Experimental evaluation of single stage ejector-absorption cooling cycle under different design configurations

Experimental performance of a solar assisted single stage absorption cooling system with three different design configurations operating on ammonia-water have been conducted. The system was developed and tested under the tropical climate conditions of Malaysia. The prototype cooling capacity was between 3 and 5 kW with 40 evacuated tube collectors sloped at 14^° and orientated towards the south. The experimental unit has been designed to operate using three different configurations namely (a) single stage absorption cycle with single ejector (b) single stage absorption cycle with single ejector and flash tank, and (c) single stage absorption cycle with dual ejectors and flash tank. Results indicated that the dual ejectors configuration with flash tank has lower generator thermal loads and higher cooling effect compared to the other two configurations. The solar absorption system with dual ejectors and flash tank has the highest thermal COP between 0.2338 and 0.465. The COP for the basic configuration and single ejector were between 0.127–0.282 and 0.17–0.362 respectively. The theoretical model for the dual ejector flash tank cycle was validated by experimental results.