The objective of the present report concerns the description of the development of composite sorbents with a sorption capacity higher than 0.8 g/g (adsorbate/sorbent) and with a higher sorption rate with respect to the conventional sorbents for cooling applications.

report SAL II per il progetto PO-FESR FISHIPS relativo alle attività condotte dall'unità operativa CNR ITAE

Progettazione e manutenzione di una stazione di prova per test di sistemi termici (pompe di calore, chiller, sistemi ad adsorbimento, sistemi di accumulo latente e termochimico) con potenzialità fino a 32 kWt di riscaldamento e 16kW termici di raffrescamento. La stazione di prova è stata realizzata e ampliata nell'ambito dei progetti europei ZEOSOL, HYBUILD, GEOFIT, SolBio-Rev ed è descritta in dettaglio nel rapporto esterno ITAE 54/2022.

Realizzazione e manutenzione di una stazione di prova in grado di fornire tre diversi livelli termici, per il test di diverse tipologie di sistemi termici (pompe di calore, chiller e pompe di calore ad adsorbimento, sistemi ibridi, componenti per sistemi di solar cooling). La stazione di prova è stata realizzata e ampliata nell'ambito dei progetti europei ZEOSOL, HYBUILD, HYCOOL ed è descritta in dettaglio nei report esterni ITAE 36/2019 e 52/2022

The building sector accounts for a relevant portion of the overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The type of construction materials used in the buildings as well as the characteristics of the envelope affect their energy consumption. The choice of appropriate building materials is a crucial challenge widely discussed in the context of the bioclimatic architecture concept. The implementation of phase change materials (PCMs) into the building envelope is among the investigated solutions to make the building sector more sustainable. In this paper, cement mortar integrated with solid/solid PlusIce X25 commercial PCM was characterized and tested. The main feature of the proposed composite is the use of the solid/solid phase change, which avoids typical PCMs' issues due to the leakage occurring when the material becomes liquid. The properties of the PCM material itself were investigated by measuring the latent heat and the phase change temperature through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Furthermore, in order to evaluate the performance of the realized samples, an experimental setup was designed and built. The main feature of the experimental setup is the possibility to test two different cement mortar bricks subjected contemporary to the same testing conditions. Experimental results confirmed the advantages of the PCM-loaded plaster. Thermal performances of the PCM were further compared to those ones of two specimens of cement mortar incorporating rubber and cork with the same experimental conditions. Experimental results were used to validate and calibrate a finite element model, implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6. Parametric simulations to investigate the effect of the PCM mass fraction were carried out. The results showed remarkable thermal performance improvements in terms of peak temperatures reduction with mass fraction of 25-50%. Furthermore, different placements of the PCM in the wall of a building were simulated and discussed.

The complete GEOFIT system, for the Perugia pilot, consists of an adsorption heat pump, driven using a gas boiler, and an electrically driven vapour compression chiller. The adsorption heat pump was completely tested and characterized at the ITAE-CNR test lab, by mean of more than 80 experimental tests, performed in different working conditions. The complete GEOFIT systems for the St.Cugat and the Galway pilots consist of the described electrically driven vapour compression heat pump. The heat pump was completely tested and characterized at the AIT test labs performed at different working conditions.

Deliverable D3.4 "Report on the experimental tests and the final design of the hybrid sub-systems" present mainly the results of the experiments under lab-controlled conditions. They were carried out with the HYBUILD sub-systems in the facilities described in Deliverable 3.3. Special focus was put on the testing of different operating conditions before the entire systems will be implemented on the demo-sites. Deliverable D3.4 summarizes all the knowledge gained from the experiments. Furthermore, several suggestions to improve the design and the operating modes are given. Although the thermal and electric storages used in the Mediterranean and the Continental concept of HYBUILD are similar, their integration into each concept is different. Hence, both concepts are always dealt separately in the following.

The activity reported in the present deliverable concerns the overall development of the sorption module and the custom heat pump that represent the cascade unit within SolBioRev project, whose main aim is to guarantee an efficient operation of the heat pump for delivery of comfort conditions in Mediterranean climates even during the warmest months.

