Proposal and validation of a model for the dynamic simulation

of a solar-assisted single-stage LiBr/water absorption chiller

G. Evola
a
, N. Le Pierre`s
b,
*, F. Boudehenn
c
, P. Papillon
c
a
LEPMI, CNRS UMR 5279, 50 avenue du lac Leman, 73377 Le Bourget du Lac, France
b
LOCIE, CNRS UMR 5271, Universite de Savoie, Polytech Annecy-Chambery, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
c
CEA LITEN, BP 332, 50 avenue du lac Leman, 73377 Le Bourget du Lac, France
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 28 November 2011
Received in revised form
21 September 2012
Accepted 18 October 2012
Available online 1 November 2012
Keywords:
Absorption chiller
Lithium bromide
Dynamic performance
Simulation
Experimental results
a b s t r a c t
In this paper, a general mathematical model for the dynamic simulation of a single-effect
LiBr/water absorption chiller is presented. The model is based on mass and energy
balances applied to the internal components of the machine, and it accounts for the non-
steady behaviour due to thermal and mass storage in the components. The validation of
the mathematical model is performed through experimental data collected on a commer-
cial small-capacity water-cooled unit. Due to the peculiar technology adopted in the real
chiller, a special effort was made to identify the appropriate values of the main physical
parameters. The validation of the model is based on the values of the water temperature at
the outlet of the machine, as no measurement inside the machine was possible; anyway,
a consistency analysis applied to the internal parameters is also presented. The agreement
between experimental and simulated results is very good, both on a daily and on a seasonal
basis.
2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Proposition et validation dun mode` le pour la simulation
dynamique dun refroidisseur a` absorption au LiBr / eau
solaire monoe tage
Mots cles : Refroidisseur a` absorption ; Bromure de lithium ; Performance dynamique ; Simulation ; Re sultats expe rimentaux
1. Introduction
Dynamic simulation plays a very important role in the
description of the real performance of an energy conversion
system, especially during the activation stage or part-load
operation. Such a problem is extremely relevant for absorp-
tion chillers, where the high mass of the internal components
and the accumulation of the uids inside the vessels usually
make the transient phase longer than in mechanical
compression chillers.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 33 47 975 88 58; fax: 33 47 975 81 44.
E-mail address: nolwenn.le-pierres@univ-savoie.fr (N. Le Pierre` s).
www. i i i r . or g
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ i j ref ri g
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8
0140-7007/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2012.10.013
Very interesting papers on this topic have been presented
in scientic literature. Jeong et al. (1998) propose a dynamic
model for the simulation of a steam-driven LiBr/water
absorption heat pump that exploits low-grade waste heat. The
model includes storage terms to take into account the thermal
capacity of the container and the solution mass storage in the
components, but no thermal inertia is attributed to the heat
exchangers. Solution and vapour mass ow rates are not
constant, as they are determined as a function of the pressure
difference between the vessels. The simulation time step is
automatically adjusted; the model has been veried, with
good agreement, throughoperational data, but only by looking
at the thermal power exchanged by the absorber and the
condenser.
Ko hlenbach and Ziegler (2008a, 2008b) paid a lot of atten-
tion to the dynamic behaviour, by accounting for heat and
mass storage, as well as to the solution transport delay
between generator and absorber e and the way back; on the
contrary, their model is over-simplied as far as the descrip-
tionof the steady state is concerned: as an example, water and
LiBr/water solution have constant property data, and
a detailed enthalpy calculation for each state of the system is
avoided. Hence, their model is able to describe very accurately
the shape of the dynamic response to a change in the input
conditions, but a low accuracy on the numerical values is
obtained after verication with the experimental measure-
ments on a commercial 10 kW single-stage absorption chiller.
The work also includes a sensitivity analysis to some internal
parameters, which is not supported by experimental
verication.
The model developed by Shin et al. (2009) applies to high-
capacity double effect absorption chillers. It has been veri-
ed against experimental data collected on a commercial
direct-red chiller of medium capacity during 370 min of
operation, with an acquisition time step as high as 5 s. On the
whole, the model proved to be quite reliable at steady opera-
tion; on the contrary, during the rst 90 min, i.e. when the
transient behaviour was particularly pronounced, differences
up to 10

