SIMPLIFIED MODELS FOR SOLAR-POWERED ABSORPTION COOLING SYSTEMS

Ideal three-heat-reservoir cycles with constant internal irreversibili ties and external heat transfer irreversibilities are used to obtain t he performance limits of solar operated absorption cooling systems. An alytical expressions are obtained for the coefficient of performance ( COP) and the cooling capacity of the plant. The results for ideal cycl es are compared with those obtained by detailed simulation of the abso rption machine. The ideal cycle models are found to give realistic upp er limits for the cooling capacity and the COP of solar powered absorp tion cooling systems. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.