Pressure-Enthalpy Diagrams: Aturation Ubcooling AND Uperheat
Pressure-Enthalpy Diagrams: Aturation Ubcooling AND Uperheat
Chapter 9
Pressure-enthalpy
Diagrams
One diagnostic tool that is available to everyone but seldom used is the
pressure-enthalpy (P-H) diagram, sometimes called the Mollier diagram.
This tool is used by most design engineers, but unfortunately it is over-
looked by service technicians.
The important thing to remember about the P-H diagram is that it cannot
be used to plot every system that is serviced. However, just learning the
chart provides a new and fresh insight on what is happening inside the
system.
The P-H diagram is a simple, graphic way to plot a system cycle and ob-
serve its characteristics. No two systems are exactly alike. Each one has its
own personality. When using the diagram, a single pound of refrigerant is
followed completely around the system in order to learn when and where
it changes states and what those changes mean. Since only one pound of
refrigerant is followed, the diagram may be applied to any size system. The
pounds per minute circulated will determine the total system capacity . To
better understand this process, some basics must be reviewed, starting with
diagram construction.
A good method for learning about the three conditions is to study water,
which is something most people are familiar with. W
ater and refrigerant are
The diagram in Figure 9-1, plots the heat content of water in Btu/lb along
the horizontal axis versus the temperature in °F along the vertical axis.
There are two types of heat involved in the process depicted in Figure 9-1:
sensible heat and latent heat. Sensible heat involves a change in temperature,
and latent heat involves a change of state (at a constant temperature). The
diagram is plotted at 0 psig (atmospheric) pressure. As the water is warmed
from 52°F to 212 °F, only sensible heat is used. This is because the only
change experienced is a change in temperature. Since subcooling is defined
as the number of degrees the liquid temperature is below its saturation
temperature, the liquid is in the subcooling state. At 52°F, the subcooling is
160 °F (212 °F – 160 °F = 52 °F). At 212°F, the subcooling is 0 °, because it has
reached the saturation point.
When the water reaches its saturation point of 212 °F at atmospheric pres-
sure, boiling will start at a constant temperature as long as the pressure
remains constant. During this change of state from a liquid to a vapor, the
water absorbs approximately 1000 Btu for each pound of water evaporated.
This is called the latent heat of evaporation.
Since all of the conditions shown on the diagram occur at one pressure (0
psig), it is obvious that just taking a pressure reading will not indicate what
the system is doing. In order to determine if the refrigerant is subcooled,
saturated, or superheated, the temperature at a given point must also be
known. Whenever the pressure reading is taken, immediately check a pres-
sure-temperature (p-t) chart to see what the saturation temperature is for
the refrigerant at that pressure. When the temperature at that point is
known, it can then be determined if the refrigerant is subcooled, saturated,
or superheated. If the temperature is above the saturation temperature, then
it is superheated. If the temperature is below the saturation temperature,
then it is subcooled. If the temperature is the same as the p-t chart indicates,
then both saturated liquid and saturated vapor are present.
Saturated Zone
Any time the refrigerant is inside the envelope or dome, it is in thesaturated
zone. When a refrigerant is saturated, it contains both liquid and vapor. The
right-hand curve of the saturated zone is the 100% saturated vapor line, and
the curve on the left-hand side of the zone is the 100% saturated liquid line.
Some P-H charts have a series of vertical lines within the saturated zone.
These lines indicate the percentage of vapor along each line. Saturation
occurs in the evaporator, where the refrigerant changes state from a liquid
Superheated Zone
To the right of the 100% saturated vapor line is the superheated vapor zone,
where the refrigerant is above the saturation temperature. The superheated
condition should exist from within the outlet of the evaporator to within the
inlet portion of the condenser. The superheat measurement is the tempera-
ture of the vapor minus the saturation temperature at a given pressure.
Subcooled Zone
To the left of the 100% saturated liquid line is the subcooled liquid zone. The
refrigerant is in the liquid state, and its temperature is below the saturated
temperature at a given pressure. The subcooled condition should exist from
the outlet of the condenser to the inlet of the expansion device. The amount
of subcooling is found by subtracting the temperature of the liquid from the
condensing temperature at a given pressure.
