Exergy analysis of a dual-evaporator

refrigeration systems
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 1788, 030011 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4968264
Published Online: 03 January 2017

Matheus M. Dwinanto, Suhanan and Prajitno

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AIP Conference Proceedings 1788, 030011 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4968264 1788, 030011

© 2016 Author(s).
 Exergy Analysis of a Dual-Evaporator Refrigeration
Systems
Matheus M. Dwinanto1, a) Suhanan1,b) and Prajitno1, c)
1Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Gadjah Mada,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

a)Corresponding author: m2dwir3fri@gmail.com

b)suhanan@ugm.ac.id
c)prajitno@ugm.ac.id

Abstract. A performance analysis based on exergetic performance coefficient (EPC) criterion was carried out for a dual-
evaporator vapor compression refrigeration system. The influence of the condensing and evaporating temperature on the
EPC, the coefficient of performance (COP), the second law efficiency and the destruction of exergy will be presented. It is
found that the evaporating and condensing temperatures have strong effects on EPC in the system. Condensing temperature
increases will decrease EPC, COP, and second law efficiency, while evaporating temperature increases will increase the
EPC, COP, and second law efficiency. The EPC increases and the total exergy destruction decreases with decreasing
temperature difference between the evaporator and refrigerated space and between the condenser and ambient temperature.
The EPC can be used for selection of optimal design parameters and the procedures given in this paper for exergy analysis
of a dual evaporator vapor compression refrigeration systems has been applied to actual systems.

INTRODUCTION
Thermodynamic processes in refrigeration systems release large amounts of heat to the environment. Heat transfer
between the system and the surrounding environment takes place at a finite temperature difference, which is a major
source of irreversibility for the cycle. Irreversibilities cause the system performance to degrade. Energy (first law)
analysis is still the most commonly used method in the analysis of the thermal system. The first law is concerned only
with the conservation of energy, and it gives no information on how, where, and how much the system performance
is degraded. Exergy analysis is a powerful tool in the design, optimization, and performance evaluation of energy
system. Exergy analysis also helps in taking account the important engineering decision regarding design parameters
of a system [1]. The first law of thermodynamics is related to energy and work losses, while the second law of
thermodynamics (exergy analysis) takes entropy into account via irreversibilities [2] and as a result, exergy analysis
is useful for improving the efficiency of energy-resource use, since it quantifies the locations, types, and magnitude
of losses [3]. Exergy analysis can be applied to small subsystems [4]. Therefore, it enables a distributed exergy
destruction map over the whole system by which one can find the component with the highest exergy destruction. An
important objective of exergy analysis for systems that consume power such as refrigeration is finding the minimum
power required for a certain desired result. Arora and Kaushik [5] did a detailed exergy analysis of an actual VCR
cycle. They developed a computational model to calculate the COP, exergy destruction, exergy efficiency, and the
efficiency defects for R502, R404A, and R507A for temperature in the range of -50 to 0°C and condenser temperature
range of 40 – 55°C. They concluded that 507A is a better substitute to R502A than that of R404A.
The first serious discussion and analysis of two evaporator refrigeration system were performed by Stoecker [6].
In another major study, a mathematical programming approach to optimize a refrigeration cycle comprising two
evaporators operating at two different temperatures for different types of refrigerant mixtures was developed by Churi
and Achenie [7]. As a result of this study, it was realized that the multi-evaporator cycle could give higher

International Conference on Engineering, Science and Nanotechnology 2016 (ICESNANO 2016)

AIP Conf. Proc. 1788, 030011-1–030011-8; doi: 10.1063/1.4968264
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1452-5/$30.00

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efficiencies compared to the single evaporator cycle. As noted by Li and Su [8, 9] a two evaporator refrigeration
system has a larger surface area for heat recovery and this situation causes a reduction of compressor work. Therefore,
it can be said that two or more evaporators in a refrigeration system show better performance than one evaporator
system. The simulation model developed by Zhu et al. [10] is aimed at the optimal control analysis of multi-evaporator
variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system both in cooling and heating modes. The results obtained from this
study showed that the AGM-I is more applicable then a generic simulation model for multi- evaporator VRF system.
On the other hand, the AGM-II is more applicable for the one evaporator VRF system.
In the study, the main objective is to investigate the actual performance of a dual evaporator vapor compression
refrigeration system based on exergetic performance coefficient (EPC) using R134a as a refrigerant. Exergetic
performance coefficient is defined as the ratio of exergy output to the total exergy destruction rate (or loss rate of
availability), which was applied to various energy system for their performance evaluations [11].

