International Journal of Refrigeration 24 (2001) 531543

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ABSIM modular simulation of advanced absorption systems

Gershon Grossman a,*, Abdi Zaltash b
a

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel b Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Received 15 May 1999; received in revised form 3 April 2000; accepted 12 June 2000

Abstract The computer code ABSIM has been developed for simulation of absorption systems in a exible and modular form, making it possible to investigate various cycle congurations with dierent working uids. Based on a user-supplied cycle diagram, working uid specication and given operating conditions, the program calculates the temperature, owrate, concentration, pressure and vapor fraction at each state point in the system and the heat duty at each component. The modular structure of the code is based on unit subroutines containing the governing equations for the system's components. A main program calling these subroutines links the components together according to the cycle diagram. The system of equations for the entire cycle is thus established, and a mathematical solver routine is employed to solve them simultaneously. Property subroutines contained in a separate database serve to provide thermodynamic properties of the working uids. ABSIM has been employed over the past decade by many users worldwide to simulate a variety of absorption systems in dierent multi-eect congurations and working uids. The paper will describe the current capabilities of the program and recent improvements made in it. Improvements to the method of cycle specication and solution have enhanced considerably the convergence capability with large and complex cycles. Additional units and working uids have been added, resulting in much-enhanced simulation capability and applicability. A Windows version has recently been developed with an improved user-interface, which enhances user-friendliness considerably. It makes it possible to create the cycle diagram on the computer screen, supply the data interactively, observe the results superimposed on the cycle diagram and plot them. The paper describes examples of simulation results for several rather complex cycles, including lithium bromidewater double-, triple- and quadruple-eect cycles and ammoniawater GAX, branched GAX and vapor exchange (VX) cycles. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Refrigerating system; Absorption system; Conguration; Operation; Modelling; Software

mes a absorption ABSIM simulation modulaire des syste de pointe

sume Re Le code informatique ABSIM a ete developpe pour simuler les systemes a absorption sous forme exible et modulaire, permettant d'etudier diverses congurations de cycle utilisant divers uides actifs. Fonde sur un schema de cycle utilisateur, avec un uide actif specie dans des conditions de fonctionnement denies, le programme calcule la temperature, la vitesse
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972-4-829-2079; fax: +972-4-823-6964. 0140-7007/01/$20.00 # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved. PII: S0140-7007(00)00051-7

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d'ecoulement, la pression et la fraction vapeur pour chaque point d'etat du systeme et le bilan thermique pour chaque composant. La structure modulaire du code est fondee sur des sous-programmes unitaires comprenant des equations gouvernant des composants du systeme. Un programme principal englobant ces sous-programmes relie les composants selon le schema du cycle. On etablit de cette maniere le systeme d'equations pour le cycle entier, et on l'emploie an de resoudre ces equations de facon simultanee. Les sous-programmes gouvernant les proprietes sont contenus dans une base de donnees separee fournissant des proprietes thermodynamiques des uides actifs. L'ABSIM a ete utilise lors de cette derniere decennie par un grand nombre d'utilisateurs sur le plan mondial an de simuler dierents systemes a absorption dans diverses congurations a multiples eets utilisant dierents uides actifs. Cette communication decrit les capacites actuelles du programme et les ameliorations apportees recemment. Les ameliorations apportees aux specications du cycle et du uide actif ont augmente la convergence de facon marquee pour des cycles importants et complexes. On a ajoute des unites et des uides actifs, rendant la simulation beaucoup plus facile et applicable. On a recemment developpe une version Windows comportant une interface utilisateur tres amelioree, augmentant ainsi la convivialite pour l'utilisateur. Cette nouvelle version permet de creer le schema du cycle a l'ecran, de fournir des donnees de facon interactive, d'observer des resultats superimposes sur le schema du cycle et d'etablir des courbes. La communication decrit des exemples des resultats bromure de lithium-eau a double, a triple et a de simulation pour plusieurs cycles complexes, y compris des cycles a quadruple eets et pour des cycles GAX ammoniac-eau et des cycles GAX ramies et des cycles a echange de vapeur (VX). # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
me frigorique ; syste me a absorption ; conguration ; fonctionnement ; mode lisation ; logiciel Mots cles : syste

1. Introduction Development of the ABSIM (ABsorption SIMulation) program was begun in the 1980s with the objective of creating a simulation tool for evaluating absorption systems in varying cycle congurations and with dierent working uids. This period saw renewed interest in heatactuated heat pumps in general and in absorption systems in particular, as promising alternatives to electric-driven heat pumps. The potential for utilizing available heat sources low-grade heat such as solar and waste on one hand, and high temperature heat from natural gas on the other hand seemed to oer new opportunities. The absorption community has begun to search for advanced cycles in various multistage congurations, and for new working uid combinations with potential for enhanced performance and reliability. The US Department of Energy (DOE) in particular had supported this search under an Advanced Cycles/Advanced Fluids program, aimed at evaluating many promising ideas for new cycles and working uids [13]. The development of working absorption systems has created a need for reliable and eective system simulations. Several system-specic computer models had been developed [48] that have proven to be very valuable tools for research and development and for design optimization. These system-specic models were, however, limited to the particular systems for which they were created; modifying them to simulate other systems would require rewriting major parts of the code, particularly the iterative sequence, for each new cycle. As part of the eort under the DOE Program, attempts were made at comparison of the dierent candidate cycles using software employed by the chemical industry

