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Performance characterization of a bubble pump for vapor absorption refrigeration systems.

Author(s) : AMAN J., HENSHAW P., TING D. S. K.

Type of article: Article, IJR article

Summary

A thermally driven bubble pump has been used for an ammonia (refrigerant)–water (absorbent) vapor absorption refrigeration (VAR) system, which is known as a diffusion absorption refrigeration (DAR) system since the 1920s. However, the use of a bubble pump in a water-based refrigerant VAR system has not been reported. In a bubble pump-operated VAR system, the cycle performance as well as the bubble pump performance completely depend on the refrigerant–absorbent solution properties and the bubble pump parameters. Although a few analytical models have been developed for the performance analysis of a bubble pump-operated refrigeration cycle, the analytical model of the bubble pump itself has not been reported. In this study, a dimensional analysis was performed, considering bubble pump geometry and the solution properties, and a mathematical model was developed to represent the bubble pump performance in terms of non-dimensional numbers, which can be used in all bubble pump driven absorption refrigeration systems. The analysis revealed that the bubble pump always operates in a turbulent condition with a Reynolds number higher than 104 and a Morton number between 10-11 and 10-12. The highest efficiency of the bubble pump (79 %) is achieved at a high liquid Froude number at the beginning of the slug flow regime, when the non-dimensional pressure is low. The proposed analytical model was validated with the experimental results conducted with pure water and an LiCl-H2O solution and both results agreed within 12 %.

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Pages: 58-69

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Details

  • Original title: Performance characterization of a bubble pump for vapor absorption refrigeration systems.
  • Record ID : 30022745
  • Languages: English
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 85
  • Publication date: 2018/01
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/0.1016/j.ijrefrig.2017.09.011

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