C were observed between simulated and experi-
mental values of the temperatures inside generator and
absorber. Furthermore, during the same period the error on
the determination of the instantaneous capacity reached 20%.
Other works have been recently presented by Gomri (2010)
and Bakhtiari et al. (2011); bothworks are based ona simplied
steady-state model of a single or multiple effect absorption
chiller. In the rst case, the model is used for evaluating the
performance sensitivity to the main operating parameters,
even under a second law perspective, but no validation is
presented, whereas in the second work the model is validated
through experimental data and used for the optimization of
the chiller design.
Myat et al. (2011) presented an effective dynamic model for
the evaluation of temperature and concentration proles in
a single stage LiBr/water absorption chiller; their model also
Nomenclature
Variables
A surface (m
2
)
c
p
specic heat capacity (J kg
1
K
1
)
C
d
discharge coefcient (e)
D diameter (m)
f specic backow (e)
F fouling factor (m
2
kW
1
)
h specic enthalpy (J kg
1
)
H height difference between two components (m)
H daily solar irradiation on the collector plane
(kWhm
2
day
1
)
I solar irradiance on the collector plane (Wm
2
)
_ m mass ow rate (kg s
1
)
M mass (kg)
Nu Nusselt number (e)
p pressure (Pa)
Pr Prandtl number (e)
Re Reynolds number (e)
_
Q thermal power (W)
s thickness (m)
S pipe section (m
2
)
t time (s)
T temperature (K)
U heat transfer coefcient (Wm
2
K
1
)
V volume (m
3
)
_
V volumetric ow rate (m
3
s
1
)
x concentration (e)
z level of the liquid inside a component (m)
Greek letters
a convective coefcient (Wm
2
K
1
)
l thermal conductivity (Wm
1
K
1
)
r density (kg m
3
)
z pressure loss coefcient (-)
Subscripts and superscripts
a absorber
abs absorbed
av average value
c condenser
d dissipated
des desorbed
ext external
ev evaporator
g generator
hx heat exchanger
in inlet
int internal
l liquid
max maximum value
o outdoor
out outlet
s solution
sh shell
v vapour
w water
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1016
includes some relations for the calculation of the heat transfer
coefcients and nally leads to an entropy analysis of the
chiller, but it is not validated through experimental results.
The model described in the present paper has been
conceived in the framework of a research project where
a commercial solar-assisted single-stage absorption chiller is
being monitored to verify its performance in the air-
conditioning of an ofce space. As a consequence, some
specic features are needed:
- the model must be suitable for the simulation of commer-
cial units;
- as the driving water ow is heated through solar energy,
which is not steady, a dynamic model is necessary;
- the aim of the model is not to get an extremely precise
description of the transient response of the machine, but to
describe with good accuracy the time prole of the chiller
behaviour when subject to load variations in the time scale
of a few minutes;
- the model must determine the water outlet temperature
and the thermal power at each section of the absorption
chiller;
- the model should also present good accuracy in the
description of the average chiller performance (daily,
weekly or even seasonal).
For this reason, the validation of the dynamic model is not
based on the application of a load perturbation starting from
a steady state, but it is performed by means of real operating
conditions, with a continuous change of all the external
parameters over several days of operation.
Section 2 describes the equations included in the mathe-
matical model, as well as the hypotheses that justify such
equations. Section 3 presents the calculation of the physical
parameters to be adopted in the mathematical model to
simulate the commercial single-stage absorption unit
considered in this study. Section 4 comments on the experi-
mental data and their comparison with the simulated results.
Section 5 shows a consistency analysis that investigates into
the capability of the model to correctly describe the internal
behaviour of the machine and its response to a sudden change
in the forcing conditions. Section 6 concerns the use of the
proposed model to identify some improvements in the
experimental solar-assisted cooling system.
2. Description of the model
A single-stage LiBr/water absorption chiller is made up of
a generator, an absorber, an evaporator and a condenser;
the circulation of the solution is assured by a solution
pump, and a solution heat exchanger is normally used to
internally recover thermal energy (see Fig. 1). At the gener-
ator, a heat source is supplied, in order to desorb the
refrigerant (water vapour) from the solution; the vapour
moves towards the condenser, where it is condensed at
a high pressure. The remaining solution, called strong as it is
rich in LiBr, ows down via the heat exchanger to the
absorber; here it is exposed to the vapour coming from the
evaporator, that is absorbed in the solution at low pressure
and temperature. The diluted solution is then conveyed to
the generator by the solution pump. The cold production
occurs at the evaporator.
In order to simplify the formulation and the consequent
implementation of the model, some assumptions are made:
a temperature, pressure and LiBr concentration are
homogenous inside each component (Myat et al., 2011);
b the pressure inside the generator equals that in the
condenser, and the same relation holds between absorber
and evaporator;
c the cooling water outlet temperature in the absorber
corresponds to the cooling water inlet temperature at the
condenser;
d the uid transport delay between two components is
neglected;
e each heat exchanger has a constant overall heat transfer
coefcient, as already stated by Ko hlenbach and Ziegler
(2008a) and Jeong et al. (1998);
f the LiBr/water solution leaving the generator and the
absorber is saturated (Ko hlenbach and Ziegler, 2008a);
g the throttling valves between generator/absorber and
condenser/evaporator are adiabatic;
h the vapour produced in the evaporator is saturated, thus
no superheating is allowed, as remarked by Shin et al.
(2009) and Gomri (2010);
i the volumetric ow rate of diluted solution conveyed by
the solution pump from the absorber to the generator is
assumed constant.
Most of the above simplifying assumptions are quite
reasonable (b, c, g, i) or well established in the literature on the
topic (a, d, e, h). Only the assumption f might be questionable:
Myat et al. (2011) underline that in a well-designed absorber
the solution inside the component and at its outlet is normally
slightly sub-cooled. However, when simulating commercial
absorption units, it is not possible to access the inside of the
machine, thus there is no way to verify through experimental
measurements the accuracy of this last assumption.
2.1. Generator and absorber
If looking at the scheme described in Fig. 1, the mass balance
for the solution and the vapour in the generator can be
respectively written as follows, by including the storage of
both uids in the vessel:
_ m
s;in;g
_ m
s;out;g
_ m
v;des

dM
s;g
dt
(1)
_ m
v;des
_ m
v;out;g

dM
v;g
dt
(2)
The ideal gas law can be used for the vapour, Eq. (3). This
position is allowed as the vapour pressure inside a single-
stage LiBr/water absorption chiller is normally between 1
and 10 kPa, i.e. far lower than the critical pressure; in this
conditions, the error made on the evaluation of the specic
volume by using the ideal gas lawis lower than 0.1%, whatever
the vapour temperature, as remarked in (Cengel, 1997). In Eq.
(3) the volume V
v
occupied by the vapour is calculated by
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1017
subtracting the volume of the solution from that of the entire
vessel, see Eq. (4).
M
v;g
$R
v
$T
g
p
g
$V
v
(3)
V
v
V
g
M
s;g
=r
s;g
(4)
Furthermore, the mass balance on LiBr, see Eq. (5), and the
energy balance on the solution, see Eq. (6), hold:
_ m
s;in;g
$x
s;in;g
_ m
s;out;g
$x
s;out;g
M
s;g
$
dx
s;g
dt
x
s;g
$
dM
s;g
dt
(5)
_
Q
hx;g

_
Q
d;g
_ m
v;des
$h
v;des
_ m
s;out;g
$h
s;out;g
_ m
s;in;g
$h
s;in;g

d
dt

Mc
p;g
$T
g

(6)
In Eq. (6), the convective and radiative heat transfer
between vapour and solution is neglected. The solution is
assumed to be fully mixed at each simulation step; as
a consequence the enthalpy and the salt concentration in the
solution leaving the vessel correspond to those inside the
vessel. Furthermore, according to Alefeld and Radermacher
(1993) the temperature of the vapour desorbed in the gener-
ator corresponds to the saturation temperature associated
with the diluted solution entering the component; as
a consequence the vapour will be super-heated withrespect to
the solution contained inside the vessel.
In addition, the model takes into account the thermal
inertia of the shell; the shell is assumed at thermal equilib-
rium with the solution (T
sh
T
g
), thus its thermal capacity can
be composed with that of the solution itself in Eq. (6), where
MM
sh
M
s
and c
p
is the average specic heat capacity (Shin
et al., 2009), dened as:
c
p;g

