ThesisL Hosseini

Design and Analysis of a Solar Assisted Absorption
Cooling System Integrated with Latent Heat Storage
Name : Laleh Hosseini

Student Number: 4056345
Report Number: P&E - 2465
Master : Sustainable Process and Energy Technology
Delft University of Technology
August 2011
Author
Name Laleh Hosseini
Master Sustainable Process and Energy Technology
Student Number 4056345
E-mail [email protected]
Company
Deerns consulting engineers
Fleminglaan 10
2289 CP Rijswijk
Supervisors
Dr.ir. C.A. Infante Ferreira
Dr.ir. P.J.W. van den Engel
Graduation committee
Prof.dr.ir. T.J.H. Vlugt (Chairman)
Dr.ir. C.A. Infante Ferreira
Dr. L.C.M. Itard
Dr.ir. P.J.W. van den Engel
Ir. J. van Dorp

Abstract
Air conditioning is one of the major consumers of electrical energy in many parts of the world.
The demand can be expected to increase because of the changing working times, increased
comfort expectations and global warming. With more air conditioning units, the electricity
demand has been rising thereby increasing the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. A drastic
change, therefore, should be implemented in the energy structure of the developed countries.
Environmentally friendly and energy efficient technologies should be introduced in which the
environmental impact of the conventional air conditioning system is minimized.
Solar radiation as a sustainable energy resource is one of the most available forms of energy on
the earth surface which could reduce the fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emission to the
atmosphere. Solar cooling is a possible technological alternative to conventional air
conditioning systems that has recently attracted a growing interest. A solar assisted absorption
cooling system as a sustainable solution for cooling systems could provide both heating and
cooling of a building. Since the solar energy is available for only a fraction of the day and its
availability depends on several factors such as latitude and sky clearness, the storage of it is an
important concern. Thermal energy storage is a practical way in conserving the solar energy as
it can reduce the discrepancy between the energy supply and demand. Latent heat storage units
(LHSU) using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are promising candidates as heat storage media.
In this thesis, the behavior of a solar assisted single effect absorption system integrated with
LHSU was investigated. The mathematical model for the single effect absorption system and
the LHSU based on the mass and energy balances and heat transfer equations were developed.
The models were implemented in MATLAB and the numerical results were validated with the
experimental results from the literature. Based on the cooling demand of a specific building
(waiting room in Schiphol airport) the absorption system and the LHSU were designed and the
behavior of each system for different control parameters is investigated. For the designed single
effect absorption system, variation of the COP and the evaporator heat transfer rate at the
different flow rates and temperatures of the external cool water, hot water and the chilled water
were studied. The results show that the chilled, hot and cooled water temperatures have
significant effect on the performance of the absorption system. For the designed latent heat
storage, several numerical investigations were conducted. The impact of the key parameters e.g.
the mass of PCM, the number of tubes inside the PCM container and the radius of the tubes, on
the thermal performances of the latent heat storage and the melting time duration were studied.
The behavior of the designed latent heat storage unit in charging process with varying solar
collector field area was studied subsequently. The discharging process of LHSU for the
maximum cooling demand of the building was investigated. It was observed that the designed
LHSU could provide the requested hot water temperature for more than 10 hours which is
sufficient for driving the air conditioning system.
Acknowledgments
In the first place, I would like to thank my supervisor at TU Delft, Dr. C.A. Infante Ferreira for
his supervision, valuable technical advice and guidance from the early stage of the project.
I would like to acknowledge Deerns for the financial support of this project. Also my
appreciation to my supervisors at Deerns, Dr. P.J.W. van den Engel and Mr. J. van Dorp for
their advice and support during my research program. I wish to thank all my colleagues at the
Deerns, building physics department, for making a friendly atmosphere.
I would like to thank my friends Pejman, Santosh and Sinyun for being such nice friends during
the two years of my master program.
I am grateful for Dr. L. C.M. Itard for her Indoor Climate Control lecture which interested me in
doing research in air conditioning systems.
My parents deserve special mention for their inseparable support and prayers. Words fail me to
express my feeling and appreciation to them. Without their support and help I would not be in
this position.
Finally, I owe special gratitude to my husband, Pooria, for continues, unconditional support and
motivation he gave me during my studies.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Phase Change Material ..................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Classifications of PCM .................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Description of the Building .............................................................................................. 4
1.5 System Configurations ..................................................................................................... 5
1.5.1 Vapour compression system ...................................................................................... 5
Case1: Integrated VC system with solar thermal collector and PCM buffer .......................... 7
Case2: Integrated VC system integrated with solar thermal collector, PCM and PV panels . 8
1.5.2 Single effect solar absorption system ........................................................................ 8
Case 3: Solar absorption system with LHS and ATES ......................................................... 10
Case 4: Solar absorption system with LHS .......................................................................... 12
1.6 Solar Thermal Collector ................................................................................................. 13
1.7 System Selection ............................................................................................................ 14
1.8 PCM Selection ............................................................................................................... 15
1.9 Research objective ......................................................................................................... 17
1.10 Problem approach ....................................................................................................... 17
2. Absorption System ............................................................................................................... 19
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 19
2.2 Mathematical model ....................................................................................................... 20
I. Absorber ......................................................................................................................... 21
II. Solution heat pump circuit .......................................................................................... 21
III. Solution Heat Exchanger ............................................................................................ 22
IV. Generator .................................................................................................................... 23
V. Condenser ................................................................................................................... 24
VI. Evaporator ................................................................................................................... 24
2.3 Implantation of the model in MATLAB/ SIMULINK ................................................... 25
2.4 Validation of the absorption system ............................................................................... 26
2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 27
3. Latent Heat Storage .............................................................................................................. 29
3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 29
3.2 Mathematical model ....................................................................................................... 30
3.3 Numerical simulation ..................................................................................................... 32
3.4 Validation of the latent heat storage model .................................................................... 34
3.5 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 37
4. System Design and Sensitivity Analysis .............................................................................. 39
4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Absorption system.......................................................................................................... 39
4.3 Results and discussions .................................................................................................. 40
4.4 Latent heat storage ......................................................................................................... 43
4.5 Sensitivity analysis of the designed latent heat storage ................................................. 46
4.6 Latent heat storage integrated with solar collector......................................................... 48
4.7 Absorption system integrated with latent heat storage................................................... 49
4.8 Economic Analysis......................................................................................................... 49
4.9 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 51
5. Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................... 53
5.1 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 53
5.2 Recommendations for future .......................................................................................... 54
References …................................…………………………………………………...…………..………55
Appendixes…................................………………………………………………………………………………....59
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Classification of PCMs (Sharma et al., 2009).............................................................. 3

Figure 1.2 Energy load of the building in 24 hr ............................................................................ 4
Figure 1.3 Different configurations for heating and cooling the system...................................... 5
Figure 1.4 Vapor compression system ......................................................................................... 5
Figure 1.5 COP for heat pumps as function of temperature lift (Zogou and Stamatelos, 1998) ... 6
Figure 1.6 The heating cycle for vapor compression system ........................................................ 7
Figure 1.7 The cooling cycle for a vapor compression cycle ....................................................... 7
Figure 1.8 Absorption air conditioning system ............................................................................ 8
Figure 1.9 Solar absorption cooling cycle ................................................................................... 11
Figure 1.10 The heating cycle of absorption system ................................................................... 11
Figure 1.11 The cooling cycle for case 4 .................................................................................... 12
Figure 1.12 The heating cycle for case 4..................................................................................... 12
Figure 1.13 Efficiency curve for different type of flat plate solar collector (Henning, 2007) ... 13
Figure 1.14 Efficiency curves for typical evacuated tube collectors (Henning, 2007) .............. 13
Figure 1.15 The Enthalpy curve of Erythritol ............................................................................ 16
Figure 2.1. Schematic diagram of the simulated absorption system ........................................... 20
Figure 2.2 Flow diagram of absorption system ........................................................................... 25
Figure 2.3 The temperature – pressure diagram of absorption cycle .......................................... 27
Figure 3.1 Schematic of the latent heat storage unit (the inside radius is ro and the outside is R)
..................................................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 3.2 Cylindrical control volume element (j, k)(Esen and Ayhan, 1996) ........................... 33
Figure 3.3 Average temperature measured in the longitudinal finned PCM system during
charging and discharging (Agyenim et al., 2010) ....................................................................... 35
Figure 3.4 Variation of PCM temperature with time for different time step (a) for different
number of nodes in axial and radial direction (b) ....................................................................... 35
Figure 3.5 The simulated results for the charging and discharging mode................................... 36
Figure 3.6 Variation of pipe diameter with melting time for two inlet HTF temperature........... 36
Figure 3.7 Variation of HTF mass flow rate with PCM melting time ........................................ 37
Figure 4.1 The absorption cooling cycle ..................................................................................... 40
Figure 4.2 Temperature- pressure diagram of absorption cooling cycle ..................................... 41
Figure 4.3 Variation of COP and cooling capacity with hot water temperature(a) and mass flow
rate (b) ......................................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 4.4 COP and the cooling capacity vs. chilled water temperature (a) and mass flow rate
(b) ................................................................................................................................................ 42
Figure 4.5 COP and cooling capacity vs. cooling water temperature (a) and mass flow rate(b)
..................................................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 4.6 Variation of HTF outlet temperature and PCM temperature in two locations of the
cylinder and the average PCM temperature with time in charging mode ................................... 44
Figure 4.7 Variation of storage efficiency with time for charging mode .................................... 45
Figure 4.8 Variation of HTF outlet temperature and PCM temperature in two locations of the
cylinder and the average PCM temperature with time in discharging mode............................... 45
Figure 4.9 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with number of tubes .......... 46
Figure 4.10 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with mass of PCM ............ 47
Figure 4.11 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with tube radius ................ 47
Figure 4.12 Variation of solar radiation and ambient temperature for a specific July day in the
Netherlands ................................................................................................................................. 48
Figure 4.13 Variation of PCM temperature with time for various evacuated tube solar collector
areas............................................................................................................................................. 48
Figure 4.14 Variation of PCM solidification with time for the maximum heating requirment of
the generator ................................................................................................................................ 49
Figure 4.15 Pie chart of the total system costs ............................................................................ 50
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of organic and inorganic PCMs ............................................. 4
Table 1.2 Thermal Solar Collector Types (Kalogirou, 2004) ............................................................... 13
Table 1.3 Characteristic of different vapour compression and absorption systems .............................. 14
Table 1.4 Approximate solar collector area for different cases (m2) .................................................... 14
Table 1.5 Estimation of systems capital cost in € ................................................................................. 15
Table 1.6 Selected PCMs for application in solar LiBr/ water absorption systems with melting
temperature in range of 100- 150 oC ..................................................................................................... 16
Table 1.7 Selected PCMs for applications in solar LiBr/ water absorption system with melting
temperature in range of 79- 96oC .......................................................................................................... 16
Table 2.1 Input values for simulated absorption system ...................................................................... 26
Table 2.2 Parameters values for simulated absorption system .............................................................. 26
Table 2.3 Results comparison with Ref (Jeong and Garimella, 2002) ................................................. 26
Table 3.1 Thermo-physical properties of phase change material Erythritol and HTF .......................... 34
Table 4.1 Designed input conditions for absorption system ................................................................. 40
Table 4.2 Designed parameters for the absorption system .................................................................... 40
Table 4.3 Calculated parameters for the designed absorption system................................................... 41
Table 4.4 Calculated parameters for the designed absorption system................................................... 41
Table 4.5 The geometry parameters of designed PCM storage............................................................. 44
Table 4.6 The specific price of major components ............................................................................... 50
Table 4.8 The size and price of major components of the system ........................................................ 50
List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature
Nomenclature Super- and subscripts
m Mass flow rate of the HTF, kg/s 1, 2 … State points

