Thermodynamic analysis of a Rankine cycle powered vapor compression ice maker using solar energy.

Bing Hu,Xianbiao Bu,Weibin Ma

doi:10.1155/2014/742606

Abstract

To develop the organic Rankine-vapor compression ice maker driven by solar energy, a thermodynamic model was developed and the effects of generation temperature, condensation temperature, and working fluid types on the system performance were analyzed. The results show that the cooling power per square meter collector and ice production per square meter collector per day depend largely on generation temperature and condensation temperature and they increase firstly and then decrease with increasing generation temperature. For every working fluid there is an optimal generation temperature at which organic Rankine efficiency achieves the maximum value. The cooling power per square meter collector and ice production per square meter collector per day are, respectively, 126.44 W m−2 and 7.61 kg m−2 day−1 at the generation temperature of 140°C for working fluid of R245fa, which demonstrates the feasibility of organic Rankine cycle powered vapor compression ice maker.

Highlights

In recent years, there is an increasing need for cooling due to global warming, so, the energy consumption used for cooling has increased drastically [1, 2]
There are many different ways to convert solar energy into cooling processes [6,7,8,9]; these are by the use of the absorption/adsorption refrigeration cycle and the organic Rankine cycle/vapor compression cycle (ORC/VCC) [10,11,12]
The programmable logic controller and frequency converter are suggested to be adopted in practical use and the optimal Tboi can automatically be calculated by collecting solar radiation, condensation temperature, and evaporation temperature and the mass flow rate of working fluid for ORC can automatically be adjusted by the frequency converter, working fluid pump, and programmable logic controller so that the solar ice maker is in the optimal operation state

Summary

Introduction

There is an increasing need for cooling due to global warming, so, the energy consumption used for cooling has increased drastically [1, 2]. Solar powered ice makers or refrigerators have been reported by a lot of researchers [3,4,5] Among these researches, there are many different ways to convert solar energy into cooling processes [6,7,8,9]; these are by the use of the absorption/adsorption refrigeration cycle and the organic Rankine cycle/vapor compression cycle (ORC/VCC) [10,11,12]. To improve the COP of an ORC/VCC for ice making driven by solar energy, the parabolic trough collectors with higher temperature are selected to provide energy to heat and vaporize a working fluid, and a stationary modeling is developed in order to demonstrate the feasibility of such a cooling process

System Design

Discussions

Conclusions