CH-89-15-1 -- Capital Cost Reductions in Absorption Chillers PDF

Absorption chillers have great difficulty competing with the electric-driven compression alternative, due to modest operating efficiencies and high first costs. This project is an assessment of the possibility of dramatically lowering the costs of a new generation of absorption chillers by using less material Using previously established breakeven costs, we tested a set of polymeric and metallic materials appropriate to particular components, which meet these cost goals. We subjected these materials to long-term and electrochemical testing and established that many of them would perform as required, although the polymer coatings tested proved unsatisfactory. We built and tested small heat exchangers, which indicate that these materials will perform satisfactorily, developed a method for the ultrasonic welding of stainless steel foils, continued development of our conceptual design, and constructed a simulation model that indicates this design will operate with a fuel-based COP of 1.0. We estimated the costs of such chillers and found them within reach of our breakeven costs.