Computational study of a novel continuous solar adsorption chiller: performance prediction and adsorbent selection

A novel solar adsorption chiller intended for domestic use is presented. The chiller can be integrated with existing solar systems based on flat plate collectors, and, contrary to commercial chillers, it operates continuously. A detailed analysis of both the simple and the heat‐integrated cycle is carried out so as to select the optimal adsorbent and operating conditions. The employed integral thermodynamic model takes into account the inert masses that limit the performance of the chiller, such as the metal frame, the thermo‐fluid, and the non‐adsorbed steam, by introducing heat capacity effects. Given the adsorption equilibrium data, the energy balances, the performance, and the useful thermal loads of the system can be calculated at any operating conditions. The results indicate that silica gel Type A is a more efficient adsorbent compared to silica gel Type RD or Type 3A. Furthermore, the total porosity has a slight effect on system performance, while optimal operation can be achieved when the condenser temperature is less than 326 K and the evaporator temperature greater than 280 K. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physical and operating conditions effects on silica gel/water adsorption chiller performance

Adsorption refrigeration systems are commercially developed due to the need of replacing the conventional systems which utilise environmentally harmful refrigerants and consume high grade electrical power. This paper presents the key equations necessary for developing a novel empirical lumped analytical simulation model for commercial 450 kW two-bed silica gel/water adsorption chiller incorporating mass and heat recovery schemes. The adsorption chiller governing equations were solved using MATLAB® platform integrated with REFPROP® to determine the working fluids thermo-physical properties. The simulation model predicted the chiller performance within acceptable tolerance and hence it was used as an evaluation and optimisation tool. The simulation model was used for investigating the effect of changing fin spacing on chiller performance where changing fin spacing from its design value to minimum permissible value increased chiller cooling capacity by 3.0% but decreased the COP by 2.3%. Furthermore, the effect of generation temperature lift on chiller performance and the feasibility of using it as a load control tool will be discussed. Genetic Algorithm optimisation tool was used to determine the optimum cycle time corresponding to maximum cooling capacity, where using the new cycle time increased the chiller cooling capacity by 8.3%.     

Simulation of operating characteristics of the silica gel-water adsorption chiller powered by solar energy

A lumped parameter model of a silica gel-water adsorption chiller driven by solar energy was introduced for the operating characteristics investigation. Matlab-Simulink, as a high-performance computing and programming tool, was used to simulate the operating characteristics of the chiller. Effects of the hot water tank capacity, the cycle time and the initial hot water temperature on the performance of the chiller were analyzed when the chiller was driven by a stable heat source and solar energy respectively. The simulation results indicated that when the chiller was driven by solar energy, the open circulation of the hot water with a short cycle time and the closed circulation of hot water with a longer cycle time were better. A proposal was also provided for the chiller driven by solar energy to work under the optimum working conditions, such as hot water circulation mode, cycle time and initial temperature.     

Transient modeling of a two-bed silica gel-water adsorption chiller

This article presents a transient distributed-parameter model for a two-bed, silica gel-water adsorption chiller. Compared with our previous lumped-parameter model, we found better agreement between our model prediction and experimental data. We discussed the important effect of heat recovery and the effect of extra system piping on the system performance. Time constants of sensors were also considered. We found that the chiller was able to maintain its cooling capacity over a fairly broad range of cycle times and the previous lumped-parameter model tended to under-predict the cooling capacity at long cycle times.     

Experimental study on improved two-bed silica gel–water adsorption chiller

A novel silica gel–water adsorption chiller with two chambers has been built in Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). This chiller combines two single bed systems (basic system) without any vacuum valves. One adsorber, one condenser and one evaporator are housed in the same chamber to constitute one adsorption/desorption unit. In this work, the chiller is developed and improved. The improved chiller is composed of three vacuum chambers: two adsorption/desorption vacuum chambers (the same structure as the former chiller) and one heat pipe working vacuum chamber. The evaporators of these two adsorption/desorption units are combined by a heat pipe. So, no valves are installed in the chilled water sub system and one vacuum valve connects the two adsorption/desorption chambers together to improve its performance. The performance of the chiller is tested. As the results, the refrigerating capacity and the COP of the chiller are, respectively, 8.69 kW and 0.388 for the heat source temperature of 82.5 °C, the cooling water temperature of 30.4 °C and the chilled water outlet temperature of 11.9 °C. For a chilled water outlet temperature of 16.5 °C, the COP reaches 0.432, while the refrigerating capacity is near 11 kW. There is an improvement of at least 12% for the COP compared with the former chillers.     