for process simulation [9], which possesses the exibility to consider cycle variations. Experience has shown that for simulating common heat pump cycles these codes are much too powerful, and at the same time, require of the user considerable investment in time and training before being able to employ them. The extensive libraries containing many modules and working substances do not contain most of those required for absorption systems. Codes employing sequential algorithms require the user to program the sequence by which the simulator is to proceed through the cycle; this is easy to do in the open cycles most often employed in the chemical industry, but convergence problems are often encountered when dealing with closed cycles with several interconnected loops typical to multi-stage absorption systems. Equationsoriented codes do not have this problem and seem more suitable for the purpose. One such code containing a good library of working uid properties suitable for heat pumps is the Engineering Equations Solver (EES) [10]. Here the user must write the equations governing the cycle and make sure the set is well-dened. In the case of a non-linear set of equations, the user must check the results to make sure that the mathematical solution is also a physical one. In one form or another, the user has to do a fair amount of programming to lead the simulator toward convergence to the correct solution. The objective of the present work has been to develop a user-oriented, modular computer simulation code, specically designed for absorption systems in dierent cycle congurations and with dierent working uids. The usefulness of such a simulation tool has emerged during repeated attempts under absorption research programs to evaluate new ideas for absorption cycles and working substances and to compare them with

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existing ones. In developing the code, care has been taken to avoid most of the above-mentioned requirements imposed on the user in common process simulators. One particular feature of ABSIM is that the user does not have to do any programming. The complete set of governing equations is generated automatically, by drawing the cycle on the computer screen (thereby indicating to the code the components of the cycle and their interconnections), and by specifying the working uids and the operating conditions. The set of equations is solved in a manner that eliminates mathematically-valid results that are not physically valid. Earlier publications [11, 12] have described the modular approach taken to achieve this exibility without the need for the user to worry about the iterative scheme, or even see the equations. Two main limitations of the earlier versions of ABSIM have been their failure to achieve convergence for complex cycles, and the lack of a graphical interface which made the task of preparing the input and studying the output very dicult. This paper describes the current, improved version of the code with considerably extended, user-oriented simulation capability and applicability. Particular eort has been devoted to the mathematical portion of the code in order to enhance its convergence capability for large and complex cycles. A Windows graphical interface enhances user-friendliness considerably, by enabling the user to create the cycle diagram on the computer screen, supply the data interactively, observe the results superimposed on the cycle diagram and plot them. The code in its present form may be used not only for evaluating new cycles and working uids, but also to investigate a system's behavior in o-design conditions, to analyze experimental data and to perform preliminary design optimization. 2. Description of the program Fig. 1 describes schematically the structure of the ABSIM program. Based on the fact that any absorption system consists of a number of basic components (e.g. absorber, evaporator, desorber, condenser, etc.), and that each of these components can employ a multitude of working uids, the code is built upon unit subroutines and property subroutines in separate modules. Each basic component is simulated by a unit subroutine containing the physical equations required to fully describe its behavior, such as energy balance, conservation of mass for each material species, heat and mass transfer and thermodynamic equilibrium. By drawing the cycle diagram on the computer screen the user conveys to the program an ``image'' of the cycle to be simulated: the number and types of units contained in it and their interconnections. Data entered species each unit's properties such as transfer characteristics, where applicable, and the working uid at each state point in

Fig. 1. Structure of the computer code. Fig. 1. Structure du code informatique.

the system. The input must also specify the operating conditions the values of the parameters set xed by the user, e.g. temperatures, owrates, etc. at specic state points. The main program interprets the input and creates a variable vector containing all the independent unknown quantities. It then calls the unit subroutines, thereby linking the components and establishing the system's governing equations. Each unit subroutine, when activated, calls upon the property subroutines, contained in the property database, for thermodynamic properties of the working uids. This separation between the unit subroutines and property subroutines provides the exibility for each unit to operate with different working uids. All the equations and variables are normalized and brought to the same order of magnitude. The solver is then activated, and the values of the unknowns calculated to a user-specied accuracy. Recognizing that the set of non-linear equations may have more than one mathematical solution, the physical validity of the solution is ensured by applying constraints on the variables. The output contains the temperature, enthalpy, owrate, concentration, pressure and vapor fraction at each of the cycle's state points as well as the heat duty and transfer characteristics of each unit. From these quantities, other performance data such as COP and capacity may be calculated. Unlike in most process simulators and owsheeting programs employed by the chemical industry, the ABSIM user does not have to do any programming. It was decided at an early stage of the code development to eliminate the need for the user to write parts of the code specic to his cycle, in the form of external subroutines or otherwise, as is often done in sequential owsheeting simulators. The main reason is that in closed cycles containing nested loops, dening a stable sequence of

