Investigation of a diffusion absorption refrigerator

A diffusion absorption refrigerator is a heat powered refrigeration system. It can be operated without any use of electrical or mechanical energy. It uses three component working fluids: ammonia–water–helium. This system consists of no moving parts. Circulation of the working fluid is achieved using a bubble-pump. In this paper, a simple mathematical model is developed. The bubble-pump performance was obtained from a simple experiment using air and water. Calculated results were compared with experimental data. The results show that the system performance is strongly dependent upon the bubble-pump characteristics and the evaporator and absorber mass transfer performance.