EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF AN INNOVATIVE DUAL-MODE CHEMISORPTION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM BASED ON MULTIFUNCTION HEAT PIPES

摘要

In this paper, an innovative dual-mode multifunction heat pipe type chemisorption ice maker is designed, in which compound adsorbent of activated carbon-CaCl2 was used to improve mass and heat transfer performance of adsorbent. For this test unit, the heating, cooling and heat recovery processes between two adsorbent beds are performed by multifunction heat pipes without additional power consumption. Two operation modes are possible for the advanced chemisorption refrigeration system. The first operation mode is a highly efficient mass and heat recovery sorption cycle at the driving temperature of 145°C, and the second operation mode is a two-stage heat recovery sorption cycle at the available driving temperature of 103°C. The experimental results showed that the first operation mode cycle can increase coefficient of performance (COP) by 69 % if compared to basic cycle. The second operation mode cycle can operate effectively with relatively low-grade generation temperature, and the performance of two-stage heat recovery cycle has been improved by more than 23% when compared with conventional two-stage cycle under the same generation temperature of 103°C and cooling water temperature of 30°C.