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Effect of heat exchanger materials on the performance of adsorption chiller

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Abstract

The effect of adsorber heat exchanger (adHEX) material on the system performance of a silica gel-water, fin-tube type adsorption chiller was investigated for three typical materials, aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and stainless steel (SS), following both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. High thermal conductivity was expected to shorten switching time and prolong adsorption/desorption period, and consequently result in a larger amount of water vapor, and lower thermal mass. In other words, since the product of density and heat capacity increases the heat supplied to the system, higher thermal performance was expected for Cu. However, preliminary calculations failed to confirm the expectation. This study examined the causes by artificially changing the Al thermo-physical properties to those of the Cu and SS. Above a threshold thermal conductivity, the main cause was found to be the material’s density, and below the threshold, thermal conductivity was most important. The Al adHEX showed 0.518 of COP, 221 W/kg of SCP and 0.115 of ηe, which were 6.85 % and 6.53 % higher in COP and exergy efficiency than the Cu adHEX.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area, m2

c p :

Specific heat, J/kg∙K

COP:

Coefficient of performance

D :

Diameter, mm

E :

Exergy, J

FH :

Fin height, mm

FP :

Fin pitch, mm

k :

Thermal, conductivity W/m∙K

L :

Latent heat of vaporization, J/kg

m :

Mass, kg

ΔH :

Heat of adsorption, J/kg

Q :

Total heat, J

q :

Water uptake, kg/kg

SCP:

Specific cooling power, W/kg

T :

Temperature, K

t :

Time, s

u :

Velocity, m/s

V :

Volume, m3

η :

Exergy efficiency

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

ads :

Adsorption process

b :

Adsorbent

cycle :

Cycle

con :

Condenser

des :

Desorption process

e :

Exergy

eva :

Evaporator

fin :

Fin

H :

Heating fluid

Hex :

Heat exchanger

i :

Inner surface

L :

Cooling fluid

m :

Outer tube surface

o :

Outer fin diameter

sen :

Sensible heat

v :

Vapor

w :

Water

0 :

Reference state

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2017R1D1A1 B05030422).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, Korea

    Ngoc Vi Cao, Xuan Quang Duong, Woo Su Lee, Moon Yong Park & Jae Dong Chung

  2. Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 17104, Korea

    Hiki Hong

Authors
  1. Ngoc Vi Cao
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  2. Xuan Quang Duong
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  3. Woo Su Lee
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  4. Moon Yong Park
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  5. Jae Dong Chung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jae Dong Chung.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Yong Tae Kang

Ngoc Vi Cao received his Ph.D. from Sejong University in 2020. His research interests include energy analysis, thermal driven system such as adsorption chiller or thermal storage system using heat and mass transfer.

Xuan Quang Duong is a Post-doc in Mechanical Engineering, Sejong University. He received his Ph.D. from Sejong University in 2019. His research interests include thermal driven system such as adsorption chiller or thermal storage system using heat and mass transfer.

Woo Su Lee received his master`s degree from Sejong University in 2020. His research interests include optimization and analysis of thermal driven system such as adsorption refrigerator using heat and mass transfer.

Moon Yong Park received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sejong University, Seoul, Korea in 2019. He is currently in M.S. course in Sejong University. His research interests include thermal driven system such as adsorption chiller or thermal storage system using heat and mass transfer phenomena.

Jae Dong Chung is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Sejong University. He received Ph.D. from Seoul National University in 1996. His research interests include sensible, latent and thermos-chemical energy storage system and heat-driven refrigeration system such as desiccant and adsorption cooling. On those topics, he published about 130 refereed papers.

Hiki Hong is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University. He received Dr. Eng. from Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research interests include thermal energy storage, solar thermal energy system and building energy savings.

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Cao, N.V., Duong, X.Q., Lee, W.S. et al. Effect of heat exchanger materials on the performance of adsorption chiller. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 2217–2223 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0443-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0443-6

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