Critical Point
The critical point on the P-H diagram is located where the saturated liquid
curve and the saturated vapor curve converge. At any temperature above
this point, the refrigerant may exist in the vapor condition only
.
Most refrigeration gauges read in pounds per square inch gauge (psig)
above atmospheric pressure. At sea level, or 0 pounds gauge, the pressure
would be 14.7 pounds of atmospheric pressure. Pressures below 0 psig are
considered a partial vacuum and read in inches of mercury (Hg). A perfect
vacuum is defined as 0 pounds per square inch absolute (psia). The P-H
diagram in Figure 9-3 is scaled for absolute pressure.
Most computations use psia. To obtain absolute pressure simply add 14.7
psi to the gauge reading in psig. For example, to convert a gauge pressure
reading of 10 psig to psia, add 10 psig + 14.7 psi. This gives an absolute
pressure reading of 24.7 psia. Many people forget to make this conversion
when reading the P-H diagram. Always convert pressures to absolute for
this use.
Enthalpy represents the total heat content in Btu per pound. The enthalpy
scale shown in Figure 9-4 is usually shown at both the top and bottom of
the diagram, and the lines of constant enthalpy run vertically.
In Figure 9-5, please note that the lines of constant temperature run almost
vertically in the superheated zone, horizontally in the saturated zone, and
vertically in the subcooled zone.
to the right from the saturated vapor line, Figure 9-6. Entropy is used
mainly for engineering calculations. The main concern of the service tech-
nician is that when the refrigerant is compressed, it follows up the line of
constant entropy,
The lines of constant volume extend out from the saturated vapor line into
the superheated zone, Figure 9-7. These values indicate how much space
(cu ft) is taken up by each pound of refrigerant vapor.
To draw a simple ideal cycle, only two pressures are required: the evapo-
ration pressure and the condensing pressure. They are also called the high
side and low side pressures. Do not forget to add 14.7 psi to the gauge read-
ings to obtain the absolute pressure required for the diagram. Figure 9-8
shows the condensing and evaporating horizontal pressure lines.
Next, drop the expansion line down from the intersection of the condensa-
tion line and the saturated liquid line to intersect with the horizontal evapo-
ration line, Figures 9-9 and 9-10.
Figure 9-12 shows a pound of refrigerant as it travels around the ideal cycle.
The refrigerant leaves the compressor as high pressure vapor in a highly
superheated condition (line a to b). The refrigerant vapor is compressed and
thereby condensed into a liquid with such cooling media as air or water. It
is then reused for another cycle. As the pound of refrigerant moves left,
horizontally along the condensing pressure line, the condenser must re-
move the superheat before it reaches the 100% saturated vapor line (line b
to c).
CONDENSATION LINE
EVAPORATION LINE
Condensation starts when the refrigerant crosses the saturated vapor line
(point c) into the saturated zone. Note that as the refrigerant moves along
the constant pressure line in the saturated zone, the temperature remains
constant. When the pound of refrigerant reaches the 100% saturated liquid
line (point e), all of the vapor has condensed to a liquid.
The next step is the expansion process, during which the pressure is
dropped suddenly from high pressure to low pressure within the expansion
CONDENSATION
EXPANSION
N
O
SI
ES
PR
M
O
C
EVAPORATION
Do not forget, this is just the ideal cycle. A more realistic cycle will be dis-
cussed later in the chapter .
The quantities that can be obtained are the heat of rejection, the refrigerat-
ing effect, the circulation rate, the compression ratio, the work of compres-
sion, the coef ficient of performance, the volume rate of flow per ton, and
the power per ton. The purpose of this presentation is to help the technician
better understand the refrigeration cycle through the study of the P-H dia-
gram and not to confuse things with a lot of mathematical formulas; there-
fore, we will just discuss the first four points mentioned above. For the
clarification of these points, we will consider an R-22 system that develops
10 tons of refrigeration while operating with a 90°F condensing temperature
and 20 °F evaporating temperature.