Aim of the present work is the experimental characterization of a heat exchanger for application in hybrid sorption-compression cycles for air conditioning and refrigeration purposes. An asymmetric plate heat exchanger was evaluated through a dedicated testing rig under combined evaporator-condenser conditions: the condensation heat released by the compression cycle is then used for evaporation of the refrigerant of the sorption cycle. The effect of operating conditions was evaluated and the experimental results, in terms of achievable heat exchanged and overall heat transfer coefficient are here presented

The D3.3 reports the design efforts, experimental tests and optimization activities carried out on the hybrid chiller produced by FAHR. These activities are the core aims of T3.2 "Adsorption HP upgrade and guidelines for installation/combination with other H&C technologies" whose task leader is FAHR. The connected activities related to the guidelines for the hybrid chiller installation were already carried out and are fully explained in D3.4. FAHR was in charge to design and manufacture the hybrid chiller, ITAE lead the experimental test activities obtaining the full performance characterization of this technology and an optimization of the control strategy. FAHR designed a hybrid chiller composed by a sorption unit and a compression one connected in parallel to the on the load side (cold side) and in series connection to the heat sink (heat rejection side). The adsorption and compression heat pumps operate in parallel to each other supplying cold water to one common cold consumer. The adsorption chiller covers the base load, while the compression chiller is activated only if the required parameter cannot be achieved by the adsorption unit alone. Initially, a cascade layout was considered as the best solution for the SunHorizon project design. However, during the engineering works and tests it has been noted, that considering its specific advantages and drawbacks, the parallel layout is the most beneficial for the intended application. Several innovations were introduced in this technology, they regard the adsorber's coating, the heat exchangers and the process modules, more details about these aspects are explained in D3.11. A further innovation introduced, thanks to the experimental tests and ITAE support, is the optimization of the control strategy that will let to improve the efficiency and reliability of the hybrid chiller For the experimental tests, the hybrid chiller was shipped to the CNR-ITAE labs in Messina, an intense experimental campaign was planned with the aim to produce a full performance map of the tested technology and deeply investigate on its optimisation. During the tests several troubles with the control settings were founded and solved through the continuous exchange of information between FAHR and ITAE. Finally, a novel design of control strategy was suggested by ITAE and implemented by FAHR, thus achieving a global improvement of reliability and efficiency of the hybrid chiller. The results of the tests let also to produce the performance map of the chiller and a mathematical correlation, based on statistical regression, that let to easily calculate the performance by a polynomial expression. This last finding is useful for the modelling of the hybrid chiller and its implementation on simulations and AI interfaces. In conclusion, the experimental characterization showed that the hybrid configuration lets to achieve a lower improvement, in terms of performance, if compared with a compression chiller than the expected one. This was mainly related to the design of MT circuits and to the controls. The new control strategy will let to increase the efficiency and the reliability of the system, thus making the hybrid chiller more competitive of a compression one, in terms of cooling power and EER.

Realizzazione di una stazione di prova per test di evaporatori per sistemi ad adsorbimento caratterizzati da una tipologia di evaporazione sotto vuoto. La stazione di prova è stata realizzata nell'ambito dei progetti europei HYBUILD e SolBio-Rev

The present work reports the experimental evaluation of the performance of a cascade chiller, having an adsorption cycle as topping cycle and a vapour compression cycle as bottoming cycle. An experimental testing campaign was carried out at CNR ITAE, focused on the definition of performance maps of the system under different operating conditions. In particular, heat source temperatures between 70°C and 85°C were evaluated, cooling temperatures between 22°C and 40°C and chilled water temperatures of -12°C up to 5°C, in order to reproduce the operation in different seasons, climates and user requests (i.e. air conditioning and refrigeration). Cooling powers from 18 kW (under air conditioning conditions) from 12 kW (for refrigeration conditions) were obtained for the lower cooling temperatures. Indeed, the cooling temperature has a great influence on the cooling capacity of the system, whereas heat source temperature has a smaller effect on the capacity of the system. Finally, the energy savings that can arise from such a configuration were calculated and up to 25% reduction, if compared to a standard vapour compression system can be achieved. A reduction in CO2 emissions up to 3.5 yearly tons were calculated as well