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iteration can constitute a major diculty for the user. Furthermore, since all the governing equations are solved simultaneously the user does not have to specify an iterative sequence by which the program is to proceed through his cycle, which eliminates the need to worry about the order of the variables and parameters. To prepare an input, the user rst draws the cycle diagram on the computer screen using the graphical interface, in terms of the basic 12 units available in the code (Fig. 1). The units and state points are numbered automatically, in an arbitrary order which may be changed at the user's option. Input data is then entered by the user as prompted for, consisting of the following three parts: 1. Global parameters containing a user-supplied problem title, scaling parameters for normalization, limits on the number of iterations and convergence criteria. Default options are available for all the above. Input and output may be either in SI or in British units. 2. Unit parameters showing the characteristics of the units composing the cycle, as applicable, e.g. heat transfer characteristics of a condenser, pressure dierence/owrate characteristic of a valve, isentropic eciency of a compressor, and the like. Heat transfer characteristics of a unit may be specied by one of six methods: The user can supply either the UA (overall heat transfer coecient times area), or the NTU (number of transfer units), or the EFF (eectiveness), or the CAT (closest approach temperature) or the LMTD (logarithmic mean temperature dierence), or the heat duty. Mass transfer characteristics are not as simple to specify; hence, the mass transfer resistance of a unit is specied by a temperature deviation from equilibrium at the outlet streams. 3. State point data showing for each of the state points in the cycle the working uid in it, and ve pairs of numbers for the temperature, owrate, concentration, vapor pressure and vapor fraction in that state point. Each pair of numbers consists of an integer index and a real value. The former can be either zero or non-zero, indicating a xed or variable quantity, respectively. The latter gives a xed value or an initial guess for the quantity in question. Fig. 1 lists the 12 units available in the code. A description of these units and their governing equations is given in detail in the user's manual, and was given in a shorter form by Grossman and Wilk [12]. The units, with their identity code given in parentheses, are: Absorber (1), Desorber (2), Heat Exchanger (3), Condenser (4), Evaporator (5), Valve (6), Mixer (7), Splitter (8), Rectier (9), Analyzer (10), Compressor (11) and

Pump (12). Each of the units has several versions, differing from each other by geometry, location of inlet and outlet streams, co-ow vs. counter-ow, etc. Experience has shown these twelve units to be sucient to create most absorption cycles of interest. The governing equations apply to each unit as a whole and are formed from some or all of the following physical laws: Conservation of total mass; conservation of mass for each material species (absorbentabsorbate); energy balance; heat transfer; vaporliquid equilibrium; mass transfer. From the above equations for each unit, a set of non-linear equations is formed for the entire system which must be solved simultaneously. The thermodynamic properties of working uids have been incorporated in the code in the form of a property database external to the unit subroutines. This was done to allow dierent parts of a system to operate with different working uids, thereby enhancing modularity and exibility. Under this approach, each unit subroutine calls the property database several times and retrieves from it the properties required by its various equations. Also, the working uid may vary from one state point to another, as specied by the user. The property database presently contains the following working uids: Fluid code 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Working uid(s) LiBrH2O solution H2ONH3 solution and vapor H2O liquid and vapor (60%LiBr/40%H2O)NH3 solution (28%LiBr/72%ZnBr2)CH3OH solution CH3OH liquid and vapor (53%LiNO3/28%KNO3/19% NaNO3)H2O solution NaOHH2O solution LiClH2O solution Moist air Flue gas (from CH4, air) Data source [13] [13] [13] [14] [1] [1] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

The process by which the physical behavior of the absorption system to be simulated is translated by the code into governing equations, has been described above. The equations are expressed in the form of functions whose residuals must be reduced by the solver to zero, or, in practice, to a value below a user-specied tolerance. Some of the equations are highly non-linear, and the set therefore can have more than one mathematical solution. In order to ensure the physical solution regardless of the starting point, constraints were introduced into the program. The constraints are of inequality type, and are generated by the unit subroutines when called, in much the same way as the equations. Each