A Area, m2 a Absorber
a1 Loss conversion, kW.m-2.K amb Ambient
a2 Loss conversion, kW.m-2.K2 c Condenser
COP Coefficient Of Performance comp Compressor
CP Specific heat capacity at constant cool Cooling
pressure ,kJ/kg. K e Evaporator
D Diameter f Heat transfer fluid
f Mass flow rate, kg/s g Generator
G Solar radiation, kW/m2 heat Heating
h Enthalpy, kJ/kg in Inlet
HTF Heat Transfer Fluid l Liquid
k Thermal conductivity , kW/m. k m Medium, Melting
L Length, m out Outlet
LHSU Latent Heat Storage Unit
p Pump
n Time level
P Phase change material
Np Number of pipes
s solid
Nu Nusselt Number
v Vapor
P Pressure (K.pa )
PCM Phase Change Material
Greek symbols
Pr Prantel Number
Q Heat transfer rate, kW ∆H Latent heat, kJ/kg
q Vapor quality ∆R Radial space step, m
R Radial coordinate ∆t Time step, s
R Outside radius, m ∆Tlm Logarithmic mean temperature
r0 Inside radius, m difference, K
∆z Axial space step, m
Re Reynolds Number
µ Dynamic viscosity, kg/m s
T Temperature, o C
ε Heat exchanger effectiveness
t Time, s η Efficiency
Tm1 Lower melting temperature of PCM, o C η0 Conversion factor
Tm2 Higher melting temperature of PCM, oC ρ Density, kg/m3
U Overall heat transfer coefficient, kW/m2.K
V Volume, m3
Vj,k Control element volume, m3
W Power, kW
X LiBr concentration, percent by weight in
solution %
Z Axial coordinate
Convective heat transfer coefficient, kW/m2 k
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The request for new technologies due to the environmental problems, the energy shortage and
the high cost of energy have been a scientific concern over the last three decades. In recent
years, the use of renewable energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy has
received considerable attention for domestic and industrial applications. Using solar energy
systems is a promising mean of reducing the fossil fuel consumption and reducing the CO2
emission into the atmosphere. Solar energy has two shortcomings: intermittence and dispersion.
So, efficient and economical heat storage is a most important factor in the utilization of solar
energy. Phase Change energy storage Materials (PCM) have proved to have a great potential in
solar energy applications. Unlike sensible storage materials, such as water, masonry or rocks,
PCM stores much more heat per unit volume and another key advantage with the use of a PCM
is that heat storage and its recovery occurs isothermally, which makes them ideal for space
heating/ cooling applications (Tyagi and Buddhi, 2007).
Air conditioning is one of the major consumers of electricity which increases the use of fossil
fuels and CO2 emissions. So far, a respectful number of investigations have been done on solar
assisted heat pump systems with thermal storage. Kaygusuz developed an experimental model
to determine the dynamics of a solar assisted heat pump, collectors, dryer, and energy storage
tank used for drying grains. He also investigated the performance of a dual- source heat pump
system for residential heating (Kaygusuz, 1995b). Kaygusuz conducted an experimental and
theoretical study to determine the performance of phase- change energy storage materials, and
the variation of the outlet fluid temperature with different values of NTU (number of transfer
units for storage unit) for a solar water heating system (Kaygusuz, 1995a). Esen investigated the
cylindrical phase change storage tank linked to a solar powered heat pump system both
experimentally and theoretically (Esen, 2000). Qi et al. (2008) investigated the operational
performances of a solar heat pump heating system with seasonal latent heat thermal storage.
1
Chapter 1 Introduction
The cooling potential of a mechanical ventilation system can be improved by the integration
of short term latent heat thermal energy storage systems. Free cooling is the method of
storing outdoors coldness during the night and supply to indoor air during the day. The main
advantages of free cooling are cooling with reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases
and excellent indoor air quality maintenance inside the building.
Raj and Velraj presented a detailed review on free cooling and the major challenges and facts
posed in the use of PCM for system design such as thermal resistance of air and PCM and
geometry of encapsulation (Raj and Velraj, 2010).
Stritih and Butala conducted an experimental analysis of cooling buildings by using night-
time cold accumulation in a phase change material (PCM) (Stritih and Butala, 2007).
Zhang and Niu conducted an experimental study of microencapsulated paraffin slurry as
cooling storage medium for building cooling applications (Zhang and Niu, 2010).
One of the methods for cooling buildings with solar energy is by use of an absorption
refrigeration unit. Fong et al. did a comparative study of different solar cooling systems for
buildings in a subtropical city. Through their study it is found that solar electric compression
refrigeration and solar absorption refrigeration had the highest energy saving potential in
subtropical Hong Kong (Fong et al., 2010).
In order that solar air conditioning system can be available at lowest cost, it is essential that
the system can be used both for cooling in summer and for heating in winter. There is not
that much investigation done on combined solar cooling and heating systems (Löf and
Tybout, 1974; Helm et al., 2009).
In this chapter the phase change materials will be introduced and the selection of the solar
assisted air conditioning system integrated with latent heat storage will be motivated.
1.2 Phase Change Material
PCMs are “latent” heat storage materials. They use chemical bonds to store and release the
heat. The thermal energy transfer occurs when a material changes from solid to liquid, or
liquid to solid. This is called a change in state or phase.
So far, a respectful number of investigations have been done on PCM. The properties of
PCM to be used for latent heat storage were highlighted by (Schröder and Gawron, 1981) as
follows:
• High value of the heat of fusion and specific heat per unit volume and weight,
• Melting point which matches the application,
• Low vapor pressure at the operational temperature,
• Chemical stability and non-corrosiveness,
• Should not be hazardous, highly inflammable or poisonous,
• Have a reproducible crystallization without degradation,
• Have a small supercooling degree and high rate of crystal growth,
• Have a small volume variation during solidification,
• A high thermal conductivity,
• A PCM should be of abundant supply and at a low cost.
2
Zalba et al. (2003) reviewed the 237 sources in the area of thermal energy storage using
PCM’s. One of the conclusions of this paper is that the thermo- physical properties have not
been studied sufficiently in order that clear recommendation could be made for a design
process of commercial heat storage units.
Kenisarin and Mahkamov analyzed the publications over the last 15 years on properties and
application of PCMs and methods of enhancing heat and mass transfer in storage devices
(Kenisarin and Mahkamov, 2007). Also Sharma et al. summarize the investigation and
analysis of the available thermal energy storage systems incorporating PCMs for use in
different applications (Sharma et al., 2009).
1.3 Classifications of PCM
Complete reviews of the types of material which have been used, their classifications,
advantages and disadvantages and the various experimental techniques which were used to
determine the behavior of PCM in melting and solidification have been presented by Abhat
(1983) and Lane (1983).
Figure 1.1 Classification of PCMs (Sharma et al., 2009)
Generally PCMs can be divided to three main types: Organic, Inorganic and Eutectic as it is
shown in Figure 1.1. Among organic materials fatty acids which are in the non- paraffin
group are the most attractive materials for PCM since they are relatively cheap and widely
used in different areas. In solar heating systems the commercial paraffin and paraffin waxes
are more attractive since these materials are produced in large quantities and widely used.
They undergo negligible subcooling and are chemically inert and stable with no phase
segregation.
Hydrated salts are the most attractive material among inorganic material and they have
multiple applications in the field of solar energy storage (Lane, 1983; Dinçer and Rosen,
2011). Hydrated salts have high volumetric storage density (350 MJ/m3), relatively high
thermal conductivity (0.5 W/m K) and moderate costs compared to paraffin waxes, with few
exceptions (Farid et al., 2004). The problem with hydrated salts is their supercooling.
The chemical compounds and eutectic compositions are less attractive from the application
point of view than the mixtures of commercially manufactured fatty acid products.
3
Zalba et al. (2003) compared the advantages and disadvantages of organic and inorganic
materials which are shown in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of organic and inorganic PCMs
Organics Inorganics
Advantages Advantages
Not corrosives Greater phase change enthalpy
Low or none undercooling
Chemical and thermal stability
Disadvantages Disadvantages
Lower phase change enthalpy Undercooling
Low thermal conductivity Corrosion
inflammability Phase separation
Phase segregation, lack of thermal stability
Because phase change materials use ‘phase change’ to store energy, they can only be used in
a limited temperature range. These temperature ranges can differ per each different kind of
PCM, and within every type. The main selection criterion to decide on a specific PCM for
storage medium is the phase change temperature. If this is not correctly chosen, the material
cannot work properly. So as a first step the system configuration should be defined to select
the PCM.
1.4 Description of the Building
The building is situated in the Amsterdam airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. It is a waiting
room in terminal G of Schiphol airport with 400 m2 which is in operation only 8 hours a day
from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. The maximum heating load and cooling load of the building are 33
kW and 72 kW, respectively, which are 82.5W/m2 and 180 W/m2. The energy load variation
of the building is shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2 Energy load of the building in 24 hr
4
1.5 System Configurations

Configuration
Different configurations were considered for cooling and heating the building. Four solutions
are presented which are based on using solar thermal collectors
collector and a PCM storage for
storing the solar energy. In Figure 1.3 the different cases are shown and in the following
sections each case will be explained in detail.
Figure 1.3 Different configurations for heating and cooling the system
ATES: Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage, PV panels: Photo Voltaic panels
1.5.1 Vapour compression system

Vapor compression (VC) air conditioners are composed of four basic components:
evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion valve, as shown in Figure 1.4.
Figure 1.4 Vapor compression system
At point (1) the refrigerant in the liquid state at a relatively high pressure and high
temperature flows to an expansion device. Exiting the expansion valve, the refrigerant
pressure decreases that a small portion of the refrigerant vaporizes into a gas.
The refrigerant
nt flows through an evaporator. The T refrigerant absorbs heat from circulating
fluid and vaporizes in to low pressure.
pressure
5
Leaving the evaporator the refrigerant is a gas at a low temperature and low pressure. In
order to be able to use it again to achieve refrigerating effect continuously, it must be
brought back to the conditions at (1).
The first step in this process is to increase the pressure of the refrigerant gas by the
compressor. Compressing the gas also results in increasing its temperature. The refrigerant
leaves the compressor as a gas at high temperature and pressure. In order to change it to a
liquid, heat must be removed from it. This is accomplished in the condenser. Heat transfers
from the refrigerant to the cooling fluid and, as a result, the refrigerant condenses to a liquid.
The Coefficient Of Performance (COP) of a vapor compression system is indicated as
= (1.1)
ℎ =
(1.2)
The COP value of vapor compression systems for cooling seems to be from around 3 for
smaller to medium size units and up to 4-5 for larger systems (Gordon and Choon Ng, 2000).
The COP of the heat pump increases as the temperature difference between the heat source
and application decreases. Figure 1.5 shows the COP of an ideal heat pump as a function of
temperature lifts, where the temperature of heat source is 0oC. Also shown is the range of
actual COPs for various types and sizes of real heat pumps at different temperature lifts. The
ratio of actual heat pump and ideal one is defined as Carnot Efficiency. The Carnot
Efficiency varies from 0.3 to 0.5 for small electric heat pumps and 0.5 to 0.7 for large, high
efficiency electrical heat pumps (Zogou and Stamatelos, 1998).
Figure 1.5 COP for heat pumps as function of temperature lift (Zogou and Stamatelos, 1998)
Two configurations could be considered for VC air conditioning systems with Latent Heat
Storage (LHS). The configurations are explained in detail as follows.
6
Case1: Integrated VC system with solar thermal collector and LHS

In this system as it is shown in Figure 1.6, the solar thermal collector is integrated with a
LHS and a VC system. In the cold season when it is needed to heat up the building, during
the dayy the hot water flows through the storage and exchanges heat with PCM inside the
LHS.. The PCM absorbs the solar energy and melts. The hot fluid from the latent heat
storage flows through the evaporator and evaporates the refrigerant. The refrigerant inside
insid
the evaporator coils vaporizes and flows through the compressor, and then the heating water
flow through the condenser exchanges heat with the refrigerant and, with higher temperature,
flows through the building.
During the night the PCM exchanges heat with w the cold water from the evaporator and
solidifies.
Figure 1.6 The heating cycle for vapor compression system
In the hot season when there is a need for cooling the building, the LHS is disconnected from
the evaporator by valves. And the VC air conditioning system cools cool the building as it was
mentioned before. The hot water which comes from the latent heat storage will be used for
domestic hot water, Figure 1.7.
1.7 In this system, the compressor operates with grid electricity.
Figure 1.7 The cooling cycle for a vapor compression cycle
7
Case2: Integrated VC system integrated with solar thermal collector, LHS and PV
panels
The system principle is the same as in the previous case. In this case the compressor gets its
power from PV panels and the cooling water for the condenser comes from cooling tower.
The primary energy consumption of the building is all renewable. One of the benefits of the
system is that when the air conditioning system in not in operation, the delivered electricity
from the PV panels can be used for domestic lighting or it can be stored. The supply hot
water temperature for driving the VC system is in the range of 20 -40 o C.
1.5.2 Single effect solar absorption system

As it is shown in Figure 1.8 the solar energy is gained through the solar collector and is
accumulated in the thermal storage. The hot water from hot storage is supplied to the
generator to boil off water vapor from the solution of lithium bromide – water. The water
vapor is cooled down in the condenser and then passed to the evaporator where it is again
evaporated at lower pressure and temperature. The strong solution leaving the generator and
flowing to the absorber passes the solution heat exchanger to preheat the weak solution
entering the generator. In the absorber the strong solution absorbs the water vapor leaving
the evaporator.
Figure 1.8 Absorption air conditioning system

G: Generator, A: Absorber, C: Condenser, E: Evaporator
An auxiliary heater is provided that when the temperature of hot water which is supplied to
the system is not sufficient to drive the generator, the water will be heated to the required
temperature level needed by the generator.
Due to the volatile energy prices and environmental concerns, absorption heat pumps have
received a lot of attention. Despite the low coefficient of performance of absorption systems
in comparison to vapor compression systems, absorption systems are environmentally
friendly since the working fluids for these systems do not cause ozone depletion.
8
The main advantage of absorption systems is that the amount of electricity to drive the
system is only limited to the solution pump that does not consume that much electricity in
compression to vapor compression systems.
The cooling coefficient of performance of the absorption system is defined as the heat load
in the evaporator per unit of heat load in the generator and can be written as (Herold et al.,
1996):
=
+ (1.3)
The heating COP of the absorption system is the ratio of the combined heating capacity,
obtained from the absorber and condenser, to the heat added to the generator and can be
written as (Herold et al., 1996):
+
=
ℎ
+ (1.4)
Neglecting the pump power, the COP of heating can be also written as:
+
ℎ = =1+ (1.5)
So the COP of heating is in all cases greater than the cooling COP.
Many parameters such as the temperature and flow rate of chilled, cooling and hot water
effect the performance of absorption systems and several studies have been done on it.
Bakhtiari et al. have done experimental and numerical analysis on H2O- LiBr absorption
heat pumps, with cooling capacity of 14 kW and heating capacity of 33 kW (Bakhtiari et al.,
2010).
Gomri investigated the potential of single and multi-effect absorption systems and obtained
similar results as Bakhtiari et al. He showed that for each condenser and evaporator
temperature, there is an optimum generator temperature. At this point the COP and exergetic
efficiency of the systems become maxima (Gomri, 2010). The minimum temperature
requirement to power the single effect LiBr/ water absorption system has been investigated
by Li and Sumathy and a temperature in the range of 70-85oC was obtained (Li and
Sumathy, 2000). Balaras et al. indicated that the single-effect system gives best results in the
temperature range 80–100 OC. The average COP of the absorption cooling system is in the
range of 0.6 – 0.8 (Balaras et al., 2007).
Performance of an absorption system is also dependent on the chemical and thermodynamic

properties of the working fluid. The two common working fluids are LiBr/ water and
Ammonia/ water. Wilbur and Manchini compared the coefficient performance of absorption
systems with different working fluids (Wilbur and Manchini, 1976).
9
Their studies show that the LiBr/ water systems have higher COP than systems with other
working fluids. Li and Sumathy (Li and Sumathy, 2000) characterized the main
disadvantages of Ammonia/ Water system as follows:
• The coefficient of performance for the Ammonia/ Water system is lower than for
LiBr/ Water.
• LiBr/ Water absorption units require lower generator inlet temperature (77 -88 o C)
than Ammonia/ water units (90 – 180 oC).
• There is limitations on utilizing ammonia- water units because of the hazards
associated with the use of ammonia.
• The Ammonia/ water absorption system requires higher pressure and hence higher
pumping power.
• A Rectifier is required in this system to separate ammonia and water vapor at the
generator outlet.
For these reasons the lithium bromide – water system is considered to be better suited for
this solar absorption system.
Case 3: Solar absorption system with LHS and ATES

