SOLAR-POWERED ADSORPTION REFRIGERATION CYCLE OPTIMIZATION

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (5-8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norhafizah Ahmad Junaidi ◽  
Tohru Suwa

Solar energy is an attractive energy source among various renewable energy resources in Malaysia as relatively high solar radiation is available throughout the year. This solar energy can be utilized for air-conditioning by using solar-powered adsorption refrigeration cycle. Intermittent nature of the solar radiation leads to a challenge for continuous air-conditioning operation. In the present study, a combination of solar-powered adsorption refrigeration system and thermal storage is studied. Activated carbon-ammonia and activated carbon-methanol are the working pairs of the adsorption reaction. Analytical calculation results show that activated carbon-methanol pair indicates higher coefficient of performance (COP) than activated carbon-ammonia pair, while adsorption chiller system with hot water thermal storage has higher COP than the system with ice thermal storage. For the activated carbon-methanol case with hot water thermal storage, the COP is 0.79. Since this COP analysis is based on the ideal case with uniform temperature distribution within the reactor beds, which achieves equilibrium states at the end of the reactions. In more realistic situation, the reaction process will be terminated before reaching to the equilibrium states because of the non-uniform temperature distribution and the time required for the reaction. Transient simulation in which heat transfer and reaction equation are combined will be performed to model actual reactors.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Shan-Xiang Wei ◽  
De-Qing Kong ◽  
Qi-Ming Wang

Abstract The non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector of a large radio telescope may cause serious deformation of the main reflector, which will dramatically reduce the aperture efficiency of a radio telescope. To study the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a large radio telescope, numerical calculations including thermal environment factors, the coefficients on convection and radiation, and the shadow boundary of the main reflector are first discussed. In addition, the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a 70-m radio telescope under solar radiation are simulated by finite element analysis. The simulation results show that the temperature distribution of the main reflector under solar radiation is very uneven, and the maximum of the root mean square temperature is 12.3°C. To verify the simulation results, an optical camera and a thermal imaging camera are used to measure the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector on a clear day. At the same time, some temperature sensors are used to measure the temperature at some points close to the main reflector on the backup structure. It has been verified that the simulation and measurement results of the shadow coverage on the main reflector are in good agreement, and the cosine similarity between the simulation and the measurement is above 90%. Despite the inevitable thermal imaging errors caused by large viewing angles, the simulated temperature field is similar to the measured temperature distribution of the main reflector to a large extent. The temperature trend measured at the test points on the backup structure close to the main reflector without direct solar radiation is consistent with the simulated temperature trend of the corresponding points on the main reflector with the solar radiation. It is credible to calculate the temperature field of the main reflector through the finite element method. This work can provide valuable references for studying the thermal deformation and the surface accuracy of the main reflector of a large radio telescope.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. F. Qu ◽  
W. Wang ◽  
R. Z. Wang

Mass recovery can play an important role to better the performance of adsorption refrigeration cycles. Cooling capacity can be significantly increased with mass recovery process. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the activated carbon/ammonia adsorption refrigeration cycle might be increased or decreased with mass recovery process due to different working conditions. The advantage is that its COP is not sensitive to the variation of heat capacity of adsorber metal and condensing and evaporating temperature. The cycle with mass and heat recovery has a relatively high COP.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Grzebielec ◽  
Artur Rusowicz ◽  
Maciej Jaworski ◽  
Rafał Laskowski

Abstract Adsorption refrigeration systems are able to work with heat sources of temperature starting with 50 °C. The aim of the article is to determine whether in terms of technical and economic issues adsorption refrigeration equipment can work as elements that produce cold using hot water from the district heating network. For this purpose, examined was the work of the adsorption air conditioning equipment cooperating with drycooler, and the opportunities offered by the district heating network in Warsaw during the summer. It turns out that the efficiency of the adsorption device from the economic perspective is not sufficient for production of cold even during the transitional period. The main problem is not the low temperature of the water supply, but the large difference between the coefficients of performance, COPs, of adsorption device and a traditional compressor air conditioning unit. When outside air temperature is 25 °C, the COP of the compressor type reaches a value of 4.49, whereas that of the adsorption device in the same conditions is 0.14. The ratio of the COPs is 32. At the same time ratio between the price of 1 kWh of electric power and 1 kWh of heat is only 2.85. Adsorption refrigeration equipment to be able to compete with compressor devices, should feature COPads efficiency to be greater than 1.52. At such a low driving temperature and even changing the drycooler into the evaporative cooler it is not currently possible to achieve.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4159
Author(s):  
Xuan Vien Nguyen

In this study, cold and thermal storage systems were designed and manufactured to operate in combination with the water chiller air-conditioning system of 105.5 kW capacity, with the aim of reducing operating costs and maximizing energy efficiency. The cold storage tank used a mixture of water and 10 wt.% glycerin as a phase-change material (PCM), while water was used as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The cold storage heat exchanger was made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). On the other hand, the thermal storage tank used water as the storage fluid with a capacity of 50 L of hot water per hour. The thermal storage did not use a pump for water transfer through the heat exchanger, so as to save energy and operating costs. In this paper, the operating parameters of the cold and thermal storage tanks are shown according to the results of experimental research, including the temperatures of cooling and heating load, heat transfer fluid, and cold storage material during the discharge process, as well as the discharge duration. The system assisted the air conditioner in cooling the internship workshop space at the university with an area of 400 m2, contributing to a remarkable reduction in air-conditioning system operating costs during the daytime. Furthermore, the system recovered waste heat from the compressor of the water chiller, and a thermal storage system was successfully built and operated, providing 50 L of hot water at a temperature of 60 °C per hour to serve the everyday needs of school students. This design was suitable for the joint operation of cold and thermal storage tanks and the water chiller air-conditioning system for cooling and heating applications.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. F. Li ◽  
K. Sumathy

This paper reports the performance of a lithium bromide absorption chiller in a solar powered air conditioning system, when being operated conventionally. The chiller performance based on a modified solar powered absorption air conditioning system which is integrated with a partitioned storage tank has been presented and discussed. It is shown that, by partitioning the storage tank, the chiller performance is not significantly affected, and the solar powered cooling effect can be realized much earlier, achieving a higher total solar cooling COPsystem, compared to the conventional system designs.


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