Multisalt-carbon chemical cooler for space applications

ConclusionsThe conclusions are summarized as follows:• The operation of a new three-salt-carbon chemical heat pump was experimentally verified.• A heat output of 1.5 kW was tested with a temperature lift near 100°C with a COP equal to 1.44 without heat recovery.• With heat-pipe heat recovery the COP of this system can be increased to 1.62.• The efficiency of this heat pump can be increased if for the bottom cycle a condenser and a capillary pumped evaporator are used.• To increase the cycle efficiency it is necessary to improve the design of the adsorber, increase the number of salts with different temperature lifts, and use a convective mode for sorbent-bed heating.• A four-salt heat pump could potentially be used to increase the COP of the system further, provided other parasitic losses can be reduced. Finally the advantage of no moving parts makes this cooler/heater attractive for space and domestic applications.