International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig

Dynamic simulation of a single-effect

ammoniaewater absorption chiller
Byongjoo Kima,*, Jongil Park b
a
Department of Mechanical and System Design Engineering, Hongik University, 72-1 Sangsudong,
Mapogu, Seoul 121-791, Republic of Korea
b
Department of Building System Engineering, Dongeui University, 995 Eumgwangro, Busanjingu, Busan 614-714, Republic of Korea
Received 5 January 2006; received in revised form 10 July 2006; accepted 10 July 2006
Available online 11 September 2006

Abstract

A lumped-parameter dynamic simulation of a single-effect ammoniaewater absorption chiller is performed. Modeling is

based on the continuity of species constituting the ammoniaewater mixture and the conservation of energy for each component
of the absorption chiller. Ordinary differential equations governing the response of each component and the algebraic equations
describing the constitutive relation are solved in parallel by numerical integration. The model has been applied to a commercially
available 10.5 kW absorption chiller to study the transients of temperature, pressure, concentration, and void fraction of each
component during the start-up operation. The time constant of the absorption chiller is also investigated. The parameters
considered are the bulk concentration of the ammoniaewater solution, the mass of the solution filled, and the volumes of
key components of the absorption chiller. In addition, the reduction of the time constant by a stepwise turn-up and turn-
down of the flue gas flow rate during the primary stage of start-up period is demonstrated.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Air conditioning; Chiller; Absorption system; Ammoniaewater; Modelling; Simulation; Transient

Simulation dynamique d’un refroidisseur à ammoniac-eau

à simple effet
Mots clés : Conditionnement d’air ; Refroidisseur de liquide ; Système à absorption ; Ammoniac-eau ; Modélisation ; Simulation ; Transitoire

1. Introduction and ammoniaewater pairs. Although the absorption cooling

Absorption heat pump is a thermally activated system
with natural refrigerants such as waterelithium bromide
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ82 2 320 1611; fax: þ82 2 322
7003.
E-mail address: bjkim@wow.hongik.ac.kr (B. Kim).
has been known for over 100 years, recent environmental
concerns on global warming and ozone depletion by CFC
and HCFC refrigerants have promoted a renewed interest
in these refrigerants and the systems in which they are em-
ployed. In absorption systems, a physicochemical process
replaces the mechanical process of the vapor compression
system by using energy in the form of heat rather than

0140-7007/$35.00 Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2006.07.004
536 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545
Nomenclature
A Cross sectional area [m2]
AT Total heat transfer area [m2]
C Concentration of ammonia [%]
cp Specific heat at constant pressure [J kg1 K1]
D Diameter [m]
f Friction factor
G Mass velocity [kg m2 s1]
h Heat transfer coefficient [W m2 K1]
i Enthalpy [J kg1]
K Minor loss coefficient
L Length [m]
p Pressure [bar]
Q Heat transfer rate [W]
T Temperature [ C]
t Time [s]
U Overall heat transfer coefficient [W m2 K1]
V Volume [m3]
w Mass flow rate [kg s1]
v Specific volume [m3 kg1]
x Quality
z Coordinate inflow direction
mechanical work. The absorption cooling represents a prac-
tical means for decreasing the electrical energy consumption
associated with the peak cooling demand in summer and for
recovering waste heat energy from industrial plants or other
sources. It also utilizes solar energy as the energy input. In
addition, fewer moving parts mean lower noise levels,
high reliability and improved durability. However, the draw-
backs of the absorption system are its heavy weight, lack of
detailed understanding of heat and mass transport process
and relatively high capital cost.
Numerous experimental and theoretical research works
[1e3] on the absorption heat pump have been carried for
both residential and industrial applications. Ammoniae
water absorption cycles using natural gas have been recog-
nized as candidates for residential and light commercial
heat pumps. These cycles can provide both winter heating
and summer cooling in a compact size, with air as external
heat sink. Engler et al. [4] performed a comprehensive inves-
tigation of various ammoniaewater cycles, with operating
conditions and design parameters varied over a wide range
to compare their performance. They employed ABSIM code
[5], which were developed specifically for flexible simulation
of absorption cycles. Large number of governing equations
and the non-linear behavior of the working fluid were solved
simultaneously to give the design point performance. ABSIM
provides realistic results for the stationary behavior under
well-defined boundary conditions. However, unsteady bound-
ary conditions cannot be imposed and consequently the corre-
sponding dynamic behavior cannot be determined.
Greeks
a Void fraction
h Surface temperature effectiveness of fin
r Density [kg m3]
t Time constant [s]
f Two-phase frictional multiplier
Subscripts
b Bulk
c Cold
e Exit
F Friction
g Flue gas
h Hot
i Control volume
j Control surface
l Liquid
o Initial or base-line
s Solution
v Vapor
w Wall
There are only a few works published on the dynamic
simulations of absorption heat pumps. Butz and Stephan
[6] have modeled the components of absorption heat
pump by differential equations resulting from the unsteady-
state heat and mass balances. They depicted the dynamic
behavior of absorption heat pump under intermittent burner
operation. Kaushik et al. [7] developed a computer simula-
tion model of a solar powered aqua-ammonia absorption
cooling system with refrigerant storage. The model required
a known solution flow rate as well as average hourly
weather data and the cooling load patterns as input param-
eters. The design parameters of the system components
were evaluated at rated conditions using the steady-state
model. Sugano et al. [8] established a dynamical model of
the absorption refrigerator driven by hot water as a tool
for the design of a control system. They studied the response
of an absorption refrigerator for the change of flow rate of
the hot water and the cooling water. Willers et al. [9]
developed a transient computational model using the
software package TRNSYS [10] to find suitable control
strategies for an optimized operation of a double-lift
ammoniaewater chiller. They investigated three different
operating conditions, which have been generated by varia-
tions of mass flow and driving heat. Florides et al. [11]
also used TRNSYS to optimize an absorption solar cooling
system. However, none of the previous works considered the
thermal-hydraulic characteristics of two-phase flow in the
absorption system. The effects of bulk concentration and
mass of the solution charged and the volume of key
 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545 537