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unit has its own constraints, assuring, for example, that the heat ow is from a hot to a cold stream and not vice versa. Also, the code often generates redundant equations due to multiple mass balances from dierent units within a closed loop. In order to solve, it is therefore necessary (1) to identify redundant equations and condition the set to have an equal number of equations and unknowns, (2) apply constraints and dene the feasible region for the physically valid solution, and (3) apply algorithms for solving the constrained set of equations. The technique of solution has been the bottle-neck in earlier versions of the code [11]. With complex cycles generating large sets of equations, the solver was unable to handle the task and achieve convergence, particularly with systems employing working uids with highly nonlinear properties, such as ammoniawater. A great deal of attention has since been devoted to the mathematical part of the code, which was enhanced considerably. The improved algorithm of solution has been described in detail by Grossman and Wilk [12]. This algorithm was applied to the solution of often highly nonlinear sets of equations, resulting from dierent types of absorption cycles, involving over 100 equations. Results of calculations show fast and reliable convergence to the solution. A graphical user-interface operating under MS-Windows has recently been added to the code, which enhances user-friendliness considerably. Early versions of ABSIM had required the user to draw the cycle diagram on a sheet of paper and type an input le into the computer in tabular form; the results of the calculations were obtained in an output le, also in tabular form, and had to be copied manually onto the cycle diagram. While running the program in this manual form is still an available feature, the graphical interface presently available makes most of the tasks considerably easier. It enables the user to draw the cycle diagram on the computer screen, enter the input data interactively, run the program and view the results either in the form of a table or superimposed on the cycle diagram. Special utilities enable the user to plot the results and to produce a P-T-X diagram of the cycle. Fig. 2 is a screen view of ABSIM, displaying a sample problem a cycle diagram of a single-eect LiBr-water chiller that had been drawn in the white area of the screen and properly specied. Results of calculations are displayed, superimposed on the cycle diagram: in this example- the temperatures at the various state points of the system. The menu bar shows several entries, each comprising several sub-entries in their respective pulldown menus. The Tool Box shown to the right of the screen contains several devices to assist the user in drawing or modifying the drawing of a cycle diagram. It enables the user to move units and text in the cycle, zoom in and out, rotate units and text, align and ip units, erase units and text, connect and disconnect units.

The main menu includes the following entries:

. File enables the user to manipulate ABSIM les: Open an existing cycle, create a new cycle, run the simulation program after the cycle had been drawn and specied, save the current le and print the cycle diagram. The diagram may be printed with or without the parameter values superimposed on it, depending on the way it is displayed on the screen at the time PRINT is selected. . Add enables the user, while drawing the cycle on the computer screen, to add one of 12 units (Fig. 1), in their respective versions, to the current cycle diagram. . Data enables the user to specify the characteristic parameters of a cycle (drawn earlier using Add and the Tool Box), such as the heat and mass transfer characteristics of exchange units, the working uid(s) at each state point and the given temperatures, owrates etc. xed at certain state points. The data parameters belong to three basic groups as described above. Additional options enable the user to skip the data input process by supplying a data le in tabular form, compatible with the cycle diagram; and to improve the initial guess for the cycle, by using the results of a successful calculation as a starting point for the next calculation. . Results enables the user to view the results of the calculations superimposed on the cycle diagram. When selecting the proper entry from the Results menu, the program displays the temperature, owrate, concentration, pressure or vapor fraction at each state point in the cycle on the respective streams in the diagram; or the UA (overall heat transfer coecient times area), NTU (number of transfer units), EFF (heat transfer eectiveness), CAT (closest approach temperature), LMTD (logarithmic mean temperature dierence) or heat duty in each unit in the cycle. Global results including the COP (coecient of performance) and capacity may also be displayed, as well as a P-T-X diagram of the cycle, based on the calculated results. . Plot enables the user to plot certain calculated parameters vs. others. Typically, after completing a simulation run at a particular set of input conditions, the user may want to observe the inuence of varying one parameter on the behavior of another. The graphical interface allows the user to specify the desired plot, display it on the screen and print it. . Renumber enables the user to change the number assigned by the code to a unit or to a state point. . Utilities enables the user to shape the cycle diagram, change text size and form. . Help provides general instructions on ABSIM.

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Fig. 2. Screen view of the ABSIM program. l'e cran. Fig. 2. Le programme ABSIM tel qu'il s'ache a

The ABSIM code has been employed over the past decade by many users worldwide to simulate a wide variety of absorption systems in dierent multi-eect congurations and working uids. The following chapter describes some of these cycles along with the results. 3. Simulation results Earlier versions of the ABSIM code have been employed to simulate over 50 various cycles of interest with the working uids LiBrH2O, H2ONH3, LiBr H2ONH3 and LiBr/ZnBr2CH3OH. These cycles included single-eect, double eect and dual loop chillers, heat pumps and heat transformers in various congurations. Some results for typical cases showing design point performance have been described by Grossman et al. [11]. Studies of absorption cycles conducted by others using the earlier versions of ABSIM have been described by Garimella et al. [20, 21]. This chapter aims at describing simulation results of some of the more complex cycles, achieved with the code in its present version including the above-mentioned enhancements. Due to the wide variety of cycles simulated, a detailed discussion of all the results is outside the scope of this paper. It is therefore attempted to give a general overview with the most essential results. For the purpose of this discussion, the

cycles have been divided into two groups according to the two working uids combinations of most practical interest: lithium bromidewater and waterammonia. 3.1. LiBrwater cycles An early version of the code has been employed to conduct a detailed parametric study to investigate the performance of various cycles using lithium bromide water [22]. Complete performance maps under varying operating conditions have been generated for systems in single-stage and several double-stage congurations, in series and in parallel connection. Using a more advanced version of ABSIM [12], this study has been extended to triple-eect systems in several congurations [23]. Among those were the Double Condenser Coupled (DCC) cycle which recovers heat from the hot condensate leaving the high temperature condensers and adds it to the lower temperature desorbers; and the dual loop cycle comprising two complete single-eect loops, recovering heat from the condenser and absorber of one loop to the desorber of the other loop and generating a cooling eect in the evaporators of both loops. The present version of the code made it possible to simulate cycles with a degree of complexity never attempted before. The LiBrH2O studies of single-, double- and triple-eect systems have been extended to quadruple-eect cycles.

