SOLAR COOLING

USING THE ABSORPTION CYCLE

By
Nizar Melki
Rasha Rabih

A report submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
University of Balamand

February 2012

Copyright 2012, Nizar Melki, & Rasha Rabih

All Rights Reserved

University of Balamand
Faculty of Engineering
This is to certify that I have examined this copy of Masters report by
Nizar Melki
Rasha Rabih
and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all the respects,
and that any and all revisions required by the final
examining committee have been made.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Approved:
Elias Kinab, Ph.D.
Supervisor
Approved:
Gabi Nehme, Ph.D.
First Moderator
Approved:
Michel Daaboul, Ph.D.
Second Moderator
Date of report defense: January 12, 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report could not have been written if it were not for the
contribution and encouragement of various people and organizations.
The authors first wish is to thank the project supervisor, Dr. Elias
Kinab for his advice and support. Dr. Kinab is not a professor at the
University of Balamand, so he had to travel from Beirut to the North on
a weekly basis to check on the improvement of the report. Special
gratitude goes to project moderators, Dr. Daaboul and Dr. Nehme.
This report would not have been written without the perseverance
of the authors, and the restless nights spent to finalize the project. Also,
the encouragement and devotion of family and friends should be
mentioned who have helped a great deed.

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to introduce a new idea called Solar
Cooling. The concentration of greenhouse gases is rising, and the
prices of oil are in constant increase; therefore, a solution must be
applied to avoid a major crisis. Solar cooling uses a free source of heat,
the sun, to cool a space with a minimal amount of consumption.
This report starts with a brief introduction about Solar Cooling to
introduce the idea, and allows the reader to know what it is. It then
gives an overview of how solar cooling started, and how it evolved. The
report focuses on the absorption cycle and its different kinds; it
discusses its main function and parts, and explains the thermodynamics,
going through the advantages and disadvantages of the cycle.
A case study is developed and sample calculations are made on a
room located in Beirut to find the total cooling load needed due to the
wall, glass and ceiling heat exchange. The cooling load turns out to be
about 6875W. Two systems are then suggested: the conventional
compression system and the cooling system using the absorption cycle.
A comparison is done between the two which shows that an amount of
$1172 will be saved on a yearly basis if the solar method is used.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES

iii
iv
v
vi

LIST OF FIGURES

i
vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to Solar Cooling
CHAPTER 2: HISTORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 History of Absorption Technology
CHAPTER 3: THE ABSORPTION CYCLE
3.1 Traditional Cooling System
3.2 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle: Main Parts
3.3 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle: Main Function
3.4 Working Media
3.4.1 The Cycle
3.4.1.1 Generator
3.4.1.2 Condenser
3.4.1.3 Evaporator
3.4.1.4 Absorber
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

ii
1
1
3
3
6
6
9
9
10
23
24
24
24
25
4

5.1 Conclusion
LIST OF REFERENCES
APPENDIX A: Tables

1
41
43
45

LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1
Table 3.2

Working Pairs on the Absorption System

The Value of FR ()e and FRUL for Some Type of Solar

10
30

Table 4.1
Table 4.2

Collector
Composition of the Wall with Characteristics
Composition of the Ceiling with Characteristics

33
35

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Traditional Compression Refrigerator

3.1
Figure

Traditional Compression Refrigerator with T-s Diagram

3.2
Figure

Ammonia-Water Absorption Cycle

3.3
Figure

Simple Diagram of the Absorption System

3.4
Figure

Refrigeration System

12

3.5
Figure

Simple Illustrative Diagram

13

3.6
Figure

Solar Cooling Methods

17

3.7
Figure

Basic Function of the System

19

3.8
Figure

NH3 Molecule

20

3.9

CHAPTER 3
STATISTICS AT SQUARE ONE

3.1 Populations and Samples

3.1.1 Populations
In statistics the term population has a slightly different meaning from the one given
to it in ordinary speech. It need not refer only to people or to animate creatures - the
population of Britain1,
Although a statistician should clearly define the population he or she is dealing with,
they may not be .. population of They are often denoted by .

3.1.2 Samples
A limited table is given in Table 3.1 (Appendix C), and more extensive ones have
been published (Taylor, 1990).
A full discussion of the topic is beyond the scope of this book, but guidance is readily
available (Kelley, 2005). In this book,

3.1.2.1 Standard error of the mean

If a series of samples were drawn and calculated the mean of the observations in
each,
1 Footnote is entered here; and font is 10pts.

OneFont
blank
space
FooterFootnote:
margin:
size
between
1.25 cm;
10;Page
styleno.
regular

Right
Bottom margin:
margin: 2.5

3
Table 4.2: Composition of the Ceiling with Characteristics

Composition
Indoor air film
20 mm terrazzo
tile
50mm screed
50mm
polystyrene (35
kg/m3)
60 mm sand
Outdoor air film
Total

Resistance
(K.m2W)
0.16
0.0112

Density (kgm2)
0
44.8

Heat Capacity
(KJm2.K)
0
35.84

0.0695
1.74

92.8
1.75

78.12
2.12

0.183
0.044
2.2077

91.2
0
230.55

72.96
0
189.04

Figure 4.1: Solar Cooling Installment System- TX-RXZ

LIST OF REFERENCES
[1] Scott, G. (2004). Parabolic trough organic rankine cycle solar power
plant. Canada: Barber-Nichols.
[2] Dincer, I., & Mehmet K. (2011). Refrigeration systems and
applications. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
[3] Ync, H. (2009). Solar energy utilization. London: Springer.
[4] Prakash, G., & Garg, H. P. (2008). Solar energy: Fundamentals and
applications. New York: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
[5] Shorts Low Carbon Building Services Products. (n.d.). Retrieved
August 8, 2011, from http://www.shorts-env.co.uk/absorption.html
[6] Gas Air Conditioning. (n.d.). Gas fired air conditioning equipment.
Retrieved April 15, 2011, from
http://www.gasairconditioning.org/absorption how it works.htm
[7] Solar Panels Plus. (2007). Solar powered air conditioning. Retrieved October
15, 2011, from http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/solar-/airconditioning
[8] U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). CHP thermal technologies.
Retrieved October 15, 2011, from
http://gulfcoastcleanenergy.org/CleanEnergy/CombinedHeatandPow
er/ Thermaltechnologies/tabid/1789/Default.aspx
[9] Sustainable Architecture Applied to Replicable Public Access Buildings. (n.d.).
Solar cooling. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from http://www.saraproject.net/IMG/pdf/ Module_2-solar_cooling.pdf
[10] Xu, L. X., Robidoux, R. (2009). Drbd dynamic reliability block
diagrams for system reliability modelling. International Journal of
Computers and Application, 31(2), 132-141.

APPENDIX A: Tables