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Technology and Engineering
- ISSN: 2333-2581
- Modern Environmental Science and Engineering
Heat and Mass Transfer between Humid Air and Desiccant Channels — A Theoretical Investigation
M. Mujahid Rafique
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Abstract: Due to the direct utilization of thermal energy and possibility of using renewable energy resources, the interest of using desiccant wheel for air conditioning application is increasing rapidly. The thermally driven desiccant cooling systems are environmental friendly and have a great potential to reduce the peak electricity demand. The high initial cost of these system as compared to the conventional units can be reduced at designing stage through selection of suitable cycle, size reduction, and flow optimization. The aim of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the desiccant wheel to predict its dynamic performance. The model is numerically stable and easy to simulate. The desiccant wheel performance has been discussed under different operating parameters. The effect of mass flow rate on heat and mass transfer coefficient has also been studied. Results showed that, an optimum value of operating parameters like mass flow rate and regeneration temperature should be selected for better performance of the system. In addition, transient variation of vapor adsorption rate has also been discussed.
Key words: desiccant wheel, modeling, mass transfer, solar energy, latent load, air conditioning