components on the dynamic response of absorption system Table 1

and its performance were not clearly understood. Notation and geometrical description of components
For an ammoniaewater absorption chiller to be attractive No. Notation Descriptions D (m) L (m)
for both residential and light commercial air-conditioning
applications, the response time should be reasonably short 1 GNA Generator, adiabatic section 0.15 0.35
2 GNB Generator, boiling section 0.15 0.45
compared with that of vapor compression unit. Dynamic
3 IHG Tube coil in generator 0.012 5
simulation can serve as a tool for detailed investigation of 4 REC Rectifier 0.15 0.34
the heat and mass transfer processes during the start-up 5 CON Condenser 0.016 18
operation. 6 EVA Evaporator 0.018 30
In the present study, a lumped-parameter dynamic model 7 SCA Solution-cooled absorber 0.1 0.8
of a single-effect ammoniaewater absorption chiller is devel- 8 ACA Air-cooled absorber 0.016 30
oped. Ordinary differential equations emerge from the mass, 9 PMP Pump with liquid collector 0.15 0.2
momentum and energy balances for each component and the 10 IHR Tube coil in rectifier 0.012 2
algebraic equations of constitutive relation are solved in par- 11 IHA Tube coil in SCA 0.012 5
allel by numerical integration. For the 10.5 kW absorption
chiller available in the market, the dynamic two-phase ther-
mal-hydraulic characteristics are investigated during its The generator is a vertical cylinder and consists of
start-up operation period. The time constant and the cooling a stripping section (GNB) heated from hot combustion
capacity are investigated by the numerical experiments. The gases and an adiabatic partial condenser (GNA) on top of
parameters considered are the bulk concentration and the it. To enhance heat transfer, fins are affixed to the outer
mass of ammoniaewater solution charged, the volume of surface of GNB. Ammonia vapor is separated from the
key component, and the control strategy of stepwise turn- solution, but it is loaded with some fraction of water vapor.
up and turn-down of flue gas flow rate during the primary The hot solution at the bottom of GNB is guided upward
stage of the start-up period. within a tube coil (IHG) in order to heat up the solution
flowing downward around IHG. It leaves the generator on
2. Description of a single-effect absorption the top as a subcooled liquid. GNA acts as the enriching
chiller and components section in which the heat of condensation is removed by
the relatively cold solution coming from IHA.
The single-effect ammoniaewater absorption chiller, il- The vapor from the generator passes into the rectifier
lustrated schematically in Fig. 1, is designed to supply the (REC). The rectifier is a horizontal cylinder containing
chilled water for use in air-conditioning. Flue gas produced a tube coil (IHR). The solution rich in ammonia supplied
by the combustion of fossil fuel is the heat source and air is by the pump flows in IHR and induces the rectification of
the heat sink. Geometrical descriptions of each component the ammoniaewater mixture vapor. Consequently almost
are given in Table 1. pure ammonia vapor proceeds to the condenser. REC also
plays a role of a leveling chamber for the generator.
The condenser (CON) is a tube array with plate fins. The
condensation of vapor is carried out as the two-phase mix-
[5] CON ture flows inside a tube. The latent heat of condensation is
[10] IHR
released to the air flowing around the tube transversely.
[4] REC Finally, the saturated solution leaves the condenser and is
fed into the refrigerant heat exchanger.
[7] SCA
The refrigerant heat exchanger (RHX) is a double pipe
heat exchanger. The condensate from the condenser flows
[11] IHA inside the inner tube and the two-phase mixture from the
evaporator flows in the annulus. At the exit the condensate
[1] GNA liquid is further subcooled and flows into the evaporator.
RHX
[8] ACA The two-phase mixture with the improved quality is then
[3] IHG

