Sep.

28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 1
Hongxi Yin, Ph.D.
School of Architecture
Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D. Committee
Prof. Volker Hartkopf, Ph.D. (Chair)
Prof. David Archer, Ph.D. (CMU)
Prof. David Claridge, Ph.D. (TAMU)
Consultant
Richard Christensen, Ph.D. (OSU)
An Absorption Chiller in a Micro BCHP Application:
Model Based Design and Performance Analysis
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Actual cooling load (kW)
C
o
e
ff
ic
ie
n
t
o
f
P
e
r
f
o
r
m
a
n
c
e
(
C
O
P
)
.
Thermal COP (measurement) Overall COP (measurement)
Thermal COP (model)
Thermal COP
(model)
Thermal COP
(measurement)
Overall COP
(measurement)
57.39 %
46.22
36.1 92.7 90.65 75.1
T1 T4 T5 T6 T7 T21
T11
44.11
T41
31.5
T42
36.11
T43
38.2
6.35
T32
T31
13.9
62.81 %
156.2
99.97
61.68 %
45.75
T91
57.39 %
48.1
T22
128.8
T20
T51
164
REFRIGERANT TEM
PERATURE, C
SA
T
U
A
T
IO
N
PR
E
SSU
R
E
(P), kPa
SOLUTION TEMPERATURE, C
Equlibrium Chart for A queous Lithium Bromide Solutions
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
0
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1
2
3
4
5
10
20
30
40
50
100
150
200
0
5
o
o
T52
157.5
Pm, 9.155 kPa
Ph, 85.34 kPa
Pl, 0.7665 kPa 1
4
5
6
20
21
22
7
91
109.6
T54
T53
3.154
T18
95.26
m =0.0073 kg/s 51
m =0.04437 kg/s
21
m =0.04857 kg/s
21
m =0.0042 kg/s 24
m =0.04765 kg/s
4
m =0.09622 kg/s
1 m =0.04434 kg/s
6
m =0.003315 kg/s 10
m =0.007513 kg/s 18
Model solution
Measurement
+ 5 C
o
Refrigerant
Water-LiBr sorbent solution
Steam, cooling water, and chilled water
1
2
3
19
4
5
6
7
8
91
10
11
14
18
20 21
22
23
24
51 52
42 43
32 31 41 42
53
16
17
12
13
25
Q to
Low Temp.
regenerator
Low Temp.
regenerator
High Temp.
heat exchanger
condenser
High Temp.
Low Temp.
condenser
High Temp.
regenerator
Low Temp.
heat exchanger
Absorber
Evaporator
Heat
Recovery
H.X.
Q
By-pass
H.X.
Refrigerant
combiner
expansion
Refrigerant
valve
pump
Recirculation
expansion
Solution
valve pump
Solution
Solution
combiner Splitter
Solution
52
54
9
92
46
45 47
44 41
43
Air
from
City water
600
600
750
Cooling water fill
Cooling tower Chilled water Cooling water
Steam To HRHX
to
Condenser
Absorber
Chilled water
pump
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 2
Absorption chiller technology as an integral part of
a Micro BCHP system
BCHP - Building Cooling, Heating, and Power system
Micro scale BCHP - Power generation capacity less than 15 kW
Introduction
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 3
Research objectives
The establishment of an experimental environment and
procedures for absorption chiller tests under various
conditions.
The conduct of a comprehensive testing programon a
microscale absorption chiller.
The construction of a comprehensive chiller model based
on the pertinent scientific and engineering principles
The analysis of the measured data, refinement of the
model, and improvement of the chiller design.
The preparation for future chiller design modifications,
system design, evaluation, and integration.
Introduction
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 4
ESB
CTW
CR
H
W
R
H
W
S
Absorption
SS
BFT
TLHX
WS
BFP
Chiller
B
A
CHWR
CHWS
PCHWP
ESB
CTW
CR
H
W
R
H
W
S
Absorption
SS
BFT
BCL
CCL
TLHX
WS
BFP
Chiller
Design, engineering, and installation
The absorption chiller and auxiliary system installed
in the intelligent workplace (IW)
B
A
CHWR
CHWS
PCHWP
ESB
CTW
CR
Absorption
SS
BFT
BCL
CCL
WS
BFP
Chiller
Test load
Steam supply
Absorption chiller
Building and grid loads
ESB
CTW
CR
Absorption
SS
BFT WS
BFP
Chiller
Steam supply system
Test load Building load Grid load
Absorption
Chiller
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 5
Steam system
Absorption chiller
Test load system
The absorption chiller and auxiliary system installed in IW
Design, engineering, and installation
Eclectrical Steam
boiler
Condensate
receiver tank
Chilled water
system
Test load heat
exchanger
Hot water
supply valve
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 6
The test program
Test programs and experimental data
Vary five operating parameters individually
chilled water return temperature (cooling load)
chilled water flow rate
cooling water supply temperature
cooling water flow rate
steam pressure
h enthalpy
m flow rate
Cp heat capacity of water
T temperature
.
) (
_ condensate steam steam input heat
h h m Q = &
) (
sup ply return p CHW cooling
T T C m Q = & input heat
cooling
Q
Q
COP
_
=
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 7
Chiller performance under various load conditions
Test programs and experimental data
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Actual cooling load (kW)
C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

o
f

P
e
r
f
o
r
m
a
n
c
e

(
C
O
P
)

.