M
sh
$c
p;sh
M
s
$c
p;s
M
sh
M
s
(7)
The thermal power released into the environment can be
assessed by introducing an overall thermal resistance R
g
between the solution in the generator and the outdoor air:
_
Q
d;g

T
g
T
o

R
g
(8)
Suchaschemecanbeextendedtotheabsorber, just accounting
for the different direction of the vapour ow, which enters the
component and is absorbed in the solution. The thermodynamic
state of the vapour entering the absorber corresponds to that of
thevapour producedintheevaporator; itsenthalpyis assessedas
a function of temperature and pressure through the relations
available in (Florides et al., 2003), that are derived by tting the
data presented in (Rogers and Mayhew, 1992).
In the equations previously presented, the thermodynamic
properties of the LiBr/water solution (enthalpy, density,
specic heat, thermal conductivity, viscosity) are calculated
through appropriate polynomial functions reported in
(Florides et al., 2003).
2.2. Condenser and evaporator
Fig. 1 also shows the scheme used to describe the condenser.
In this component the liquid phase is condensed vapour
instead of LiBr/water solution; as a consequence, the mass
balance on the condensate and the vapour can be written as:
_ m
l
_ m
l;out;c

dM
l;c
dt
(9)
_ m
v;in;c
_ m
l

dM
v;c
dt
(10)
Pump
Qhx,g
ms,out,g
Ms,a
Qd,a
mw,g
ms,in,g
Mv,g
mv,in,a
Qd,c
CONDENSER
Qhx,a
ms,out,a
Ml,c
Mv,a
mw,a
ms,in,a
Mv,c
ml
ml,out,c
Ml,e
Qd.e
mw,c
Qhx,c
mv,in,c
mev
Qhx,e
Mv,e
mw,e
ml,in,e
Solution exch
High
pressure
Low
pressure
mv,out,e
EVAPORATOR
ABSORBER
mv,abs
mv,out,g
mv,des
GENERATOR
Qd,g
Ms,g
Fig. 1 e Description of the main components inside the absorption machine (white arrows: vapour, black arrows: liquid).
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1018
In addition, Eqs. (3) and (4) can be rewritten, whereas the
energy balance applied to the vapour yields:
_
Q
hx;c

_
Q
d;c
_ m
l
h
l
_ m
v;in;c
h
v;in;c

d
dt

Mc
p;c
$T
c

(11)
Furthermore, the vapour and the condensate are saturated;
the enthalpy of the inlet vapour is the same as for the vapour
owing out of the generator. As described before, the shell is
assumed at thermal equilibrium with the working uid, thus
the specic heat capacity used in Eq. (11) is an average one
(Shin et al., 2009).
The equations can be easily extended to the evaporator by
looking at the scheme in Fig. 1; as an example, the following
energy balance holds:
_
Q
hx;e

_
Q
d;e
_ m
ev
$h
ev
_ m
l;in;e
$h
l;in;e

d
dt

Mc
p;e
$T
e

(12)
Here, the enthalpy of the saturated vapour produced inside
theevaporator isdeterminedbymeansof therelations available
in (Florides et al., 2003) and already used for the generator.
2.3. Heat exchangers
In order to evaluate the heat ux conveyed by the hot water to
the solution inside the generator, a model of the internal heat
exchanger is also required. According to this model, a uniform
temperature T
hx
can be assigned to the metal core of the heat
exchanger, whose thermal capacity is Mc
hx
. A distinction can
then be made between the heat ux released by the water and
delivered to the surface of the exchanger, see Eq. (13), and that
transferred from the exchanger to the solution, see Eq. (14).
The latter depends on the internal (exchanger solution) heat
transfer coefcient UA
int
, whereas the former can also be
written as in Eq. (15), i.e. as a function of the external
(water exchanger) heat transfer coefcient of the heat
exchanger, UA
ext
, and the mean logarithmic temperature. The
difference between such uxes represents the thermal energy
stored on the body of the heat exchanger (see Eq. (16)).
The heat transfer coefcients UA
int
and UA
ext
can be easily
assessed as shown in Eq. (17); in order to understand this
denition, one must remember that each heat exchanger
consists of a bank of cylindrical tubes, and that a uniform
temperature T
hx
is attributed to the tube itself. The simpli-
cation introduced in Eq. (17) is justied by the very low
thermal resistance associated with the conductive heat
transfer through the tube thickness: due to the high thermal
conductivity of copper (l 387 Wm
1
K
1
) and the reduced
thickness (normally not higher than 1 mm), the contribution
of this term on the overall thermal resistance would be lower
than 1%, as shown by a preliminary analysis carried out by the
authors.
_
Q
hx;w
r
w
$
_
V
w
$c
p;w
$

T
w;in
T
w;out

(13)
_
Q
hx
UA
int
$T
hx
T
s
(14)
_
Q
hx;w
UA
ext
$

T
w;in
T
hx

T
w;out
T
hx

ln

T
w;in
T
hx

T
w;out
T
hx

(15)
_
Q
hx;w

_
Q
hx
Mc
p;hx
$
dT
hx
dt
(16)
UA
ext
A
hx
$
0
B
B
B
B
B
@
1
a
hx;ext

D
hx
=2
l
hx
$ln
D
hx
s
hx
D
hx
F
ext
|{z}
overall thermal resistance
1
C
C
C
C
C
A
1
z
a
hx;ext
$A
hx
1a
hx;ext
$F
ext
(17)
In the above equations, the density and the specic heat of
water are determined as a function of the inlet temperature,
according to the relations reported by Florides et al. (2003).
Thanks to the model of the heat exchanger, it is possible to
predict the outlet water temperature and the heat ux
released to the solution once the water mass ow and its inlet
temperature are known, as well as the temperature of the
solution inside the generator.
The same approach can be easily extended to the heat
exchanger inside the other components.
2.4. Other devices
As previously stated, the volumetric ow rate of the diluted
solution conveyed by the solution pump is constant, and
imposed as an input value. On the contrary, the strong solu-
tion ow rate from the generator to the absorber cannot be
held constant, as it depends on the pressure and the height
difference between the generator and the absorber. According
to this scheme, the mass ow rate of the strong solution can
be assessed as:
_ m
s;out;g
C
d
$S$

