Energy Conversion and Management 45 (2004) 23552369

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Second law based thermodynamic analysis of ammoniawater absorption systems

S.A. Adewusi, Syed M. Zubair
*

Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, KFUPM Box # 1474, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia Received 6 May 2003; received in revised form 14 October 2003; accepted 23 November 2003 Available online 24 January 2004

Abstract The second law of thermodynamics is used to study the performance of single-stage and two-stage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration systems (ARSs) when some input design parameters are varied. _ The entropy generation of each component and the total entropy generation Stot of all the system components as well as the coecient of performance (COP) of the ARSs are calculated from the thermodynamic properties of the working uids at various operating conditions. The results show that the two_ _ stage system has a higher Stot and COP, while the single-stage system has a lower Stot and COP. This is a _ paradox since one would expect that an ecient thermal system should have a higher COP and lower Stot . This anomaly is explained with respect to the performance results for both single and two-stage systems. _ The trend in COP and Stot with the change in heat exchangers eectiveness, absorbers temperatures and condenser and evaporator temperatures for both systems investigated conform with expectation, i.e. an _ increase in COP corresponds to a decrease in Stot . 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Absorption; Refrigeration; Ammoniawater; Second-law analysis

1. Introduction The continuous increase in the cost and demand for energy has led to more research and development to utilize available energy resources eciently by minimizing waste energy. It is important to note that system performance can be enhanced by reducing the irreversible losses in the system by using the principles of the second law of thermodynamics. A better understanding
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +966-3-860-2540; fax: +966-3-860-2949. E-mail addresses: sadewusi@kfupm.edu.sa (S.A. Adewusi), smzubair@kfupm.edu.sa (S.M. Zubair).

0196-8904/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2003.11.020

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Nomenclature COP coecient of performance CEHX condenserevaporator heat exchanger h enthalpy (kJ/kg) _ m mass ow rate (kg/s) P pressure (kPa) Q quality of working uid Q 0 means saturated liquid, Q 1 means saturated vapor, Q < 0 means subcooled state and Q > 1 means superheated state _ Q thermal energy rate (kW) s entropy (kJ/kg K) SHX solution heat exchanger _ S entropy generation rate (kW/K) _ Stot total entropy generation rate (kW/K) _ Stots total entropy generation rate for single-stage absorption system (kW/K) _ Stotd total entropy generation rate for double-stage absorption system (kW/K) T temperature (C) v specic volume (m3 /kg) _ W pump power (kW) x ammonia mass fraction (kg/kg sol.) e heat exchanger eectiveness Subscripts a absorber c condenser cehx condenserevaporator heat exchanger e evaporator g generator i state point or index i 1, 2, 3 . . . o ambient condition p pump r rectier shx solution heat exchanger tot total v throttling valve of the second law of thermodynamics [1] has revealed that entropy generation minimization is an important technique in achieving optimal system congurations and/or better operating conditions. Some researchers [2,3] have used the principles of entropy generation minimization to analyze dierent systems to improve the systems performance. The absorption refrigeration system (ARS) is becoming more important because it can produce higher cooling capacity than vapor compression systems, and it can be powered by other sources of energy (like waste heat from gas and steam turbines, sun, geothermal, biomass) than electricity.

