Experimentally measured thermal masses of adsorption heat exchangers

The thermal masses of components influence the performance of many adsorption heat pump systems. However, typically when experimental adsorption systems are reported, data on thermal mass are missing or incomplete. This work provides original measurements of the thermal masses for experimental sorption heat exchanger hardware. Much of this hardware was previously reported in the literature, but without detailed thermal mass data. The data reported in this work are the first values reported in the literature to thoroughly account for all thermal masses, including heat transfer fluid. The impact of thermal mass on system performance is also discussed, with detailed calculation left for future work. The degree to which heat transfer fluid contributes to overall effective thermal mass is also discussed, with detailed calculation left for future work. This work provides a framework for future reporting of experimental thermal masses. The utilization of this framework will enrich the data available for model validation and provide a more thorough accounting of adsorption heat pumps

Verification of hydrothermal stability of adsorbent materials for thermal energy storage

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Atomistic modelling of water transport and adsorption mechanisms in silicoaluminophosphate for thermal energy storage

SAPO-34 – a silicoaluminophosphate microporous material – has recently attracted a great attention in the field of sorption thermal storage, since it is characterized by good water adsorption behavior (i.e. type V adsorption isotherms) and low regeneration temperature (i.e. 80 °C, for instance available by standard solar thermal energy collectors). However, the nanoscale mechanisms of water transport and adsorption in the microporous framework of SAPO-34 cannot be fully unveiled by experiments alone. In this work, water adsorption onto SAPO-34 is for the first time studied by means of an atomistic model built upon experimental evidence. First, Monte Carlo simulations are employed to set up a convenient atomistic model of water/SAPO-34 interactions, and numerical adsorption isotherms are validated against experimental measures. Second, the validated model is used to study the water diffusion through SAPO-34 by molecular dynamics simulations, and to visualize preferential adsorption sites with atomistic detail. Such atomistic model validated against experiments may ease the investigation and in silico discovery of silicoaluminophosphates for thermal storage applications with tailored adsorption characteristics

Adsorption system for cooling and power generation using advanced adsorbent materials

This thesis investigates the feasibility of producing electricity and cooling simultaneously utilising low-grade heat sources by incorporating an expander within the adsorption cooling system or by integrating an Organic Rankine Cycle with water adsorption cooling system. Advanced physical adsorbent materials have been investigated for the first time to generate cooling and electricity simultaneously utilising CPO-27(Ni), MIL101(Cr), and AQSOA-Z02 and compared to commonly used Silica-gel. Two innovative configurations of water adsorption systems for cooling and electricity were investigated. In the first configuration, the two-bed basic adsorption cooling system (BACS) is improved by including an expander within the system. In the second configuration, the BACS and ORC cycle are integrated. Four different scenarios of systems integration based on the way of powering the ORC and the adsorption system were investigated. Also, detailed CFD simulations of small-scale radial inflow turbines are developed for both configurations. Also, a novel experimental facility is developed to integrate ORC with two-bed adsorption cooling system to validate the numerical models and proof the concept of producing power as well as cooling, where maximum specific cooling power of 252 W/kgads and specific power and of 162 W/kgads can be achieved with maximum deviation of less than 17%

Experimental and numerical investigation of a new MOF based adsorption water desalination system

In this research, performance of adsorption desalination systems is investigated numerically and experimentally through number of techniques including the use of advanced adsorbent materials known as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), various cycle configurations and operating conditions. A Simulink model was developed to simulate the heat and mass transfer processes associated with the adsorption/desorption processes, evaporation of seawater and condensation of potable water. This model has been used to investigate a number of new adsorbents; "AQSOA-Z02", "Aluminum Fumarate", "CP0-27Ni" and "MIL-l 01 Cr" for the purposes of water desalination and cooling as a secondary output. Number of operating parameters have been investigated including; effect of condenser, evaporator and bed's heating secondary fluid temperatures as well as half cycle time. It was concluded that decreasing condenser temperature, enhances cycle performance, therefore, a new system configuration was developed that enables decreasing the condenser temperature by utilizing all or part of the cooling effect produced in the evaporator which resulted in 314% increase in water production than conventional cycle. Two experimental testing facilities were developed to investigate CP0-27Ni and Al-Fumarate which resulted in maximum daily water production (SDWP) of 22.8 and 25.3 m3 .tonne·'.day·' respectively, while the maximum SDWP reported experimentally for Silica-gel is 13.46 m3 .tonne·' .day·'