Research Article Irreversibility Analysis of Double Effect LiBr-Water Vapor Absorption Chiller

Irreversibility analysis of a double effect direct fired LiBr-water vapor absorption chiller with reverse parallel flow arrangement is presented in this research. The irreversibility method is a powerful tool for optimization of the performance of absorption refrigeration systems. Analysis is performed for 4 different operating conditions of the chiller. Mass flow rates, specific enthalpies, specific entropies, energy balance and irreversibility changes were calculated for all components of the system. The results reveal that irreversibility changes in condenser, evaporator and heat exchangers are less as compared to the irreversibility changes in generators and absorber. The results show that COP of the absorption chiller increases by increasing the temperature of high temperature generator. However, irreversibility changes also increase with this increase in temperature thus reducing the availability of energy. Thermo economic optimization of LiBr-water vapor absorption chiller can be done by using these results. These results play an important role for improvement of absorption system. It is observed that analysis of absorption system using the irreversibility method can improve potential thermodynamic performance, which is impossible through numerical techniques