COOLING LOAD VERSUS COP CHARACTERISTICS FOR AN IRREVERSIBLE AIR REFRIGERATION CYCLE

The effect of heat resistance on the performance of an air refrigerati on cycle is analyzed with a finite time heat transfer analysis. The pr esent work extends the recent studies on refrigerator performance by i ncorporating nonisentropic compression and expansion. Relations betwee n cooling load and pressure ratio and between COP (coefficient of perf ormance) and pressure ratio for the air refrigeration cycle in which t he irreversibilities of heat resistance losses in the hot and cold-sid e; heat exchangers and nonisentropic losses in the compression and exp ansion processes are derived. The results show that there exists a max imum value of COP and that the cooling load has a parabolic dependence on COP, unlike the monotonically decreasing behaviour in the case of an endoreversible air refrigeration cycle. Published by Elsevier Scien ce Ltd.