Absorption cooling system by using solar energy

Authors

Abstract
The dynamic phase mode of the intermittent solar absorption refrigeration plant phase using the
ammonia / water pair was developed. The basic study of intermittent operation allowed to study,
through the material and thermal balances, a thermodynamic model linking the temperatures, the
bits and the massive fractions in the different compartments. Sunny days representing the four
seasons of the year on our concerns. Variations in the rate of stunning, temperatures and
concentrations were explored. The results have been posted, submitted the assumptions adopted
especially at constant operating pressure, that the machine proposes a permit to have a temperature
of generation around 135°C and a temperature of condensation of 60 °C. These temperatures are
marked by the adaptation of the natural convection to the air for the operation of the condenser.

Introduction

The use of solar energy in sunny countries rural areas is an effective way to overcome the lack and
the difficulty of supplying electrical energy. It is therefore important and necessary to exploit this
natural resource and clean. Among the processes of thermal transformation of solar energy, solar
refrigeration is the application the more appropriate for the storage of foodstuffs and
pharmaceutical products (Errougani and Bentayeb, 2002). As a result, solar energy is the only
solution for the institution a decentralized cold chain, energy-efficient in developing countries
(Bougard, 1983). For that, the combination of solar energy with absorption, adsorption,
desiccation, and other technologies less studied for refrigeration is news around the world. (Best
and Ortega 1999, Guangming and Eiji 1999).

Absorption refrigeration is most frequently adopted for solar refraction (Meunier, 1978; Infante
Ferreira, 2008). This is a process for which the effect of refreshing is produced by the use of a
couple of fluid and a certain amount of input heat, replacement of the electrical input used with
the cycle of vapor compression.

Absorption refrigeration systems can operate in a continuous or intermittent cycle. The essential
difference between the two cycles lies in the fact that the continuous cycle produces the cold in
phase with the sun while the intermittent cycle produces cold during the night.

Several studies were carried out at intermittent cycles using the NH3 / H2O couple. Trombe and
Foex (1976) were among the first researchers to be interested in the systems of intermittent
refrigeration. They designed a system where the generator occupies the focal line of a solar
cylindro-parabolic concentrator. Experiences have focused on the use of two concentrators the first
is to 1.5 𝑚2 of surface and the other of 18 𝑚2. Daily ice production was 6 kg and 100 kg,
respectively. Chinnappa (1962), on the other hand, built an intermittent cooling system. The heat
source was a flat sensor with three glass covers. This system provided a daily output of 1.43 kg of
ice per square meter from the collector area and reached a 12°C vaporization temperature. Also,
the work of Exell and Kornsakoode (Exelland Kornsakoo, 1981), which tested an intermittent
absorption refractory installation with two surface-mounted surface-mounted sensors of 1.5𝑚2 and
2.5 𝑚2 , is cited.

Ice production has reached more than 4 kg / 𝑚2 day. In more recent work, Tangka and Kamnang
(Tangka and Kamnang, 2006) have designed, developed, tested and studied a refrigeration system
at intermittent solar absorption, the means of the upper and lower limits of the temperature
provided by the collector were respectively 100 and 40°C. The average temperature in the cold
room was 4°C and the COP was estimated at 0.487.

Intermittent systems may also use salt instead of water as an absorbent to avoid rectification
(Vanek et al., 1996). This has distinct advantages because salt does not evaporate with water during
heating, which is a problem produced with water as an absorbent. As a result, Swartman et al
(Swartmanet al., 1975) compared the performances of the H2OeNH3 (58 to 70% NH3) and
NaSCNeNH3 (47 to 57% NH3) pairs in intermittent solar collectors with double-glazed planar
collectors.

The COPs were respectively (0.05e0.14) and (0.11e0.27) at a vaporization temperature of 12°C.
Dahr and Kumar (1980) have proposed the concept of a separate water-cooled absorber for
intermittent solar refrigeration systems using the NH3eNaSCN pair. They have theoretically
verified the possibility of achieving such a concept and have proposed a multi-level method of
computation. It was then possible to achieve low refrigeration temperatures in the range of 15 to
20°C, even in tropical climates with collector solar plans.

Rivera and Rivera (2003) presented the theoretical performance of an intermittent absorption
refrigeration system operating with the NH3 / LiNO3 pair. In this system, a composite parabolic
concentrator (CPC) with a glass cover, plays the role of generator absorber.

The theoretical efficiency of the CPC was 0.33 to 0.78 depending on the period of the season. In
addition, the results showed that it is possible to produce up to 11.8 kg of ice at temperatures of
about 120 ° C and at temperatures of condensation between 40°C and 44°C. The overall efficiency
of the system was between 0.15 and 0.4 depending on the temperatures of generation and
condensation (Trombe and Foex, 1976).