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Furthermore, an ARS does not deplete the ozone layer and hence, it poses no danger to the environment. Theoretical and experimental works on the performance characteristics and thermodynamic analysis of ARSs are available in the literature. Chen and Schouten [4] studied the optimal performance of an irreversible ARS. They considered irreversibility via an irreversibility factor and optimized the expression for COP with respect to a number of system parameters. Chua et al. [5] modeled an irreversible ammoniawater absorption chiller by considering the internal entropy production and thermal conductance of the heat exchangers. The model was applied to a single-stage chiller, and the results showed that the highest heat dissipation occurred in the rectier. Sun [6] compared the performance of NH3 H2 O, NH3 LiO2; and NH3 NaSCN ARSs. Kececiler et al. [7] performed an experimental study on the thermodynamic analysis of a reversible lithium bromidewater ARS. It has been observed that single state ARSs cannot eciently utilize a high temperature heat source. This fact motivated the development of multi-stage ARSs. Kaita [8] compared the coecient of performance (COP) of dierent congurations of triple stage lithium bromide ARSs, namely parallel ow, series ow, and reverse ow. The results showed that the parallel ow conguration has the highest COP. Detailed rst law based thermodynamic performance analysis of single and multi-stage ARSs was discussed by Herold et al. [9]. It is important to emphasize that in the past, the performance analysis of ARSs was based only on the rst law of thermodynamics, which involves energy and mass balances. However, recent analyses of ARSs have included the second law of thermodynamics to provide better understanding of the thermal performance characteristics of each of the system components. This facilitated the detection of a component with high energy dissipation or irreversible losses. Attention can then be focused on such component to minimize its irreversibile losses. Lee and Sherif [10] applied both the rst and second law of thermodynamics to analyze multi-stage lithium bromidewater ARSs. The second law eciency of the chillers was calculated from the thermal properties, as well as the entropy generation and exergy of the working uids. Furthermore, Lee and Sherif [10] used the second law eciency to quantify the irreversible losses compared to the total entropy generation, which represents the energy dissipation of the system. The present study applies the second law of thermodynamics to study the performance of single-stage and double stage ammoniawater ARSs when some design parameters are varied. The entropy generation of each component, the total entropy generation of all the components and the COP of the ARSs are calculated from the thermodynamic properties of the working uids at various working conditions using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software [11]. The variations of total entropy generation of all the components and the COP are then studied. It is important to note that this study is an extension of the single-stage and two-stage ammoniawater ARSs discussed in Ref. [9], which considered only the COP of the systems based only on energy analysis without considering entropy generation in various components of the systems.

2. The ammoniawater absorption refrigeration cycle The single-stage ammoniawater ARS cycle consists of four main components, namely the condenser, evaporator, absorber and generator, as shown in Fig. 1. Other auxiliary components include the expansion valves, pump, rectier and heat exchangers. Low pressure, but strong,

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Qc @ To
9 Condenser 8 10 Generator
Qg @ Tg

Qr @ T0

Rectifier 7

14 CEHX SHX

11 V2 12 13

5 V1 6 1 2

Evaporator
Q e @ Te

Absorber

Q a @ To

Wp

Fig. 1. Schematic of a single-stage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration system.

ammonia solution from the absorber is pumped through the solution heat exchanger (SHX) to the generator operating at a high pressure. The generator separates the binary solution of water and ammonia by causing the ammonia to vaporize, and the rectier puries the ammonia vapor. High pressure ammonia gas (if the separation is perfect) or high pressure ammonia gas with some amount of water vapor from the rectier is condensed in the condenser, and the condensate is then passed through the condenserevaporator heat exchanger (CEHX) and the throttling value V 2 to the evaporator as low pressure liquid ammonia, which is classied as a very strong ammonia solution. The high pressure transport uid, water, from the generator is returned to the absorber through the solution heat exchanger (SHX) and the throttling value V 1. The low pressure liquid ammonia in the evaporator is used to cool the space to be refrigerated. During the cooling process, the liquid ammonia vaporizes and the transport uid, water, absorbs the vapor to form a strong ammonia solution in the absorber. The following are the performance equations for each of the components considering continuity (mass balance), the rst law of thermodynamics (energy balance) and the second law of thermodynamics (entropy generation). The absorber _ _ _ m1 m14 m6 for mixture for ammonia 1 2 3

_ _ _ m1 x1 m14 x14 m6 x6

_ _ _ _ m6 h6 Qa m14 h14 m1 h1

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_ Qa _ _ _ _ Sa m1 s1 m6 s6 m14 s14 To The pump _ m1 m1 P2 P1 _ Wp gp _ _ _ m1 h1 m2 h2 Wp _ _ _ Sp m2 s2 m1 s1 Solution heat exchanger (SHX) eshx T4 T5 T4 T2