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP AND EXERGY ANALYSIS

A dual-evaporator vapor compression refrigeration system (DERS) consists of a single condenser, dual-
evaporator, single compressor with multiple expansion devices and a back pressure valve. Schematic of the
experimental set up showing measurement system and instrumentation is presented in Fig. 1, and pressure-enthalpy
and temperature-entropy diagram refrigeration unit with the dual evaporator for R134a is presented in Fig. 2.
Experimentally measured parameters were: pressure and temperatures at the state indicated with solid circles, power
to the hermetic compressor, total power to the system including fans, mass flow rate of the refrigerant, volume flow
rate of air through the heat exchangers of the condenser and both evaporator. Experimental studies were carried out at
full conditions, which were for cooling modes. Temperatures at various locations (compressor, condenser, both
evaporators, both thermostatic expansion valves, back pressure valve, mixing chamber and both cabinets) are
measured with T-type (copper-constantan) thermocouples having 0.5 mm diameter with an accuracy of ± 0.1°C. Two
pressure gauges used to measure the evaporation and condensation pressures at the inlet and outlet of the compressor.
Another pressure gauge is placed at the outlet of the condenser to measure the pressure drop in the condenser section.
Four pressure gauges are placed at the inlet and outlet of the both evaporators to measure the pressure drop in the both
evaporators section. The location of all of the pressure gauges and thermocouples are shown in Fig. 1. The mass flow
rate of refrigerant was measured by a rotameter.
Concerning Fig. 1, the back pressure valve that is provided at the outlet of evaporator#2 helps to keep the required
pressure in evaporator#2. Also, it reduces the pressure of vapor at its outlet by throttling process (h16 = h17). The mass
flow rate m2 through evaporator #2 is enough to take its cooling load. The remaining mass flow m1 passes through
evaporator#1 taking care of its load. The pressure ratio to be maintained for the unit is again based on the condenser
pressure and the evaporator pressure corresponding to the lowest temperature evaporator (here evaporator#1). The
coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigeration system becomes [12]:

COP =
(Q̇evap#1
+ Q̇evap#2 )
(1)

Ẇcom p

Exergy analysis of a process is a supplement to energy analysis, used to assess the work potential of the input and
output material and heat streams, and to determine the location and magnitude of irreversibility losses. The aim in an
exergy analysis is usually to determine the exergy destructions in each component of the system and to determine
exergy efficiencies. The components with greater exergy destructions are also those with more potential for
improvements. Exergy destruction in a component can be determined from an exergy balance on the component. It
can also be determined by first calculating the entropy generation and using [13]:

Exdest = T0Sgen (2)

Where T0 is the dead-state temperature or environment temperature. In the refrigerator, T0 is usually equal to the
temperature of the high-temperature medium TH. Exergy destruction for each component of the cycle are as follows:
For compressor
Exdest,exp = T0 S gen,3- 4 = ṁ T0 (s4 - s3 ) (3)

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For condenser
{ Q̇cond H
⎞
(4)
Exdest,evap = T0 S gen,4- 1 = ṁ T0 | s 4 - s3 + |
⎝ TL ⎠

The expansion through the thermostatic expansion valve is a throttling process; thus, the quality and specific entropy
at state 13 and 15 are, respectively [14]:
For thermostatic expansion valve#1
h12 - hf 13
x13 = (5)
hg13 - hf 13
and

s13 = s f 13 + x13(sg13 - s f 13 ) (6)

then
Exdest,tev#1 = T0 S gen,12-13 = ṁ1 T0 (s13 - s12 ) (7)

FIGURE 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup

For thermostatic expansion valve#2
h14 - hf 15
x15 = (8)
hg15 - hf 15
and

s15 = s f 15 + x15 (s g15 - s f 15 ) (9)

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 FIGURE 2. Pressure-enthalpy and temperature-entropy diagram of dual evaporator for R134a

then
Exdest,tev#2 = T0 S gen,14-15 = ṁ2T0 (s15 - s14 ) (10)

For evaporator#1
{ Q̇evap#1 ⎞
Exdest,evap#1 = T0 S gen,6 -7 = ṁ1T0 | s7 - s6 - | (11)
⎝ TL1

For evaporator#2
{ Q̇evap#2 ⎞
Exdest,evap#2 = T0 S gen,4-7 = ṁ2T0 | s7 - s4 - | (12)
⎝ TL 2
For back pressure valve
⎠

Exdest,bpv = T0 S gen,16-17 = ṁ2T0 (s17 - s16 ) (13)

For mixing chamber
[ ]
Exdest,mc = ṁs19 - (ṁ1s18 + ṁ2 s17 ) T0 (14)

The total exergy destruction in the cycle can be determined by the difference between the exergy supplied
(power input) and the exergy recovered (the exergy of the heat transferred from the low-temperature medium):

Exdest,total = Ẇcomp - ExQ̇evap (15)

where
ExQ̇evap = ExQ̇evap#1 + ExQ̇evap# 2 (16)

˙
{ T0 ⎞
(17)
ExQ̇evap#1 = -Qevap#1 |1 - T |
⎝ L1 ⎠

{ T0 ⎞
˙
(18)
ExQ̇evap#2 = -Qevap#2 | 1 - T |
⎝ L2⎠

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The minus sign is needed to make the result positive. Note that the exergy of the heat transferred from low-
te m p e ra tu re m e d iu m is, in fa c t, th e m in im u m p o w e r in p u t to a c c o m p lish th e re q u ire d re fri g e ra tio n lo a d , Q̇evap :
Ẇmin = ExQ̇evap (19)