The intermittent cycle has the advantage of installing the minimum component compared to the
number of components required in the continuous operation of the cycles. The operation of the
pumps may well be replaced by a physical thermo-siphoning phenomenon (Dahr and Kumar,
1980) and the combination of the two-to-two components, the evaporator-condenser and the
absorber-generator, is as possible (Chinnappa 1962, Tangka and Kamnang 2006, El-Ghalban
2002).

The purpose of this work is to highlight the operating inertia of intermittent solar absorption
systems. A modeling of the generation phase of an intermittent solar absorption refrigeration plant
using the NH3 / H2O pair has been developed. This modeling is based on the establishment of
material and thermal balances, in dynamic regimes, of the different functional components of the
installation.

2. Description of the installation

The solar absorption refraction system, designed to working with the NH3 / H2O couple, basically
consists in an absorber, a condenser, an evaporator Storage tank, a separator, a solution supply
tank, an ethylene glycol tank, a solar collector, a feed pump and five separation valves ( see Fig.
1). The exchange surfaces, the void masses, the volumes and the dimensions of the components
are summarized in Table 1.

The cycle operates in two phases: an energetic phase plus generation and an absorption phase
(refrigeration). During the generation phase that occurs during the day, the Ammonia-Water
mixture (NH3 / H2O) is heated in the generator by ethylene glycol as a fluid. heat heated by solar
radiation incident on the concentrator.

Figure1. Schematic diagram of an intermittent refrigeration solar absorption system.

 Table 1: Characteristics of the elements of the installation.
Element Exchange The empty Volume (l)
surface (𝑚2 ) mass (Kg)
Generator /absorber 0.026 0.19 0.04
Condenser 0.67 5.73 3
Evaporator 0.62 5.25 2.8
Reservoir 0.5 12 20.2
Separator 0.2 3.47 3.37
Supply reservoir 0.33 7.8 13
Ethylene glycol reservoir 0.33 7.8 13

At the first stage, during the commissioning phase, the generator is warming up and the pressure
is increasing. When the partial pressure of the ammonia reaches its condensation pressure
corresponding to the temperature of the condenser, the solution begins to circulate by mixed
convection between the generator, separator and reservoir supply.

The ammonia vapor and water generated will be separated in the separator. The ammonia vapor
passes to the rectifier to be depleted of water before passing to the condenser where it will be
condensed. The liquid ammonia obtained will be stored in the storage reservoir or evaporator.

As the condensation proceeds, the ammonia content of the solution within the generator decreases
over time, and the temperature that the solution must reach to initiate condensation increases. The
process stops when the generator reaches its temperature and partial pressures have equalized in
the generator and condenser.

During this phase the valves 1 and 2 are open as to the valve 3 is closed. Valves 4 and 5 are only
used to charge the installation with ammonia and water. At night, during the absorption phase, the
ammonia in the evaporator is in the pure state while a solution of H2O / NH3 poor in cooling, is
in the 'absorber. The vapor pressure of the solution is lower than that of ammonia. There will be,
therefore, an absorption of the ammonia by the H2O / NH3 solution until equalization of the
pressures of the absorber and the evaporator, from which a production of cold within the
evaporator. During this phase, only the valve 3 will be open.

3. Cycle modeling

3.1 Hypotheses

In order to be able to determine the variation of the temperatures of the different elements of the
cycle during the generation phase, dew-bits of water and ammonia as well as ammonia
compositions of the solutions, a mathematical model describing the behavior in dynamic regime
of each of the elements has been developed. It corresponds to the writing of the different material
and thermal balances for each element. These balance sheets have been written on the basis of the
following assumptions:

There is no overheating of ammonia vapor at the output of the generator and evaporator neither
under cooling of the liquid ammonia at the outlet of the condenser,

There are no heat losses in the different components of the installation with the exception of the
solar collector and of the rectifier,

The solutions are assumed in thermodynamic equilibrium.

The solutions at the exit of the different elements of the installation are at the same concentration
and temperature as them.

Once the two-phase flow is established in the generator, the pressure in the plant is kept constant.

5 Results and discussion

The development and rearrangement of the different equations reports describing the operation of
the installation during the generation phase, allowed us to have a system of non-linear differential
equations of order 1 and couples. To do this, we have a multitude of numerical methods such as
Runge-Kutta, Adams-Bashforth-Moulton, Rosenbrock, or Euler. (Yang et al., 2005). The choice
of the method to be used is of great importance since it has an influence on the precision of the
result as well as on the calculation time. The second-order Runge-Kutta method of a 3 order
truncation error with a precision of 10−3 is predefined in the MATLAB software and known as
ODE23. It's a variable step routine. The time step is continuously changed in order to guarantee
the precision of the calculation. Robustness this method comes from the fact that precision is
estimated at each step until it is equal to the one fixed in advance.