supplied to the solution-cooled absorber.

[6] EVA The evaporator (EVA) is a tube coil with chilled water
[2] GNB P
[9] PMP
sprinkled on it. The subcooled solution from RHX un-
Flue dergoes throttling process in the refrigerant restrictor and
gas Liquid solution Chilled flows into EVA as the two-phase mixture. Owing to the wa-
Refrigerant vapor water
ter content in the solution, it is not possible that the entire
Cooling air
ammonia solution evaporates. Instead the two-phase mixture
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of an ammoniaewater absorption of high quality leaves the evaporator and proceeds into
chiller. RHX. The chilled water circulates between EVA and the
538 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545

fan-coil unit in the room to be air-conditioned. The room has liquid collector. Otherwise only the incoming solution
a volume of 300 m3 and has a cooling load of 10.5 kW at an from ACA is pressurized and discharged.
outdoor temperature of 35  C.
The vapor generated in the evaporator is absorbed by the For each control volume comprising absorption chiller,
weak solution from the generator in the solution-cooled ab- ordinary differential equations arising from the continuity
sorber (SCA) first. It is a falling film absorber, in which the of ammonia and water species and the conservation of en-
weak solution forms a film on the outside of a tube coil ergy and momentum are
(IHA) and flows downward. Flow restrictor is placed be- d X
tween the IHG and SCA for the reduction of the pressure ½r Vi  ¼ wj ð1Þ
dt i j
in the solution circuit. The strong solution that has just
cooled the rectifier flows into IHA as a coolant. The two- X
phase mixture of the vapor and solution is withdrawn from d
½ri Vi Ci  ¼ wj Cj ð2Þ
the bottom of SCA and fed into the air-cooled absorber. dt j
The air-cooled absorber (ACA) is a tube array with plate
fins just like the condenser. The major part of absorption is d X vpi
½ri Vi ii  ¼ wj ij þ Qi þ Vi ð3Þ
performed in ACA and the absorption is completed. The dt j
vt
heat of absorption is released to the air flowing around the
  
