Energy and exergy analysis of single effect and series flow double effect water–lithium bromide absorption refrigeration systems S.C. Kaushik a , Akhilesh Arora b, * a Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India b Mechanical Engineering Department, Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi 110042, India article info Article history: Received 12 August 2008 Received in revised form 10 December 2008 Accepted 18 January 2009 Published online 29 January 2009 Keywords: Absorption system Water–lithium bromide Modelling Simulation COP Exergy Energy efficiency abstract In this paper, the energy and exergy analysis of single effect and series flow double effect water–lithium bromide absorption systems is presented. A computational model has been developed for the parametric investigation of these systems. Newly developed computa- tionally efficient property equations of water–lithium bromide solution have been used in the computer code. The analysis involves the determination of effects of generator, absorber and evaporator temperatures on the energetic and exergetic performance of these systems. The effects of pressure drop between evaporator and absorber, and effectiveness of heat exchangers are also investigated. The performance parameters computed are coefficient of performance, exergy destruction, efficiency defects and exergetic efficiency. The results indicate that coefficient of performance of the single effect system lies in range of 0.6–0.75 and the corresponding value of coefficient of performance for the series flow double effect system lies in the range of 1–1.28. The effect of parameters such as temperature difference between heat source and generator and evaporator and cold room have also been investigated. Irreversibility is highest in the absorber in both systems when compared to other system components. ª 2009 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved. Analyse e ´ nerge ´ tique et exerge ´ tique des syste ` mes frigorifiques a ` simple effet et a ` double effet a ` absorption a ` eau/bromure de lithium Mots cle ´s : Syste `me a ` absorption ; Eau–bromure de lithium ; Mode ´ lisation ; Simulation ; COP ; Exergie ; Efficacite ´e ´ nerge ´ tique * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 98 6827 9932; fax: 91 11 2787 1023. E-mail addresses: kaushik@ces.iitd.ac.in (S.C. Kaushik), aroraakhilesh@yahoo.com (A. Arora). www.iifiir.org available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig 0140-7007/$ – see front matter ª 2009 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2009.01.017 international journal of refrigeration 32 (2009) 1247–1258