A general bottom-up procedure to explore configurations for absorption power cycle

Abstract

The SYNTHSEP methodology that presents a general procedure to derive a complex system configuration of thermodynamic systems operating with a pure working fluid has been proposed by A.Lazzaretto and A.Toffolo et., al. Designers focus on a set of fundamental thermodynamic processes (compression, heating, expansion, cooling) in the flowsheet which is called “basic configuration” in this methodology. The basic configuration is defined by aggregating certain elementary thermodynamic cycles. In previous studies, this technology was applied to absorption refrigeration cycle by K.Seki et., al, in case of waterlithium bromide system as working fluids pair. By aggregating certain elementary thermodynamic cycles, the cycle configuration and operating point equivalent to the absorption refrigerator which had been considered optimal were demonstrated by case study. Based on these works, this research aims to apply the SYNTHSEP methodology to generate basic configurations of an absorption power cycle. In a case study, elementary cycles are operated with an ammonia-water mixture. Demonstration of the proposed method for optimization is shown by performing a case study for an absorption power cycle in which thermal efficiency is regarded as a system product. Calculated solutions are evaluated by comparing with publicly available solutions of an existing design.