tube. The cooling air at the exit of the condenser is guided Li dwi fi Li X wj wj
to ACA. Finally the strong solution leaves ACA at the satu- ¼ Dpi  þ Ki ; ð4Þ
Ai dt Di 2ri A2i
rated or slightly subcooled state.
The weak ammoniaewater solution is now at the lower where A is the flow area, D is the diameter, L is the length, V
cycle pressure. It is pressurized by a diaphragm pump and is the volume, C is the concentration, i is the enthalpy, p is
sent to IHR. A liquid collector is placed just above the inlet the pressure, w is the mass flow rate, f is the friction factor,
of the pump to store the incoming liquid solution. K is the minor loss coefficient, t is the time and r is the den-
sity. Subscripts i and j denote the control volume and the
boundary surface between control volumes, respectively.
3. Formulation of dynamic model Thermo-physical properties of ammoniaewater mixture
are basically governed by its pressure, temperature and con-
3.1. Governing equations centration. For the subcooled liquid and the superheated va-
por, Eq. (1) becomes
By lumped-parameter approach, each component is char-   X
acterized by a single pressure, temperature, concentration, vr dTi vr dpi vr dCi
Vi þ þ ¼ wj ð5Þ
and void fraction for the case of two-phase mixture. Since vT dt vp dt vC dt j
heat and mass transfer between phases and phase change
of ammoniaewater mixture occur in each component, it is For the two-phase mixture of saturated ammoniaewater
necessary to include the two-phase flow and transport prop- liquid and vapor, density and enthalpy are estimated by the
erties properly in the dynamic simulation. In the present void fraction a and the quality x.
study the separated flow model is adopted for the two-phase
r ¼ ð1  aÞrl þ arv ð6Þ
flow. The following assumptions have been made in formu-
lating the model. i ¼ ð1  xÞil þ xiv ð7Þ
Subscripts l and v are the liquid and the vapor, respec-
1. Two-phase mixture of liquid and vapor exists at thermo-
tively. Then Eq. (1) can be rewritten with the void fraction
dynamic equilibrium.
as a dependent variable.
2. The pressure of GNA and GNB is identical.
3. The enthalpy of an ammoniaewater mixture varies     
linearly along the length of heat exchangers, such as vr vr dTi vr
Vi ð1  ai Þ l þ ai v þ Vi ð1  ai Þ l
GNB, CON, EVA and ACA. vT vT dt vp
4. Local bulk concentration of two-phase mixture is all the  X
vr dpi dai
same along the length of heat exchangers, such as GNB, þ ai v þ ½Vi frv  rl g ¼ wj ð8Þ
vp dt dt j
CON, EVA and ACA.
5. The solution in IHG, IHR and IHA is subcooled and In Eqs. (2) and (3), concentration and enthalpy per unit
incompressible. volume are calculated as
6. Thermal capacity of wall of each component is negligi-
ble except for that of GNB. rC ¼ ð1  aÞrl Cl þ arv Cv ð9Þ
7. Pump circulates the solution at constant volumetric flow
rate as long as sufficient solution is available in the ri ¼ ð1  aÞrl il þ arv iv ð10Þ
 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545
Eqs. (2) and (3) can be converted for the control volume
of two-phase mixture as Eq. (8).
The relationship between the void fraction and the qual-
ity depends on the system pressure, mass velocity, and
thermo-physical properties of the liquid and vapor phases.
In the present study, the correlation proposed by Butterworth
[12] is used for the prediction of quality as a function of the
void fraction.
The wall temperature of GNB is important for the estima-
tion of boiling heat transfer coefficient. Instantaneous wall
temperature of GNB is calculated by the difference between
the heat inflow from the flue gas and the heat outflow to the
ammoniaewater solution as given by
dTw 1
UAT ¼
¼ Qg  Qs ; ð11Þ
dt mw cpw
where m and cp are the mass and the specific heat at constant
pressure. Subscripts w, g and s denote the wall, flue gas, and
solution, respectively.
3.2. Constitutive relations
3.2.1. Thermodynamic properties
Thermodynamic properties of saturated ammoniaewater
mixture were calculated based on the correlation proposed
by Ziegler and Trepp [13].
3.2.2. Pressure drop
The two-phase flow pressure drop in the control volume
consists of the frictional, accelerational, and gravitational
pressure drops. For simplicity, the contributions of accelera-
tional and gravitational pressure drop are neglected. The
two-phase frictional pressure gradient is usually expressed
in terms of single-phase pressure gradient for the liquid
phase that flows alone in the channel.
 
dp 2fl G2 ð1  xÞ2 vl f2l
 ¼ ð12Þ
dz F D The correlation of Shah [20] was used to estimate the con-
where G is the mass velocity, v is the specific volume, and
fl is the friction factor for the liquid phase to flow alone.
The two-phase frictional multiplier in round tubes, f2l , was
correlated uniquely as a function of a parameter X by
Lockhart and Martinelli [14], where
C 1
f2l ¼ 1 þ þ ð13Þ
X X2
" #1=2  1=2
ðdp=dzÞF;l ð1  xÞ fl vl
X¼ ¼ ð14Þ
ðdp=dzÞF;v x fv vv
The constant C depends upon the flow characteristics of
each phase, laminar or turbulent.
The pressure drop across the flow restrictor is simplified
as the product of the two-phase frictional multiplier and the
single-phase pressure drop for the flow through an orifice.
539
The two-phase frictional multiplier for an orifice proposed
by Beattie [15] was adopted to predict the pressure drop in
the flow restrictor.
3.2.3. Heat and mass transfer
The heat transfer rate in the control volume is estimated by
Q ¼ UAT DTm ð15Þ
where U is the overall heat transfer coefficient, AT is the total
heat transfer area and DTm is the mean temperature differ-
ence between heat exchanging fluids. For the negligible con-
ductive resistance of tube wall,
 1
1 1
þ ð16Þ
ðhhAT Þh ðhhAT Þc
where h is the surface temperature effectiveness of extended
surface and h is the convective heat transfer coefficient. Sub-
scripts h and c mean the hot and the cold fluids, respectively.
Single-phase heat transfer coefficient for the flow in tube
coil, such as IHG, IHR and IHA, was based on the correla-
tion given by Seban and McLaughlin [16]. Heat transfer for
air flow across tube banks, as in CON and ACA, was esti-
mated by the empirical relation proposed by Gray and
Webb [17]. The heat and mass transfer of falling film in
EVA, IHA and IHR were predicted based on the results of
Yih [18]. Convective heat transfer between GNB wall with
fins and the flue gas flowing in an annulus was analyzed to
predict the GNB wall temperature by Eq. (11). The contribu-
tion of radiation heat transfer of the flue gas could be
easily included in the analysis, but was neglected just for
simplicity.
For the two-phase flow, various flow patterns exist and it
is very difficult to find applicable equations for representing
heat and mass transfer precisely. The boiling heat transfer
coefficient of the ammoniaewater solution in GNB was ob-
tained by considering the contribution of nucleate boiling
and forced convective boiling as proposed by Chen [19].
densation heat transfer in CON. For the absorption process
in ACA, Shah’s correlation was also used to predict the ab-
sorption heat transfer since the heat removed by air is found
to dominate the mass absorbed.
3.3. Solution methods
Ordinary differential equations of (1)e(4) for each
control volume constitute the governing equations to be
solved simultaneously with constitutive relations. They
were solved numerically by RungeeKuttaeMerson tech-
nique [21]. The values of temperature, pressure, and void
fraction of each component were given as functions of
time. Time increment in numerical integration was auto-
matically adjusted to keep the residuals of dependent
variables to be less than 2  105.
540 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545