5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13

_ _ _ _ m4 h4 m2 h2 m5 h5 m3 h3 _ _ _ _ _ Sshx m5 s5 m3 s3 m4 s4 m2 s2 Generator _ _ _ _ m8 m3 m7 m4 _ _ _ _ m3 x3 m8 x8 m7 x7 m4 x4 _ Qg _ _ _ _ _ Sg m7 s7 m4 s4 m3 s3 m8 s8 Tg Absorber throttle valve V 1 _ _ m6 m5 ; h6 h5 _ _ _ SV 1 m6 s6 m5 s5 Condenser _ _ m9 m10 ; x9 x10 x6 x5

14 15 16 17 18 19

_ _ _ m9 h9 m10 h10 Qc _ Qc _ _ _ Sc m10 s10 m9 s9 To Condenserevaporator heat exchanger (CEHX) T10 T11 ecehx T10 T13

20

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_ _ _ _ m10 h10 m13 h13 m11 h11 m14 h14 _ _ _ _ _ Scehx m11 s11 m14 s14 m10 s10 m13 s13 Evaporator throttle valve V 2 _ _ m11 m12 ; h11 h12 _ _ _ SV 2 m12 s12 m11 s11 Evaporator _ _ m12 m13 ; x12 x13 x11 x12

21 22

23 24 25

26 27 28

_ _ _ m13 h13 m12 h12 Qe _ Qe _ _ _ Se m13 s13 m13 s13 To Rectier _ _ _ m7 m9 m8 _ _ _ m7 x7 m9 x9 m8 x8 _ _ _ _ m7 h7 m9 h9 m8 h8 Qr _ Qr _ _ _ _ Sr m8 s8 m9 s9 m7 s7 To COP _ Qe _ _ Q g Wp

29 30 31 32

33 34

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Stot Se Sg Sc Sa Sr Scehx Sshx Sp Sv1 Sv2

Fig. 2 represents a two-stage ARS. We note that the left hand side of the system is similar to Fig. 1. The heat rejected by absorber 2 serves as the heat input for generator 1. Ammonia vapor at low pressure from the evaporator is divided between the two absorbers while ammonia vapor at high pressure from the rectiers of the two-stages are combined before entering the condenser. Just like the single-stage ARS, the two-stage has one evaporator and one condenser, but it has two generators and two absorbers. Following a procedure similar to that of the single-stage discussed earlier, energy and mass balances, as well as entropy generation equations, for each component and the mixing streams of the two-stage system were obtained.

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Qr3 @ T0

27
Qr 2 @ T0

Qc @ To
25
Condenser

Q r1@ T0

Rectifier3

24

Rectifier2
Q g @ Tg

Rectifier1 28 8 7 Generator1
Q a 2 @ T7

23

22 Generator2 19 18 SHX2 20 V2 17

10 4 SHX1 11 V3 12 26
Evaporator Absorber1

14 CEHX

5 13 6 1
Qa1 @ T o

21 V1 2
Absorber2

16
W p2

29

15
Q e @ Te

Wp1

Fig. 2. Schematic of a two-stage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration system.

3. Numerical example A typical example, discussed by Herold et al. [9], is considered in this study to examine the variation in COP and total entropy generation of the ammoniawater ARSs at various operating conditions. For the single-stage system, the evaporator outlet saturation temperature is taken as )10 C, the mass ow rate of solution through the pump is 1 kg/s, the saturated liquid leaving the absorber and condenser is at 40 C and the dierence in mass fraction of the two solution streams is 0.10. The evaporator produces saturated vapor with a mass fraction of 99.96% ammonia. The eciency of the pump is 50%, while the eectivenesses of the SHX and CEHX are 100% and 95%, respectively. For the two-stage system, the vapor leaving rectiers 1 and 3 has a mass ratio of 0.995, the eciency of the pumps and the eectivenesses of the heat exchangers, the condenser and evaporator temperatures and the mass ow through pump 1 are the same as those for the single-stage system. The temperature of the refrigerant entering the second stage absorber is the same as that of the refrigerant leaving the rst stage absorber. The temperature of the refrigerant leaving the second stage absorber is 0.10 C higher than T4 . The mass fraction dierence in the rst stage solution cycle is 0.04, while that in the second stage is 0.06. Liquid leaving the absorbers and generators, and vapor leaving the generators and rectiers are saturated. The vapor quality leaving the evaporator is 0.9. The properties for all states points, COP and total entropy generation for the ammoniawater ARSs are obtained using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES)

