Absorption Chiller System Driven by the Solar Hybrid System: Case Study in the Algeria Weather Condition

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, the performances of a novel hybrid solar system using the Al2O3 nanofluid and pure water as a heat transfer fluid to operate a single-effect lithium bromide absorption chiller are investigated. In which the performance of the proposed system using the nanofluid during winter and summer under mixed and forced convection is evaluated. Thus, the performances of the solar collector are investigated experimentally, and the output performances of the water–LiBr absorption chiller system are conducted numerically using matlab platform. The results show that the obtained Reynolds number of the heat transfer fluid is laminar flow in summer with the maximum values of 1700 and 1600 for nanofluid and water, respectively, and the maximum values of 2200 and 2100 for nanofluid and pure water, respectively, in winter. The proposed hybrid system achieves approximately 54% and 36% of maximum thermal efficiency during the winter and the summer, respectively. The obtained performance shows that the absorption cycle at positive evaporation temperatures is very appreciable using the nanofluid as working fluid during both seasons and quite satisfactory using the water during summer and winter seasons. Overall, the proposed system has potential for further development in the solar cooling system.