What Types of Condensers are Used in Water Cooled Chillers?

A water cooled chiller is a type of chiller that takes heat from water to cool it for usage in projects, industries, or homes before reintroducing the water into the operating cycle.  In reality, chillers transport heat from one location that requires temperature control to another. As a result, the chiller is not a technique of producing cold, but of dispersing heat, and its function is to aid the transfer of undesired and undesirable heat generated by the activity to a location outside of the system.

A cooling tower is constructed particularly for a water chiller. Because condensers in water-cooled chillers employ water as a stimulant and cooling substance.  Because wet surfaces are more effective at transmitting heat and performing compression work at wetter bubble temperatures, water chillers’ efficiency rises.

How does a water cooled chiller operate?

Water chiller cycles, like other chiller cycles, are made up of four major components. The major water cooled chiller components include an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve, each of which performs a thermodynamic function. The chiller operates by delivering refrigerant to different phases of the material at varying pressures and temperatures, causing the water to cool and pump out of the chiller.  In reality, the primary function of chillers is dependent on the phase shift or physical condition of the refrigerant.  Meanwhile, water chillers function by condensing steam or gas.

Types of Water-Cooled Condensers

Water-cooled condensers, located between the compressor and the expansion valve, act as a specialized heat exchanger, converting the hot pressurized gas from the compressor into a liquid. Here are three main types of condensers used in water cooled chillers.

Shell and tube condenser

Shell-and-tube condensers are used in water chillers. This very efficient water-cooled design consists of straight water tubes contained in a cylindrical casing. Grooved tube sheets are welded to both ends of the cylinder, and the water tubes are positioned to provide a vapor-tight seal. The cooling process begins when the heated refrigerant exits the compressor and enters the top of the cylindrical shell. Once it comes into contact with the water tubes, the vapor-to-liquid conversion process begins. The last chilling phase of packaged water cooled chillers with shell-and-tube condensers occurs when newly condensed liquid refrigerant is released from the bottom of the cylindrical shell and travels to the expansion valve.

Coaxial tube-in-tube condenser.

Coaxial tube-in-tube condensers are also widely employed in packaged water chillers.  These very efficient and small heat exchangers may be best recognized for their excellent anti-fouling properties. Using two nested tubes, water passes through the interior tube and cools the refrigerant in the outside tube. These water-cooled condensers have a counter-flow design in which the cooling water travels in the opposite direction from the refrigerant. The coaxial tube-in-tube water-cooled condenser design guarantees that the coldest water makes contact with the coldest refrigerant, resulting in the maximum mean temperature differential and heat transfer rate.

Brazed plate condenser.

A brazed plate is the third and final kind of condenser used in packaged water cooled chillers. This condenser is corrosion-resistant, cleanable, and offers improved heat transmission. It is made up of a succession of metal plates joined together with a copper-based brazing substance, resulting in a non-ferrous structure that prevents rusting and corrosion. The embossed pattern on the plates creates a channel for fluids to travel and allows for extremely effective heat transfer between the process and refrigerant water. This condenser design for water chillers allows cold fluid to touch one side while hot fluid contacts the other.

Conclusion

Condensers are one of the important industrial water cooled chiller components. In order to cool efficiently, the evaporator, compressor, and expansion valve must all work together. If you’d like to learn more about our water-cooled chillers, contact us now.