2$r
s;g
$
h
p
g
p
a

r
s;g
$g$H z
i
z
v
u
u
t
(18)
Here, the pressure losses in the solution heat exchanger and
the corresponding piping are described through a resistance
coefcient z. The level z of the solution inside the generator is
continuously updated, as a function of the mass of solution
actually contained inside the vessel; the vertical distance H
between the bottom of the generator and the solution inlet of
the absorber is also considered. The same expression is used
to calculate the condensate mass ow rate from the
condenser to the evaporator.
In both cases, the pressure loss coefcient is not set
constant, but it is assumed to change as a function of the uid
height inside the upper vessel.
Such an assumption corresponds to the control logic which
is oftenadopted inabsorption chillers, where anincrease inthe
resistanceof thethrottlingvalveisinducedwhenthelevel of the
liquid gets too low, in order to prevent the vessel from getting
empty. In this work, the following formulation is proposed:
z z
0
$z
0
=z
2
(19)
where z
0
and z
0
are nominal values. The use of such a condi-
tion is a real novelty if compared to other models available in
the literature, such as those proposed by Ko hlenbach and
Ziegler (2008a) or Shin et al. (2009), and it has relevantly
improved the stability and the consistency of the model.
As regards the solution heat exchanger between the
generator and the absorber, no thermal inertia has been
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1019
considered. Its heat transfer coefcient UA
hx
is assumed
constant and assigned as an input; its efciency can be easily
assessed as a function of UA
hx
and the solution mass ow,
through well-known relationships valid for counter-ow heat
exchangers (Incropera et al., 2006).
3. Denition of the parameters
The mathematical model presented so far refers to a general
LiBr/water single effect absorption machine. In this work the
model will be applied to a commercial water-cooled unit with
a nominal cooling capacity of 4.5 kW, manufactured by
Rotartica. This chiller is installed at INES (Institut National de
lEnergie Solaire) near Chambe ry (France), where it is used in
the framework of a national research program aimed at
assessing the performance of different solar-assisted refrig-
eration systems.
Actually, the Rotartica chiller is a very particular one, as the
absorption cycle is carried out into an hermetically welded
spheroid container of approximately 500 mm diameter by
500 mm long, rotated at 400 rpm about a horizontal axis, as
described in (Monne et al., 2011) and also in (Gilchrist et al.,
2002) for a similar model. The rotation of the components
improves the heat transfer coefcients and the efciency of the
cooling production, but an additional electricity consumption
of around 400 W has to be accounted for to maintain the rota-
tion. Furthermore, the solution pump is not electrically driven,
as the pumping power is derived from rotation, by converting
the kinetic energy at the outer radius of the vessel into pres-
sure. Further information on the Rotartica chiller is reported by
Izquierdo et al. (2008) and Garcia Cascales et al. (2011).
In order to use the proposed model for the simulation of
the Rotartica chiller, a special effort was devoted to the
parameter identication. As a matter of fact, when dealing
with commercial chillers the internal components are usually
not accessible, thus the only way to determine their geometry
is based on schemes of the chiller available on the technical
sheets which is the approach followed in this work.
In Table 1 the values of all the constant inlet parameters
used in the model are reported.
For the evaluation of the cumulated heat capacities, the
materials are copper in the heat exchangers and iron in the
vessel. The value of the discharge coefcient C
d
is quite typical
and commonly accepted in the case of circular sharp-edged
orices (Massey and Ward-Smith, 1998), whereas the thermal
resistance R between each component and the outdoors was
estimated roughly by knowing the geometry of the machine.
Furthermore, in Eq. (17) the convective heat transfer coef-
cient a
ext
betweenthe water owand the surface of the tubes
in each component is assessed by using the correlations
proposed by Gnielinski (1976):
f 0:079$ ln Re 1:64
2
(20a)

0:125$f $Re 1000$Pr

1 12:7$

0:125f

0:5
$Pr
2=3
1
(20b)
a
ext

l
w
D
hx
(20c)
According to Gnielinsky, the Eqs. (20a) and (20b) can be
applied for Re >3000, thus they are more general than the
well-known Dittus-Boelter correlation, valid for Re >10000.
The viscosity and the thermal conductivity of water,
respectively required to determine the Reynolds number and
to solve Eq. (20c), are determined as a function of the
temperature through appropriate relations available in
(Florides et al., 2003).
In addition, the value of the fouling factor F for the internal
and external surface of the tubes can be assumed as high as
0.09 m
2
KkW
1
(Howell et al., 2005).
As concerns the convective heat transfer coefcient on the
solution side in the absorber and the generator, some exper-
imental values have been derived by Rivera and Xicale (2001).
However, these values refer to a geometry that is quite
different from that of the Rotartica chiller, where the heat
exchangers rotate with the vessel at 550 rpm (58 rad s
1
). For
this reason, in this work the heat transfer coefcients deter-
mined by Gilchrist et al. (2002) for the Interotex machine are
adopted (a
int
9000 Wm
2
K
1
), as the latter is very similar to
the Rotartica machine.
In addition, the heat transfer coefcient for both water
boiling and condensation ona circular surface can be assessed
through appropriate relations available in the literature
(Incropera et al., 2006).
It must be remembered that the thermodynamic proper-
ties of the LiBr/water mixture as well as those of liquid water
and water vapour can be calculated as a function of the
temperature and pressure, thus they normally vary with time.
However, in the determination of the heat transfer coef-
cients a xed average temperature was considered for each
uid, in order to get constant values and simplify the imple-
mentation of the model.
Finally, the volumetric ow rate of the diluted solution
conveyed from the absorber to the generator is kept constant
and equal to 0.0185 l s
1
. The mass ow rate changes at each
time step as a function of the solution density. No calibration
was applied to optimise the values reported in Table 1.
4. Experimental verication
In order to check the reliability of the proposed model for the
simulation of the Rotartica absorption machine, the authors
used the experimental results collected during a test
campaign carried out at INES in summer 2009, from May 27 to
September 10. The results of the simulations were compared
to the experimental data and the agreement between them
was veried.
The Rotartica absorption chiller installed at INES is powered
by thermal energy produced in a solar eld composed of 30-m
2
at plate solar collectors; a 400-l tank is used to store the hot
water, and no backup is provided to drive the absorption
machine when solar energy is not sufcient. The heat rejection
is carried out by means of a water ow that is cooled down in
a horizontal ground heat exchanger, made up of twenty-two
polyethylene pipes divided into two layers, buried at a depth of
0.75 mand1.1 m, respectively; thelengthof everypipeisaround
100 m. The chilled water produced by the absorption chiller is
storedina300-l tankandthenusedtofeedthreefancoils for the
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1020
air conditioning of some ofce rooms. It is worth mentioning
that the systemwas not designedfor insuring standardcomfort
conditions in the ofces (e.g. indoor temperature always below
26

