What is Refrigerant: Definition and 35 Discussions

A refrigerant is a working fluid used in the refrigeration cycle of air conditioning systems and heat pumps where in most cases they undergo a repeated phase transition from a liquid to a gas and back again. Refrigerants are heavily regulated due to their toxicity, flammability and their contribution to ozone depletion and climate change.

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  1. S

    B Compressed R134A refrigerant as a store of energy?

    How much energy is used to compress e.g. 0.8 Kg (typical mass in a typical fridge freezer; edit: I've just seen that 0.8 kg is not normal at all; it's more like 150 g - this means my idea should be quite cheap and compete well with rechareable batteries) R134A refrigerant and could it be...
  2. B

    Refrigerant state in/at saturation

    Hey everyone. Bit of a random question. So when refrigerant has been fully condensed I understand that it's a liquid, just like a glass of water, albeit under pressure and with no gas above it. When the refrigerant has been superheated it's just a gas, like you would get if you took a sealed...
  3. D

    B HFC-134a Refrigerant & 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

    I am trying to reconcile HFC-134a refrigerant with the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. I shouldn't be able to extract useful work from a single temperature reservoir. Suppose I use a refrigeration / heat pump cycle with HFC-134a as shown below. -Compressor adds 29 kJ/kg increasing refrigerant...
  4. L

    Can any type of refrigerator work without a chemical refrigerant?

    I was just wondering if a mini fridge could ever work on electricity alone with no toxic chemicals inside?
  5. S

    The reservoir of refrigerant between condenser & metering device

    When I was looking at the list of related threads to my thread "How does metering device in an A/C cause flash gas", I noticed an interesting thread titled "How does low charge on an A/C cause the subcooling to be low". PeterDonis and fourthindiana had an interesting conversation on that...
  6. M

    Condenser calculations - uncertainty

    A water cooled plate condenser, condensing refrigerant. Heat exchanger (condenser with plates) characteristics: Description symbol value value (converted) number of plates np 28 number of channels nc 27 number of water channels nwc 14 number of flowing channels for refrigerant...
  7. S

    Refrigerant - mass flow, power, COP

    This is a past exam Q, I don't have the attached pressure enthalpy diagram. Q = 120kW Cp = Refrigerant enthalpy = I've looked this up, for ammonia enthalpy = 35.06 kJ / mol T2 = 5 degrees C = (5 deg C) (1100 kPa/300 kPa) = 18.33 deg C +273.15 K = 291.48 K T1 = 2 degrees C = (2 deg C)(1100...
  8. F

    Why did the superheat go up as I added refrigerant?

    On Friday I worked on a straight air-conditioner (A/C) package unit on the roof of an industrial facility. The straight A/C uses R-22 refrigerant. The straight A/C has a fixed orifice metering device. The compressor of the straight A/C was cold and had condensation on it. The dataplate for...
  9. D

    Could Isoprene Be the Perfect Replacement for Harmful Refrigerants?

    As many refrigerants are being replaced due to environmental concerns, it seems to me that isoprene could be safe and inexpensive but has not been used. Am I missing something? Its higher boiling point can be compensated by working slightly below atmospheric pressure.
  10. M

    Refrigerant Storage in Off System: Gas or Liquid?

    WHERE is the refrigerant stored in the refrigeration system when the system is in OFF and in WHAT state Gas or Liquid ?
  11. F

    I Can an air-only refrigerant system effectively cool a freezer?

    How about using air inside the freezer as a refrigerant instead of some refrigerant gas ( such as Freon/Ammonia.). We can Compress the air inside the freezer in the compressor, loose the heat and leave the thus cooled air back in the freezer. ; and the cycle continues. What are the problems...
  12. M

    Phase of refrigerant crossing heat exchanger devices

    When a refrigerant crosses a heat exchanger device or has some heat added into it, like condenser/evaporator or boiler/cooling tower, does the phase always change? If that's so, why? Or do we need to check if the temperature is above or under the boiling point?
  13. N

    I Properties of refrigerant R410B

    hi，all. I want to calculate thermodynamic properties of refrigerant R410B. I get some data from www.eThermo.us Can anyone tell me if the accuracy of this website is OK? I use these data for my heat exchanger design. Thank you! Ning
  14. W

    What is the Chemistry Behind Refrigerant Blends?

    I think this is a chemistry question... Due to the Montreal Protocol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Protocol) and subsequent phase-out schedule for all the “conventional” refrigerants, many/most of us in the HVAC service industry are consequently working with “interim” alternatives for...
  15. A

    Liquid refrigerant pressure and temperature

    Consider a sealed can of liquid refrigerant-134a in a room at 25 •C .Now if the lid is opened slowly and some refrigerant is allowed to escape, the pressure and temperature in the can start dropping rapidly.A thermometer inserted in the can will register -26°C when pressure drop to 1 atm. ,which...
  16. T

    Can variable refrigerant flow outdoor units be combined

    Hey, I noticed that some manufacturers have provided data for pre-combined (2 or 3 modules) to achieve higher loads (limited to about 60 refrigeration tons).I was wondering if a designer could combine modules to achieve a greater even larger(different) loads or am i limited to the combinations...
  17. S

    Exploring Cascade Cryogenics: From Methylene Chloride to Liquefied Air at 70K

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/reaching-ultra-low-temperatures.html is this thing accurate? It uses methylene chloride as first refrigerant, then ethene, and then oxygen, and gets to liquefy air...down to 70kelvins after researching the very small info on the net about cascade...
  18. M

    Refrigerant for AC and refrigerator

    Can we use same refrigerant for both air conditioner and refrigerator?
  19. P

    I need some kind of propellant gas for an experiment

    For the past year or so, I've been experimenting with Isobutane. I used to get it in relatively cheap canisters of r600a from amazon.com and AliExpress, and that worked fine. Now, however, AliExpress has NO purchase options for r600a, and amazon.com will not ship it to the US, even though they...
  20. P

    Refrigerator Compressors Already have Refrigerant?

