AN ANALYTICAL AREAS, NGMQQRzfiPHICAL SQLUTtGN FER 'Z‘HE Oéi’Th‘stUM QF’ERATEQN GP ‘THE WATER-£09m}? REiTREGERA‘i'iC‘N CONQENS‘ER That's. for flu; Degmo sei- 1&4. S. IMCPRGAN 53?;sz COLLEGE Rahal anabé 399543 This is to certify that the thesis entitled ‘ fin Ana/atacAKI and Nomoyraphma/ 5c [cation for “the OpTl-mucm Operai’lOn 07" ('1’)? Wa‘t’er-Con/L’ti REfrlgerth/o” Cbnccp57Jei’ presented by Ra fa e/ B a w on b e has been accepted towards fulfillment , of the requirements for P’i duffel 0 7" "JC’ 9"“, degree in_/\79(1'“M'Ca/ Ehfjlhééb’l'b‘»? Mar prole ssor Date 36C. 7? /9jd4 0-169 Ala" Ai‘iALYTICAL ALQD NOz~iOGRAPHICAL SOLUTION FOR THE OPTIMUM OPEPJiTIOl-J OF TEE} WATER-COOKED EtE FRI GERAT I ON C Oil-DEN SER BY _. I hafae l B awabe A THESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Mechanical Engineering 195M In the water-cooled vapor-compression refrigeration unit the main Operational costs, aside from labor, are for power and cooling water. The relationship between these two is such that, for any given conditions, the amount of power needed would be inversely proportional to the amount Of cooling-water used. The more water used, the lower would be the condensing temperature and consequently less power for compression would he required, if water is expensive and the amount of water used is small the condensing temperature would be high and obviously more power would be needed for the compression of the refrigerant. If one thinks in terms Of the cost of purchasing the water and power, the above relationship would immediately suggest that there must be some Optimum condition at which the total cost Of Operation is a minimum. That is, given the cost of water and the cost Of power, a water-cooled refrigeration unit Operating at some suction temperature would have to Operate at a certain condensing temperature which is the most economical for these conditions. The amount of water and the amount of power to be consumed by this unit must balance each other so that the resulting total cost is a minimum. The paper prOposeSa completely analytical solution for the Optimum condensing temperature taking into consideration all the variables involved. In the derivation of the equations two main assumptions were made: 1) compression is isentropic, 2) the heat to be removed by the condenser is the refrigeration-effect plus the theoretical energy added to the refrigerant by compression. An important part in the derivations is the proof that, for any suction temperature, the relationship between the condensing temperature and the compression required is linear. The solution proposed is in terms of temperatures rather than pressures and so it is applicable to more than a single refrigerant. It is shown that the refrigerant used has very little effect on the sOlution for the optimum condensing temperature. A comparison of the solution prOpOsed with different methods and solutions for the same problem by various authors shows its advantages and simplicity.. In addition the paper also presents a nomographic solution for the Optimum condensing temperature. The nomograph is simple to use and can be used for any water-cooled compression refrigeration unit using any of the common commercial refrigerants. This nomograph is particularly convenient for use by Operators of refrigeration equipment who do not have a technical education. References: Nacintire, H.S.; Egiziggzaiing_Enainaaning, lst rev. ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1940, pp. 181-182 Buehler, L.; Economical Use of Condenser water for Ammonia compression Refrigeration System, Ice and Refrigeration, Vol. 112, No. 1 (January 1947) po.17 Boehmer, A.P.; Condensing Pressures for Air Conditioning, Heating. Pipinggand Air Conditioning. Vol. 18, Nos. 9, 10 (September, October fil946]pp.79,94. I. II. III. Iv. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . DERIVATION OF THE EQUATIONS 0 THE NOMOGRAPHIC SOLUTION . DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS . APPENDIX A. Graphs — Compression vs. Condensing Temperatures . . . . B. BIBLIOGRAPHY . Table - Values for the Factor m 12 21 26 27 I. INTRODUCTION The cost of Operation of any industrial piece of equipment is of prime importance to the engineer, and the problem of achieving Optimum Operating conditions would usually require very careful analysis of en- gineering economics. Often, the actual design of equipment must be directly tied to the initial cost and to the cost of Operation during the useful life of the equipment. The cost of operation itself is usually a function of several variables which have to be adjusted so as to result in minimum eXpenses. In the water-cooled refrigeration units the main Operational costs, aside from labor, are