The principle working of the system is the same as it was mentioned before. In this system
instead of water storage, a LHSU will be implemented in the system and an Aquifer Thermal
Energy Storage (ATES) will be applied instead of a cooling tower.
ATES stores thermal energy is an aquifer (natural groundwater basin). Two groups of wells,
which are hydraulically coupled and separated by a suitable distance, are used for this
purpose. Around one of the well group’s cold can be stored and around the other heat can be
stored. In the basic concept groundwater is pumped from one of the well groups, and then
heated or cooled within the cooling/ heating system before being re-injected back into the
aquifer in the other well group.
In the absorption cooling cycle the refrigerant extracts heat from the chilled water which
comes from the building in the evaporator. The low temperature and pressure refrigerant
vapor will flow to the absorber. Simultaneously, the condenser and absorber are connected to
the ATES. So from the cold well the water with the temperature in range of 7-9 o C flows
through the heat exchanger to cool the water which flows in to the absorber and condenser
and then the hot water from heat exchanger flows in to the warm water well, Figure 1.9.
10
Figure 1.9 Solar absorption cooling cycle
For the heating cycle, the hot water from LHS flows to the generator. The cooling water
from building flows through the absorber and condenser. The hot water within the
temperature range of 13- 15 OC from warm water well flows through the heat
he exchanger and
heats the water in the evaporator coils.
The cold water well will be loaded with the cold water which flows out of evaporator,
evaporator Figure
1.10. In this system an auxiliary heater is implemented so that when the inlet hot water
temperature is lower
ower than the required temperature, the water will be heated in the auxiliary
heater.
Figure 1.10 The heating cycle of absorption system
11
Case 4: Solar absorption system with LHS

The cooling cycle of the system is similar to the case 3. Instead of an ATE ES a cooling tower
is implemented in this system,
system Figure 1.11. Lof and Tybout (1974) analyzed this system for
eight cities in USA and studied the system from economical point of view.view For the heating
cycle, the absorption system will be disconnected.. The hot water for heating the building will
be directly obtained from the solar collector and latent heat storage,
storage Figure 1.12.
Figure 1.11 The cooling cycle for case 4
The disadvantages of this case are that there is large investment on the absorption system
which is not going to be used during the winter. Also applying a cooling tower is not
possible for everywhere and there are some problems with water consumption, water make-
make
up and cleaning, formation of fog, and the risk of Legionella bacteria growth (Helm et al.,
2009).
Figure 1.12 The heating cycle for case 4
12
1.6 Solar Thermal Collector
As it was mentioned in the previous section the driving inlet hot water temperature for both
cases 1 and 2 is around 20-40 o C, so the solar collector should provide temperature around
40-55 o C. The average inlet generator temperature for absorption in cases 3 and 4 is
between 75-90 O C, so the solar collector should provide temperature higher than 90 -105 O
C. As it is shown in Table 1.2 flat plate solar collectors could provide the desired water
temperature for driving the vapor compression system and evacuated tube collectors are
suitable for driving the absorption systems.
Table 1.2 Thermal Solar Collector Types (Kalogirou, 2004)
Collector type Absorber type Concentration ratio Indicative temperature range (o C)

Flat plate Flat 1 30-80
Evacuated tube Flat 1 50-200
Compound parabolic Tubular 1-5 60-240
Note: Concentration ratio is the aperture area divided by receiver/ absorber area.
In solar thermal collectors the efficiency of the collector is dependent on the ambient
temperature, the mean collector temperature and solar radiation.
− ( − )#
η=η −a − a#
G" G"
(1.6)
η is a conversion factor and a and a# are the loss coefficients, which are taken from the
manufacturers data. As it is shown in Figures 1.13 and 1.14, the efficiency of solar collectors
() *(+),
-.
decreases as the x value ( ) increases.
Figure 1.13 Efficiency curve for different type of flat plate solar collector (Henning, 2007)
Figure 1.14 Efficiency curves for typical evacuated tube collectors (Henning, 2007)
13
1.7 System Selection
As it was mentioned in section 1.4 , because the building is a waiting room, the cooling load
of the building is much higher than the heating load so that the selection of the system will
be based on the cooling demand.
As it is shown in Table 1.3, the COP of the vapor compression system is much higher than
the absorption system. On the other hand, the supply hot water temperature for driving the
absorption system is much higher than for the vapor compression system which results in
utilizing evacuated tube solar collector that can heat the water around 90- 105 o C. The
provided maximum hot water temperature from flat plate solar collector is around 80 OC,
which is sufficient for driving vapor compression systems.
Table 1.3 Characteristic of different vapour compression and absorption systems

System Vapour compression Absorption
COP 3-5 0.6-0.8
Supply hot water temperature 20-40 oC 70-90 oC
Refrigerant R134 Water
Solar thermal collector Flat plate Evacuated tube
Solar thermal collector price 250 €/m2 700 €/m2
PV panels price a 5 €/wP -
Chiller price 200 €/ kW a cooling 250 €/ kW bcooling
a
(Kim and Infante Ferreira, 2008)
b
(Mokhtar et al, 2010)
The required solar collector area is a function of efficiency of solar collector, the output
power of solar collector and the solar radiation:
A=
012 3
η456674859 ∗ G" (1.7)
The approximate solar collector area is shown in Table 1.4. It is assumed that the flat plate
and evacuated tube solar collectors have 60% efficiency and the PV panels have 10%
efficiency. Based on evaporating temperature around 3 o C and condensing temperature 40 o
C and the second law efficiency ratio of 0.45 the COP of the vapor compression is
considered as 4. For the absorption system with the heat supply temperature is 85 o C and the
second law efficiency ratio of 0.6 the COP of the system calculated as 0.7. The maximum
solar radiation is considered 500 and 800 W/m2 for winter and summer, respectively.
Table 1.4 Approximate solar collector area for different cases (m2)
Flat plate collector Evacuated tube collector

Case 1 100 -
Case2 100 -
Case 3 - 215
Case 4 - 215
14
Table 1.5 Estimation of systems capital cost in €
PV Flat plate
Evacuated tube Chiller total
panels collector
Case 1 - 25,000 - 14,400 39,400
Case2 90,000 25,000 - 14,400 129,400
Case 3 - - 150,000 18,800 168,800
Case 4 - - 150,000 18,800 168,800
The capital cost estimation of different cases is shown in Table 1.5. Case 1 has the lowest
capital cost investment but the operating cost is higher than other cases because of driving
the compressor which also increases the maintenance cost. The life time of the vapor
compression system is around 8 years which is half of the single effect absorption system life
time (Elsafty and Al-Daini, 2002). In the Netherland the electricity price is 0.22 €/ kWh
(CBS, 2007). Assuming the total working hours of the vapor compression system, during 16
years for 5 months and each day for 8 hours, as 192000 hours with the power of 18 kW the
total operating cost will be 76,032 €. In which the price of the chiller for the second 8 years
must be added to the total price of the system. So in total the operating cost and the capital
cost of case 1 for 16 years will be 130,000. In this estimation the maintenance cost of the
vapor compression system is not considered which increases the cost of the system due to the
compressor. On the other hand the system is not environmental friendly since it needs to
import electricity from the grid.
Case 2 seems to be a good solution but the price of inverter (DC/ AC conversion) was not
considered in the estimation and as it was mentioned before the solar absorption is more
environmentally friendly since the working fluid in this system does not cause ozone
depletion. Due to the compressor the system maintenance cost is higher than the absorption
system.
For case 3, since in the Schiphol airport an ATES is already available, there is no need to
invest in it and the electricity consumption and the operating cost of the system is much
lower than for case 1 (Riffat and Qiu, 2004), and the life time of the absorption system is
around 16 years. The maintenance cost of absorption system is much lower than vapor
compression system. As it was discussed before in case 4 the absorption system will be used
only for cooling during the hot season and in the winter it is not going to operate so from
economical point of view this system is not beneficial.
1.8 PCM Selection
The selection of an appropriate PCM requires the PCM to have a melting temperature within
the practical range of application; so the selection was dictated by the temperature required
for efficient operation of the hot side of the absorption air conditioning system.
Since LiBr/water absorption systems operate with generator temperatures in the range of 75-
90 o C, the PCM melting temperature should be higher than the inlet generator temperature.
Among the different PCMs which were summarized by Sharma et al., Kenisarin and
Mahkamov and Zalba et al.(Zalba et al., 2003; Kenisarin and Mahkamov, 2007; Sharma et
al., 2009) some PCMs are selected for application in the system, which are shown in Tables
1.6 and 1.7.
15
Table 1.6 Selected PCMs for application in solar LiBr/ water absorption systems with melting temperature
in range of 100- 150 oC
Heat storage material Type Melting point (o C) Heat of Fusion

(kJ/kg)
Methyl fumarate Organic (fatty acid) 102 242
MgCl2. 6H2O Inorganic 115 165
Erythritol Organic 118 339.8
HDEP Organic 100- 150 200
RT 110 Organic(Paraffin) 112 213
Acetanilide Organic(non-Paraffin) 118.9 222
Succinic anhydride Organic(non-Paraffin) 119 204
Table 1.7 Selected PCMs for applications in solar LiBr/ water absorption system with melting temperature
in range of 79- 96oC
Heat storage material Type Melting point (o C) Heat of Fusion

(kJ/kg)
Acetamid Organic (fatty acid) 81 241
Mg (NO3)2. 6H2O Inorganic (Salt hydrates) 90 167
KAl (So4)2. 12 H2O Inorganic (Salt hydrates) 91 184
RT 90 Organic (Paraffin) 90 197
RT 80 Organic(Paraffin) 79 209
Naphthalene Organic(non-Paraffin) 80 147.7
Alpha naphtol Organic(non-Paraffin) 96 163
Among the PCMs presented in Tables 1.6 and 1.7 Erythritol has the highest latent heat of
fusion. Erythritol is a sweetening agent and is used for drinks in order to sweeten without
adding calories. Kakiuchi et al. (1998) investigated the thermo- physical properties of
Erythritol. Erythritol has a high heat of fusion, almost equal to ice. In Erythritol, the biggest
problem is the volume change during the phase change of solid to liquid which changes
about 10% during solid to liquid phase transition. So, a heat exchanger is required with a
structure or special method which allows for volume change (Kakiuchi et al., 1998). The
enthalpy curve of Erythritol is shown in Figure 1.15.
Figure 1.15 The Enthalpy curve of Erythritol
The energy storage capacity of Erythritol is 20% higher than magnesium chloride
hexahydrate (MCHH) and 32% more higher RT100. The high energy density of Erythritol
combined with the fact that it is commercially available makes Erythritol suitable to be
considered as energy storage material (Agyenim et al., 2007).
16
1.9 Research objective
The main goal of this thesis is to identify the potential of phase change materials as a latent
heat storage to contribute with solar assisted single effect absorption cooling system for a
specified building in the Netherlands. In this research the system design regarding to the
cooling load of the specified building and analysis the behavior of the system during the
charging and discharging process of latent heat storage unit will be studied.
1.10 Problem approach
After through literature research and defining the objective of the research, a method for
approaching the solution has been developed. The latent heat storage unit should provide the
hot water for driving the absorption air conditioning system. Therefore, as a first step in
Chapter 2, mathematical model for the absorption system based on mass and energy balances
and heat transfer equations will be developed. The model will be implemented in MATLAB
software and the numerical results will be validated with results from the literature.
Chapter 3 will be devoted to developing mathematical model for the latent heat storage unit
based on the energy balances and heat transfer equations. Same as the absorption system, the
model will be implemented in MATLAB software and the results will be validated with the
experimental results from the literature.
Regarding to the maximum cooling load of the mentioned building in section 1.4, the single
effect absorption system and the latent heat storage unit will be designed and the behavior of
the systems to the control parameters will be investigated in Chapter 4. In this chapter,
charging and discharging process of latent heat storage integrated with solar collector field
and the absorption cooling system will be studied. Chapter 5, is devoted to conclusions and
recommendations for the future work.
17
18
Chapter 2
Absorption system
2.1 Introduction
Absorption heat pumps supplied with waste energy and water heated through solar collectors
have received a lot of attention due to the high energy prices and environmental concerns. Many
investigations have been done on single effect absorption systems (Ng et al., 1994; Joudi and
Lafta, 2001; Florides et al., 2003). Several studies investigated the effect of different parameters
on the performance of absorption heat pumps (Lorton et al., 2000; Lee and Sherif, 2001;
Bakhtiari et al., 2010). Different mathematical models of various complexity have been
developed for different purposes, such as simulation of absorption system, optimization and
design (Joudi and Lafta, 2001; Cascales et al., 2010).
In order to characterize the performance of the absorption system, a mathematical model for the
absorption system is developed in this chapter. For each component, mathematical models are
developed based on energy and mass balances. In the first section the analytical model for
steady state LiBr- H2O absorption system is developed and the simulation results are validated
with the experimental results.
As it was explained before the absorption system consists of five basic components, an
absorber, a generator, a condenser, an evaporator and a solution heat exchanger as shown in
Figure 2.1.
A solution heat exchanger, placed between the absorber and the generator, makes the process
more efficient. Low pressure water vapor is absorbed in the absorber by the solution. The heat
generated during the absorption is removed by the cooling water.
19
Chapter 2 Absorption System
Figure 2.1.. Schematic diagram of the

th simulated absorption system
A pump circulates the weak solution; with a part of it being sent to the generator through the
solution heat exchanger. In the generator, the weak solution which comes from the solution heat
exchangerer is heated to boil and release water vapor.
The strong solution with LiBr is returned to the solution heat exchanger and absorber. The water
vapor is condensed to liquid in the condenser, and then it is passed via an expansion valve to the
evaporator.
2.2 Mathematical
thematical model
For developing the analytical model for simulating the LiBr-

LiBr H2O absorption system, each
component of the absorption system is treated as a control volume with its own inputs and
outputs. The mathematical model is described by mass balances,
balances, energy balances and heat
transfer equations between the internal and external streams for each component.
Several assumptions and hypothesis are considered for the systems which are as follows:
• The pressure drop in the pipes and vessels is negligible.