Thermal COP (measurement) Overall COP (measurement)
Thermal COP
(measurement)
Overall COP
(measurement)
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 8
Chilled water loop
Evaporator
Refrigerant
Absorber
Cooling
water
Strong LiBr
solution
Dilute
solution
The chiller performance model
Computational performance model
The model includes
5 major heat transfer components
the evaporator
the absorber
the high temperature regenerator
low temperature regenerator
the condenser
4 minor heat exchanger components
high temperature heat exchanger
low temperature heat exchanger
steam heat recovery exchanger
by-pass heat exchanger
Other associated components include:
cooling tower
pumps
spray nozzles and valves
Schematic diagram
HTRG
LTRG
Condenser
LTHX
HTHX
Steam supply
HRHX
Refrigerant
condensate
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 9
1
2
3
19
4
5
6
7
8
91
10
11
14
18
20
21
22
23
24
51 52
42 43
32 31
41 42
53
16
17
12
13
25
Q to
Low Temp.
regenerator
Low Temp.
regenerator
High Temp.
heat exchanger
condenser
High Temp.
Low Temp.
condenser
High Temp.
regenerator
Low Temp.
heat exchanger
Absorber
Evaporator
Heat
Recovery
H.X.
Q
By-pass
H.X.
Refrigerant
combiner
expansion
Refrigerant
valve
pump
Recirculation
expansion
Solution
valve
pump
Solution
Solution
combiner
Splitter
Solution
52
54
9
92
46
45
47
44 41
43
Air
from
City water
600
6
0
0
7
5
0
Cooling water fill
Cooling tower
Chilled water Cooling water
Steam To HRHX
to
Condenser
Absorber
Chilled water
pump
The chiller performance model
The model is based on
fundamental scientific and
engineering principles
mass and energy
balances
thermodynamic property
relations
thermal and phase
equilibrium relations
heat and mass transport
coefficient correlations
The model is a steady-state
model programmed in the
Engineer Equation Solver
(EES)
The basic model has:
409 equations
416 variables
(7 variables as inputs:
5 inputs, 2 primary
measurements)
Computational performance model
Refrigerant
Solution
Equilibrium state
Saturated liquid
Saturated vapor
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 10
Diameter of 'lower vessel'
H
i
g
h
t

o
f

'
l
o
w
e
r

v
e
s
s
e
l
'
2
3
2
3
2
3
19 419 19 419
N
u
m
b
e
r

:

1
7
-
1
8
Absorber
tubes
Evaporator
tubes
Separation
blind
Evaporator
Absorber Absorber
LiBr Reservior
Water tray
Spray nozzles
Tube bundles
Spiral
Absorber configuration and its heat transfer
coefficient calculation
( )
( )
( )
( )

+

=
8 . 0
41 42 41
3 1 46 . 0
91 91
, 4
1
3
1
1
m T T f C m T f C
U
abs
Computational performance model
Overall heat transfer coefficient
Ref: Vliet et al; Dittus and Boelter.
CW outlet
CHW outlet
CHW inlet CW inlet
U: heat transfer coefficient
C: constant
T: temperature
m: flow rate
Subscriber:
abs: absorber
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 11
The discrepancies between the measurements and the
model solutions due to inaccurate measurements
Temperature sensors mounted on the
external pipe surface
fluctuating measurements of steam
flow due to periodic feedwater
addition to the boiler
cooling water flow measurements due
to space limitations in mounting the
flow sensor
Model based data analysis
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 12
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.0035 0.004 0.0045 0.005
Refrigerant flow
entering condenser, m24 (kg/s)
V
a
p
o
r

q
u
a
l
i
t
y

(
q

2
4
)



.
Vapor quality of refrigerant entering condenser
Vapor quality of refrigerant
entering Condenser
The adjustment of the model assumptions
Model based data analysis
q24
P
h
P
l
P
m
The quality of the refrigerant leaving LTRG (q24):
0 a linear relation with the differential pressure.
The findings could be used not only to validate the performance model, but also to improve the equipment design.
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 13
The deviations between model and measurements
Model based data analysis
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Actual cooling load (kW)
O
v
e
r
a
l
l

a
n
d

w
e
i
g
h
t
e
d

d
e
v
i
a
t
i
o
n
s

.
Overall deviationr Weighted deviation
Overall deviation
Weighted deviation
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 14
Future research area - the extended absorption chiller models
Natural gas driven Exhausted gas driven Steam driven Hot water driven
Contributions and areas of future research
Sept. 28, 2006 Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, Carnegie Mellon University Page 15
Future research area - System Integration and other applications
Integration of the chiller performance and cost models into overall
simulations of microscale BCHP systems to optimize overall system
performance and operating strategies
A cost model including capital cost, operational cost, and
maintenance cost can be integrated with building load simulation
tools to evaluate absorption chiller economic performance under
various types of buildings and weather conditions.
A guideline for applying the microscale absorption chiller in
buildings can be proposed on the basis of the simulation results of the
economical evaluation model.
As a simulation tool, the model should provide a graphic user
interface (GUI) and standard output sheets that can assist the system
designers in implanting BCHP system design and evaluation.
Contributions and areas of future research