Thermodynamic Analysis of the Irreversibilities in Solar Absorption Refrigerators

A thermodynamic analysis of the irreversibility on solar absorption refrigerators is presented. Under the hierarchical decomposition and the hypothesis of an endoreversible model, many functional and practical domains are defined. The effect of external heat source temperature on the entropy rate and on the inverse specific cooling load (ISCL) multiplied by the total area of the refrigerator A/Qe are studied. This may help a constructor to well dimension the solar machine under an optimal technico-economical criterion A/Qe and with reasonable irreversibility on the refrigerator. The solar concentrator temperature effect on the total exchanged area, on the technico-economical ratio A/Qe, and on the internal entropy rate are illustrated and discussed. The originality of these results is that they allow a conceptual study of a solar absorption refrigeration cycle.