• The heat losses from the generator to the surroundings and the heat gains to the
evaporator from the surroundings are negligible.
• The expansion process of the expansion device is at constant enthalpy.
• The water at the outlet of evaporator is saturated vapor.
vap
• The water at the outlet of condenser is saturated liquid.
• The water vapor at the outlet of generator is superheated.
• The mass accumulation in the generator, absorber, condenser, evaporator and the
solution heat exchanger is neglected.
uations of enthalpies, temperatures, concentrations and vapor pressures of the

The empirical equations
LiBr- H2O given by the ASHRAE
ASH are used which are presented in Appendix A (ASHRAE,
2009).
I. Absorber
In the absorber, the water vapor comes from the evaporator, is absorbed by the strong LiBr
solution which comes from the solution heat exchanger, the heat generated during absorption is
rejected to a water flow. The weak LiBr solution is pumped through the solution heat
exchanger.
Conservation equations
• Mass conservation:
;# = ;<
; + ;= = ;#
(2.1)
(2.2)
• Conservation of absorbate:
;= X= = ;# X # (2.3)
• Energy balance:
= −;# ℎ# (?# , # ) + ; ℎ (AB , C ) + ;= ℎ= (?= , =)

= ;D ED ( F − D,GH )
(2.4)
(2.5)
Constitutive equations
=I J ∆ LM (2.6)
The logarithmic mean temperature of the absorber is estimated with an approximated equation
(Bakhtiari et al., 2010) is given by:
( − F) −( − D,GH )
∆ =
= #
LM
( =− F)
(2.7)
N
( #− D,GH )
II. Solution heat pump circuit

The weak LiBr-H2O solution which comes from the absorber flows through the pump. It is
assumed that half of the solution enters the solution heat exchanger and half of it mixes with the
strong solution that comes from the solution heat exchanger (Joudi and Lafta, 2001).
• Mass conservation
;# = ;< = 2;P = 2;Q = ;

;F = ;R
(2.8)
;Q + ;R = ;=
(2.9)
(2.10)
21
• Conservation of absorbate
;# X# = ;< X< (2.11)

From equation 2. 8:
?# = ?< = ?
;< ?< = ;P ?P + ;Q ?Q
(2.12)
(2.13)
Substituting equation 2.8 in equation 2.13 and eliminating f3 provides:
?< = ?P = ?Q = ? (2.14)
;= ?= = ;Q ?Q + ;R ?R (2.15)
Substituting equation 2.8 and 2.14 into 2.15 gives
1 ;# ;R
?= = ?# + ?R
2 ;= ;=
(2.16)
• Energy balance
The pump power is calculated by:
;# ( D − C )
=
E
S# TE (2.17)
The density of the LiBr concentration is calculated by the given equation in Appendix A
(Lee et al., 1990).
III. Solution Heat Exchanger

In the solution heat exchanger the strong LiBr solution which comes from the generator
exchanges heat with the weak LiBr solution.
P = # (2.18)
U=
F* R (2.19)
F* P
R = F* U( F* P ) (2.20)
It is assumed that there is no boiling in the heat exchanger so that the specific heat capacity
can be assumed to be constant.
1
;V = ;P = ;#
2
(2.21)
;R = ;F (2.22)
22
• Energy balance
;P WP ( V − P) = ;F WF ( F − R) (2.23)
;F
= ( − R) + P
WF
V
;P WP
F (2.24)
The specific heat of LiBr solution is obtained by the given equation in Appendix A
(ASHRAE, 2009).
IV. Generator
In the generator the external hot fluid provides the heat to boil the solution, super-heated
refrigerant, which separates from the solution, is generated and flows to the condenser. The
strong solution enters through the solution heat exchanger to preheat the weak solution.
; =;
;V − ; = ;F
(2.25)
(2.26)
• Conservation of absorbate
;V XV = ;F XF
;V ?V
(2.27)
?F = ?X =
;F
(2.28)
• Equilibrium equation
F = X = Y( D , ?F ) (2.29)
• Energy balance:
X = ;X EX ( X,GH − X,1Z[ )
= ;F ℎF (?F , F ) + ; ℎ ( D , V , D ) − ;V ℎV (?V , V )
(2.30)
X (2.31)
X = IX JX ∆ LMX (2.32)
The approximate equation for calculating the logarithmic mean temperature for the generator is
(Bakhtiari et al., 2010) given by:
\ − F] − ( − V)
∆ =
X,GH X,1Z[
(2.33)
\ X,GH − F ]
LMX
N
( X,1Z[ − V )
23
V. Condenser
In the condenser the superheated vapor is cooled down and condensed to saturated liquid with
the cooling water which comes from the absorber.
; =; =; (2.34)
; F = ;D ( 2.35)
• Energy balance
D = ; ^ℎ ( D , V, D ) − ℎ (A2 , D )_ ( 2.36)
D = ;D WD ( D,1Z[ − F) (2.37)
D = ID JD ∆ LMD (2.38)
In which the Logarithmic mean temperature for the condenser is
\ − D,1Z[ ] − ( − F)
∆ =
V D
( 2.39)
\ − D,1Z[ ]
LMD
N V
( D− F)
The enthalpy of superheated and saturated liquid water are obtained by the equations given
in Appendix A (Mayhew and Rogers, 1994).
VI. Evaporator
In the evaporator the refrigerant evaporates and enters the absorber as a saturated vapor.
; =; =;# (2.40)
; < = ;C (2.41)
• Energy balance
C = ; ^ℎB (AB , C) − ℎ2 (A2 , D )_ (2.42)
C = ;C WC ( C,GH − C,1Z[ ) (2.43)
24
Q 7 = IC JC ∆Tbc7 (2.44)
In which the Logarithmic mean temperature for the evaporator is
\ − C] −( − C)
∆ =
C,GH C,1Z[ (2.45)
\ C,GH − C ]
LMC
N
( C,1Z[ − C )
The overall energy balance equation for the whole absorption cycle is given by
C + X− − D + E =0 (2.46)
The flow diagram of the system is shown in Figure 2.2. The blue dashed line shows the system
boundary. The absorber, solution heat exchanger and the heat pump circuits are shown as
separate components in the flow diagram. For each component the inputs and outputs are
shown.
Figure 2.2 Flow diagram of absorption system
The COP for the system is defined as

=
C
X+
D112
E
(2.47)
+
=
D
X+
eC [
E
(2.48)
2.3 Implantation of the model in MATLAB/ SIMULINK
The developed mathematical model for single effect absorption system is implemented in
MATLAB/ SIMULINK. For each component a MATLAB function is written in SIMULINK in
which the developed mathematical equation are implemented in. The MATLAB codes for each
component are given in Appendix B.
25
2.4 Validation of the absorption system
The quantitative validation is done by comparing the simulation results with the results from
Jeong and Garimella (2002). The input values and design parameters are shown in Tables 2.1
and 2.2 .
Table 2.1 Input values for simulated absorption system
Inputs description Unit value

fg Hot water mass flow rate kg/s 14.1
o
Tg,in Hot water input temperature C 85
fc Cooling water mass flow rate kg/s 20.1
o
Tc,in Cooling water input temperature C 30
fe Chilled water mass flow rate kg/s 10.08
o
Te,in Chilled water input temperature C 12
f3 Solution mass flow rate kg/s 8.03
Table 2.2 Parameters values for simulated absorption system

Parameters description Unit value
UAg Conductance of generator coils kW/K 24.30
UAa Conductance of absorber coils kW/K 98.28
UAc Conductance of condenser coils kW/K 17
UAe Conductance of evaporator coils kW/K 53.17
ηp Pump efficiency % 60
ε Heat transfer effectiveness 0.85
The simulation and experimental results are given in Table 2.3. As it can be observed there is a
good agreement between simulation results and experimental results. The absorption cycle is
shown in a temperature- pressure diagram of LiBr- water in Figure 2.3.
Table 2.3 Results comparison with Ref (Jeong and Garimella, 2002)
Variable Description Simulation Experimental Unit ∆%

results results
f1 Mass flow rate of refrigerant 0.089 0.086 Kg/s 3.48
X2 Output concentration of Li/Br in the 54.8 54.4 % 0.73
absorber
X6 Output concentration of Li/Br in the 56.04 55.8 % 0.43
generator
o
T5 Output temperature of Li/Br from 66.95 65.1 C 2.84
solution pump
o
T2 Output temperature of Li/Br in the 34.17 33.8 C 1.09
absorber
o
T7 Output temperature of strong Li/Br 40.18 39.6 C 1.46
solution at the solution heat exchanger
o
Tg ,out Output temperature of hot water 80.05 80.7 C -0.81
o
Tc,out Output temperature of cooling water 35.96 35.7 C 0.73
o
Te,out Output temperature of chilled water 7.25 8.0 C -9.37
Qe Load of evaporator 209.6 209.6 kW 0
COP 0.71 0.70 1.42
26
Figure 2.3 The temperature – pressure diagram of absorption cycle
As it is shown in the figure, the difference between the week solution and strong solution of
LiBr concentration is just 1.4% , which is really low. This difference is due to the low solution
mass flow rate.
2.5 Conclusion
In this chapter simplified model for single effect absorption cooling system based on mass,
energy balances and heat transfer equations was developed. Mathematical model was
implemented in MATLAB/ SIMULINK software. The results were validated with the results
from the literature and a good agreement was observed.
27
Chapter 3
Latent Heat Storage
3.1 Introduction
The study of the heat transfer characteristics of melting and solidification processes is one
interesting research area in which lots of studies have been developed (Lazaridis, 1970;
Bonacina et al., 1973; Costa et al., 1991; Lacroix, 1993). The analysis of heat transfer problems
during melting and solidification processes is called Stefan problem. Predicting the behavior of
phase change systems is difficult due to its non-linear nature at moving interface and in
addition, two phases have different thermo physical properties.
The Stefan problem was first investigated as pure conduction and later natural convection has
been considered during melting and solidification of PCMs (Carslaw and Jaeger, 1959). The
different classes of solution available for Stefan problem are numerical and analytical.
Numerical methods, both finite difference (Bonacina et al., 1973) and finite element (Comini et
al., 1974) appear powerful in solving the moving boundary problem. The time variant mesh
(Yoo and Rubinsky, 1983) approach offers good accuracy but is limited to simple problems and
geometries. The fixed mesh approach, in which the latent heat of fusion is usually absorbed into
the materials specific heat or enthalpy, is much simpler in practical applications.
As it was mentioned before, the difficulty in solving a phase change problem is the presence of
moving boundary in which the heat and mass balance conditions have to be met. One of the
methods to solve the moving boundary problem is by enthalpy formulation. In the enthalpy
method (Comini et al., 1974; Esen and Ayhan, 1996; Costa et al., 1998), the only unknown is
the temperature of the phase change materials and solidification occurs at a uniform
temperature. Enthalpy method treats the enthalpy as a temperature dependent variable and
constructs the latent heat flow through the volume integration with the use of the enthalpy of the
system.
29
Chapter 3 Latent Heat Storage
A Respectful numbers of investigations have been done on geometry configuration of the PCM
storage (Jones et al., 2006; Vynnycky and Kimura, 2007;
2007 Tan, 2008). Vyshak and Jilani (2007)
did a comparative study of the total melting time of a phase change material packed in three
containers of different geometry configurations, rectangular, cylindrical and cylindrical shell,
having the same volume and surface area of heat transfer. They concluded
concluded that with the same
mass of PCM the cylindrical shell container takes the least time for the same energy storage
(Vyshak and Jilani, 2007).
Therefore, in the present study the cylindrical shell container will be considered for the PCM
package. In this chapter the
he problem of phase change will be numerically solved by using finite
difference approach and the enthalpy method will be used. The developed model will be
validated with the results from literature.
3.2 Mathematical model
The schematic of the latent heat storage unit is shown in Figure 3.1. As it is shown the storage
consists of inner tubes and an outer tube. The heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the PCM are
separated. The HTF flows through the inner tubes and exchanges heat with the PCM which is
located in the outer tube. During the charging process (melting), the hot water which comes
from the solar collector exchanges heat with the solid PCM and the PCM starts melting. During
the discharging process (solidification),
olidification), the cold HTF circulates through the inner tube and the
PCM exchanges heat with the cold HTF and starts solidifying.
Figure 3.1 Schematic of the latent heat storage unit (the inside radius is ro and the outside is R)
The theoretical treatment of this problem is similar to that described by (Esen

( and Ayhan,
1996).
In order to simplify the mathematical model, the following assumptions were made:
• The PCM is homogenousmogenous and isotropic (having
(having identical values of a property in all
directions).
• The thermal resistance of the inner tube is negligible.
30
• The thermo physical properties of HTF and PCM are independent of temperature; however
the thermal conductivity and the specific heat capacity of the PCM in solid and liquid phase
are different.
• The effect of natural convection during melting is neglected.
• The axial conduction in the HTF is negligible.
• The latent heat storage is insulated, so there are no heat losses to the environment.
I. Charging mode
The energy equations for HTF and PCM are expressed as follows:
HTF
i f j f
(S W )f gh1
#
= −( W )f + \ − f ]2gh1
i jk 3l3m (3.1)
PCM
i
(S W )W = jno(pW h j )
i
(3.2)
The increase with time of the energy content of an arbitrary volume V is equal to the net heat
j
transfer into V through its surrounding surface area A. So the enthalpy equation is:
q Sℎ jr = q pE h j . Nt jJ
j (3.3)
where Nt is outward normal to A.