4. Results and discussion (a) 200

GNB
150
4.1. Transient behavior of an absorption chiller

T (ºC)
during the start-up operation 100
ACA
50
CON
Initial and operating conditions of an absorption chiller
are listed in Table 2. Initially, absorption chiller and the 30 EVA 0

room to be air-conditioned are at thermal equilibrium with

p (bar)
20 GNB
the ambient. The bulk concentration and temperature of am- 10 EVA
moniaewater mixture in an absorption chiller determine its
0
initial pressure. The overall void fraction of an absorption 1 10 100 1000 3000
chiller for the base-line condition is 0.70. However, GNB, t (s)
IHG, IHR, IHA, and PMP are filled with the solution ini-
tially. Quasi-steady state is assumed for the RHX since its (b) ACA 1.0
volume is relatively small. The heat transfer capability of 0.8
GNA
RHX is given in terms of its effectiveness. 0.6
The transient behavior of an absorption chiller during the 0.4
GNB 0.2
start-up period is simulated as illustrated in Fig. 2. The evo- 0.0
lution of pressure, temperature, concentration, void fraction, 1.0 REC
fluid flow rate and heat transfer rate of selected components 0.8 Vapor GNA
as the system reaches its steady state are shown. 0.6
Ce 0.4 Liquid ACA
Owing to the heat transfer from the flue gas, the wall tem-
0.2 GNB
perature of GNB becomes high enough to induce the boiling
0.0
of ammoniaewater solution as it flows downward, which re- 1 10 100 1000 3000
sults in the increase of its pressure and corresponding satu- t (s)
ration temperature. Heat transfer rate from the generator
wall to the solution increases sharply at start-up, but de- (c) 40
creases as the temperature difference between the wall and 30

Q (kW)
the solution decreases. Even though the flow rate of sub- 20
cooled solution from IHA into GNA is almost constant GNB ACA
and equal to that of the pump in the early stages, the flow 10
EVA
rate of saturated solution from GNB into IHG is pretty small IHR 0
since the pressure difference between GNB and SCA is not 0.03 ACA
W (kg/s)

sufficiently developed. Therefore the void fraction of GNA, 0.02 PMP GNB
initially very close to 1.0, abruptly decreases. The void frac- 0.01
tion in GNB is kept less than 4%. The ammoniaewater va- EVA
0.00
por mixture generated in GNB rises upward due to buoyancy 1 10 100 1000 3000
and is accumulated in GNA first and is passed into REC, t (s)
where its concentration increases by 5.9% as a result of rec-
Fig. 2. Evolution of thermodynamic properties and transport variables
tification. The concentration of ammoniaewater solution at
of selected components during the start-up operation. (a) Pressure and
the exit of GNB decreases as the flow boiling continues. temperature. (b) Concentration and void fraction. (c) Mass flow rate
and heat transfer rate.
Table 2
Base-line conditions for dynamic analysis
The augmentation of GNB pressure is mainly governed
Parameters Values by the vapor generation rate due to the heat input from the
Initial temperature ( C) 35.0 external heat source, i.e., the flue gas. The evaporation of liq-
Outdoor temperature ( C) 35.0 uid refrigerant induces rather slow increase of the EVA and
Bulk concentration of solution (%) 0.33 ACA pressure. Therefore the flow rate between CON and
Mass of solution filled (kg) 13.0 EVA increases progressively. Initially the liquid collector
Flue gas temperature ( C) 870 of pump is filled with the solution and the pump is able to
Flue gas flow rate (kg s1) 0.0205 expel the solution at its design capacity. However, the flow
Nominal pumping flow rate (l min1) 1.75 rate between ACA and PMP is still very limited similar to
Chilled water flow rate (kg s1) 0.505
the flow rate between CON and EVA. At an early stage,
Cooling air flow rate (kg s1) 2.0
Effectiveness of RHX 0.7
the pressure of CON develops rather slowly and the forma-
tion of condensate is not sufficient. Consequently the void
 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545 541

