AN INNOVATIVE PROTOTYPE OF ADSORPTION CHILLER FOR AIR CONDITIONING FOR INDUSTRIAL AND OFF-ROAD VEHICLE

In this paper, an innovative prototype of adsorption chiller for mobile air conditioning application is presented together with test results. The chiller has been designed and built at CNR-ITAE. The adsorption machine can use the available heat from the engine coolant loop, or from the hydraulic oil conditioning circuit, and is designed to deliver about 2.5 kW cooling power. The cold produced can be used for the cabin air conditioning or to maintain costant the electronic devices temperature in the control room. Utilization of waste heat from the I.C. engine to drive the adsorption chiller minimizes fuel over-consumption for air conditioning, especially at idle, reduce the CO2 emissions and improve the vehicle global efficiency. The showed case study has been developed considering the air conditioning application in an industrial truck. Experimental characterization of the prototype has been carried out in two phases: i) performance evaluation at CNR-ITAE laboratory in simulated conditions by using a specifically developed testing station ii) testing in a real truck cabin. The performance evaluation was carried under the EU car air conditioning testing conditions. Results obtained demonstrated that the adsorption chiller is able to deliver adequate cooling power (Average Cooling Power ACP = 1-2.3 kW) with the required efficiency (cooling COP = 0.25-0.45). Testing of the prototype into the truck cabin demonstrated that the chiller is effectively able to deliver continuously cold air at 9°C (in recirculation mode) with an estimated cooling power of 3 kW.