Heat-exchanger design and switching-frequency effects on the performance of a continuous type solar adsorption chiller

A transient one-dimensional model, capable of describing the performance of a newly-introduced adsorption chiller with continuous operation, is developed. Since the cycle time and the switching frequency have a great influence on chiller performance, a non-dimensional switching frequency is introduced and a systematic parametric study is carried out in order to determine regions of optimal operation. An optimization based on the thermodynamic efficiency yields a lower switching frequency than an optimization based on the maximum cooling capacity. In addition, the effect of the heat-exchanger design parameters on system performance is explored. An increase of either the bed’s Fourier number or the thermofluid’s Nusselt number has a positive effect on both COP and cooling capacity. An improvement of system performance can also be achieved by decreasing either the thermofluid’s Fourier number or the bed’s Biot number. Finally, the effect of space velocity of the thermofluid exhibits the most interesting behavior; an increase of the space velocity has a positive effect on cooling capacity and a negative effect on COP.     

采用复合吸附剂和高效吸附床的吸附制冷机性能测试

利用平行流换热器和自制的硅胶/氯化钙复合吸附剂研制了一台小型吸附式制冷样机,并对样机进行了试验测试。测试结果表明:相对于硅胶吸附制冷样机,复合吸附剂吸附制冷样机的COP和制冷功率都有了明显的提高;在热源温度为90℃,冷却水温度为35℃,冷冻水进口温度为16.5℃、出口温度为14.4℃,吸附10min,脱附5 min的运行工况下,在整个循环周期内(15 min),制冷功率为1.03 kW,SCP为128.3 W/kg,COP为0.29;在吸附周期内(10 min),制冷功率为1.54 kW,SCP为192.4 W/kg,样机的能量密度为10.3 kW/m3,平行流换热器的换热系数为472.3 W/(m2.K)。     

Improvement of both adsorption performance of silica gel and heat transfer characteristics by means of heat exchange modulation for a heat pump

In order to provide high performance silica gel for an adsorption heat pump (AHP), gels were synthesized using the sol-gel process modified with a new method of controlling the primary gel particle growth by the addition of aluminum ion. In this process, the pores of the silica gel synthesized became smaller when aluminum ion was added in the washing process. Furthermore, this silica gel adsorbed more water at a low region of water vapor pressure and its adsorption ability did not change after 100 repetitive times of adsorping/desorping water vapor. The experimental results from the water vapor adsorption on the silica gel agreed well with theoretical results obtained under the Lump model for heat transfer and intraparticle diffusion model for mass transfer. A new direct heat exchange silica gel module (DS-module) for the AHP was provided, and the heat transfer characteristics during the operation for the adsorption of water vapor were both experimentally and theoretically determined. The period of the adsorption for the DS-module was shorter than that for a silica gel/tube module. Therefore, with the addition of the DS-module the heat transfer in the AHP adsorber was sufficiently enhanced and the maximum heat generation power for the 2-mm-thick DS-module was obtained. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 25(7): 420–433, 1996     

真空环境中硅胶-水工质对吸附平衡实验研究

文章基于真空称重法通过实验研究了不同吸附温度和吸附压力下,硅胶对水蒸气的吸附过程和平衡吸附量。实验结果表明,在同一吸附温度下,硅胶对水蒸气的吸附量随着相对吸附压力的升高而增大;当相对吸附压力一定时,硅胶对水蒸气的吸附量随着吸附温度的升高而减小。此外,文章还利用几种拟合方程对硅胶的吸附等温线进行拟合,并根据各方程拟合结果的相对误差确定适用于硅胶平衡吸附量的拟合方程。     

Performance evaluation of multi-stage, multi-bed adsorption chiller employing re-heat scheme

This paper deals with the performance investigation of a silica gel/water-based multi-stage, multi-bed, six-bed adsorption chiller employing re-heat scheme. The innovative chiller is powered by waste heat or renewable energy sources of temperature between 50 and 70 °C along with a coolant of inlet temperature at 30 °C for air-conditioning purpose. The performance of the six-bed adsorption chiller using re-heat scheme is compared with that of the six-bed chiller without re-heat. With the same operating conditions, such as the heat transfer fluid inlet (HTF) temperatures, HTF flow rates, adsorption/desorption cycle time and same chiller physical dimension, it is found that both the cooling capacity (CC) and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the three-stage chiller with re-heat scheme are superior than those of the three-stage chiller without re-heat scheme.     

