Steady state investigations of a commercial diffusion-absorption refrigerator: Experimental study and numerical simulations

Experimental investigations and numerical simulations of a low capacity commercial diffusion-absorption refrigerator (DAR) in stationary mode are carried out. The tests are performed under different heat input conditions. Optimal operation of the DAR refrigerator is reached with a power supply of 46 W at a generator temperature of 167 °C, corresponding to a coefficient of performance (COP) of 0.159. Numerical simulations of the refrigerator using a model developed with the commercial flow-sheeting Aspen-Plus software are also perfomed. The computer model is validated by comparing its predictions with experimental data for three generator heat supply rates: 46 W, 56 W and 67 W. Deviations between model predictions and experimental measurements in terms of cooling capacity and coefficient of performance are less than 1%. The proposed model could be very useful to predict the functioning of the commercial diffusion-absorption refrigerator under steady state regime.