Cycle modeling was conducted for four sunny days of the year, the Equinoxes (March 21 and
September 21) and the Summer Solstices (June 21) and winter (December 21).

5.2 Results exploitation

During a sunny day, solar irradiance received by a sensor typically varies in the manner represented
in Figure 2. It rises from sunrise to maximum at solar noon, before falling again until it is canceled
at nightfall. In clear weather, it is possible to obtain a flux density greater than 800 W / m2 at noon.

The use of solar energy is therefore well adapted to applications whose cold requirements coincide
with the hours of sunshine. Comparing the four curves can observe that the highest radiation has
been obtained on June 21st and the lowest on December 21st. In this article, we will limit ourselves
to the presentation of the simulation results for the summer solstice (June 21)
Figure 2. Variation in solar flux density for equinoxes and solstices.
 Figure 3. Variation in the temperature of the solar absorber and the pane.

Figure 3 shows the variation of the temperatures of the absorber and the solar concentrator window
as a function of time. Given the low absorption coefficient of the window (a ¼ 0.1), the variation
in the temperature of the latter, with the advancement of the day, is small compared to that of the
solar absorber that reaches very high temperatures up to 205°C, because it has a higher absorption
capacity (a ¼ 0.85).
 Figure 4. Temperature of the solar absorber and the temperature of the output fluid

The temperature of the solar absorber as well as that of the heat transfer fluid at its output increase
from the beginning of the day (see Fig. 4) to the point A which represents the end. Solar control.
At this point, the temperature of the peddling fluid at the generator's input is 160°C and the
generator's temperature is 135°C, so we have an energy heat in the fluid can subsequently vaporize
the solution in the generator. For this reason, the simulation continues to the stop condition, which
corresponds to point B, where the difference in temperature between that of the heat transfer fluid
at the entrance of the generator and that of the solution contained in the generator is equal to 1 (Te
cal.G TG¼1°C). The equilibrium is reached between the coolant and the solar absorber at point A.
The conditions in this case are the equalization of the absorber and heat transfer fluid temperatures
at the generator input ( Tabs¼Te cal.G) on one side and the absence of illumination (E¼0) on the
other side. Given the thermal losses in the solar collector, the temperature of the solar absorber is
slightly lower than that of the heat transfer fluid in the zone situated between the points A and B.

Figure 5 Variation of the temperature of the generator and the coolant

An examination of the temperatures of the generator and heat transfer fluid at the generator's
entrance, (Fig. 5), shows that during the start-up phase , (the area between points C and D), there
is a slight difference between the two temperatures.

When the regime settles, this difference becomes more important. The elevation of the temperature
in the generator results in an elevation of the steam content in water and steam, which necessitates
the presence of a rectifier to ensure ammonia-rich bits at the condenser input.
 Figure 6 Variation of the temperature of the generator, supply reservoir and rectifier

In Figure 6 the temperatures deferred of the generator, the supply reservoir and rectifier. Between
points E and F, there is a total condensation of the steam from the generator and consequently the
masses, the mass fractions and the temperatures in the generator and the feed reservoir remain
unchanged, this is well confirmed by Figure 7

.
 Figure 7. Change in the mass fraction of ammonia in rich and poor solutions

As shown in Figure7, the ammonia fraction of the rich solution in the supply reservoir continuously
decreases, whereas that of the lean solution contained in the generator passes through a minimum
before it grows and reaches the same fraction of ammonia in the rich solution. This is explained
by the cessation of the generation of ammonia which causes the cessation of the mixed flow within
the generator and thereafter the solution rich in ammonia passes to the generator and consequently
we will have the same level of solution in the reservoir and the generator.
 Figure 8 Variation of the vapor flow at the output of the generator and the rectifier

Figure 8 shows the variation of the vapor bits at the output generator and rectifier. The bits of
vapor generated and rectified as a function of time to go through a maximum around 13h before
decreasing. This variation is justified because it goes hand in hand with the variation in the density
of the solar flux which around 12h reaches its maximum value. The difference between the vapor
bits is none other than the condensed water flow within the rectifier.

6. Conclusion

In this work, a transient modelization of the phased phase, plus generation of an intermittent solar
absorption refraction cycle, was developed. The inertia resulting from the solar control of the
processes was implemented by the study of the variations of the functional parameters such as the
temperatures, the bits and the fractions in refrigeration. Solutions. For a sunny day, the results of
the simulation show that the variation of these parameters is related to the nature of the variation
of the order. They increase to a maximum around solar noon which corresponds to a maximum
useful power at the sensor and then they decrease to reach minimum values at the end of the day.
It has been noted that the steam generation phenomenon may continue to occur beyond the end of
solar control, which is characterized by the sunset on a period of about 3 hours. The nocturnal
refrigeration phase can then begin.

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