从热工学角度探讨国产吸收式制冷机的发展方向

该文从热工学角度探讨了目前我国溴化锂吸收式制冷机整机热力循环及各热质交换设备性能、结构等方面存在的问题;在整机循环方面,指出实现各设备的合匹配、发展新的结构流程及增加新品种、新规格的机组为进一步的发展方向;在各设备性能、结构方面提出应加强吸收机理研究以及表面活化剂、高效强化管的应用研究。     

A small-scale silica gel-water adsorption system for domestic air conditioning and water heating by the recovery of solar energy

A small-scale silica gel-water adsorption system with modular adsorber, which utilizes solar energy to achieve the cogeneration of domestic air conditioning and water heating effect, is proposed and investigated in this paper. A heat recovery process between two adsorbers and a mass recovery process between two evaporators are adopted to improve the overall cooling and heating performance. First, the adsorption system is tested under different modes (different mass recovery, heat recovery, and cogeneration time) to determine the optimal operating conditions. Then, the cogeneration performance of domestic cooling and water heating effect is studied at different heat transfer fluid temperatures. The results show that the optimal time for cogeneration, mass recovery, and heat recovery are 600 s, 40 s, and 40 s, respectively. When the inlet temperature of hot water is around 85°C, the largest cooling power and heating power are 8.25 kW and 21.94 kW, respectively. Under the condition of cooling water temperature of 35°C, the obtained maximum COP_c, COP_h, and SCP of the system are 0.59, 1.39, and 184.5 W/kg, respectively.     

Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristics of a Gas Turbine Combustor Burning Syn-gas

The present study focused on the development of a full-scale gas turbine combustor burning syn-gas from the coal-based multi-production. The dynamic features of a variety of parameters of the combustor, such as temperature and pressure during the procedures of startup and thermal load shifting, were measured and analyzed. The frequency and power spectrum of pressure fluctuation were analyzed by applying FFT and 1D continuous MORLET wavelet methods. The results show that the pressure fluctuation has distinct patterns during startup and load-transition procedures. The relationship between these dynamic features and the stability, safety and efficiency of gas turbine combustors burning syn-gas are preliminarily discussed.     

Model of a solar driven steam jet ejector chiller and investigation of its dynamic operational behaviour

The solar driven steam jet ejector chiller (SJEC) is a new device for solar air-conditioning. Previously, solar SJEC has been only investigated theoretically by static models and practically by small test rigs. A demonstration plant does not exist so far, so that the operational behaviour of a solar SJEC has not been investigated in detail yet. But due to the fact that solar irradiation and cold demand are not constant, the operational behaviour is very important for the plant design and the controlling concept. This publication presents a model for a SJEC and the results of dynamic simulations. The proposed model allows creating and investigating different plant concepts by its structure in model components. After the validation of the model, simulations of a fictive solar SJEC with parabolic trough collectors are accomplished to analyse the dynamic operational behaviour of a future plant.     

Effect of internal cooling/heating coil on adsorption/regeneration of solid desiccant tray for controlling air humidity

Thermal performances of solid desiccant tray having internal cooling/heating coil for air humidity adsorption and desiccant regeneration are investigated. Three units of desiccant tray each of 48 cm × 48 cm cross‐sectional area and 2.5 cm thickness filled with silica gel are tested in a wind tunnel. For adsorption process, an air stream is flowing through the desiccant trays and the air humidity is captured by the silica gel. Approximately 10–40% of air humidity could be adsorbed more in case of the internal cooling. Besides, the outlet air temperature increases only slightly. In regeneration process, a hot air stream is used to repel the moisture in the silica gel. With the internal heating, the regeneration time is shorter compared with that without internal water heating. In addition, a correlation for calculating the adsorption/regeneration performance of the silica gel trays is developed and the results from the model agree well with the experimental data. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical analysis of cooling water temperature of two-stage adsorption chiller along with different mass ratios