With the enthalpy method it is easy to handle a PCM and its phase change range. The phase
change range is introduced as follows (Esen and Ayhan, 1996):
x E,0 <
v ∆z ( −
ℎ( ) = +
)
≤ ≤ }
(3.4)
w
E,2
∆ #
v + ∆z >
u E,2 #
in which ∆Tm=Tm2-Tm1.
Initial and boundary conditions:

= , f = =
> , f (k = 0, h) =
(3.5 a)
f,GH
i i
(3.5 b)
(k = 0, ; h h ~) = 0, (k = •, ; h h ~) = 0
ik ik
(3.5 c)
i
p (k, h = h1 ) = ( 3l3€ − f )
ih
(3.5 d)
i
(k, h = ~) = 0
ih
(3.5 e)
31
II. Discharging mode

When the heat transfer rate of the PCM to HTF is equal or greater than the heat transfer rate of
HTF to PCM the operation mode is changed and the storage unit starts discharging.
For this operating mode, the thermal behavior of the storage unit is governed by the same
equations as in the charging mode.
3.3 Numerical simulation
The energy equations 3.1 and 3.2 are integrated in the axial direction z and the (Z, R) plane,
respectively. The finite difference equations for HTF and PCM are obtained as follows:
HTF
‚ 1
+ + H*
=
3l3€ ∆k f,•* ∆ f,•
(3.6)
H
f,• ‚ 1
+ +
∆k ∆
2
where a and b is given by following expressions;
= , ‚=
f
(S W )f h1 Sf gh1#
(3.7)
The energy equation of the HTF, equation 3.6, is discretized using the first order backward
finite difference.
The convective heat transfer coefficient depends on the fact that the flow is laminar or turbulent.
The Reynolds number expressed as follows:
2 f
~ =
f
gƒE „f h1 (3.8)
For laminar flow the Nusselt number is:
…†‡ = 3.66 (3.9)
and the Gnielinski correlation is applied for the turbulent flow;
;
(~ − 1000 ) h
ƒŠf = 8 f
3000 ≤ ~ ≤ 5 × 10F
(3.10)
; f
1 + 12.7 ( •8) ( h − 1)
.V #•
<
; = (0.79 •N ~ − 1.64)*#
where f ( Darcy friction factor) is ;
(3.11)
32
PCM
A fixed control volume element (j, k) is shown in Figure 3.2. As it is shown in the figure the
inner radius is Rk-1 and the outer radius is Rk. Applying the conservation equations on a volume
iℎ i i i i
element (j, k) the heat transfer equation is found as follows:
Sr•,’ = pW J ’ − pW J’* + pW J• − pW J’•*
i i~ ’ i~ ’* i“• i“•*
( 3.12)
Figure 3.2 Cylindrical control volume element (j, k)(Esen and Ayhan, 1996)
where
i •,’” − •,’
H H
=
i~ ’ ∆~
(3.13 )
i •,’ − •,’*
H H
=
(3.14 )
i~ ’* ∆~
i H
− H
=
•” ,’ •,’
i“• ∆k
(3.15 )
i •,’ − •* ,’
H H
=
i“•* ∆k
(3.16 )
ℎ•,’ − ℎ•,’
and
iℎ H H*
=
i •,’ ∆ (3.17)
Substituting the discretized spatial and temporal equations in equation 3.12, the following
equation is obtained:
ℎ•,’
H
− ℎ•,’
H* H
− H H
− •,’*
H
(gS(~’# − ~’* )jk = •2gpW ~’ jk – − •2gpW ~’* jk –
# •,’” •,’ •,’
∆ ∆~ ∆~
œ œ œ œ
(˜™š,› *(˜,› (˜,› *(˜Ÿš,›
+—gpW (~’# − ~’*
#
) ž − —gpW (~’# − ~’*
#
) ž
(3.18)
∆• ∆•
The algebraic equation 3.18 should be solved and coupled with equation 3.6 with the boundary
conditions which were mentioned previously (3.5 d).
33
3.4 Validation of the latent heat storage model
The mentioned numerical method has been implemented in a self-written MATLAB computer
code that has been designed to resolve the coupled non-linear and time dependent energy
equations for HTF and PCM, Appendix C.
The model is validated by the experimental results reported by Agyenim et al (2010). These
authors experimentally studied the melting and solidification behavior of Erythritol inside a
cylinder with 8 longitudinal fins. The PCM is located in the shell and the HTF flows through the
tube. In their study the lower and higher melting temperatures of the Erythritol are given as
115.7 oC and 119.7 oC, respectively (Agyenim et al., 2010). The geometry of the shell and tube
storage is taken the same as for the experiments; the length of the cylinder and pipe is set to 1m.
The outside diameter of the shell is considered 146 mm and the diameter of the pipe though
which the HTF flows through is considered as 54 mm. The properties of the PCM and HTF are
given in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 Thermo-physical properties of phase change material (Erythritol )and HTF
(Therminol 60)
Property Value Unit

o
Melting point of PCM 117.7 C
Heat of fusion of PCM 339.8 kJ kg-1
Specific heat of PCM, liquid 2.76 kJ kg-1K-1
Specific heat of PCM, solid 1.38 kJ kg-1K-1
o
Thermal conductivity of PCM, liquid (140 C) 0.326 W m-1 K-1
Thermal conductivity of PCM, solid (20 oC) 0.733 W m-1 K-1
Density of PCM, liquid (140 oC) 1300 Kg m-3
Density of PCM, solid (20 oC) 1480 Kg m-3
Thermal conductivity of HTF 0.12 W m-1 K-1
Specific heat of HTF 1.99 kJ kg-1K-1
Density of HTF 924 Kg m-3
-4
Dynamic viscosity of HTF 10.8*10 Pa.s
A HTF mass flow rate of 30 kg/ min and an inlet temperature of 140 o C were selected for the
heat transfer analysis in the system for the charging mode. The initial temperature of HTF and
PCM were considered as 80 o C and 20 o C, respectively. For the discharging mode, the initial
temperature of HTF and PCM are considered as 140 and 130 o C, respectively, with the HTF
inlet temperature of 40 o C.
34
Figure 3.3 Average temperature measured in the longitudinal finned PCM system during charging and
discharging (Agyenim et al., 2010)
In order to use an optimum grid size that guaranteed the accuracy requirement and the
computing cost, five time steps were tested for the same problem, which is shown in Figure 3.4
(a). For the optimum time step dt =33 s five grid sizes were tested and the number of nodes 250
(axial)* 11(radial) in which dz = 0.004 m and dr = 0.0042 m was chosen for this study, Figure
3.4 (b).
140 140
120 120
100 100
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)
80 80
60 60
100 (axial)*4 (radial)

dt = 211 s 150 (axial)* 7(radial)
40 dt =33 s
40
200 (axial)* 9(radial)
dt= 102 s 250 (axial)* 11(radial)
dt =20 s
280 (axial) *13 (radial)
dt =10 s 20
20 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time(min) Time(min)
(a) (b)
Figure 3.4 Variation of PCM temperature with time for different time step (a) for different number of nodes in
axial and radial direction (b)
35
As it was shown in Figure 3.3 in the experiments the total melting time is about 380 min, which
is in good agreement with the numerical results. In the experimental results the longitudinal fins
around the outside of the HTF pipe were considered for enhancing the heat transfer of the
PCM. In the simulation, the HTF pipe is considered without fins which increases the melting
time. On the other hand the convection heat transfer within the PCM and the thickness of the
tube are not considered in the simulation while in the reality both play a role. In Figure 3.5, two
different locations were considered. The first point is located at x=0 and r = 0.027 m and the
second point is at x= 1 and r = 0.073 m.
Charging mode Discharging mode
PCM last point

140 140 PCM first point
HTF outlet
Average PCM Temperature
120 120
100 Temperature (C) 100

Temperature (C)
80 80
60 60
PCM last point 40

40
PCM first point
HTF outlet
Average PCM Temperature
20 20
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(min) Time(min)
Figure 3.5 The simulated results for the charging and discharging mode
The variation of PCM melting time with pipe diameter for two HTF inlet temperatures is shown
in Figure 3.6. By increasing the tube diameter the PCM melting time decreases, due to the
increase of the heat transfer area. The PCM melting time increases as the HTF inlet temperature
decreases.
420
T- HTF in=140 C
400 T- HTF in=135 C
380
360
340
tc (min)
320
300
280
260
240
220
50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Dp(mm)
Figure 3.6 Variation of pipe diameter with melting time for two inlet HTF temperature
36
In Figure 3.7 the variation of PCM melting time with HTF mass flow rate is shown at constant
HTF inlet temperature. As it was expected, increasing the mass flow rate decreases the PCM
melting time due to the increased velocity of the HTF and the related improved convection heat
transfer coefficient.
245
T -HTF in =140 C
240
235
230
225
tc (min)
220
215
210
205
200
25 30 35 40
HTF mass flow rate(kg/s)
Figure 3.7 Variation of HTF mass flow rate with PCM melting time
3.5 Conclusions
The mathematical model for the latent heat storage unit was developed in this chapter. Applying
the finite difference method and the enthalpy approach, the coupled governing partial
differential equations of the PCM container and the heat transfer fluid were numerically solved.
The model was implemented in MATLAB. For the validation Erythritol is considered as a PCM
and a good agreement between the experimental results and numerical results were obtained.
The behavior of the system with varying three key parameters: HTF inlet temperature, pipe
diameter and the HTF mass flow rate were studied. It was observed as the pipe diameter
increases the heat transfer area increases which decreases the melting time. The PCM melting
time has decreasing trend with increasing the HTF mass flow rate, due to the increase in HTF
velocity.
37
38
Chapter 4
System Design and Sensitivity Analysis
4.1 Introduction
In Chapters 2 and 3, mathematical models for single effect absorption systems and for latent
tube- shell container heat storage were developed and the models were validated with
experimental results reported in the literature. In this chapter a specific absorption system
and latent heat storage are designed based on the cooling demand of the building mentioned
in section 1.4. The systems response is evaluated as a function of several design parameters.
Based on the obtained maximum heat transfer rate of generator and the various solar
collector area the behavior of the latent heat storage is studied during the discharging and
charging times, respectively.
4.2 Absorption system
Based on the cooling requirement (72 kW) of the building mentioned in section 1.4 and the
inlet temperature of the external streams the absorption system is designed. The designed
input and parameter values for the absorption system are given in Tables 4.1 and 4.2. As it
was explained in Chapter 1 the cooling water for the absorber and the condenser is
considered to be provided from the Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES). Therefore, the
cooling water temperature which comes from an ATES to the absorption system has the
temperature range 12- 15 o C.
39
Chapter 4 System Design and Sensitivity Analysis
Table 4.1 Designed input conditions for absorption system
Inputs description Unit value

fg Hot water mass flow rate kg/s 4.02
o
Tg,in Hot water inlet temperature C 85
fc Cooling water mass flow rate kg/s 6.32
o
Tc,in Cooling water inlet temperature C 15
fe Chilled water mass flow rate kg/s 5.54
o
Te,in Chilled water inlet temperature C 12
f3 Solution mass flow rate kg/s 0.48
Table 4.2 Designed parameters for the absorption system
Parameters description Unit value

UAg Conductance of generator coils kW/K 5.06
UAa Conductance of absorber coils kW/K 4.75
UAc Conductance of condenser coils kW/K 4.54
UAe Conductance of evaporator coils kW/K 9.06
ηp Pump efficiency % 60
ε Heat transfer effectiveness 0.7
Figure 4.1 The absorption cooling cycle
4.3 Results and discussions
The performance of the designed system is obtained with the developed SIMULINK model
and is given in Tables 4.3 and 4.4. The corresponding cycle is shown in Figure 4.2.
40
Table 4.3 Calculated parameters for the designed absorption system

State Description Temperature Mass flow rate Concentration
o
point C Kg/s %
1 Vapor from evaporator to absorber 2.40 0.03 -
2 Weak solution outlet from absorber 31.5 0.48 55
3 Weak solution outlet from solution pump 31.5 0.48 55
4 Weak solution inlet to heat exchanger 31.5 0.24 55
5 Weak solution inlet to generator 54.64 0.24 55
6 Strong solution outlet from generator 73.30 0.22 62.73
7 Strong solution outlet from heat exchanger 44 0.22 62.73
8 Weak solution outlet from solution pump 31.5 0.24 55
9 Intermediate solution inlet to absorber 38.33 0.46 58.61
10 Superheated vapor from generator to condenser 56.64 0.03 -
11 Condensate from condenser to expansion valve 24.61 0.03 -
16 Outlet cooling water from absorber 18.27 6.32
Outlet cooling water from condenser 21 6.32
Chilled water outlet from evaporator 8.89 5.54 -
Hot water outlet from generator 79.8 4.02
Table 4.4 Calculated parameters for the designed absorption system

Description Unit Value
Qe Evaporator heat transfer rate kW 72.05
Qc Condenser heat transfer rate kW 74.23
Qg Generator heat transfer rate kW 88.82
Qa Absorber heat transfer rate kW 86.64
COP Coefficient of performance 0.81
Figure 4.2 Temperature- pressure diagram of absorption cooling cycle
41
As it is shown in Figure 4.2, regarding to the condensing and evaporating temperature, 2.4
and 24.61 oC, respectively, the inlet hot water temperature should be between 55 and 85 oC
to prevent LiBr crystallization. The model with the designed conditions is validated
qualitatively. As it is shown in Figure 4.3 (a), by increasing the hot water temperature the
COP decreases. The same trend was obtained experimentally by Asdrubali and Grignaffini
(2005). Increasing the hot water temperature, increases the heat exchanged at the generator
more than the heat exchanged at the evaporator, so that the COP decreases.
0.9 74
0.9 74 COP
COP
Q-eva (kW) Q-eva(kW)
0.85 73 0.85 73
Q-eva (kW)
Q-eva (kW)
COP
COP
0.8 72 0.8 72
0.75 71 0.75 71
0.7 70 0.7 70
65 70 75 80 85 2 3 4 5 6 7
Tg-in(C)
fg(kg/s)
(a) (b)
Figure 4.3 Variation of COP and cooling capacity with hot water temperature(a) and mass flow rate (b)
As it is shown in Figure 4.3 (b) variation of the mass flow rate does not change the COP and
the evaporator heat transfer rate significantly. Bakhtiari et al. obtained a similar trend as
obtained from the simulation results (Bakhtiari et al., 2010) .
The variation of COP and cooling capacity with chilled water inlet temperature and mass
flow rate is shown in Figure 4.4. Increasing the chilled inlet water temperature increases the
COP and evaporator heat transfer rate. Variation of COP and the cooling capacity in not
considerable with increasing chilled water mass flow rate.
0.9 74
COP 0.9 74
COP
Q-eva (kW) Q-eva (kW)
0.85 73 0.85 73
Q-eva (kW)
COP
COP
0.8 72 0.8 72
Q-eva (kW)
0.75 71 0.75 71
0.7 70 0.7 70
4 6 8 10 12 14 4 6 8 10 12
Te-in (C) fe(kg/s)
(a) (b)
Figure 4.4 COP and the cooling capacity vs. chilled water temperature (a) and mass flow rate (b)
42
The variation of inlet cooling water temperature and mass flow rate with COP and cooling
capacity is shown in Figure 4.5. Same as the results obtained by Bakhtiari et al. (2010),
increasing the inlet cooling water temperature and mass flow rate has significant effect on
the COP. The cooling capacity increases as the cooling water mass flow rate increases and
has a decreasing trend as the inlet cooling water temperature increases.
0.9 73 0.9 74
COP COP
Q-eva (kW) Q-eva (kW)
0.85 72 0.85 73
Q-eva (kW)
Q-eva (kW)
COP
COP
0.8 71 0.8 72
0.75 70 0.75 71
0.7 69 0.7 70
10 15 20 25 30 2 4 6 8 10 12
Tc-in(C) fc(kg/s)
(a) (b)
Figure 4.5 COP and cooling capacity vs. cooling water temperature (a) and mass flow rate(b)
4.4 Latent heat storage
In designing the latent heat storage unit, selection of the PCM is an important factor which
depends on the application. In the previous section, the absorption system was designed
based on the cooling demand of the building. For the designed absorption system hot water
temperature in the range of 55 – 85 o C should be provided. Unfortunately, the thermo-
physical properties of PCM’s in the melting temperature range of 80 -140 oC have not been
studied sufficiently. Therefore, from the PCM ‘s which were given in Tables 1.7 and 1.6, in
Chapter 1, Erythitol is selected as a latent heat storage material for which the thermo-
physical properties are available in the literatures. Erythritol has a high heat of fusion and
since the melting temperature is high the discharge time will be longer among the other
PCM’s to apply for the absorption system.
For designing the latent heat storage unit the mass of PCM, number of tubes, radius of the
tubes and the HTF mass flow rate should be obtained which are important parameters on the
storage efficiency and the PCM melting and solidification time. The geometry parameters of
the designed latent heat storage are given in Table 4.5. The mass flow rate of HTF (water) is
obtained in section 4.2, for the designed absorption system. For designing the latent heat
storage, it is considered that the storage consists of 20 unit.
43
Table 4.5 The geometry parameters of designed PCM storage for one unit
Property Value Unit
Mass of PCM 500 kg