C), but rather for refreshingtheofces, sokeepingtheindoor
temperature at 5e8

C below outdoor air. Hence, no control
system has been implemented in the conditioned spaces: the
system keeps working as long as sufcient thermal energy is
available to drive the absorption machine.
During the experimental campaign only the water
temperatures at the inlet and at the outlet of the machine
were measured, together with the water ow rates at each
component. The temperatures were measured by means of
Pt1000 temperature sensors calibrated together with the
whole measurement chain (sensor, wire, acquisition system),
with an absolute uncertainty of 0.15

C. The uncertainty in the
measure of the volumetric ow rates was 2% according to the
manufacturer of the ow meters. All the data were acquired
every 120 s; it was not possible to reduce the acquisition time
step, due to the need of storing the experimental data for long
periods (up to 1 week) without saturating the memory of the
acquisition system.
No data were acquired inside the machine, such as pres-
sure, temperature and LiBr concentration in each component,
because the interior of the machine was not accessible and no
internal sensors had been installed by the manufacturers. For
this reason, the agreement between simulated and experi-
mental results was veried based on the outlet water
temperatures and on the thermal power exchanged by the
absorption chiller at each section.
Figs. 2 and 3 report the behaviour of the absorption
machine during two sunny days (14th of August and 8th of
September). These days are representative of the greatest part
of the experimental campaign: actually, during cloudy days
the absorption machine did not normally switch on, because
of the insufcient driving temperature provided by the solar
plant. The mainclimatic data registered during both the afore-
mentioned days and the whole experimental campaign are
reported in Table 2.
As shown in the graphs, at around 11:00, as soon as the
water available at the generator inlet reaches 80

C, the
absorption machine turns on(see Fig. 2); the cold productionis
almost immediate, as can be noticed from the prole of the
inlet and outlet temperatures at the evaporator. The chiller
produces cold water at mild temperatures, with a minimum
value of 13.7

C on August the 14th and 18.1

C on September
the 8th, respectively. The highest driving temperature is
Table 1 e Constant inlet parameters for the Rotartica absorption machine.
Parameter Unit Value Description
C
d
e 0.61 Discharge coefcient
F
int
, F
ext
m
2
kW
1
0.09 10
3
Fouling factors
H
c
m 0 Height between condenser bottom and evaporator inlet
H
g
m 0 Height between generator bottom and absorber inlet
Mc
p,a
kJ K
1
58.5 Cumulated heat capacity of the absorber
Mc
p,c
kJ K
1
33.0 Cumulated heat capacity of the condenser
Mc
p,e
kJ K
1
38.0 Cumulated heat capacity of the evaporator
Mc
p,g
kJ K
1
58.5 Cumulated heat capacity of the generator
Mc
p,hx,a
kJ K
1
4.94 Cumulated heat capacity of the absorber heat exchanger
Mc
p,hx,c
kJ K
1
3.04 Cumulated heat capacity of the condenser heat exchanger
Mc
p,hx,e
kJ K
1
2.66 Cumulated heat capacity of the evaporator heat exchanger
Mc
p,hx,g
kJ K
1
2.66 Cumulated heat capacity of the generator heat exchanger
R
a
KW
1
4 Thermal resistance between absorber and outdoors
R
c
KW
1
4 Thermal resistance between condenser and outdoors
R
e
KW
1
4 Thermal resistance between evaporator and outdoors
R
g
KW
1
4 Thermal resistance between generator and outdoors
R
v
J kg
1
K
1
455 Gas constant for water vapour
S
c
m
2
2 10
5
Pipe section between condenser and evaporator
S
g
m
2
2 10
4
Pipe section between generator and absorber
UA
int,a
WK
1
13970 Internal heat transfer coefcient of the absorber
UA
int,c
WK
1
9720 Internal heat transfer coefcient of the condenser
UA
int,e
WK
1
6620 Internal heat transfer coefcient of the evaporator
UA
int,g
WK
1
7290 Internal heat transfer coefcient of the generator
UA
ext,a
WK
1
4780 External heat transfer coefcient of the absorber
UA
ext,c
WK
1
3320 External heat transfer coefcient of the condenser
UA
ext,e
WK
1
2240 External heat transfer coefcient of the evaporator
UA
ext,g
WK
1
2890 External heat transfer coefcient of the generator
UA
hx
WK
1
42 Overall heat transfer coefcient of the solution exchanger
V
a
m
3
0.024 Volume of the absorber
V
c
m
3
0.014 Volume of the condenser
V
e
m
3
0.024 Volume of the evaporator
V
g
m
3
0.024 Volume of the generator
z
0,c
M 0.2 Nominal height of the liquid inside the condenser
z
0,g
M 0.2 Nominal height of the solution inside the generator
z
0,c
e 1400 Pressure loss coefcient (condenser/evaporator)
z
0,g
e 1400 Pressure loss coefcient (generator/absorber)
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1021
around 90