for power and cooling water. The relation- ship between these two is such that, for any given conditions, the amount of power needed would be inversely prOportional to the amount of cooling water used. The more water used, the lower would be the condensing temperature and consequently less power for compression would be re- quired; if water is expensive and the amount of cooling water used is small the condensing temperature would be high and obviously more power would be needed for the compression of the refrigerant. If one thinks in terms of the cost of purchasing the water and power, the above relation- ship would immediately suggest that there must be some optimum condition at which the total cost of Operation is a minimum. That is, given the cost of water and the cost of power, a water—cooled refrigeration unit Operating at some suction temperature would have to Operate at a cer- tain condensing temperature which is the most economical for these conditions. The amount of water and the amount of power to be consumed by this unit must balance each other so that the resulting total cost is a minimum. The main purpose of this paper is to give a solution for the Op- timum condensing temperature taking into consideration all the variables involved. The literature on the subject is quite limited. The problem has been attached by a few different methods (see reference 1, 2, M, 6 and 8 in the Bibliography), however, these references do not offer a generalized, complete and accurate solution. The solution prOposed in this paper is completely analytical and generalized so that it can be applied to any water-cooled refrigeration unit using any of the most commonly used refrigerants. In addition, a nomograph for the solution of the derived equation is given, so thpt an operator of refrigeration machinery without technical training can easily get a solution and adjust for the prOper condensing temperature. II. DERIVATION OF THE EQUATIONS The actual vapor-compression refrigeration cycle differs from the theoretical cycle mostly by the amount of the superheat of the refrigerant in the evaporator and in the lines before entering the com- pressor, and by the degrees of subcooling in the condenser. The calcur lations on the cycle here were based on the following assumptions: 1) 10°F superheating of refrigerant before leaving evaporator. 2) Additional 10°F superheat before entering compressor. 3) 10°F subcooling of the refrigerant before leaving condenser. M) The compression is isentrOpic. The first three assumptions are not essential for the deriva- tion. but the result obtained could be of more practical value to the Operating engineer. It will be shown later that the deviations in the actual refrigeration cycle from the theoretical one would have little influence on the results obtained, however, the assumption that the vapor compression is isentrOpic is quite essential. As it has been stated in the Introduction the principal Opera- tional costs in a refrigeration plant are those for energy and water and hence the two quantities to be considered are the compression to be done by the compressor and the amount of heat to be removed by the condenser. It is clear that if the energy added to the refrigerant by compression is known, then the total heat to be removed in the con- denser is the refrigeration-effect plus this added energy in the compressor. Some additional heat might be added by the friction in the cylinders, however, this is usually compensated by the cooling in the head of the compressor which is done by waste water from the condenser. The amount of heat that might be added by friction, even if no cooling of the head is provided for, is usually quite small when compared with the total heat to be removed by the condenser and it can be neglected here. If one wishes to include this quantity, which is usually unknown and at best can only be roughly estimated, it can be done without any difficulty. The quantity can be added as percentage of the total heat to be removed and its inclusion bears no consequence on the equations derived below. Based on the above assumptions, calculations of the theoretical compression required per ton-hour were made for different refrigerants at various Operating conditions and the results were plotted as shown in Figure l and Figures 1A—5A in the Appendix. The plots show that. for any given suction temperature within the range Of normal operating conditions, the rise in the energy re— quired for compression is linear with the condensing temperature. These results are quite important for the following derivations since they show the increase in the energy required per one degree rise in the condensing temperature is independent of the condensing temperature. The calculations and the plots were based on suction and condensing o u . . . . . . . . \\I\I A\- J .J‘. I .. . . . . . I L; 7:1; lr.t: 1 “(Lia — ( 1' 7w . n 3 . 