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Thermodynamic heat pump cycles or refrigeration cycles are the conceptual and mathematical models for heat pump, air conditioning and refrigeration systems. [1] A heat pump is a mechanical system that transmits heat from one location (the "source") at a certain temperature to another location (the "sink" or "heat sink") at a higher temperature. [2]
The most common refrigeration cycle is the vapor compression cycle, which models systems using refrigerants that change phase. The absorption refrigeration cycle is an alternative that absorbs the refrigerant in a liquid solution rather than evaporating it. Gas refrigeration cycles include the reversed Brayton cycle and the Hampson–Linde cycle.
Figure 1 provides a schematic diagram of the components of a typical vapor-compression refrigeration system. The thermodynamics of the cycle can be analyzed on a diagram [74] as shown in Figure 2. In this cycle, a circulating refrigerant such as a low boiling hydrocarbon or hydrofluorocarbons enters the compressor as a vapour.
A refrigerant is employed either in a heat pump system in which a compressor is used to drive thermodynamic refrigeration cycle, or in a free cooling system that uses pumps to circulate a cool refrigerant (typically water or a glycol mix). It is imperative that the air conditioning horsepower is sufficient for the area being cooled.
To complete the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator is again a saturated vapor and is routed back into the compressor. Over time, the evaporator may collect ice or water from ambient humidity. The ice is melted through defrosting cycle. An internal heat exchanger is either used to heat/cool the interior air directly ...
A cascade refrigeration cycle is a multi-stage thermodynamic cycle. An example two-stage process is shown at right. (Bottom on mobile) The cascade cycle is often employed for devices such as ULT freezers. [1] In a cascade refrigeration system, two or more vapor-compression cycles with different refrigerants are used.
A thermal expansion valve is a key element to a heat pump; this is the cycle that makes air conditioning, or air cooling, possible. A basic refrigeration cycle consists of four major elements: a compressor, a condenser, a metering device and an evaporator. As a refrigerant passes through a circuit containing these four elements, air ...
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