Experimental and simulative investigation of a micro-CCHP (micro combined cooling, heating and power) system with thermal management controller

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2014-04, Vol.68, p.444-453
• Main Authors: Wu, J.Y., Wang, J.L., Li, S., Wang, R.Z.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption chiller; Applied sciences; Computer simulation; Cooling; Cooling systems; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Engines and turbines; Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc; Exact sciences and technology; Experiment; Heating; Micro-CCHP; Simulation; Tanks; Thermal management; Waste heat; Water temperature
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.057

A micro-CCHP (micro combined cooling, heating and power) system is proposed and investigated. It mainly consists of an internal combustion engine (ICE), an adsorption chiller (AD), a thermal management controller (TMC) and some other devices. The waste heat of ICE is collected and managed by the TMC. So the waste heat can be automatically assigned to different water cycles for heating, cooling, or to be released. Considering the complexity of micro-CCHP system, both experiment and simulation are conducted. Firstly, the experimental system and methodologies are described in detail. Then, simulation models of ICE and AD are proposed in order to simulate the system performance. Based on results of experiment and simulation, system characteristics for heating and cooling are investigated. Some influence factors are taken into account, such as the part load ratio of ICE, buffer tank set point temperature, hot water tank set point temperature, chilled water temperature and cooling water temperature of AD. Results show that the system can realize 17.7 kW heating output, 6.5 kW cooling output and 16 kW electric output simultaneously. The experimental primary energy ratio reaches 0.765 in heating mode and 0.56 in cooling mode. •A micro-CCHP system is built, tested and simulated.•Thermal management controller (TMC) is used to recover and manage waste heat.•The heating output of TMC can be regulated by set point temperatures.•Some critical set point temperatures in operation are pointed out.•System performances are comprehensively studied and results are explained.