TITLE:
Performance of a Refrigeration Absorption Cycle Driven by Different Power Sources
AUTHORS:
Sameh Alsaqoor, Khaled S. AlQdah
KEYWORDS:
Absorption, Solar Energy, Performance, Generator, COP
JOURNAL NAME:
Smart Grid and Renewable Energy,
Vol.5 No.7,
July
3,
2014
ABSTRACT: In this study, performance assessment of absorption refrigeration cycle
has been carried out under variable power sources namely electric,
conventional fuel and renewable energy sources. The ammonia-water absorption
cycle was used in this work, the temperatures at each point in the cycle such
as generator, absorber, evaporator and condenser have been measured and with
using absorption device system. The coefficient of performance and efficiency
of the plant were measured and then compared. The results showed that when
the cycle driven by electricity, the coefficient of performance varied 0.694
to 1.032 along the test time and the generator temperature changes from 48.1°C to 101.5°C with the average efficiency of 57.1% and average coefficient of
performance of 0.78. When methane used as a fuel to generate power the
coefficient of performance varied between 0.686 and 0.94 under the generator
temperature of 123.3°C and 127.4°C and average efficiency of 40.02% with
coefficient of performance of 0.735. Solar energy used as the alternative
source of power which is the clean and safe power source and when the plant driven by the solar thermal energy, the coefficient of performance reached to
0.801 under the generator temperature of 91°C, but the system efficiency
about 11.68% along the test time. Solar energy can be used efficiently and
replaced the conventional power sources to drive the absorption refrigeration
unit.