3,3“ .1». .. ...l . . .|.. --~>1 A temperatures rather than pressures in order to generalize the results for more than one single refrigerant. Now let, A - Cost of power in cents per kw-h B - Cost of cooling water in cents per 1,000 gallons 6 = Overall compression efficiency in % tw1 = Temperature of cooling water entering the condenser in OF tW2 : Temperature of cooling water when leaving the condenser in °F t8 ; Suction or evaporator temperature in 0F tc : Condensing temperature in 0F c a Specific heat in Btu.per lb. per OF m - The increase in energy required for compression caused by raising the condensing temperature one OF, in Btu.per OF per ton of refrigeration per hour All the above quantities are usually known or measurable except for tc’ tw2 and m. tc is the variable whose solution is sought. tw2 is dependent on tc and an assumption is needed here. An assumption of 5°F terminal temperature difference would be quite satisfactory and this value is adOpted in this paper, from this tw . to - 5. Any other value 9 b may be assumed or actually measured and then used in.the equation. m values are nofiiing but the lepes of the lines in Figures lArSA.in the Appendix. (Tabulated values for m, for different refrigerants and differ— ent suction temperature, may be found in Table 1A in the Appendix.) If tug condensing temperature is to be tc, then the theoretical compression work necessary per one ton of refrigeration per hour is: m(tc - ts) Btu, and with.the overall efficiency being e, the energy in- put is: m(tc — t3) 3h12( (37100) Kw—h per ton per hour The total heat to be removed by the condenser is 12,000+m(tc - t8) Btu per ton per hour; from this the amount of cooling water required is: 12,000+ m(tc - ts) lbs. of water per ton per hour cp(tw2 - twl) Introducing the costs of electricity and water and substituting for tw one gets the total cost of Operation for one ton of refrigeration per hour: _, Am(tc - ts) [12,000...m(tc — t 85113 = cent er ton er hour 3m (e/ioo)“' (to - 5 - 1: VI} 8,330 1’ p (l) C cp was assumed to be equal to unity. From thermodynamic considerations in order to minimize the overall cost, 0, the equation should be differentiated.with respect to tc and equated to zero. mB(tc-5-tw1)A - [12,000+m(tc-tafls - o (2) _9_C_ = m 4. '- dtc 314-12(e/100)‘ 8.330 [£3th 5)]? solving from this equation for to: (3) tc = (twl+ 5)t0.o6fiV§_e (twl+ 54,12,000 - 2‘s) The negative sign should be discarded since the condensing temperature cannot be lower than twi+-5. It will be equal to twl+ 5 if water cost 3:0- The final equation then, is: u t .-.(t+ 0.06 .. ( ) c ”’1 5)+ “Ea (twf‘ 5+_1_g_1;_b9_g t8) which is the solution sought for the optimum condensing temperature. III. TEL NOMOGfiAPHIC SOLUTION The construction of a nomOgraph with seven variables is not a simple problem, especially when some of the variables have functional relationships shch that they are not easily separable as in the above equation (Eq. h). The details and proof of the construction of the nomograph presented in this paper (Figure 2), will not be given since fliis is not the primary concern of the paper. however, a brief outline of the method might be of interest and that is given here. The equation tc = (th5)+0.o6u\E e (twig-5+l2m,000 — t8) is separated in the following manner: let K = 0.06 X 6 than. to z (twf5)+KVtw]-'|-5+12,000 - t£3 , m where K now is a variable coefficient of a certain function and it would be one axis in the nomOgraph to be constructed from this reduced equa- tion for tc. To get. this axis write _1_c_ - 0.06% and this type of rela- A V? tionship can be easily represented nomographically by the "double" Z-chart method. In Figure 2, K is the central axis and it is not graduated since its value is not required and the K axis serves only as a pivot-line for the continuation of the nomograph. 10 Now, if constant values are assigned to m and t8 the above re- duced equation bedomes a polynomial in twl of the form: . fl(X)+K f2(X) - L = 0 where,* = t I "l f2(x) - twf5+12,000 - ts m I.-.