enter
at about 0.4 MPa. If the mass flow rate of the refrigerant through the upper cycle is 0.24 kg/s,
determine
(a) the mass flow rate of the refrigerant through the lower cycle,
(b) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space and the power input to the compressor, and
(c) the coefficient of performance of this cascade refrigerator.

(a)
The mass flow rate of the refrigerant through the lower
cycle is determined from the steady-flow energy
balance on the adiabatic heat exchanger.

𝐸𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐸𝑖𝑛

𝑚𝐴 ℎ5 + 𝑚𝐵 ℎ3 = 𝑚𝐴 ℎ8 + 𝑚𝐵 ℎ2

𝑚𝐴 (ℎ5 − ℎ8 ) = 𝑚𝐵 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 )

Substitute the known values in the above equation.

𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝐽 225.93𝑘𝐽 55.16𝑘𝐽
(0.24 ) [251.88 − 95.47 ] = 𝑚𝐵 [ − ]
𝑠 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔

𝑚𝐵 = 0.19𝑘𝑔/𝑠
(b)
Calculate the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space.

𝑄𝐿 = 𝑚𝐵 (ℎ1 − ℎ4 )

= (0.19𝑘𝑔/𝑠)(239.16𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 − 55.16𝑘𝐽/𝐾𝑔)

= 34.96 𝑘𝑊
Calculate the power input to the compressor.
𝑊𝑖𝑛 = 𝑊𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 𝐼,𝑖𝑛 + 𝑊𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 𝐼𝐼,𝑖𝑛

= 𝑚𝐴 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) + 𝑚𝑏 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 )
 = (0.24 𝑘𝑔/𝑠)(270.92 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 − 251.88𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔) + (0.19 𝑘𝑔/𝑠)(255.93𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
− 239.16𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔)
= 7.76 𝑘𝑊

(c)
𝑄𝐿
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑅 =
𝑊𝑖𝑛
34.96 𝑘𝑊
=
7.76 𝑘𝑊
= 4.50

2. In a certain refrigeration system for low temperature application, a two-stage operation

is desirable which employs ammonia system that serves a 30-ton evaporator at −30℃.
The system uses a direct contact cascade condenser, and the condenser temperature is
40℃. Find the following:
(a) The cascade condenser pressure in kPa for minimum work
(b) The mass flow rate in the low- and high-pressure loops in kg/s
(c) The total work
(a) Intermediate pressure or minimum work = √𝑝1 𝑝6 = (119.9)(1557) = 𝟒𝟑𝟐𝒌𝑷𝒂
𝑘𝐽
ℎ1 = ℎ𝑔 𝑎𝑡 − 30℃ = 1422. 86
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ2 = ℎ 𝑎𝑡 432 𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠2 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠1 = 1600
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ3 = ℎ4 = ℎ𝑓 𝑎𝑡 432 𝑘𝑃𝑎 = 200.47
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ5 = ℎ𝑔 𝑎𝑡 432 𝑘𝑃𝑎 = 1461.81
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ6 = ℎ 𝑎𝑡 1557 𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠6 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠5 = 1638
𝑘𝑔
𝑘𝐽
ℎ7 = ℎ8 = ℎ𝑓 𝑎𝑡 1557 𝑘𝑃𝑎 = 390.59
𝑘𝑔

(b) Mass flow rate in the low- and high-pressure loops

𝑘𝐽
𝑄𝑒 (30 ∗ 3.52) 𝑘𝑔
𝑚1 = = 𝑠 = 0.0864
ℎ1 − ℎ4 (1422.86 − 200.47) 𝑘𝐽 𝑠
𝑘𝑔
Low pressure loop
𝑚1 = 𝑚2 = 𝑚3 = 𝑚4 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟔𝟒 𝒌𝒈/𝒔
High pressure loop
𝑚5 ℎ5 + 𝑚3 ℎ3 = 𝑚2 ℎ2 + 𝑚8 ℎ8
𝑚5 ℎ5 + 𝑚1 ℎ3 = 𝑚1 ℎ2 + 𝑚5 ℎ8
𝑚1 2 − ℎ3 ) (0.0864)(1600 − 200.47)
(ℎ 𝒌𝒈
𝑚5 = = = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝟐𝟗
ℎ5 − ℎ8 1461.81 − 390.59 𝒔

(c) Total Work

Work of low-pressure compressor
𝑊𝐿𝑃 = 𝑚1 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = 0.0864 (1600 − 1422.86) = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟑𝟏𝒌𝑾

Work of high-pressure compressor

𝑊𝐻𝑃 = 𝑚5 (ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) = 0.1129(1638 − 1461.81) = 𝟏𝟗. 𝟖𝟗 𝒌𝑾

Total Work = 15.31 + 19.89 = 𝟑𝟓. 𝟐𝟎 𝒌𝒑𝒂