Note: This unit is an archived version! See Overview tab for delivered versions.
MECH4255: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (2013 - Semester 2)
| Unit: | MECH4255: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (6 CP) |
| Mode: | Normal-Day |
| On Offer: | Yes |
| Level: | Senior Advanced |
| Faculty/School: | School of Aerospace, Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering |
| Unit Coordinator/s: |
Dr Dunn, Matthew
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| Session options: | Semester 2 |
| Versions for this Unit: |
| Campus: | Camperdown/Darlington |
| Pre-Requisites: | MECH3260 AND MECH3261. |
| Brief Handbook Description: | This UoS aims to teach the basic principles of refrigeration and comfort air conditioning in the built environment including thermal load estimation, system selection, air distribution and energy analysis. Topics covered in this UoS include applied psychrometrics, air conditioning systems, design principles, comfort in the built environment. cooling load calculations, heating load calculations, introduction and use of computer-based load estimation packages software, air distribution, fans, ducts, air conditioning controls, refrigeration cycles, evaporators, condensers, cooling towers, compressors, pumps, throttling devices, piping, refrigerants, control, refrigeration equipment, stimulation of refrigeration systems, food refrigeration and industrial applications; use of CFD packages as tools to simulate flows in building and to optimise air conditioning design, energy estimation methods and software, energy evaluation and management in the built environment. |
| Assumed Knowledge: | Students are expected to be familiar with the basic laws of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. |
| Timetable: | MECH4255 Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Commitment: |
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| T&L Activities: | Tutorial: Students should attend all lectures and tutorials. The interaction with students and the discussions that take place during these sessions will be extremely beneficial. To maximize the benefits from the tutorial classes, students should attempt the assigned problems beforehand and come to the tutorial with specific questions or queries. Practical examples and assignments will elucidate the relevance of the basic concepts with respect to engineering applications. Regular tutorial sessions will solve many examples and will give students the opportunity to catch up on applications with respect to topics covered in lectures. Independent Study: Apart form the allocated contact hours, an average student is expected to spend approximately 3 to 4 hours per week on this UoS. |
Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.
| Attribute Development Method | Attribute Developed |
| Skills in analyzing and estimating the performance of simple and complex refrigeration systems. An ability to perform a full estimation of thermal loads on a structure, size suitable air conditioning and air distribution systems capable of providing thermal comfort and evaluate the performance, cost, and energy consumption of an air conditioning plant. | Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 5) |
| Develop student inquisitive capabilities through assignments and realistic group projects which require interactions with industry and relating basic concepts to practical engineering problems and develop an ability to distill relevant information from the variety of sources that are available to them. | Information Seeking (Level 4) |
| Communication skills will be enhanced through all group projects as well as seminars delivered by students at the completion of their project. | Communication (Level 4) |
| Interact with industry and practicing engineers. | Professional Conduct (Level 4) |
For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 5)
1. An understanding of complex refrigeration systems.
2. An appreciation of thermal comfort in the built environment.
3. An understanding of thermal loads and energy consumption in buildings.
4. Ability to size, select and analyze air conditioning systems including estimates of heat and air flows as well as cost and energy analysis.
Information Seeking (Level 4)
5. Familiarity with at least one software package used in the air conditioning industry and ability to compute total thermal loads.
Communication (Level 4)
6. Ability to effectively relay knowledge on group project in the form of a professional report and seminar.
Professional Conduct (Level 4)
7. Ability to interact with the manufacturing and consulting industry on real project related to the built environment.
| Assessment Methods: |
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| Assessment Description: |
Assignment: Practical examples and assignments will elucidate the relevance of the basic concepts with respect to engineering applications. The assignments and quizzes will help students absorb the concepts and stay up to date with the pace of lectures. Project: The project report and the seminar will test the ability of students to interact in a group environment, apply the concepts to a realistic problem, and relay them effectively in the form of a seminar and report. Group projects and seminars are aspects of training that are beneficial for engineers since this is common practice in the profession. The projects are essentially emulating real job situations that graduates will face in professional practice. Final Exam: The final examination will help evaluate the overall understanding of the concepts covered in this UoS and the student’s ability to analyze and solve related problems. |
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| Grading: |
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| Policies & Procedures: | See the policies page of the faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies/ for information regarding university policies and local provisions and procedures within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies. |
| Prescribed Text/s: |
Note: Students are expected to have a personal copy of all books listed.
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Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
| Week | Description |
| Week 1 | Fundamentals |
| Week 2 | Psychrometrics |
| Week 3 | Design conditions and solar loads. |
| Week 4 | Thermal Loads. |
| Week 5 | Fans and Compressors. |
| Week 6 | Condensers and Evaporators. |
| Week 7 | Air conditioning systems and energy evaluations. |
| Week 8 | Computer simulations - Thermal loads. |
| Week 9 | Computer simulations - Equipment Selection |
| Week 10 | Computer simulations - Duct analysis. |
| Week 11 | A/C Controls - Food Refrigeration. |
| Week 12 | Computer simulations - Energy analysis. |
| Week 13 | Project seminars by students. |
| Assessment Due: Project | |
| Exam Period | Assessment Due: Final Exam |
Course Relations
The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.
Course Goals
This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:
| Attribute | Practiced | Assessed |
| Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 5) | Yes | 76.2% |
| Information Seeking (Level 4) | Yes | 9.05% |
| Communication (Level 4) | Yes | 5.72% |
| Professional Conduct (Level 4) | Yes | 9.05% |
These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.
