Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

• The basic electric power and control elements

for refrigeration and air- conditioning are
outlined below:
• Refrigeration
• The safe storage of food necessitates that it is maintained
at low temperatures which requires the process of
refrigeration.
• For bulk foods one large industrial refrigeration plant will
serve separate cold rooms for the storage of meat, fruit
and vegetables, dairy products, etc.
• Smaller domestic sized refrigerators are used to meet the
daily catering needs in the galley, pantries, duty mess
rooms and in cabins.
• The refrigeration process is also utilized in deep-freezers,
water- chillers and air-conditioning plant.
• Large scale cargo space refrigeration is also necessary for
the transportation of foods and certain liquid chemicals
and gases.
• Whatever the size or role of the ship's
common to them all.
• Each will have an evaporator (cooling unit), a
refrigerant compressor and a condenser.
refrigerators, the basic principle is
• The refrigerant is generally Freon-12 or Freon-
22, but ammonia is also used in large systems.
Freon re- frigerants in general use are
colourless and almost odourless, while also
being non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-
flammable. However, when exposed to an
open flame, a highly toxic phosgene gas is
produced.
• Additional components to the basic
refrigerant cycle may include filter-driers, heat
exchangers, accumulators and pre-coolers.
Also required are the operating and protective
controls such as thermostats, relays, defrost
controls and over current trips.
• Above the domestic sized refrigerator, the
compressor motor will invariably be a 3-phase
type driving a reciprocating compressor.
• The domestic version will usually be a single-
phase motor driving a rotary compressor.
• The basic refrigerant circuit of a direct (or
primary) expansion system used for the
cooling of meat and vegetable rooms is
outlined in Fig. 5.14.
• Each cold room is fitted with a thermostat
which operates a solenoid valve between set
temperature limits.
• The quantity of refrigerant flowing in the
system is regulated by the expansion valve.
• This valve is controlled by a liquid phial
connected by a capillary tube attached to the
vapor return pipe at the outlet of the
evaporator.
• When the room temperature falls to the pre-set
level, the thermostat de-energises the solenoid
valve to stop circulation of the refrigerant.
• The resulting pressure drop in the compressor
suction line will operate a low-pressure cut-out
valve and stop the compressor.
• The rooms or compartments are cooled by
natural air circulation through the evaporator
coils or by forced-air from a fan blowing across a
bank of cooling tubes.
• In a domestic refrigerator the cooling effort is
controlled by using a control thermostat to
switch the compressor on or off.
• The hermetically sealed compressor motor is
the split-phase type having two separate
windings — start and run as shown in Fig.
5.15.
• The motor is accelerated by connecting both
start and run phase windings to the supply.
When the motor reaches about 80% of its
rated speed, the start winding is tripped out of
circuit.
• For compressor drives, this switch is usually in
the form of a current-operated relay which is
fitted adjacent to the compressor.
• The main temperature control device in the
refrigerator is the thermostat which senses
the evaporator temperature via a capillary
tube.
• The set temperature is adjusted by a control
knob which tensions the control spring against
the pressure of the bellows.
• For motor protection a bimetallic over current
relay (OCR) trip is included as part of the control
relay alongside the compressor.
• The motor supply current either passes directly
through a bi-metal strip or disc or the bi-metal is
heated indirectly from a small resistance heater
alongside it.
• A motor over current will cause the bi-metal to
deflect and cause a snap-action switch to open.
• Fig. 5.16 shows the complete circuit of a simple
domestic refrigerator (i.e. without timers,
automatic defrost or air-circulation fans).
• When the evaporator temperature rises, the
thermostat switch closes allowing current to flow
through the motor run winding and the relay
solenoid coil. This current is initially high causing
the solenoid to close the relay switch to allow
current into the start winding.
• The motor will now begin to accelerate from
standstill causing its run winding current to
reduce to a level where the start-relay will drop
off. The motor will now run continuously on the
run-phase only. When the evaporator reaches its
set temperature the thermostat resets and the
motor is switched off.
• The most common way to achieve automatic
defrosting of the evaporator is to use a time-switch
to cut out the refrigeration circuit and initiate a
defrost heater circuit.
• The timer may be a small motor with a cam driven
changeover switch or an electronic timer with relay
changeover contacts.
• A bimetallic defrost thermostat controls the defrost
heater in or below the evaporator.
• Most defrost thermostats close at 20°F ± 5° and
open at 55° ± 5°. Defrost periods may vary from 15
to 45 minutes with up to four defrost cycles in 24
hours depending on the fridge/freezer design.
• Some refrigerators and freezers may have
electric heaters fitted for various duties such
as a dew point heater (to prevent sweating on
the cabinet in the freezer area) and a
compartment divider panel or stile heater (to
prevent sweating on the panel).
• Additionally there may be condenser and
evaporator fans which are driven by single-
phase shaded-pole type motors.
 Air Conditioning
• Air conditioning is a process which heats,
cools, cleans and circulates air together with
the control of its moisture content.
• The air must be delivered to a room with a
definite temperature and specified relative
humidity.
• For summer duty, the usual method is to cool the
incoming air to a temperature below the dew point
to allow condensation to occur until the mixture has
the desired specific humidity then heating the air to
the required delivery temperature and relative
humidity.
• In winter, the incoming air may have to be heated
and have water added to achieve the correct inlet
conditions. In most plants the bulk of the mixture is
re-circulating air with fresh air intake forming about
one third of the total required.
• The amount of make-up air is a statutory
requirement which is typically between 17 m3/hr
and 28 m3/hr.
• The electrical aspects of accommodation air
conditioning (A/C) comprises the power equipment
of motors and starters for the compressor(s), fans
and sea-water cooling pumps.
• Associated control equipment will include electric
solenoid valves, high and low-pressure and
temperature switches together with safety cut-outs
for over current, loss of refrigerant, low compressor
oil pressure, etc.
• The usual air-conditioning system used for the
accommodation spaces of cargo ships is the central
single-duct type, shown in Fig. 5.17.
• In its simplest form a single compressor serves the
whole accommodation.
• The compressor is generally a multi- cylinder
reciprocating type with a power rating in the range of
50-200 kW, although rotary-vane or screw-action
compressors may also be encountered.
• Large passenger vessels may have a total power
requirement of more than 5 MW for the AC compressor
drives to maintain air delivery to the hotel and staff
accommodation areas.
• Capacity control of the reciprocating compressor is by
automatic unloading of cylinders by valve control using
servo oil pressure.
• The compressor, air fan and sea water pump are driven
by simple fixed speed, 3-phase a.c. induction motors
each with its own starter and supplied from a
distribution board fitted in the air-conditioning plant
room.
• Routine electrical maintenance and fault finding
on the motors and starters will involve cleaning,
checking of connections, IR (megger)/continuity
tests and running tests as described in Chapter
Four. Inspection of connections and correct
operation of any electric heaters must also be
performed. Such heaters may be used for heating
the compressor crankcase oil and for separating
the refrigerant (Freon R12 or R22) from the oil in
an oil reservoir.
• Regular inspection and testing of control and
safety thermostats and pressure stats should
be carried out in accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions.
• In particular the compressor's low oil
pressure alarm and trip circuit should be
tested periodically for correct operation.