Refrigerant cycle

Definition

A closed loop in which a refrigerant evaporates to absorb heat at low temperature and condenses to release heat at higher temperature, driven by compression and expansion.

The cycle runs continuously through four steps: evaporate, compress, condense, expand. Each revolution lifts heat from the chilled water loop into the condenser water loop. Pressure manipulation sets the temperatures of evaporation and condensation, allowing heat to be moved from cold to hot against the natural thermodynamic gradient.

Related concepts

Chiller · Refrigerant · Condenser

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🔥 thermodynamics