Test and simulation of a solar powered solid sorption cooling machine

At the Institut fur Thermodynamik und Warmetechnik (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. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.