C. On the heat rejection loop, the water inlet
temperature keeps in the range 30e35

C on August the 14th
and 37e42

C on September the 8th.
The reason for the different performance during these 2
days is that during a short period of the experimental
campaign (from the 25th of August to the 8th of September),
a section of the ground heat exchanger was closed for exper-
imental reasons. As expected, due to the lower surface avail-
able for heat rejection, the water temperature in the rejection
loop raised in comparison with normal operation days, such
as the 14th of August. This induced a reduction in the cooling
capacity, hence an increase in the outlet temperature of the
chilled water.
The machine eventually stops when the driving tempera-
ture gets lower than 76

C, which occurs at around 17:40 on
September the 8th.
In addition, one can notice that the cooling power keeps
almost constant between 11:30 and 15:30 (around 6 kW on
August 14th and 4 kW on September 8th, see Fig. 3), but an
important reduction occurs during the last hours of operation.
Furthermore, the thermal COP, dened as the ratio of the
cooling power produced at the evaporator to the thermal
power required at the generator, is quite stable and suf-
ciently high (0.71e0.75 and 0.65e0.7 in the two representative
days, respectively).
Here again, the better performance of the machine in the
rst day, where the cooling power is almost 30% higher than
the machine nominal capacity, can be justied by the more
favourable operating conditions (lower temperature on the
heat rejection side).
Afterwards, the same representative days discussed above
were used to run the simulations, by using the water inlet
temperature proles shown in Fig. 2 as an input to the
mathematical model, as well as the experimental values of
the water ow rate.
The model provides as output the values of the water outlet
temperatures and the thermal powers, calculated as:
_
Q
j
r
w
$
_
V
j
$c
p;w
$T
out
T
in

j
(21)
Here, the density r of water is calculated as a function of the
inlet temperature (Florides et al., 2003). The water ow rates
measured on the real system are:
Hot water ow rate at the generator:
_
V
w;g
0:82 [m
3
h
1
]
Cold water ow rate at the evaporator:
_
V
w;e
1:34 [m
3
h
1
]
Cooling water ow rate at the condenser:
_
V
w;c
2:20 [m
3
h
1
]
Furthermore, the control logic of the absorption machine
were implemented, according to which the machine switches
on when the driving temperature gets higher than 80

C, and it
turns off below 76

C.
C
O
P


[
-
]
T
h
e
r
m
a
l
p
o
w
e
r
[
k
W
]
C
O
P


[
-
]
T
h
e
r
m
a
l
p
o
w
e
r
[
k
W
]
a b
Fig. 3 e Experimental energy performance of the absorption chiller (a: 14th of August, b: 8th of September).
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

[

C
]
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

[

C
]
Time [h]
Time [h]
Inlet Outlet Inlet Outlet a b
Fig. 2 e Experimental inlet and outlet temperature proles for the absorption chiller (a: 14th of August, b: 8th of September).
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1022
The system of equations is solved on the simulation tool
SimSpark by using a NewtoneRaphson procedure with
forward nite difference approximation; the simulation is
performed with a time step as long as 5 s.
The discrepancy between experimental and simulated
results is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In the rst diagram, it is
possible to see the prole of the difference between simulated
and measured outlet temperatures during the chosen days. As
regards the evaporator outlet temperature (see Fig. 4), this
discrepancy keeps always very low (between 0.2

C and
0.2

C). The precision of the model is also good for the gener-
ator and the condenser outlet temperatures, as the discrep-
ancy with the experimental results never exceeds 0.4

C.
Furthermore, the percentage error on the evaluation of the
thermal and cooling power is moderate, as shown in Fig. 5.
Here, each point in the graphs allows the comparison between
an experimental acquisition and its corresponding simulated
value (there is one point every 120 s of machine operation).
The deviation between experimental value and simulated
result is measured by the distance from the diagonal line,
where a perfect match between the two values holds. One can
remark that the absolute deviation is always lower than 10%
for all the components, but during the greatest part of the
operation time it is even lower than 5%. The error at the
evaporator (Fig. 5a) and the generator (Fig. 5b) tends to be
higher at low capacity, whereas it is almost negligible at high
capacity. The average error seems to be higher at the heat
rejection section (Fig. 5c). Because of such discrepancies, an
error on the evaluation of the thermal COP is expected, which
keeps however always lower than 5% (Fig. 5d).
Apart from verifying the capability of the model to describe
the dynamic performance of the absorption machine, it is also
important to test its reliability on a long time basis. To this aim,
after calculating the prole of the thermal power exchanged at
each component, one can integrate over time in order to obtain
the overall thermal energy during a certaintime interval. Table 3
reports the results of this procedure performed both over the
representative days previously described and over the whole
test campaign (107 days). The results are very encouraging,
as the absolute error on the cumulated daily and seasonal
cold production is lower than 0.3%; the error on the average
thermal COP is also very low. The highest discrepancy e around
5% e between experimental and simulated data occurs on the
heat rejection side (condenser absorber).
If looking more in detail, one can notice that the sum of the
simulated values of the overall thermal energy provided at the
generator and evaporator does not correspond to that rejected
by the machine, as one would expect, but the latter is around
1e2% lower than the former. As a matter of fact, the process is
not adiabatic, and the thermal energy stored in the generator
is partially dissipated to the environment. On the contrary,
when looking at the experimental data, the thermal energy
rejected by the machine is always higher than the sum of that
measured at generator and evaporator, and the difference can
even reach 5%. This discrepancy might be attributed to the
heat produced by the electric motor placed inside the machine
to maintain the rotation.
The results in Table 3 show that the proposed model not
only canbe used to followwitha good approximationthe daily
dynamic behaviour of the Rotartica absorption machine, but
also to evaluate its overall performance over a long period. In
any case, due to the amplitude of the acquisition time step
used in the experimental test rig (120 s), nothing can be said
about the precision of the model for transient phenomena
whose duration is shorter than that.
5. Consistency analysis
As shown before, the verication of the agreement between
simulated and experimental data was carried out through the
temperatures measured at the outlet of the absorption
machine, due to the impossibility to make measurements
inside the chiller. Nonetheless, the model is able to reproduce
the prole of pressure, temperature and LiBr concentration
inside the components, as well as the vapour and solution
Table 2 e Main climatic data for the experimental
campaign.
T
av
ext
[