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Table 1 State points for the single-stage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration system and the calculated results Point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 hi (kJ/kg) )43.25 )40.20 303.11 397.21 )0.71 )0.71 1544.09 260.56 1294.18 190.79 78.86 78.86 1259.13 1371.05 mi (kg/s) 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.863 0.863 0.863 0.150 0.013 0.137 0.137 0.137 0.137 0.137 0.137 Pi (kPa) 244.85 1555.76 1555.76 1555.76 1555.76 244.85 1555.76 1555.76 1555.76 1555.76 1555.76 244.85 244.85 244.85 Qi 0.000 )0.001 0.022 0.000 )0.001 )0.001 1.000 0.000 1.000 0.000 )0.001 0.109 0.998 1.001 si (kJ/kg/ K) 0.47 0.48 1.46 1.64 0.53 0.54 4.88 1.35 4.17 0.66 0.29 0.32 4.87 5.25 Ti (C) 40.00 40.45 110.06 130.31 40.45 40.71 107.33 107.36 44.07 40.00 16.88 )14.14 )10.00 37.39 vi (m3 /kg) 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.110 0.001 0.083 0.002 0.002 0.055 0.512 0.605 xi (kg/ kg sol) 0.3709 0.3709 0.3709 0.2709 0.2709 0.2709 0.9460 0.3709 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996

Calculated results COP 0:598 _ Qa 231 kW _ Qg 267:9 kW _ cehx 0:001427 kW/K S _ Sp 0:004897 kW/K _ Sv2 0:004918 kW/K

_ Stot 0:1973 kW/K _ Qcehx 15:4 kW _ Qr 50:7 kW _ c 0:03414 kW/K S _ Sr 0:03047 kW/K

_ Wp 3:0 kW _ Qc 151 kW _ Qshx 343:3 kW _ e 0:008259 kW/K S _ Sshx 0:01886

_ Qe 162:0 kW _ Sa 0:07741 kW/K _ Sg 0:01285 kW/K _ Sv1 0:00403 kW/K

software [11]. The design point results are presented in Tables 1 and 2, while the variation in COP and total entropy generation of the systems due to changes in heat exchangers eectivenesses, absorber and condenser temperatures and solution mass fraction dierences in the circuits are also studied. These results are presented in Figs. 37.

4. Results and discussion Table 1 shows the thermodynamic properties of the single-stage ARS at all state points, while Table 2 shows the thermodynamic properties of the two-stage ARS at all state points. The predicted performance results of the single-stage and two-stage ARSs at the same evaporator temperature are shown in Table 3. The heat transfer and entropy generation for the absorbers, generators, rectiers, solution heat exchangers and pumps for the two-stage ARS are also shown. At an evaporator temperature of )10 C with the heat exchangers and pumps having the same eectivenesses and eciencies, the results show that the two-stage system is more ecient, with a COP of 0.734 as against 0.598 for the single-stage system. On the other hand, the second law analysis via total entropy generation shows that the single state system is more ecient, since it has less energy dissipation of 0.1973 kW/K compared to 0.4627 kW/K, for the two-stage system. This seems to be contradictory, since a more ecient system should have the higher COP and the