Heat of Rejection
The heat of rejection is the heat given up by the condenser , Figure 9-13. If the
one pound of refrigerant has an enthalpy (total heat content) entering the
condenser of 1 18 Btu/lb (h3) and an enthalpy leaving the condenser of 38
Btu/lb (h1), the difference is the heat given up by the condenser . Note that
the condenser is rejecting the heat picked up by the evaporator plus the
heat of compression. The heat of compression is the heat added to the refrig-
erant by the work done by the compressor. Use the following formula to
find the heat of rejection:
where: h = enthalpy
Refrigerating Effect
Refrigerating effect is the heat absorbed by the evaporator , as indicated by h2
Circulation Rate
If the refrigerating capacity is known, we can then determine the total cir-
culation rate in lb/min by dividing the capacity in Btu/min by the refriger-
ating effect of 69 Btu/lb.
80 Btu/lb
69 Btu/lb
Compression Ratio
The compression ratio is the absolute discharge pressure divided by the ab-
solute suction pressure, Figure 9-15. Consequently , the higher the suction
pressure the lower the compression ratio at a given discharge pressure.
Also, the lower the discharge pressure the lower the compression ratio.
211 psia
58 psia
Effect of
Subcooling Liquid
Actual
Operating Cycle Pressure loss
in Compressor
Discharge Valves
Pressure loss
in High Side
Piping
Ideal
Saturated Pressure loss
in Low Side
Cycle Piping
Pressure loss
in Compressor
Suction Valves
By observing the diagram, it is evident that moving the point where com-
pression starts toward the left decreases the chances of running excessively
high discharge temperatures, which result in refrigerant-oil breakdown.
The following are some ideas to reduce the discharge temperature:
The idea behind all of these steps is to move the compression line further
to the left by decreasing the superheat and the discharge gas temperature.
Also, if the superheat in the evaporator is too high, lowering it to the rec-
ommended amount increases the evaporator capacity, because it contains
more refrigerant. This also raises the suction pressure, which results in a
lower compression ratio, which in turn increases system capacity.
Some people equate frost with liquid refrigerant presence. Do not adjust
the superheat to a frost line. Admittedly
, there could possibly be some liq-
uid present when frost is present, but not always. It depends on the oper-
ating pressures and temperatures of the system.
Suppose the subcooling at the receiver is only 2 °F, and there is a 10 ft lift
in the liquid line to the expansion device. There would be a minimum 5 psi
pressure drop, because there is a 1/2 lb drop for every foot of lift. Add to
this the line loss drop due to friction, plus the drop through the accessories.
As shown in Figure 9-16, the pressure drop could carry the refrigerant
down into the saturation zone where vapor would exist.The challenge is to
move the vertical line to the left by subcooling or to elevate the horizontal
pressure line so that even with the pressure drops there will still be
subcooled liquid in the subcooled zone.
The following are some suggested methods to increase the subcooling and
move the vertical line to the left:
Expansion Line
Most P-H diagrams show the expansion line as the pressure drop only
through the expansion device. This is true is some cases, but over the years
there has been a tremendous increase in the use of refrigerant distributors.
For this reason, a distributor has been added to the example. The drop from
the thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) inlet to the evaporator inlet in-
cludes both the TXV and distributor. If a system were operating under full
load (200 psig at the TXV inlet and 70 psig at the evaporator inlet), the total
pressure drop would be 130 psig. However, the drop across the TXV would
be about 100 psig, and the distributor tubes would be approximately 30
psig. This must be considered when selecting the TXV.
If the EPR valve is located in the machine room and there is a superheat of
about 40 °F at the EPR location, then the pressure would be dropped down
20 psi from this point. Notice that since the plot is in the superheated zone,
the temperature lines run almost vertically and thus only a slight tempera-
ture change would be detected, if any. If the operation was in the saturation
zone then there would be a dramatic temperature drop.
The P-H diagrams that follow are used by permission of DuPont Suva®
Refrigerants.