Research PaperStudy on the performance of compact adsorption chiller with vapor valves

•A compact adsorption chiller applied in the automobile with the vapor valve is proposed.•The vapor valve is controlled by the pressure difference at both sides.•The compact adsorption chiller containing vapor valves has a good working performance.•The maximum output of 1500 W of the prototype is observed at a driving heat source temperature of 368 K.

Adsorption refrigeration is considered a green refrigeration technology that can be driven by a low-grade heat source to generate cooling power. However, the large bulk of adsorption chillers can limit its use especially automobiles. The size of the adsorption chiller is a very important consideration for applying in the automobile. The new type of compact adsorption chiller applied in the automobile was proposed corresponding with the specification of the automobile installation, and was about 40 L by volume in this paper. A vacuum valve was used to increase the adsorption chiller size considerably. Thus, the new adsorption chiller has four pieces of vapor valves instead of vacuum valves, as well as two pieces of adsorbers, an evaporator, and a condenser. The vapor valve was controlled by the pressure difference at both sides. The prototype adsorption chiller was manufactured and evaluated for its cooling power and coefficient of performance by testing the inlet and outlet temperatures of the evaporator, flow rate of chilled water, and cycled time. The maximum cooling power was approximately 1.5 kW at a driving temperature of 368 K and a cycle time of 90 s.