Thermal design of air cooled condenser of a solar adsorption refrigerator

  • Amar Rouag Laboratoire de Génie Energétique et Matériaux (LGEM), Université de Biskra, B.P. 145 R.P. 07000, Biskra, Algeria
  • Adel Benchabane Laboratoire de Génie Energétique et Matériaux (LGEM), Université de Biskra, B.P. 145 R.P. 07000, Biskra, Algeria
  • Adnane Labed Laboratoire de Génie Mécanique (LGM), Université de Biskra, B.P. 145 R.P. 07000, Biskra, Algeria
  • Nora Boultif Laboratoire de Génie Energétique et Matériaux (LGEM), Université de Biskra, B.P. 145 R.P. 07000, Biskra, Algeria

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to study the design of a condenser of a solar adsorption refrigerator which will be tested in the region of Biskra (Algeria). The LMTD (log mean temperature difference) method is used to calculate the size of the condenser applying experimental data obtained from the literature. For this purpose, a calculation code has been developed to determine the total heat transfer area of the heat exchanger. Therefore, we present a comparison between calculated and experimental results obtained from the literature. This comparison allowed the validation of the calculation method by applying the same experimental conditions. The discussion of the results indicates that we cannot use the ambient air in free convection mode as a cooling fluid if its temperature exceeds 30°C. This problem presents the greatest obstacle especially in the Saharan regions, such as in Biskra, where the average ambient air temperature during the summer exceeds 35°C. As a solution, we propose in this article the improvement of the heat transfer by the air-forced convection mode. Thus, it is established that the use of the air fan can extend the operating temperature limits of the condenser above 35°C.

References

Aoues, K., N. Moummi, M. Zellouf & A. Benchabane (2011) Thermal performance improvement of solar air flat plate collector: a theoretical analysis and an experimental study in Biskra. International Journal of Ambient Energy 32(2): 95-102.
Dobson, M. & J. Chato (1998) Condensation in smooth horizontal tubes. Journal of Heat Transfer 120(1): 193-213.
Errougani, A. (2007) Fabrication et expérimentation d'un réfrigérateur solaire à adsorption utilisant le couple charbon actif - méthanol dans le site de Rabat. Thèse de Doctorat, Faculté des sciences, Université Mohammed V, 128.
Incropera, F. P. & D. P. DeWitt (1985) Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer: 2nd edition. New York, John Wiley & Sons.
Kern, D. Q. (1951) Process Heat Transfer. New York, McGraw-Hill.
Labed, A. (2012) Contribution à l’étude des échanges convectifs en régime transitoire dans les capteurs solaires plans à air: Application au séchage des produits agro-alimentaires. Thèse de Doctorat, Université de Biskra.
Labed, A., A. Rouag, A. Benchabane, N. Moummi & M. Zerouali (2015a) Applicability of solar desiccant cooling systems in Algerian Sahara: Experimental investigation of flat plate collectors. Journal of Applied Engineering Science & Technology 1(2): 61-69.
Labed, A., N. Moummi, A. Benchabane & M. Zellouf (2015b) Experimental analysis of heat transfer in the flow channel duct of solar air heaters (SAHs). International journal of heat and technology 33 (3): 97-102.
Lemmini, F. & A. Errougani (2005) Building and experimentation of a solar powered adsorption refrigerator. Renewable Energy 30(13): 1989-2003.
Lemmini, F. & A. Errougani (2007) Experimentation of a solar adsorption refrigerator in Morocco. Renewable Energy 32(15): 2629-2641.
Lemmini, F. & A. Errougani & F. Bentayeb (2002) Experimentation of an adsorptive solar refrigerator in Rabat. FIER’ 2002, Tétouan - Maroc, 260-265.
Rapin, P. J. & P. Jacquard (1992) Installations frigorifiques; Tome 2, Technologie: 6 ème édition, Ivry-sur-Seine: PYC Edition.
Rouag, A., A. Benchabane, N. Boultif & A. Labed (2014a) Contribution to the design of the heat exchangers of a solar adsorption refrigerator: condenser sizing calculations. 13th International conference on clean energy ICCE, Istanbul, Turkey.
Rouag, A., A. Benchabane, A. Labed & N. Boultif (2014b) Use of shallow geothermal energy to improve the efficiency of air heat exchangers: Proposal of a Geothermal Air-Cooler (GAC). Patent N° 140719. National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property, INAPI. Algeria. 04-12-2014.
Saunders, E.A.D. (1988) Heat exchangers. New York, John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Wang, C. C., K. Y. Chi & C. J. Chang (2000) Heat transfer and friction characteristics of plain fin-and-tube heat exchangers, part II: Correlation. International Journal of Heat and mass transfer 43(15) 2693–2700.
Published
2016-03-30
How to Cite
ROUAG, Amar et al. Thermal design of air cooled condenser of a solar adsorption refrigerator. Journal of Applied Engineering Science & Technology, [S.l.], v. 2, n. 1, p. 23-29, mar. 2016. ISSN 2571-9815. Available at: <https://revues.univ-biskra.dz/index.php/jaest/article/view/1509>. Date accessed: 19 nov. 2024.
Section
Section B: Thermal, Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Keywords

Solar adsorption refrigerator; Condenser; LMTD; Sizing; Free convection; Forced convection;

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Obs.: This plugin requires at least one statistics/report plugin to be enabled. If your statistics plugins provide more than one metric then please also select a main metric on the admin's site settings page and/or on the journal manager's settings pages.