Analysis and Measurement of Bubble Pumps and Impact on Single Pressure Absorption Refrigeration Cycle

Albert Einstein invented a refrigeration cycle nearly eight decades ago. However, neither the cycle, nor a key component - the bubble pump, has been well investigated. In this paper, experimental results for a 20 percent ammonia, 4 bar, solution bubble pump test have been applied to evaluate the Einstein cycle analytically. For a bubble pump temperature of 160 degree C and an evaporator cold temperature of 12 degree C yields coefficient of performance (COP) of 0.29. This COP is 40 percent higher than the COPs that other researchers have obtained using a modified air lift pump model and the water-filled experimental rig. Based on these results, the feasibility of exploiting the cycle as a domestic air conditioning system is more economically viable.