S.A. Adewusi, S.M. Zubair / Energy Conversion and Management 45 (2004) 23552369 Table 2 State points for the two-stage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration system and the calculated results Point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 hi (kJ/kg) )48.62 )45.65 252.71 283.96 )34.16 )34.16 1521.46 235.40 1365.33 187.36 )36.71 )36.71 1123.94 1348.01 1348.01 423.43 426.20 777.80 840.46 466.13 466.13 2389.62 736.23 1568.12 1365.33 1348.01 1365.33 79.15 1381.88 mi (kg/s) 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.938 0.938 0.938 0.066 0.004 0.062 0.079 0.079 0.079 0.079 0.079 0.016 0.270 0.270 0.270 0.253 0.253 0.253 0.062 0.043 0.019 0.079 0.062 0.016 0.003 0.016 Pi (kPa) 277.97 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 277.97 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 277.97 277.97 277.97 277.97 277.97 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 277.97 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 1548.03 277.97 1548.03 1548.03 277.97 Qi 0.000 )0.001 0.009 0.000 )0.001 )0.001 1.000 0.000 1.000 0.000 )0.001 0.013 0.900 0.998 0.998 0.000 )0.001 0.021 0.000 )0.001 )0.001 1.000 0.001 1.000 0.996 0.998 1.000 0.000 1.001 si (kJ/kg/ K) 0.464 0.469 1.331 1.399 0.486 0.491 4.827 1.285 4.392 0.662 )0.113 )0.105 4.299 5.115 5.115 1.479 1.483 2.313 2.329 1.455 1.458 6.259 2.222 4.943 4.393 5.115 4.392 0.830 5.225 Ti (C) 40.0 40.4 103.8 111.4 40.4 40.7 102.7 102.8 67.1 40.0 )7.4 )11.0 )10.0 27.3 27.3 111.5 112.0 183.4 198.0 112.0 112.2 182.1 182.1 112.0 63.3 27.3 67.1 67.1 40.7 vi (m3 /kg) 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.109 0.001 0.094 0.002 0.002 0.007 0.395 0.511 0.511 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.127 0.001 0.112 0.094 0.511 0.094 0.001 0.537

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xi (kg/ kg sol) 0.3913 0.3913 0.3913 0.3513 0.3513 0.3513 0.9562 0.3913 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.0671 0.0671 0.0671 0.0071 0.0071 0.0071 0.3360 0.0671 0.9329 0.9950 0.9950 0.9950 0.5949 0.9950

Calculated results COP 0:734 _ Qa1 100 kW _ Qcehx 18 kW _ r3 8 kW Q _ Sa1 0:02597 kW/K _ Scehx 0:003231 kW/K _ Sp2 0:00361 kW/K _ Sshx2 0:002145 kW/K

_ Stot 0:4627 kW/K _ Qa2 27 kW _ Qe 91 kW _ Qshx1 298 kW _ Sa2 0:0363 kW/K _ Sc 0:02262 kW/K _ Sr1 0:009632 kW/K _ S 0:004373 kW/K

_ Wp1 3:0 kW _ Qg 120 kW _ Qr1 15 kW _ shx2 95 kW Q _ Sg1 0:2275 kW/K _ Se 0:005954 kW/K _ Sr2 0:103 kW/K _ Sv2 0:000882 kW/K

_ Wp2 0:7 kW _ Qc 93 kW _ Qr2 87 kW _ Sg2 0:00599 kW/K _ Sp1 0:00477 kW/K _ Sshx1 0:006064 kW/K _ v3 0:00059 kW/K S

_ lower total energy dissipation. This can be explained from the fact that the increase in Stot of the two-stage ARS was primarily due to the introduction of more thermal components, as was also noted by Lee and Sherif [10]. A careful study of Table 3 reveals the eect of the two-stage system. While it reduced the energy input to the system from 267.9 kW for the single-stage to 120 kW; it also reduced the useful

