5.

Condensers & Evaporator

Theory at a Glance (For IES, GATE, PSU)

Introduction
Condensers
x Condensers and evaporators are basically heat exchangers in which the refrigerant
undergoes a phase change.
x Next to compressors, proper design and selection of condensers and evaporators is very
important for satisfactory performance of any refrigeration system. Since both condensers
and evaporators are essentially heat exchangers, they have many things in common as far
as the design of these components is concerned. However, differences exist as far as the
heat transfer phenomena are concerned.
x In condensers the refrigerant vapour condenses by rejecting heat to an external fluid,
which acts as a heat sink. Normally, the external fluid does not undergo any phase change,
except in some special cases such as in cascade condensers, where the external fluid
(another refrigerant) evaporates.

Types of Condensers
x Air cooled condensers
In air-cooled condensers air is the external fluid, i.e., the refrigerant rejects heat to air
flowing over the condenser.

x Water cooled condensers

In water cooled condensers water is the external fluid. Depending upon the construction,
water cooled condensers can be further classified into:
1. Double pipe or tube-in-tube type
2. Shell-and-coil type
3. Shell-and-tube type.

x Evaporative condensers
In evaporative condensers, both air and water are used to extract heat from the
condensing refrigerant. Evaporative condensers combine the features of a cooling tower
and water-cooled condenser in a single unit. In these condensers, the water is sprayed
from top part on a bank of tubes carrying the refrigerant and air is induced upwards.
There is a thin water film around the condenser tubes from which evaporative cooling
takes place. The heat transfer coefficient for evaporative cooling is very large. Hence, the
refrigeration system can be operated at low condensing temperatures (about 11
to 13 K above the wet bulb temperature of air). The water spray countercurrent to
the airflow acts as cooling tower. The role of air is primarily to increase the rate of
evaporation of water. The required air flow rates are in the range of 350 to 500 m3/h per
TR of refrigeration capacity.
Evaporative condensers are used in medium to large capacity systems. These are normally
cheaper compared to water cooled condensers.

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Note:
x Natural convective type condensers are used in small capacity systems as the overall
heat transfer coefficient obtained is small.
x Compared to natural convection type, forced convection type condensers have smaller
weight per unit capacity.
x Compared to water cooled condensers, the maintenance cost is low in air cooled condensers
x Normally, systems with water cooled condensers operate at lower condensing temperature
as compared to systems with air cooled condensers.
x The initial cost of water cooled condenser is high compared to air cooled condenser.
x The approximation of constant temperature in a condenser generally holds good as:
a) The heat transfer coefficient in de-superheating zone is smaller than that in
condensing zone.
b) The temperature difference between refrigerant and external fluid in de-superheating
zone is large compared to condensing zone.
x In water-cooled condensers using synthetic refrigerants, fins are used on refrigerant side
due to low condensing heat transfer coefficient.
x Fouling resistance on external fluid side is negligible in air-cooled condensers.

Heat Rejection Ratio

The heat rejection ratio (HRR) is the ratio of heat rejected to the heat absorbed (refrigeration
capacity), that is,

Qc Qe  Wc 1
HRR = = =1
Qe Qe COP
x For a fixed condenser temperature, as the evaporator temperature decreases the COP
decreases and heat rejection ratio increases.
x For fixed evaporator temperature as the condenser temperature increases the COP
decreases hence the heat rejection ratio increases.
x At a given evaporator and condenser temperatures, the HRR of refrigeration systems
using hermetic compressors is higher than that of open compressor systems.

Evaporators
x The liquid refrigerant evaporates by extracting heat from an external fluid (low
temperature heat source).
x The external fluid may not undergo phase change, for example if the system is used for
sensibly cooling water, air or some other fluid. There are many refrigeration and air
conditioning applications, where the external fluid also undergoes phase change. For
example, in a typical summer air conditioning system, the moist air is dehumidified by
condensing water vapour and then, removing the condensed liquid water. In many low
temperature refrigeration applications freezing or frosting of evaporators takes place.

Effect of air and non-condensable

x This is usually a problem with high boiling point refrigerants such as R11, R113 and R718
(water), which operate under vacuum leading to air leakage into the system.
x Compressor work requirement will increase.
x The reduction in heat transfer area causes the temperature difference between cold water
and refrigerant to increase.

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x This raises the condenser temperature and the corresponding pressure thereby reducing
the COP.

