Help a n00b understand an autocascade diagram :)

I've been reading about phase change a lot lately, but I'm a n00b when it comes to reading anything diagram-like. :slap:

I'm feeling really inept right now, so can someone please tell me the way each different refrigerant flows in this autocascade diagram (not so I can build one, just so I understand)?

Thanks a lot! :)

PS: The image is from www.icecoldcomputing.com, but I couldn't "View Image" in Firefox to link to it.

http://www.snt-systems.com/Uploader/...de_diagram.jpg

Thanks for the quick reply!

That makes a lot more sense now. :)

Is that it??? I thought it was really really complicateD? Gotta be missing something...

Nope, there not complicated in theory.

Both gases go through the condenser, one gets condensed the other doesnt, they are separated, the condensed one evaporates in a chamber which cools the other, the after the condensed one evaporates it goes back to the compressor and the newly condensed gas goes off to the evap.

So that's an autocascade? What exactly would its point be? Is it more efficient than a regular cascade or what?

~Toad

gas b is a lower temp refigerant, when the expansion of gas A cools gas B, it liquifies. this same proccess occurs in a multi-stage system, but requires the two gases to be seperated, this way you only use one compressor, and get far lower temps than you would using jsut gas A.

to my understanding, thats how it works, but really, i"ve never built one, so don't take my word for it, i"m sure one of the more knowledgable poeple could give you a better answer

Yeah, its advantage over your standard cascade is that it only uses one compressor, and there is no need to faf-about turning on a second stage at a specific temperature. Because it needs only one compressor you can make smaller size systems as well.

People just like the idea of just the one loop and compressor, yet getting much lower temperatures than a single stage.

Now i understand all the oil seperators and hx's.... Thanks man.

I followed most of it but,
What would you use for the gases?
Like what would
A be?
and B be?


just learning as I go

can use A-propane and B-CO2