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Table 3 Performance comparison of the single and two-stage AmmoniaWater absorption systems at an evaporator temperature of )10 C Parameter COP _ Stot (kW/K) _ Qe (kW) _ Se (kW/K) _ Qg (kW) _ g (kW/K) S _ Qa (kW) _ Sa (kW/K) _ Qr (kW) _ Sr (kW/K) _ Wp (kW) _ Sp (kW/K) _ Qcehx (kW) _ Scehx (kW/K) _ Qshx (kW) _ Sshx (kW/K) Plow (kPa) Phigh (kPa) Single-stage 0.5980 0.1973 162.0 0.008259 267.9 0.01285 231 0.07741 50.7 0.03047 3.0 0.004897 15.4 0.001427 343.3 0.01886 244.85 1555.76 Double-stage 0.734 0.4627 91.0 0.005954 120.0 0.23349 127 0.06227 110 0.112632 3.7 0.00838 18.0 0.003231 393 0.00821 277.97 1548.03

0.8 0.75 0.7 0.65

COPs Stots COPd Stotd

COP and Sgen (kW/K)

0.6 0.55 0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

1.1 1.2 1.3

Condender HX Effectiveness

_ Fig. 3. Eect of condenserevaporator heat exchanger eectiveness on COP and Stot .

cooling load from 162 kW for the single-stage system to 91 kW. It is interesting to note that this reduction in the thermal energy is accompanied with high energy dissipation of 0.2335 kW/K in the generator of the two-stage system, 50.5% of the total entropy generation, compared to 0.01285

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1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 COPs Stots COPd Stotd

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COP and Sgen (kW/K)

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

0.9

Solution HX Effectiveness

_ Fig. 4. Eect of solution heat exchanger eectiveness on COP and Stot .

1.2 1.1 1 0.9

COPs Stots COPd Stotd

COP and Sgen (kW/K)

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 10 15

20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 Absorber Temperature (Deg. Celsius)

65

70

_ Fig. 5. Eect of absorber temperature on COP and Stot .

kW/K in the generator of the single-stage system. As discussed above, Lee and Sherif [10] attributed the better thermodynamic eciency of the single-stage lithium bromidewater ARS over the two-stage and triple stage systems to the irreversibility in the additional heat exchange components present in multi-stage systems. They calculated the total entropy generation without studying the entropy contribution of each of the system components. The present study, however, has shown that the lesser thermal eciency (higher-energy dissipation) of two-stage ARSs is due

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1.2 1.1 1 0.9
COPs Stots COPd Stotd

COP and Sgen (kW/K)

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 10 15

20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 Condenser Outlet Temperature (Deg. Celsius)

65

70

_ Fig. 6. Eect of condenser outlet temperature on COP and Stot .

1.3 1.2 1.1

COPs Stots COPd Stotd

COP and Sgen (kW/K)

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -10 -8

-6

-4

-2

10

Evaporator Temperature (Deg. Celsius)

_ Fig. 7. Eect of evaporator temperature on COP and Stot .

to the irreversibility in the generator as a result of the reduction in the generator heat requirement due to the introduction of more stages. It is important to emphasize, that the COP is sensitive to the output and input energies alone, and since the input energy is reduced by 55.2% while the cooling load is reduced by 43.8%, the COP is increased. Since the evaporator of the single-stage system is at )10 C, it produced a load of 162 kW, while the two-stage system produced less cooling capacity, i.e. 91 kW at the same