-tc m and t8 are fixed constants Polynomials of this form have nomographic representation, how— ever, f2(x) here has two "variable constants" in it and the most that one can incorporate within f2(x) for a "net-chart" is one "variable con- stant". In other words, in the construction of a nomograph for the variables x, K and L one can assign an additional variable and for each given value of this added variable a different curve for x results since f2(x) changes with.different values of this constant that is incorporated with it. This additional variable is usually called "variable constant" and the resulting nomograph would have a "network“ between x and this "variable constant". In the above reduced equation there are two such "variable constants", namely, m and t8 and the equation must be reduced.further in order to enable polynomial nomographic representation. Fortunately, it is possible in this case to get a good approximate solution when the above equation is reduced further to include only one "variable constant". Looming at the values for m in Table 1A. in the Appendix it is seen that the variations 11 in m for different refrigerants at any given suction temperature, t8, are quite small and an average value would be quite satisfactory. It is natural than to assume that by assigning a value to t8 the value of m is fixed too, and henCe m and t3 are considered as one “variable con- stant". Now, the construction of the "net-chart" nomOgraph is possible, since f2(x) has been shown to have only one "variable constant". The last assumption or "reduction" in the equation has the ad- vantage of making the nomOgraph completely independent from any primary calculations or finding a value for m, and if one considers tempera- tures only, the refrigerant circulated in the unit has no influence on the results. ri‘he procedure followed in the construction of the nomograph for the reduced equation is quite lengthy and it is not in.the sc0pe of fiiis paper to describe this procedure or prove the construction. The literature on nomography is quite abundant and many authors deal with representation of polynomials by different methods. 5' E40 3 A-COST OF ELECTRICITY, CENTS PER KWH. : 9 s 7 6 5 4 3 2 I .5 .1 L50 EXAMPLE: LL] l I l l l l l l l l I [1111111i1'111 1111 1 I E A=3 d: ; e=15¢ E 15:607. / 5-60 “65°F / : 3" ts=30°F / :_ u] ,: g READ: / I 1— =93°F _—70 < t“ f .. Q: - 1.1.1 : g I : 3 t_ 40 j ' - :30 3—80 ”‘2 as E g % 50 l —40 a): a 1 <7) “+ia;9_0_9 - ts] Since this economical temperature difference depends on tw the 1 problem of control, based on this temperature difference, is not a simple one, but it can be simplified for an approximate solution. The radical in the equation is not too sensitive to changes in twl. With a typical value for m, say m 3 M0 and t3 2 10°F the term 12 000 is ob- m viously dominant and variations in t of 10 to 20°F will not change w 1 the value of the radical appreciably and a seasonal average for twl will be quite sufficient. The control system then will have to measure the inlet temperature of the water, t but control the outlet temperature, wl’ tw2. The economical temperature rise then, is considered as constant. One cf the most important factors in file derivations given in this paper was the proof that m is indepenbnt of’the condensing tempera- ture. This must be modified, since actually it holds true only up to a certain condensing temperature. This can be best seen in the curves used to determine the values for m in Figures lA.-5A. in.the Appendix. 17 All the curves are straight lines up to about tc = ll5°F and above this temperature the lines curve upward. The temperature at which the lines start to curve is different for different refrigerants as can be seen in the different plots. For ammonia, for instance, the lines are straight up to tc = 120°F. The reason for these deviations at high condensing temperatures could be due to the fact that the refrigerant is at high superheat conditions, high pressure and temperature, and the amount of work required to compress it at that region is more than the work needed at lower temperatures and pressures. The constant entrOpy lines on a p-h diagram would indicate this. Fortunately, it is rarely that in a water-cooled condenser it would be economical to operate at condensing temperature higher than 120°F. Economically speaking, high condensing pressures are advisable only when electricity rates are extremely cheap or water costs very high. For most practical purposes the independence of m on tc holds and the equations derived are definitely applicable for most industrial refrigera- tion machinery. The above extensive discussion and derivations might give some distorted.view as to the importance of operating at the Optimum condensing temperature. To be sure, it is quite desirable to operate at the ap- prOpriate conditions, but the optimum solution is not very critical and one should not exaggerate its necessity. An example will best show the effect of deviations from the Optimum condensing temperature. 