Refrigeration systems with two-stage compression are used for the generation of particularly low temperatures. At very low temperatures large pressure differences are required between the evaporator and condenser. In a compressor the volumetric efficiency drops significantly at high pressure ratios. Therefore, two compressors are connected in series, with each compressor only having a relatively low pressure ratio. This makes a more favourable dimensioning of the low pressure stage compressor possible. Due to the large specific volume it requires a larger capacity at lower drive power. In addition, intercooling between the low pressure compressor (LP) and the high pressure compressor (HP) reduces the outlet temperature of the HP compressor to harmless values and improves the efficiency of the compression.
The unit perform the following experiments and investigations:
Learning Objectives / Experiments
Design and components of a refrigeration system
Compressor
Condenser
Thermostatic expansion valve evaporator
Pressure switch
Representation of the thermodynamic cycle in the
Log p-h diagram
Determination of important characteristic variables
Coefficient of performance
Refrigeration capacity
Compressor work
Operating behaviour under load
Specification
Investigation of a refrigeration circuit with water circuit as load
Refrigeration circuit with compressor, condenser with fan, thermostatic expansion valve and coaxial coil heat exchanger as evaporator
Water circuit with pump, tank with heater as cooling load at the evaporator
Heater with controller to adjust the tank temperature
Record of all relevant measured values and display directly at the location of measurement
Software for data acquisition via USB under Windows Vista or Windows 7