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evaporator temperature with high energy dissipation. It seems that the COP is less sensitive to the dynamics of the ARSs, while the total entropy generation is more sensitive to the dynamics of the systems. It, therefore seems that the entropy generation criterion is a better performance measurement criterion than the COP, particularly if one is interested to examine the distribution of irreversible losses. _ Fig. 3 presents the eect of the condenserevaporator eectiveness on COP and Stot . As expected, the COP of both the single-stage and two-stage ARSs increased with an increase in the eectiveness. However, the increase in the COP of the two-stage system (COPd ) is greater than the increase in the COP of the single-stage system (COPs ), while the total entropy generation of the two-stage system Stotd is greater than that of the single-stage system Stots , but the eect of changes in the eectivenesses is negligible on the total entropy generation of the two ammonia water ARSs. The reason for this observation can be found in Table 3. The entropy generation of the condenserevaporator heat exchanger contributes only 0.724% for the single-stage and 0.698% for the two-stage to the total entropy generation of each system, respectively. As explained above, the COP is more sensitive to changes in the working conditions of the evaporator and the generator or any other component that aects them, while the total entropy generation considers the eect of all the components. Fig. 4 shows the eect of the solution heat exchanger (SHX) eectivenesses on COP and Stot . For the two-stage ARS, there are two SHXs. An increase in the eectivenesses of the SHXs results in an increase in the COP and a decrease in Stot . This observation conforms with our expectation, since a more ecient system is expected to have a higher COP and less entropy generation. At an eectiveness of less that 50%, the increase in COPs and COPd are almost the same while the increase in COPd is greater than the increase in COPs for an eectiveness greater than 50%. As has been observed in Table 3 and Fig. 3, the entropy generation for the two-stage is greater than that of the single-stage, which suggests that the two-stage is less ecient, whereas the COP of the two-stage is greater than that of the single-stage, which suggests that the twostage is more ecient. The reason for the paradox has already been discussed earlier. Fig. 4 also indicates that the two-stage ARS is grossly inecient without the SHXs since it has the same COP as the single-stage ARS and a higher total entropy generation than the single-stage ARS at a lower SHX eectiveness. Fig. 4 clearly shows that the SHX is one of the critical components of the ammoniawater ARSs, as its performance aected the COP and total entropy generation of the ARSs in the expected manner, i.e. an increase in COP corresponds to a decrease in total entropy generation. Fig. 5 shows the eect of absorber outlet temperature on COP and total entropy generation of the ARSs. For the two-stage system, the absorber in the rst stage, i.e. absorber 1 is considered. Fig. 6 presents the eect of condenser outlet temperature on COP and total entropy generation of the ARSs. Both gures show that an increase in temperature results in a decrease in COP of both the single-stage and two-stage systems and an increase in the total entropy generation of the systems. As has been observed in Table 3 and Figs. 3 and 4, the entropy generation for the twostage is greater than that of the single-stage, which suggests that the two-stage is less ecient, while the COP of the two-stage is greater than that of the single-stage, which suggests that the two-stage is more ecient. The reason for the paradox has been discussed above. Fig. 7 shows the eect of the evaporator temperature on COP and total entropy generation of the ARSs. This gure shows that an increase in the evaporator temperature results in an increase in COP of both

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the single-stage and two-stage systems and a decrease in the total entropy generation of the systems.

5. Conclusions The second law of thermodynamics is used to study the performance of single-stage and twostage ammoniawater absorption refrigeration systems (ARSs) when some parameters are varied. _ The entropy generation of each component, the total entropy generation Stot of all components and the COPs of the ARSs are calculated from the thermodynamic properties of the working uids at various working conditions using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. The results show that the total entropy generation for the two-stage is greater than that of the singlestage, which suggests that the two-stage is less ecient, while the COP of the two-stage is greater than that of the single-stage, which suggests that the two-stage is more ecient. This is a paradox. _ Both COP and Stot are measures of thermal performance and from established knowledge, a more _ ecient thermal system should have a higher COP and a lower Stot . However, what has been reported in the literature and what the results of this study show is a paradox. This observation deserves further investigation. _ It is important to note that the increase in Stot of the two-stage ARS was due to the introduction of more thermal components, as also noted by Lee and Sherif [10]. The present study, however, _ has shown that the high Stot (high energy dissipation) of multi-stage ARSs is due to the irreversibility in the generator as a result of the reduction in generator heat requirement due to the presence of more stages, since the generator produced above 50% of the total entropy generation in the two-stage ARS. We emphasize that the second law analysis used in this study also facilitated a means of identifying the components with high exergy dissipation.

Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the support provided by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for this research project.

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