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The second law efficiency (or exergy efficiency) of the cycle is defined as:

ExQ̇evap
y II = (20)
W˙
comp

To have information about the exergy destruction of the DERS, it is additionally required to have another
performance criterion. Therefore, this study introduced a performance criterion named exergetic performance criterion
(EPC) that gives information about the total exergy destruction rate (or loss rate of availability) to produce a certain
amount of exergy output. The EPC is related to the second law efficiency by [11]

yII
EPC = (21)
1 - yII

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To see the results of EPC analysis for a DERS some important parameters are given and discussed. The
thermodynamic analysis of the DERS has been performed based on the following assumptions:
(i) Steady state, steady flow operation.
(ii) Chemical, kinetic and potential energy and exergy of the components are omitted.
(iii) Pressure drops in the pipe networks are neglected.
(iv ) Saturated states at the single condenser and dual evaporator outlets.
The case model parameters for the analysis of the DERS are chosen as given in Table 1. Effects of condensing and
evaporating temperature on total exergy destruction, COP, the second law of efficiency and EPC of the system are
shown in Fig. 3 – 6.

TABLE 1. Case model parameters for analysis of DERS

Parameters Unit Value
Cooling load evaporator#1 kW 0.9
Cooling load evaporaot#2 kW 0.4
Ambient temperature, T0 °C 31

The total exergy destruction and COP in DERS as a function of the evaporator#1, evaporator#2 and condenser
temperatures are depicted in Fig. 3. The total exergy destruction and COP are influenced remarkably by both
evaporator temperatures, where the total exergy destruction increases with the decrease of both evaporator
temperatures and decreasing COP. In addition, as the condenser temperature increases the total exergy destruction of
the refrigeration system increases and decreasing COP. It is obvious because the higher the temperature difference
between the ambient and the condenser causes the higher exergy losses.
Figure 4 depicts relation of total exergy destruction and exergy efficiency as a function of evaporator and condenser
temperatures. From the curves in Fig. 4, it is apparent that the effect of evapotaror#2 total exergy destruction on exergy
efficiency can be ignored when it is compared to that of evaporator#1 total exergy destruction at the temperature range
studied. The exergy efficiency is not influenced remarkably by evaporator#2. However it increases with the increase
of evaporator#1 temperature. Conversely, exergy efficiency decreases with the increasing value of condenser
temperature. The main factor affecting exergy destruction in evaporator#1 and evaporator#2 is the entropy flow
because of keeping constant the capacities of evaporator#1 and evaporator#2 as 0.9 kW and 0.4 kW, respectively. As
the evaporator temperature increases, this causes the entropy flow across the evaporators to decrease as shown from
the T-s diagrams in Fig. 2. Therefore, the total exergy destruction in the evaporators decreases as the evaporator
temperature increases.

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 FIGURE 3. Relation of total exergy destruction and COP as a function of evaporator and condenser temperatures

FIGURE 4. Relation of total exergy destruction and y II as a function of evaporator and condenser temperatures
The EPC and COP in DERS as a function of the evaporator#1, evaporator#2 and condenser temperatures are
depicted in Fig. 5. The EPC and COP are influenced remarkably by both evaporator temperatures, where the EPC

030011-7
and COP decrease with the decrease of both evaporator temperatures. However, the EPC and COP increase with the
decrease of condenser temperature.

FIGURE 5. Relation of EPC and COP as a function of evaporator and condenser temperatures

FIGURE 6. Relationship of EPC and y II as a function of evaporator and condenser temperatures

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 Figure 6 depicts relationship of EPC and exergy efficiency as a function of evaporator and condenser temperatures.
From the curves in Fig. 6, it is apparent that the effect of evapotaror#2 EPC on exergy efficiency can be ignored when
it is compared to that of evaporator#1 EPC at the temperature range studied. The exergy efficiency is not influenced
remarkably by evaporator#2. However it increases with the increase of evaporator#1 temperature. Conversely, EPC
and exergy efficiency decreases with the increasing value of condenser temperature. The common characteristic of
the figure is that EPC increase with increasing evaporator temperature and decrease with increasing condenser
temperature.

CONCLUSIONS

In this work, an analysis based on exergetic performance criterion (EPC) is presented for the investigation of the
effects of the condensing and evaporating temperatures on the total exergy destruction, the coefficient of performance,
and the second law efficiency of a dual evaporator vapor compression refrigeration system. It is found that the
condensing and evaporating temperatures have strong effects on the EPC, the second law efficiency and COP of the
system. The EPC, the second law efficiency and the COP increases, and the total exergy destruction decrease with
decreasing temperature difference between the evaporator and refrigerated space and between the condenser and
ambient temperature. The EPC can be used for selection of optimal design parameters and the procedures given in this
paper for exergy analysis of a dual evaporator vapor compression refrigeration systems has been applied to actual
systems.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the Ministry of Research, Tech., and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia and LPPM
University of Nusa Cendana for supporting this research and paper through The Grant 2016.

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