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Fig. 3 describes schematically a four-eect lithium bromidewater chiller, formed as an extension of the corresponding double-eect cycle [22], or of the threecondenserthree-desorber (3C3D) triple-eect cycle [23]. The system comprises an evaporator, an absorber, and three pairs of desorbers/condensers coupled together for internal heat recovery. The system has 27 components or

sub-units and 62 state points. Absorber (1) and condenser (5) are externally cooled; desorber (27) is externally heated. Chilled water is produced in evaporator (2). Heat rejected from condenser (13) powers desorber (7), heat from condenser (20) powers desorber (14) and heat from condenser (22) powers desorber (19). The coupling between each condenserdesorber pair is through a

Fig. 3. Schematic description of 4-eect LiBr/Water absorption cycle. ma de crivant le cycle a absorption a quadruple eet LiBr/eau. Fig. 3. Sche

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circulating heat transfer uid loop, as shown, but may also be achieved by physically combining the two components, such that the refrigerant condensing on one side of a heat exchange surface would heat up the solution desorbing on the other side of that surface. The absorbent solution is in parallel ow, where the weak (weak in LiBr concentration) solution from the absorber is split and divided among the four desorbers. According to simulation results of double-eect [22] and triple-eect cycles [23], the parallel ow arrangement is superior in performance to the series ow in terms of increased COP and a lower risk of crystallization. The condensate leaving the condensers (13), (20) and (22) is mixed with the superheated vapor leaving the desorbers (7), (14) and (19), respectively, before proceeding from each to the next lower-temperature condenser. This method, known as Double-Condenser Coupling (DCC) [24] helps subcool each condensate stream and reject the heat to a corresponding desorber. It was shown in an earlier study of triple-eect cycles [23], that the main eect of this heat recuperation is in providing extra cooling capacity to the evaporator through the now subcooled refrigerant, at no additional expenditure of high grade heat. Due to the limited space in this paper, corresponding diagrams for single-, double- and triple-eect cycles cannot be provided. Instead, the reader is referred to Fig. 3 to picture these cycles as follows: the three-eect cycle is the same as the four-eect depicted, with units 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 eliminated. The two-eect cycle is the same as the three-eect, with units 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 eliminated. The one-eect cycle is the same as the two-eect, with units 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 eliminated. The simulation methodology for the four-eect cycle has followed an approach taken in the earlier studies of single-, double- and triple-eect cycles [22, 23]. Since the performance of each system depends on many parameters, the approach has been to establish a design point for the system, and vary the relevant parameters around it. In particular, a performance map of COP as a function of desorber heat supply temperature was generated for each system. Thus, the performance of systems in double and triple stages could be compared not only at a single point but over the entire temperature domain applicable to the cycle. The system's performance under a given set of operating conditions depends, of course, on its design characteristics and particularly on the size of the heat transfer surfaces in its exchange units. As a reference case, a practical system was considered with economically reasonable, if not optimized, heat transfer areas. In the earlier study of simpler systems [22] a single-eect solar-powered lithium bromidewater chiller known as SAM-15 [25] was selected as a reference case. SAM-15 had been tested extensively, and its basic units, specied in terms of their UA, were employed to form the double-stage systems.

The extension of this study to triple-eect systems [23] has employed the same approach. Here, a four-eect lithium bromide-water chiller has been created according to Fig. 3, with SAM-15 size of the evaporator, absorber, condensers, desorbers and recuperative heat exchangers, and with SAM-15 ows of the external uids. Selecting the reference case in this manner made it possible to use the results of the present simulation for comparison with those of the simpler, double- and triple-eect cycles [22, 23], on an equivalent basis. To generate the operating curves of the four-eect system, the solution outlet temperature from the externally heated desorber (27) (state point 54) was varied while all the other design parameters were kept constant. For the exchange units, it was assumed that the values of the UAs remain constant while the temperatures and all the other unspecied parameters change. In reality, this is not strictly accurate; although the heat transfer areas (A) remain constant, the heat transfer coecients (U) vary somewhat with the temperatures as well as with the loading conditions. However, this variation is relatively small in most cases and the assumption of constant UA is a reasonably good approximation for LiBrwater systems (not so for ammoniawater systems, because of their highly non-linear temperatureenthalpy relation). Better fundamental understanding of the combined heat and mass transfer process in absorption and desorption would allow taking the variation of UA with temperature into consideration. Fig. 4 describes the COP of the four-eect cycle as a function of the heat supply temperature to the externally heated desorber (27), for a xed cooling water temperature and chilled water outlet temperature. The weak solution split among the four desorbers remains even. COP curves for the equivalent double- and triple-eect, DCC parallel-ow systems with SAM-15 size components are plotted along for comparison. It is evident that all systems exhibit the same typical, qualitative behavior, with the COP increasing sharply from zero at some minimum temperature, then leveling o to some constant value at a higher temperature and even decreasing slightly with further increase in temperature. The reason for this behavior is well understood and has been explained in detail in [22]. The four-eect system has a COP higher than the double- and triple-eect cycles but requires a higher minimum heat supply temperature in order to begin operating. Fig. 4 indicates that the double-eect system performs best at the heat supply temperature range of 150175 C (300350 F). Above that, from the COP point of view, it is benecial to switch to the tripleeect system, which performs best at the heat supply temperature range of 200230 C (400450 F). With a still higher heat supply temperature, a four-eect system is more desirable. It should be noted that the four-eect cycle described in Fig. 3 is only one of several possible congurations.

