numerical investigation of silica gel-water adsorption chillers with plate fins bed

one of the cooling systems that has received considerable attentions in recent years is the adsorption chiller, which works based on the adsorption and desorption of a working fluid in a solid porous bed. different parameters such as fin height directly affect the bed heat and mass transfer processes, and therefore, the performance of the adsorption chillers. in the present study a numerical model has been introduced to optimize the fin height in a rd silica gel bed with water as the working fluid. a control volume approach has been employed to determine the temperature distributions in the heat transfer fluid, metal tube, and fins, while the simultaneous solutions of the heat and mass transfer equations should be carried out in a three dimensional coordinate system for the adsorption bed. it was found that the coefficient of performance increases and specific cooling power decreases as the fin height of the bed increases.