Module IV-Thermal Systems and

Management
Heat in Electronic Devices: Modes of Heat Transfer, heat generation in electronics, temperature
measurement, heat sink, Cooling of electronic devises: Active, Passive, and Hybrid Cooling.
Refrigeration: Principle of refrigeration, Refrigeration effect, Ton of Refrigeration, COP, Refrigerants
and their desirable properties. Principles and Operation of Vapor Compression and Vapor absorption
refrigeration. Applications of Refrigerator.
Air-Conditioning: Classification and Applications of Air Conditioners. Concept and operation of
Centralized air conditioning system.
 Modes of Heat Transfer
• Heat: The form of energy that can be transferred from one system to another as a result of
temperature difference.
• The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-temperature medium to the lower-
temperature one. Heat transfer stops when the two mediums reach the same temperature
• Heat can be transferred in three different modes: conduction, convection, and radiation
• Conduction: An energy transfer across a system boundary due to a temperature difference by the
mechanism of intermolecular interactions. Conduction needs matter and does not require any bulk
motion of matter.

If we heat one end of a metal bar by keeping it over a gas burner, we find that its
other end also gets hot after some time. So heat is transferred from hot end of the
bar to its cold end. In this case of heat transfer, there is no movement of
molecules (or particles) of the material of metal bar as shown below in the figure.
• Convection: An energy transfer across a system boundary due to a temperature
difference by the combined mechanisms of intermolecular interactions and bulk
transport. Convection needs fluid matter.
Convection involves the bodily movement of the heated molecules. Convection is the process in
which heat is transmitted from one place to other by the actual movement of heated particles. It is
prominent in the case of liquids and gases. Land and sea breezes are formed due to convection. It
also plays an important part in ventilation, electric lamps, and heating of buildings by hot water
circulation. The figure below shows the transfer of heat by convection when water in a cooking pot
is heated.
• Radiation: Radiation heat transfer involves the transfer of heat by electromagnetic
radiation that arises due to the temperature of the body. Radiation does not need
matter.

Radiation is the process in which heat is transmitted one place to other directly without
intervening medium. We get radiation of sun without an intervening medium. Heat radiations can
pass through a vacuum. Their properties are similar to light radiations. Heat radiations also form
a part of electromagnetic spectrum. Transfer of heat by radiation does not need any material
medium. Energy from the sun comes to us by radiation.
 Heat in Electronic Devices
• All electronic devices and circuitry generate excess heat and thus require thermal management to improve
reliability and prevent premature failure.
• The amount of heat output is equal to the power input, if there are no other energy interactions.
• There are several techniques for cooling including various styles of heat sinks, thermoelectric coolers, forced air
systems and fans, heat pipes, and others.

• A common problem in product design—

particularly in electronics cooling—is
managing thermal conditions for optimal
efficiency.
• The core of the challenge is designing
energy-efficient microprocessors and printed
circuit boards (PCBs) that will not overheat.
Thermal Management of Electronics: Active vs Passive
Cooling
• Fundamentally, we can divide electronics cooling techniques into two
categories: passive cooling and active cooling.
• Passive cooling utilizes natural conduction, convection, and radiation to
cool a component.
• Active cooling requires the use of energy specifically dedicated to
cooling the component.
• One example of these two cooling categories is in heat sink and heat
spreader design, both of which utilize fundamental heat transfer
principles.
 Passive cooling
• Passive cooling is a form of cooling without any fans etc. The idea is to have
the heat produced from the CPU transferred to another surface, and
therefore cool the CPU down.
• The pros of passive cooling comes down to it being silent, which is
something that a lot of people prefer. Another benefit comes down to it
looking good, and it fits very well with the rest of the room it’s in.
• Passive cooling achieves high levels of natural convection and heat dissipation by utilizing a heat spreader
or a heat sink to maximize the radiation and convection heat transfer modes. In architectural design,
natural resources like wind or soil are used as heat sinks to absorb or dissipate heat. This leads to proper
cooling of electronic products.
 Active Cooling
• Active cooling is somewhat similar to passive. The idea is to have the heat
generated by the CPU transferred onto another material (metal etc.), and
then cooling it down with fans.
• Another thing it has over liquid-cooling, is the fact that if anything goes
wrong, it’s only the fan on the cooler itself that can break, which limits the
amount of damage that can be done. (except for CPU overheating
damage).
Active cooling, on the other hand, refers to cooling technologies that rely on an external device to enhance heat
transfer. Through active cooling technologies, the rate of fluid flow increases during convection, which
dramatically increases the rate of heat removal. Active cooling solutions include forced air through a fan or
blower, forced liquid, and thermoelectric coolers (TECs), which can be used to optimize thermal management on
all levels. Fans are used when natural convection is insufficient to remove heat.
Refrigeration & air-conditioning
 REFRIGERATION
• Refrigerators work on the second law of thermodynamics. In the
process of refrigeration, unwanted heat is taken from one place and
discharged into another. The common refrigerator which we have in our
homes, works on the principle of evaporation.
• A refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle to transfer heat from
one area, and remove it to another.
• A refrigerant when passed through the food kept in the refrigerator, it
absorbs heat from these items and transfers the absorbed heat to the
surrounding with less temperature.
❑ Refrigeration:
It is defined as the process of removing heat from a substance under controlled conditions
and reducing and maintaining the temperature of a body below the temperature of its
surroundings by the aid of external work.

