Combined evaporator and condenser for sorption cooling systems: A steady-state performance analysis

G. Bamorovat Abadi and Majid Bahrami

Energy, 2020, vol. 209, issue C

Abstract: The main obstacles that prevent wide commercialization of sorption cooling/heat pump systems are their bulky size (weight), cost, and low efficiency. Combining two main cycle components, namely, evaporator and condenser, is a potential solution that can reduce the complexity, mass, and cost of such systems. Capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporators (CALPEs) are used in closed-cycle sorption systems including heat pumps, heat transformers, desalination, and thermal energy storage systems. This paper investigates the feasibility of a combined evaporator and condenser (CEC). A custom-built testbed for evaluating performance of CEC is used to test four types of commercially available finned-tube heat exchangers with a range of fin geometries. Tests were performed with water vapor pressure of 0.61–5.63 kPa and 0–35 °C heat transfer fluid (HTF) inlet temperature. Comparing tubes with different fins indicates that tubes with 1.42 mm parallel fins, 40 fins per inch (FPI), have a higher overall heat transfer coefficient as an evaporator (40 W/K) and those with 0.9 mm cross head fins (40 FPI) marginally outperformed the other tubes as a condenser (47 W/K). Therefore, the capacity of the custom-built CEC is reported within practical operating temperature range.

Keywords: Low pressure evaporator and condenser; Capillary effects; Combined evaporator and condenser; Adsorption systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:209:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220316121

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118504

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