Simulation of solar lithium bromide–water absorption cooling system with parabolic trough collector

Ahwaz is one of the sweltering cities in Iran where an enormous amount of energy is being consumed to cool residential places in a year. The aim of this research is to simulate a solar single effect lithium bromide–water absorption cooling system in Ahwaz. The solar energy is absorbed by a horizontal N–S parabolic trough collector and stored in an insulated thermal storage tank. The system has been designed to supply the cooling load of a typical house where the cooling load peak is about 17.5 kW (5 tons of refrigeration), which occurs in July. A thermodynamic model has been used to simulate the absorption cycle. The working fluid is water, which is pumped directly to the collector. The results showed that the collector mass flow rate has a negligible effect on the minimum required collector area, but it has a significant effect on the optimum capacity of the storage tank. The minimum required collector area was about 57.6 m2, which could supply the cooling loads for the sunshine hours of the design day for July. The operation of the system has also been considered after sunset by saving solar energy.