Design and Test of a 4m³ Solar Refrigerator
Abstract
A solar thermal adsorption refrigerator has been built and tested under US DoD contract W911QY07-0073. Previous research at the University of Warwick on a mobile air conditioning system has resulted in a patented concept for a highly compact solid sorption reactor. In the work reported here we apply the technology to solar powered refrigeration using the active carbon – ammonia pair destined for food preservation (0-5qC) in remote areas such as desert. The activated carbon used in this application was developed by ATMI that has a thermal conductivity of 1.3 W/m.K leading to an overall bed UA value of 133 W/K is used. The commissioning test using electrical heating to simulate the solar input shows that the ice bank fins are cooled down to 0qC within 6 hours. In a preliminary field test in Tucson (Arizona) with good conditions (clear sky with 770 W/m2 measured solar radiation) the machine produced a cooling power within the range of 0.5 kW.