    I am a little confused, because I know how refrigerators work with a refrigerant and a compressor and heat exchanges, and I am looking to build one myself, just wondering because I was looking for refrigerator compressors online to buy. Do they have an inlet for refrigerant or is the...
  21. marellasunny

    AC refrigerant in cars,greenhouse effect reasoning

    I'm a mechanical engineer and am learning about the different refrigerants used. 2 of them seem to be the most popular- R134a(C2H2F4) and R1234yf(C3H2F4). Why is it that R134a is rated at a Greenhouse effect(GWP) of 1430 where R1234yf is rated at a GWP of 4? Both refrigerants produce...
  22. F

    Does Coefficient of Performance depend on refrigerant used?

    Homework Statement Does Coefficient of Performance for refrigeration cycle depend on refrigerant used? In reference to vapor-compression cycle Homework Equations COP = \frac{1}{\frac{T_{H}}{T_{L}}-1} The Attempt at a Solution I am split in my answer to this question. I...
  23. V

    Refrigerant Gas Pressure for AC

    Recently we had a troubleshooting session on our Split type Air conditioner and the mechanic refilled the refrigerant gas to 70 psi pressure. He had been working in a medical college cum hospital and having specialized in AC and refrigeration, he said that mortuaries are being refrigerated to...
  24. T

    Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (Exhaust Gas to Refrigerant)

    Hi there, I am doing a project modelling and simulating a gas engine waste heat recovery system using an organic rankine cycle. As part of this project I would like to size the surface area of a heat exchanger (if only roughly). I have found the appropriate formula using Q = U.A.LMTD and...
  25. D

    Can I Use High Pressure Natural Gas to Cool My Home?

    I have a large volume of (free) natural gas sitting at 5,000 psi. I'd like to pass the gas through an orifice, give it room to expand on the backside, and use that to chill glycol. I would like to drop the output pressure to 100 psi in the process. I wish to use the chilled glycol to cool...
  26. S

    Modal Analysis of AC Unit: Refrigerant Considerations?

    For doing modal analysis of suction and discharge side of an air-conditioning unit, is it needed to consider the inside refrigerant?
  27. A

    Chilled Beams vs. Variable Refrigerant Flow

    Can somebody give me a scenario when chilled beams would be the preferred method of conditioning and ventilation as opposed to the variable refrigerant flow systems? I have heard a lot about chilled beams, but I'm not sure they are ever going to really get popular in the US, because I don't...
  28. JJBladester

    Electrical work in a piston-cylinder filled with refrigerant

    Homework Statement 0.8kg of saturated liquid R-134a with an initial temperature of -5 °C is contained in a well-insulated, weighted piston-cylinder device. This device contains an electrical resistor to which 10 volts are applied causing a current of 2 amperes to flow through the resistor...
  29. B

    Calculate refrigerant temp inside evaporator based on exit temp and pressure

    Hi guys, I'm stuck on some thermodynamic calculations and I would really appreciate some help! I'm trying to calculate the refrigerant temperature inside of an evaporator (two-phase lumped parameter model) based on the exit temperature of the evaporator and the pressure. I've understood that...
  30. P

    Why does the refrigerant in an air-conditioner's evaporator become cold?

    I believe that when refrigerant in an air-conditioner's evaporator boils into gas, the pressure on the refrigerant goes down tremendously. I believe that the drop in pressure on the refrigerant when it becomes a gas causes the temperature of the refrigerant to drop. I believe this because I...
  31. P

    Air Conditioners - The Refrigerant Cycle

    I was taking a look at how air conditioners work. After reading some texts in websites I decided to try a video. The concept seems pretty simple but I came across two things I did not quite grasp: 1st. When the refrigerant enters the compressor it is a hot gas because the air in the room lost...
  32. Saladsamurai

    Compressibility of a Refrigerant

    I am going to be running some experiments with refrigerants. They will be at various temperatures and pressures. I will then be doing some modeling of certain phenomena. I would like to be able to quantify whether the ideal gas model is reasonable during certain stages of the experiment. My...
  33. A

    Calculate COP & VCC for Refrigerant - Urgent Help Needed

    COP of a Refrigerant...Urgent Please Help! How do you find the COP ( Coefficient of Performance ) of a Refrigerant if you know the basic details of the refrigerant such as: Critical tempertaure Critical Pressure w Cp Also I am trying to calculate the VCC as well!? Any advice would be...
  34. L

    Looking For A Refrigerant Fluid

    Howdy PFers! I hardly ever make it into this particular Forum, but I was wondering if any of you know of a refrigerant that evaporates at or around 50° F? Any assistance would be appreciated.
  35. M

    Organic Rankine cycle refrigerant expander?

    I am working on a project to design an organic Rankine cycle to convert low temperature thermal energy (waste heat or geothermal) into electrical energy. We are trying to select an expander to extract work from the pressure differential in the refrigerant. The refrigerant (ammonia or R134a)...
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