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OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS (GATE, IES, IAS)

Previous 20-Years GATE Questions

Types of Condensers
GATE-1 A condenser of a refrigeration system rejects heat at a rate of 120 kW,
while its compressor consumes a power of 30 kW. The coefficient of
performance of the system would be: [GATE-1992; IES-1995, 2011]
(a) 1/4 (b) 1/3 (c) 3 (d) 4
GATE-1 Ans. (c) Heat rejected in condenser = 120 kW: Compressor work = 30 kW;
Net refrigeration effect = 120 - 30 = 90 kW.
Therefore, COP = 90/30 = 3

Previous 20-Years IES Questions

Types of Condensers
IES-1. or small installations of refrigeration systems (up to 35 kW), which type
of condenser is used? [IES-2006]
(a) Shell and tube type (b) Shell and coil type
(c) Double tube type (d) Air cooled type
IES-1. Ans. (c) 1 TR = 3.5 KW
Double Pipe or tube-in-tube type:
Double pipe condensers are normally used up to 10 TR capacity.
Shell-and-coil type:
These condensers are used in systems up to 50 TR capacity.
Shell-and-tube type:
This is the most common type of condenser used in systems from 2 TR upto
thousands of TR capacity.

IES-2. A condenser of a refrigeration system rejects heat at a rate of 120 kW,

while its compressor consumes a power of 30 kW. The coefficient of
performance of the system would be: [GATE-1992; IES-1995, 2011]
(a) 1/4 (b) 1/3 (c) 3 (d) 4
IES-2. Ans. (c) Heat rejected in condenser = 120 kW: Compressor work = 30 kW;
Net refrigeration effect = 120 - 30 = 90 kW.
Therefore, COP = 90/30 = 3

IES-3. A pressure gauge on the discharge side of a refrigerant compressor

reads too high. The reasons could be: [IES-1995]
1. Lack of cooling water
2. Water temperature being high
3. Dirty condenser surfaces
4. Refrigerant temperature being too high
Of these reasons:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 are valid (b) 1, 2 and 3 are valid
(c) 2, 3 and 4 are valid (d) 1, 3 and 4 are valid
IES-3. Ans. (b)

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Heat Rejection Ratio
IES-4. In a vapour compressor refrigeration system, the compressor capacity is
420 kJ/min and refrigerating effect is 2100 kJ/minute and heat rejection
factor is 1.2. What will, respectively be the heat rejected from the
condenser and C OP? [IES-2004]
(a) 5040 kJ/minute and 5 (b) 2520 kJ/minute and 5
(c) 2520 kJ/minute and 4 (d) 5040 kJ/minute and 4
IES-4. Ans. (b) Heat rejection ratio (G)
= The loading on the condenser per unit of refrigeration
Qo  W W 1
1 1
Qo Qo COP
1 1
or G 1  or 1.2 1 or COP 5
COP COP
Given W 420 kJ/min
? Qo 2100 kJ/min or Qo  W 1.2.Qo 2520 kJ/min

IES-5. A refrigeration plant uses a condenser with heat rejection ratio of 1.2. If
the capacity of the plant is 210kJ/min, then what is the value of the COP
of the refrigeration plant? [IES-2005]
(a) 3 (b) 5 (c) 7 (d) 9
Q Q2 1
IES-5. Ans. (b) 1 1.2 or 5 COP
Q2 Q1  Q2 0.2

IES-6. Experimental measurements on a refrigeration system indicate that rate

of heat extraction by the evaporator, rate of heat rejection in the
condenser and rate of heat rejection by the compressor body to
environment are 70 kW, 90 kW and 5 kW respectively. The power input
(in kW) required to operate the system is: [IES-2002]
(a) 15 (b) 20 (c) 25 (d) 75
IES-6. Ans. (c)

IES-7. In vapour compression refrigeration system, at entrance to which

component the working fluid is superheated vapour? [IES-2009]
(a) Evaporator (b) Condenser
(c) Compressor (d) Expansion valve
IES-7. Ans. (b)

Evaporators
IES-8. The deposition of frost on evaporator tubes of an air conditioner will
result in [IES-1992]
(a) Decrease in heat transfer (b) Increase in heat transfer
(c) No change in heat transfer (d) Increase in capacity of evaporator
IES-8. Ans. (a)

Previous 20-Years IAS Questions

Types of Condensers
IAS-1. Assertion (A): Condensers of large refrigerating plants including central air-
conditioning systems are invariably water-cooled. [IAS-1996]
Reason (R): Water is available at a temperature lower than that of the
surrounding air and has a higher specific heat.
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(a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true
IAS-1. Ans. (a) But most important cause is high heat transfer coefficient.

Evaporators
IAS-2. When a refrigeration plant is started, the evaporator temperature
decreases from room temperature to the required value. During this
period, how does the compressor power requirement vary? [IAS-2004]
(a) It increases continuously
(b) It decreases and then becomes constant
(c) It increases, reaches a peak and then decreases
(d) It remains constant
IAS-2. Ans. (a)

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