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Further details on LiBrwater four-eect cycles are given in the publication by Grossman et al. [26]. 3.2. Ammoniawater cycles Cycles employing ammoniawater have been recognized as promising candidates for residential and light commercial gas-red heat pumps. These cycles are particularly suitable for this application because they can provide the functions of both winter heating and summer cooling in a compact size, with air or hydronic external heat sources/sinks. Several cycles have been considered for this purpose, ranging from the simplest single-eect to the GAX (Generator-Absorber heat eXchange) with its dierent variations. The more advanced cycles, involving greater degree of internal heat recovery, can perform at better year-round COP's than currently available by various alternatives. The ammoniawater working uids constitute an attractive alternative to ozone-depleting CFC's employed in conventional vapor compression heat pumps. Detailed cycle calculations of ammoniawater systems can be rather dicult, particularly in complex cycles such as the GAX. One of the main reasons for this is the large number of governing equations that must be satised simultaneously, and another is the

Fig. 4. COP for double-eect, triple-eect, and quadrupleeect DCC parallel ow LiBrwater systems as function of heat supply temperature at 29.4 C (85 F) cooling water and 7.2 C (45 F) chilled water temperatures. mes a LiBr/eau a double condenseur a Fig. 4. COP pour des syste triple eet et a quadruple eet avec e coulement double eet, a le en fonction de la tempe rature de la chaleur fournie pour paralle rature d'eau de refroidissement de 29,4 C (85 F) et une tempe rature d'eau refroidie de 7,2 C (45 F). une tempe

highly non-linear behavior of the ammoniawater uid pair. Also, the UA-LMTD relation must be employed carefully, as it may often lead to large errors due to the highly non-linear temperatureenthalpy relation of the ammoniawater pair [27]. This may be the reason why relatively few simulation studies have been published todate, which give more than design point performance [13]. The enhancements in the current version of ABSIM have made it possible to simulate a variety of ammoniawater heat pump cycles, with operating conditions and dierent design parameters varied over a wide range to compare their performance. One of the main absorption programs currently in the USA concerns the development of a residential heat pump based on the GAX cycle. Based on an idea rst proposed by Altenkirch in 1913, the partial temperature overlap between the generator (desorber) and the absorber is utilized to recover some heat from the hot part of the latter to the cold part of the former. Fig. 5 describes one of the proposed congurations [2] of the basic GAX system comprising 15 components or subunits and 41 state points. The absorber and desorber are each split into three units: absorber (analyser) 4 is externally cooled, absorber (analyser) 5 is solution cooled, and absorber 6 is GAX cooled. Similarly, desorber 7 is externally heated by primary energy (e.g. gasred), desorber (analyser) 10 is solution heated, and desorber (analyser) 11 is GAX-heated. Hot weak liquid solution (weak in ammonia) from unit 7 ows (state point 29) to the solution-heated generator (unit 10), where it cools down and heats the desorbing solution in unit 10. The cooler weak solution (state point 21) then ows to the GAX component of the absorber (unit 6) and absorbs refrigerant vapor which ows countercurrent to the solution. The heat of absorption is used to desorb vapor from the solution in the GAX component of the generator (unit 11). An external liquid loop, state points 22 and 23, employing water as the heat transfer uid, transfers this heat of absorption between the GAX absorber (unit 6) and desorber (unit 11). The solution from the bottom of unit 6 (state point 17) ows into the solution-cooled absorber (unit 5) which continues to absorb vapor. Finally, the solution from the bottom of unit 5 (state point 12) ows into the externally-cooled absorber (unit 4). The pressure of the rich liquid (rich in ammonia) is increased as it is pumped from the bottom of unit 4 through the solution-cooled absorber (unit 5). The vapor at state point 33 enters the rectier (unit 9) and is distilled to state point 30, with the reux at state point 36 mixed with the rich liquid in a mixer (unit 12) before entering the generator. Rectier (9) is used to strip the majority of the water out of the vapor generated in the desorber. The vapor stream is distilled by the rectier (9) to a highly pure concentration of approximately 99.6% ammonia (by weight). The rectied vapor condenses in a condenser (unit 8) and the con-