C]
T
max
ext
[

C]
I
max
[Wm
2
]
H [kWhm
2
day
1
]
14th of August 23.4 33.5 827.3 6.36
8th of September 18.0 28.6 813.2 5.93
Whole period
(27/05e10/09)
21.8 40.6 1053.0 5.42
E
r
r
o
r

[

C
]
Time [h]
E
r
r
o
r

[

C
]
Time [h]
a b
Fig. 4 e Discrepancy between simulated and experimental outlet temperatures (a: 14th of August, b: 8th of September).
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1023
mass ow rates. The values of these parameters are shown in
Fig. 6 for the rst day used in the previous analysis (14th of
August).
The parameter f represented in Fig. 6c is known as specic
backow, and is dened as the ratio of the diluted solution e
which is rich in refrigerant e to the vapour produced in the
evaporator (Eicker, 2003):
f
_ m
s;out;a
m
ev

x
g
x
g
x
a
(22)
It must be underlined that the diluted solution mass ow
rate pumped from the absorber to the generator is not
constant (see Fig. 6c), even though the volumetric ow rate
was set constant, due to the variation in the solution density.
a b
c d
Fig. 5 e Comparison between simulated and experimental energy performance (both days). Solid line: 10% error; dotted line:
5% error.
Table 3 e Experimental and simulated values for daily and seasonal energy performance.
Generator [kWh] Evaporator [kWh] Gener Evap [kWh] Heat rejection [kWh] Thermal COP [e]
Daily performance (14th of August)
Experimental 46.8 34.7 81.5 85.0 0.741
Simulated 47.1 34.6 81.7 80.9 0.735
Error 0.6% 0.1% e 4.8% 0.7%
Daily performance (8th of September)
Experimental 34.7 23.4 58.1 58.7 0.674
Simulated 34.0 23.4 57.4 56.2 0.688
Error 2.0% 0.0% e 4.2% 2.0%
Full test campaign (27/05e10/09)
Experimental 3278 2354 5632 5849 0.718
Simulated 3251 2362 5613 5559 0.727
Error 0.8% 0.3% e 4.9% 1.2%
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1024
This density is highly inuenced by the LiBr concentration,
according to the relation proposed in (Florides et al., 2003).
In order to check the internal consistency of the mathemat-
ical model, a further test was carried out (see also Ko hlenbach
and Ziegler, 2008b). A new simulation was run by adopting
constant cooling and chilled water inlet temperatures 30

C
and18

C, respectively eand a stepchange from80

Cto 90

C
e to the driving temperature. In this case the simulation time
step was set at 1 s. The duration of the simulation is 2000 s; the
temperature step occurs at 1000 s after the beginning, as
a certain delay is needed to wait for the system to reach steady
operationinthe initial operating conditions. Suchananalysis is
alsohelpful toinvestigateintomass andthermal storageeffects.
AsshowninFig. 7, thetemperaturestepisfollowedbyasteep
increase of the thermal power released to the solution in the
generator (see graphg), hence by anincrease of the mass owof
vapour desorbed (see graph e). As a consequence of the higher
vapour production rate, the LiBr concentration of the diluted
solution inside the generator starts growing (see graph d).
A more important vapour ow rate is then conveyed to the
condenser but actually, due to the storage effects, the increase
of the condensation rate follows in a slower fashion (see the
curve m_l in graph e). Therefore, the condenser pressure rises,
which is also communicated to the generator (see graph d); as
saturation holds in the condenser, such a pressure increase
also induces a temperature rise (see graph b).
Fig. 7g also shows that the thermal power delivered to the
generator tends to decrease after the initial step; such an
effect is due to the growing temperature of the solution (see
graph a), and then to the reduced heat transfer potential. It is
interesting to underline that, despite the reduced thermal
power, the vapour production keeps rising (see graph e): as
a matter of fact, at higher pressure and temperature the
energy needed to release an unit mass of vapour is lower.
Again from Fig. 7e, one can notice that during the transient
stage, the evaporation rate at the evaporator keeps higher
than the liquid production rate at the condenser; this implies
a fall in the evaporator absorber pressure (see graph d) and
a consequent reduction in the evaporator temperature (see
graph c). Furthermore, due to the time lag between vapour
production in the generator and in the evaporator, a higher
generator thermal power is not immediately followed by an
equivalent rise in cooling production (see graph g, time 1000),
thus the thermal COP initially shows a sudden decrease.
However, such a fall is progressively recovered as long as the
cooling power grows and the thermal power decreases.
As far as the solution mass ow is concerned, the strong
solution conveyed from the generator to the absorber initially
decreases (see graph f), as a consequence of the higher vapour
production. However, as far as the temperature and the LiBr
concentration at generator rise, the density of the strong
solution gets higher, and this implies, at around 1040 s, an
inversion in the curve representing the strong solution rate
(see graph f). In the absorber, temperature and LiBr concen-
trationalso rise (see graphs b and d), due to the same tendency
previously identied at the generator.
The simulated behaviour of the absorption chiller after
a step of 10 K in the driving temperature is then coherent with
what would be expected from thermodynamics. Such a test
also showed that, due to thermal and mass storage effects,
a transient period of at least 400 s is needed by the chiller to
reach new steady-state operation.
6. Use of the simulations for the system
improvement
The model presented and validated in the previous sections is
useful to simulate the performance of the Rotartica chiller
when integrated into a solar-assisted air-conditioning system,
a
b
c
Fig. 6 e Simulated values for the main internal parameters
(14th of August). (a): Pressure and LiBr concentration, (b):
temperature, (c): mass ow rates.
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1025
as it is able to describe with good accuracy the dynamic
response of the chiller both to load variations and to
a continuous change in the driving temperature. In a solar-
assisted system, the latter are strictly connected with the
environmental conditions, especially if no back-up is avail-
able, as occurs in the plant considered in this study.
In order to show the usefulness of the model in a practical
case, several simulations were carried out to investigate into