18 Assume: Refrigerant: Freon 12 t8 = 30°F t, °F u’IYl - 65 Electric rate,A : 3¢ per kw—h Cost of water,B a 15¢ per 1,000 gallons Overall efficiency,e e 60% Interpolating in Table 1A, m = 33. Substituting in eq. u, or from the nomograph (Figure 2), one finds tc = 93°F. Equation 1. can be used now to find the minimum total cost of Operation: c = W 1&9). + (12.000433) (93-30)] 15 = 3u12 ( b0) (93 - 5 - 65) (8.330) 3 3.07i—l.l2 = M.l9¢ per hour per ton. Now, if the unit Operates at tc = lOO°F the total cost of Opera- tion is found to be h.25¢ per hour per ton, and if the unit Operates at tc = 85°F the total cost would be h.32¢ per hour per ton. These differences are not too large to warrant strict adherence to the Optimum to, but the differences grow quite fast as the deviation from the Optimum point gets larger. With large refrigeration units these differences may amount to large sums in.the long run. The problem should not be taken very lightly. Many of the refrigeration plants today Operate without the slightest attention to the problem; either because the Operators are not aware d? it or because of lack of infor- mation on how to achieve Optimum conditions. This is especially true in plants where there is not constant engineering supervision. (There __-fir——_———_———————fi 19 is some severe criticism in the literature for the neglect of this problem) With this in mind the nomOgraph presented in this paper was constructed to facilitate the achievement of a solution by Operators without techni- cal training. In conclusion it will be added that, since solutions for the Optimum condensing temperature are available, it is the duty of the Operating engineer to try and achieve these Optimum conditions. The minimum total cost of Operation of a refrigeration plant can be deter- mined without too much difficulty and it deserves the prOper attention from the refrigerating engineer. APPENDIX mad! man :08 and .ddm SHIIOHNNMSAKOO H>OHHMMOHMH A .. W; M m u m , W. 0 [it”lill . I lint-u... m a. ‘\\ L 08 \ ._\ 1 a .\ . a r A. x .l ,. .1 ‘ ..l_ .. .4; ,_ m \ L 1.. . a l... _l . x x . \f ._ a. Pu . 1 . xl ‘ a 1 .. l. a . x a m l 1' VII—WARM oursnsuma ' AI .01? AS .DI‘I 00]: 09 08 1. VII-mm 0911891309100 0? 86W" :000A 000E 000$ 0001 WWCMWIGI'IMBJJ‘ BIKINI-RUN 8 v M0 8 O JAOITZROGHT re! LI-H :ooom ~0006 ' i 2 B we § ‘_ i r -. a 20°03 5 . I '3 H E8 .00.; ' o . s .0009 0 ~ i am ..,._. . A-.." u ,. .V .l _ . . -W V o 01.: 001 09 08 av 03 "1. HI - MUTAHMI‘ DMZHM’DO A£ .OI‘I out-7.0010709 oe 0v ‘1. VII - WEN 091189110100 AA .012"! 3 S % LHEOBRLICVI‘ 0015153221014 " Ill Bm‘ 1:315 1.0M L315 sons E 3 1.}: AHSHMET 0 H30“ V‘KO T .u to! W . OIL 001 09 08 0V 1' HI - mum emanation la .91! ‘ . 0006. $0003 ZOOOI -- .nb-«l~ -'I-.J- 'v:<‘ . g 1 p _ - . . museum mon- new as ion sinuous 26 TABLE 1A m, THE INCh‘EASE IN ENERGY FOR COIviPh'ESSION CAUSED BY ONE OF RISE IN THE COiEDEl-ISING ‘I’flVIPFLRATURE - IN BTU PER °F PER TON PEP. HOUR g Sucticmr Temperature Ammonia Freon 11 Freon l2 Freon 22 Freon 11h F —l+o 50 1m 54 5*t 57 -2o 1+2 1+0 1+5 1+6 M9 0 36 36 39 no no 25 31* 31 f 32 32 33 50 30 27* 30 30 3o 10. ll. 2? BIBLIOGRAPHY Macintire, H. 8.; Refrigerating Engineering, lst ed. rev. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, l9h0, pp. 181-182 , and.Hutchinson, F. W.; Refrigerating Engineering, 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950 pp. M904E9l Jordan, R. D., Priester, G. 3.; Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, 19N8, pp. EMA-EMS Bushler, L.; Economical Use of Condenser water for Ammonia Com- pression Refrigeration System, Ice and Refrigeration, Vol. 112, No. 1, (January 191+?) pp. 17 . , Good Practice in Condenser Operation, Ice and Refrigeration, Vol. 116, No. 1 (January l9u9), pp. 75-78 Boehmer, A. P.; Condensing'Pressures for Air Conditioning, Heating, Piping and Air Conditioning, Vol. 18, Nos. 9, 10 (September, October, 19M6), pp. 77, 9h Bushler, L., and Boehmer, A. P.; Economical Use of Condenser Water in Compression Refrigeration Systems, Refgigeratigg Engineering. Vol. 57. No. 3 (March l9h9) pp. 251—255 Martin, W. H., and Summers, R. E.; Water-Wise Refrigeration, Power, Vol. 82, No. 7 (Judy 1938), pp. 72-73 On Nomography: Levens, A. S.; Nomography, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 176 pp., lgus Johnson, L. H.; NomOgraphy and Empirical Equations, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 150 pp., 1952 Douglass. R. D., and Adams, D. P.; Elements of Nomggraphy, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York 209 pp., 19h7 28 bIBLIOGRAPHY (Continued) 12. Burrows, W. H., The nomographic Representation of Polynomials, The Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 30 NO. 5, 19u6, PP- 351-375 13. Merchant, M. E. and Zlatin, N.; Nomographs for Analysis of Metal—Cutting Processes.. Mechanical Enggneering. Vol. 67 No. 11 (November 19u5) pp. 737-7Eé u—fie—H _._..-—. ,_,_fi .— ,__‘,_. _ "'Tl't‘fl‘ilfifinmflflflfilflilflfyflfil'mflflifliuflflfif‘