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densate at state point 8 is subcooled to state point 9 in the precooler (refrigerant heat exchanger) before expanding through valve 14 into the evaporator. The evaporator is simulated as the combination of desorber 1 and mixer 13 to allow for incomplete evaporation of the refrigerant leaving at state point 6. The streams 5 and 2 represent the liquid and vapor, respectively, leaving the evaporator. The precooler is also simulated as the combination of desorber 2 and mixer 3 for the same reasons. The precooler causes part or all of the liquid that remains in the refrigerant stream 6 to evaporate (state point 11). This stream enters the absorber, completing the cycle. A detailed investigation of the GAX cycle according to the Phillips [2] conguration has been conducted by Grossman et al. [27], using ABSIM. Performance under both heating and cooling modes has been studied under a wide range of operating conditions. Numerous other

Fig. 5. Schematic description of the GAX cycle according to the conguration proposed by Phillips [2]. ma du cycle GAX selon la conguration propose e par Fig. 5. Sche Phillips [2].

hardware variations are feasible in the basic GAX cycle. The main variations result from the choice of indirect or direct heat transfer and ow splitting of ammonia/water solution and refrigerant in the cycle. One variation of particular interest employs direct contact heat transfer between the GAX absorber and desorber, eliminating the loop 2223 in Fig. 5 [3]. The GAX is one of the more complex of ammonia water cycles for gas-red heat pump applications, and one would naturally like to know how it compares to other cycle candidates. In a comprehensive investigation using ABSIM [28], the following cycles were investigated: (1) A basic single-eect cycle (BSEC) comprising an evaporator, absorber, desorber and condenser, a rectier, recuperative heat exchanger, circulation pump and expansion valve. (2) The same cycle as BSEC with the addition of a precooler (sometimes known as suction-line heat exchanger). This cycle will be referred to as SECP. (3) The same cycle as SECP with the addition of two solution heat recoveries, one in the absorber and one in the desorber, which employ the solution leaving the unit to cool and heat it, respectively, for increased eciency. This cycle is referred to as AHE (Absorber Heat Exchange). Two variations of this cycle were investigated: with and without the recuperative liquid heat exchanger between the weak and strong solutions. (4) The same cycle as AHE with additional heat exchange between the desorber and the absorber, when a temperature overlap between the two permits it; this cycle is the GAX. Due to the limited space in this paper, individual diagrams for each of these cycles cannot be provided. Instead, the reader is referred to Fig. 5 to picture the cycles as follows: the GAX cycle is the one depicted in the gure; the AHE cycle is the same, with units 6 and 11 (and the heat transfer loop between them) eliminated; the SECP is the same as the AHE with units 5 and 10 eliminated; the BSCE is the same as the SEPC with units 2 and 3 eliminated. Fig. 6 describes some typical results of the simulation the cooling COP of the various cycles under consideration as a function of the heat rejection temperature. The COP is dened here as the ratio of heat duties between the evaporator (1) and the externally heated desorber (7). The heat rejection temperature was varied over the range from 32 to 57 C (90 to 135 F) which represents a wide range of ambient temperatures under cooling conditions. Temperatures beyond that range on either side have led to non-convergence due to a physically invalid condition: At temperatures below 32 C (89 F) the ammonia content in the strong solution vanishes, while at temperatures higher than 57 C (135 F) the low and high solution concentrations become too close to each other. It is evident from Fig. 6 that the COP for all cycles decreases with increasing ambient temperature, as expected, and the decrease is almost linear. The gure clearly demonstrates the better

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performance of the more complex cycles with the higher degree of internal heat recuperation. However, with the increase in the heat rejection temperature the width of the solution eld decreases, and the potential for internal heat recovery gradually diminishes. In the AHE cycle, when absorber (and desorber) heat exchange is no longer eective, it is worth while adding a liquid heat exchanger between the weak and strong solution streams. In the GAX cycle, the temperature overlap between the absorber and desorber, making generatorabsorber heat exchange possible, vanishes at temperatures above 55 C (131 F). As evident, at this point the COP of GAX coincides with that of AHE. Two curves are shown for the GAX cycle with dierent owrates in the GAX heat transfer loop. The design value of 0.068 kg/s (9.0 lb/min) (solid curve) had not been optimized; in conducting the simulation it was found that a lower owrate of 0.057 kg/s (7.5 lb/min) (dashed curve) yields better results. This had been demonstrated in an earlier simulation study of the Phillips GAX cycle [27] and has to do with controlling the temperature pinch between