HTF mass flow rate 0.2 kg/s
Number of tubes 70 -
Length of the tubes 1.40 m
Radius of tubes 0.0055 m
Radius of PCM cylinder (one module) 0.0357 m
For the charging process it is considered that the PCM is in the solid state with the
temperature of 20 oC and the HTF with temperature of 135 oC flows through the tubes. The
variation of the PCM temperature for one module in two locations, average PCM
temperature and the HTF outlet temperature are shown in Figure 4.6. The PCM first point is
located at r = 0.0055 m and x= 0 m and the second point is located at r = 0.0357 m and x=1.4
m.
140
120
100
Temperature (C)
80
60
40
Average PCM
20 PCM last point
PCM first point
HTF outlet
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time(min)
Figure 4.6 Variation of HTF outlet temperature and PCM temperature in two locations of the cylinder and
the average PCM temperature with time in charging mode
44
The storage efficiency is defined as the ratio of the energy stored to the maximum energy
that could be stored in the latent heat storage. In Figure 4.7 the variation of storage efficiency
with time is shown. The storage has its maximum energy when the whole PCM is melted and
reaches the HTF inlet temperature.
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
Storage Efficiency
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time(min)
Figure 4.7 Variation of storage efficiency with time for charging mode
The behavior of the designed PCM storage during the discharging process is also studied. In
this case the initial temperature of the whole PCM and HTF inlet temperature are considered
as 130 o C and 85 o C, respectively. As it is shown in Figure 4.8 it takes more than 11 hours
that the PCM temperature reaches the HTF inlet temperature.
130
Average PCM
PCM last point
125
PCM first point
HTF outlet
120
115
Temperature (C)
110
105
100
95
90
85
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time(min)
Figure 4.8 Variation of HTF outlet temperature and PCM temperature in two locations of the cylinder and
the average PCM temperature with time in discharging mode
45
4.5 Sensitivity analysis of the designed latent heat storage
The geometry of the PCM storage, mass of PCM and HTF mass flow rate effect the storage
efficiency and the PCM melting time. In Figure 4.9 the variation of storage efficiency and
the PCM melting time with number of tubes is shown. The length of tubes, mass of PCM and
the HTF mass flow rates are held constant. The storage efficiency is obtained for all cases at
t= 300 min. Varying the number of tubes changes the tube radius and the radius of PCM
cylinder. As it is observed in the figure the storage efficiency has increasing trend with the
increasing number of pipes, and the PCM melting time has decreasing trend with increasing
the number of tubes. This behavior of the PCM is due to the increasing of convective heat
transfer coefficient due to the increasing of HTF Reynolds number with increasing the
number of pipes inside the storage unit.
1 1100
Storage efficiency
PCM melting time
0.8 900
PCM melting time (min)

Storage efficiency
0.6 700
0.4 500
0.2 300
0 100
40 50 60 70 80 90
Number of tubes
Figure 4.9 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with number of tubes
The variation of the storage efficiency and the PCM melting time as a function of mass of
PCM is shown in Figure 4.10. In this case the number of tubes and the tube radius, the length
of tubes and the HTF mass flow rate are held constant as given in Table 4.5. Varying the
PCM ‘s mass effects the radius of PCM cylinder. Increasing the mass of PCM with the fixed
tube radius increases the radius of PCM cylinder. Therefore the thickness between the tube
radius and the radius of PCM cylinder increases. As it is shown in Figure 4.10, the storage
efficiency and the PCM melting time have decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, as
the PCM ‘s mass increases.
46
1 1100
Storage efficiency
PCM melting time
0.8 900

Storage efficiency
0.6 700
0.4 500
0.2 300
0 100
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Mass of PCM (kg)
Figure 4.10 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with mass of PCM
In Figure 4.11, the variation of storage efficiency and the PCM melting time with the tube
radius is shown. In this case the mass of PCM, number of tubes, length of tubes and the HTF
mass flow rate are held constant. As it was expected, as the tube radius increases the HTF
velocity decreases. Therefore the time that HTF flows through the tubes increases which
increases the storage efficiency and decreases the PCM melting time.
1 1100
Storage efficiency
PCM melting time
0.8 900
Storage efficiency
0.6 700
0.4 500
0.2 300
0 100
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Radius of the tube (mm)
Figure 4.11 Variation of storage efficiency and PCM melting time with tube radius
47
4.6 Latent heat storage integrated with solar collector
For charging the designed latent heat storage the inlet temperature of the HTF flow into the
storage should be higher than the PCM melting temperature. Evacuated tube solar collectors
can provide temperatures higher than 120 o C. In Figure 4.12 the variation of solar radiation
and ambient temperature which is coupled to the latent heat storage for a specific day of July
in the Netherlands from 6:00 a.m. to 22 p.m. is shown.
900 40
Solar radiation (W/m2)
Ambient temperature (C)
600 30
Ambient temperature (C)

Solar radiation (W/m2)
300 20
0 10
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Time
Figure 4.12 Variation of solar radiation and ambient temperature for a specific July day in the
Netherlands
The variation of PCM temperature with time for various solar collector areas for one unit of
latent heat storage is shown in Figure 4.13. It is observed that, as the solar collector area
increases, the PCM reaches its melting time earlier. The PCM storage starts to discharge as
the solar radiation decreases and the heat transfer rate from the HTF to the PCM decreases.
140
120
100
Temperature (C)
80
60
Area = 11 m2
40
Area = 9 m2
Area = 7 m2
Area = 5 m2
20
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Time(h)
Figure 4.13 Variation of PCM temperature with time for various evacuated tube solar collector areas
48
4.7 Absorption system integrated with latent heat storage
The discharging behavior of the designed latent heat storage with the maximum heating
requirement of the generator (89 kW) is shown in Figure 4.14. In this case the initial
temperature of the PCM and the HTF are considered 130 and 20 oC, respectively. As it was
mentioned before the HTF outlet temperature of the storage should be in the range of 55 – 85
o
C. As it is shown in the figure the storage system could provide for 10 hours the requested
HTF outlet temperature for driving the generator.
140
120
100
Temperature (C)
80
60
40
20 PCM
HTF outlet
HTF inlet
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(min)
Figure 4.14 Variation of PCM solidification with time for the maximum heating requirment of the
generator
The peaks which could be observed in the figure are due to the large difference between the
thermal conductivity of PCM in the solid and liquid phases.
The discharging process of the latent heat storage unit is studied for the maximum heating
demand of the generator due to maximum demand of the cooling load. The building has its
maximum cooling load for less than 6 hours. Therefore, for the lower cooling load the
heating demand of the generator will be decreased which decreases the difference between
the hot water inlet and outlet temperature. Therefore, in general, the discharging duration
will be more than what is obtained for maximum demand of the generator.
4.8 Economic Analysis
The whole system consists of a single effect absorption cooling cycle, an evacuated tube
solar collector field, the PCM storage and the PCMs. For providing the cooling water to the
absorption system it is considered that an aquifer thermal energy storage is already available
in the Schiphol airport. So, its costs are not considered. In Table 4.6 the specific price of
each major component in the system is given. For evaluating the cost of PCM storage the
Hall equations (1990) for evaluating the installed cost of shell and tube heat exchanger for
stainless steel shell and tube heat exchanger is used.
49
Table 4.6 The specific price of major components

Reference Price Unit
Henning (2007) 400 €/ kW cool
Single effect absorption system Kim & Infante Ferreira (2008) 400 €/ kW cool
Mokhtar et al. (2010) 250 €/ kW cool
Evacuated tube solar collector Gebreslassie et al. (2010) 771 €/m2
PCM (Erythritol) Kakiuchi et al. (1998) 3.5 €/kg
PCM storage Hall et al. (1990) 0.69 (10,000 + 324 A0.91) €
The size of each major component,

component its price and the total price of the system are given in
Table 4.7.. The percentages
percentage of the total cost of the different system components is shown in
Figure 4.15. The evacuated tube solar collector field encompass approximately 71 % of the
total cost. The
he next category is the PCM (Erythritol) itself.
Table 4.7 The size and price of major components of the system
Component Size unit Price (€)

(
Single effect absorption 72 kW 18,000
Evacuated tube solar collector 220 m2 169,620
PCM (Erythritol) 10,000 kg 35,000
PCM buffer 68 m2 17,300
Total 239,920
PCM buffer Single effect

7% absorption
PCM (Erythritol) 7%
15%
Evacuated tube
solar collector
71%
Figure 4.15 Pie chart of the total system costs
The cost of the system could be decreased by replacing the PCM (Erythritol) with a PCM
which has a melting temperature lower than Erythritol. Therefore, the required solar
collector area will be significantly decreased which has significant effect on the system
capital cost. The evacuated tube solar collector field could be replaced by flat plate solar
collector field if a PCM which has melting temperature lower than 100 oC is used. The price
of flat plat solar collector is one third of evacuated solar collector
co (Gebreslassie
Gebreslassie et al., 2010).
Since the thermo- physical properties of the PCM’s which have the melting melting temperatures in
o
the range of 90- 100 C have not been studied sufficiently, it is not possible to investigate the
behavior of such PCM.
50
4.9 Conclusions
Regarding to the cooling load of the building (72 kW), the single effect absorption cooling
system was designed. The response of the system to the variation of the mass flow rate and
temperature of the cooling water, chilled water and hot water were studied. The results
showed that increasing the chilled water and hot water mass flow rates does not have
significant effect on the performance of the system. On the other hand as the cooling water
mass flow rate increases the COP of the system increases. The performance of the system
decreases as the hot water and the cooling water temperature increases. And the COP goes
up with increasing the chilled water temperature.
Based on the maximum heating demand of the generator, the latent heat storage was
designed. Erythritol was considered as the latent heat storage media which has high heat of
fusion and the thermo physical properties are available. The transient behavior of the storage
during charging and discharging process of the system were investigated. The thermal
performance and the melting time of the system with varying the tube radius, mass of PCM
and the number of tubes were studied. Increasing the number of tubes and the tube radius
increases the storage efficiency and decreases the melting time which is inverse with
increasing the mass of PCM.
The discharging process of the latent heat storage integrated with maximum heating demand
of generator were studied. The results showed that the system could provide for more than
10 hours the required hot water temperature for driving the air conditioning system.
51
52
Chapter 5
Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
In this study the feasibility of a solar assisted latent heat storage to power a single effect LiBr/
water absorption cooling system was investigated. The thermal behavior of the system has been
studied theoretically for a specified building in the Netherlands. A mathematical model for
single effect absorption system was developed based on mass balances, energy balances and
heat transfer equations and the numerical results were validated by with the data reported from
the literature. The absorption system was designed for the maximum cooling load of the
specified building (72 kW). The response of the system has been investigated by varying
relevant parameters of the system. It was observed that increasing the chilled water and cooling
water temperature significantly increases the COP. Varying the hot water and chilled water
mass flow rates does not have a considerable effect on the COP and the evaporator heat transfer
rate. The COP and the evaporator heat transfer rate improves as the cooling water mass flow
rate increases.
For the latent heat storage, the coupled governing partial differential equations of the cylindrical
PCM container and the heat transfer fluid were numerically solved using the Finite Difference
Method and the enthalpy approach. A good agreement between the obtained results and
experimental data reported in the literature was observed. The system response to various
parameters e.g. number of tubes, mass of PCM and the HTF mass flow rate was studied. The
numerical analysis reveals that, increasing the number of tubes while the PCM’s mass, the
length of the tube, and the velocity of the HTF are kept constant, improves the storage
efficiency and reduces the melting time.
53
Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations
The storage efficiency and the melting time decreases and increases, respectively, as the PCM’s
mass goes up for constant length, radius and number of tubes. Increasing the mass of PCM leads
to thicker layers of PCM surrounding the tubes. The behavior of the system to variation of the
HTF velocity was also studied. It was observed that the HTF velocity has an inverse relation
with the residence time of the HTF inside the tube. Therefore, the storage efficiency improves
and the melting time reduces.
For various evacuated tube solar collector areas, the charging process of the storage for a day in
July in the Netherlands was studied. As it was expected, by increasing the collector area, the
PCM melts earlier.
The discharging process of the designed latent heat storage for the maximum load of the
absorption system was investigated. The results showed that the storage could provide the
energy required for driving the cooling system for approximately 10 working hours. The
building has its maximum cooling load for less than 6 hours during the hot seasons. Therefore,
the designed system could provide the required hot water temperature to drive the generator for
more than 10 hours.
The cost of the designed system was also evaluated showing that the evacuated tube solar
collector field encompasses 70 % of total cost. This expense can be reduced by decreasing the
area of solar collectors, utilizing PCMs with lower melting temperature, and replacing the
evacuated tube solar collector with high efficient flat plate solar collectors.
From the environmental point of view, the solar powered single effect absorption system offers
a good opportunity to reduce the electricity consumption, hence reduce the consequence CO2
emission.
5.2 Recommendations for future
• Investigation of the thermo- physical properties of PCMs