fraction of CON increases and the two-phase mixture of liq-
uid and vapor discharge into the refrigerant flow restrictor.
The pressure drop in the refrigerant flow restrictor increases
and the increase of flow rate is suppressed. The flow rate in
EVA as well as in RHX, SCA, and ACA decreases subse-
quently. Now the liquid collector in the pump becomes va-
cant and the pumping flow rate drops abruptly. The pump
is able to propel only the solution flowing in from ACA.
These changes definitely affect the heat transfer rates in
EVA and ACA.
Continuous increase in the GNB pressure induces the in-
crease of the CON pressure and its saturation temperature.
The quality in CON decreases again as the condensation
gets vigorous. The flow rate through the refrigerant flow re-
strictor is recovered and increases further as do the flow rates
of EVA, SCA and ACA. Then the liquid collector of PMP
gets enough amount of the solution and PMP regains its
nominal flow rate. The imbalance of supply and discharge
of the solution flow in PMP occurs again at about 300 s.
The liquid collector of PMP gets almost vacant and PMP
is able to discharge only the solution supplied by ACA.
As the pressure drop in the refrigerant flow restrictor in-
creases due to the increased flow rate, the temperature of
EVA gradually decreases. The heat transfer rate between
the chilled water and the refrigerant in EVA increases. The
chilled water from EVA flows into the fan-coil unit in
the air-conditioning zone and returns after accomplishing
the heat transfer with the surrounding air.
A steady operation state is realized when the heat and
mass balances for each component is satisfied. It takes about
1000 s for an absorption chiller to attain 99% of the rated
cooling capacity. In the present study, the time constant of
an absorption chiller is defined as the time required for the
system to attain the cooling capacity of 63.2% of the final
value. Therefore, the time constant, at which the heat trans-
fer rate of evaporator becomes 6.67 kW in Fig. 2, is 409 s for
the absorption chiller considered and is relatively large when
compared with that of vapor compression refrigeration sys-
tem. A larger time constant of an absorption chiller means
that the absorption system is less suitable for residential ap-
plications involving smaller cooling load.
Steady-state operating conditions of each component of
an absorption chiller are given in Table 3. The absolute value
of heat transfer rate in ACA is very close to that of GNB
from the heat source. The heat transfer rate to the cooling
air in CON is slightly greater than that to the chilled water
in EVA. The total internal heat recovery by IHG, IHA and
IHR amounts to approximately 63% of the heat input
supplied by the heat source. Internal heat recovery is very
crucial for achieving high coefficient of performance.
4.2. Effects of bulk concentration and mass
of solution filled
The effects of the mass and the bulk concentration of an
ammoniaewater solution in an absorption chiller are inves-
tigated with respect to the pressure, temperature, and con-
centration of selected components, mass flow rate, cooling
capacity, and the time constant. For the absorption chiller
to be widely used in residential air-conditioning applica-
tions, the time constant should be small enough with realistic
limits on the system pressure and temperature at reasonable
cost.
Fig. 3 shows how the mass and the bulk concentration
of an ammoniaewater solution affect the selected dynamic
and static variables of an absorption chiller. The bulk con-
centration of the solution does not change during operation.
During the start-up operation under base-line conditions the

Table 3
Steady-state operating conditions

Notation T ( C) p (bar) Cb,e (%) a W (g/s) UA (W/K) Q(W)

