Development and lab-test of a mobile adsorption air-conditioner

This paper is focused on the description of a mobile adsorption chiller for cooling in a truck cabin and its experimental performance. The prototype, designed and built at CNR – ITAE, consists of a double-bed adsorber connected with an evaporator and a condenser and driven by the low grade thermal energy coming from the engine coolant loop. Overall volume and weight of the machine are 170 dm3 and 60 kg, respectively. Performance assessment was preliminarily carried out at ITAE laboratory under the typical EU car air conditioning conditions. The experimental results obtained showed that the system is able to deliver an Average Cooling Power ACP = 1–2.3 kW and a Cooling COP = 0.25–0.45, at a desorption temperature of about 90 °C (Tev ∼ 8–14 °C and Tcon ∼ 28–35 °C). Afterwards, the cooling system was integrated in a real truck cabin (IVECO STRALIS) and tested on a laboratory test bench, where the engine cooling loop was simulated through an ideal heat source, so demonstrating that the chiller is able to provide cooling comfort to the passengers.