Performance analysis of a combined cooling heating and power system

A nominal 80 kWe combined heat and power system (CHP) was set up in the laboratory. The high temperature turbine exhaust gas which was originally designed for heating only can partially be used for cooling when an absorption system was integrated with it. A 12 kW ammonia-water absorption chiller was redesigned and integrated with the CHP system to form a combined cooling, heating and power system (CCHP or tri-generation). Such a tri-generation system has a wide range of applications including retail food stores. A simulation model for the tri-generation system was developed by integrating the component models in the system according to the working fluid flow streams. The system model has been validated against results from tests performed on the system. The validated model has been used to predict the performance of the system over a range of ambient temperatures, exhaust gas temperatures and flow rates and pressure ratios in the turbine.