Liquid-to-Refrigerant Heat Exchangers
ASHRAE Technical Committee 8.5

The ASHRAE Handbook is published in a series of four volumes, one of which is revised each year, ensuring that no volume is older than four years. The Handbooks can be purchased at the ASHRAE Bookstore by clicking on this link.

This TC is responsible for the following chapters in the HVAC Systems & Equipment Volume

Chapter 39: Condensers

The condenser in a refrigeration system is a heat exchanger that rejects all the heat from the system. This heat consists of heat absorbed by the evaporator plus the heat from the energy input to the compressor. The compressor discharges hot, high-pressure refrigerant gas into the condenser, which rejects heat from the gas to some cooler medium. Thus, the cool refrigerant condenses back to the liquid state and drains from the condenser to continue in the refrigeration cycle. Condensers may be classified by their cooling medium as (l) water-cooled, (2) air-cooled, (3) evaporative (air- and water-cooled), and (4) refrigerant-cooled (cascade systems). The first three types are discussed in this chapter; see Chapter 48 in the 2018 ASHRAE Handbook—Refrigeration for a discussion of cascade-cooled condensers.

Chapter 42: Liquid Coolers

A LIQUID cooler (hereafter called a cooler) is a heat exchanger in which refrigerant is evaporated, thereby cooling a fluid (usually water or brine) circulating through the cooler. This chapter addresses the performance, design, and application of coolers. Types of liquid coolers mentioned and described on Chapter 42 are: Direct-expansion, Flooded, Baudelot and Shell-and-coil.

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Technical committees develop and sponsor technical sessions at the winter and annual conferences. Information about their future technical program is discussed at each TC meeting and at the TC’s Program Subcommittee meeting.

ASHRAE publishes papers and transactions from presentations at its conference events. In addition, ASHRAE records most of the seminar sessions from its conferences on DVD. These DVDs are ideal for use at chapter meetings, in university courses, or company lunch and learns. Products available from the most recent conference may be found here.

Technical Committees are responsible for identifying research topics, proposing research projects, selecting bidders, and monitoring research projects funded by ASHRAE. Information about their specific research program is discussed at each TC meeting and at the TC’s Research Subcommittee meeting.

This TC is working on the following research projects:

• 1683-RP: “Experimental Evaluation of Two-Phase Pressure Drop and Flow Pattern in U-Bends
  with Ammonia” (PMS Chair Z. Ayub; co-sponsor with TC 1.3, Co-PI is L. Cremaschi and PI is GIK)
• 1800-RP: “Spray Evaporation on Enhanced Tube Bundles with Low GWP Pure Refrigerants and Refrigerant/Miscible Oil Mixtures” (Z. Ayub; co-sponsor with TC 1.3)

ASHRAE writes standards for the purpose of establishing consensus for: 1) methods of test for use in commerce and 2) performance criteria for use as facilitators with which to guide the industry. ASHRAE publishes the following three types of voluntary consensus standards: Method of Measurement or Test (MOT), Standard Design and Standard Practice. ASHRAE does not write rating standards unless a suitable rating standard will not otherwise be available. ASHRAE is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and follows ANSI's requirements for due process and standards development. Standards may be purchased at the ASHRAE Bookstore.

 This TC is responsible for the following standards:

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 22: Methods of Testing for Rating of Liquid Cooled Refrigerant Condensers.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 24: Methods of Testing for Rating Evaporators Used for Cooling Liquids.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 181: Methods of Testing for Rating Liquid to Liquid Heat Exchangers.

This TC is a member of the following MTG:

Lower Global Warming Potential Alternative Refrigerants
This MTG is established to coordinate TC/TG/TRG technical activities to help transition the HVAC&R industry to sustainable lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) alternative refrigerants. The MTG will further request participation from US EPA and AHRI. The MTG responsibilities include suggestions for research, development and presentation of technical programs of all types on alternative lower GWP refrigerants, suggestions for Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) systems evaluation for different applications, development of lower GWP solutions for different applications, and a special publication detailing aspects of LCCP applied to the HVAC&R fields.

ASHRAE Technical FAQs are provided as a service to ASHRAE members, users of ASHRAE publications, and the general public. While every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy and reliability, they are advisory and provided for informational purposes only, and in many cases represent only one person’s view. They are not intended and should not be relied on as an official statement of ASHRAE. Technical questions not addressed may be submitted to the ASHRAE Technical Services department at tse@ashrae.net.