Evaluation of a small capacity, hot water driven, air-cooled H2O-LiBr absorption machine

A prototype of an air-cooled absorption chiller of about 2 kW for air conditioning using H2O-LiBr has been developed. The unit has been, conceived as a laboratory experimental test device with removable components to facilitate modifications of the initial design. Several tests have been carried out under different conditions. The experimental results have been compared with the theoretical ones based on global mass and energy balances over the different components of the system. Detailed simulation models for each heat exchanger have been developed and implemented in the numerical codes to calculate the overall heat transfer coefficients and subcooling values for the whole system simulation. The conclusions reported will lead to future design revisions and improvements to achieve better performance and reliability.