GNA 127.4 21.68 91.8 0.584 11.14 0.9 81a
GNB 164.9 21.68 14.4 0.028 15.51 48.9 18,929
IHG 153.2 21.68 14.4 0 15.51 138.6 3574
REC 90.9 21.68 97.7 0.553 9.66 0.8 46a
CON 54.5 21.67 97.7 0.924 9.66 743.5 12,207
EVA 4.8 4.87 97.7 0.953 9.66 2217.6 10,549
SCA 84.4 4.85 46.4 0.930 25.17 2.3 111a
ACA 58.6 4.71 46.4 0.866 25.17 1278.5 17,025
IHR 658.6 21.68 46.4 0 25.17 113.7 3672
IHA 89.0 21.68 46.4 0 25.17 340.4 3564
Chilled water temperature, in/out ( C) 12.0/7.0
QRHX (W) 1152
Cooling capacity (kW) 10.5
COP, thermodynamic/system 0.557/0.458
a
Heat loss to the ambient.
542 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545

(a) 24 170 temperature of EVA decreases and the cooling capacity of

GNB the absorption chiller increases. However, for a solution
22 165 with very high bulk concentration, EVA pressure finally be-
comes high enough to induce the rise of its temperature and
20 160
mo=12 kg

T (ºC)
p (bar)

the fall of its heat transfer rate to the chilled water. This means
mo=13 kg that the optimum concentration of ammoniaewater solution
18
mo=14 kg 10
exists depending upon the geometrical data, the heat and
6 mass transfer characteristics of each component, and the
5
4
mass of the solution filled in the absorption chiller. As
EVA
0 the mass of the solution of the absorption chiller increases,
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 the optimum bulk concentration of the solution also
Cb increases. The time constant of the absorption chiller gets
smaller as the ammoniaewater solution becomes stronger.
(b) 0.50 0.017
The reduction rate of the time constant with respect to the
ACA
0.016
concentration diminishes at very high bulk concentration.
0.45
mo=12 kg
Once the mass of the solution in the absorption chiller is
GNB mo=13 kg 0.015 w (kg/s) decreased, the energy requirement for heating of the solution
0.40
Cf,e

mo=14 kg is reduced. Therefore the vapor generation in GNB in-

0.20 EVA
0.010 creases, leading to the increase of GNB pressure. The flow
rates of the solution in GNB and the refrigerant in EVA
0.15
0.009 also increase. When the bulk concentration is less than its
GNB optimum value, the absorption chiller shows a higher cool-
0.10 0.008
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 ing capacity at smaller mass of the solution filled. However,
Cb for the case of the bulk concentration larger than its optimum
value, the situation reverses. The decrease of the amount of
(c) 13 600 the solution filled at high bulk concentrations leads to the in-
mo=12 kg crease of EVA temperature. Therefore the reduced tempera-
mo=13 kg 500
12 ture difference between EVA and the chilled water results in
mo=14 kg the decrease of the cooling capacity.
400
11 It is concluded that the time constant of the absorption
Q (kW)

300
(s)

chiller could be shortened by reducing the amount of the

10
200
9 100
8 0
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45
Cb
Fig. 3. Effects of mass and bulk concentration of the solution filled
on system performance. (a) Pressure and temperature. (b) Concen-
tration of liquid phase and mass flow rate. (c) Cooling capacity and
time constant.
overall void fraction of an absorption chiller decreases as
much as 4% due to the expansion of liquid solution at
high temperature and the compression of vapor phase at
high pressure.
The stronger the bulk concentration of ammoniaewater
solution, the higher the initial system pressure. As the mass
fraction of ammonia species increases the vapor generation
rate in GNB increases, which results in higher pressure of
GNB but at lower temperature. Since the increase of EVA
pressure is not as large as that of GNB, the pressure difference
between GNB and EVA increases and the solution and
the refrigerant flow rates increase correspondingly. Since
the concentration of the refrigerant also increases, the
solution of high bulk concentration to be filled. However,
the consequent deterioration of the cooling capacity is
unavoidable.
The thermal mass of the wall in each heat exchanger may
play some role on the time constant. These effects, except for
that of the generator, have been neglected since it takes pretty
long time for the system to reach its steady operation state.
4.3. Effects of volumes of key components
For the absorption chiller considered in the present study,
components which are in cylindrical configuration are GNA,
GNB, REC, and SCA. GNA and GNB form a single body. The
effects of volumes of these components are investigated to ex-
plore the means for simultaneously increasing the cooling ca-
pacity and shortening the time constant. The volume of the
heat exchanger is easily varied by changing its diameter. To
keep the heat transfer rate between the wall and the surround-
ing medium equal regardless of its volume, the heat transfer
area and heat transfer coefficients are maintained at the re-
spective base-line values by changing its geometries such as
the length as well as the flow characteristics of the medium.
As the volume of REC increases, GNB and EVA pressure
decreases slightly at the steady state as shown in Fig. 4.
Therefore the cooling capacity decreases and the time
 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545 543

