Optimization of Solar-Assisted CCHP Systems: Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Emissions Through Harris Hawks-Based Mathematical Modeling

The increasing demand for energy, driven by technological advances, population growth, and economic expansion, has intensified the focus on efficient energy management. Tri-generation systems, such as Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) systems, are of particular interest due to their efficiency and sustainability. Integrating renewable energy sources like solar power with traditional fossil fuels further optimizes CCHP systems. This study presents a novel method for enhancing the CCHP system efficiency by identifying the optimal design parameters and assisting decision makers in selecting the best geometric configurations. A mathematical programming model using the Harris Hawks optimizer was developed to maximize the net power and exergy efficiency while minimizing CO2 emissions in a solar-assisted CCHP system. The optimization resulted in 100 Pareto optimal solutions, offering various choices for performance improvement. This method achieved a higher net power output, satisfactory exergy efficiency, and lower CO2 emissions compared to similar studies. The study shows that the maximum net power and exergy efficiency, with reduced CO2 emissions, can be achieved with a system having a low compression ratio and low combustion chamber inlet temperature. The proposed approach surpassed the response surface method, achieving at least a 4.2% reduction in CO2 emissions and improved exergy values.