In recent years, hot and cold storage systems demonstrated themselves to be key components, especially in systems for waste heat exploitation. Moreover, mobile A/C and refrigeration set new efficiency challenges in the field of goods and passengers transport. In such a context, adsorption cold storage devices enable new possibilities and show promising features: high energy density and the possibility of being operated both for heat and cold release to the user. However, only a few studies on small and compact systems for mobile applications have been carried out so far, especially for cold storage exploiting low-temperature sources (<100 degrees C). The present paper describes the realization and testing of two different types of cold storage based on two innovative adsorbent reactors: a pelletized adsorber filled with commercial FAM Z02 zeolite, and a composite adsorber based on an aluminum porous structure and a SAPO-34 coating. An already developed testing procedure was employed to characterize the prototypes under cold storage mode for mobile refrigeration purposes. The test clearly showed that prototypes can store up to 580 Wh, with an average power during the discharging phase that ranges from 200 W to 820 W and an energy efficiency of 0.3 Wh(discharged)/Wh(charged) for the operations in the selected conditions, thus revealing promising opportunities for future further developments.

In the present work, the results of a study and experimental activities carried out on a pump-assisted heat pipe intended for the use in large-capacity thermal conversion and storage systems are presented. A specific test setup for the experimental assessment of heat pipes operating in a loop configuration was realised. The key feature of the system is the use of a pump for liquids for the transport of the condensate, thus distinguishing it from the vast majority of commercial or research-grade heat pipes, which employ gravity or capillary action for liquid transport. The set-up is equipped with high-accuracy sensors and allows continuous operation. Results of an experimental campaign realised with R600 as working fluid inside the heat pipes are reported, analysing the effect of temperatures at the evaporator and condenser, flow rate of the working fluid and filling ratio and a correlation was derived to predict the experimental outcomes. The examined system was able to transfer up to 3 kW under the selected boundary conditions with an optimal filling ratio of 46%.

Stazione di prova per test, tramite cicli termici accelerati, delle proprietà termiche di strutture porose per l'applicazione in sistemi di accumulo termochimico. La stazione di prova è descritta nell'atto di convegno "Heat transfer and dynamics characterization of porous structures for high-density adsorption storages" presentato al convegno Eurotherm Seminar #112 - Advances in Thermal Energy Storage ed è stata realizzata nell'ambito del progetto europeo HYBUILD.

Design e testing di un impianto pilota per la valutazione di scambiatori di calore operanti come evaporatori in condizioni operative sub-atmosferiche in vapore acqueo

This document is the Deliverable "D3.3 - Experimental characterization of the hybrid heat pump module " of the European project "HYCOOL - Industrial Cooling through Hybrid system based on Solar Heat." (hereinafter also referred to as "HYCOOL", project reference: 792073). This deliverable reports about the experimental performance evaluation of the hybrid cascading chiller under lab-controlled working conditions. The chiller was manufactured by Fahrenheit by connecting in cascade a silica-gel water adsorption cooling machine with a vapour compression chiller using R1270 (propylene) as refrigerant.

report finale relativo all'attività di ricerca svolta nell'ambito del contratto CNR ITAE -KRICT sullo sviluppo e la caratterizzazione di materiali adsorbenti innovativi per applicazione in macchine frigorifere ad adsorbimento

his paper aims at experimentally evaluate the performance of a compact sensible/latent thermal energy storage (TES) for application on cruise ships. A lab-scale proof-of-concept was designed, by using commercial macro-encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs), to achieve high storage density and good charging/discharging rate. The design proposed for the prototype is suitable for modular operation and to allow an easy scale-up up to full-size. An experimental campaign was realized at CNR ITAE to assess the charging/discharging behavior of the system. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the proposed solution can help saving up to 25% of the required volume, thus making it more attractive for on-board applications.

In this paper, composites based on a standard mortar and two commercial microencapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) with nominal melting point of 23 degrees C and 26 degrees C in different percentage were produced and characterized. To this aim, an innovative experimental setup, able to contemporarily test two different samples subjected to the same temperature profile was designed and realized. The experimental results were then used to validate a numerical model, implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics. Finally, a parametric analysis was carried out to define optimized melting temperature for the PCM for Mediterranean application, aiming at reducing the overall energy consumption as well as to improve the comfort conditions inside buildings both during winter and summer. The results demonstrated that an optimal melting temperature of 27 degrees C is achieved under Sicilian climatic condition. Furthermore, adding 15 wt% of optimized PCM allows to improve the comfort conditions of about 15% compared to standard solutions based on pure cement mortars.