❑ Refrigeration Effect:
In a refrigeration system, the rate at which the heat is absorbed in a cycle from the
interior space to be cooled is called refrigerating effect.
❑ Unit of Refrigeration:
The capacity of a refrigeration system is expressed in tons of refrigeration, which is the
unit of refrigeration.
A ton of refrigeration is defined as the quantity of heat absorbed in order to form one ton
of ice in 24 hours when the initial temperature of the water is 0°C.
In S.I. System,
1 Ton of Refrigeration = 210 kJ/min
= 3.5 kW
❑ Coefficient of Performance (COP):
The performance of a refrigeration system is expressed by a factor known as the
coefficient of performance.
The COP of a refrigeration system is defined as the ratio of heat absorbed in a system to
the work supplied.
Mathematically: COP=Q/W
Where
Q = Heat Absorbed or Removed (kW)
W = Work supplied (kW)
❖ REFRIGERANT:
A Refrigerant is medium it continuously extracts the heat from the space within the
refrigerator which is to be kept cool at temperatures less than the atmosphere and finally
rejects to it to the surroundings.
The most commonly used refrigerants are given below
1) Ammonia
2) Carbon dioxide
3) Sulphur dioxide
4) Methyl Chloride
5) Freon
1) Ammonia
∙ Ammonia as a refrigerant is employed in refrigerators operating on the absorption principles.
Because of its high latent heat (1300 kJ/kg at -15°C) and low specific volume (0.509mVkg at -15°C)
it produces high refrigeration effects even in small refrigerators.
∙ Since ammonia will not harm the ozone, it is environmental friendly. It is widely used in cold
storage, ice making plants, etc.
∙ It is toxic, flammable, irritating and food destroying properties makes it unsuitable for domestic
refrigerators.
2) Carbon dioxide
∙ The efficiency of the refrigerators using carbon dioxide refrigerant is low. Therefore it is seldom
used in domestic refrigerators, but is used in dry ice making plants.
∙ It is colourless, odourless, non-toxic, non-flammable and non-corrosive.
3) Sulphur dioxide
⚫Earlier Sulphur dioxide was one of the most commonly used refrigerants in domestic
refrigerators. Although it has better thermodynamic properties, it has low refrigerating effect and
high specific volume, therefore large capacity high speed compressors are required.
⚫Since it combines with water and forms sulfurous and sulfuric acids which are corrosive to
metals, the refrigerators using Sulphur dioxide as refrigerant are seldom used.

4) Methyl Chloride
⚫Methyl chloride was used earlier in domestic and small scale industrial refrigerators. Since it will
burn under some conditions and slightly toxic, is not generally used.
5) Freon
⚫Freon group of refrigerants is used almost universally in domestic refrigerators.
⚫These refrigerants are colourless, almost odourless, non-toxic, non-flammable, non-explosive
and non-corrosive, Freon-12 and Freon-22 are the two Freon refrigerants commonly used in
domestic refrigerators and air conditioners.
⚫Although these refrigerants are being now used extensively in the refrigerators and the air
conditioners, it has been found that these refrigerants posing a major threat to the global
environment through their role in the destruction of the ozone layer.
⚫Freon-12: Dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl2F2)
⚫Freon-22: Chlorodifluoromethane (CHClF2)
PROPERTIES OF A GOOD REFRIGERANT
 Thermodynamic properties
1) Boiling Point :
An ideal refrigerant must have low boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure.
2) Freezing Point:
An ideal refrigerant must have a very low freezing point because the refrigerant should not
freeze at low evaporator temperatures.
3) Evaporator and Condenser Pressure:
In order to avoid the leakage of the atmospheric air and also to enable the detection of the
leakage of the refrigerant, both the evaporator and condenser pressures should be slightly
above the atmospheric pressure.
4) Latent Heat of Evaporation :
The latent heat of evaporation must be very high so that a minimum amount of refrigerant will
accomplish the desired result, in other words, it increases the refrigeration effect.
 Physical properties

1) Specific Volume:
The specific volume of the refrigerant must be very low. The lower specific volume of the
refrigerant at the suction of the compressor reduces the size of the compressor.
2) Specific heat of liquid and vapour:
A good refrigerant must have low specific heat when it is in liquid state and high specific
heat when it is vapourised. The low specific heat of the refrigerant helps in sub-cooling of
the liquid a high specific heat of the vapour helps in decreasing the superheating of the
vapour. Both these desirable properties increase the refrigerating effect.
3) Viscosity:
The viscosity of a refrigerant at both the liquid and vapour states must be very low as
improves the heat transfer and reduces the pumping pressure.
 Safe working properties

