Air Refrigeration System Operates on? (a) Carnot Cycle (b) Reversed Carnot Cycle (c) Rankine Cycle (d) Bell Coleman Cycle

By Balaji

Updated on: February 17th, 2023

The air refrigeration system operates on the Bell Coleman cycle. The category of gas cycle refrigeration systems, in which a gas is utilized as the working fluid, includes air refrigeration systems. Heat is removed from the air after it has been compressed, and the air is subsequently expanded at a lower temperature. An expansion turbine extracts work from the air by removing energy as the blades are spun around by the expanding air. It stops the entropy from increasing.

Table of content

1. Working of Air Refrigeration System
2. Air Refrigeration System Operates on? (a) Carnot Cycle (b) Reversed Carnot Cycle (c) Rankine Cycle (d) Bell Coleman Cycle

Working of Air Refrigeration System

As mentioned above, the air refrigeration system operates on the Bell Coleman Cycle. Air is taken from the cold chamber by the compressor and compressed to high pressure. The cooler receives air from the compressor that is both high pressure and high temperature. Using a cooling medium, such as water, a cooler takes heat from the air. Air with high pressure and lower temperature then goes through the expander. The air cycle benefits the refrigeration system in aircraft because of the following reasons:

Since there is no phase shift in the gas during the cycle, all internal heat transfer processes are sensible heat transfer processes.
The driven compressor receives work from the expander, which expands air to low pressure.
Air from the expander enters the cold chamber at low pressure and low temperature, where it absorbs heat andcreates a cooling effect.
Since air cannot catch fire, there is no fire risk, unlike in a machine using NH as a refrigerant.
Compared to the VCRS system, the power per tonne of refrigeration is higher.
Due to the low air density and the smaller volume needed for refrigeration, the weight per tonne of refrigeration is minimal.
Air conditioning and cabin pressurization can be done simultaneously.

Bell Coleman Cycle in Air Refrigeration

Bell Coleman cycle is also known as the Joules cycle or reverse Brayton cycle. The advantage of the Bell Coleman cycle is that its construction is simple. Below, we have mentioned important points of information pertaining to the Bell Coleman cycle.

Air used by it is non-toxic as well as cheap.
When using air as the refrigerant, a limited amount of leakage is acceptable.
The maintenance cost is low.
This system is bulky and heavy in weight.

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