Modelling and performance evaluation of a low-temperature ammonia-water absorption refrigeration system

This paper presents the simulation of a low-temperature gas-fired ammonia–water absorption chiller for refrigeration applications. The model was developed as part of a research effort to investigate microturbine-based tri-generation systems for application in the food retail industry. The absorption chiller model was developed in the TRNSYS environment by integrating the main component models in the system and will form part of an overall TRNSYS-based supermarket model. The chiller model was validated against experimental results obtained on a 12 kW absorption chiller in the laboratory. The model was subsequently used to investigate the influence of important design and operating parameters on the performance of the chiller.