Effect of Transverse Fin Configuration on the Performance of Adsorption Cooling System

In this research, we have developed both three-dimensional and two-dimensional axisymmetric models to investigate the adsorption/desorption behavior of ammonia in a calcium chloride composite within a longitudinal and transverse finned reactor, each with a mass of 0.5 kg. These models serve to explore the potential applications in sorption cooling and energy storage systems. The simulation outcomes of the longitudinal fin reactor were utilized to validate the model with existed experimental results in literature, yielding a maximum intermediate deviation of ± 3%. The developed model effectively forecasts the maximum temperature increase and cycle completion time, establishing its reliability for studying sorption reactors. Furthermore, the numerical model was employed to simulate the transverse finned reactor while varying fin thickness. These findings were then employed to evaluate the performance of a straightforward adsorption cooling system, demonstrating the effectiveness of finned reactors in such systems. We also present data on the variation in average bed temperature, ammonia concentration within the sorption bed, and cooling power for different fin configurations, with fin thickness ranging from 3 to 0.75 mm. The highest coefficient of performance achieved for the cooling system was 0.63, observed with a transverse fin configuration featuring a thickness of 1.5 mm.