(a) 24 170 the solution in GNB is kept at a higher value and the vapor
GNB of the ammoniaewater mixture generated is also at a higher
22 165 concentration. Therefore the GNB pressure increases and
GNB temperature decreases as the GNB volume is increased.
mo=12 kg The effects of the GNB volume on the thermodynamic

T (ºC)
p (bar)

20 160
mo=13 kg properties of selected components, transport variables, and
8 10
mo=14 kg system performance are very similar to that of bulk concen-
6 5 tration of the solution as shown in Fig. 3. As the GNB volume
EVA
increases, mass flow rates of the solution and the refrigerant
4
0 increase. The time constant decreases as the GNB volume
0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 increases. Optimum volume of GNB is found to exist depend-
V/Vo ing on the mass of the solution filled. The optimum volume of
GNB increases as the mass of the solution filled increases.
(b) 0.50 0.017
ACA
0.45 0.016
GNB 4.4. Stepwise operation of flue gas flow rate
0.40 mo=12 kg w (kg/s)
0.015
mo=13 kg
Cf,e

To shorten the time constant of an absorption chiller, it is

mo=14 kg necessary to increase the GNB pressure as quickly as possi-
0.20 0.010
ble, which accompanies the increase of the solution and the
EVA
0.15 0.009 refrigerant flow rates. The GNB and CON pressure becomes
GNB higher as the vapor generated in GNB becomes larger. The
0.10 0.008 CON pressure also gets higher at a larger concentration of
0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
V/Vo the ammoniaewater vapor mixture. However, the excessive
increase of the vapor concentration in REC by rectification
(c) 13 600 results in the decrease of the refrigerant flow rate supplied
to CON. Then the GNB and CON pressure will decrease.
500 The simple and obvious method to rapidly increase the
12
400 GNB pressure in an early period of the start-up operation is
11 to control the flue gas flow rate in a stepwise manner. Fig. 5
Q (kW)

300 shows the stepwise operation of the flue gas flow rate and
(s)

10 its effect on system performance. For example, in Case 1,

mo=12 kg
9 mo=13 kg
mo=14 kg
8 almost linearly. The GNB pressure and the solution flow rate
0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2
V/Vo
Fig. 4. Effects of generator volume on system performance.
(a) Pressure and temperature. (b) Concentration of liquid phase
and flow rate. (c) Cooling capacity and time constant.
constant increases. These changes are so small that the ef-
fects of the REC volume could be neglected at least for
the range of V/Vo ¼ 0.8e1.2 considered in the present study.
However, larger volume of REC is hardly desirable except
for its function as the leveling chamber.
The increase of SCA volume results in very little increase
of GNA and EVA pressure. The cooling capacity increases
and the time constant decreases. The volume of SCA has
less effect on the system performance than that of REC.
Therefore SCA volume could be considered to have a negli-
gible effect on the system performance.
As the volume of GNB increases, the pressure of GNB
rapidly increases. Owing to a larger mass of the solution
contained in a larger volume of GNB, the concentration of
200
0.035 kg s1 of the flue gas is supplied for 300 s from the
100 start-up and reduced to 0.0205 kg s1 thereafter. As the flow
rate of the flue gas increases, the heat input in GNB increases
0
1.3
also show rapid increase at early stages of the operation. So
do the refrigerant flow rate and the cooling capacity. The
time constant in Case 3 is less than 3 min, which seems to
be very promising for an absorption chiller to be attractive
for both residential and light commercial air-conditioning
applications.
5. Summary
A lumped-parameter dynamic model of a single-effect
ammoniaewater absorption chiller is developed based on
the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. Ordinary
differential equations are derived and the constitutive
relations are solved numerically. The dynamic two-phase
thermal-hydraulic characteristics and system performance
are investigated during the start-up operation of a 10.5 kW
absorption chiller. The parameters considered are the bulk
concentration and the mass of the ammoniaewater solution
filled, the volume of key components, and the stepwise
544 B. Kim, J. Park / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 535e545

(a) 0.04 and the time constant is still too large. Therefore a simple and
practical control strategy for markedly decreasing the time
wg (kg/s)

0.03
constant is a stepwise turn-up and turn-down of the flue gas
0.02 flow rate during the primary stage of the start-up period.
Base-line condition
0.01 Case 1, Case 2, Case 3
40
30 References

Q (kW)
20
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