Analysis of heat transfer in a coated bed of an adsorption chiller

Abstract

Adsorption chillers can be a promising part of sustainable development concept of the global economy due to the utilization of low grade thermal energy sources for cooling production. Therefore, research aiming at improving their performance i.e. Coefficient of Performance (COP) by optimizing the heat and mass transfer condition in the adsorption beds are crucial. Innovative modification of the sorbent layer structure are proposed in the paper in order to improve the heat transfer characteristics in the heat exchanger boundary layer. The analysis of desorption conditions in the parametric model of a coated adsorption bed construction is presented in the paper. The computational fluid dynamics with conjugate heat transfer analysis are used to determine the crucial input parameters for further analytical calculations. The heat transfer condition in novel coated design and a conventional fixed bed are compared in the paper. The developed computational model consisted of three subdomains representing heating water, heat exchanger material (copper) and sorbent (silica gel).