Abstract—A solar refrigeration system based on the adsorption- desorption phenomena is designed and analyzed. An annular tubular generator filled with silica gel adsorbent and with a perforated inner cylinder is integrated within a flat solar collector. The working fluid in the refrigeration cycle is water. The thermodynamic analysis and because of the temperature level that could be attained with a flat solar collector it is required that the system operates under vacuum conditions. In order to enhance the performance of the system and to get uniform temperature in the silica gel and higher desorbed mass, an apparatus for rotation of the generator is incorporated in the system. Testing is carried out and measurements are taken on the designed installation. The effect of rotation is checked on the temperature distribution and on the performance of this machine and compared to the flat solar collector with fixed generator. Keywords—Refrigeration cycle, solar energy, rotating collector, adsorption, silica gel. I. INTRODUCTION HE Humanity is facing a challenge of major importance. Its development and its evolution depend on a critical factor: the Energy. This last is mainly extracted from fossil fuels, which has many advantages, but unfortunately also many disadvantages including the long-term availability and more pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases. Referral to other safer alternatives in terms of resources and in terms of environmental impacts is required. Alternatives commonly called renewable energy, including solar energy, which comes from an inexhaustible source, without any peril on the environment. Clean energy in short. Algeria is a country that has very large potential solar energy. It is therefore important to develop the exploitation of this deposit, particularly in the field of cold production, intended for remote rural areas. For countries in the developing world, with a favorable sunlight, especially in areas without electricity, solar refrigeration with adsorption machines seems a promising way to improve living conditions in terms of health and economic as that: − Reduction of wastage of food resources. Indeed, foodstuffs (meat, milk, eggs ...) can rot on the scene, because of the lack of storage conditions (refrigeration). − Improvement of fish farming in rural coastal areas. − Preservation of pharmaceutical products. K. Bouhadef, S. Chikh, A. Boumedien, and A. Benabdesselem are with LTPMP Laboratory in the Mechanical and Process Engineering Faculty, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, BP 32, El Alia, Bab Ezzouar, Algiers, Algeria (e-mail: kbouhadef@usthb.dz, schikh@usthb.dz, aboumedien@usthb.dz). In addition to proper adaptation of this type of cooling, this technology has several advantages such as: − It operates without any moving parts, with no noise − It uses refrigerant (either ammonia, water or alcohols) whose the degree of environment pollution is weak − Its maintenance is easy and simple − Materials for its manufacture can be recycled. − This type of system allows reaching storage temperature close to zero. Studies undertaken on such systems have often been conducted on the case of plane or cylindrical static collectors. A literature review allowed us to retain the few following studies: Thus, Meunier, [1], [2], a pioneer in the field of adsorption, and his team [3], have analyzed theoretically and experimentally the couple zeolite-water, and showed that this couple is the most suitable for obtaining temperatures near 0°C. His team conducted some experimental studies as a solar cooler volume of 150 liters with a collector surface equal to 0.8m 2 , containing 23kg of zéolithe13X [4]. The average amount of ice produced in the evaporator was 7.5kg per m 2 of collector. The obtained coefficient of solar performance solar is of the order of 0.1. Sakoda et al. [5] developed an experimental prototype using the silica gel-water pair. The collector was 0.25m 2 of surface and 5cm of thickness, containing 1kg of silica gel. The unit was able to achieve a COP of 0.2 for heat on a clear solar day, equal to 19.3 MJ per m 2 . According to this author, the thermal COP can reach 0.4 for a 0.4m 2 of solar collector. Turgut and Onur [6] have performed an analysis of heat transfer by convection above a flat solar collector. The study was both theoretical and experimental. The conclusion was among other things that the often used correlations to simulate heat losses due to the wind are not suitable and are to review and refined. Otherwise, Al Mers and Mimet [7] simulated the performances of a cylindrical reactor contained in a flat solar collector using the adsorption principle with activated carbon- ammonia pair in a cooling loop. The obtained results obtained from the experimental data and the numerical simulations showed that introducing 5 or 6 fins can considerably increase the performances of the system. The present study is undertaken for the design and realization of a solar collector using adsorption and the silica gel/water couple for supplying a refrigerant loop. Its performances are tested under actual weather conditions. The development of this technology is a great initiative for countries with a large solar field. This will reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, protecting the environment and Design and Analysis of a Solar Refrigeration System with a Rotating Generator K. Bouhadef, S. Chikh, A. Boumedien, and A. Benabdesselam T World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Vol:7, No:7, 2013 1437 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 7(7) 2013 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/16404 International Science Index, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Vol:7, No:7, 2013 waset.org/Publication/16404