Development of an Experimental Apparatus for Demonstrating Vapour Compression Refrigeration System

This paper presents the design, construction and performance testing of a refrigeration system for use as experimental apparatus for demonstrating vapour compression refrigeration cycle and basic concepts of thermodynamic principles. The apparatus shows the visual observation of all-important processes. The experimental data were analysed using the first and second laws of thermodynamics to determine the refrigerating effect, the net heat rejected from the system, the compressor work input and coefficient of performance (COP). During the test, the COPs of the system and Carnot cycle were found to be 3.87 and 6.96, respectively. Also, the steady state discharge pressure and the average refrigeration capacity obtained were 830 kPa and 915.8 W, respectively, while the relative and isentropic efficiencies obtained from the system were 55.6 and 86.7%, respectively.