Test and simulation of a solar powered solid sorption cooling machine

At the Institut für Thermodynamik und Wärmetechnik (ITW) a solar powered cooling machine with no moving parts has been built for demonstration purposes. The main part of the device is an absorber/desorber unit which is mounted inside a concentrating solar collector. The heat of absorption is transported out of the solar collector by means of two horizontally working heatpipes. The working pair consists of NH₃ used as the refrigerant and SrCl₂ as the absorbing medium. The performance of the solar refrigeration unit was measured in a field test.The working principle of a discontinuously working, solid sorption cooling machine will be explained using the demonstration machine as an example. Results obtained from a field test performed in 1995 are presented and discussed. Furthermore, a simulation program for the numerical simulation of a solar powered solid sorption cooling machine has been developed and tested.Finally, to confirm a problem-free continuous operation of a solid sorption system, a long term study over 14 months was carried out using NH₃/SrCl₂ as the working pair.