c d
a b
e f
g
Fig. 7 e Simulated response of the absorption chiller to a step variation in the driving temperature.
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1026
the effect of the size of the storage tanks on the chiller
performance emeasured by its cold productionand its thermal
COP e when the chiller is used in a solar-assisted air-condi-
tioning system like the one installed at INES and described in
Section 4. This system contains two storage tanks:
- the hot storage tank (400 l) is used to collect the hot water
produced by the solar section, and provides the hot water
ow that drives the absorption unit;
- the cold storage tank (300 l) is used to store the chilled water
produced by the absorption unit, and provides cold water to
feed the fan-coil units.
More details concerning the layout of the system, the
models used to simulate the other components (solar collec-
tors, storage tanks) and the reliability of such models can be
found in (Evola et al., 2010).
Arst seriesof simulationswasperformedbyvaryingthesize
of the hot storage tank (from 200 to 1000 l) and keeping the
volume of the cold storage tank at the real value. Then, in
asecondseriesof simulations, thevolumeof thehot storagetank
was kept constant (400 l) and the cold storage tank was varied
between 200 and 600 l. In all the simulations an insulating layer
made upof 40 mmof polystyrene is appliedto the storage tanks.
The simulations were run over one week (from the 11th to
the 17th of August) by using, as input values for the model, the
climatic data registered during the experimental campaign.
The corresponding proles of the outdoor temperature and of
the solar irradiance on the surface of the collectors are re-
ported in Fig. 8
The results of such parametric analysis are shown in
Table 4. In order to justify them, it is useful to remind that the
absorption unit starts working when the driving temperature
reaches 80

C, and eventually stops when the latter gets lower
than 76

C.
As a rule, the higher the volume of the hot storage is, the
longer it takes for the hot water to reach the minimumdriving
temperature needed to run the absorption unit: as a conse-
quence, the unit starts working late in the morning. However,
a higher storage volume also allows a slower thermal
discharge, thus the daily operation has a duration that does
not change noticeably as a function of the hot storage volume.
On the whole, higher storage volume means lower average
temperatures, which induces for the Rotartica absorption unit
a slight decrease in the cold production but also a slight
increase in the average thermal COP.
On the other hand, a variation in the volume of the cold
storage tank does not affect the driving conditions, thus the
chiller activation time stays the same. However, in this case,
higher storage volume means higher average temperatures for
the chilled water, which improves the average thermal COP of
the absorption unit and reduces the overall cold production.
7. Conclusions
In this paper, a dynamic model for the simulation of
a commercial single-effect LiBr/water absorption chiller has
been described. The structure of the model makes it suitable
for a general use, but in this context it has been applied to the
absorption unit distributed by Rotartica, which is different
from common LiBr absorption chillers as the thermal cycle is
performed inside a rotating vessel. After dening the values of
the parameters which best describe the geometry of the
Rotartica chiller, the reliability of the model has been veried
by comparing the simulated results to those collected in an
experimental installation. The comparison was based on the
values of the outlet water temperature and on the thermal
power exchanged at each section, as no internal parameters
Fig. 8 e Experimental values of the climatic data for the
period considered in the simulations (from the 11th to the
17th of August).
Table 4 e Inuence of the storage volume (up: hot storage e bottom: cold storage) on the performance of the absorption
chiller.
Storage volume (hot water) [l] 200 400 600 800 1000
Chiller activation time from 10:10 10:50 11:20 11:50 12:20
to 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:20 18:50
Average daily cold production [kWh/day] 39.2 39.0 38.9 38.8 38.7
Average daily thermal COP [] 0.705 0.712 0.718 0.724 0.728
COP variation 1.0% d 0.8% 1.6% 2.3%
Storage volume (cold water) [l] 200 300 400 500 600
Chiller activation time from 10:50 10:50 10:50 10:50 10:50
to 17:30 17:30 17:30 17:30 17:30
Average daily cold production [kWh/day] 38.6 39.0 39.2 39.4 39.6
Average thermal COP [] 0.708 0.712 0.716 0.719 0.722
COP variation 0.6% d 0.5% 1.0% 1.4%
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 6 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 1 5 e1 0 2 8 1027
(pressure, salt concentration, temperature) could be
measured inside the machine.
The model shows a good agreement with the experimental
data: the transient performance during two typical operation
days is simulated with a satisfying accuracy, since the devia-
tion between the instantaneous simulated and experimental
values of cooling power and COP never exceeds 5%. The paper
also veries the capability of the model to describe the system
performance on a long time basis: the results are very
encouraging, as the error on the overall test campaign is
around 1%.
A fundamental condition to obtain such a high reliability
is the good estimation of the chiller design parameters,
based on the availability of design data and schemes
provided by the manufacturers. In the paper, these results
were obtained without any tuning or calibration of the input
parameters.
In addition, a consistency analysis was also performed to
investigate the response of the model to a 10 K temperature
step applied to the driving temperature. According to this test,
the behaviour of the chiller is perfectly consistent with ther-
modynamics; the time needed to reach steady-state operation
after the temperature step is around 8 min.
Finally, an example of practical application of the model is
presented, where simulations are used to investigate into the
inuence of the storage volume on the chiller performance,
in the specic case of the solar-assisted air-conditioning
system installed at INES (Institut National de lEnergie Sol-
aire, France) for the air-conditioning of some ofces. The
simulations allowed to understand that increasing the
volume of the hot storage is benecial in order to improve the
average thermal COP, even though a slight reduction in the
cold production and a shift in the operating time must be
accounted for.
The dynamic model presented in this paper is then a reli-
able tool to evaluate the long-termbehaviour of a single-effect
LiBr/water absorption chiller, but also to follow its daily
operational prole with good precision. Its use is suggested to
study the interaction of the absorption unit with the other
components of a solar-assisted cooling plant, with the aim of
optimizing both the layout of the system and the control logic
of the chiller.
Acknowledgements
The experimental installation has been nanced in the
framework of the European project SOLERA (FP6), coordinated
by Fraunhofer ISE. The study of its performance has been
conducted in the framework of the research project ORASOL
ANR 06-PBAT-009-01.
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