THERMODYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF COOLING BY SOLAR-POWERED LITHIUM BROMIDE-WATER ABSORPTION CYCLES

Conventional solar powered absorption cooling systems suffer degradation in performance due to thermal inertia in intermittent and transient operation. They are also poor at storing sensible solar energy. This thesis studies storing solar energy in the form of latent energy within a constant state lithium bromide-water absorption cooling cycle. Seasonal simulation programs with control strategies to minimize transient effects, the models for average day hourly weather data and the model of the lithium bromide-water absorption cooling cycle with internal energy storages are developed. The results show short-term or daily storage is preferable to long-term or seasonal storage. Increasing the collector area has a larger impact on the seasonal auxiliary requirement than increasing the refrigerant storage. Other design parameters that effect the system performances are also investigated.