Abstract:
This paper presents a study on the performance of irreversible vapour absorption refrigeration (VAR) system using finite time thermodynamic approach. The complete VAR system is considered to be consisting of two sub-systems; generator-absorber assembly and evaporator-condenser assembly. The former is assumed to be an irreversible heat engine cycle whereas the latter is assumed as an irreversible refrigeration cycle. The influence of rate of heat leak along with heat resistance and irreversibilities due to internal dissipation of the working fluid on performance of VAR system was also considered. This was accomplished by adding a heat leakage term into an irreversible model of VAR system. Overall coefficient of performance of the VAR system is optimised with respect to source/sink side heat exchanger areas using the Langrangian multiplier method. Furthermore, the effects of variations in the cycle parameters on performance deviation of the VAR system were studied using detailed numerical examples. The results from the presented study are useful for optimal design and performance improvement of absorption refrigeration cycles.