• Optimization of the absorption cooling system
• Optimization of the latent heat storage system
• Investigation the behavior of various PCMs integrated with solar assisted absorption
cooling system
• Study of the behavior of latent heat storage with different configuration e.g. rectangular
and cylindrical ( PCM located in the tubes)
• Improvement of the developed computer codes
• Life cycle analysis of the system
• Investigation the behavior of the latent heat storage with the fins on the shell side to
increase thermal conductivity in the liquid state
• Study and comparison of the behavior of other solar assisted air conditioning systems
integrated with latent heat storage
• Experimental investigation of the system and comparison of the experimental results
with numerical studies
54
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58
Appendix A
59
60
Appendix B
The MATLAB function for the absorber :
% Absorber component
function [output]=absorbent(Cpw,f15,T15,T9,UAa,X9,Te,f9,f3,X6,Qa);
%%Outlet water temperature
T16=(Qa/(f15*Cpw))+T15
%Outlet solution temperature
F=@(x) [(Qa/UAa)-(((T9-T16)-(x(1)-T15))/(log((T9-T16)/(x(1)-T15))))];
x0 = [31+273.2]; % Make a starting guess at the solution
Options = optimset('Display','iter');
D = fsolve(F,x0, Options) % Call optimizer
T2=real(D)
%% Outlet LiBr concentrations
A0=-2.00755;
A1=0.16976;
A2=-0.00313362;
A3=0.0000197668;
B0=124.937;
B1=-7.71649;
B2=0.152286;
B3=-0.0007959;
F=@(x) [(T2-273.2)-((B0*x(1)^0)+(B1*x(1)^1)+(B2*x(1)^2)+(B3*x(1)^3))-
(((A0*x(1)^0)+(A1*x(1)^1)+(A2*x(1)^2)+(A3*x(1)^3))*(Te-273.2))];
x0 = [55.13]; % Make a starting guess at the solution
E= fsolve(F,x0, Options); % Call optimizer
X2=E
%%Outlet solution mass flow rate
f2=f3;
f5=f3/2;
%%Refrigerant mass flow rate
f1=f2-f9;
%%outputs
output(1)=T16;
output(2)=T2;
output(3)=X2;
output(4)=f2;
output(5)=f1;
end
61
The MATLAB function for the solution heat pump :
%%Solution heat pump circuits
function [output]=shpc(T2,X2,f2,Te,Tc,etha_P,f1,Pc);
%%Evaporator Pressure calculations
C=7.05;
D=-1596.49;
E=-104095.5;
A=(C+(D/Te)+(E/(Te^2)));
Pe=10^A
%%solution density
X02=X2/100;
rho2=1145.36+(470.84*X02)+(1374.79*X02^2)-((0.333393+(0.571749*X02))*T2)
%%Pump power
W_P=f2*(Pc-Pe)/(rho2*etha_P)
%%Mass conservation
f3=f2;
f4=f2/2;
f8=f2/2;
f5=f4;
f6=f5-f1;
f7=f6;
f9=f7+f8
%%Absorbate concentration
X3=X2;
X4=X2;
X8=X4;
X5=X4;
X6=(f5*X5)/(f6);
X7=X6;
X9=((f2*X2/2)+(f7*X7))/f9;
%%inlet solution temperature to the absorber
A0=-2.00755;
A1=0.16976;
A2=-0.00313362;
A3=0.0000197668;
B0=124.937;
B1=-7.71649;
B2=0.152286;
B3=-0.0007959;
A=((A0*X9^0)+(A1*X9^1)+(A2*X9^2)+(A3*X9^3));
B=((B0*X9^0)+(B1*X9^1)+(B2*X9^2)+(B3*X9^3));
T9=(B+((Te-273.2)*A))+273.2
%%Outputs
output(1)=f9;
output(2)=X9;
output(3)=T9;
output(4)=f4;
output(5)=X4;
output(6)=f6;
output(7)=X6;
output(8)=W_P;
end
62
The MATLAB function for the solution heat exchanger :
%%Solution Heat Exchanger

function [ output ] = SHX( f6,T6,X4,f4,X6,etha_HX,Te,Tc)
%%T4 calculation
A0=-2.00755;
A1=0.16976;
A2=-0.00313362;
A3=0.0000197668;
B0=124.937;
B1=-7.71649;
B2=0.152286;
B3=-0.0007959;
A=(A0*X4^0)+(A1*X4^1)+(A2*X4^2)+(A3*X4^3);
B=(B0*X4^0)+(B1*X4^1)+(B2*X4^2)+(B3*X4^3);
T4=(B+((Te-273.2)*A))+273.2
%%T7 Calculation
T7=T6-(etha_HX*(T6-T4))
%%T5 Calculations
Cp4=((0.0976*X4^2)-(37.512*X4)+3825.4); %Specific heat of LiBr solution(J/kg.K)
Cp6=((0.0976*X6^2)-(37.512*X6)+3825.4); %Specific heat of LiBr solution(J/kg.K)
T5=(f6*Cp6*(T6-T7)/((f4*Cp4)))+T4
%%Outputs
output(1)=T5;
output(2)=T7;
end
The MATLAB function for the Evaporator :
%%Evaporator
function [ output ] = evaporator( f1,f13,T13,h11,Cpw,UAe)
F =@(x) [x(1)-(f1*(((-0.00125397*(x(2)-273.2)^2)+(1.88060937*(x(2)-273.2))+2500.559)-h11));
x(1)-(f13*Cpw*(T13-x(3)));
x(1)-(UAe*((T13-x(2))-(x(3)-x(2)))/log((T13-x(2))/(x(3)-x(2))))];
x0 = [211/2.89;3+273.2;282]; % Make a starting guess at the solution
G = fsolve(F,x0, Options); % Call optimizer
Qe=G(1,1)
Te=G(2,1)
T14=G(3,1)
output(1)=Qe;
output(2)=Te;
output(3)=T14;
end
63
The MATLAB function for the Condenser :
%Condenser
function [ output] = Condenser( f1,f15,T5,T16,Cpw,UAc )
%Conservation of mass
f16=f15;
%%Calculating Qc, Tc, T17
F =@(x) [x(1)-(f1*(((((0.00001*(10^(C+(D/x(2))+(E/(x(2)^2)))^2)-(0.1193*(10^(C+(D/x(2))+(E/(x(2)^2)))))+
2689-(32.508*(C+(D/x(2))+(E/(x(2)^2))))-2513.2)/100)*(T5-
x(2)))+(32.508*(C+(D/x(2))+(E/(x(2)^2))))+2513.2)-
((-0.00125397*(x(2)-273.2)^2)+(1.88060937*(x(2)-273.2))+2500.559)+((-0.0013265*(x(2)-273.2)^2)-
(2.29983657*(x(2)-273.2))+2500.4063)));
x(1)-(f16*Cpw*(x(3)-T16));
x(1)-(UAc*((T5-x(3))-(x(2)-T16))/log((T5-x(3))/(x(2)-T16)))];
x0 = [221/2.89;25+273.2;294]; % Make a starting guess at the solution
G = fsolve(F,x0, Options); % Call optimizer
Qc=G(1,1)
Tc=G(2,1)
T17=G(3,1)
%%Pressure calculations
C=7.05;
D=-1596.49;
E=-104095.5;
A=(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2)));
Pc=10^A
%%h11 calculation(kJ/kg)
hg11=((-0.00125397*(Tc-273.2)^2)+(1.88060937*(Tc-273.2))+2500.559);
hfg11=((-0.0013265*(Tc-273.2)^2)-(2.29983657*(Tc-273.2))+2500.4063);
hf11=hg11-hfg11
%outputs
output(1)=Qc;
output(2)=Tc;
output(3)=T17;
output(4)=Pc;
output(5)=hf11;
end
The MATLAB function for the Generator :

%Generator
function [ output] =generator(Tc,X6,T5,T18,f18,UAg,Cpw,X4,Pc,f1,f6,f3)
X5=X4;
f5=f3/2;
%%T6
A0=-2.00755;
A1=0.16976;
A2=-0.00313362;
A3=0.0000197668;
B0=124.937;
B1=-7.71649;
B2=0.152286;
B3=-0.0007959;
A=(A0*X6^0)+(A1*X6^1)+(A2*X6^2)+(A3*X6^3);
B=(B0*X6^0)+(B1*X6^1)+(B2*X6^2)+(B3*X6^3);
64
%%Constants for LiBr solution Enthalpy
Aoh=-2024.33;
A1h=163.309;
A2h=-4.88161;
A3h=0.06302948;
A4h=-0.0002913704;
Boh=18.2829;
B1h=-1.1691757;
B2h=0.03248041;
B3h=-0.0004034184;
B4h=0.0000018520569;
Coh=-0.037008214;
C1h=0.0028877666;
C2h=-0.000081313015;
C3h=0.00000099116628;
C4h=-0.0000000044441207;
C=7.05;
D=-1596.49;
E=-104095.5;
%%Enthalpy at 5
A5=((Aoh*X5^0)+(A1h*X5^1)+(A2h*X5^2)+(A3h*X5^3)+(A4h*X5^4));
B5=((Boh*X5^0)+(B1h*X5^1)+(B2h*X5^2)+(B3h*X5^3)+(B4h*X5^4));
C5=((Coh*X5^0)+(C1h*X5^1)+(C2h*X5^2)+(C3h*X5^3)+(C4h*X5^4));
h5=A5+((T5-273.2)*B5)+(C5*(T5-273.2)^2)
%%Enthalpy at 6
A6=(Aoh*X6^0)+(A1h*X6^1)+(A2h*X6^2)+(A3h*X6^3)+(A4h*X6^4);
B6=(Boh*X6^0)+(B1h*X6^1)+(B2h*X6^2)+(B3h*X6^3)+(B4h*X6^4);
C6=(Coh*X6^0)+(C1h*X6^1)+(C2h*X6^2)+(C3h*X6^3)+(C4h*X6^4);
%%Enthalpy at 10
HSH2=(0.00001*Pc^2)-(0.1193*Pc)+2689;
HSH1=(32.508*log(Pc))+2513.2;
T=(T5-Tc);
A=(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2)));
Pc=(10^(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2))));
h10=(((((0.00001*(10^(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2))))^2)-(0.1193*(10^(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2)))))+2689)-
((32.508*log(10^(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2)))))+2513.2))/100)*(T5-
Tc))+(32.508*log(10^(C+(D/Tc)+(E/(Tc^2)))))+2513.2
%Outlet temperature of hot water in generator
F=@(x) [((x(2)-f18*Cpw*(T18-x(1))));
(x(2)-(UAg*((T18-x(3))-(x(1)-T5))/(log((T18-x(3))/(x(1)-T5)))));
(x(2)-(f6*(A6+((x(3)-273.2)*B6)+(C6*(x(3)-273.2)^2)))-(f1*h10)+(f5*h5))];
x0 = [352;296/2.89;65+273.2]; % Make a starting guess at the solution
E= fsolve(F,x0, Options) % Call optimizer
T19=E(1,1);
Qg=E(2,1);
T6=E(3,1);
h6 =A6+((T6-273.2)*B6)+(C6*(T6-273.2)^2)
%Outputs
output(1)=T6;
output(2)=Qg;
output(3)=T19
end
65
66
Appendix C
The MATLAB code for the latent heat storage :
clc
clear all
%%%PCM Storage
global L ro R N_z N_r N_t rho_f mio_f Cp_f m_f k_f Np rho_pl rho_ps rho_pt Cp_ps Cp_pl delta_H T_m1
T_m2 k_ps k_pl k_pt dz dr dt h
%% Geometry parameters
L = 1.4 %Length of Cylinder (m)
ro = 0.0055 %Inside radius of the tube (m)
R = 0.045 %Outside radius of the tube(m)
ratio = fix(L/(R-ro));
N_z = 320; %Number of points in x direction
N_r = fix(N_z/ratio) %Number of points in r direction
time =11*3600
N_t =11*3600*0.03 ; %time (second)
dt = time/(N_t-1);
%% Physical properties of HTF

rho_f = 985; %density (kg/m3)
mio_f = 4.92*10^-4; %Dynamic viscosity of water (kg/m s)
Cp_f = 4178; %Specific heat capacity (J/kg.K)
m_f = 0.201; %Mass flow rate of HTF (kg/s)
k_f = 0.652;
Np=70;
Re = 2*m_f/(pi*Np*ro*mio_f) %Reynolds number
Pr = Cp_f*mio_f/k_f %Prantel number
if Re<2200
Nu = 3.66;
else
if Re>5*10^6
Nu = 0.023*Re^0.8*Pr^0.4;
else
if (Re >=2100)&& (Re<=5*10^6);
f = ((0.79*log(Re))-1.64)^-2;
Nu = ((f/8)*(Re-1000)*Pr)/(1+(12.7*((f/8)^0.5)*((Pr^(2/3))-1)));
end
end
end
h =Nu*k_f/(2*ro) %Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2.k)
%%Physical properties of PCM (Erythritol)

