Development of a cooling and power generation prototype integrating an axial micro-turbine in an absorption chiller

Abstract

The integration of an expander in an absorption machine allows it to produce cooling and electricity simultaneously within the same cycle. This technology holds great potential to harness low-temperature heat sources more efficiently than production with separate cycles. However, very few experimental studies on absorption combined cooling and power production cycles can be found in literature. In order to achieve an in-depth understanding of this technology and of the interactions between power and cooling production sides of the circuit, the integration of an expander into a single stage ammonia water absorption chiller was undertaken through the development of an experimental pilot plant. The peculiar characteristics of the expansion device, as well as the use of a newly developed combined desorber avoiding the presence of a rectifier make the prototype built unique. Design and integration of the expander proved to be very challenging, mainly due to the small size of the application and corrosiveness of the ammonia water mixture. Significant electricity generation losses experienced lead to maximum electrical efficiency of 7% and corresponding maximum power production around 33 W at a lower than expected rotational speed of 20′000 rpm.Despite these difficulties, first experimental measurements have been obtained, giving interesting insights on the functioning of the cycle. Indeed, the impracticability of regulating the ratio between cooling and power production was highlighted, due to the characteristics of the impulse turbine. Opening of the turbine line in the nominal point leads to a reduction of the mass flow rate passing through the cooling line of 65% (i.e., split ratio of 0.35) and a cooling power output decrease of around 57% (from 4.9 to 2.1 kW). Additionally, diverting some of the desorbed vapour to the power production line has important effects on the pressure equilibrium and circulating vapour mass flow rate, increasing from 16.1 kg/h in the simple absorption working mode to 31.1 kg/h in the combined mode in the nominal operating point. Feedback from the pilot plant will be very useful for the further development of the technology.