Modified Operating Parameter-Based Iyer Correlation for the Coefficient of Performance (COP) Prediction of Different Fluid Pairs in Double-Effect Vapor Absorption Refrigeration (VAR) Cycles

Vapor absorption refrigeration (VAR) is a sustainable alternative to the conventional vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) cycle, owing to its lower non-renewable energy requirements and potentially for exploitation of renewable energy sources. Traditionally, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the conventional single effect VAR cycle is considerably lower than VCR cycles. This provides room for improvement which can be attained through double effect VAR cycles that provide relatively higher performance. The COP of the dual effect VAR cycle is enhanced due to the waste/rejected heat energy utilization from the condenser or the absorber into a secondary generator. Models that correlate the COP of the double effect VAR cycle with operating parameters are not available in the open literature, with Iyer’s correlation being the only exception. This work applies this COP correlation using literature data for double effect VAR that operate with a variety of refrigerant and absorbent pairs. A comprehensive Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) analysis is performed for more than 2028 data points of various fluid pairs. Results reveal that MAPE (86.6–839%) values appear to be quite high for the reported correlation. Furthermore, the model is optimized using the proposed data set, considerably reducing the MAPE up to 36.03%. The results also indicate that due to the lack of fluid-specific parameters, the application of this correlation may not support the development of new double effect VAR cycles. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a performance-based correlation that considers both operational parameters and fluid parameters to assess the performance of new and efficient dual effect VAR cycles.

Attenuation and Dispersion on Terahertz Wireless Channels in Falling Rain

Investigations on wireless channel performance in adverse weathers could be helpful and important for the future applications of terahertz communication technique in outdoor scenarios. However, in most cases only amplitude performance has been studied by using a broadband-pulsed terahertz source or an amplitude modulated data stream, not including phase degradation (temporal dispersion). This limitation may mask important aspects of channel performance with phase modulation schemes, especially for wide bandwidth signals. In this work, we report the amplitude and phase characterizations of a terahertz channel in falling rain by a time-domain spectrometer system. We also demonstrate error rate performance by a 16 quadrature amplitude modulated (16-QAM) terahertz signal at a data rate of 5 gigabits per second. We observe that, besides strong water vapor absorption, the weak water absorption line could also lead to obvious dispersion effects. Our work highlights the importance of new frequency band boundaries for minimum temporal dispersion and optimized digital communications in the terahertz frequency range.

Energy Saving Assessment of Triple-Hybrid Vapor Absorption Building Cooling System Under Hot-Dry Climate

Thermally driven vapor absorption-based air-conditioning systems possess many advantages over the compression based systems. However, intermittent availability of input resources affects the operation of these absorption systems which causes discontinuous working. This study aims at examining the electrical and thermodynamic performance of a triple-hybrid vapor absorption-assisted air-conditioning system against a conventional system with the aid of EnergyPlus simulations for a small office building. The outside weather is subjected to hot-dry climatic condition. The heat input source includes biomass and solar energy-based resources. Auxiliary heat input is also used to ensure smooth operation. The performance of the absorption system is assessed at different generator temperature (70 °C–80 °C) and solar collector area (400 m2–500 m2). The results show that, by using absorption-based systems, a maximum of 34.1% electrical energy savings can be ensured at 500 m2 collector area with 70 °C generator temperature. The coefficient of performance of the absorption system escalates from 0.50 to 0.52 by increasing the generator temperature form 70 °C to 80 °C. Under the condition of 70 °C generator temperature and 500 m2 collector area, the absorption system can be made fully renewable energy dependent.