rho_ps = 1480; %density (kg/m3)
rho_pt = 1390; %density (kg/m3)
rho_pl = 1300; %density (kg/m3)
Cp_ps = 1.38*1000; %Specific heat capacity (J/kg.K)
Cp_pl = 2.76*1000; %Specific heat capacity (J/kg.K)
delta_H = 339.8*1000; %Latent heat of fusion (J/kg)
T_m1 = 115.6+273.2; %lower melting temperature (K)
T_m2 = 119.7+273.2; %higher melting temperature (K)
k_ps = 0.733; %solid Conductive heat transfer coefficient (W/mK)
k_pl = 0.326; %liquid Conductive heat transfer coefficient (W/mK)
67
k_pt = 0.5295; %transition phase Conductive heat transfer coefficient (W/mK)
%% Constants
j = 1:N_z;
k = 1:N_r;
dz = L/(N_z-1)
dr = (R-ro)/(N_r-1)
V = pi*(R^2-ro^2)*L;
%% Inlet temperature
T = ones((N_r*N_z)+N_z,N_t);
T (1:(N_r*N_z),1)=(20+273.2);
T ((N_r*N_z)+1:(N_r*N_z)+N_z,1)=(20+273.2);
Ti = 20+273.2;
T_inlet = 135+273.2*ones(1,N_t);
alfa = zeros((N_z*N_r),N_t);
alfa(:,1) = (rho_ps/k_ps)*Cp_ps;
K = zeros((N_z*N_r),N_t);
K(:,1) = k_ps;
Beta = zeros((N_z*N_r),1);
Beta(:,1) = 0;
i = zeros(((N_z-1)*(N_r-1)),N_t);
Tm = zeros(((N_z-1)*(N_r-1)),N_t);
e_l = zeros(((N_z-1)*(N_r-1)),N_t);
e_s = zeros(((N_z-1)*(N_r-1)),N_t);
Tmo = 20+273.2;
i(:,1) = Tmo*Cp_ps*10^-3;
e = zeros(((N_z-1)*(N_r-1)),N_t);
node_number = @(J0,K0) ((K0-1)*N_z)+J0;

cell_number = @(J0,K0) ((K0-1)*(N_z-1))+J0;
node_number_teta = @(J0,K0) (((K0-1)*N_z)+J0)+(N_r*N_z);
cell_number_teta = @(J0,K0) (((K0-1)*(N_z-1))+J0);
tic;
for k=1:N_r-1
for j=1:N_z-1
e(cell_number(j,k),1) = i(cell_number(j,k),1)*rho_ps*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
end
end
for k=1:N_r-1
for j=1:N_z-1
v(cell_number(j,k),1) =((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
end
end
V = sum(v(:,1))*Np;
Vtot = pi*(R^2-ro^2)*L*Np;
E_pcm = zeros(1,N_t);
Eo = (sum(e(:,1)))*Np;
efficiency =zeros(1,N_t);
E_s = zeros(1,N_t);
E_l = zeros(1,N_t);
Q_f = zeros(1,N_t);
for n=2:1:N_t
if rem(n,100)==0;display([num2str(n) 'th time step...']);
end
68
[Tn,alfa_n,Beta_n,K_n] = PCM_Erythritol_ch(T(:,n-1),alfa(:,n-
1),Beta(:,n-1),T_inlet(n),n,K(:,n-1));
T(:,n) = Tn;
alfa(:,n) = alfa_n;
Beta(:,n) = Beta_n;
K(:,n) = K_n;
end
for n=1:1:N_t
for j=1:N_z-1
for k=1:N_r-1
Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)
=(T(node_number(j,k),n)+T(node_number(j+1,k),n)+T(node_number(j,k+1),n)+T(node_number(j+1,k+1),n))/4;
if Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)<T_m1
i(cell_number(j,k),n)= Cp_ps*10^-3* Tm (cell_number(j,k),n);
e(cell_number(j,k),n)= i (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_ps*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_s(cell_number(j,k),n) = Cp_ps*10^-3* Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_ps*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-
1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_l (cell_number(j,k),n) = 0;
else
if (Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)>= T_m1) && (Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)<= T_m2)
i(cell_number(j,k),n)= (Cp_pl* 10^-3*Tm (cell_number(j,k),n))+(delta_H*10^-3*(Tm
(cell_number(j,k),n)-T_m1)/(T_m2-T_m1));
e(cell_number(j,k),n)= i (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_pt*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_s(cell_number(j,k),n) = Cp_pl*10^-3* Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_pt*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-
1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_l (cell_number(j,k),n) = (delta_H*10^-3*(Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)-T_m1)/(T_m2-
T_m1))*rho_pt*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
else
if Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)>T_m2
i(cell_number(j,k),n)= (Cp_pl*10^-3* Tm (cell_number(j,k),n))+(delta_H*10^-3);
e(cell_number(j,k),n)= i (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_pl*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-
1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_s(cell_number(j,k),n) = Cp_pl*10^-3* Tm (cell_number(j,k),n)*rho_pl*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-
1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
e_l (cell_number(j,k),n) = (delta_H*10^-3)*rho_pl*((((k*dr)+ro)^2)-((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2))*pi*dz;
end
end
end
end
end
E_pcm (1,n) =(sum(e(:,n)))*Np;

efficiency (1,n)= (E_pcm(1,n)-Eo)/((V*10^-3*((rho_pl*Cp_pl*T_inlet(1,n))-
(rho_ps*Cp_ps*Ti)))+(V*rho_pl*delta_H*10^-3));
end
69
function [Tn,alfa_n,Beta_n,K_n]=PCM_Erythritol_ch(Tn_1,alfa,Beta,T_inlet,n,K)
%%PCM Storage
%% Geometry parameters
global L ro R N_z N_r N_t rho_f mio_f Cp_f m_f k_f Np rho_pl rho_ps rho_pt Cp_ps Cp_pl delta_H T_m1
T_m2 k_ps k_pl k_pt dz dr dt h
a1 = 2*h/(rho_f*Cp_f*ro);
b1 = m_f/(Np*rho_f*pi*ro^2);
%solution
A = zeros(((N_z*N_r)+N_z),(N_r*N_z)+N_z);
j = 1:N_z;
k = 1:N_r;
r(k) = ((k-1)*dr)+ro;
%
node_number = @(J0,K0) ((K0-1)*N_z)+J0;
node_number_teta = @(J0,K0) (((K0-1)*N_z)+J0)+(N_r*N_z);
%%filling the Matrix for internal nodes
eq = 1;
for j = 2:N_z-1
for k = 2:N_r-1
N1 = node_number(j-1,k);
N2 = node_number(j,k-1);
N3 = node_number(j,k+1);
N4 = node_number(j+1,k);
N5 = node_number(j,k);
%%
A(eq,N1) = 1/(dz^2);
A(eq,N2) = 2*(((k-2)*dr)+ro)/(((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2-(((k-2)*dr)+ro)^2)*dr);
A(eq,N3) = 2*(((k-1)*dr)+ro)/(((((k-1)*dr)+ro)^2-(((k-2)*dr)+ro)^2)*dr);
A(eq,N4) = 1/(dz^2);
A(eq,N5) = -2*((1/(((((k-1)*dr)+ro)-(((k-2)*dr)+ro))*dr))+(1/dz^2));
eq = eq+1;
end
end
%%Boundary conditions at the lower wall

eq_B_LW=eq;
for k = 2:N_r
j = 1;
A(eq_B_LW,N7) = 1;
j = 2;
A(eq_B_LW,N8) = -1;
eq_B_LW = eq_B_LW+1;
end
eq_B_HW = eq_B_LW;
%%Boundary conditions at the higher wall
for k = 2:N_r
j = N_z-1;
70
A(eq_B_HW,N9) = -1;
j = N_z;
A(eq_B_HW,N10) = 1;
eq_B_HW = eq_B_HW+1;
end
eq_B_OR = eq_B_HW;
%%Boundary condition at the outer radius-+
for j = 2:N_z-1;
k = N_r-1;
A(eq_B_OR,N11) = -1;
k = N_r;
A(eq_B_OR,N12) = 1;
eq_B_OR = eq_B_OR+1;
end
eq_B_W=eq_B_OR;
%% Boundary condition of the wall

for j=1:N_z
N13 = node_number(j,1);
A(eq_B_W,N13) = -(h+(K (node_number(j,k))/dr));
A(eq_B_W,N14) = (K (node_number(j,k))/dr);
N15 = node_number_teta(j,1);
A(eq_B_W,N15)=h;
eq_B_W = eq_B_W+1;
end
eq_B_HTF = eq_B_W;
%% Pipe (HTF)
for j = 2:N_z
N16 = node_number_teta(j-1,1);
A(eq_B_HTF,N16) = b1/dz;
N17 = node_number_teta(j,1);
A(eq_B_HTF,N17) = -(a1+(b1/dz));
A(eq_B_HTF,N18) = a1 ;
eq_B_HTF = eq_B_HTF+1;
end
%% inlet of the pipe j=1
N19 = node_number_teta(1,1);
A(eq_B_HTF,N19) = 1;
%% Forming Matrix B(Matrix coefficient for n)

tic;
B = zeros(((N_z*N_r)+N_z),(N_r*N_z)+N_z);
eq_B=1;
for j=2:N_z-1
for k=2:N_r-1
71
B(eq_B,node_number(j,k)) = (-1/dt)*alfa(node_number(j,k));
eq_B=eq_B+1;
end
end
%%HTF
eq_B_WB = eq_B_W;
for j=2:N_z
B(eq_B_WB,node_number_teta(j,1)) = (-1/dt)*1;
eq_B_WB=eq_B_WB+1;
end
%%Forming Matrix Beta at time n
D = zeros(((N_z*N_r)+N_z),1);
for j=2:N_z-1
for k=2:N_r-1
D(node_number(j,k)) = (-1/dt)*Beta(node_number(j,k));
end
end
%% Forming Matrix E(Matrix coefficient for n-1)
E = zeros(((N_z*N_r)+N_z),(N_r*N_z)+N_z);
eq_E=1;
for j=2:N_z-1
for k=2:N_r-1
E(eq_E,node_number(j,k)) = (1/dt)*alfa(node_number(j,k));
eq_E=eq_E+1;
end
end
%%Pipe
eq_B_WE=eq_B_W;
for j=2:N_z
E(eq_B_WE,node_number_teta(j,1)) = (1/dt)*1;
eq_B_WE=eq_B_WE+1;
end
%%Forming Matrix Beta at time n-1
G= zeros(((N_z*N_r)+N_z),1);
for j=2:N_z-1
for k=2:N_r-1
G(node_number(j,k)) = (1/dt)*Beta(node_number(j,k));
end
end
%%
F=zeros((N_r*N_z)+N_z,1);
F((N_r*N_z)+N_z,1)=T_inlet;
%%
72
Tn=(A+B)\((-E*Tn_1)+F-G-D);
%%
for j=1:N_z
for k=1:N_r
if Tn(node_number(j,k),1)<T_m1
alfa_n(node_number(j,k),1) = (rho_ps/k_ps)*Cp_ps;
Beta_n(node_number(j,k),1) = 0;
K_n(node_number(j,k),1)=k_ps;
else
if (Tn(node_number(j,k),1)>= T_m1) && (Tn(node_number(j,k),1)<= T_m2)
alfa_n(node_number(j,k),1) =(rho_pt/k_pt)*(Cp_pl+(delta_H/(T_m2-T_m1)));
Beta_n(node_number(j,k),1) = (rho_pt/k_pt)*(-delta_H*T_m1/(T_m2-T_m1));
K_n(node_number(j,k),1)=k_pt;
else
if Tn(node_number(j,k),1)>T_m2
alfa_n(node_number(j,k),1) = (rho_pl/k_pl)*Cp_pl;
Beta_n(node_number(j,k),1) = (rho_pl/k_pl)*delta_H;
K_n(node_number(j,k),1)=k_pl;
end
end
end
end
end
end
(Hall et al., 1990)
(Qi et al., 2008)
(Abhat, 1983; Lane, 1983)

(Löf and Tybout, 1974)
73
(Kakiuchi et al., 1998)
(Mokhtar et al., 2010)
(Asdrubali and Grignaffini, 2005)
74

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Design and Analysis of a Solar Assisted Absorption

Cooling System Integrated with Latent Heat Storage

Name : Laleh Hosseini

Name Laleh Hosseini

Master Sustainable Process and Energy Technology

Student Number 4056345

Deerns consulting engineers

Dr.ir. C.A. Infante Ferreira

Dr.ir. P.J.W. van den Engel

Dr.ir. C.A. Infante Ferreira

Dr. L.C.M. Itard

Dr.ir. P.J.W. van den Engel

Ir. J. van Dorp

Figure 1.1 Classification of PCMs (Sharma et al., 2009).............................................................. 3

Nomenclature Super- and subscripts

m Mass flow rate of the HTF, kg/s 1, 2 … State points

1.2 Phase Change Material

1.3 Classifications of PCM

Figure 1.1 Classification of PCMs (Sharma et al., 2009)

Table 1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of organic and inorganic PCMs

1.4 Description of the Building

Figure 1.2 Energy load of the building in 24 hr

1.5 System Configurations

1.5.1 Vapour compression system

Figure 1.4 Vapor compression system

Case1: Integrated VC system with solar thermal collector and LHS

Figure 1.6 The heating cycle for vapor compression system

Figure 1.7 The cooling cycle for a vapor compression cycle

1.5.2 Single effect solar absorption system

Figure 1.8 Absorption air conditioning system

Performance of an absorption system is also dependent on the chemical and thermodynamic

Case 3: Solar absorption system with LHS and ATES

Figure 1.9 Solar absorption cooling cycle

Figure 1.10 The heating cycle of absorption system

Case 4: Solar absorption system with LHS

Figure 1.11 The cooling cycle for case 4

Figure 1.12 The heating cycle for case 4

1.6 Solar Thermal Collector

Collector type Absorber type Concentration ratio Indicative temperature range (o C)

1.7 System Selection

Table 1.3 Characteristic of different vapour compression and absorption systems

Flat plate collector Evacuated tube collector

Table 1.5 Estimation of systems capital cost in €

1.8 PCM Selection

Heat storage material Type Melting point (o C) Heat of Fusion

Heat storage material Type Melting point (o C) Heat of Fusion

Figure 1.15 The Enthalpy curve of Erythritol

1.9 Research objective

1.10 Problem approach

Figure 2.1.. Schematic diagram of the

For developing the analytical model for simulating the LiBr-

• The pressure drop in the pipes and vessels is negligible.

uations of enthalpies, temperatures, concentrations and vapor pressures of the

= −;# ℎ# (?# , # ) + ; ℎ (AB , C ) + ;= ℎ= (?= , =)

II. Solution heat pump circuit

;# = ;< = 2;P = 2;Q = ;

;# X# = ;< X< (2.11)

Substituting equation 2.8 and 2.14 into 2.15 gives

The pump power is calculated by:

III. Solution Heat Exchanger