This paper deals with the performance investigation of a silica gel/water based on two-stage, four-bed adsorption chiller with different mass allocation between upper and lower beds employing the re-heat scheme. The innovative chiller is powered by waste heat or renewable energy source of temperature between 50 °C and 90 °C with a coolant of inlet temperature 30 °C for air conditioning purpose. The performance of the four-bed adsorption chiller employing the re-heat scheme is compared with that of the two-stage conventional chiller with the re-heat scheme using equal mass allocation. Results show that cooling capacity can be improved with the optimum allocation of adsorbent mass to the upper beds than that of lower beds. Besides, it is observed that the cooling capacity can be improved up to 10.78% while the cooling water temperature is at 20 °C.     

Experimental study of the transient adsorption/desorption characteristics of silica gel particles in fluidized bed

Transient adsorption/desorption characteristics of spherical particles of silica gel (about 3 mm in diameter) in a fluidized bed have been studied experimentally. To control the humidity of inlet air, a humidifier is designed and fitted in a proper location in the system. The system is well instrumented to measure the inlet and outlet air parameters as well as bed temperatures during the experiments.     

锅炉动态特性研究方法综述

对锅炉动态特性进行研究可为锅炉设计及运行的优化提供依据,并可建立仿真系统培训运行人员,提高设备运行的安全可靠性。锅炉的动态特性可采用试验法和机理分析计算法进行研究。在采用机理分析计算法研究锅炉动态特性时,传递函数法、线性方程组法和非线性数字仿真法是三种主要方法,这三种方法的选择与精度要求及计算工具的发展相关。综述了我国锅炉动态特性研究过程中采用的各种方法及其典型应用,指出非线性数字仿真法是我国当前研究锅炉动态特性的主要方法。     

氯化钙/硅胶和氯化钙/凹凸棒土复合吸附剂的制备及性能对比

分别通过浸渍法和焙烧法制备了两种复合吸附剂氯化钙/硅胶和氯化钙/凹凸棒土。在温度40℃、相对湿度20%条件,氯化钙/硅胶复合吸附剂的吸水性能随样本中氯化钙含量的增加而增加。氯化钙/凹凸棒土的最佳焙烧条件为焙烧温度300℃,焙烧时间2 h。在相对湿度为20%,吸附时间分别为15,20 min时,氯化钙/凹凸棒土的SCP分别为140.26,128.92 W/kg,远大于同等条件下氯化钙/硅胶的SCP。两种吸附剂的吸附性能对比表明,氯化钙/凹凸棒土吸附剂由于其良好的吸水性能更加适用于低温驱动的吸附制冷机。     

Effect of acceleration on dynamic stall of airfoil in unsteady operating conditions

In this paper the effect of accelerated flow over a moving airfoil is considered and based on the flow field around the airfoil the dynamic stall is evaluated. In contrast to ordinary pitching motion, the dynamic stall evaluation in this study is performed with a different motion pattern, in which the airfoil has a heaving motion in one direction. This motion pattern is also similar to rotation of an element of blade in horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). In present investigation, the Reynolds number is changed during simulation time and variations of this parameter from initial to final values are shown by acceleration parameter. The operating Reynolds number is more than 10⁶, and a S809 airfoil is selected to move with accelerations of 1, 4 and 6 m/s² in normal direction to free stream. To resolve accelerated flow filed in the two‐dimensional computational domain and to achieve results within a reasonable computation time, the unsteady Reynolds‐Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations are employed. The governing equations are discretized based on the finite volume approach and semi‐implicit method for pressure linked equations algorithm is used for pressure–velocity coupling. Furthermore, turbulence effect on flow field is accounted using shear stress transport (SST) k‐ω model. It is shown that the accelerated flow can significantly influence on the aerodynamic loads and dynamic stall trend. This study may introduce a new concept regarding dynamic stall and aerodynamic loads when the rotational acceleration is involved in HAWTs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.