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Modeling and Simulation Study of a Solar Adsorption Refrigeration System to Highlight Its Performance under the Desert Climate Conditions

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Abstract

In this study, a dynamic model is proposed to simulate a conventional intermittent solar adsorption cooling system in Adrar region located in southern Algeria. The system working with activated carbon and methanol. The model describes the instantaneous mass and heat transfers for each system component during different phases. The numerical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method was used to solve the mathematical model. The validity of this model has been tested by comparing it with the experimental data, a good agreement was obtained. System performance was evaluated using real meteorological data provided by the weather station. Results showed that the amount of energy received by the adsorber surface is 28.11 MJ/m2, this energy allowed the system to produce 4 kg of ice mass for a typical sunny summer day. The solar coefficient of performance corresponding is 8% and the cycle coefficient of performance is 42% with the adsorber efficiency of 20%. The influence of some key parameters on the cooling capacity was also studied in detail.

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This work is not funded by any financial source.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche en Energies Renouvelables en Milieu Saharien, URERMS, Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, 01000, Adrar, Algeria

    H. Soualmi

  2. Université Tahri Mohamed, Bechar, Algeria

    R. Khelfaoui

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  1. H. Soualmi
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  2. R. Khelfaoui
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Correspondence to H. Soualmi.

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Soualmi, H., Khelfaoui, R. Modeling and Simulation Study of a Solar Adsorption Refrigeration System to Highlight Its Performance under the Desert Climate Conditions. Appl. Sol. Energy 57, 205–215 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X21030075

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X21030075

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