Indiacool - UK-India Solar Cooling Innovation (Energy Catalyst Mid-stage Programme)

印度-英国创新太阳能冷却（Indiacool）项目是英国和印度企业和学术合作伙伴之间的工业研发合作，包括帝国理工学院、Solar Polar Limited、Mamata Energy和钦奈的安娜大学。它的目标是研究和推进创新的英国太阳能冷却技术的发展，用于两种应用和进一步的商业化：1)在发展中国家的农村社区提供低成本的农作物和食品太阳能冷却，作为食品“冷链”的一部分；2)住宅和小型零售及工业建筑的低成本太阳能空调。第一个应用在印度和整个发展中国家具有商业化的潜力，在这些国家，由于缺乏适当的冷链而造成的作物和粮食浪费可能高达50%。第二种应用在印度和世界范围内具有巨大的商业化潜力，因为它可能为压缩机空调提供一种可行的替代方案，压缩机空调消耗大量电力，并产生大量碳排放。帝国理工学院的主要贡献是：1)领导太阳能极地冷却技术的计算模型，用于热力学和热性能分析，考虑到印度不同的气候条件；2)研究在印度气候和两种不同冷却应用下运行的技术优化，特别关注工作流体的选择、工作压力、系统设计和关键部件的修改；3)支持包含优化工作结果的原型系统的设计和开发；4)支持在印度的现场试验中（在两个应用程序中）测试和监测原型的性能。在计算建模任务中，热力学和热性能分析将通过利用帝国理工学院基于实验室吸收冷却系统开发的现有技术建模工具来辅助。帝国理工学院将提供热力学、热流体、热建模和吸收冷却系统方面的专业知识。利用这些专业知识，帝国理工学院还将协助扩展这些建模工具的复杂性，以包括（并允许）太阳极地系统的组件和流体设计，并扩展这些工具的预测能力，以包括印度不同气候条件下系统的动态建模。这项活动将允许优化的太阳能极地冷却装置设计为两个特定的应用和印度的气候条件。模型提出的优化的太阳极地系统将通过对太阳极地冷却系统的实验室测试得到证实。具体来说，将研究不同工作压力和工作流体对系统性能的影响，这些实验的结果将用于建模工作。帝国理工学院还将研究通过修改系统组件可能实现的性能优化的影响。根据上述第1)和第2)项研究的结果，帝国理工学院将支持Solar Polar开发优化的设计规范和原型图纸（将用于现场试验）。帝国理工学院还将为项目的现场试验阶段提供设计、测试和监控规范方面的专业知识。这将包括确定测试方案、评估和选择监测设备以及制订数据收集、传输和分析的规范。帝国理工学院将支持Solar Polar采购所需的监测设备，并在现场试验原型系统中安装和调试设备。

The India-UK Innovative Solar Cooling (Indiacool) project is an industrial R&D collaboration between UK and India corporate and academic partners, Imperial College, Solar Polar Limited, Mamata Energy and Anna University, Chennai. It aims to investigate and advance the development of an innovative UK solar-cooling technology for its use and further commercialisation for two applications: 1) provision of low-cost solar cooling of crops and food in rural communities in developing countries as part of the food 'cold-chain'; and 2) low-cost solar air-conditioning of dwellings and small retail and industrial buildings.The first application has potential for commercialisation in India and throughout the developing world, where wastage of crops and food due to the lack of an adequate cold-chain can be as high as 50%. The second application has significant commercialisation potential in India and worldwide as it can potentially provide a viable alternative to compressor based air-conditioning which is responsible for substantial consumption of electricity and very significant carbon emissions.Imperial College's main contribution is to: 1) lead the computational modelling of Solar Polar's cooling technology for thermodynamic and thermal performance analysis that takes into account the varying climatic conditions in India; 2) investigate the optimisation of the technology for operating in the Indian climate and for the two different cooling applications, with particular focus on working fluid selection, working pressures, system design and key component modifications; 3) support the design and development of prototype systems incorporating the results of the optimisation work; and 4) support the testing and monitoring of the performance of the prototypes within field trials (within both applications) in India.Within the computational modelling task, thermodynamic and thermal performance analysis will be assisted by harnessing existing modelling tools for this technology which have been developed at Imperial College, based on a laboratory absorption-cooling system. Imperial College will provide expertise on thermodynamics, thermofluids, thermal modelling and absorption-cooling systems. Using this expertise, Imperial College will also assist in extending the complexity of these modelling tools to include (and allow) component and fluid design for the Solar Polar system and to extend the predictive capabilities of these tools to include dynamic modelling of the system within India's varying climatic conditions. This activity will allow optimised Solar Polar cooling units to be designed for the two specific applications and for the climatic conditions in India.Optimised Solar Polar's systems, suggested by the models, will be confirmed by laboratory testing on a Solar Polar cooling system. Specifically, the effect on system performance of different working pressures and working fluids will be investigated and results from these experiments will be used to feed into the modelling work. Imperial College will also investigate the impact on performance optimisation that may be achieved by modifications to system components.Based on the results from the research undertaken in relation to 1) and 2) above, Imperial College will support Solar Polar in the development of optimised design specifications and drawings for prototypes (that will be constructed for use in field trials).Imperial College will also provide expertise in the design, testing and monitoring specification for use within the field trial phase of the project. This will include definition of test protocols, assessment and selections of monitoring equipment and formulation of specifications for data collection, transmission and analysis. Imperial College will support Solar Polar in its procurement of the required monitoring equipment and in the installation and commissioning of the equipment within field trial prototype systems.