Advanced Measurement and Simulation Procedure for the Identification of Heat and Mass Transfer Parameters in Dynamic Adsorption Experiments

Thermally-driven heat pumps can help to mitigate CO2 emissions by enhancing the efficiency of heating systems or by driving cooling systems with waste or solar heat. In order to make the thermally-driven systems more attractive for the end consumer, these systems need a higher power density. A higher power density can be achieved by intensifying the heat and mass transfer processes within the adsorption heat exchanger. For the optimization of this key component, a numerical model of the non-isothermal adsorption dynamics can be applied. The calibration of such a model can be difficult, since heat and mass transfer processes are strongly coupled. We present a measurement and simulation procedure that makes it possible to calibrate the heat transfer part of the numerical model separately from the mass transfer part. Furthermore, it is possible to identify the parts of the model that need to be improved. For this purpose, a modification of the well-known large temperature jump method is developed. The newly-introduced measurements are conducted under an inert N-2 atmosphere, and the surface temperature of the sample is measured with an infrared sensor. We show that the procedure is applicable for two completely different types of samples: a loose grains configuration and a fibrous structure that is directly crystallized.