1) Non-toxicity refrigerant:
A good refrigerant should be non-toxic, because any leakage of the toxic refrigerant increase
suffocation and poisons the atmosphere.
2) Corrosiveness :
A good refrigerant should be non-corrosive to prevent the corrosion of the metallic parts of
the refrigerators.
3) Chemical Stability:
An ideal refrigerant must not decompose under operating conditions.
 Other properties

1) Coefficient of Performance :
The coefficient of performance of a refrigerant must be high so that the energy spent in
refrigeration will be less.
2) Odour:
A good refrigerant must be odourless, otherwise some foodstuff such as meat, butter, etc.
loses their taste.
3) Leakage Tests:
The refrigerant must be such that any leakage can be detected by simple tests.
4) Action with Lubricating Oil:
A good refrigerant must not react with the lubricating oil used in lubricating the parts of
the compressor.
PARTS OF A REFRIGERATOR
Components
• Evaporator: It is the main part of the refrigerator that helps to keep the device and things
cool always. It features the tubes with high thermal conductivity that helps in absorbing the
heat rejected by the fan or coil in the system.
• Compressor: It compresses the low-pressure, low-temperature vapor into a high-
temperature, high-pressure vapor. The refrigerant is passed from the evaporator and is
compressed in a cylinder to generate a high-temperature, high-pressure gas.
• Expansion valve helps to control the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator, or cooling
coil. Expansion valve is also known as flow control valves. It is a sensitive small device that
aids to sense the temperature change of the refrigerant.
• Condenser: It comprises a set of tubes with external fins placed back of the
refrigerator. This component helps to convert the gaseous refrigerant into liquid form.
❖ TYPES OF REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS

The refrigeration systems are mainly divided into two types, they are

1) Vapour Compression Refrigerator (VCR)

2) Vapour Absorption Refrigerator (VAR)

1) Vapour Compression Refrigerator (VCR) :
2) Vapour Absorption Refrigerator (VAR)
AIR - CONDITIONING
❖ ROOM AIR-CONDITIONER
 Working Procedure
• The evaporator fan sucks the air from the room to be conditioned through air filter and it passes the air over the cooling coil. It delivers cool
and dehumidified air back to the room.
• In the evaporator, the liquid refrigerant picks up heat from the room air. This cool air brings down the temperature and humidity levels in the
room.
• Compressor compresses the low-pressure vapour refrigerant coming from the evaporator or cooling coil and converts into high pressure
vapour refrigerant. It is passed into the condenser where it is cooled.
• Outside air is drawn in by the another fan (which also driven by same motor) and it cools the refrigerant then becomes liquid. The high-
pressure low temperature liquid refrigerant from the condenser enters the capillary tube. It is passes to the evaporator coil.
• In the evaporator, the liquid refrigerant picks up heat and gets vapourised. This cycle repeats again & again until required temperature is
reached.

Advantages
• Individual temperature control device is provided
• For air distribution, ducts are not required

Disadvantages
• Unit is installed outside the wall.
• Unit has a fixed air quantity
❖ HUMIDITY
Humidity is defined as the moisture content present in the atmosphere. The atmosphere always
contains some moisture in the form of water vapour. The maximum amount depends on the
atmospheric conditions. The amount of vapour that will saturate the air increases with a rise in
temperature.

Humidity can be specified in three different ways.

1) Absolute humidity:
The absolute humidity is defined as the, weight of water vapour contained in a given volume of air. It
is expressed in grams of water vapour per cubic metre of air.
2) Specific humidity:
The specific humidity is defined as the ratio of weight of water vapour to the total weight of air. It is
expressed in grams of water vapour per kilogram of air.
3) Relative humidity:
The relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the actual vapour content of the air to the vapour
content of air at the same temperature when saturated with water vapour.
 What Is Central Air Conditioning Really?
• The “central” in central air conditioning comes from the fact that the system
conditions the entire building from one large central location in your home. This
system cools and dehumidifies the air, then blows the cool air into your duct
system and out through the supply air registers located in each room.
• A central AC’s main components are:
• Fans that pull air through the system
• Evaporator coils that change refrigerant from liquid to gas
• A compressor that pressurizes refrigerant gas
• Condenser coils that turn refrigerant gas into a liquid
• Refrigerant lines that carry refrigerant between the coils
• An expansion device that regulates refrigerant flowing to the evaporator
Central air conditioning systems come in two basic designs: split and packaged.
• Split systems are the most commonly used type, and are split between an outdoor and an indoor unit, as the
name suggests.
• In a packaged/ductless system, all the components are housed in one unit that is installed outside your home.
Split and packaged systems both contain the same components and can provide the same amount of cooling.

Benefits of Central Air Conditioning System:

• Indoor comfort during warm weather – Central air conditioning helps keep your home cool and reduces
humidity levels.
• Cleaner air – As your central air conditioning system draws air out of various rooms in the house through
return air ducts, the air is pulled through an air filter, which removes airborne particles such as dust and lint.
Sophisticated filters may remove microscopic pollutants, as well. The filtered air is then routed to air supply
duct-work that carries it back to rooms.
• Quieter operation – Because the compressor-bearing unit is located outside the home, the indoor noise level
from its operation is much lower than that of a free-standing air conditioning