Fig. 6. Cooling COP as a function of the heat rejection temperature for various simulated cycles: basic single-eect cycle (BSEC); single-eect cycle with precooler (SECP); absorber (and desorber) heat exchange cycle (AHE); AHE with solution heat exchanger; and GAX cycle with two dierent owrates in the GAX heat transfer loop. rature de Fig. 6. COP de refroidissement en fonction de la tempe s : cycle simple a simple refoulement pour plusieurs cycles simule simple eet a pre refroidisseur (SECP) ; eet (BSEC) ; cycle a change de chaleur avec pre refroidisseur (SECP) ; cycle cycle d'e e change de chaleur avec absorbeur et de sorbeur (AHE) ; le a changeur de chaleur ; cycle GAX pour deux cycle AHE avec e coulements dans la boucle de transfert de chaleur GAX. e

the uid streams participating in the generatorabsorber heat exchange. The absorbergenerator heat exchange employed in the GAX cycle may be enhanced by correcting an inherent mismatch between the heat quantity that the absorber can deliver and that which the desorber can accept, the mismatch stemming from the widely dierent owrates of solution in these two components. By branching o some of the solution leaving the GAX absorber and recirculating it to some intermediate point in the desorber, the total solution owrate through the former is increased and a better match of GAX heat duty is obtained [29]. This improvement to the basic GAX cycle may be achieved at the cost of one additional pump for recirculation and a control to determine the quantity recirculated. The branched-GAX cycle, with four dierent types of branching, has been simulated using ABSIM [28] and showed a signicant improvement with properly selected points of split-o and re-mix of the extracted stream. Another ammoniawater cycle of interest is the vapor exchange (VX) cycle, illustrated schematically in Fig. 7. This cycle works at three pressure levels. Two circuits each comprising a desorber, absorber, regenerative heat exchanger, pump, and expansion device are used. Heat is supplied to both desorbers at the same temperature. The vapor generated in the intermediate pressure (IP) desorber is fed to the absorber where it is absorbed by the weak solution (weak in ammonia) coming from the high-pressure (HP) desorber. The resulting strong solution (rich in ammonia) is pumped via the regenerative heat exchanger to the HP desorber. The vapor generated in the HP desorber goes to the condenser where it releases its heat. The liquid refrigerant is then expanded to the low pressure in an expansion valve and then vaporizes in the evaporator. The refrigerant vapor is heated in the refrigerant heat exchanger (precooler) and then ows to the low-pressure (LP) absorber where it is absorbed by the weak solution coming from the IP desorber. The strong solution, after being pumped and heated, returns to the IP desorber, completing the cycle. Since the generators are at two dierent pressure levels but at the same temperature, the vapor generated at the IP desorber will be weaker in refrigerant (ammonia) as compared to that generated in the HP desorber. As a result, water from the LP solution circuit is transferred to the HP solution circuit. This shifts the average solution concentrations in the low- and high-pressure solution circuits closer together. One way to achieve the water balance in the system is to add a rectier to the LP solution circuit as illustrated in Fig. 7. Fig. 8 describes the COP of a typical VX refrigeration cycle simulated with ABSIM in comparison to an equivalent single-eect cycle. The COP is plotted as a function of the hot solution outlet temperature from the externally heated desorber (12) at two evaporator tem-

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Fig. 8. COP for VX and single-eect ammoniawater systems as a function of heat supply temperature, for two evaporation temperatures: 6.66 C (20 F) and 12.22 C (10 F). me VX pour des syste mes ammoniaceau a Fig. 8. COP du syste rature de la chaleur fournie, simple eet en fonction de la tempe ratures d'e vaporation : 6,66 C (20 F) et pour deux tempe 12,22 C (10 F).

320 F). The VX technology has been demonstrated in Alaska [30] in a 15-ton unit using waste heat to produce the 18 C (0 F) necessary for making ake ice. 4. Conclusion The ABSIM code developed for exible simulation of absorption systems has made it possible to investigate a wide variety of cycle congurations with dierent working uids. Unlike in most process simulators and owsheeting programs, the ABSIM user is not required to do any programming, nor specify the iterative scheme or check the code-generated equations. The improvements made in the present version of the code have enhanced signicantly its convergence capability and its user-friendliness, in comparison to earlier versions. The code was used successfully for simulation of various new absorption cycles, including rather complex ones: double-, triple- and quadruple-eect LiBr/water chiller cycles in several congurations and ammonia-water heat pump cycles including single-eect, AHE, GAX, branchedGAX and VX in dierent variations. The mathematical model for some of the more complex cycles produces close to 100 equations and around 50 constraints. The solver copes successfully with such rather large problems. Results of the calculations have shown the code in its present version to be a very useful tool for performing

Fig. 7. Schematic description of vapor-exchange (VX) ammoniawater refrigeration cycle. ma du cycle frigorique ammoniaceau a e change de Fig. 7. Sche vapeur (VX).

peratures of 12.22 C (10 F) and 6.66 C (20 F). It is evident that all systems exhibit the same typical, qualitative behavior, with the COP increasing sharply from zero at some minimum temperature, then leveling o at the higher temperatures. The single-eect system has a COP higher than the VX cycle but requires a higher minimum heat supply temperature in order to begin operating. Fig. 8 indicates that the VX system performs best at the lower heat supply temperature range, making it possible, for example, to utilize low-grade heat as a source of power. From the COP point of view, it is benecial to switch to the single-eect system at the higher heat supply temperatures (143160 C or 290

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cycle evaluations, testing control strategies and preliminary design optimization. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Oce of Building Technologies, State and Community Program (BTS), US Department of Energy, Washington DC, and particularly Mr. R.J. Fiskum, for supporting this work. The project was conducted under subcontract number 86X-SY123V with Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.

References
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